The Case Was Solved

The couple, in their thirties, have three children. Their eldest Second Brother are sons, one seventeen and the other fifteen; their Third Brother is a daughter, twelve years old this year.

The family of five were originally tenant farmers, living a hard but manageable life. However, the man of the family fell seriously ill and they couldn't afford treatment. Their relatives and friends were all poor and couldn't lend them money. In order to save his father, the eldest son secretly borrowed money from loan sharks behind his parents' backs.

Later, the man recovered from his illness, but the family was burdened with a lifetime of high-interest loans that they could never repay, and the eldest son was even beaten up by the loan collectors.

With no other option, the family had to sell themselves to pay off their high-interest loans in order to survive. Tragically, the eldest son's loan from the loan sharks amounted to only two taels of silver.

After selling myself into servitude, although I lost my freedom, it was much better than the days when I didn't know where my next meal would come from and I had to survive on wild vegetables for half a year.

Many of the servants Zhao Ruxi bought were for the same reason. People with land and houses could sell their land and houses if they fell ill; tenant farmers without land and houses could only sell themselves.

How are the servants you bought?

"He's very good, honest, hardworking, and can endure hardship," Xu Xue said. "My father even asked me to thank you. We rushed to move because of this new family. Although they can squeeze into the west wing, there's a difference between men and women. My mother said it's not good for me to live in the same courtyard as them."

That family has two grown men.

Zhao Ruxi nodded, then, noticing it was almost time for Xu Xue's class, she asked, "How will you get home after your evening class? If you're not in a rush, come to the art academy and wait for me; we can go home together in one car."

"My dad bought a mule cart. Besides delivering vegetables, he would also pick me up after evening school," Xu Xue said.

Zhao Ruxi was relieved upon hearing this. "The time is almost up, you should go back to the academy quickly. I'll have Qingfeng and Uncle Gao take you there."

Xu Xue didn't refuse. She finished her tea, waved to Zhao Ruxi, and left with Qingfeng.

Zhao Ruxi went to the painting academy.

Several people are already painting in the art academy.

Wu Zong called Zhao Ruxi to his side and said to her, "Junior Sister, the case in Yangcheng has been solved. Actually, just a few days after your portrait was sent, the yamen runners found the whereabouts of the murderer and began their pursuit. After several days of pursuit, they arrested him, interrogated him, and reported the case to the capital, which was a bit late. They said that the portrait you drew was almost exactly the same as the real person, it was amazing. It was also fortunate that you drew the portrait, otherwise, if they hadn't caught him in time, another family would have been wiped out."

"It's good that they've been caught, it's good that they've been caught." Zhao Ruxi had also been thinking about this matter. Now that she heard the criminal had been caught, she finally felt relieved.

"What exactly happened? Why does that person specifically target families that are all women?" she asked curiously.

Wu Zong didn't want to tell her these things, so he just vaguely said, "That man has mental problems. He was abused by his stepmother and stepsister since he was a child, and he hates all women. Later, in order to seize the family property, his stepmother wouldn't let him get married even when he was twenty, but instead arranged for his eighteen-year-old brother to get married. In the ensuing conflict, he killed his stepmother and stepsister... He gained a kind of psychological satisfaction, and from then on, he couldn't stop."

Zhao Ruxi nodded. "I see." She had seen many similar cases in modern times and guessed that this was the reason.

Serial murders are often committed by psychologically twisted and highly intelligent individuals.

"Now that the case is closed, do you still want Sun Jiawang? If so, I'll bring him to you tomorrow."

"If you think he's a reliable person, bring him over. We can put him on the estate to train with the newly bought servants," Zhao Ruxi said.

She asked again, "How much? I'll pay you right now."

One tael of silver.

"So cheap?" Zhao Ruxi exclaimed in surprise.

The servants she bought a few days ago were all priced at ten taels of silver or more because of her high standards. Those who could read and write were priced at over twenty taels each. Servants like Zhou Chun were priced at thirty-five taels of silver, and his wife at thirty-two taels.

Although Sun Jiawang was young and perhaps illiterate, judging from his cleverness, he was worth more than a tael of silver.

One tael of silver is just a casual tip for people like them. But for Sun Jiawang, it bought him his freedom for life. It's heartbreaking to think about.

Wu Zong nodded. "This is the price we sell here. You know, they're all related to the case. Ordinary people wouldn't dare buy these kinds of people, for fear that they'll get involved in the case and get into trouble."

Zhao Ruxi nodded, took out one tael of silver and gave it to Wu Zong: "Then I'll leave it to you, Senior Brother."

Wu Zong gave the silver to Wu An: "Go to the Court of Judicial Review and bring Sun Jiawang here."

Half an hour later, Sun Jiawang arrived, kowtowed to Zhao Ruxi, and said, "Please bestow a name upon me, Miss. My original name was given to me by my former master, and I wish to change it."

Considering his original master who had his entire family slaughtered, Zhao Ruxi could understand his feelings very well.

Having a new name allows you to forget the past you least want to remember.

She asked, "What was your original name?"

"I didn't have a formal name before; my nickname was Er Gouzi (Ergouzi)."

Okay, then we definitely need to get one.

Zhao Ruxi thought for a moment, "You can call me Zhao Jiawang for now. I'll give you a different name once you've settled on a job."

The servants in the Earl of Suiping's Residence all had uniform names. For example, those with the character "Qing" in their names all entered the mansion in the same batch. Later, when they arrived at their respective posts, their masters bestowed upon them new names. If the masters were too lazy to change them, they would continue to call them by their original names.

Kang Shilin, who was standing nearby, couldn't stand it anymore and slapped Zhao Ruxi on the forehead. "Don't be ridiculous. Her original name was Sun Jiawang, and as a result, the Sun family suffered a great misfortune. Now you dare to call yourself Zhao Jiawang? I think you're asking for trouble."

Zhao Ruxi really wanted to talk to her master and persuade him to stop engaging in feudal superstition.

But she's a coward!

She shrank back, gave her master a sheepish grin, and then said to Sun Jiawang, "Then let's Xiaoming for now."

Forget the shadows of the past, and may your future be bright. This was her blessing for the child before her. Xiaoming was an extremely ordinary name, but for a name chosen casually and soon to be changed, it was enough.

Thank you, young lady.

Xiaoming clearly liked his new name, and knelt down again to respectfully kowtow to Zhao Ruxi before getting up.

"Master, Senior Brother, if there's nothing else here, I'll head to the estate." Zhao Ruxi stood up.

She was going to take Xiaoming to the estate to train with the other new recruits.

A few days ago, she went to the estate every day, but after seeing that Ma Sheng and Zhou Chun were managing the people there very well, she stopped going every day and only went every other day, mainly to observe the situation of the servants with her own eyes.