Chapter 155

Chapter 155: The Ugliness of the Human Heart 2

When Yin Yong heard that, he knew he was pushing too hard. He immediately softened his tone and said, “Sister-in-law, I don’t mean to blame you. It’s just that the killer still hasn’t been caught, and I’m afraid Second Brother’s family will end up resenting us…”

Madam Tang reacted fiercely. She slapped the table and shouted, “Third Brother, what are you trying to say? Catching the murderer is the constables’ job. We didn’t kill anyone. I’m the one worried the people Second Brother offended will come looking for trouble. Don’t you dare dump that filth on us!”

Yin Yong felt his sister-in-law’s reaction was strange. He didn’t keep arguing on that point. Instead, he changed the subject. “Sister-in-law, when you went to Second Brother’s house to pack things up, did you see a bronze mirror? One with he cracks on its face.”

Madam Tang waved her hand. “You shouldn’t be asking me that. You should be asking the yamen officers. By the time we went, Second Brother’s home was already sealed off. The valuables inside had mostly been looted by the criminals. We only carried back a few empty trunks. If you like them, take a couple home.”

Yin Yong didn’t get the answer he wanted, and he couldn’t wait for his eldest brother to return. His sister-in-law clearly didn’t want to keep him around, so he could only go back to the old house in silence.

It wasn’t until Second Brother’s family was buried that Yin Yong finally found a chance to see Eldest Brother alone. Eldest Brother looked a little worn out, but he seemed to be holding up.

Yin Shan quietly told his little brother, “Second Brother’s whole family died from a single strike. Those bandits were after money, so everything valuable in the house is gone. As for the bronze mirror you mentioned before, I asked the yamen officers. They didn’t see it either.”

Yin Yong nodded to show he understood and didn’t ask more. He had noticed that Madam Tang and Eldest Brother’s two sons had been watching the brothers the entire time, as if they didn’t want them talking too much. That planted a seed of suspicion in his heart.

After Second Brother’s family was buried, the bandits still weren’t caught. It was like they had vanished into thin air. In the end, the village could only post a reward. After enough time passed, it naturally went nowhere.

Another month went by. Eldest Brother dug up a dog-head gold nugget in his own field and instantly became the hottest topic in Peach Source Village. People came in a steady stream to gawk, all wanting to borrow a bit of good fortune.

But Yin Yong wasn’t among them. He kept feeling there was something off about it. Their fields were all old farmland that had been worked for more than three years. How had they never found it before when turning the soil, and yet found it now?

He felt someone had buried it on purpose. But Eldest Brother’s family was riding the high, and Yin Yong didn’t want to spoil it, so he didn’t press.

Because of that unexpected windfall, Yin Shan’s family started living comfortably. The first thing they did was renovate the house. Since they had two sons and two daughters, Yin Shan went all in and planned to build a brick-and-tile house.

To move into the new house as soon as possible, Eldest Brother’s family temporarily moved back into the old house and cleared out their old place completely. As the younger brother, Yin Yong went to help too.

Helping dig the foundation and haul stones, bricks, and tiles wore Yin Yong out. Usually, after he ate at the old house, he went to bed early and slept heavily.

But one night, he woke up needing to pee. He had to get up and grope his way to the latrine in the dark. When he returned to his room and passed by his eldest nephew’s window, he heard broken, intermittent voices coming from inside.

Yin Yong had no habit of eavesdropping. He lifted his foot, ready to go back to his room, but then he heard the words “bronze mirror.” He stopped at once.

“Wife, what you said is true? So that bronze mirror really can grant our wishes.”

“Of course. Otherwise, how do you think Second Uncle’s family got rich overnight?”

“But from what you’re saying, granting a wish comes with a price. Little Aunt and Little Uncle-in-law are already gone, and now Second Uncle’s family is also…”

“Shut up. Don’t talk nonsense. Second Uncle’s family was killed by bandits. They were the ones who showed off too much. What does that have to do with us?”

“But we took most of Second Uncle’s silver. If Father and Little Uncle find out, will they come after us?”

“If we don’t say anything, who’s going to find out? As long as we sincerely worship the bronze mirror, we’ll definitely get what we want.”

“Then what if it asks us to offer…”

“I’ve got a plan. You don’t need to worry about it. Go to sleep. We have to finish the new house quickly. We absolutely can’t let Little Uncle discover the bronze mirror.”

“Okay.”

After that, no more sound came from the room. A moment later, snoring started.

Crouched in the corner, Yin Yong’s legs had already gone numb. He didn’t even know how he climbed back to his room. Now he was certain that Second Brother’s family hadn’t died by accident. It had to be connected to his eldest nephew.

And how did his eldest nephew even know the bronze mirror existed? That could only mean Eldest Brother had told him. Maybe the speaker hadn’t meant anything by it, but the listener had taken it to heart. His eldest nephew had gotten greedy, and somehow had taken that bronze mirror from Second Brother’s home.

Who knew what wish he had made, trading Second Brother’s entire family’s lives for the life they had now. Just thinking about it made Yin Yong’s blood run cold.

Yin Yong stared at the ceiling until dawn. After breakfast, he went as usual to work on the new house. But while working, he deliberately set things up so that a stone pedestal smashed his eldest nephew’s foot. Then he had a child who was watching run back to the old house to call for help, telling the child to make the injury sound worse than it was.

A child who got two pieces of candy was more than willing to help. He ran back to the Yin family’s old house and shouted for people.

When Madam Tang hurried over with her eldest daughter-in-law, Yin Yong had already circled back to the old house. He went straight into his eldest nephew’s room and tore through trunks and drawers until he found the bronze mirror wrapped in red cloth.

When he opened the red cloth, Yin Yong discovered something shocking. The cracks he had seen the first time were actually smaller. His hand suddenly burned, and the bronze mirror slipped from his fingers and fell to the ground.

With a clatter, Yin Yong snapped back to himself. Terrified, he bent down and picked up the bronze mirror, wrapped it in a rag, and without hesitation headed for the back mountain of Peach Source Village.

Yin Yong buried the bronze mirror in the mountain and pressed a stone on top of it. Only then did he hurry back to the old house.

By then, his eldest nephew’s wife was screaming in the courtyard, claiming someone had stolen her dowry. Nearby, his eldest nephew looked grim as well, limping as he helped search for things.

When Yin Yong returned, everyone’s eyes turned to him. He said calmly, “Didn’t you say Fan Si’s foot was smashed to the point it broke?”

“Little Uncle, where did you go just now?” Fan Si stared at Yin Yong with a dark gaze as he asked.

“My stomach hurt, so I went to the latrine. When I came back, I heard something happened to you, so I ran over. From the way you look, it doesn’t seem that serious.”

“Little Uncle, my wife’s dowry was stolen.”

“Dowry? Which piece of dowry? When was it stolen?” Yin Yong asked evenly.

He was certain that bronze mirror was not his nephew’s wife’s dowry. When she married into the Yin family, her parents were still alive, and the family hadn’t split households yet. Everyone knew exactly what she had brought with her.

Yin Yong’s questions left the two of them speechless. If they said it was a bronze mirror, they definitely couldn’t hide it from Little Uncle, and they couldn’t hide it from Father either. In the end, his nephew’s wife could only awkwardly say it was a pouch she had embroidered herself, with a few bits of silver inside.

Yin Yong said coldly, “Then report it to the officials. The thief only went into your room. That means they knew you had money. It has to be someone from the village or someone close to you.”

Now Fan Si was the one who didn’t want that. Without telling the truth, there was no way to get the bronze mirror back, and it would only make others suspicious.