There wasn't much discovered after asking around the village.
Then again, who would normally pay attention to such things?
After Chen Xiaowen reported back, she even couldn't help but complain, "Who would notice these things? If you were to ask me which stranger visited the village today, I could tell you one or two."
Upon hearing this, Chen Xiaobei's eyebrows shot up, "Oh, then tell me, which strangers visited the village today?"
"The woman who was looking for you, and Cui Banxian."
Cui Banxian.
Hearing this name, Chen Xiaobei couldn't help but frown.
Chen Xiaobei didn't know much about Cui Banxian. After all, given his family's financial situation in his previous life, where he couldn't even afford a single copper coin, how could Cui Banxian have had any dealings with him?
Just then, Lidong added, "Oh, come on. That guy's words can't be trusted. Calling himself Banxian, you all shouldn't be fooled by him."
It was said that this profession should have been highly respected during this era.
To have earned such a reputation from Cui Banxian was truly remarkable.
He looked at Lidong.
"Brother, why do you say that?"
Lidong snorted, "The first time your sister-in-law was pregnant, she consulted him, and he said it would be a boy, but it turned out to be a girl. The second time she went to him, he again said it would be a boy, and it was another girl."
"By the third pregnancy, he met my mother and told her that this time it would be a girl, but to their surprise, it was a boy."
After hearing Lidong's words, everyone burst into laughter and dispersed.
Chen Xiaobei didn't overthink things. After all, a charlatan like him might not have the guts to commit murder.
Besides, where would he get this pit viper?
That night, Chen Ping's house was filled with people offering condolences.
After all, his grandfather was the village head and had done some good deeds in his life, so he had some connections.
An old woman entered, crying profusely, calling out "Brother and Sister-in-law" repeatedly.
Seeing her grief, Chen Ping stepped forward to pay his respects, "Third Grandmother, please accept my condolences."
The old woman wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and sighed, "I don't know which damned soul enticed outsiders to harm my brother, all for the position of village head!"
The speaker was unintentional, but the listener took it to heart.
Chen Ping's heart skipped a beat.
That's right.
A person from the Liu family in the county had come to find Chen Xiaobei today.
The ancestor had said that the pit viper was not from Hetou Village; it was an outsider. Where would ordinary people get such a snake?
Moreover, the person from the Liu family had taken one look and declared with certainty that it was a venomous snakebite, then found the snake in the corner, and subsequently killed it.
When many things are connected, they seem plausible. Thinking about it this way, it made perfect sense, fitting together seamlessly, without a single flaw.
The supposed scenario was that Chen Xiaobei was not satisfied with just being the village captain and wanted to advance further, so he colluded with the Liu family to kill his grandfather.
Seamless and flawless.
Upon realizing this, Chen Ping was furious.
He grabbed a cleaver from the kitchen and, like a madman, charged towards Chen Xiaobei's house.
At this moment, Chen Xiaobei was in the courtyard, having dinner with Cui Hongyu and Chen Qiao'er.
As they ate, the three of them lamented Chen Anbang's sudden passing.
Suddenly, with the sound of hurried footsteps, Chen Ping entered.
Fortunately, Chen Xiaobei had lit a horse lantern that night, hanging it on a nearby scaffolding, making it quite clear.
Seeing the cold gleam of the cleaver in Chen Ping's hand, Chen Xiaobei knew something was amiss.
He turned around and grabbed a nearby shovel, moving to meet the charge.
"Chen Ping, what are you doing?"
Cui Hongyu, who was beside them, stood up, holding Chen Qiao'er, and quickly retreated into the house.
Chen Ping pointed the cleaver at Chen Xiaobei and said sternly, "Chen Xiaobei, stop pretending to be a good person in front of me. I've figured it out. You did this. You colluded with the Liu family to kill my grandfather. I will not rest until I have my revenge."
Chen Xiaobei found it both laughable and exasperating. What was this all about? Why was he suddenly being blamed?
"Chen Ping, have you gone mad? When did I ever harm your grandfather? You need evidence for everything."
"Alright then, the ancestor said this snake is not from our village, and the only outsiders are from the Liu family."
"It's obvious you wanted to be the village head, so you colluded with the Liu family to kill my grandfather, and then pretended to help catch the poisonous snake."
"What are you talking about? You can't just assume they did it because they are outsiders."
"Fine, then why did that guy immediately declare it was a venomous snakebite, and then quickly kill the snake? It's clear he wanted to silence us."
I.
Chen Xiaobei looked at Chen Ping with the pity one reserves for the mentally challenged.
Killing the venomous snake was to silence them? Did venomous snakes talk?
Chen Xiaobei wanted to retort, but he suddenly realized he had no way to counter. Chen Ping had constructed a complete chain of reasoning.
It seemed plausible.
Leaving him speechless.
"Brother Chen Ping, the Liu family came to see me about other matters, unrelated to your grandfather. And you need to understand one thing: you were the one who gave me the position of village captain, I didn't actively seek it. To be honest, I don't care about it at all. If you want it back, you can have it anytime."
Just then, many people, alerted by the commotion, arrived. Seeing Chen Ping confronting Chen Xiaobei with a cleaver, they were all stunned.
Chen Ping, however, was relentless. He repeated his accusations to the crowd.
Chen Xiaobo listened and couldn't help but point at Chen Ping, saying,
"Chen Ping, you're wrong to say that. You were the one who told us you didn't want to do it anymore and handed it over to Chen Xiaobei. Now you're saying he wants to be the village head. It doesn't make sense."
The others echoed his sentiment, but Chen Xiaobei could see that some of them might have already believed Chen Ping's words, or at least partially believed them.
Chen Ping pointed his cleaver at the village guards and said fiercely, "Chen Xiaobo, I've treated you well. I haven't seen you for a few days, and you're already speaking up for them. You're heartless."
Just then, someone shouted loudly, "The Ancestor is here! The Ancestor is here!"
With a few coughs, the Ancestor, trembling, entered. Upon seeing the situation, he slammed his cane on the ground.
"What do you two think you are doing?"
Chen Xiaobei said helplessly, "Ancestor, it's not that I'm doing anything. He came at me with a cleaver, accusing me of killing his grandfather. You're not..."
Chen Xiaobei swallowed the word "nonsense" at the last moment.
He suddenly realized that "nonsense" might not have been invented in this era.
The Ancestor, with a somber face, looked at Chen Ping and sighed, "Chen Ping, I've watched both you and Xiaobei grow up. Although Xiaobei's family background is humble, he is not ill-intentioned and would never do such a thing."
The other village guards nodded in agreement. After all, they would have to work under Chen Xiaobei in the future, so why wouldn't they support him?
Chen Ping was now isolated. He stamped his foot in frustration, "Fine, if none of you will speak up for me, I will find out the truth of this matter sooner or later."