Chapter 241

After agreeing with the two ghosts, Xia De returned to the lawn in front of the entrance to the underground tomb in the cemetery area to wait.

This wait lasted for more than half an hour; there was a simple farewell ceremony in the underground tomb, and the guests who came to the funeral also understood Mrs. Watson's mood.

And while Xia De was standing under the tree, someone finally took the initiative to talk to him. That was Mrs. Watson's business partner, who owned a coal processing factory in the south of the city.

He knew Xia De's identity, so he inquired whether he could help handle some troublesome permit documents:

"In order to make the air in the city better, Tobesk recently put forward requirements for the working hours of factories like ours that emit exhaust gas. Mr. Hamilton, do you know how much money this will cause me to lose?"

The middle-aged fat businessman wearing a tie coughed; it was not pretending, his lungs seemed to really have problems:

"If you ask me, there is no evidence that the fog in the city is harmful to the human body, nor is there evidence that these thick fogs will make people sick. I even think this 'taste of industry' can make children stronger. Mr. Hamilton, I won't let you help for nothing."

He coughed again, his face flushed red, and his lungs sounded like a broken bellows.

Xia De was of course short of money, but he would not take this kind of immoral money, not to mention he had no way to clear relations with the City Hall. So he politely refused the fat businessman's request, and the latter seemed to think that Xia De disliked the reward was not enough, so he could only mutter and walk away, complaining in a low voice about the greed and shamelessness of the "noble lords."

"Really, there are all kinds of people."

Xia De thought in his heart, and had a deeper understanding of the madness and ignorance of this era.

During the wait, the originally gloomy sky finally started to rain. People on the lawn could only rush back to the small church to wait, while Mrs. Watson's servants waited for the group to return with umbrellas in place.

The rain became heavier and heavier, so when the priest, the gravedigger, and Mr. Watson's relatives returned to the church, Mrs. Watson just thanked them briefly and announced the end of the funeral.

The guests left one after another, and Mrs. Watson and the gravedigger stood by the church podium, talking about matters related to the management of the tomb; she would also be placed there after her death.

And the protagonist of the funeral, Mr. Watson's younger brother John Watson, stayed behind to talk to Xia De. In fact, even if he didn't come to find Xia De, Xia De would come to find him; after all, the conversation with Mrs. Watson in a while also needed some reasons.

Xia De had no connection with this middle-aged man, but John Watson still attached great importance to Xia De's identity, revealing in his words that he knew Xia De was quite favored by Duchess Galina. In addition to thanking Xia De for coming today, he also talked about his family affairs with half-complaints, which could be considered as bringing Xia De closer:

"Before this funeral, we hadn't been in contact with that woman for more than ten years. Father and Mother always thought that she killed my brother. Even though her younger brother had died of illness, our family had always been unwilling to forgive her."

But in Xia De's view, whether it was the man who had an affair or the woman who killed after drinking, both were at fault. Fortunately, this was someone else's family affair and had nothing to do with him, so he didn't have to worry about judging it.

"This might also be a kind of balance. I only need to watch, not to think."

This thought popped into Xia De's head.

Agreeing with Mr. John Watson's words, the two exchanged business cards. Only then did Xia De know that this descendant of a noble who did not inherit the title, in addition to his own industry, actually held a position in the tax department of the City Hall.

Because he still had to wait to get the reward, Xia De had sufficient reason to stay and wait. It's just that the rain became heavier and heavier, making Xia De worry about how he should go back. Then he thought about whether the windows at home were closed, and whether the cat at home would be frightened by the rain.

Summer is the rainy season in Tobesk, and this kind of sudden heavy rain is actually very common.

The smell of dampness and the smell of soil mixed together, drifting in from outside the church with the wind, but also dispelled the heat of midsummer.

Seeing that the conversation on Mrs. Watson's side had not ended, Xia De stood up from the bench, came to the church door, and watched the rainwater falling under the eaves, blocking the church door like a curtain. This heavy rain could at least make Tobesk cool for a while. The first summer the outsider spent in this world seemed to be no different from the summer in his hometown.

By the time almost everyone had left, Mrs. Watson finished talking with the gravedigger. She sat on the long bench in the front row of the church and talked to Xia De.

"I'm really sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. Just now we talked about things after death, and I accidentally talked to the gravedigger here for a few more words."

The old woman smiled embarrassedly, her voice still so slow, and the wrinkles on her face piled up when she smiled.

She signaled the servant on the side to hand the reward to Xia De, and Xia De thanked her while taking it. The 20 pounds in cash were put directly into his pocket, while the Luo De card with special rules was played with in his hand:

【Kasenrik Southern Folklore · Moon Dance Festival】, Suit: Sun 4.

When drawing this card, if you hold a card of the Moon suit, and the sum of the points does not exceed 7, then if you bust in this round, the total points are adjusted to 1.

Except for 【Founding · Silver Moon】, among all the special Luo De cards Xia De has seen, the function of this card can be considered very useful. When holding this card, you can boldly gamble on luck with your opponent, and in gambling games where busting doubles the points, it can also make you lose less.

Xia De had heard of the 【Kasenrik Southern Folklore】 series of cards from Baron Lavende. This series of Luo De cards was issued more than fifty years ago, and the price of a single special card would absolutely not be lower than 70 pounds.

"You are really too generous."

Xia De put away the playing cards and expressed his gratitude to the client; the reward far exceeded his efforts.

"My husband also liked Luo De cards during his lifetime. This was his former collection. It didn't cost many gold pounds when it was bought at the beginning. Rather than waiting for me to die and be taken away by those who divide the inheritance, it is better to give it to a young man like you."

Mrs. Watson said, her turbid eyes seeming to recall the days of the past.

And the two ghosts beside Xia De discussed the topic of Luo De cards again, so Mr. Watson, whose image was not very good in Xia De's heart, added another label of "liking gambling."

After putting away the playing cards, Xia De pretended to be unintentional and then said:

"Speaking of which, just now that Mr. John Watson, who is Mr. Watson's younger brother, said a few words to me."

"What did he say?"

The old woman asked vigilantly, Xia De looked at the servants and bodyguards standing nearby, so Mrs. Watson let them go to prepare umbrellas and the carriage to go back first.

There were still some other people in the church, such as two young priests cleaning, and a priest watching the rain at the church door. But these people were far away, so Xia De could speak with peace of mind:

"He just said... sorry, I shouldn't say this kind of thing, but the Watson family seems to think that the death of Mr. Watson back then..."

He shook his head:

"I don't mean anything else, just since we talked about this matter, I will tell you. They seem to think that it was you and Mr. Mason who conspired to murder Mr. Watson."

The old woman sat there expressionless:

"For so many years, they have always thought so; perhaps this resentment will disappear only after I enter the grave."

Xia De glanced at the two ghosts standing on the side listening carefully:

"Mr. John Watson mentioned to me that after the incident back then, in addition to putting pressure on Ridgewich Field, the Earl of Watson also hired a private detective to investigate."

"But they obviously didn't find anything."

"Yes, but..."

While Xia De praised his acting skills in his heart, he looked around twice, and then lowered his voice and said:

"But I just heard from John Watson that he intends to hire a detective again to investigate what you discovered behind the wall in the basement. He seems to think that there is some key evidence behind the wall that you hid."

"Lord Hamilton, he wants to hire you?"

The old woman asked, using honorifics.

Xia De nodded with a serious expression:

"He didn't ask for my opinion directly, he just had such a willingness. He thinks that I can easily gain your trust, so I am more suitable for this job than other detectives. But I won't do this kind of thing; my current business scope only includes finding people, finding pets, marriage investigation, playing cards and sending letters, transporting goods, purchasing in Coldwater Port... You are my current client, I cannot harm your interests, so..."

He lowered his voice even more:

"If there is really any evidence, please be sure to hide it well."

"Lord Hamilton, I thought you would ask me directly whether there is any so-called evidence."

Mrs. Watson's voice raised a bit.

Xia De shook his head:

"I didn't take the commission from over there and then come to lie to you that I didn't take it, so as to defraud you of so-called evidence. In the end, this matter has nothing to do with me, not to mention that thirty years have passed, you are almost 70 years old this year, even if there is really a so-called truth, what can it do?"

This is the truth; Xia De just wanted to satisfy his curiosity and never thought about sending anyone to prison. Thirty years have passed, two of the three parties involved have died, not to mention that the deceased himself was wrong to have an affair during marriage. If Xia De had encountered this matter thirty years ago when the case occurred, he would probably have reported the so-called truth. But now, these have no meaning.

"Yes, with the truth, what can it do?."

Mrs. Watson said, and then sighed a long sigh.

Xia De waited patiently until the old woman spoke again:

"Just now when I went to the underground tomb, I also went to visit my younger brother. In a blink of an eye, so many years have passed, it really has been so many years."

The ghost Mr. Mason looked at his sister with sad eyes.