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The locals watched as three travel-worn strangers walked into the restaurant. One could almost hear the hum of curiousity beneath the lively chatter in the establishment. The town was not very big, and the locals were familiar with each other. They watched as two of them set their belongings down, before the one with a bright, open face called out for the waiter.
The locals started to lose interest and return to their respective conversations when the strangers merely ordered light refreshments.
Several minutes later, the waiter delivered their order to the table. Ears perked up anew and the conversational din died down as they overheard one of the strangers politely ask if any houses in town were up for rent.
“Are you looking to settle down in this town?”, the chatty waiter asked as he refills their pot of tea with the kettle in his hand.
The man with a simple and honest face replied, “Ah, yes. 草民李榴莲 Li Liulian. I am a travelling doctor. This is my son, Li Caomei 李草莓.” He waves a hand at the younger man who had called for the waiter earlier.
The younger man chokes on the sip of tea he had just taken.
Li Liulian then indicates at the third person in their party. “This is my wife, 笛氏 Di-shi.”
The waiter drops the kettle of tea he was holding. “Ah?” He scrambled to pick up the thankfully empty kettle, and steals a glance at Di-shi.
The locals nearby quickly glanced at Di-shi through their peripheral vision as well. Di-shi, whose face bore no femininity whatsoever, remained expressionless.
The waiter apologised profusely for his faux pas. Li Liulian smiled amicably and explained, “My wife has had to travel in male guise as we were afraid of being harassed by ruffians. As you can see, her beauty is hard to conceal.”
‘Who would dare harass a 6-foot tall brick wall?' The locals thought in disbelief.
The waiter heard a gasp coming from his elbow. He looked down and saw Li Caomei visibly controlling his emotions, a tear sliding down his cheek.
The locals’ gazes flicked between Li Caomei and the… madam of the family. They could not see any resemblance between the two. Realising that they were now the object of stares and the locals were about to fall out of their seats trying to get a better view, Li Caomei cried out vehemently, “That’s not my mother!”
Li Liulian sighed. “Please excuse our family drama unfolding in front of you. His mother passed away when he was young. Fortunately, Di-shi was willing to marry me and bear the burden of raising this bear child. Regretfully, my son has refused to acknowledge Di-shi as his stepmother.”
Hearing this, the locals settled back into their seats. That explained it.
The waiter nodded weakly. “There may be a house for rent in the southeast corner of town.”
Li Liulian smiled gratefully. “多谢了.”
The waiter walked away from the table, and the family of three dug into their refreshments quietly. The previous lively hum resumed as the locals realised no more gossip would be forthcoming.
—-
“Why do I have to be your son!” Fang Duobing, now Li Caomei, yelled out.
The trio had settled down for the night in a rented house in the far edges of town.
Li Lianhua calmly looked at him. “Well, who was the one who said he would take my surname if I could raise the dead?”
“You didn’t raise the dead! He wasn’t dead! You said it yourself!”
“But you didn’t know that at that time, did you?”
“And why does a-Fei have to be your wife!”
Di Feisheng shot a sardonic glance at Fang Duobing. “Pipe down, pipsqueak. It’s not your place to complain about it when I haven’t.”
Fang Duobing heaved as he tried to keep his tantrum in check. “Why didn’t we discuss the plan in advance!”
Li Lianhua said mildly, “We are here to investigate the case of the Stepmother Slaughterer. We have to play it by ear and it so happened that the restaurant provided a good opportunity to lure the murderer out. How else would we get more information otherwise? And I thought you’d played along admirably earlier. Between the three of us, you’re the youngest looking, so you couldn’t have been the man of the house. It's more likely for me to be the father.”
“Yes, if you fathered me when you were 10!”
Li Lianhua continued as if he didn’t hear Fang Duobing, “And I am still recovering from the Bicha poison. What if the murderer overpowers me in my sleep? So that moment of inspiration struck and I thought it’d be best if a-Fei is your stepmother.”
“I don’t have such an ugly stepmother!”
“That’s the spirit!”
End.