She had thought that her kind and gentle grandmother was actually a hypocrite. The ruthlessness that flashed between her brows and the kindness in her eyes made her seem even more fake.

Lu Qing abruptly pushed away Qiao Lanru's hand and took two steps back.

Qiao Lanru hurriedly asked, "Eldest granddaughter, what's wrong?"

Lu Qing forced a smile and said:

"It's okay! It's a bit cold, I'll go back now!"

Lu Qing was about to leave when Qiao Lanru stopped him:

"Granddaughter, look, today's incident was just a misunderstanding. There's nothing between Old Li and me. Don't tell your grandfather, so he won't worry!"

Lu Qing nodded: "I understand, I won't tell."

Qiao Lanru only let her leave after she agreed.

Lu Qing pulled Gu Xicheng away quickly, but after they had gone some distance, Lu Qing couldn't help but feel nauseous.

Qiao Lanru's hypocrisy disgusted her.

"Qingqing, what's wrong?" Gu Xicheng asked worriedly.

Lu Qing shook her head slightly: "It's nothing, I just saw her true colors and felt a little disgusted!"

"Is there something wrong with that old lady?" Gu Xicheng asked.

Lu Qing lowered his eyes slightly and frowned as he said:

"Yes! She has a problem, a very big problem. No wonder Helian Shi said that she brought it on herself that day!"

"Do you want to manage it?" Gu Xicheng asked.

Lu Qing pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "Not for now, let me think of a way."

Uncovering Qiao Lanru's true colors isn't difficult; the difficulty lies in Lu Qing's reluctance to hurt her grandfather.

Grandpa, mindful of their kinship, always took care of Qiao Lanru. Telling him the truth about Qiao Lanru would only make him sad.

Lu Qing wanted to find the most tactful way to resolve this matter, but before she could come up with a suitable solution, trouble struck.

Early that morning, Li Shiwan was found floating in the river, but he was already dead when people pulled him out.

When the villagers heard about this, they all rushed to see what was going on.

Before the police arrived, Qiao Lanru wailed over Li Shiwan's corpse:

"Old Li! How did you end up falling into the river like that?!"

"You're gone, how am I supposed to get by on my own!"

When Lu Qing and his family heard about what happened, they all went over.

Grandpa Chu and Grandma Chu stepped forward to comfort Qiao Lanru, while Lu Qing stood in the crowd, watching Qiao Lanru wail and cry with a cold expression.

Others could only see Qiao Lanru's sadness, but Lu Qing clearly saw the corners of her mouth that she couldn't help but smile.

Li Shiwan is dead, she's so happy!

That's true! Now that he's dead, no one will ever know the truth about that matter again!

Moreover, from now on, she will no longer be threatened by him or forced to be his slave!

Police quickly arrived at the scene to collect evidence, and Qiao Lanru was taken away to give a statement.

Lu Qing stood at a distance listening. Qiao Lanru said that Li Shiwan went out drinking with people last night and didn't come back until very late.

She went out to look for him again that night, but couldn't find him. She called him but no one answered. She figured he might be drunk and had fallen asleep at someone else's house.

This morning, it was the person who discovered Li Shiwan's body who came to tell her that Li Shiwan had gotten drunk, fallen into the river, and drowned.

There was nothing unusual about her statement, and the police released her after questioning her.

Qiao Lanru turned around and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Then she looked up and saw Lu Qing staring straight at her.

His sharp gaze was like a knife, peeling away her disguise layer by layer.

Qiao Lanru immediately avoided Lu Qing's gaze, turned around, and walked unsteadily home.

Lu Qing found the police officer who had just taken her statement and said:

"Officer, I have a lead to provide!"

The police officer immediately stopped in his tracks: "Young lady, do you have any leads?"

“Yesterday afternoon, I saw Li Shiwan and Qiao Lanru having a big argument. Li Shiwan was holding a knife and looked very fierce. They seemed to be arguing about something, and Qiao Lanru kept saying that the thing couldn’t be sold.”

Old Master Chu overheard what Lu Qing said, and after the police left, he quickly asked her:

"Qingqing, is what you just said true?"

Lu Qing nodded: "Gu Xicheng saw it too, and Grandma told me not to tell you."

Lu Qing kept his promise and did not tell the old man. It was just that the old man overheard him telling the police.

After pondering for a moment, Old Master Chu frowned and said:

"Qingqing, you're telling the police that you suspect your great-grandmother harmed Li Shiwan, aren't you?!"

Lu Qing: "You said it, not me!"

Old Master Chu thought about it and still felt it was impossible:

“Your great-grandmother was always a mild-mannered person when she was young. After marrying Li Shiwan, she worked hard every day without complaint. Even though he bullied her so much, she never said a bad word about him in front of outsiders. How could she have killed Li Shiwan!”

Lu Qing smiled slightly: "Grandpa, this is the Qiao Lanru you remember, but the real Qiao Lanru may not be like you imagine!"

Upon hearing this, Old Master Chu's heart skipped a beat.

This was a warning shot Lu Qing gave him; Qiao Lanru's true colors would be revealed layer by layer.

Chu Qianjin deduced from the state of Li Shiwan's body that he had been in a dispute with someone before his death, and that it was probably not an accident but a murder. Therefore, the case was transferred to the criminal investigation team.

Because it was Chinese New Year, the team's forensic doctors were still on holiday and couldn't come back in time, so Chu Qianjin submitted a report and accepted the autopsy assignment.

Lu Qing took the identification card given to him by Li Hui, which belonged to the Investigation Bureau consultant, and they could then conduct the investigation together.

Through the autopsy, Chu Qianjin reconstructed what happened before Li Shiwan's death.

He did drink too much that night, but according to the statements of those who drank with him and the alcohol concentration in his blood, he did not drink enough to make him so drunk that he fell into the river.

Moreover, the road Li Shiwan usually takes home doesn't pass by the river; if he wants to go to the river, he has to take a long detour.

There must have been something or someone who led him to that road.

In addition, strangulation marks were found on Li Shiwan's neck; although not obvious, they were real.

Chu Qianjin speculated that someone had once choked him, but he had managed to break free.

Because he had been drinking, his balance was impaired. While trying to escape, he accidentally stepped on a stone, twisted his ankle, and fell into the river.

Once the autopsy report is released, the case can basically be classified as either murder or accidental killing.

The most suspicious of them all is Qiao Lanru.

Because there were scratch marks on her hands when she gave her statement during the day.

"Alright! Now we can ask that old lady Qiao to come back for questioning!"

The police officers in the criminal investigation team were all mobilized, but Lu Qing did not leave; instead, he stayed in the autopsy room.

"Third Brother, could you guard the door for me? I want to extract Li Shiwan's memories from before his death," Lu Qing said.

Chu Qianjin was somewhat surprised: "You can extract the memories of the dead?"

Lu Qing smiled and took out a five-finger interlocking ring from his pocket:

"I can't do it, but this thing can. I have to thank Helian for giving me such a wonderful treasure!"

There were quite a few good things among the pile of odds and ends that Helian Shi gave her, and now they came in handy.

Chu Qianjin nodded slightly, turned off the camera, and then went to watch the door for Lu Qing.

Lu Qing activated the Soul-Guiding Ring, but before Li Shiwan's memories from before his death could be extracted, something else was sucked out of his head.