Chapter 242 Who do you look down on?

Railway parts and components workshop.

The young apprentice followed his master with trepidation. He was short and trembled as he huddled behind his master.

“The day before yesterday, our police came to inquire whether Liang Guijin left work on time. Xiao Chen, a worker in your workshop, confirmed that Liang Guijin left work on time at 5 p.m. and even showed my colleague the get off work sign-out sheet.”

Early in the morning, Chen Zhenzhu blocked the entrance to Liang Guijin's workshop, smiling and stating unequivocally, "After handwriting analysis, the handwriting of 'Liang Guijin' on the work sign-in sheet differs from Liang Guijin's own signature. Someone forged it. Who is it? Xiao Chen, could you please come out here?"

"How could such a thing happen?" The workshop director, a middle-aged woman wearing glasses, was a specially appointed mechanical expert. She glanced back and saw Xiao Chen being pulled out by his foreman and slapped.

Xiao Chen covered his cheek and said tremblingly, "I owe Liang Guijin money. We were both on duty that day. He said he had something to do, so I... I signed it for him."

This kind of thing happens often in the workshop, and it's usually the experienced workers involved. But when faced with the investigation, Xiao Chen's foreman berated him, saying, "For a little bit of dirty money, you've lost all sense of shame? Can you handle such a serious matter?"

The workshop foreman said, "Master Huang, don't make a fuss. I'll handle this. The most important thing right now is to get the police to solve the case."

Lu Ye and Zhao Qiqi accompanied Shen Zhenzhu. The two burly men stood guard beside Shen Zhenzhu, looking fierce and menacing, as if they wanted to raze the parts workshop to the ground.

Zhao Qiqi said with a fierce look, "Because you weren't honest, you made us go through a lot of trouble to solve the case. If innocent people get shot because of this, can you afford to take the responsibility?"

"On behalf of the Second Railway Parts Workshop, I apologize to everyone. I am deeply sorry and really sorry." The workshop director knew he couldn't afford to offend anyone and was also aware of the law. He told Xiao Chen, "Tell the truth and don't make the same mistake again."

"I...I understand." Xiao Chen walked shakily to the police car and was taken to the Criminal Investigation Brigade.

"You are suspected of perjury, which is affecting the investigation, do you know that? Tell us the truth," Shen Zhenzhu said sternly.

Sitting in the chair, Xiao Chen looked uneasy and honestly confessed, "Master Liang said his heart was hurting the day before. We were supposed to go play cards, but he suddenly said he wasn't going. He came to my dormitory early this morning and said he had something urgent to do and asked me to help him, so I agreed..."

"That means his alibi is invalid," Chen Zhenzhu said. "What exactly did he say?"

"Please don't arrest me and put me in jail..." Xiao Chen didn't know which sentence was important, and rambled on, "Everyone knows that Master Liang married a beautiful wife. Sigh, he's also suffering. People often joke with him that his wife is cheating on him. I think he's a bit paranoid. I thought he was using this as an excuse to go back and catch his wife cheating, so I agreed to help him sign the papers and even whispered about it to others."

Shen Zhenzhu asked, "What else did he say to you?"

Xiao Chen said, "I didn't say anything else. I left around nine o'clock, but... but around noon, I saw someone dart past the transfer machine at the north entrance of the workshop, carrying something and running away. Judging from the back, it should be him. But I didn't dare to say anything, he's a senior worker, so I could only pretend I didn't know. I didn't mean to lie to you, but if I want to get by in the factory, I have to play dumb."

Shen Zhenzhu asked, "How does he behave when others joke with him?"

Xiao Chen said, "He didn't have much of an expression, but you could tell he wasn't happy. He wouldn't say anything to your face, but he would do something behind your back."

Shen Zhenzhu asked, "Do you know anything else about his family?"

Xiao Chen said, "He's withdrawn, stingy, and holds grudges. His relationships with colleagues are just so-so. But even though he doesn't say it himself... I've heard rumors in the workshop that someone has their eye on his wife and wants to get back at him. Oh, and it seems he got into a fight with someone before."

......

Xiao Chen didn't know much, so Shen Zhenzhu asked Zhao Qiqi to continue asking questions while she left the interrogation room.

Back in her office, Chen Zhenzhu opened Liang Guijin's personal file.

Judging from his profile, he's an ordinary man. Nothing particularly outstanding, nor anything particularly despicable.

The only thing that went too far was getting into a fight with Hu Yuanchao, which landed him in detention and almost cost him his job.

Hu Yuanchao's jaw was fractured, and he was attacked on his right forehead; both men had injuries on their faces.

Shen Zhenzhu flipped through the fight records and found that the two had been detained for ten days because of minor injuries.

Turning to the last page, there were two lines of extremely small text:

"Liang Guijin suffered from a persistent cough for two weeks and demanded medical expenses from Hu Yuanchao. Hu Yuanchao checked the medical records and confirmed that Liang Guijin's lung injury was caused by old lesions of pneumonia. The dispute was therefore ruled against, and no compensation was awarded."

Xiao Bai called from the hospital: "The expert consultation results are in, and we need to perform surgery as soon as possible, but Liang Guijin is not cooperating with the surgery!"

Shen Zhenzhu said, "Take him for a lung examination immediately."

"Understood." Xiaobai hung up the phone at the hospital and went into the ward.

Lu Ye had already arrived at the hospital and pressed Liang Guijin down, saying, "If you want to live longer, don't cause trouble!"

Seeing Xiaobai and the medical staff come in, Liang Guijin danced around and said, "I don't want to see anymore, I might as well die!"

An elderly woman seeing a doctor in the corridor couldn't help but say, "What's wrong with this person?'"

Xiao Bai said, "You can't die now, please cooperate."

Liang Guijin said, "I've investigated everything I needed to. I'm not going to investigate anymore. Since my wife bought me insurance, I might as well just die. I'm not getting treatment for my head, absolutely not!"

"How can you be so sure it was your wife who bought it?" Xiaobai said, "You can skip treating your head, but you must get your lungs checked now."

Liang Guijin's pale face froze. He forced back the blood he was about to vomit, his expression horribly ugly: "You guys want to torture me to death!"

The attending physician, his face ashen, earnestly advised, "Patient, the expert consultation has already prepared you for craniotomy. Don't delay any longer. The longer you delay, the slimmer your chances become."

Liang Guijin gripped the railing tightly, sneering, "I said I want to die, and I will not cooperate with any surgery or examination."

He pulled an apple from under his pillow; Liang Congjun had brought it over a few days ago. Liang Guijin, determined to die, took a bite of the apple and swallowed it despite everyone's attempts to stop him.

Lu Ye returned with the blood report. Seeing that no one had stopped him, he grabbed Liang Guijin's chin and saw apple crumbs. He gritted his teeth in anger: "Do you really want to die?"

Liang Guijin said resolutely, "Yes, only when I die will my wife remember me forever!"

When Liang Congjun was called over by the police to persuade Liang Guijin to cooperate with the treatment, his blood ties were stirred, and he said with tears in his eyes, "Brother, how could you be so foolish! You ate an apple, how can you have surgery? If you die, Wang Jiali will become a widow. Do you really want her to bring bad luck to her husband?!"

A look of pleasure flashed in Liang Guijin's eyes. With his hands and feet bound, he shook his head and said, "She will always be mine."

When Shen Zhenzhu arrived, the experts waiting at the door of Liang Guijin's ward had already lost patience. The head nurse advised, "Directors, you have other patients. He has eaten, so it seems that he cannot have surgery today."

Several experts looked grim. One of the elderly men angrily said, "When every second counts, you treat your own life like a joke! I'm leaving; there are other surgeries to perform!" The other experts followed him as he left.

"You've come." Liang Guijin leaned against the headboard, coughed a few times, and spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm. He raised his chin with a death-defying air, looking down at people through his nostrils.

"Are you still going to deny it now?" Shen Zhenzhu waved her hand, and the irrelevant people who had crowded into the ward were asked to leave.

Liang Congjun used his ultimate move, crying, "I want to accompany him on his final journey. I have no parents, only my younger brother."

Liang Congjun's wailing was so loud that he was eventually carried to the door by two agents.

Liang Guijin closed her eyes and whispered, "Sister, don't bully your sister-in-law anymore. She can get the insurance money. Even if it's not for my sake, you should still be polite to her for the money."

Liang Congjun was furious. In the process of dragging her, his elbow hit the door frame without him even feeling the pain. He roared, "Why do you have the right to live with a widow? She's your wife, but I'm not! You can't die! I... I don't want your house anymore! Just don't die!"

Liang Guijin opened her eyes, her gaze devoid of any sparkle. Looking at Chen Zhenzhu beside her, Liang Guijin said to Liang Congjun, "It's too late, it's all too late. I'm not going to live, I'm going to hell."

As the door closed, Liang Congjun's hysterical voice faded into the distance.

Chen Zhenzhu leaned against the wall and asked bluntly, "When did you start planning this?"

Liang Guijin smiled hopelessly, seemingly a little sleepy. He closed his eyes and opened them after a few seconds: "I don't understand what you're saying."

Shen Zhenzhu said, "Now that things have come to this, there's no need to hide it anymore."

Liang Guijin said, "I'm beyond saving."

Shen Zhenzhu said, "You're truly hopeless. You're hoping to frame your own wife so that your rival can take the blame for her and achieve your goal. How ruthless you are, does Wang Jiali know?"

Liang Guijin stared intently at Chen Zhenzhu, his right eyelid twitching uncontrollably. He curled his lips into a smile and repeated, "I don't understand."

Shen Zhenzhu said, "When you plotted to kill your mother in front of you, did you feel the warmth of her brains with your fingers? In her last moments, she was still thinking of pushing you away, wasn't she? And you? You were calculating whether she could die completely. Who were you trying to fool by putting on this act of wanting to stop her but holding back?"

Despite the approaching midsummer, Liang Guijin felt a chill.

The sky outside the window changed from gray to azure, with not a cloud in sight.

But his heart leaped into his throat. All his pain vanished like the receding tide before Shen Zhenzhu, leaving only the ugly aftertaste of the exposed lie.

Liang Jingui sneezed, and an uncontrollable pain attacked him from his head and throat.

He said stiffly, "How could I have killed my mother!"

Shen Zhenzhu took a step forward, her gaze piercing through Liang Guijin's last pretense. In a calm tone, she stated the truth: "You not only killed your mother, but you also framed your wife, trying to make her bear the blame and be cursed by others. And you could have killed your mother, who couldn't tolerate your wife, eliminated Hu Yuanchao, the scapegoat, and made your wife bear the reputation of being a 'husband-killer,' dutifully fulfilling her duties as a widow, and never leaving you."

"Stop talking! Ha...ha...ha..."

Shen Zhenzhu's words caused Liang Guijin to cough violently, his throat making a wheezing, labored breathing sound like a bellows.

Xiao Bai and Lu Ye, who were guarding the door, knew they were about to succeed and didn't dare to interrupt. A doctor came over in the hallway to ask questions, but the police officer blocked him.

The atmosphere was incredibly tense, with a back-and-forth battle of wits between the two.

Liang Guijin coughed up a mouthful of blood, which dripped to his lips. After having two minutes to recover, he faced Shen Zhenzhu and said, "If you were confident, you would have arrested me directly. Why did you come to interrogate me now? If I die today, your career will be over too."

Shen Zhenzhu smiled and said, "But I am still alive. Compared to someone who deliberately left behind physical evidence to frame his wife, I, who have found out the truth, am always more noble than you."

Liang Guijin's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he said with difficulty and anger, "I...I'm a pitiful victim! If I don't admit that I put the golden gourd there, what evidence do you have to pin the crime on me?!"

Shen Zhenzhu laughed heartily, walked to the door, and gave Xiaobai and Lu Ye a high-five.

The last vestiges of color drained from Liang Guijin's face, and he said, bewildered, "What's wrong? What ridiculous thing did I say?!"

Shen Zhenzhu walked to his bedside and slowly bent down: "Who told you that what fell down was a golden gourd?"

!!

"What did you say?!"

Shen Zhenzhu thoughtfully repeated, "The fact that you found the golden gourd has been kept a secret. How did you know? You put it there, didn't you?"

In an instant, Liang Guijin's teeth made a clanging sound.

"Ha...ah...uh ah—" His short, uncontrollable breaths grew faster and faster until he finally vomited a mouthful of blood with a "whoosh"!

The attending physician outside the door was let in and saw that Liang Guijin, within ten minutes of Shen Zhenzhu entering the ward, seemed to have had his soul ripped out; his numb body lingered on, looking worse than dead.

"Ah—!!!" Liang Guijin seemed to be possessed by a ghost, letting out a piercing howl: "It's me, so what if it's me!!"

Shen Zhenzhu looked at him indifferently, then turned to Xiaobai and asked, "Did you record it?"

Xiao Bai nodded: "Absolutely foolproof."

Lu Ye said sarcastically, "I've seen stupid people, but I've never seen anyone this stupid."

These words further enraged Liang Guijin. He refused to be examined by the doctor, knocked the doctor to the ground, and shouted wildly, "You all look down on me! So what if I killed her? I have terminal lung cancer, terminal lung cancer! What's wrong with me killing an old hag? She was always trying to make Wang Jiali leave me, she's the real jinx!"

Liang Guijin confessed to murdering his mother!

Shen Zhenzhu quickened her pace, giving him no chance to soften her tone, and said swiftly, "You love Wang Jiali so much, yet you want to kill her!"

Liang Guijin shouted hoarsely, "I didn't want to kill her! I never wanted her to die! I couldn't bear it, I couldn't bear it!"

Shen Zhenzhu sneered, "Wang Jiali said it herself, the signboard fell right in front of her!"

Liang Guijin, enraged and embarrassed, said, "It was my calculation that went wrong. I didn't expect such a strong wind. The signboard actually fell right in front of her... But she's a 'lucky angel,' I can't kill her... Haha... God let her pick up a lucky charm, so she can keep living. She's an angel, she's a real angel!"

Shen Zhenzhu said, "Her good luck is not an excuse for you to repeatedly harm her!"

Liang Guijin had no strength left. He was dizzy with a headache, and he pressed the back of his head against the wall, muttering, "I'm going to die anyway. Lung cancer. After all these years, I've started coughing up blood. People say that coughing up blood means I'm not going to get better, that it's late stage."

Shen Zhenzhu said, "This is not a reason for you to kill someone."

"How could it not be?!" Liang Guijin laughed maniacally, as if possessed. "She's gentle and frugal, unlike other women who crave gold and silver. She's devoted to me. But there are too many temptations outside. I don't want her to be promiscuous. If I die because of her, no one will dare to marry her. The 'lucky angel' will become a 'husband-killing angel,' hahaha... she can live a peaceful widowhood with enough money to live out the rest of her life."

"Did you purchase the insurance yourself?"

"Who else could it be?"

"Are you so sure Hu Yuanchao will take the blame for Wang Jiali?"

“We’ve been fighting for over ten years. I know him better than he knows himself.” Liang Guijin’s lips were pale, and he felt a little cold. He shivered and said, “If I just give him some things my wife used, he’d be willing to be a dog. He’s so lowly, yet he dares to look down on me. I’ll just let him die.”

Do you think you're Zhuge Liang, capable of divine calculations?

"No, I didn't calculate God's will. My wife almost died. I was really scared at the time, and I'm still scared when I think about it now." Liang Guijin said with a mournful face and deep affection, "Look, I'm about to die, and I'm still worried about her."

Shen Zhenzhu said, "Your love has become distorted. You could say that your love is not love at all, but a vain possession. You look down on Hu Yuanchao, but Hu Yuanchao saved Wang Jiali twice. What about you? You keep saying you love her, yet you push her into the fire pit time and time again."

Liang Guijin said, "I know I was wrong, but what man wouldn't want to have her?"

Shen Zhenzhu said, "I think after she found out the truth, she didn't want to have you anymore."

Thinking about his brain hemorrhage and lung cancer, Liang Guijin could almost see his life counting down.

He grew weaker and weaker, his eyes barely able to open: "You found her too early, she's so lucky. I was shot, the hole in my head hurts so much. Can I see her one more time? I don't need you to take me to surgery, I can confess, and you don't need to waste bullets, I'll die in a few days from late-stage lung cancer. Remember to leave the money in my savings account, and everything else, to my wife. Tell her I love her."

Shen Zhenzhu asked, "Since you've already confessed, where did you hide the tool for sawing the iron frame? Did you steal it from the workshop?"

Liang Guijin said, "How is it stealing? I just borrowed...borrowed. Who doesn't borrow things from the workshop? Where did you hide them? Let me think...my head is about to explode."

The attending physician slowly raised his hand and said, "Excuse me, could you let me out?"

Seeing that Liang Guijin's condition had eased, Shen Zhenzhu opened the door and said, "Thank you for your help."

As we reached the door, the attending physician hesitated before saying, "He had a full-body CT scan when he was admitted, but it hasn't been sent over yet. I'll go take a look."

"Hmm?" A surprised question flashed through Shen Zhenzhu's mind, and an idea popped into her head.

The attending physician rubbed his injured ribs and hurriedly walked out.

Unaware of the subtle change that had suddenly appeared in the air, Liang Guijin said presumptuously, "Oh right, I hid the hacksaw—do you really want to know?"

With a forced smile, Shen Zhenzhu said, "It's only a matter of time before we start searching your life."

“You’re really pathetic. You were hiding in the water tank on the top floor.” Liang Guijin said with a sigh of relief, then added with emotion, “My life has been quite eventful, saving the country money on bullets. I hope that when I get down here and see my mother, she will forgive me.”

Lu Ye slipped out of the ward to find the tools for the crime.

Shen Zhenzhu was still leaning against the wall, listening to Liang Guijin lament about life: "If you keep doing this, it will be difficult for everyone around you."

Liang Guijin tilted her head: "Help me untie it, I want to have a drink of water."

Shen Zhenzhu shook her head: "Speak first, then drink. Anyway, you won't die of thirst."

Liang Guijin leaned the back of his head against the wall again, using the force to say leisurely, "When I was little, my mom took me to a fortune teller. The blind fortune teller said I would fall for a woman sooner or later, and my mom believed it. She kept bringing it up when I grew up, and I found it funny. But now that I'm here, what that blind fortune teller said wasn't entirely unreasonable."

Shen Zhenzhu said, "Isn't this your own fault?"

Liang Guijin spoke the truth: "It's not that I brought this on myself, everyone has their own destiny. My wife and I have fixed luck; she's lucky, and I'm naturally less lucky."

"So you still genuinely believe she's a jinx to husbands."

"No, it's not quite the same. I feel that God has been unfair to me. I scrimped and saved to marry a beautiful, obedient, and sensible wife, but she passed away before we could even have a son or daughter. Sigh."

"You always talk about how beautiful and sensible she is. In your heart, she is an excellent daughter-in-law and a virtuous woman. When will you take a closer look at Wang Jiali as a person?"

"How could I not have looked closely? Otherwise, why would I have taken a liking to her?"

“You’re the one who abducted her,” Shen Zhenzhu said. “You swindled Hu Yuanchao out of his money.”

"Hu Yuanchao actually told you about this too?" Liang Guijin coughed twice, looking listless, and said with drooping eyelids, "It's alright, I gave her my life."

Shen Zhenzhu laughed, "A wondrous creature."

Twenty minutes later, Lu Ye called from the scene: "Sister Pearl, we found the murder weapon. It's an iron saw with Liang Guijin's fingerprints on it, as well as a notebook with the crime plan and calculation diagrams."

After hanging up the phone, Shen Zhenzhu looked at Liang Guijin: "You've made quite a few preparations to harm your own wife."

Liang Guijin said, "I told her long beforehand that the soda at that store was cheap, otherwise she wouldn't have made the appointment there. Ah, what a wonderful woman."

Shen Zhenzhu said, "It's a pity that it fell into your hands."

With his eyes closed and enduring a severe headache, Liang Guijin said, "The heavens didn't cooperate, and all my efforts were in vain. But I don't regret it at all. Since I'm going to die anyway, I'd rather die a glorious death than a miserable one."

After resting for a long time, Liang Congjun recovered from his exhaustion and knocked on the door again, crying and shouting, "My brother, why are you so unlucky? How did you get a terminal illness?"

Liang Guijin frowned impatiently when a nurse knocked on the door: "Excuse me, it's time to change the dressing."

Shen Zhenzhu opened the door, and Liang Guijin said with a happy expression, "I'm not changing it. I'll be dying soon."

The nurse glanced at Chen Zhenzhu, unsure of what to do.

Just then, accompanied by Liang Congjun's wailing in the corridor, the attending physician appeared at the ward door.

"Captain Chen, the CT scan of Liang Guijin's lungs shows that although there are lesions in his lungs, they have not worsened and there are no tumors. In other words, there is absolutely no way he could have lung cancer!"

Shen Zhenzhu asked, "Are you sure?"

The attending physician exclaimed angrily, "I swear on my life!"

The attending physician knew the radiology department's rules: CT scans with no problems weren't rushed and were kept on the windowsill. Problematic scans, however, were reported to the patient well in advance. But in cases like Liang Guijin's, where there was a malignant tumor in the lungs, there was absolutely no time to lose; they would contact the doctor immediately for further testing. He hadn't seen any notification from the radiology department, so he went to check, and sure enough, there was nothing wrong.

Shen Zhenzhu smiled and turned to Liang Guijin, saying, "Did you hear that? You don't have lung cancer at all."

"Nonsense!" Liang Guijin suddenly sat up, coughed twice, and spat out a mouthful of blood: "Look, I'm spitting blood!"

The attending physician had been driven crazy by him these past few days. He stepped forward, pried open Liang Guijin's mouth without a second thought, shone a flashlight on it, and said, "The previous examination was correct. You suffered respiratory and throat damage from inhaling too much dust in the workshop. Stop working, rest, and get treatment, and you will recover!"

Liang Guijin's face suddenly turned ashen, his pupils contracted rapidly, and he stammered, "Impossible! I...I have lung cancer, late-stage lung cancer! You must have made a mistake, you quack!! I clearly heard that vomiting blood means lung cancer..."

"Lung cancer? What kind of lung cancer are you?!" The attending physician shouted angrily, "Do you think you can diagnose a disease just by asking around? You idiot, who do you think you are?!"

-----------------------

Author's note: There should be some clever little ones who have guessed the truth.

See you tomorrow, there's a red envelope coming up!

***

P.S.: Countdown to the end! The rest will be psychological analysis and slice-of-life content. It will conclude the day after tomorrow (January 2nd). [Keep it up!]

There are bonus episodes.

Don't worry, my darlings, please! [Please!]