“I’m not strong and I’m so much older than him, how could I be as strong as him? I tried my best and only managed to hurt him a little.”
"After he pushed me away, he got up to hit me, but he stepped on a stone by the river and fell into the river."
"So I didn't kill him, I just didn't save him. I don't think failing to save someone in distress is against the law!"
At this point, Qiao Lanru's smile widened even more.
After Li Shiwan's death, she seemed much more relaxed than before, and she smiled more often.
The police officer frowned slightly and continued asking:
Why didn't you mention these things during the last statement?
Qiao Lanru: "Officer, I'm old and my memory isn't good. Li Shiwan was usually a very good swimmer, and I never expected him to die. So when I first heard he was dead, my mind wasn't working properly, and I forgot about him. This... isn't illegal, is it?"
Outside, separated by a one-way glass, Lu Qing and Chu Qianjin watched the whole thing.
"This is Qiao Lanru's true colors. Over the years, not only Grandpa, but we have all been deceived!" Chu Qianjin said coldly.
Lu Qing shook her head slightly:
"It's not entirely fake, is it? Her forbearance is real, her grievances are real, and it's true that she was bullied by Li Shiwan. It's just that these are all the evil consequences she sowed herself."
After a moment of silence, Lu Qing asked the person inside who was asking the questions to come out.
"This old lady is certain we have no evidence to prove she killed anyone, so she won't budge!" The detective captain sighed and frowned.
Lu Qing: "She is telling the truth. She did not kill Li Shiwan. Unless it is fabricated, you will not be able to find evidence that she killed him."
"So, the case is just going to close like this?"
Lu Qing smiled and shook her head: "Of course not! The rest is my business!"
With that, Lu Qing went inside alone.
"Grandma!"
Upon seeing that the visitor was Lu Qing, Qiao Lanru immediately put on a kind expression and asked with a smile:
"Granddaughter, what brings you here? Did your grandfather send you to pick me up?"
"Madam, I'm sorry! I'm not here to pick you up, but to interrogate you as a police consultant!"
Lu Qing smiled and walked to the table to sit down.
Qiao Lanru's smile froze: "You...you're a police officer?"
Lu Qing: "No! Just an advisor, not an advisor to the Bureau of Abnormal Cases Investigation!"
Qiao Lanru was starting to feel guilty, and her gaze began to dart away.
"What consultant? I'm too old to understand anything! I didn't kill anyone, you can't frame me!"
"Yes! You didn't kill Li Shiwan, but have you really never killed anyone?" Lu Qing's expression suddenly turned cold:
"Wasn't the life of the child in Li Shiwan's ex-wife's womb also a life?"
Upon hearing this, Qiao Lanru's pupils contracted instantly, her cloudy eyes filled with shock:
"You...you...how did you know?"
Lu Qing smiled slightly, opened his palm, and showed her the Infant Soul Pearl.
"Grandma, you should be familiar with this, right?"
The moment Qiao Lanru saw the Infant Soul Pearl, she completely lost her composure:
"Give it back to me! Give this bead back to me!"
Qiao Lanru was so anxious she almost jumped off the interrogation chair. If it weren't for something covering her chest, she would have already been in front of Lu Qing by now.
Lu Qing curled the corners of his lips, took the Infant Soul Pearl and walked in front of Qiao Lanru, making sure she could see it but not reach it.
“Grandma, you’ve lived your whole life for your son. This thing is his lifeline, and it’s also your lifeline.”
"What do you think would happen to your son who lives far away if I crushed it?"
As Lu Qing spoke, he pretended to pinch her, and Qiao Lanru panicked:
No! Please don't!
"I beg you, please give it back to me! It's my son's life!"
Qiao Lanru pleaded desperately, tears streaming down her face, but Lu Qingqie's gaze suddenly turned cold:
"Is this your son's fate? Shouldn't this be the fate of the child you strangled in your womb?"
"Qiao Lanru, over the years, have you ever heard this child's mournful cries in your midnight dreams?"
Qiao Lanru's eyes trembled, and her body shook slightly, whether from sadness or fear, it was hard to tell.
Lu Qing took a few steps back and asked in a cold voice:
"Tell me all the crimes you committed in front of the camera, and maybe I might consider sparing your son's life!"
Qiao Lanru lowered her head, remained silent for a moment, and then choked up as she said:
"Okay! I'll talk! I'll talk!"
Qiao Lanru was once a member of the Tayun tribe. After the sacred tree was destroyed by Helian Shi, the Tayun tribe also left the deep mountains and became ordinary people, a tradition that continues to this day.
The Tayun Clan no longer exists. Qiao Lanru learned about this secret technique from an ancient sheepskin scroll left by her ancestors.
Qiao Lanru's ancestors were priests of the Tayun tribe, and the method of condensing the Infant Soul Pearl has been recorded on ancient sheepskin scrolls.
At first, she didn't believe in this thing and even wanted to throw it away several times.
Until her son, Chu Zhou, got into trouble.
Chu Zhou was born prematurely. Medical conditions were not advanced at that time. Although Chu Zhou survived after being born prematurely, he suffered from constant illnesses from childhood to adulthood and his health was not good.
Qiao Lanru carefully protected him and finally let him grow up safely to the age of ten.
That year, her husband passed away due to illness, which dealt a heavy blow to Qiao Lanru.
Chu Zhou's heartbreak further weakened his body, and he subsequently fell ill and never recovered.
Qiao Lanru took him to all the major hospitals in the provincial capital, but to no avail. On the verge of losing her son, she suddenly remembered the ancient sheepskin scroll.
Ancient scrolls record that the Infant Soul Pearl contains extremely strong vitality, which can nourish the divine tree.
Qiao Lanru thought, if the divine tree can live by being nourished by it, then can people do the same?
Since Chu Zhou was on the verge of death, she decided to try anything, so she followed the method in the book to find the materials for refining the Infant Soul Pearl.
The most important part of the Infant Soul Bead is the soul of an infant.
At that time, the country implemented the one-child policy, and many pregnant women fled because they had more children than allowed, so it was almost impossible to find pregnant women in the village.
Qiao Lanru inquired everywhere and finally found one.
That was Li Shiwan's wife.
Although she was called his wife, the two were never actually married and didn't even have a marriage certificate.
Li Shiwan was a lazy good-for-nothing, and the woman was mute. She was pregnant but dared not tell her family, so she hid and lived in Li Shiwan's cowshed.
Li Shiwan was short of money, while Qiao Lanru happened to have money.
Her husband's death left her a large inheritance, and she also had the help of her brother-in-law.
Qiao Lanru secretly found Li Shiwan, gave him some money, and asked him to secretly bring his pregnant wife out.
Li Shiwan didn't know what Qiao Lanru was planning, but he didn't care. As long as he got the money, he would do anything, even if Qiao Lanru wanted to kill him.
Qiao Lanru paid the money and successfully removed the nine-month-old baby from the woman's womb, which was then made into an Infant Soul Bead.
With the Infant Soul Pearl nourishing his body, Chu Zhou's condition indeed improved day by day.
To the outside world, Qiao Lanru always claimed that she had found a miracle doctor, gave him a prescription, and that's how she got better.
The villagers all said that Chu Zhou was not destined to die, but only Li Shiwan knew that Chu Zhou's improved health was definitely related to the child that had been removed from his body.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com