Chapter 173 is really exciting!
The staff of Jinshan Funeral Home left one after another, while Qiao Kaiyue, feeling unwell, stayed for a few hours to receive an injection.
Shen Zhenzhu and Zhao Qiqi drove back to the criminal investigation team together.
In the fourth team's office, Lu Ye was analyzing the family members' testimonies with Wu Zhongguo and Xiao Bai.
"Sister Pearl is back?" Lu Ye moved aside on the sofa and pressed Chen Zhenzhu down to sit. He gave her a thumbs up and said, "Yu Wanqing's confession was a real lifesaver. We had arrested a few people who refused to admit anything, but with this confession, we have the confidence to continue digging."
Xiao Bai ran to the food cabinet and made Shen Zhenzhu a cup of hot milk. He handed it to Shen Zhenzhu and said, "We've found Liu Cheng's address in the south. Police from another region are making an arrest."
"I also have good news. When I came over, an operator found the exact same perfume as Yu Wanqing in Qiao Kaiyue's wardrobe." Chen Zhenzhu took a sip of hot milk, and the pressure of the past few days dissipated with the steaming aroma of the milk.
"Great! This way we can pin Qiao Kaiyue down!"
"The case is down to Qiao Kaiyue's statement. He has a slight fever, so I plan to interrogate him first thing tomorrow morning." Shen Zhenzhu glanced at her tired comrades and said, "That's all for today. Go back and get some rest."
Lu Ye patted the documents and said, "There are too many people involved. I'll organize the documents tonight, review them tomorrow, and then report directly. Also, I need to follow up on Liu Cheng's case. I can't just go home and sleep while other units are arresting people."
Wu Zhongguo brewed a strong cup of tea and said with a stern face, "Finish what you're doing as soon as possible so you can send them on their way sooner."
Shen Zhenzhu smiled and looked at Xiaobai. Xiaobai said, "I've been waiting for the test results all day. The fingerprints are Qiao Kaiyue's and the bloodstains are Qiao Jinqiu's. Such a gratifying result! With the work nearing completion, I won't be able to sleep when I get back."
Seeing everyone asking to work overtime, Shen Zhenzhu was extremely grateful. She knew that because this was her first case as team leader, all four teams were going all out, hoping to make a good start.
"Oh, right. I have some late-night snacks here." Wu Zhongguo walked to the food cabinet, squatted down and took out two thermos containers, saying, "Sixth Sister made some free-range chicken soup. She knew we'd been working non-stop lately, so she specially had it delivered. Little Bai is clever; when we weren't around, she secretly hid it behind the bookshelf to prevent anyone from stealing it."
Chen Zhenzhu had been eating irregularly for the past few days. After drinking a glass of milk, her stomach warmed up, and her internal organs began to rave about their hunger.
The lid of the thermos was unscrewed, and a warm, mellow aroma quietly filled the air. The soup was a clear, golden color, with a few pieces of orange-yellow chicken peeking out from beneath.
"Wow, Sixth Sister even added red dates and ginseng to the soup base." Xiao Bai handed out bowls and spoons, the rich aroma of chicken soup soothing her tired brows.
“This old hen looks like it’s free-range from the countryside. It’s been stewed for at least three or four hours, and with the addition of red dates and ginseng, it’s the most nourishing thing to do,” Wu Zhongguo exclaimed. “Ah, the hearts of parents are all the same.”
Chen Zhenzhu held the perfectly warm chicken soup and took a sip. The rich and warm taste instantly relieved the fatigue brought on by the case and her running around.
Thinking of the elderly people involved in this case, Chen Zhenzhu's nose tingled with sadness.
The chicken thigh meat falls off the bone, its fibers soaking up the broth, offering both a firm, meaty texture and a smooth, juicy richness. The soft, tender red dates melt on the tongue, their sweet aroma perfectly blending with the savory flavor of the free-range chicken. No fancy seasoning techniques, just a simple insulated container—it all comes down to love.
It was the taciturn Shen Liuhe who gave Shen Zhenzhu and the four teams a simple and down-to-earth strength.
Lu Ye sighed contentedly as he held the chicken soup in his hand: "Mom's cooking skills are getting better and better."
"I don't believe it. They never ate their mother's cooking when they were little," Zhao Qiqi muttered as she drank her chicken soup.
This sentence ignited everyone's anger. After finishing the chicken soup and cleaning up the dishes, they continued to work overtime.
In the latter half of the night, Chen Zhenzhu pulled out a folding bed, unfolded it, and slept for more than three hours.
Hearing clanging noises upstairs in the morning, Chen Zhenzhu groggily got up, grabbed her ponytail, and went to the door.
At the stairwell, operators were seen moving office furniture. The logistics department had many and varied items, and the operators were running up and down the stairs, inevitably bumping into each other.
After tidying herself up, Chen Zhenzhu woke up Xiaobai and they ate pickled vegetable and shredded pork noodles at the cafeteria. The taste was so-so, but at least their own cafeteria was cleaner than outside.
"Captain Chen, I heard you're about to solve another big case?" Tian Yongfeng emerged from the queue, carrying a lunchbox, and said with a smile, "Is this case better than the last one?"
Shen Zhenzhu clutched her chest and waved her hand, saying, "Stop talking."
Seeing her like this, Tian Yongfeng was even more eager to ask, and chased after her to the cafeteria entrance: "What's wrong? Another difficult case?"
Shen Zhenzhu said, "The case wasn't very difficult, but it was quite distressing."
"Tsk tsk, still feeling unwell? I could smell the chicken soup in your office first thing this morning," Tian Yongfeng joked. "I think you have indigestion."
Goodness gracious, I'll deal with you later.
Shen Zhenzhu turned and left.
Tian Yongfeng laughed heartily in the back.
As he was laughing, Tian Yongfeng's laughter subsided when he saw a familiar figure watching him from the sixth floor of the office building.
Tian Yongfeng rubbed his eyes: "No way? Hmm, wasn't he transferred?"
All personnel and materials from the Jinshan Funeral Home, as well as the detained individuals, have been transferred back to the Liancheng Criminal Investigation Brigade. Qiao Kaiyue has also been transferred from the funeral home and will soon arrive to be interrogated.
Regardless of how well the suspects rested, Chen Zhenzhu drank chicken soup and took a nap, making her feel incredibly energetic.
"Sinking team, sinking team."
As Shen Zhenzhu was about to go upstairs, she heard someone call her from behind. Turning around, she saw Liu Yuji leading Qiao Dongliang over early in the morning.
"Dad, give me back my dad!" Qiao Dongliang tried to throw himself at Chen Zhenzhu, but Liu Yuji grabbed him.
Liu Yuji looked haggard, with a few strands of white hair falling from her temples overnight. She grabbed the agitated Qiao Dongliang and said hoarsely, "Captain Chen, please, have mercy and let us see his father. There must be some misunderstanding. His father is so filial, how could he kill my father-in-law?"
“Qiao Kaiyue has been detained in accordance with the law, and visits are not allowed during his detention,” Shen Zhenzhu said. “Please trust the impartiality of law enforcement and take your child away first.”
"I believe he wouldn't do something so despicable... I'll wait for him to come out." Liu Yuji held Qiao Dongliang's hand tightly, and accompanied by the operatives, walked towards the main gate, turning back every few steps.
A police car carrying Qiao Kaiyue drove in through the gate. His hands were cuffed, and he calmly looked outside.
Seeing his wife and son standing in front of the gatehouse, he slowly got out of the car, looked at them and said, "What brings you here? It's nothing, I'll be back soon."
"My child and I are waiting for you, waiting for you." Liu Yuji looked at him with tears in her eyes. At this moment, Qiao Kaiyue was still the same as when they first met, elegant and classy.
Qiao Dongliang finally saw his father, broke free from Liu Yuji's hand, and shoved the operative as he rushed towards Qiao Kaiyue: "Dad, help me get revenge! She stole my magic kitchen knife! That was the magic kitchen knife you gave me!"
Shen Zhenzhu waved her hand, and the operative let go. Qiao Dongliang ran up to Qiao Kaiyue, grabbed his trouser leg, pointed at Shen Zhenzhu, and said, "Dad, it's her!"
The color drained from Qiao Kaiyue's face instantly. Gone was his previous composure. He frantically grabbed Qiao Dongliang's shoulders, his lips trembling as he said, "The kitchen knife? The kitchen knife I told you to throw away, she took it? Weren't you on a school trip?"
Qiao Dongliang noticed Qiao Kaiyue's pale face and stammered in fright, "There wasn't enough room for the rice crackers on the spring outing, so I didn't bring the magic kitchen knife... Besides, it's too heavy."
Qiao Kaiyue was shocked and furious, and slapped his son across the face: "You good-for-nothing!"
Liu Yuji tried to come over, but the police officer stopped him, shouting, "Why are you hitting the child? Are you crazy?"
Qiao Dongliang covered his face and burst into tears, hugging Qiao Kaiyue's trouser leg and saying, "Dad, I know I was wrong. Even if the magic kitchen knife is gone, I will study hard and take good care of you like you took care of Grandpa."
"You've already killed me! What good will my death do you?" These words only made things worse. Qiao Kaiyue's blood pressure soared, and he kicked out hard!
"Watch out!" Shen Zhenzhu picked up the terrified Qiao Dongliang and moved aside, placing him on the ground.
Liu Yuji hugged Qiao Dongliang tightly. Not only was Qiao Dongliang terrified, but she was also stunned.
"What did he mean?" Liu Yuji asked Shen Zhenzhu nervously. "The child said she would take care of him, so why did he say the child wanted to harm him?...You even took my statement. What are you trying to do?"
Shen Zhenzhu said calmly, "You'll understand what happened once you go back and think about it."
Liu Yuji held the weeping Qiao Dongliang in his arms, and the police officer and gatekeeper asked him to leave.
"Qiao Kaiyue was just being stubborn, saying he would team up with Mr. Qiao's friends to sue us for favoritism and corruption. But looking at his face now, it's worse than if he were dead." Xiao Bai, carrying a thick folder, stood downstairs at the office building accompanying Chen Zhenzhu upstairs.
"As the saying goes, you reap what you sow," Shen Zhenzhu said. "A person who kills his own father is not only stubborn but also ruthless. Qiao Dongliang is just the right person to break down his psychological defenses."
"Sister Pearl, Qiao Kaiyue has fainted." Wu Zhongguo, who was guarding the door of the interrogation room, said to Shen Zhenzhu, "He must have fainted from anger."
Shen Zhenzhu glanced inside and saw Section Chief Qin pinching Qiao Kaiyue's philtrum, with a row of traditional Chinese medicine silver needles on the table.
Xiao Bai whispered, "Section Chief Qin finally found someone alive."
Shen Zhenzhu looked away and said in a low voice, "Qiao Kaiyue doesn't deserve sympathy, but the treatment should be in accordance with the system."
"Don't worry, a doctor's heart is benevolent; whether you live or die, it's all the same to me." Section Chief Qin pulled out a silver needle and inserted it into Qiao Kaiyue's philtrum. Almost simultaneously, Qiao Kaiyue woke up, jumping up and down: "Ahhh—it hurts, it hurts so much!"
"Come on, don't move, I'll just pull the needle out." Section Chief Qin told the officer to hold Qiao Kaiyue's shoulder and pulled out the silver needle, saying, "I saved your life, so you'll have to explain yourself properly later. We're practically acquaintances now. I also participated in the autopsy of your father's body. I think your physique is more suitable for autopsies than your father's. Tsk, not bad at all. Would you be interested in being a cadaver after the case is closed?"
"Generally speaking, my foot!" These words made Qiao Kaiyue roll his eyes upwards, almost fainting from anger again.
"Get him some water, let him rest for ten minutes before starting the interrogation." Shen Zhenzhu glanced at her watch and began assigning tasks.
"I'm leaving." Lu Ye came over to say goodbye, then went out again to frantically arrest family members.
Inside the interrogation room, the lights were focused, and the atmosphere was heavy.
Chen Zhenzhu sat in the interrogation seat, looking at Qiao Kaiyue who was trembling incessantly.
Xiao Bai placed a test report in front of Qiao Kaiyue, then silently returned to sit down next to Chen Zhenzhu, observing Qiao Kaiyue's expression and occasionally taking notes.
“You’re very clever to make your son take the kitchen knife out and throw it away. It’s a pity your son is just like you, very ‘filial’.” At this point, Shen Zhenzhu deliberately chuckled.
Qiao Kaiyue trembled, closed his eyes, and dared not look at the test report, his head hanging low.
Seeing that he remained silent, Chen Zhenzhu slammed her hand on the table and said, "The evidence is overwhelming! I brought you here today not to ask if you did it or not, but to ask you why you would use such a cruel method to harm your own father!"
Qiao Kaiyue covered his face in despair, sobbing, "I was furious, I didn't mean to kill him... I was so angry..."
"You didn't intend to kill him? Did you hire Yu Wanqing to kill him? She has already confessed everything."
Qiao Kaiyue shuddered, slowly raised his head, and said incredulously, "She doesn't even want her son anymore?"
Shen Zhenzhu said with a cold laugh, "I've already said it, she's confessed everything. Including everything she's done, including Yu Qiang, and including you."
"She...she's so cruel...so cruel." Qiao Kaiyue kept repeating this sentence, his hands clenched into fists and trembling uncontrollably.
Shen Zhenzhu said, "You impersonated Yu Wanqing to contact Guo Zhi, and even bought a bottle of perfume exactly like Yu Wanqing's. You racked your brains to kill your own father. Isn't that right?"
“I knew I couldn’t trust anyone. My father, my son, and Yu Wanqing and Guo Zhi.” Qiao Kaiyue grinned, his smile bitter. “I was thinking, I won’t kill him, forget it, the nanny was scared away anyway, but he actually took a liking to Yu Wanqing. He promised me he wouldn’t look for another woman.”
Observing his expression, Chen Zhenzhu changed to a gentle tone and said, "He made your life very difficult, didn't he?"
Qiao Kaiyue leaned forward and roared, "He's a complete bastard! He drove my mother to the brink of suicide by overdosing on pills, and what has he done? He hasn't painted a single picture for her, yet now he's begging Yu Wanqing to hold an art exhibition for her and give her everything. How can my mother rest in peace in the afterlife?!"
Chen Zhenzhu's gaze seemed to penetrate Qiao Kaiyue's heart. After he shouted at the top of his lungs, Chen Zhenzhu stood up and walked to his side.
"Qiao Kaiyue, examine your conscience. Your mother is gone, yet you still use her as a shield? What did you do for her when she was alive? Didn't your father give you any money? You'd rather repeatedly conspire with outsiders to kill your own father. You're more ruthless and filthy than your father. You're a coward who would sell his humanity for money!"
"No!!" Qiao Kaiyue cried out in despair, "He said he would give me all his assets!! Why should he leave them to outsiders!"
“I was going to kill the last nanny, but then I realized the root of the problem was my dad. As long as he lives, there will be a second and a third nanny.” He gasped for breath, sobbing, “I asked Yu Wanqing to kill him, but who knew he would want to paint that bitch again and give her all the money that belonged to me. He’s treacherous and unfaithful!”
Following his rhythm, Chen Zhenzhu said softly, "So that night you let everything that had been building up explode."
“I know he has always looked down on me and thought I had no talent. Every time he mentioned that I couldn’t draw, the look in his eyes… I couldn’t stand it.”
Qiao Kaiyue's eyes were vacant, lost in memories. He clutched his hair tightly and said, "That day, if he had just said he'd leave all the money to me, everything would have been fine. But he still looked at me with that disdainful gaze... He even said he could spend it however he wanted. He was deliberately trying to provoke me. I... I couldn't hold back anymore, so I reached out..."
Qiao Kaiyue loosened his hair, made a gesture to cover it, then slumped into a chair and burst into tears: "Waaah... He could have easily killed me... He just wanted me to regret it, he's so cruel. I'm about to die and I still have to suffer, it's all his fault... I don't want to live anymore, I don't want to live anymore."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "Hurry up and tell us everything you need to say."
Qiao Kaiyue wiped away his tears, sobbing uncontrollably, and said, "I did it all for my son... He betrayed me too... What's the point of me living?"
Shen Zhenzhu gestured to Xiaobai and the clerk, and said in a deep voice, "Tell me the whole story, including how you found Yu Wanqing, how you found Guo Zhi, and every detail up to the night you killed your father. This is the only thing you can do for yourself, and the last thing you can do for your mother who died with resentment."
......
When Shen Zhenzhu came out of the interrogation room, she was in a great mood and called Lu Ye to tell him the good news.
After taking notes, Xiao Bai walked out with a relaxed expression and said, "Sister Pearl, he's confessed to everything. Shouldn't we be closing the case soon?"
"Brother Ye is still arresting the family members of the nursing home who hired thugs. There's still one family they haven't caught. Are you organizing documents in the office or come with me for some fresh air?"
“I’ll help you catch them.” Xiao Bai rubbed his hands together and stretched his shoulders. “Uncle Wu is right. The sooner we catch them, the sooner we can send them on their way. I’ll go call Brother Aqi. He should be done with his work by now.”
Shen Zhenzhu walked down to the parking lot first. When she got downstairs, she saw the second team escorting a bloodied woman out of a police car. Xiao Min and Tian Yongfeng also got out of the car behind them.
Seeing that Shen Zhenzhu looked refreshed, Tian Yongfeng asked, "Is the case solved?"
Shen Zhenzhu couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips: "I confess."
"Impressive, Sister Pearl." Tian Yongfeng clicked his tongue twice. Seeing Chen Zhenzhu staring at the "bloody person" with a puzzled look, he walked over and lowered his voice to say, "This one is quite impressive too. She single-handedly injured five members of her husband's family. Except for her, who walked out standing up, the others all walked into the hospital lying down."
"Joke." Chen Zhenzhu became respectful and quietly asked, "Why?"
Tian Yongfeng said, "She said that her in-laws were all busy playing cards and didn't care when the child boiled water and burned his foot. She only found out last night when she went back and took off the child's shoes. She went crazy then, confronted them with a knife, and then started slashing them one by one. After she finished slashing, she stood on the roof and tried to commit suicide. It took a lot of persuasion to get her down."
Shen Zhenzhu glanced back at the "blood-soaked man," who also turned to look at her. Shen Zhenzhu nodded deeply; she didn't support him, but she admired him.
"Sister Pearl, you're here." Xiao Bai and Zhao Qiqi went downstairs together and brushed past the "blood man".
Sitting in the car, Shen Zhenzhu told them about the glorious deeds of the "Blood Man." Zhao Qiqi, while driving, said, "They're tough enough, but a bit too impulsive."
Xiao Bai said, "That's what you call impulsive. What Qiao Kaiyue did wasn't impulsive at all."
Shen Zhenzhu smiled and said, "After we arrest them, we'll do a criminal psychology analysis this afternoon. By the way, any progress on Liu Cheng's side?"
Xiao Bai said, "I haven't received a call yet."
Chen Zhenzhu simply found a phone and dialed the number. Soon, the police from another region gave her the answer: "Successful arrest. Take the express train there."
After thanking the other party and hanging up the phone, Chen Zhenzhu breathed a sigh of relief: "Not a single one of them will escape."
Zhao Qiqi made a turn and slowed down.
Along the roadside, middle school students chattered and lingered in front of restaurants and food stalls after lunch, while many parents went to great lengths to bring boxed lunches to their children at school.
"I was like that when I was little too. I'd rather eat out than go home for dinner." Xiaobai sighed, perhaps thinking of the meals she missed from her mother.
“The north gate of Xinhua Community, this is it.” Chen Zhenzhu looked at the building number through the car window: “Building 7 should be ahead. Unit 2, Room 201. The person who hired the killer is called Niu Yanben. He asked Yu Wanqing to kill his mother-in-law who suffers from Alzheimer’s.”
In Xinhua Residential Area, although there is a guard post, it has long been empty. The main gate is wide open, and many people are riding bicycles in and out of the residential area.
The police car parked downstairs in front of the seven buildings, attracting curious glances from many passersby.
As Chen Zhenzhu got out of the car, she could smell the aroma wafting from the kitchen at midday.
The kitchen window of room 201 faces downstairs, and Shen Zhenzhu and the others can hear a woman calling out, "Time to eat, stop watching TV."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "Niu Yanben goes home for lunch every day, so he should be home at this time."
“I’ll keep an eye on things downstairs,” Zhao Qiqi said.
“Okay.” Chen Zhenzhu walked into the unit and went straight to the second floor. When she arrived at the door of 201, Chen Zhenzhu knocked on the door.
The person who opened the door was a young man, about 26 or 27 years old, slightly overweight, and exactly the same as Niu Yanben's registration photo in the materials.
He was holding a rice bowl with incense sticks stuck in it in his left hand, about to offer incense to his mother-in-law. When he saw Chen Zhenzhu arrive, he hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice, "You still came after all."
The woman came out of the kitchen and asked curiously, "Who is it?"
Niu Yanben calmly offered incense to his mother-in-law, knelt down and kowtowed three times. Facing his astonished wife, tears streamed down his face: "I'm sorry to you, I'm sorry to our daughter, and most of all, I'm sorry to our mother."
The woman rushed over to help him up: "What happened? Why are you crying?"
Shen Zhenzhu said to the woman, "Niu Yanben is suspected of hiring someone to kill your mother, Liu Liujuan. We need to take him back for investigation now."
The woman plopped down on the sofa, pointing shakily at the photo of her mother enshrined in the living room, and said, "You...you hired someone to kill my mother?"
Niu Yan crawled to her on her knees and said painfully, "Her Alzheimer's has kept our family in constant turmoil. You were pregnant at the time... and you still had to take care of her. I really couldn't do it..."
"Did you take care of my mother?! Because my mother suddenly passed away, I couldn't bear the blow and lost my six-month-old child! You, how cruel you are! Before she got sick, she treated you so well, like her own son! Waaah... You beast, you animal!" The woman punched Niu Yanben hard, but Niu Yanben kept his head down the whole time, neither dodging nor fighting back.
Shen Zhenzhu and Xiaobai were handcuffed to the cow yoke and rushed downstairs. The woman sat on the sofa and cried uncontrollably, "What's the use of you burning incense for her every day!"
......
Back at the Criminal Investigation Brigade from Xinhua Community, Shen Zhenzhu was starving.
Lu Ye happened to return and asked, "Did you catch them?"
Chen Zhenzhu said, "It was effortless."
After washing her hands, she entered the fourth team's office and was pleasantly surprised to find a huge cake on the coffee table, along with several delicious dishes: "Wow, so much good food! Is someone having a birthday party?"
Wu Zhongguo changed the water for the newly arrived "Big Rose" and said cheerfully, "To celebrate the successful solving of Captain Chen's first case, Captain Gu specially ordered a cake and a meal at a high-end hotel. Look how beautiful the 'Big Rose' is!"
Chen Zhenzhu said crisply, "The bright red color is really appealing!"
These words made Wu Zhongguo laugh heartily, while Lu Ye scratched his head in frustration.
Chen Zhenzhu glanced at the door: "Where's Brother Zheng? Is he coming back later? If he is, let's wait for him to eat together."
Wu Zhongguo said, "He personally delivered the things, but I guess he won't be coming. He's too busy over there."
Shen Zhenzhu pouted: "Oh, you're always so elusive, I don't know when I'll see you again."
Wu Zhongguo scratched his nose, glanced upstairs, and said with a chuckle, "That's really hard to say."
"Hmph, Sima Zhao's intentions are obvious." Xiao Bai started setting the table and inviting everyone to come and eat.
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Author's note: Old Gu has launched a passionate pursuit that is elusive and difficult to discern.
***
See you tomorrow, there are 100 red envelopes! [Let me see]
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