Chapter 33
Tang Zefei sensed something and quickly walked to the side of the road, only to see Yu Congyi across the street suddenly quicken his pace. At that moment, a car sped past, blocking his view, and almost instantly, Yu Congyi's figure disappeared from his sight.
Tang Zefei had no choice but to stop by the roadside, and for a moment she wanted to sigh helplessly.
Tang Zefei is in trouble for killing Zhan Yuewei.
In the early morning of the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, the old gatekeeper of the Xiangguan Pavilion in the British Concession went out of his dance hall to empty the spittoon from the previous night. Suddenly, he saw several things floating haphazardly in the deep well in the back street. They were dark and looked like sacks. He found it strange and approached them in the daylight to take a closer look, but he was immediately terrified and fell to the ground. He saw about five or six corpses dressed in black floating in the well water. Their heads and hands were white and swollen from being submerged in water, and their faces were unrecognizable. The old gatekeeper immediately reported it to the authorities. When the police arrived, they pulled the corpses ashore one by one and found that the corpses were all dressed as bodyguards. They all had gunshot wounds in different parts of their bodies. The cause of death was gunshot wounds. They had been murdered and thrown into the well for more than three days.
This incident alarmed the head of the police station's operations department. Having worked with foreigners in the British concession, he knew the troublesome nature of the matter. Such an unexplained incident in his jurisdiction was not something his British colleagues would use as leverage. It immediately became a major case in the police station, but no one knew the identities of the murdered bodyguards, and no one claimed the bodies. Half a day passed with no progress. The head of the department repeatedly sent people to inquire with the neighbors, conducted autopsies, and performed tests, but the case was on the verge of collapse. He had no choice but to publish the story in the day's newspaper. At this time, the Zhan family received the news and sent someone to the police station. They immediately identified the bodies as those of the Zhan family's young master's close confidants, who had disappeared for more than three days and three nights. This perfectly matched the report the Zhan family had submitted the day before regarding the young master's unexplained disappearance. With Young Master Zhan missing and his bodyguard shot dead, the clues to such heinous events are easily deduced with a little thought: it must be either a robbery or a revenge killing. Furthermore, several servants of the Zhan family pointed out that on the last day, Young Master Zhan went out with the young master of the Tang family, a merchant family. This young master of the Tang family must have been the last person Young Master Zhan saw, and he is definitely involved in this matter.
On the morning of December 6th, Tang Zefei went to a tailor shop to find a cotton-padded coat for her mother. In the afternoon, she went to Lin Garden to discuss business with Mr. Yang from the French Concession. She didn't return home until seven or eight o'clock in the evening. As soon as she got home, she saw Lu Jin running up to her with a look of great distress.
"What's wrong?" Tang Zefei asked, puzzled. "Yang Ruinian was sent back?"
"They've been delivered. Young Master, something terrible has happened!" Tang Zefei rarely saw Lu Jin so panicked. "The bodyguards we killed a few days ago at the entrance of Xinxianlin, my men and I took turns throwing them under the Jingyun Bridge and into the back street of Xiangguan Pavilion. But somehow the well water in that back street kept flowing back and forth, carrying the bodies back to the well. This morning, the Zhan family came to identify them, saying that you were the last person to meet Zhan Yuewei that day, and you're highly suspicious. Now they're insisting it was you..."
Where is Zhan Yuewei's body?
“I personally disposed of this body; it must be sunk to the bottom of the Haihe River by now,” Lu Jin thought for a moment, then suddenly slapped himself, filled with remorse. “Young Master, this is my fault. I didn’t think things through. I actually let those damned idiots do this. Why did they have to throw it into a well instead of the Haihe River? What good ideas could they possibly have? Young Master, what should we do now?”
"Since Zhan Yuewei and those bodyguards are dead and can't testify, let them make a scene." Tang Zefei thought for a moment, "I'm just worried that there might still be witnesses in front of the New Immortal Forest back then."
Tang Zefei's prediction was spot on. Another day later, a young, unfamiliar boy was walking down the street when he was suddenly knocked unconscious with a stick and dragged into a car. When he awoke, he was in a police station. This boy was the very same one Tang Zefei had been with at the entrance of Xin Xianlin that day; the person who knocked him unconscious and took him to the police station was from the Zhan family. The boy, completely unaccustomed to such a scene, couldn't handle the questioning and stammered nervously. Within a few words, he confessed everything.
After seeing the bodies, he recalled that he had indeed seen Tang Zefei and Zhan Yuewei together, and that the two had later had a conflict. The clothes worn by the bodyguards next to Zhan Yuewei were the same ones worn by the corpses, confirming that the corpses were indeed Zhan Yuewei's bodyguards. The entrance to Xin Xianlin was actually the location of their deaths, because although he left later, he had clearly heard gunshots. However, because he had already run far away in fear when someone fired the shots, he couldn't see clearly who killed the bodyguards, and he didn't know whether Zhan Yuewei had been killed at that time.
At this moment, a man leaning on a cane, with half his arm wrapped in gauze, stumbled out and said he knew the truth. He was actually one of the bodyguards who had survived Tang Zefei's gunfire that day. He had been so frightened by witnessing his master being shot dead by Tang Zefei that he lost control of his bladder. During the ensuing gunfight, he didn't participate but secretly slipped away, thus saving his life. This boy was someone he had seen once and remembered, which was why he had sent his men to find and capture him as a second witness.
This man had been leading the way when he fled, but now he was filled with remorse, beating his chest and stamping his feet, claiming that Tang Zefei must have killed his brothers, and not only them, but also his master, Young Master Zhan.
He waved his arm, both excited and furious, and said, "Tang Zefei hit my arm right through it, and it still hurts terribly! I have no reason to exaggerate or lie about this!"
The body of Young Master Zhan has still not been found. The police are currently treating the murder of Young Master Zhan as a missing person case. The police chief told the man to remain calm; a further assessment would only be possible if Zhan Yuewei's body was found. However, the six dead bodyguards are a horrific shooting incident that cannot be underestimated. Their testimonies are consistent, and suspicion is almost certainly on the businessman, Tang. Seeing the case about to be solved so quickly, the head of the operations department breathed a sigh of relief. Now that they have witnesses, the police regulations in the British Concession require physical evidence to proceed to the final arrest warrant. Just as the police were discussing their options, the escaped bodyguard suddenly had a flash of inspiration and asked the officer if any autopsies had been performed on the bodies. He wanted to retrieve the bullets embedded in the bodies and measure them to see if they matched the caliber of the bullets used by Young Master Tang. If they did, then Tang Zefei was undoubtedly the murderer.
The police accepted his account, confirming that autopsies had indeed been performed and bullets had been found deep in the wounds of some bodies, all collected and placed in evidence bags. What followed became increasingly obvious—Tang Zefei, as a civilian, needed a gun license. The police, reviewing the files, found that the Tang family did indeed own a property in the British Concession. The guns they acquired there must have been issued by the British Concession police station, making the type and caliber of the ammunition easily verifiable. Before evening that afternoon, the case was swiftly solved—the murderer, Tang Zefei, had brutally killed six bodyguards of the Zhan family; witnesses and physical evidence were readily available, and no one present raised any objections.
"What was his usual relationship with Young Master Zhan? Do you know why he shot and killed the other man's bodyguard? What was his motive?" Later, the director took the time to ask this man.
“That’s not hard to understand, sir. Boss Tang and my master’s family both do business in the British Concession. Businessmen, to put it bluntly, have only so much territory and so much gold. On the surface, things may seem calm, but who knows what kind of fierce battles and life-or-death struggles are going on behind the scenes, right? Tang Zefei must have been planning this all along, trying to harm my master’s family.”
"Zhan Yuewei hasn't been found yet, so we can't draw any conclusions. But I've heard that Tang Zefei and Zhan Yuewei seem to be good friends, and they often appear together in restaurants, dance halls, and other places, countless times," the director pointed out.
"Sir, it's all about personal relationships. You said it yourself, it's a dance hall, right? What kind of true friends can you find in a place like this?" The bodyguard chuckled, his expression ambiguous.
"Yeah."
The section chief clicked his tongue inwardly. What a pity for this young master Tang. The rule in his jurisdiction was that there was no need to inquire about the motive for murder. He could have let it go this time. The motive wasn't important; with solid evidence, he could issue an order to arrest him. Besides, he really wanted to end this matter as soon as possible. If he still had such a serious murder case on his hands when the higher authorities came to inspect tomorrow, what would become of him?
Half of the police station in the British concession was under British control, while the other half was actually a place where the Chinese Green Gang in the British concession could bully and rob people. Since the case had been settled to a large extent, these people who had some grudges against the Tang family did not hesitate to go to the door to arrest the people.
If this matter could be handled thoroughly, Tang Zefei might still have time and the possibility to hire a lawyer to represent him. However, time was of the essence. Interests were involved from all sides, and countless eyes were fixed on this case, eager to drag the Tang family, the wealthiest family in Haihe, into the mire. They wouldn't give him any time to think or find a way out—let alone teach him to deny the case, confess, or hire a lawyer. These people wished they could see Tang Zefei in prison or even dead the next second. Seeing Tang Zefei's wanted poster published in the newspaper, Lu Jin was so anxious after reading the text that he immediately tore up the newspaper, filled with regret. He almost rushed out to confront the police. However, what he found most unbelievable was that Tang Zefei, as the person involved, never made a move—neither defending himself nor finding a scapegoat. He was hopelessly unwilling to consider any way out for himself in this matter. The fact that the person involved is so negligent truly illustrates the saying, "The emperor isn't worried, but the eunuch is."
"Young Master, you can't be hurt. I'll go in for you. It's my responsibility to kill those people." Lu Jin found Tang Zefei, his voice frantic.
"I knew this day would come." Tang Zefei lay on the sofa, her voice eerily calm.
"No, young master, don't think that killing those people is just a matter of killing them and going in is just a matter of going in. Haven't you thought about what will happen to you after you go to the Tang family? What will happen to you, those clubs and factories? What will happen to you, your mother??" At this moment, Lu Jin didn't care about anything else and blurted out all his thoughts.
Tang Zefei glanced at Lu Jin, wondering why he was so agitated today. "Calm down. I've made all the arrangements. There are managers overseeing things; they're all experienced veterans, so I won't be idle without them. As for my mother, I'll have to trouble you and the housekeeper to take care of her. I've already explained this to Lao Liu." His tone remained calm. "Also, I don't think those people were just killed for no reason; I had my reasons for killing them."
"But this..."
"Stop talking. If you go in for me, won't they have anything to say?" Tang Zefei leaned back on the sofa, slowly turning her eyes. "You know those wolves in the British Concession police station. Are they targeting you or me? One of us has to be out there. After all this trouble, I'm tired and want to sleep for a while."
“But…you know your own body, what can we do? You can’t handle it there. You have to consider this.” Lu Jin kept nagging. He rarely talked so much; today he was truly regretful and anxious.
Tang Zefei didn't speak, but only gave a soft hum in response.
"And, young master, I know you won't answer, but I still want to ask... why did you go to such lengths for that person? You killed someone for him, but did he even know?"
Look at his expression, but how does he look at you?
Tang Zefei fell completely silent. When Lu Jin looked at him again, he saw that Tang Zefei had closed his eyes and was expressionless, as if he were asleep.
At that moment, Lu Jin suddenly knelt on the ground and slapped himself hard several times. He always killed in secret, never once firing a gun in the street like last time. That was also the first time he had seen the young master use a gun. He was always calm, but now he wondered, now that things had come to this, would the young master regret even a little bit his impulsive shooting of Zhan Yuewei? Did he really have no regrets? And why hadn't he been quick enough to stop him back then? Was all of this really worth it for the young master?
"Brother, did you see the front page of this morning's newspaper?" On the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, Yu Congyi had just stepped into his office at the Gendarmerie Headquarters when Li Ming knocked on his door.
"What is it? Come in." Yu Congyi leaned against his desk and saw Li Ming standing outside the door, holding a stack of newspapers. He picked up the hot tea that the orderly had prepared on the table, blew on it, and took a sip. The light snow that had been falling all day finally stopped last night. The fine snowflakes, falling like duck feathers, were quite annoying. This morning, on his way from home to the military police headquarters, Yu Congyi had seen street sweepers clearing snow from the roadside. The snow was obstructing traffic, and when he arrived at the military police headquarters this morning, the newspaper boy was already gone, so he naturally couldn't see the front page of the newspaper.
"What important news is there? Tell me about it."
“There’s no important news, but there is something rather…” Li Ming flipped through the newspaper pages.
"Hmm?" When Yu Congyi looked up at him, he saw a faint hint of pleasure on his face and felt somewhat puzzled. What was that?
“Found it.” Li Ming walked up quickly, spread out the newspaper in front of Yu Congyi, and pointed to the big headline on the front page: “Police Operations Department Gets a Lead Yesterday, Truth About the Killer Behind the Six Drowning Bodies at Heung Kwun Court Revealed” The subtitle was “Case Solved Three Days After Incident, Murderer Arrested This Morning on Victoria Street.”
"Brother, you haven't heard about the six bodyguards' bodies that were pulled from the well on the back street of Xiangguan Pavilion a few days ago, have you? That was truly a horrifying case. Now, do you know who the murderer is?" Li Ming said excitedly, his gaze moving down to the small print next to the subtitle, and continued pointing it out to Yu Congyi. "Thanks to the police station's action department's efforts, we never expected that the murderer would be Tang Zefei, the son of that wealthy businessman, Boss Tang, who died earlier! The bodyguards have been identified as working for the businessman Zhan Yuewei. Brother, what do you think the Tang and Zhan families are up to? This must be a revenge killing; the two families have a falling out!" Li Ming slapped his left hand against his right hand forcefully. "Hey! Brother, how can these businessmen be so ruthless? They kill people at the slightest disagreement, and even throw so many into wells. What's the difference between this and thievery!"
Upon hearing this, Yu Congyi felt a chill run down his spine. He immediately put down his teacup, snatched the newspaper from the other man's hand, and read it carefully. Li Ming rambled on, "Back then, I was inexplicably arrested by that Tang guy's henchman and almost died there. Looking back now, it was truly a stroke of luck! If I had known they had this troublesome son, I would never have..."
"Is this entirely the responsibility of the police station?" Yu Congyi quickly interrupted him. "Or is it jointly handled by the police station and the garrison command?"
“It’s the police station and the police station,” Li Ming thought for a moment, a little puzzled. “Why is my brother asking about this…”
"I have something to do and need to go out." At this moment, Yu Congyi suddenly stood up, propped himself up on the table, and put on his coat almost instantly. Li Ming stood in front of him, feeling very confused, wondering what urgent matter the army commander had suddenly remembered.
"Brother, what's wrong? I'll go with you." Li Ming quickly put down what he was holding and said.
“No,” Yu Congyi quickly buttoned up his collar, turned around and said to him, “You take good care of the department’s affairs for me today. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.”
As Yu Congyi walked out of the military police headquarters, he hoped that the police station and the police department would give him, the commander of the military police headquarters, some face this time.
It's no exaggeration to say that he only just learned that Tang Zefei's street murder at the entrance of Xinxianlin that day had come to pass so quickly. He was also a party involved, so he understood the situation best. There were no hidden agendas or distorted facts; it was perfectly reasonable for the police to find the murderer and issue an arrest warrant for Tang Zefei within four days. Therefore, he wasn't surprised by the outcome, but rather felt a little regretful.
Unfortunately, the reason why this matter could have been avoided was that he was forced to become entangled with Tang Zefei again because of him. It was also because he began to think about her and began to hate the carelessness and negligence of her subordinates.
Upon learning of this matter, Yu Congyi immediately made a decision: he would ask the police station and patrol team for an opportunity. He wanted a chance to personally arrest Tang Zefei and bring him to justice.
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