The Vanished Wife (17)
That's very strange.
Jian Tanxi continued walking while pondering.
After a while, Jian Tanxi walked to the door of a house and found that the mother was teaching her daughter to read.
Mom held up a book and read aloud: "The roof beams were covered with spider webs..."
My daughter read along: "The house was covered with spider webs..."
Mom said, "No, it's not 'house wolf,' it's 'house beam.'"
The daughter mimicked her mother's lip movements and said, "House Wolf."
She has been studying very hard, but her pronunciation is still not standard.
Mom said, "Look at the shape of my mouth, Liang—"
Daughter: "Wolf—"
"No, it's li-ang-liang."
Daughter: "Wolf..."
The mother gave up: "Forget it, we'll learn it next time."
Jian Tanxi had only listened casually and hadn't paid much attention to it.
After walking a few steps, she suddenly had a flash of inspiration: Could the "wolf" the old steward mentioned be "Liang"? The old steward had a speech impediment, so he didn't say it clearly, just like the little girl earlier.
If that's the case, what does he mean by "Liang"? Does it mean that the ancestors of those two blank tombstones were killed by Mr. Liang?
Or is it that the owner of one of the two blank tombstones also had the surname "Liang"?
Jian Tanxi felt that both guesses were possible. With the Jin family's vast wealth, it was inevitable that relatives would have designs on it.
Mr. Liang and Jin Mingyue are a couple with shared interests.
Perhaps several years ago, Mr. Liang helped Jin Mingyue deal with two relatives who wanted to seize the family property and buried them in the Jin family ancestral graveyard.
Since this matter was in Jin Mingyue's favor, she naturally wouldn't tell anyone.
If the latter possibility applies and it doesn't involve a murder case, then decades ago, a man surnamed Liang married into the Jin family and introduced his family's younger relative, Liang Wanhao, to Jin Mingyue, thus leading to their marriage.
This is very possible, because not just anyone can become a son-in-law of a wealthy family; it also requires connections.
After a man surnamed Liang married into a collateral branch of the Jin family, he tried every means to get his nephews and grand-nephews to marry into the main branch of the Jin family, which could be considered as paving the way for future generations and benefiting the Liang family.
However, if the latter possibility is true, then the senior surnamed Liang had done Liang Wanhao a great favor, so why wouldn't Liang Wanhao carve a new tombstone for him?
That's quite strange.
Jian Tanxi continued walking and encountered two more households that were renovating.
There was no corrugated iron in the walls of either of these houses.
As dusk fell, Jian Tanxi arrived at the entrance of a nursing home.
There were benches by the door, so Jian Tanxi sat down to rest, since no one could see her anyway.
In the nursing home, several elderly people sat in wheelchairs, staring blankly at the fish in the pond.
After a while, an elegant old woman walked over.
The old woman was wearing an expensive, fitted dress and a silk scarf. She walked slowly and gracefully, like a wealthy woman taking a stroll in her own garden.
The other elderly people called her Dean, and she greeted them with a smile.
Jian Tanxi found it a bit strange because the old woman looked to be over seventy years old. It was quite rare for someone her age to still be working as the director of a nursing home.
After a while, the caregiver brought over some snacks and distributed them to the director and the other elderly residents.
The other elderly people couldn't wait to start eating, but the director ate very slowly and with great elegance, as if he had received excellent aristocratic etiquette training.
Jian Tanxi rarely pays attention to others, but now she feels that watching the old dean eat and walk is a real pleasure.
It seems that beauty knows no age or gender.
After resting enough, Jian Tanxi continued north.
Around six or seven o'clock in the evening, she arrived at an upscale commercial street.
The place is brightly lit and sells all kinds of things: furniture, jewelry, clothes, etc. Everything looks expensive, and the price tags are shocking.
Jian Tanxi rarely visited such luxurious shopping malls before, so she decided to go in and broaden her horizons.
Moreover, she had another idea: the people shopping here must be wealthy, so perhaps some of them know Jin Mingyue's family and might mention Jin Mingyue during their conversations, which would allow her to learn more about her.
She deliberately slowed her pace and walked towards where there were more people.
However, none of the customers mentioned the Jin family during their conversations.
Jian Tanxi kept changing groups of people to observe, but she didn't hear the clues she was looking for.
After a while, she came to a high-end clothing store, where two jeweled ladies came in to shop.
The shop owner greeted them warmly, saying, "Miss Li, Miss Li, we have some new arrivals today. Would you like to try them on?"
Miss Li said, "Is it a one-of-a-kind design? I don't like wearing the same clothes as others."
Boss: "Of course, our shop only serves the wealthy. I know your needs."
As he spoke, the shopkeeper took out several gorgeous dresses and had the two ladies try them on.
After trying them on, they bought all the new dresses and even had the shop owner take their measurements to order several custom-made outfits.
Then, the two ladies left.
A few minutes later, an old man covered in gold chains walked in and said, "Boss, recommend some suitable women's clothing for my wife. Remember, it should be something that's not available elsewhere, a bit more mature, and a little bigger, because my wife has gained weight recently."
The shop owner responded and went up to her, saying warmly, "Okay, Mr. Wang, I have your wife's measurements here. I've reserved any suitable clothes for her. Please take a look."
The shop owner showed the old man with the gold chain a huge pile of clothes, and the old man nodded repeatedly: "Hmm, not bad. I've been buying clothes for so many years, and only your clothes never disappoint. They suit both my and my wife's tastes. Wrap them all up for me."
The shop owner was overjoyed: "Great! As you know, we specialize in serving high-end clients. More than a dozen of the wealthiest families in the city have ordered clothes from us. We record the data and preferences of every customer who has made a purchase, making it easier to recommend products to them next time."
"Yes, your service is quite good."
Jian Tanxi's heart stirred upon hearing this.
She went to the store's warehouse and saw a computer on the table.
She looked at the computer desktop and saw a folder called "Customer Data".
She opened the "Customer Information" folder and found hundreds of detailed customer profiles inside.
She searched for the character "金" (gold), but found nothing. She also searched for the character "梁" (beam), but found nothing there either.
Has the Jin family never come to this store to buy clothes?
According to what Jin Meigui said before, Jin Mingyue has clothes passed down from her ancestors, so she almost never buys clothes outside, which seems to be true.
Jian Tanxi wandered around the mall for a while, but didn't find anything, so she left and went straight to the Jin family's house.
When they returned to the Jin family home, it was the old butler who opened the door.
The old butler said to her, "Look for the young lady..."
Jian Tanxi lowered her voice and said, "We have found Jin Mingyue, don't worry."
However, the old butler grabbed Jian Tanxi's arm, his tone urgent: "Find the young lady..."
Jian Tanxi asked, "Did you understand what I just said?"
"Understood...find the young lady..."
Jian Tanxi gave a few perfunctory replies and headed towards her guest room.
She rested in the guest room before the others returned.
A few hours later, Qin Man returned with Qu Chen.
She said to Jian Tanxi, "I originally wanted to wander around outside more, but I was worried that Xiaochen would get too tired, so I came back as soon as I found a few clues."
Jian Tanxi asked, "What clues did you find?"
Qin Man said, "I was thinking that since we smashed Yu Antai's wall before, Yu Antai said we should pay him compensation. Luckily, the money Jin Mingyue gave me is with me, so I went to deliver the money to Yu Antai first. After delivering the money, I left."
However, I suddenly remembered that you said Yu Antai seemed a bit abnormal, and that he might be under some kind of restriction. So, I decided to secretly observe him.
If he is indeed being controlled by someone, that mastermind might come after him.
I hid in the shadows and observed for several hours. I noticed that Yu Antai either stayed indoors or wandered around the neighborhood, and he seemed to be in a good mood, humming a song from time to time. I found it strange; he didn't seem like someone who had just lost his mother.
Moreover, he always appeared sad in front of us, but unexpectedly, he was completely the opposite behind our backs.
I observed him all day, and no one came to see him. However, later I heard voices coming from his room, but I didn't know who they were. I didn't see anyone go in either.
I have the ability to become invisible, so I became invisible and quietly entered Yu Antai's house. Unexpectedly, I saw...
Qin Man frowned, looking puzzled, as if she didn't know how to explain.
Jian Tanxi asked, "Sister Qin Man, what did you see?"
“I saw Yu Antai’s mother talking to Yu Antai, and his mother looked very healthy.”
Jian Tanxi was startled: "Really? You saw it with your own eyes?"
"That's right."
"But didn't his mother pass away? Yu Antai even had a grudge against Jin Mingyue because of this..."
“Yes, I find it strange too. And I didn’t see Yu’s mother come in from outside. So, Yu’s mother must have been staying in the house the whole time. But we’ve been to Yu Antai’s house several times and haven’t found his mother. So, where is his mother hiding?”
Jian Tanxi suddenly remembered the sheet metal and murmured, "Could it be sheet metal..."
Qin Man instantly understood her meaning and asked, "You mean there's something inside the sheet metal? We just couldn't break through it, so we didn't find it... Mother Yu has been hiding in the wall, right behind the sheet metal?"
Jian Tanxi nodded: "I think it's very possible... Today I saw many people renovating their homes, and none of them had sheet metal in their walls. So, could we assume that sheet metal is a special item that only Yu Antai, Wu Yaoyao, Jin Meigui, and Jin Mingyue have?"
Yu Antai could hide his mother behind the sheet metal, and the others could also hide other things behind it. And those hidden things were likely the key clues…”
Qin Man said, "That's right... all these houses had their walls painted before, which we thought was too coincidental and suspicious. So, we broke down the walls of all four houses, but found nothing. Now that I think about it, the key items might be hidden behind the sheet metal..."
I'm getting more and more confused. If Yu Antai's mother is still alive, why did he lie and say that his mother had passed away, making us investigate him as a suspect? Why did he hide his mother in the wall, and why did his mother cooperate?
Furthermore, doesn't he feel it's unlucky to set up a mourning hall for his mother at home?
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