Chapter 28: Mrs. Xue’s early wedding?
After everyone had left, Zhou Qiming and the others came out of the lounge.
"These people seem to have said nothing. Everyone seems to have a very good reason and everyone seems to have an alibi." Zhou Qiming sighed, "The only thing we can confirm now is that Yuan Zhenghao is indeed not a good person."
If you try to do many things at the same time, it's not surprising that one of them capsizes.
Wei Zhengyi flipped through the transcripts, raised his eyes and asked, "Captain Yue, who do you think is the most suspicious?"
Yue Lingchuan said: "On the surface, Wei Xiaoxia is undoubtedly the most suspicious. There are contradictions in her words, and she also has a rose tattoo on her body. She also cleverly guessed the circumstances of Yuan Zhenghao's death. It's really too coincidental."
Shen Qingye couldn't help but say, "But it's just too coincidental, it's a bit strange."
"Will she really reveal the clues so obviously after committing murder?"
"So it's just on the surface." Yue Lingchuan said: "Zheng Yudan felt quite happy to see Yuan Zhenghao's death, but as far as this one was concerned, she was too proud. People like her usually don't bother to take action. Liang Siqing and Lin Mengjiao didn't care much about it. He Shuwen was timid and Xia Jingling had a boyfriend. It seemed that no one had any reason to take action."
This is the problem. Everyone hates Yuan Zhenghao to some extent, but no one seems to have sufficient motive to commit the crime.
Zhou Qiming said: "Either our investigation went in the wrong direction, or they didn't tell the truth."
Jiang Cheng said: "I personally prefer the second point."
Yue Lingchuan said: "Solving a case is a process of eliminating wrong options one by one and finally finding the correct answer. We can't just believe everything they say."
"That's right, Boss." Wei Zhengyi said, "Then shall we split up and investigate?"
"This is the only way now." Zhou Qiming looked at the transcript and said, "I'll go to Wei Xiaoxia's place tomorrow. As for He Shuwen, will Zhengyi go?"
Wei Zhengyi nodded: "I have no problem."
Jiang Cheng said: "The First Primary School and the Third Hospital are not far away. I will go to those two places tomorrow to take a look."
Yue Lingchuan looked at Shen Qingye: "Where's Xiao Shen?"
Shen Qingye opened her mouth and was about to say that she was going to Zheng Yudan's place, when suddenly there was a noise outside the door: "Boss!"
Everyone looked back and saw that it was Luo Kaiyang who came back.
He walked hurriedly: "I didn't see anyone in the office, so I guessed you were here."
Yue Lingchuan asked: "How is the investigation going for that cleaner?"
Luo Kaiyang looked serious: "I was just about to say this."
He said: "I asked the hotel manager for Wu Yanhong's home address, and after finding her home, I learned some basic information.
"She did lose her work clothes recently, on Friday night. She left in a hurry when it was almost time to get off work, and forgot to lock the closet in the dressing room. When she got home and thought about it, she didn't care about it, after all, there was nothing important in it, just a few clothes. Who knew that when she went there the next morning, she found that the work clothes in the closet were gone.
"She was so angry at the time. She didn't expect that even a torn piece of clothing would be stolen. But after asking colleagues who were on duty that night, they all said that they didn't notice anyone touching her wardrobe. Wu Yanhong had no choice but to consider herself unlucky and buy a new set of clothes."
Shen Qingye asked, "Wait, doesn't the hotel have surveillance cameras? Didn't the surveillance cameras capture it?"
Luo Kaiyang said: "There is surveillance. After the incident, Wu Yanhong also reported the incident to the cleaning supervisor. The supervisor felt that it was not a good idea for someone to steal things in such a large hotel, so he took her to the monitoring room to check. In the end, it was found that at around 2 a.m. on Saturday, a figure sneaked into the locker room. But because it was too dark at the time and the surveillance video quality was not good, it was really hard to tell who the person was."
Shen Qingye fell into deep thought for a moment: "If I remember correctly, that hotel is usually open until very late, right?"
Luo Kaiyang nodded: "Yes, the hotel is usually open all night. But because of the wedding of the Yuan and Xue families, the hotel was booked for the past few days and did not accept outside guests. So on Friday, the door closed very early."
Shen Qingye's eyebrows jumped, and he realized something was wrong almost instantly.
She then asked, "Since the door was closed, how did she get in?"
Luo Kaiyang said: "According to the surveillance, she should have come out of a utility room on the first floor of the hotel. I asked the people in the hotel, and that room is usually used to store brooms, mops and other cleaning tools. Few outsiders go in and out, and no one cleans it on purpose, so the window over there seems to be open often. The murderer may have climbed in from there." He paused and said: "I just asked my colleagues from the trace inspection team to check it out, but no traces of fingerprints were found nearby."
Yue Lingchuan frowned and was deep in thought for a moment.
Luo Kaiyang added: "The most crucial point is that according to colleagues, Wu Yanhong is usually a very careful person. The area she is responsible for cleaning is always the cleanest. How could she suddenly forget to lock her own closet?"
Shen Qingye raised his eyes to look at him.
"I asked Wu Yanhong if there was anything special before she got off work that day. She thought about it and told me that she had just changed her clothes and was about to lock the closet when someone called her outside. They said that the bride found a place that was not cleaned properly when she was checking the venue, so she asked her to go and have a look." Luo Kaiyang looked at everyone: "After she finished cleaning that area, the bride said that everything had been arranged and everyone could go back and rest early. It was because of this interruption that Wu Yanhong forgot that the closet was not closed and left directly."
He paused and added: "By the way, I also asked the neighbors around Wu Yanhong, and she was indeed at home this morning, and even chatted with her neighbors outside for a while, so she didn't have time to commit the crime." This means that her suspicion can be ruled out.
Everyone was silent for a moment, and Wei Zhengyi murmured, "So, there is indeed something wrong with the bride."
Jiang Cheng frowned, "It's hard to explain these things by calling them coincidences."
Zhou Qiming said: "Didn't we talk about the seven roses before? If Xue Mingqi was one of those roses, would she really be completely unaware when everyone else knew that Yuan Zhenghao had someone else outside?"
Luo Kaiyang said: "I don't believe that the seven roses were just casually placed by the murderer and have no other meaning."
Shen Qingye was silent for a while, then suddenly looked up at Yue Lingchuan and said, "Captain Yue, I'll go investigate Xue Mingqi."
Yue Lingchuan raised his eyebrows, and Shen Qingye explained: "My mother is on good terms with the Xue family, so it's relatively more convenient."
Yue Lingchuan said: "She may not tell the truth."
Shen Qingye said: "I understand. I want to start with Xue's parents to see if I can get any clues."
Yue Lingchuan looked at her for a while, then slowly nodded: "Okay."
He paused, then added: "Be careful."
Luo Kaiyang and others were confused as they listened. Why should they be so concerned about safety? Isn't it just a simple visit and investigation?
Shen Qingye's eyes trembled slightly, and she sensitively realized that he seemed to know something.
"I will." She pursed her lips: "Captain Yue, don't worry."
Yue Lingchuan slowly retracted his gaze, knocked on the table, and said, "Then I'll go check on Lin Mengjiao tomorrow. Kaiyang, take a look at the transcript just now. Zheng Yudan's side is left to you."
Luo Kaiyang took the transcript, glanced at it, and then responded with a "yes".
"It's getting late. Everyone should go back and have a good rest. We will be busy tomorrow."
…
When I got home in the evening, it was already dark. The lights coming from outside the villa seemed particularly warm in the dark and cold night.
Shen Qingye pushed the door open and saw Shen Linyue sitting in the living room under the warm light, looking down at the documents in front of her. She looked up after hearing the noise and said, "You're back?"
"Mom." Shen Qingye's expression warmed up slightly, and he stepped forward quickly: "Are you still busy?"
Chen Linyue casually threw the documents on the table in front of her and said, "Why are there so many things to do? I'm not like you. I don't have a free weekend."
Shen Qingye pursed his lips: "If there is a murder case, we can't just ignore it..."
Shen Linyue glanced at her and snorted and laughed: "You are so dedicated even before you enter the serious crime team. If you really enter in the future, you probably won't even have time to have a meal with me."
"How can that be possible?" Shen Qingye coaxed her kindly, "No matter how important the case is, can it be more important than my mother?"
Shen Linyue was too lazy to pay attention to her: "Don't be so slick here to make me happy." She stood up: "Okay, go change your clothes, wash your hands and eat."
She looked at her off-white coat and said, "You just bought some nice clothes and you wore them to touch a corpse. What a waste."
Shen Qingye muttered: "I didn't touch the body at all, okay?"
Shen Linyue said: “You are so close to him, what difference does it make whether you touch him or not?”
Shen Qingye couldn't help but argue: "That's a huge difference!"
Aunt Chen, who was standing by, saw the mother and daughter bickering and said helplessly, "Okay, stop arguing, or the food will get cold."
"Xiao Feng, let your mother go wash her hands quickly, ah."
Shen Linyue raised her eyebrows: "Do I need her to give in?"
Aunt Chen coaxed her like a child: "Yes, yes, as a mother, you should let her go. She has been busy all day, let her eat quickly."
Shen Linyue snorted at this, and walked to the dining table with a proud look on her face. Shen Qingye stuck out her tongue at Aunt Chen, which attracted her helpless look.
This mother and daughter...
The atmosphere at the dinner table was fairly mild, and Shen Linyue asked, "After a night of investigation, have you found any clues?"
Shen Qingye shook his head: "It's difficult."
She said: "The whole case is too complicated. There are six or seven suspects alone, and each of them has their own reasons. With their one-sided statements, we can't get any useful clues at all."
"By the way, Mom." She suddenly asked, "Do you know Xue Mingqi?"
"Xue Mingqi?" Shen Linyue looked at her and said, "Why, do you still doubt her?"
Shen Qingye nodded: "She is suspicious."
"Xue Mingqi..." Shen Linyue thought for a moment: "I don't really know that girl, mainly because I haven't seen her a few times. I remember that she was a very generous girl, polite, and knew when to advance and retreat. It seems that she has been working in the family company since graduation, and I heard that she is quite capable."
Shen Qingye frowned and thought for a while: "Then... Uncle Xue and Aunt Xue only have her as their child?"
Chen Linyue nodded: "Yes, she is the only one. Your Uncle Xue used to be a public official, and because of family planning, he couldn't have more than one child. Later, he went into business, and the couple wanted to have another child, but they were busy with work, and your Aunt Xue was not in good health. They had one child before but couldn't keep it, so they stopped forcing it and focused on raising their daughter."
Shen Qingye asked again: "How is the relationship between Uncle Xue and Auntie?"
Shen Linyue looked at her: “You want to ask your uncle Xue if there is anyone outside?”
Shen Qingye looked up at her with a smile, Shen Linyue rolled her eyes at her and said, "Anyway, as far as I know, there shouldn't be any. They are a good couple, which is rare among so many entrepreneurs."
Shen Qingye nodded thoughtfully: "Then... do they have any requirements for Xue Mingqi? For example, they must marry into the Yuan family, or a marriage between the two families or something like that."
"Also a marriage, you really have an idea." Chen Linyue said: "Anyway, from the few times I have dealt with their family, the Xue family couple does not seem to be the kind of parents who would force their children to do anything. Maybe it's because Xue Mingqi is an only child and a girl, their usual mantra is that as long as the child is safe and happy, they don't force anything else."
Shen Qingye murmured: "That's strange..."
If Xue Mingqi really knew that Yuan Zhenghao had someone outside, why didn't she tell her parents? Logically speaking, her parents love her so much, they should support her, right?
Shen Qingye couldn't figure it out, so she simply said, "Mom, I want to visit Uncle and Aunt Xue's tomorrow. Can you help me contact them?"
"Tomorrow?" Shen Linyue asked, "When do you want?"
"As soon as possible."
…
Shen Qingye said to come as early as possible, but she didn't expect her mother to come so early. She would knock on her door at around six o'clock.
Shen Qingye was in a daze, and before he could wake up, Shen Linyue said, "Hurry up, Mr. Xue and his wife still have to work, let's go early."
Shen Qingye was helpless, but he still forced himself to stay energetic. After washing up and having breakfast, he got into Shen Linyue's car and set off together.
The Xue family was not far from their home, less than twenty minutes' drive away. Shen Qingye dozed off for a while in the car, and only then did she perk up before getting off.
I don’t know what Shen Linyue said to the Xue family, but as soon as the car stopped, the Xue family couple who heard the noise came out to greet them.
"Come in, come in." Mrs. Xue welcomed him warmly.
Shen Qingye stepped forward and greeted politely, "Hello, Aunt Xue. I'm sorry to bother you so early in the morning."
Madam Xue smiled gently, but the darkness in her eyes was hard to hide. She said, "What do you mean by disturbing me? You just want to find out the truth as soon as possible."
"Come in and sit down. Have you had breakfast?"
“Don’t worry, Aunt Xue. We only came here after dinner.”
Mrs. Xue led the two of them to sit on the sofa. Shen Linyue exchanged a few words with her, then used the excuse of having some work to communicate with Mr. Xue, leaving Shen Qingye alone in the living room.
Madam Xue sent Shen Linyue away before she sat back on the sofa and said, “Linyue has told me the purpose of your visit. Just ask whatever you want to ask.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingye stopped being euphemistic and sat up straight. His face showed less respect for his elders and more seriousness when working. "It's like this. I heard that Yuan Zhenghao and Sister Mingqi met because of the elders, right?"
Mrs. Xue nodded: "Yes."
She sighed, "I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. Mingqi has been smart and sensible since she was a child. She never made me and her father worry, but she has never been able to open up in terms of love. She was busy studying when she was in school, and busy working after graduation. There were many boys around her who showed interest in her, but she just didn't have that intention. Her father and I were also worried. It happened that we were cooperating with the Yuan family at that time. We also knew Mr. Yuan's character, and we knew that he had a son of similar age, so we wanted to bring them together."
Shen Qingye asked: "What was Sister Mingqi's reaction at that time?"
Madam Xue said, "She never needs us to worry, including about blind dates. After I told her about it, she went to meet the man obediently. But I could see that Mingqi didn't have any interest in Yuan Zhenghao at the beginning."
"What happened next? Why did she change her mind about Yuan Zhenghao?"
Mrs. Xue said, "When we first met, Mingqi didn't have that intention, but Yuan Zhenghao had a good impression of Mingqi. He even came to visit her and said that he wanted to pursue Mingqi and hoped to get the consent of me and her father. At that time, I saw that he was handsome, polite and knew how to behave. Mingqi didn't particularly reject him, so I just let the young people go."
Mrs. Xue looked depressed, as if she had not expected that the young man she had originally favored would have such a situation behind the scenes.
Shen Qingye said something to comfort her, and then asked, "So later on, Yuan Zhenghao has been pursuing Sister Mingqi? Is Sister Mingqi also attracted to him?"
Mrs. Xue nodded: "During that period, Yuan Zhenghao contacted Mingqi almost every time he had time. Sometimes he was afraid that Mingqi would get annoyed if they met too often, so he deliberately controlled the frequency. Every time they met or came back from a business trip, there would be a small gift, sometimes it was expensive, and sometimes it might just be a local specialty. It was very thoughtful.
"Over time, Mingqi's attitude softened a bit. In the beginning, she was reluctant when Yuan Zhenghao asked her out, and sometimes I had to tell her to get along well with him. Later on, she was no longer opposed to Yuan Zhenghao's invitations, and sometimes she would look forward to going out. Sometimes she looked happy when she came back from playing."
Shen Qingye understood, so for Yuan Zhenghao, it might be love at first sight. But for Xue Mingqi, it should be love that grows over time.
Mrs. Xue continued, "The two children got along like this, and the real turning point came on Mingqi's birthday.
"That day, although Mingqi didn't say anything, I could tell she was waiting for Yuan Zhenghao. But until the evening, there was still no news or sign of Yuan Zhenghao. Mingqi seemed not to care on the surface, but she was still unhappy in her heart."
"At that time, her father and I thought that the kid had forgotten Mingqi's birthday, and we were a little disappointed. Who would have thought that in the evening, Yuan Zhenghao suddenly came to our house and wanted to take Mingqi to a place, and asked us to go with him. After her father and I arrived, we found that Yuan Zhenghao had booked a hotel, which was filled with Mingqi's favorite red roses!"
Rose?
Shen Qingye's eyes flashed.
Mrs. Xue couldn't help but sigh as she spoke: "It was already November at that time, and the rose season had long passed. Later we found out that the child had specially found so many roses from abroad and chartered a plane to transport them here."
"The reason why there was no news during the day was because I was waiting for these roses. I wanted to give Mingqi a surprise."
Shen Qingye said confidently: "Sister Mingqi is moved."
"How could I not be moved? He confessed his love in front of our two families, and he looked so sincere. Mingqi is a girl after all, and she has never been in a relationship before, so how could she refuse such a scene? It was natural for the two children to be together."
Mrs. Xue's expression softened slightly. "During that time, Mingqi's facial expressions became much more expressive. Every time she chatted with Yuan Zhenghao or met him, she would always smile sweetly. Sometimes she would laugh for no apparent reason while watching TV or eating. I asked her what she was happy about, but she was too shy to say it. However, their relationship was getting better and better."
Shen Qingye seemed to be thinking: "So, Sister Mingqi really likes Yuan Zhenghao? Is there a possibility that she doesn't want you to worry, so she deliberately pretends to have a good relationship with Yuan Zhenghao?"
Mrs. Xue was surprised: "Why do you think so?"
She shook her head: "I know my daughter well. If she was really pretending, I would definitely be able to tell." She paused: "Besides, her father and I are not forcing her to get married. There is no need for her to pretend..."
She frowned slightly, her eyes alert: "Are you suspicious of my Mingqi?"
Shen Qingye smiled softly and said in a gentle voice: "Auntie, you misunderstood. I just thought that apart from the Yuan family, Mingqi and you should be the ones who know Yuan Zhenghao best. That's why I asked more questions. Maybe I can find some clues in the process of your getting along with each other."
Mrs. Xue still had a look of hesitation on her face, and Shen Qingye continued, "Don't I know what kind of person Sister Mingqi is? Even if she is a million times wrong, she still has you and uncle. How could she do something stupid? Auntie, I understand this point clearly."
Madam Xue's expression softened slightly: "I'm not saying anything..."
She sighed, her eyes full of worry, "It's just that something like this happened at the wedding, and it's inevitable that people outside will gossip about it. I can tolerate the rest, but there are still people saying that Mingqi is unlucky... I'm really angry."
"I understand." Shen Qingye said gently, "That's why we have to solve the case quickly. When the truth comes out, others won't throw dirty water on Sister Mingqi so easily."
"You mean..."
Shen Qingye persuaded her a few more times before continuing to ask, "When did Sister Mingqi and Yuan Zhenghao get engaged?"
"Last October, we thought that our two children had been together for more than a year, so we decided to get married and hold the wedding next year when it gets warmer."
Shen Qingye keenly sensed something was wrong: "A little warmer? But isn't the weather still quite cold now?"
Mrs. Xue nodded helplessly: "Yes, we originally planned to arrange the wedding in April or May, when the weather is neither too hot nor too cold, just right. But the Yuan family couldn't wait any longer and suggested moving the wedding forward. They found a date that was better than the one they had agreed on before."
Shen Qingye: "Wait, is it the Yuan family who proposed an early wedding?"
Mrs. Xue said, "Yes, her father and I were not very happy at first. How could we move up the date just like that? But the Yuan family was sincere and apologized and said nice things, and Mingqi had no objection, so we compromised and set the date yesterday. We have been so busy during this period, and we thought we would be able to relax a little after the wedding, but who knew..." Mrs. Xue muttered to herself, but Shen Qingye's brows slowly frowned.
Why the sudden advance of the wedding?
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