Chapter 389 New Clues
In the evening, after dinner and a brief conversation with Lord Du, Gu Jingxi and Meng Jinyao returned to their guest room.
After entering the guest room and closing the door, Gu Jingxi said, "Ayao, I'm going out for a bit. If you're sleepy, go to sleep first. You don't need to wait for me."
Meng Jinyao knew the purpose of his trip and nodded gently: "Husband, be careful."
Gu Jingxi was a cautious person. He disguised himself slightly, changed into a set of black clothes, covered his face, looked around, and seeing that no one was around, he climbed over the wall and went out.
Meng Jinyao watched helplessly as he leaped onto the wall and disappeared above it, wondering how he had managed to get up there.
After leaving the county government office, Gu Jingxi went to a small house in the east of the city. It was a house that he had Fang Xuan and Fang Ce rent for the convenience of discussing matters or for other purposes.
Fang Xuan and Fang Ce were efficient. Fang Ce had brought back the parents of the girl who had been raped and murdered and put them in this house. They were not allowed to see anyone or go out. They had left Deqing County, this sad place, but they did not go far. They only went to the neighboring county.
Upon learning this, Gu Jingxi nodded in satisfaction. The case of the girl being raped and then murdered might be a breakthrough, and he took it very seriously, but he was not in a hurry to meet the girl's parents.
He met with Fang Xuan first and asked directly, "Fang Xuan, how's the matter I asked you to investigate going?"
Fang Xuan recounted the story in detail: "My lord, I have investigated. The reason why the young master of the Li family had a past relationship with that young lady is because she is good at embroidery. One day, the young master of the Li family saw her providing embroidery for his shop, so he introduced her to Miss Li, who is also the young master of the Li family's sister, and she made clothes for Miss Li."
"This young lady is beautiful and has a unique personality. Young Master Li took a liking to her and wanted to take her as a concubine. This matter had already been approved by Young Master Li's elders, and they were preparing to have a matchmaker tell the young lady's parents. However, the young lady was raped and then murdered. Before this, Young Master Li had no grudges against the young lady and always treated her with courtesy when they met."
Gu Jingxi frowned. This didn't sound like a problem. After investigating for so long, it was still pretty much the same as what he knew before, as if it really had nothing to do with Young Master Li. But based on his years of experience in handling cases, he felt that things weren't that simple. There were still loopholes in the case. Even though the girl's brother had confessed, he asked, "Besides that, is there anything else?"
Fang Xuan nodded slightly and continued, "But there was a coincidence: the young woman and her neighbor's son died on the same day. The young man's condition had initially improved, and the doctor said that with a little more rest, he would be fine. But for some reason, his condition suddenly worsened rapidly, and he died the day after his condition deteriorated. The young man was found dead in the morning, and the young woman went out in the afternoon and didn't return. When she was found, she had been raped and murdered, and it was her brother who discovered her when he went out to look for her."
Upon hearing the new clue, Gu Jingxi's eyes lit up. After a moment's thought, he asked, "What is the relationship between that young man and this young woman?"
Fang Xuan replied, "They grew up together as childhood sweethearts and have a very good relationship."
After hearing this, Gu Jingxi had a vague guess in his mind.
Perhaps that girl had someone she loved and didn't want to marry Young Master Li. That person was the deceased young man. When Young Master Li found out, he murdered the young man. The girl guessed the reason and went to confront Young Master Li. The two argued, and in the end, Young Master Li, driven by love turned to hatred, raped the girl and then killed her in a fit of rage.
However, these are just his initial guesses.
After a moment, Gu Jingxi asked again, "What were their names again?"
Fang Xuan replied, "That girl is named Shen Qinghe, her brother is named Shen Qingshan, the neighbor's son is named Yang Yingjie, and the young master Li is named Li Xin."
Gu Jingxi nodded and instructed, "Go and bring those parents over. I have something to ask them."
Fang Xuan responded and stepped back to bring the middle-aged couple over. The couple had lost their only child, who had been raped and murdered by their adopted son. They had suffered a heavy blow, and although they were only in their thirties, they looked like they were in their forties.
When the couple was brought back, Fang Ce had already informed them that officials from the imperial court had come to investigate the cause of their child's death. They were bewildered; the case had already been closed, and their daughter had been murdered by her adopted son. Why were they being investigated again?
When the couple entered the hall, they saw the handsome young man. His dark clothes made him look quite dignified. They quickly knelt down and bowed, saying, "This humble woman greets Your Excellency."
Gu Jingxi said gently, "No need for formalities, please sit down and talk. I have some questions to ask you."
The couple were flattered by the news.
Father Shen quickly waved his hand: "No, no need, sir. We can just stand here. Please feel free to ask us any questions, and we will answer them truthfully."
Gu Jingxi didn't press the matter and immediately asked, "I heard that you once considered bringing your biological daughter and adopted son together?"
Upon hearing this, Mother Shen was filled with remorse and said angrily, "We were the ones who brought a wolf into the house. We shouldn't have saved this beast in the first place, let alone raised him to adulthood! We thought we only had one daughter, and we couldn't bear to let her marry someone else, so we tried to match them up. But our daughter wasn't willing, saying she considered Qingshan her own brother, so we gave up on that idea. But Qingshan liked Qinghe, and after being rejected by Qinghe, he became depressed, and a few days later, Qinghe had an accident."
Gu Jingxi then asked, "Does Miss Shen have feelings for Yang Yingjie?"
Upon hearing this, both Mr. and Mrs. Shen were stunned and subconsciously shook their heads.
Father Shen said, "Yingjie and my family's two children grew up together, just like brothers and sisters. Qinghe treats Qingshan like her own brother, and she certainly has no other thoughts about Yingjie. Yingjie is a few months younger than her, and she treats him like her younger brother."
Gu Jingxi said, "But Yang Yingjie and Miss Shen died on the same day."
Mother Shen's eyes welled up with tears as she said sorrowfully, "Yes, these two children died on the same day. God is so unfair. Neither the Shen nor the Yang family has done anything wrong, yet our only children both died on the same day. Yingjie was fine before, but somehow his condition suddenly worsened. Our poor Qinghe was also harmed by that beast."
When Mr. Shen recalled that day, he was also filled with grief. He was helping the Yang family with the funeral arrangements for Yingjie's child when, near dusk, news of his own child's death arrived, and he and his wife fainted on the spot.
Gu Jingxi said unhurriedly, "Miss Shen's body was found in the Li family's villa. Only a deaf-mute couple and their two children were taking care of the villa. On the day of the incident, their children had all gone out to buy supplies. The deaf-mute couple, the mute husband was injured, and the deaf wife was busy in the kitchen. When she came out, she saw your adopted son Shen Qingshan holding Miss Shen's body, and the mute servant had fainted on the ground."
Upon hearing this, Father Shen nodded: "He originally intended to frame Young Master Li for Qinghe's death, secretly throwing Qinghe's body into the Li family's small villa. Unexpectedly, the servant saw Qinghe's body and tried to find someone, but this beast was afraid and tried to kill him to cover it up, but he failed, and the mute servant didn't die. He initially denied framing the victim, but finally confessed. Sir, this case is closed, why do you still want to investigate?"
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