The "old files" of the archives and the "secret compartments" of the western-style building
The next morning, Lu Ye and Qi Chen went to the Municipal Archives. The archives was located in a Republican-era building in the old city. The wooden stairs creaked when stepped on, which strangely overlapped with the sound of the stairs in Jingyuan, making Lu Ye's heart tighten.
The researcher in charge of the Republican archives was an elderly one named Zhou, with graying hair and thick reading glasses. When he heard they were looking for records from St. John's Girls' High School in 1939, he froze for a moment and pulled out a metal box from a drawer. "Are you here about Su Qingyuan's case? People have been coming here to investigate for years, but they haven't found any crucial evidence."
"Do you know Su Qingyuan?" Lu Ye asked in surprise.
The old researcher nodded and opened the iron box, revealing a stack of yellowed newspapers and files. "My grandmother was a janitor at St. John's. She saw Su Qingyuan being carried out. She said her eyes were open when she died, so it didn't seem like suicide. But the police at the time were bribed by the Chen family and closed the case as suicide."
"The Chen family?" Qi Chen grasped the key information, "Is it Mr. Chen's family?"
"Yes," the old researcher pulled out a file. "Mr. Chen's name was Chen Jingming. He was a Chinese teacher at St. John's. His father was a powerful member of parliament at the time. A few days after Su Qingyuan's death, he resigned and went to Nanjing, never to return."
Lu Ye took the file. It contained a photo of Chen Jingming, identical to the man in the Jingyuan study photo. The file also recorded Chen Jingming's financial situation—in February 1939, he embezzled 500 yuan from the school's "student aid fund," noting it was "for school building repairs." In reality, the money wasn't used for repairs; it went into his own account.
"'That money' is the student aid fund!" Lu Ye said excitedly, "Su Qingyuan discovered that he had embezzled public funds, so he asked her to go to the Jingyuan study to negotiate. If they couldn't reach an agreement, he would kill her!"
The old researcher sighed. "It's very likely. My grandmother said that Su Qingyuan was a very upright girl and would definitely intervene if she saw injustice. She was the school's financial aid committee member at the time, responsible for managing the financial aid fund, and she would definitely have noticed Chen Jingming's little trick."
Qi Chen took out another newspaper, which was the "Shen Bao" on March 19, 1939. There was a short message in the corner: "Su Qingyuan, a student of St. John's Girls' Middle School, committed suicide at home in the early morning of March 18. The cause of death was suspected to be love." There was no signature under the short message, as if someone had deliberately arranged it.
"This text message was arranged by the Chen family," the old researcher said, "to cover up the truth. They also deliberately spread rumors that Su Qingyuan and Chen Jingming had an affair and committed suicide out of love and hatred, in order to destroy her reputation."
Lu Ye felt a pang of pain in his heart - Su Qingyuan was not only murdered, but also slandered after her death. Her obsession was probably not only to find the murderer, but also to clear her name.
The two thanked the old researcher and returned to Jingyuan with the files. It was already afternoon, and the setting sun shone through the windows of the western-style building, casting mottled light and shadows on the ground, adding a touch of warmth to the gloomy building.
"Let's go to the study and take a look," Qi Chen said. "There may be other evidence in the secret compartment, such as the account book of Chen Jingming's embezzlement of public funds."
The two of them walked into the study. Qi Chen's flashlight beam swept across the secret compartment and found a tiny crack at the bottom, as if there was another layer. He inserted a knife into the crack and gently pried it open. The bottom panel of the secret compartment opened, revealing an even smaller space. Inside was a small account book with the title "Student Aid Fund Income and Expenditure Record" written on the cover.
Lu Ye carefully took out the account book and opened it. It recorded the income and expenditure of the student aid fund in detail. On the page of February of the 28th year of the Republic of China, there was an expenditure of 500 yuan, with the note "Chen Jingming's loan" and no repayment date. There was also Su Qingyuan's note below: "This amount was not used for repairs, and needs to be verified with Mr. Chen." The date was March 17th, the day Chen Jingming asked Su Qingyuan to come to the study.
"This is the evidence!" Lu Ye said excitedly, "Su Qingyuan discovered that he had embezzled public funds and asked him to verify it. He was afraid that the truth would be exposed, so he killed her!"
At that moment, a faint cry could be heard from the bedroom. It sounded like a woman's voice, filled with grievance and anger. The two men immediately rushed into the bedroom, only to see the bronze mirror on the dressing table light up by itself, revealing Su Qingyuan's figure in the mirror—she was wearing a light blue cheongsam, her hair disheveled, a deep bruise on her neck, and tears and blood in her eyes. She stretched out her hand to them, as if to say, "Help me."
"We will help you," Qi Chen said softly, "We have found evidence that Chen Jingming embezzled public funds. We will find him soon and clear your name."
Su Qingyuan's figure nodded slightly in the mirror, the marks from the strangulations gradually faded, and the blood and tears stopped flowing. She bowed to them, then slowly disappeared in the mirror, and the bronze mirror returned to its blurry appearance.
Lu Ye breathed a sigh of relief and put the account book into the evidence bag. "Now all we need to do is find Chen Jingming. He went to Nanjing that year and might still be alive. How can we find him?"
Qi Chen pulled out his phone and opened a Republican archives search app. "I checked. Chen Jingming changed his name to Chen Siming after going to Nanjing. He was a teacher at a middle school in Nanjing. He later retired and returned to this city, living in a nursing home in the west of the city."
"Really?" Lu Ye asked in surprise, "Let's go to the nursing home to find him now!"
Qi Chen shook his head: "It's too late now, let's go tomorrow morning. Let's stay in Jingyuan tonight and see if Su Qingyuan can provide us with any more clues. Let her know that we can help her find the murderer soon."
The two of them laid out a moisture-proof mat in the living room, and Qi Chen placed the soul-calming bell beside him, just in case. Lu Ye lay on the moisture-proof mat, looking at the ceiling of the western-style building, and always felt that Su Qingyuan's shadow was swaying on the ceiling, as if guarding them.
In the middle of the night, Lu Ye was awakened by the sound of light footsteps. He opened his eyes and saw a light blue figure walking down the stairs. It was Su Qingyuan. She walked to the center of the living room, bowed to the evidence bag beside Qi Chen, then walked to the door and stood for a long time facing the moonlight outside, as if expecting something.
Lu Ye did not disturb her, but just watched quietly - he knew that Su Qingyuan had been waiting for decades, and if she waited one more night, she would be able to wait until the truth was revealed.
The next morning, they packed up their evidence and headed to a nursing home in the west of the city. The home was nestled on a hillside in the suburbs, offering a tranquil environment where the elderly strolled and played chess in the courtyard, creating a peaceful atmosphere.
They approached the nursing home's director and explained their purpose. After a moment's hesitation, the director took them to Chen Siming's room. The room was tidy. Hanging on the wall was a calligraphy piece: "Quietness Leads to Far-Reaching Vision," signed "Siming." A white-haired old man, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and holding a collection of poetry, sat in a chair by the window. It was Chen Jingming, now Chen Siming.
"What do you want to talk to me about?" Chen Siming's voice was hoarse. When he saw the evidence bag in Qi Chen's hand, a trace of panic flashed in his eyes.
"Mr. Chen Jingming," Qi Chen said softly, "We are here regarding Su Qingyuan's matter."
Chen Siming's body trembled violently, and the poetry collection in his hand fell to the ground. He looked up at Qi Chen and Lu Ye, his eyes filled with fear and guilt: "I... I don't know Su Qingyuan..."
"You know her," Lu Ye said, pulling out the account book and photos. "In 1939, you were a teacher at St. John's Girls' Middle School. You embezzled 500 yuan from the student aid fund. Su Qingyuan discovered this and invited her to the Jingyuan Study to negotiate. You then murdered her, faking it as suicide, and spread rumors to ruin her reputation. Am I right?"
Chen Siming's face turned pale instantly. He covered his face with his hands, his shoulders shaking violently. After a long while, he slowly spoke: "Yes...I did it..."
He slowly recounted the events of that year—in 1939, he'd fallen into gambling debt and, in a moment of confusion, misappropriated student aid funds, intending to return them when he won. Su Qingyuan, upon discovering the situation, demanded he verify the funds. Fearing that his future would be ruined if the matter were exposed, he invited her to his Jingyuan study to persuade her to keep the matter secret. But Su Qingyuan was adamant and insisted on telling the school. In a fit of rage, he strangled her with a silk scarf, faking a suicide, and had his father arrange for a newspaper report to spread the rumor.
"These past few years, I've lived with guilt every day," Chen Siming's tears fell to the ground. "I changed my name and hid for so many years, but I still couldn't escape... I'm sorry for Qingyuan and her family..."
"Not only have you wronged her," Lu Ye said in a deep voice, "you've also ruined her reputation, causing her to be slandered even after her death. Her obsession is to get you to confess your crime and clear her name."
Chen Siming nodded and wiped away his tears: "I am willing to turn myself in to the police station, to make a public apology, and to clear her name... I only ask that she forgive me..."
The two of them took Chen Siming back to Jingyuan. It was already afternoon, and the setting sun shone on the western-style building. Su Qingyuan's figure appeared in the center of the living room. She was wearing a light blue cheongsam. The marks on her neck had disappeared, and there were no more blood and tears in her eyes. She stretched out her hand to Chen Siming, as if waiting for his apology.
"Qingyuan, I'm sorry," Chen Siming knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times to Su Qingyuan's figure. "I was wrong. I shouldn't have embezzled public funds, shouldn't have killed you, and shouldn't have ruined your reputation... I'm going to turn myself in now to clear your name. Please forgive me..."
Su Qingyuan nodded slightly in the setting sun. She bowed to Qi Chen and Lu Ye, then slowly became transparent and dissipated in the air like mist, leaving only a faint scent of "Shuangmei" perfume, as if saying "thank you".
Lu Ye and Qi Chen stood there, watching Su Qingyuan's figure disappear, and felt relieved in their hearts - she finally waited for the truth and finally cleared her name.
After Chen Siming turned himself in to the police station, the police reopened the case based on his confession and the evidence they found, restoring Su Qingyuan's reputation. Local media also reported on the incident, clarifying the rumors and giving Su Qingyuan justice.
Lu Ye and Qi Chen stood at the gate of Jingyuan, looking at the western-style building in the sunset. They felt that it was no longer gloomy, but rather had a sense of peace. They knew that Su Qingyuan's obsession had been resolved and she could finally rest in peace.
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