The car sped along the highway like an arrow, and soon arrived at the county hospital.
Qian Mao and several others hurriedly lifted Liu Sanzhu out of the car, anxiously shouting, "Doctor, doctor, help! Help me!" Their voices, filled with anxiety and fear, echoed throughout the hospital lobby.
Upon hearing the shout, many medical staff in white coats quickly rushed over, some even running. They moved swiftly, carrying professional equipment; some pushed emergency trolleys, and in the blink of an eye, they were beside Liu Sanzhu. Working together, they carefully placed Liu Sanzhu on the trolley. Watching the doctors skillfully and decisively wheel him into the emergency room, Qian Mao breathed a deep sigh of relief, but his heart remained filled with worry.
He turned to his father and said, "Dad, I'm going to pay the bill."
Qian Sheng nodded in agreement, and subconsciously touched his pocket, only to find that he only had one yuan left. This one yuan was the pocket change that Jin Jinxiu had specially left for him, just in case. He looked at his son and said firmly, "Okay, go ahead. No matter how much it costs, the hospital will give us a receipt. I hope Liu Sanzhu can get through this."
Qian Mao nodded silently and turned to walk towards the payment window.
Li Dafa stood anxiously in the village, waiting for the police to arrive. Zhou Lina sat to the side, her emotions extremely unstable, sometimes crying and sometimes laughing, leaving everyone bewildered. Liu Yinan stood quietly to the side, his eyes occasionally glancing at his mother, seemingly afraid, unconsciously hiding behind the squad leader.
Looking at the tattered, dirty child before him, Li Dafa couldn't help but sigh. He recalled how Zhou Lina had intended to jump into the water to be rescued by Qian Mao so she could then use the opportunity to cling to him, but Liu Sanzhu had saved her instead.
Left with no other choice, she married Liu Sanzhu and soon gave birth to the child. Since the child's birth, Zhou Lina completely neglected her responsibilities as a mother, ignoring the child entirely. If it weren't for the child's grandmother's devoted care, the child would likely have died long ago. Sadly, the child's grandmother passed away two years ago, and since then, Liu Yinan has been like an orphan. Even his name was given to him by the village head during the census; after all, he was the only boy in their family's generation, and he had never been treated well.
Normally, Liu Yinan would play alone, only speaking a few words when he was with Liu Sanzhu. He never cared about his mother, who gave birth to him but didn't raise him, as if she were a stranger. Now, facing this chaotic situation, Liu Yinan appeared exceptionally weak and helpless.
Not long after, Qian Rao arrived at the Liu family's house with several police officers. They carefully questioned everyone present, and apart from Zhou Lina's somewhat abnormal mental state, the testimonies of the other witnesses were basically consistent.
As the captain of the Criminal Investigation Team of the Public Security Bureau, Zhang Shulin naturally had her own observation skills. She saw Liu Yinan hiding behind the squad leader, walked over and asked gently, "Little friend, did you run to the village chief for help as soon as you saw Father Li fall to the ground?"
Liu Yinan nodded silently without saying a word.
Zhang Shulin then asked, "Do you know what happened here?"
Liu Yinan glanced at Zhou Lina, who was still in a frenzied state, pointed at her, then at the water vat, and finally at the water ladle on the stove.
Following his instructions, Zhang Shulin lowered his head thoughtfully. After a moment of thought, he instructed a young police officer beside him, "Collect water samples."
"Yes." The young officer quickly took out three water samples, clearly labeled the source of the water samples on each bottle, and then turned around to continue his work.
Upon hearing this at home, Qian Duoduo felt a surge of sorrow. He recalled how Zhou Lina had attempted to extort money from his third brother by jumping into the water, and Liu Sanzhu was the very person he had chosen. Over the years, Zhou Lina always seemed lifeless, but she had remained relatively well-behaved and had even given birth to a child, so Qian Duoduo hadn't paid her much attention.
The original intention was to teach Zhou Lina a lesson through Liu Sanzhu, but before things even started, Liu Sanzhu's life was already on the verge of collapse. This was something Qian Duoduo hadn't expected. At the same time, she was deeply impressed by Zhou Lina's ruthlessness. Especially when she learned that Zhou Lina had covered Liu Sanzhu's mouth and nose with a rag, the hairs on her body stood on end, and she was filled with fear and shock.
Zhou Lina was taken to the county public security bureau. Because Liu Sanzhu was still receiving emergency treatment, they only conducted routine questioning on Zhou Lina. However, Zhou Lina kept her head down, silently resisting and not saying a word.
Zhang Shulin had seen too many people like this. He said in a serious tone, "Zhou Lina, your silence is useless now. We have witnesses and physical evidence to prove your murder. You can't erase it by remaining silent."
Zhou Lina kept her head down, and no one could see any emotion on her face.
Hearing the knocking at the door, Zhang Shulin gave a wink to the person beside him, went out, and returned shortly after. After sitting down again, he spoke once more: "Congratulations!"
Zhou Lina made no move.
Zhang Shulin: "Liu Sanzhu is out of danger; he is still alive."
These words made Zhou Lina, who had been lifeless, suddenly raise her head. She stared intently at Zhang Shulin and said in a hoarse voice, "Impossible! I saw him stop struggling. How is he still alive?"
Zhang Shulin glanced at the interrogation record book next to him. "Good, it's all written down." He continued, "He was poisoned, that's right, but he was able to struggle for so long at home until your village's brigade leader arrived. This shows that this person's physical condition is quite good."
Seeing Zhou Lina's disapproving look, he added, "Although Liu Sanzhu was drugged and you covered his mouth and nose, and although his body stopped convulsing later, he only entered a state of asphyxiation and fainting, not death."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Lina's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at Zhang Shulin, shaking her head and muttering, "This is impossible, this is impossible, he's dead. He's not moving, he's dead."
Seeing that Zhou Lina had once again entered a state of frenzy, Zhang Shulin tactically took a sip of water and began to continue the interrogation.
The next day, Qian Duoduo went to the county hospital and saw Liu Sanzhu staring blankly upwards with his eyes open, seemingly lost in thought. He put down what he was holding and said, "Brother Sanzhu."
Liu Sanzhu's eyes twitched as he looked in the direction the sound came from. When he saw Qian Duoduo, he grinned and opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
