Chapter 100 I was murdered, how could this be...?
Blue's mother covered her face, blaming herself repeatedly.
It was as if she were the murderer of her daughter, and it seemed that blaming herself would make her feel better.
Ji Jingtong was taciturn by nature and not the type to comfort people.
He remained a silent listener throughout, letting Lan's mother cry and vent her emotions.
Chu Ci stood beside Lan's weeping mother for a while, then couldn't help but ask:
"Since you're going to file a lawsuit, have you found a lawyer?"
"What?"
Blue Mother looked up as if waking from a dream, as if only then realizing that there was such a thing.
She blinked. "I... the Royal Court assigns lawyers..."
"The assigned lawyers are just there to complete their tasks and go through the motions; they won't seriously help you with your case."
Ji Jingtong was quite knowledgeable about this matter and reminded Lan's mother.
"The other party's family is rich and powerful, and they are not easy to deal with."
"You must choose a good lawyer; you absolutely cannot be careless."
Mother Lan frowned and gripped her pants even tighter.
Her bloodshot eyes were filled with anger.
"My daughter was killed by the son of the Wang family, that's a fact!"
"Didn't your police find the murder weapon and identify the killer? Why do you still need a lawyer?!"
"Without a lawyer, does that mean he won't be sentenced to jail?!"
"Ms. Lan, please don't panic. Things aren't as you think."
Ji Jingtong patiently explained to her:
"Our police have indeed found the murder weapon, and many of his accomplices have confessed."
"But the number of years a judge sentences can fluctuate within a certain range."
"A good lawyer can make a murderer spend more time in prison and pay a greater price."
He explained the situation to Lan's mother in detail, and the angry mother gradually calmed down.
After he finished speaking, she clenched her fists tighter around her trouser leg, leaving nail marks on the fabric.
"Inspector Ji, you're right!"
She slowly stood up and dragged her slightly unsteady body away from the sofa.
I walked to the photo wall on one side of the living room.
The photos on the wall included both color and black-and-white images.
The photo in the very center is a small, black-and-white picture of a young man and woman.
The girl in the photo looks to be in her early twenties, with neat braids.
The man was dressed in military uniform, with deep-set features and bright eyes; he was a foreigner with thick eyebrows and large eyes.
Both of them seemed reserved, wanting to get closer but too shy to do so.
The old photos couldn't hide the shyness of the young people; the atmosphere of the era was palpable.
Lan's mother touched the black and white group photo, her drooping eyelashes casting a shadow on her wrinkled face.
She held the photo in her arms and nodded emphatically to Ji Jingtong.
"If Momo's father were still alive, he would do anything to make that bastard who hurt Momo pay the price."
"Inspector Ji, could you recommend a reliable lawyer for me? I'm willing to pay any price."
She looked up at the house where she had lived with her husband and children, reminiscing about the past.
"Back then, Momo's father was going to fight in the war. He used all his savings to buy this house for me and told me to wait for him here."
"I've waited for almost thirty years, and he still hasn't come back."
"Everyone says I'm stupid, that man clearly doesn't want to take responsibility, that's why he's not coming back."
“But I think he must have had an accident on the battlefield, which is why he couldn’t come back.”
Holding the black and white photograph, she stood in the center of the house, gazing at the mottled ceiling, tears streaming down her face.
The barely perceptible man sighed, "So many years have passed, this house is worth quite a bit of money now."
"If this house can bring some justice to my Momo, it can be considered Momo's father's last act of responsibility to Momo."
Ji Jingtong frowned. "Ms. Lan, do you want to sell the house?"
"right."
Looking at the familiar house, Lan's mother's eyes were filled with reluctance, but her attitude was resolute.
"I want to sell the house, and I want to hire the best and most responsible lawyer for my daughter, Momo."
"I will make those beasts who hurt my Momo pay the price!"
Chu Ci and Ji Jingtong exchanged a glance, and at the same time, they thought of the same person.
"Ms. Lan, you don't necessarily have to sell the house."
Chu Ci reminded her, "We know a lawyer who is now doing pro bono law, and he has a strong sense of justice."
"Not only are they responsible for the cases, but they also have excellent professional skills, and most importantly, they don't take money."
Before Lan's mother could utter a word of surprise, Chu Ci continued:
"And as far as I know, your daughter has prepared a sum of money specifically to help you in your old age."
"MoMo prepared retirement money for me?"
Lan's mother's hands trembled as she held the photo, her eyes widening in disbelief.
She argued with her daughter for so long because of her daughter having a boyfriend.
Her daughter actually prepared retirement money for her?
"Yes, she saved 500,000 for your retirement."
Chu Ci asked Lan's mother to lead the way, and the three of them went to Lan Momo's rented house together.
Lan Momo's rental apartment is located in a particularly good location in Central.
This is the financial center and the most prosperous area in Hong Kong.
However, because of its excellent location, the rent is particularly expensive.
In order to afford the expensive rent, Lan Momo's house is particularly small.
The room was tiny, with no kitchen, only a small bedroom and an even smaller bathroom.
The largest item in the bedroom is a single bed, followed by a small T-shaped wardrobe.
The rest of the room was occupied by a huge desk.
The desk remains exactly as it was when Lan Momo left, covered with all sorts of design drawings.
Looking at the drawings, some simple and some complex, Lan's mother wiped away her tears and neatly put all the drawings away.
The landlady was a very gentle woman, both in appearance and manner.
She looked at Lan's mother with sympathy, her thin eyebrows furrowed together.
"You must be Miss Lan's mother? You two look so alike."
She gestured to Lan's mother to tidy up the things in the room as she pleased, her lowered eyes filled with sadness.
"Miss Lan is a very good girl. She never misses a rent payment, the house is clean and tidy, and she doesn't make any demands."
"Sometimes when I buy too much stuff, I'll give it to my family to eat."
"To be honest, in all my years as a landlord, Ms. Lan is my most satisfying tenant."
The landlady shook her head regretfully, "She also said that once she goes abroad to work and settles down there, she'll invite our family to come and visit..."
It's clear that the landlady and Lan Momo have a very good relationship.
From the landlady's account, we can roughly glimpse a corner of Lan Momo's personality.
As Lan's mother tidied up her daughter's clothes, she forced a smile and thanked the landlord.
"Thank you. Momo really likes it when people compliment her. She would be very happy if she knew you thought this way."
The landlord shook his head and decided not to bother them any longer.
"Just pack your things and come across the hall to call me."
"Miss Lan also paid a deposit, which I will refund to you as well."
In front of Lan's mother, Chu Ci pushed open the door to the bedroom bed, just as Lan Momo had instructed.
She tapped each floorboard one by one, and when she tapped the sixth one, she heard a clear, hollow sound.
"This is it."
She pressed one corner of the floor, and the opposite corner immediately lifted up, making it easy to pick up the board.
Underneath the board was a package of documents wrapped in a plastic bag.
Chu Ci handed the documents to Lan's mother, who then asked Ji Jingtong to take a look.
Ji Jingtong: "It's an overseas bank account."
This bank also has a branch in Hong Kong; they can go there directly with all the necessary documents to withdraw money.
There are many remittance records in the bank account.
From thousands or tens of thousands to a few cents, Lan Momo saved them all little by little.
Looking at the densely packed records, Lan's mother's tears fell in a steady stream, landing on the remittance records.
It spread out into tiny, darker-colored water droplets.
She carefully flipped through the papers, looking at the dates on the remittance records:
"These are all saved up by Momo from selling design drafts."
From the moment Momo received her first design fee, she began planning for her mother's retirement.
After that, she would keep 30% to 50% of every royalty payment and deposit it into this account.
Over the past ten years, I have saved up 500,000.
The complex and intertwined relationship between mother and daughter is crystal clear in the records of each remittance.
Clutching the thick stack of records, Lan's mother held them in her arms like precious treasures.
He shook his head, a smile choked with emotion, and a hint of relief appeared in his eyes.
"Forget it, I won't withdraw the money. Let it stay in this account."
Momo is better than her mother; she didn't follow in her mother's footsteps.
Back then, she insisted on leaving home. Although she had a place to stay, she still suffered a lot of grievances while raising her child.
Mo Mo is better than her; she didn't suffer.
She slowly stood up, holding the documents.
"These are all things that Momo has saved up little by little over many years to give to me as a filial son."
"There's no need, I don't want to touch the money in this account..."
However, since Lan Momo had passed away, the bank still helped to change the account information.
From then on, the owner of the account changed from Lan Momo to Lan Mu.
After escorting Lan's mother home, worried that the Wang family might harm her, Ji Jingtong instructed Lan's mother to immediately notify her if she noticed anything amiss.
He had lunch with Chu Ci at noon, but received a phone call halfway through. He rushed back to the police station to work before he had even finished his meal.
Around 1 p.m., Chu Ci, who was folding paper ingots in the shop, received a call from Ji Jingtong.
"Master, you asked me to ask Ren Wenguang about the origin of that Yin Peach Blossom, but I don't think I can get the answer for now."
Chu Ci: "Can't get an answer?"
Ji Jingtong sighed: "Ren Wenguang was beaten up while he was in prison waiting to be tried."
Chu Ci didn't know how badly Ren Wenguang had been beaten, but it was probably so bad that he couldn't speak anymore.
She raised an eyebrow: "Ren Wenguang's beastly act of killing his wife and children was discovered by his righteous fellow inmates, and then he was beaten up?"
Ji Jingtong paused for a moment: "Well...that's part of the reason, but it's mostly due to external factors."
Chu Ci sighed again, puzzled.
"Song Yu used his connections to get Ren Wenguang into prison and had him severely beaten."
Do you still remember Liu He?
Just as Chu Ci was thinking about Liu He, who had been castrated by Wang Qiang and could only be her son's sister from then on, she heard Ji Jingtong say on the phone:
"Ren Wenguang is currently in the same hospital as Liu He."
"The person Song Yu bribed was ruthless; he kicked Ren Wenguang so hard he was crippled. Ren Wenguang fainted from the pain on the spot and was just taken to the hospital."
"The situation is very serious. His... he definitely can't be saved. He's bleeding heavily, and the doctors are trying to save him."
After he finished speaking, the background noise on his end started to pick up.
"Okay, I understand."
Ji Jingtong hurriedly responded.
"Master, I have other matters to attend to. Let's meet another day."
After saying that, he hurriedly hung up the phone.
Chu Ci placed the receiver on the landline and gently curled her lips.
"retribution."
After feeding Li Lecan and Xiaomin under the umbrella, she rested her chin on her hand and looked at Li Lecan.
Li Lecan is sharing dessert with Xiaomin after dinner.
This is the signature item in the sugar frosting dessert shop that Master Qiu is about to open, and the two little girls are eating it with great relish.
After being stared at by Chu Ci for two seconds, Li Lecan trembled, but still did not put down the cake in his hand.
"master?"
She glanced cautiously at Chu Ci.
Is there something you need?
Chu Ci looked at her, then at the time.
It will take about two hours for Sun Lingyan to arrive.
She asked Li Lecan, "Do you want to meet your parents?"
Li Lecan's obsession was nothing more than his parents and the murderer, so he decided to try them one by one.
"Really?" Li Lecan's eyes lit up.
"Master, are you really planning to take me to meet my parents?"
Chu Ci: "I wanted to take you there this morning, but something came up. Now is the perfect time to go."
Li Lecan quickly put down the small cake in his hand, rubbing his hands excitedly, his excitement beyond words.
Even knowing that her parents couldn't possibly see her, she still subconsciously straightened her clothes.
She even asked Xiaomin to help her put on her hat.
"Quick, quick, help me cover the wound on the back of my head!"
Xiaomin couldn't help but be happy for her.
I carefully helped her put on her hat, using her hair to cover the hole on the back of her head.
"It's ready!"
Xiaomin made her spin around on the spot and praised her loudly.
"You can't see the head wound at all, Sister Can, you look just like a living person now!"
The two were happily sucked into the umbrella, and Li Lecan told Chu Ci her parents' address.
Li Lecan's place was neither poor nor rich.
But having their own house in Hong Kong, where land is incredibly expensive, means their family's life isn't bad.
Today is Saturday. When Chu Ci led the two of them to Li Lecan's house, they saw many children playing together on both sides.
Li Lecan huddled under the umbrella, but her mouth didn't stop.
"Xiaomin, look at that place! That used to be a small shop, and the old lady inside was really fierce!"
"I never imagined it would become a chain convenience store, and the old lady is gone too!"
"Hey! Kid!" Li Lecan's eyes lit up, and he suddenly shouted.
A boy about the same height as Chu Ci walked past them, carrying a large shopping bag and looking resentful.
The boy's mother walked ahead, her hands empty. She rolled her eyes and scolded her son:
"You're almost graduating high school now, you're practically a man, right? You can't even carry this little thing, aren't you afraid your girlfriend will laugh at you!"
The boy blushed deeply with embarrassment and almost fell to the ground.
He struggled to carry the bag, haggling with his own mother:
"I'm not that strong, it's just that you bought too much stuff!"
"Besides, I even helped you carry the bags, so you're not allowed to talk nonsense in front of your girlfriend!"
Li Lecan exclaimed "Wow!" with a gossipy air, full of surprise.
He's the kid who lives downstairs from my house!
She squinted and clicked her tongue as she watched the boy's retreating figure.
"When I died, he had just started elementary school and was being chased and beaten by his father for getting a zero on a math test!"
"In the blink of an eye, he already has a girlfriend."
After saying that, she sighed regretfully and cupped her face in her hands.
"The kids from back then have grown up and become less attractive. Luckily, I'm still at my most youthful and beautiful!"
Seeing her smug expression, Chu Ci couldn't help but smile.
"Since they are your neighbors, you should be able to find your house by following them, right?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Li Lecan nodded quickly. "Master, let's catch up with them quickly!"
Chu Ci followed behind the mother and son who were haggling over a price, holding an umbrella and listening to their everyday bickering.
She followed the mother and son into an old school area. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw the two people busy at the entrance of the community.
The boy's mother stopped to greet him.
"Xiao An's mom, are you going to tear down the advertising flyer?"
The two people who were busy were a couple, and they were tearing down the yellowed and unclear posters at the entrance of the community.
The woman called "Xiao An's mother" had a sallow complexion, her hair was casually tossed behind her, and her shirt was already mostly wet.
She casually wiped away her sweat, nodded to the woman, and gave a tired smile.
"Yes, it needs to be torn off."
The boy's mother replied casually, as usual, "It really should be replaced with a new one; it's been raining a lot these past few days."
“That poster has been rained on several times, and your daughter’s face on it is all blurry.”
Xiao An's mother's smile froze, she lowered her head and pursed her lips, her nails, still covered in glue residue, digging into her flesh.
She sniffed, said nothing, and continued tearing down the posters on the wall.
On the contrary, Xiao An's father, who had been busy the whole time, answered the boy's mother with a blank expression.
"It's not about replacing them with new ones, it's about not putting them on anymore."
"Huh?" The boy's mother's voice suddenly rose.
He quickly realized that his behavior was inappropriate and hurriedly covered his mouth.
She stared wide-eyed at the couple in surprise.
"You borrowed so much money to find your eldest daughter, even mortgaging the house, and now you're just going to give up?"
Something occurred to her, and she tentatively asked, "Could it be Xiao An...?"
Xiao An's mother casually wiped away her tears and spoke with a heavy nasal tone.
"We've been searching for our eldest daughter all these years, neglecting our youngest son."
“It’s not his fault that his sister ran away from home, we can’t make him pay the price.”
Her nose was red, and she forced a smile at the boy's mother.
"I've been searching for ten years, but I still haven't found her. Maybe it's true, as Grandma Xiao An said, that my daughter is no longer alive."
"Instead of delaying the development of both children, we should take good care of the one who is still with us."
"Over the years, we have wronged Xiao An."
The boy's mother opened her mouth slightly, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
"...You've been searching for ten years, are you really giving up?"
Xiao An's mother shook her head, "Let's not look anymore."
But as soon as she finished speaking, tears welled up in her eyes uncontrollably.
The boy's mother blinked awkwardly, then quickly smiled and agreed.
"That's right, you should pay more attention to Xiao An's growth."
"Although he's a boy, he's only ten years old. What did the foreign experts say again...?"
"Yes, this is the child's adolescence, a very sensitive time! Parents must pay close attention!"
After she finished speaking, she suddenly remembered something.
"I came back from grocery shopping a couple of days ago and saw several naughty male classmates around your Xiao An. They kept touching him inappropriately and saying dirty things."
"Sigh, you've really neglected him all these years! Otherwise, why would such a good kid want to jump off a building?"
"Luckily, I was rescued in time..."
Before she could finish speaking, her son beside her stared wide-eyed in horror.
My God!
Mom, do you want to hear what you're saying?!
How can you talk like that!
He dared not let his mother continue, and quickly pushed her towards the house.
"I'm starving! Mom, hurry up and cook me some food!"
His mother was interrupted and gave him a disapproving look.
"You're all grown up and you still can't cook! I must owe you something!"
But despite saying that, she still walked in the direction her son was pushing.
"All you do is eat, eat, eat! I wake up and I already owe you three meals a day. When are you going to let your mom have a hot meal too?!"
Her son closed his eyes in despair, "Alright, alright, let's talk about it at home! Can't we talk about it at home?"
Good heavens, please shut his mother up!
The mother and son quickly went into the building and disappeared.
Xiao An's mother, who remained where she was, turned her head to look at the faded poster on the wall, silently lowered her head, and tears streamed down her cheeks.
Her husband, with red eyes, tore up the last bit of the poster and put his arm around his wife's shoulder.
"Let's go."
He threw the already faded poster into the trash can.
Xiao An's mother stared at the poster in the trash can, reluctant to leave.
The daughter's face on the poster had turned slightly yellow, but the image of her smiling and calling her "Mom" seemed to still be right before my eyes.
"Let's go."
Her husband grabbed her hand, a sob escaping his lips as he spoke.
He forced back his tears and comforted his wife:
“We’ve been searching for almost ten years, and we still can’t find him… This child may really be gone.”
"But I still feel that I must see the person alive or dead..."
Xiao An's mother collapsed to the ground, covering her face and sobbing uncontrollably.
"It's all my fault, it's all my fault!"
"My child is so old now, I should respect her self-esteem and not argue with her!"
"If I had known she would run away from home, I definitely wouldn't have lost my temper with her that morning..."
"It's just that she eats breakfast out and doesn't like the breakfast at home. Why should I get angry with her over such a small thing?"
"Alright, it's been so many years, don't blame yourself anymore..."
Xiao An's father helped his wife up, and the two of them supported each other as they walked into the apartment building.
His voice was weathered, and carried a hint of despair and numbness.
"We still have Xiao An; things can't go on like this forever."
"Even for Xiao An's sake, we have to look forward."
Xiao An's mother was being helped along, her steps unsteady.
"Our daughter ran away from home, and we've been searching for her for so many years without success."
"We couldn't even raise our son properly... Does that mean we're just not good enough parents?"
The two voices faded into the distance, and Xiao An's father sighed softly.
"Xiao An is still young, let's make it up to him, he'll get better..."
After the two entered the residential building, Xiaomin, who had run out from under the umbrella, went into the trash can.
She leaned closer to the poster that had been thrown into the trash can, looked at it again and again, and finally made out the face on the poster.
"Sister Can!"
Xiao Can pointed at the poster in the trash can and was so shocked that she took two steps back.
"It's you on this poster!"
Li Lecan: "..."
She didn't look at Xiaomin next to the trash can.
Looking at her parents' hunched backs, her fists clenched tightly at her sides, she suddenly felt an inescapable chill.
She was clearly murdered, so how could she have run away from home?
Did she argue with her mother the day she died?
It's been too long, she doesn't remember.
Can……
A casual argument in the morning kept her mother in a daze for ten years!
"mom……"
Blood and tears welled up in his eyes, disappearing before dripping to the ground.
"dad!"
She suddenly rushed towards her parents' backs.
"Dad! Mom! I'm here!"
"I'm here!"
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