Chapter 20: The Case of a Mother Killing Her Daughter
Chu Ci chose the incense shop as the meeting place for the two parties.
When Ji Jingtong and Shen Xiuhe arrived together, it was already past ten o'clock at night.
Neither of them came empty-handed, and they were a little embarrassed to speak as soon as they came in.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Something came up at the police station and we were delayed for a while."
"fine."
Chu Ci understood this unexpected situation very well.
It would be strange if the police station didn't have any emergencies.
When Ji Jingtong saw the old lady he had met that afternoon, he took the things he was carrying and said, "Grandma, my colleague and I bought you some nutritional supplements. We're really sorry about what happened this afternoon."
Shen Xiuhe quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, Grandma. I was too impulsive this afternoon. I didn't mean to be rude to you."
"Oh, it's nothing, Grandma didn't take it to heart at all."
Grandma smiled broadly, her eyes practically disappearing as she looked at the two handsome young men in front of her—polite, good-looking, and rising stars in the police station.
"Grandma often sees you two in the 'Criminal Case Collection' magazine. The harmony in Hong Kong is all thanks to your Major Crimes Unit!"
The two young men smiled modestly.
Grandma symbolically declined the nutritional supplements offered by the younger men a couple of times, but never refused them.
He quickly said, "You guys chat, I won't bother you," and carried his things into the kitchen.
Chu Ci watched his grandmother's happy back as she walked away, shook his head helplessly, and pointed to the spot in front of him.
"Officers, please sit here. What would you like to ask me?"
When it came to serious matters, Ji Jingtong and Shen Xiuhe exchanged a glance and their smiles faded.
Ji Jingtong: "Miss Chu, it's like this, we'd like to hear your detailed explanation of how you found Cheng Yana's body."
"You mean you want to hear about the psychic session that day?"
Chu Ci meant it as a joke, but to his surprise, the two people opposite him actually fell silent.
"..."
She instinctively straightened her back.
Ji Jingtong and Shen Xiuhe exchanged a glance.
If it happened a few days before they encountered the ghost, they would never believe in psychic abilities, no matter what.
They're paid by the police station, they only believe in evidence, how could they possibly believe in ghosts and gods?
But when the real Cheng Yana, who had died, appeared before their eyes...
Some things are beyond their control, whether they believe them or not.
"That's right, Miss Chu."
Sit upright and meditate.
"Whether it's through psychic abilities or other methods, we want to hear the whole story of how you found Cheng Yana that day."
Chu Ci recalled the events of that day when Master Fang brought Li Fushui to her for fortune telling, and then Old Lady Cheng barged in.
However, she omitted the part where she saw other people's clips.
“So,” Ji Jingtong seized the key point, “Miss Chu, you mean to say that the person who took Cheng Yana away was a man, and someone Cheng Yana knew?”
"Yes, that's exactly what I saw."
Seeing that there was hope of solving the case, Shen Xiuhe quickly asked, "Miss Chu, do you remember what that man looked like?"
“I can’t see that.” Chu Ci shook his head. “The fragments I can see are all focused on Cheng Yana; I can’t see the man’s appearance.”
Ji Jingtong and Shen Xiuhe couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment.
"only……"
Chu Ci's sudden change of heart rekindled their hope.
"Just what? Miss Chu, you can tell us anything you know. Whether it's a clue or useful information, we can filter it ourselves."
She pondered for a moment, "I just remember that the man's hands were very distinctive."
What are its characteristics?
Chu Ci clenched his fist.
Because of the limited amount of footage she could see, all she could see was focused on Cheng Yana.
All she could see about the man who took Cheng Yana away was the hand he was holding.
"When that man led Cheng Yana away, he used his left hand. I noticed that his left hand was different from ordinary people's; it was much wider... It seemed like he had six fingers!"
Six fingers?!
Ji Jingtong and Shen Xiuhe looked at each other and saw the light shining in each other's eyes.
This clue is extremely important.
There are probably very few people in Hong Kong with six fingers, especially since it's limited to the left hand.
"Thank you, Miss Chu, you've been a great help to us."
The two thanked him repeatedly and stood up to get ready.
Chu Ci called out to them, "Wait a minute."
Shen Xiuhe turned around. "Miss Chu, is there anything else?"
"Um."
Chu Ci looked at the two people, opened her mouth, but before she could speak, she noticed something was wrong outside the door.
Through the shoulders of the two people, her gaze extended to the doorway.
The door was wide open to welcome guests, and in the hallway directly opposite the door, a figure in a pink tutu was peeking out from outside.
Clearly, someone was worried that she might not handle things properly, so they secretly came to supervise the work.
Her lips curved into a smile, but the thought of losing such a young child caused her lips to fall back down.
“Li Fushui came to see me today, and I noticed that something was off about her.”
"Li Fushui? That's Cheng Yana's biological mother. She wouldn't harm her own daughter, would she?"
Shen Xiuhe couldn't help but speak up.
"Besides, she has an alibi. You also said that the person who took Cheng Yana away was a man, so what does that have to do with her, a woman?"
Chu Ci glanced at him. "Do you know that Li Fushui has a niece?"
"You mean that little girl named Meng Jinzhi?"
Mentioning this name, Ji Jingtong couldn't help but frown.
Clearly, Meng Jinzhi didn't make a good impression on him either.
“Yes,” Chu Ci nodded. “Li Fushui’s claim is that Meng Jinzhi is the daughter of her deceased sister. But I only learned today that Li Fushui and her sister are twins.”
"Twins?" Shen Xiuhe didn't quite understand what this had to do with the case. "So what if they're twins? Her older sister is already dead, so it can't be her sister who did it."
Ji Jingtong: "Sir Shen, don't interrupt, let Miss Chu finish speaking first."
Chu Ci took a sip of water.
“I met with Meng Jinzhi today and I feel that her mother, who is Li Fushui’s sister, is a very ambitious person. Moreover, Li Fushui and her sister look very alike. Meng Jinzhi said that when she first met the two of them, she even mistook them for each other.”
Shen Xiuhe wanted to say something, but Ji Jingtong pressed him down.
"Miss Chu, besides these, is there anything else?"
“I visited Grandma Cheng, who was in a coma, today. Her caregiver told me that Li Fushui has changed a lot. She used to be a very good-tempered person, but now she often loses her temper.”
"Of course, it's also possible that the other party has just lost her daughter and is therefore irritable, which is understandable. But the caregiver said that she used to be very respectful to Mrs. Cheng, but now she doesn't care about the unconscious Mrs. Cheng at all."
"...Even before Cheng Yana's body was found, I saw Old Mrs. Cheng accusing Li Fushui. She said that Li Fushui treated his niece Meng Jinzhi better than her own daughter, and that Li Fushui wanted his niece to become the eldest daughter of the Cheng family."
Ji Jingtong lowered his head, a sudden inspiration striking his mind.
But this flash of inspiration was too incredible, and his brows furrowed even more deeply.
Seeing that she seemed to have finished speaking, Shen Xiuhe couldn't help but say, "Miss Chu, what's wrong with this? If my daughter died suddenly, my temper would become even worse than hers."
"And then there's Old Madam Cheng. Being a daughter-in-law isn't easy. It's normal to be two-faced. When the old lady is awake, you're definitely very respectful, but now that we don't even know if she'll wake up, it's normal to be a little neglectful."
"As for letting her niece become a married young lady, I think that's just the old lady's side of the story. Li Fushui's sister is gone, so it's normal for her, as the aunt, to treat her niece better!"
As for whether he would treat her better than his daughter, that's a matter of opinion.
“What Inspector Shen said makes sense.”
Having said all that, Chu Ci had no intention of saying anything more.
"That's all I can say. Do you two officers have any other questions?"
Ji Jingtong ultimately did not voice his guess, saying, "No, thank you for your cooperation, Miss Chu."
He pulled Shen Xiu, who was fine, away.
As soon as he stepped outside, Shen Xiuhe tripped and fell flat on his face.
"Are you alright?" Ji Jingtong's brows were so furrowed they could trap a fly.
Shen Xiuhe felt both embarrassed and puzzled.
I looked back, but there was nothing on the ground.
"That's strange," he scratched his head, "I feel like someone just tripped me?"
"There are only the three of us here, who has time to trip you up?"
Ji Jingtong helped him up, and the two of them entered the elevator together.
"I'm sorry, Miss Chu, please excuse my poor manners."
Chu Ci withdrew her gaze from the side and shook her head. "It's nothing. Please be careful on your way back."
The elevator doors slowly closed, and Chu Ci looked towards one side of the corridor.
Wearing a puffy skirt, Cheng Yana secretly withdrew her foot. When she saw her looking over, she disappeared into the darkness in a flash.
Chu Ci watched her disappear, then his gaze returned to the elevator doors.
She had already given them a lot of hints, hoping that the two police officers could find something she couldn't.
-
The next morning, Chu Ci went to buy breakfast and was stopped by the newspaper vendor, Bao Shuliang.
"Master! Something terrible has happened!"
He pulled out a newspaper and handed it to Chu Ci, his face showing an expression of having just heard some juicy gossip.
"The Cheng family's daughter-in-law who came to your fortune-telling service a couple of days ago was the mother of the little girl who went missing and died. It turns out she wasn't the girl's mother, but her aunt!"
"Her mother was killed by her aunt long ago! Her aunt is greedy and plans to impersonate her mother to swindle the family's fortune!"
The newspaper reporter became increasingly agitated as he spoke, "If it weren't for the two officers' keen observation, Old Madam Cheng would have been murdered last night!"
Chu Ci had already guessed this outcome, but he didn't expect the two policemen to be so fast.
But the passersby around him were completely confused.
Especially the nun Fang, who introduced Li Fushui to Chu Ci, was completely confused.
"Liang, what are you talking about? What mother, what aunt? Has the case of Cheng's granddaughter been solved?"
Seeing that many passersby stopped to look at him, Baozhiliang seemed to foresee his newspapers selling like hotcakes.
"It's broken! It's broken!"
He slapped his thigh, went back to get another newspaper, and started hawking his wares.
"Everyone, come quick! The new newspaper is out! The case of the missing and dead granddaughter of the Cheng family has been solved! The murderer is actually her own mother!"
"Come quick! A major case in Hong Kong, a family feud involving the wealthy! A shocking case of a mother murdering her daughter has emerged in a wealthy family!"
He knows how to capitalize on trending topics.
After he said that, the passersby who were originally observing started to get restless.
Even tigers don't eat their cubs! How could a mother kill her own daughter?!
"The wealthy are always a mess. What won't those people do for money!"
Master Fang covered her mouth, her pupils dilating in shock.
"What? Ah Shui's daughter... Ah Shui killed her?"
"That's impossible!"
Her eyeballs looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets.
He pulled two yuan from his wallet. "Hey, Liang, give me a newspaper!"
-----------------------
Author's note: I used a clickbait title a little, haha.
Still 20 small red envelopes, thank you for your support, everyone! [kissing emojis]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
