Chapter 309 The Clues Ended, He Came to Comfort Her
Zhou Qiao tugged at Zhou Sihai's sleeve and leaned against him, saying, "Grandpa, Sister Kong has had such a hard time. Since you're so kind, why don't you go all the way and help her out? If you help Sister Kong, she'll repay you. I'll ask her to cook for you a few more times."
Zhou Sihai stood up with a flick of his sleeve and snorted coldly: "Qiao'er, do you think your grandpa is such a greedy person? I'm full and going to sleep. Do whatever you want, I can't help you."
After saying that, he got up and swaggered away.
Seeing that the person had left just like that, Kong Wange was stunned for a moment: "Qiaoqiao..."
Zhou Qiao rolled her eyes, buried her head under the table, and when she peeked out, she saw a bunch of keys lying on the ground.
She quickly picked up the key and smiled at Kong Wange, "Sister Kong, this is the key to the archives!"
Kong Wange asked in surprise, "What is this?"
Zhou Qiao chuckled: "My grandfather is a man with a sharp tongue but a soft heart. He definitely wants to help you, but he can't be too obvious because of the rules of the academy."
Kong Wange said gratefully, "Once I've finished my business, I'll definitely come back to thank him properly when I have time."
"Oh, Sister Kong, don't be so formal. You've prepared such a big feast today, that's enough. Come on, come on, I'll go with you to the archives right now!"
...
Kong Wange was immediately stunned when she entered the archives room.
The cabinet full of medicinal herb registration files in the archives is vast and complex; you really can't finish searching it without staying up all night.
She patted Zhou Qiao on the shoulder: "Okay, Qiao Qiao, you've dropped me off here, that's enough. I can look it up myself from now on."
Zhou Qiao said "Hey": "I'm already here, so I'll help you. How long would it take you to look through all these files by yourself? I'm familiar with how the files are arranged. Time is limited, so it will be faster if I'm here."
Kong Wange thought for a moment and then stopped being coy and agreed: "Okay, then help me find the relevant files and records of the Heartbreak Grass first. Once you've found them, go back to sleep if you're tired."
Zhou Qiao smiled and gave her an "OK" sign.
Kong Wange spent three or four hours on her investigation without realizing it.
Zhou Qiao was so sleepy at one o'clock in the morning that she was sent back home.
In any case, Zhou Qiao had already retrieved all the files related to the Heartbreak Grass, so all she needed to do next was to look through them one by one.
At 3:30 a.m., Kong Wange finally finished looking through all the relevant files. According to the medicinal herb registration files over the years, there were many Gelsemium elegans in the yard, but only five century-old Gelsemium elegans.
Three plants were taken away 21 years ago, 15 years ago, and 7 years ago respectively. That is to say, according to the records, there should be two remaining century-old Gelsemium elegans plants in the yard.
But before she came, she and Zhou Qiao had checked with the pharmacy and found that only one of the century-old Gelsemium elegans remained.
In other words, there is another tree that was taken without being registered, or perhaps... the file in front of her is incomplete.
The three recorded instances of medication being taken all occurred after her birth, and the individuals who took the medication were different, making it highly unlikely that they were the murderers.
So right now we need to figure out when and by whom that unregistered Gelsemium elegans was taken.
Kong Wange frowned and searched around with only a sliver of hope.
Unfortunately, she couldn't find any additional records in the end.
As dawn broke, Kong Wange knew that continuing the search would likely be futile; she couldn't possibly go through all ten thousand files. So she turned and left.
However, in the instant she turned around, she accidentally bumped into the bookshelf behind her.
With a "thud," a booklet fell to the ground. She bent down to pick it up, but froze on the spot the instant she picked it up.
The booklet read, "Unaffiliated - Mixed Records of Minor Categories of Medicinal Herbs".
With a try-it-and-see attitude, Kong Wange quickly searched for any records of the Heartbreak Grass.
As fate would have it, she actually found the record of receiving the century-old Heartbreak Grass in this miscellaneous book.
It was received 26 years ago.
The timing matches the time when her mother died from poisoning.
With excitement, Kong Wange quickly scrolled down to find the page, but she froze when she saw the page with the recipient's signature.
A drop of thick black ink had stained the signature area, and due to the passage of time, the handwriting and name were no longer legible.
Kong Wange was not giving up. She opened the page and examined it repeatedly under the light, but found nothing except a blob of black ink.
After a while, she clutched the booklet, leaned against the bookshelf behind her, and closed her eyes tightly.
She could even picture the scene—
Someone took a century-old Gelsemium elegans from the Imperial Pharmacy in order to make poison, and deliberately failed to register it as required, registering it in the minor category of medicinal materials.
Even so, he was still uneasy, so he sneaked back, found the register, and covered his signature with ink before leaving with peace of mind.
The reason this person is so cautious and goes to such lengths is that he is very likely the murderer who killed his mother.
However, there was no surveillance back then, and the previous head of Baicaotang had passed away many years ago, so the trail went completely cold.
The feeling of hope rising and then being extinguished is truly unbearable. After all this effort, I thought I was finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, only to find that it was all for naught.
Kong Wange leaned against the bookshelf and took several deep breaths to suppress the resentment and anger in her heart.
...
Kong Wange didn't come out of the archives until four in the morning.
She was physically exhausted and mentally foggy. After leaving the gate of Yudaoyuan, she intended to call a private car, but before she could even turn on her phone, she saw a familiar black car driving towards her in the distance.
She paused slightly, and only when the car stopped in front of her did she realize that it was Murong Ting's car.
Seeing him get out of the driver's seat with a sullen expression, Kong Wange subconsciously glanced at her watch.
That's right, it's 4:05.
It's quite unbelievable that this man would appear here at this time.
She stared in shock as Murong Ting strode towards her with an unusual air of anger on his face, and asked blankly, "Why are you here?"
Murong Ting let out a long breath, and the next second he pulled her into his arms.
Before Kong Wange could react, she was pulled into a warm embrace.
The chill from all directions was instantly kept out, leaving only a comfortable dryness and warmth in the surroundings.
Kong Wange's tense nerves relaxed, and she gently closed her eyes in his slightly tight embrace.
A moment later, Murong Ting released her, his voice a little hoarse: "Why didn't you answer my calls?"
Kong Wange was slightly taken aback, then raised her phone and waved it in front of him: "Sorry, my phone was on silent, I didn't notice."
Murong Ting froze for a moment after hearing her apology. He pursed his lips and opened the car door for her: "Get in the car first."
Early summer is a time of great temperature difference between day and night. It's scorching hot during the day, but a bit chilly in the morning and evening. Kong Wange felt a little cold standing in the wind, so she listened to him and got into the car first.
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