Silent Testimony - Chapter 90

After completing the statements and finishing the handover process, Tao Ling followed Liu Yun back to Tongping Village like a walking corpse to return Tao Luhai’s remains. Tao Ling’s eldest uncle took charge of the funeral arrangements. That evening, a ritual space was set up in the open clearing outside the house. Incense and joss paper were piled high, funeral banners fluttered in the wind, and a Taoist priest chanted rhythmic incantations.

Friends and neighbors who came to offer their condolences stayed up for the vigil, playing cards or huddling in groups outside the shed, their conversations filled with sighs.

“What’s going to happen to them now? Two men from that family gone in one go.”

“Sigh, what a mess. How are two women supposed to keep things going?”

Tao Luke, the daughter of Tao Ling’s third grand-uncle, retorted, “Why wouldn’t they keep going? Xiao Ling has a government job, and Sister Yun has been managing that fish stall in Puchen for ages. What did Hai-ge ever actually do?”

Tao Luke was only forty years old, unmarried and childless. She was often used by the traditionalists of the Tao clan as a cautionary tale of rebellion. Yet, it was this very woman who had fought against an arranged marriage at twenty and headed to Shujiang alone to work. She now owned two pet shops with an annual profit of nearly 300,000 yuan.

She hadn’t originally planned to join the funeral, but fearing that Tao Ling and her mother would be bullied by the relatives, she changed her mind and drove back to the village overnight.

The funeral lasted three days, and Tao Ling kept watch for all three. Aside from the occasional nap when Liu Yun insisted, she spent her time lighting incense, burning paper, and kowtowing. On the morning of the second day of the Lunar New Year, they took Tao Luhai to the crematorium and proceeded with the burial.

His ashes were interred on the mountain behind the Tao family home. As the ceremony ended, Tao Ling looked up at the sky; dark clouds hung low like a heavy curtain. she called out to her eldest uncle, who was leaning against a tree smoking. “Uncle.”

“What?”

“When I have time, I’ll transfer the title of the house to you.” Tao Ling knew that ever since her father died, her uncle had been eyeing their property in Tongping Village. Since she had no desire to maintain any ties with the Tao clan, she planned to sell the old house and be done with it.

Her uncle beamed. “Sure. You don’t come back much anyway.”

Tao Ling cut straight to the price: “150,000 yuan.”

Tao Zhong spat out his cigarette and crushed it under his foot. “150,000? You’re dreaming!”

With a gaze far firmer than the submissive state she had been in days prior, Tao Ling stated righteously, “Building and renovating this place cost at least 400,000. I’m not asking for much at 150,000.” The Tao family had saved a lot of money from their business over the years, but it had all been drained by the construction and the search for Tao Yang.

Tao Luke, knowing that the family had hired a city design firm specifically for Tao Yang’s wedding and bought high-end appliances, didn’t want Tao Ling to get ripped off. She interjected, “Xiao Ling, a friend of mine wants to buy a place in Tongping for her parents to retire. I’ll ask if she’s interested.”

Tao Ling looked at her aunt—a woman she rarely saw and only heard about through the elders. A spark of warmth finally touched her frozen heart. “Okay. Thank you, Auntie.”

After a series of arguments with her uncle and Tao Zhong, Tao Luke accompanied Tao Ling to sign a simple sale agreement with the buyer that afternoon, collecting a 10,000 yuan deposit.

As evening approached, Tao Ling cleaned the clearing outside while Liu Yun cooked. Finally, she opened WeChat.

It had been nearly eighty hours without contact. She had only kept track of Li Hewei’s situation through the gaps in her grief by watching the work group.

During interrogation, Li Hewei had claimed to know nothing. Wang Cen had contacted neurology experts from Puchen People’s Hospital and Shujiang Affiliated Hospital to analyze her condition. It wasn’t selective or localized amnesia. The Deputy Captain of the Shujiang Criminal Investigation Team even speculated she was lying to escape legal consequences.

At the case analysis meeting, Old Xu had sighed, “It’s strange. Experts say if she truly can’t remember anything, she should have lost basic life skills as well.”

Qiu Wan had produced photos. “Captain Jiang, these are photos of the rental unit taken by the agency in late June last year. There was no freezer in the living room.”

The Deputy Captain pointed out the possibilities: “The Li family has five keys. Li Hewei could have entered the house with ease.”

Because the evidence was insufficient for a formal arrest, Li Hewei had been held at the station until her lawyer took her home the previous night under the condition of a 24-hour watch.

Tao Ling sat in a dark corner of her room, clicking on Li Hewei’s profile. The chat history ended at the “Message Unsent” status from three days ago. Both were carefully, agonizingly worried about one another.

Tao Ling’s thumb hovered over the screen. She typed: [Take care of yourself.] Before she could hit send, a new line appeared.

Wei: [I heard your father has been laid to rest. Take care of yourself.]

Tao Ling’s nose prickled. In an instant, tears silently rolled down her cheeks. She typed back: [Okay, you too.]

Liu Yun approached with the food, noticing Tao Ling leaning against the wall with her head back, trying to stifle her sobs. “Xiao Ling, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing… I’m fine.” Tao Ling took a deep breath, slowly stopping her tears.

“Eat,” Liu Yun said, placing a dish down. “It’s your favorite—braised ribs with potatoes.”

“Thanks, Ma.” Tao Ling used the serving chopsticks to put a rib in her mother’s bowl. “You eat too.”

Liu Yun’s brow cleared slightly. “Are you going back to Puchen tomorrow?”

“Mhm.”

“Once the house is transferred and we get the final payment, use it for a down payment on your own place. You can’t keep staying at Xiao Wei’s house and bothering her.”

“I know.”

“I believe Xiao Wei was framed,” Liu Yun sighed. “The eyes don’t lie; she treated us with genuine heart. You’ve held your ground well, too. I saw how you handled Tao Zhong when he tried to blackmail the Li family last night.”

Tao Ling remembered kneeling before the altar when Tao Zhong’s voice had drifted in from behind: “Auntie, just give the word. I’ll take my brothers to Puchen and make the Li family pay at least 200,000 in compensation.”

Tao Ling had stood up then, her usually gentle face transforming. With a sharp frown, she had warned him, “My family’s business is none of your concern.”

When Tao Zhong tried to play it off as “seeking civil damages,” Tao Ling had snapped, “The killer hasn’t been found and the case hasn’t been judged. What ‘civil damages’? Get out!”

Thinking of this, Tao Ling felt a cold resolve. No matter how much the world tried to crush them, she would stand by the woman who had stood by her.