The 80s Female Detective's Guide to Self-Preservation [Criminal Investigation] - Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Lu Jingming was the only one willing to listen to Rong Zhiyan’s instigation and confront Fu Ze. Even though Lu Jingming, a recent university graduate, was no match for Fu Ze—getting tongue-tied and silenced after a few words—he ended up being reassigned from a promising position to a warehouse.

“That fool… the first thing he did was come to me and apologize. He felt that after I had taught him so many negotiation techniques and how to deal with my husband, the fact that he messed it all up was wrong and unforgivable…” Rong Zhiyan smiled bitterly, reminiscing about their brief time together. Her emotions had finally calmed as she murmured about the moments she and Lu Jingming met in private.

“Perhaps it’s because I hadn’t communicated with anyone for so long. Having someone sit down, listen to me seriously, and cater to me… it gave me a long-lost sense of joy.”

Xia Qiuyuan and Hou Ming listened quietly as Rong Zhiyan poured out her emotions. At this moment, she clearly didn’t intend to hide anything; rather, she wanted to find a place to vent the suffering she had endured for years. Whether it was the motive for murder or feelings of regret, it didn’t matter in this instant.

She just wanted to hide and go back to being thirteen years old.

Back then, her parents were still with her, and her family was wealthy. Whether she went to school or stayed home with a private tutor, she could see the plane trees outside the bright windows, green and vibrant in the sunlight. She could hear the tinkling bell and gather her skirt to head downstairs. She wouldn’t have to bicker over every cent, wouldn’t have to find a place to cry after being scolded, and wouldn’t have to swallow all her bitterness and pain.

Time had left traces on her palms and at the corners of her eyes.

This marriage of intersecting interests and insatiable greed had drained her to the bone. To take revenge, to escape, she had turned herself into someone just like Fu Ze, doing things she once despised. She used Lu Jingming’s affection for her to kill Fu Ze.

“When he stabbed Fu Ze, I was right there behind the trees not far away. My palms were so sweaty from tension; I was terrified someone would pass by and everything would be ruined. I was shaking all over, and I even thought about telling Lu Jingming to run while I turned to call for help to save Fu Ze.”

Xia Qiuyuan said, “But in the end, you didn’t call anyone. You let Fu Ze die.”

“Yes. Because I realized that scum is scum. Even if he repents a thousand times or regrets a ten thousand times, he is still scum.” Rong Zhiyan rubbed her rough hands and lowered her eyes. “He told Lu Jingming to save him, promising to introduce him to powerful girls—that as long as he wanted, he could climb into a better family… Hearing those words from his mouth, I should have stayed calm because I already knew what kind of man he was. But when I actually heard it, my stomach burned. Acid surged into my throat, and I felt that I, too, was disgusting.”

“Only a blind person or a fool would fail to see the true face of the person sleeping beside them.”

Lu Jingming, incensed by Fu Ze’s words, was overcome with emotion and stabbed Fu Ze to death. Simultaneously, Rong Zhiyan made a retching sound from nausea, which aroused Fu Ze’s suspicion.

He quickly guessed who was hiding nearby. Even as he clutched his wound, he cursed, “You adulterous pair! If I had known you’d dare hook up with some dog outside to come stab me, I should have let those people be more ruthless back then and kill you and your brother, you capitalist lackeys!”

Rong Zhiyan let out a light laugh, her features blurred by the dim light. She said, “Fu Ze’s death was his own fault. I really did think about letting him go.”

Using a handkerchief to pick up the knife dropped on the ground, she added two more stabs out of sheer hatred. Cold to the extreme, she grabbed Lu Jingming’s wrist and walked toward the river. The blood-stained knife was tossed into the water with a soft splash.

Rong Zhiyan knelt down, using the bright moonlight to wash the blood from her hands in the river. “Run. According to our plan, I’ve already contacted someone. He will take you to the port, and you can cross the river using the excuse of visiting relatives.”

“What about you? Didn’t you say you’d go with me?”

“I can’t leave.” Rong Zhiyan tucked a sweat-soaked lock of hair behind her ear, her speech fast and sincere. “If Fu Ze dies and I disappear immediately, the police will suspect me first. I can’t let my daughter bear a bad name, so I can’t leave.”

“Don’t you love doing experiments? The businessman helping me researches chemical instruments and reagents. I told him you studied chemical engineering. Go there, study hard, do your research, and occasionally write to me using a woman’s name to let me know you’re well.”

Rong Zhiyan felt a flicker of regret. “I’m the one who dragged you into this.”

Lu Jingming hadn’t intended to leave Rong Zhiyan alone at first. He wanted them all to go to Hong Kong. While the police were searching the city for him, Lu Jingming stayed in the mountains, surviving on the survival skills he had from his rural upbringing.

“I was the one who drove him away.” Rong Zhiyan looked up at Xia Qiuyuan, who was taking notes, and stated firmly: “From the beginning, Lu Jingming was pushed by me. I was the one who incited him to kill Fu Ze, and I was the one who urged him to flee to Hong Kong.”

Xia Qiuyuan paused her pen. “Since Lu Jingming already fled to Hong Kong, why did he suddenly return? According to you, your subsequent communication was via letters. If you had a conflict with Fu Juan and wanted to kill her, there was no need for him to return.”

Rong Zhiyan hummed softly. “Just as you said. Actually, after the conflict with Fu Juan, I didn’t ask Lu Jingming to come back from Hong Kong. By then, he had a new identity and a decent job. No one cared how Fu Ze died, and no one would trace it back to him. He could have gracefully said goodbye to this mess.”

“Unfortunately… he understands me better than Fu Ze ever did.”

The correspondence between Rong Zhiyan and Lu Jingming had never ceased. They communicated via letters; not every letter made it safely, but whenever she saw a letter signed ‘Southern Phoenix’ fall from the mailman’s bag into the mailbox outside the dormitory, Rong Zhiyan’s mood would be excellent all day. She knew exactly why she felt this happiness, yet she savored it nonetheless.

Before she decided to kill Fu Juan, she had replied to Lu Jingming with just one letter.

“I asked him if he regretted being in Hong Kong for so long.”

“Just that one sentence, and he sensed something was wrong with my emotions. If only he had come back a little earlier, perhaps Fu Juan would have lived.”

“…”

Hou Ming remained silent for a long time but understood what Rong Zhiyan was expressing.

“The person you lived with the longest failed to notice your thoughts. The person you spent little time with, relying on letters for years, understood you best. This contrast deepened your hatred for the Fu family.”

“Yes,” Rong Zhiyan insisted. “From beginning to end, I planned it alone. I confess to everything. But I hope you can give Lu Jingming a lighter sentence. He only killed because I incited him.”

Hou Ming raised his hand to interrupt. “I have one more thing to ask. Lu Jingming said Fu Juan prescribed herbal medicine for you to ‘fix your body’ and have children. Are the leftover herbs from that prescription the same ones you added to Fu Juan’s incense?”

“The herbs added to the incense were taken from Fu Juan’s own prescriptions,” Rong Zhiyan explained. “But when I put them in the incense, I sprayed them with Dichlorvos.”

“How long did you take those herbs Fu Juan gave you?”

“Nearly a month. The medicine made me dizzy and nauseous. I often felt like I couldn’t breathe or find any strength.” Rong Zhiyan shook her head. “Later, I didn’t dare take it anymore. Fu Juan kept watching me, insisting I finish it.”

It was during that time that Lu Jingming began frequently making trouble for Fu Juan, specifically to give Rong Zhiyan enough time to dispose of the brewed herbal soup.

“If we asked you to provide a sample, do you still have any?”

“Yes. After Fu Ze died, Fu Juan stopped forcing me to drink it, but she had bought a massive amount. There are still many unopened packages in the cabinet at home.” Rong Zhiyan confirmed, “I later sprayed those herbs with Dichlorvos and ground them into powder. I simply used Fu Juan’s habit to kill her.”

“Because only Fu Juan used incense in her room. She was lazy and loved to order me around. I would control the dosage and light it for her every time. She slept alone in the master bedroom. My daughter wouldn’t go into her room. If I had mixed it in food, I couldn’t guarantee my girl wouldn’t sneak a bite.”

With that, Rong Zhiyan tilted her chin slightly. “If only Fu Juan had been a bit kinder to my daughter, perhaps she wouldn’t have died.”

The deaths of Fu Juan and Fu Ze were well-deserved. People without a conscience can only expect such an end.

Xia Qiuyuan didn’t know how to feel after finishing the interrogation. She wasn’t overly distressed; in her decades of police work, she had seen cases far more tragic. But she wasn’t unmoved either, feeling it was all a cruel twist of fate.

What if they had better luck?

Now that Rong Zhiyan had confessed everything, the rest was just a matter of using these points to question Lu Jingming and straighten out the logical chain to close the case.

The chair screeched as it was pushed back under the mahogany desk.

Rong Zhiyan asked softly, “If I prove that Fu Juan and Fu Ze intended to kill me first, can I get a lighter sentence?”

“We only enforce the law. Sentencing based on the law and social impact is not up to us,” Hou Ming looked at her. “However, it is our duty to present all the evidence. It’s a fact you killed Fu Juan and Fu Ze. If we can prove they were plotting against you first, it might help your case.”

Hou Ming and Xia Qiuyuan pushed the door open and walked out.

Rong Zhiyan tapped her finger lightly on the wooden table and took a slow breath. She no longer cared what fate awaited her—life or death. Having lived this life this far, she had had enough.

The herbal medicine Fu Juan bought was indeed stacked in several large bags, just as Rong Zhiyan had described. The Criminal Investigation Team sent these items to the Municipal Toxicology Research Institute for analysis. The results showed that the herbs contained Tripterygium wilfordii and Aconitum carmichaelii; gradual ingestion would lead to liver damage, causing symptoms like dizziness and breathing difficulties.

Because these herbs could be bought freely from farmers, sometimes sold without any processing, the jurisdiction increased its supervision of medicinal materials. Those who secretly dug up and sold herbs were criticized and educated; repeat offenders were detained. Fake traditional Chinese doctors who issued reckless prescriptions and practiced without a license were punished even more severely.

After submitting several reports on the case, the feedback required grassroots police officers to run themselves ragged with various visits and publicity campaigns.

“I’m seriously done. I told them to go to the hospital if they’re sick and not buy mystery medicine on the street. One old man insisted on taking off his shoe to show me a sore on his foot, saying a street peddler sold him a plaster. It was swollen before, but it got better after he poked it and applied the plaster.” Liang Guangqi vividly described the exasperating incidents of his visits today.

“I looked, and damn, it was oozing pus! It scared me so much I immediately contacted his family to get him to the hospital. If they went any later, I was worried the infection would spread and he’d need an amputation.”

Xia Sui was also full of resentment, glancing sideways at Liang Guangqi. “That’s actually not bad… I’m the unlucky one. One moment I was with the neighboring police officer explaining the dangers of pesticides—emotions are demons, and those who can’t control them can’t control their fate. Don’t drink pesticides or other harmful substances just because you’re angry during an argument. The next moment, I got three calls… saying someone drank pesticide to commit suicide.”

“Now we’re being complained about, saying our publicity methods are flawed!” Xia Sui waved a thick stack of papers in her hand. “What do you think this is? This is my self-reflection and review.”

“How tragic…” Liang Guangqi clicked his tongue, suddenly feeling his luck was quite good.

Qin Yi yawned, his eyelids drooping with undisguised sleepiness. “Luckily I don’t have to go out, but sitting in the office all day is even worse than being outside.”

When there are no murder cases, criminal police are basically a giant clearinghouse for miscellaneous matters: property crimes, economic crimes, etc. Recently, someone reported the deliberate dismantling of domestic cultural relics to be sold overseas. This was a major matter, but with the current lack of manpower, Qin Yi was reassigned to form a task force with another investigation team. Working on the task force by day and writing summary reports in his spare time, Qin Yi mused, “Even Superman couldn’t be used like this, right?” Sooner or later, he’d collapse from exhaustion.

“Tragic… everyone has their own brand of tragedy.” Liang Guangqi looked at Xia Qiuyuan, who had fallen asleep on the desk, and gave her a nudge. “Qiuyuan, eat before you sleep. Otherwise, if you miss lunch, you’ll have to pay for food yourself.” It’s bad enough to be working; having to pay to work is a tragedy within a tragedy.

Xia Qiuyuan buried her head in her arms. Hearing him, she didn’t even open her eyes. She just waved him off, signaling for him to stop talking. Being hungry was better than being dead tired.

She slept until it was time for the afternoon shift. She missed lunch, but at least she felt alive again.

The police station had switched to summer uniforms: dark green short-sleeved shirts and trousers, paired with shoes convenient for going out. From a distance, they stood as straight as pine trees. Only those wearing them knew the pain; on duty, the sun would literally burn you.

“Qiuyuan, did you go out as a thief last night? Why do you seem unable to wake up during the day lately?”

Xia Qiuyuan covered her face with her hands, let out a pained groan, then stood up, put on her duty uniform, and headed out. Today, she had to keep an eye on a few petty thieves, especially since a family had come in to report a missing child again—couldn’t find him, didn’t know where he was hanging out. The kid was a minor who had picked up bad habits from street people. He wouldn’t go to school or study; he just wanted to play and strike it rich. Since he was a minor, he required focused attention, as these cases counted toward the jurisdictional assessment.

Xia Sui glanced at Xia Qiuyuan. “She hasn’t been sleeping well lately, having nightmares all the time. I told her to see a TCM doctor, but she refuses. One of these days when something happens, you’ll finally listen.”

“…” Xia Qiuyuan said drowsily, “Forget it. Once this busy period is over, I can take some time off. Going home to do some farm work will help me adjust.”

Xia Qiuyuan wasn’t very willing to talk about the nightmares she had every night; she avoided them subconsciously. Every night in her dreams, she saw a pale, bluish arm—a corpse lying in water-soaked mud. A pair of beautiful hands gently held the deceased’s hand, painting the nails red one by one. The bright red contrasted sharply with the muddy surroundings. That chilling feeling made her breathing heavy even in her sleep. Whenever she tried to see the person’s face, a thick hemp rope would tighten around her neck. The more she struggled, the stronger the pull became, until she completely lost her breath.

Then she would wake up in a cold sweat.

The discomfort felt so real it terrified her. Even the rough texture of the rope made her subconsciously reach for her own neck upon waking. There was nothing there, yet it felt as if she had truly been hanged. Xia Qiuyuan didn’t know if these frequent dreams were a premonition or just a projection of her psychological pressure and anxiety. Regardless, it unnerved her. She even wanted to go back to the countryside to find the cause—to find out why she had suddenly traveled back in time.

“Going home to work? Does Qiuyuan’s family still farm?”

“We don’t plant crops; we have lychee trees in the yard,” Xia Qiuyuan explained. “Our village contracts the mountain slopes to run lychee orchards. The early-ripening varieties are almost ready for picking. The village is currently building a fruit canning factory, so things are getting busy in the fields.”

Xia Sui fanned herself to cool down, muttering with a frown, “True. In a few days, we’ll have to take leave to go home and work, otherwise, we won’t get a share of the village’s money at the end of the year.”

“Your village actually distributes money?!” Liang Guangqi had initially thought the two sisters going back to do farm work was too hard. It was nearly May, just when the Lingnan region was at its most humid. Everywhere you touched felt damp; you couldn’t tell if your face was covered in sweat or oil. There were countless insects in the mountain orchards; if you weren’t careful, you’d be covered in bites. To keep lychee bugs off, you had to wrap yourself up tightly. Working a day up there, you’d lose at least two pounds of water weight.

Before he could express pity, he was shocked by the next sentence. “Wait, how does a village collective earn money these days? Isn’t it all work points?”

“Work points, yes, but also dividends.” Xia Sui patted Liang Guangqi on the shoulder, laughing at his lack of experience. “Can’t be helped. Our village is a Lingnan model village; we’re ahead on every policy. That includes the recently piloted ‘household responsibility system’—we have that too.”

“We’re currently operating on a dual-track policy. We have village collective industries, like the large fruit canning factory, and we also have mountain orchards where families contract land from the village committee and are responsible for their own profits and losses,” Xia Qiuyuan explained.

The village liked to record its history and had a village chronicle. If you wanted to know something, you could just look it up. When Xia Qiuyuan was being raised in the village as a child, she loved going to the village officials’ office. There were fruit and snacks there—you could just help yourself—and the glass cabinets neatly displayed the historical progress of the village since the first generation moved there to build it. Within the framework of national and epochal development, it told the stories of everyone in the village. People with special skills were recorded, as were those who lived well, ate well, and had peaceful lives. As a child, she read them like stories; she had never met many of the people, yet she could feel the entire village collective tightly entwined.

Liang Guangqi was stunned for a moment. Seeing the two of them walking out laughing, he quickly caught up and said urgently, “Wait, why don’t I go back with you then! I can help pick lychees! Hey, does your village still accept new residents? I’m not envious of the dividends; I just want to join your village.”

Xia Qiuyuan: “I don’t think we need outsiders.”

Xia Sui: “If you join, you have to change your last name.”

“That’s not impossible.” To get dividends, Liang Guangqi wasn’t opposed. He gave Xia Sui a thumbs-up. “Sui, does your family need a brother? I’ll change my name to be your brother.”

“We need a house servant.”

“That works too.”

“According to our ancestral rules, house servants are treated as eunuchs,” Xia Sui said with a slight smile. “Still interested?”

“Never mind… eating ‘soft rice’ isn’t easy.” Liang Guangqi sighed. “I really wish I’d wake up and someone would drop from the sky and tell me: ‘Actually, you’re the son of the richest man.'”

“…” Xia Qiuyuan didn’t have the heart to break Liang Guangqi’s dream, but then she thought carefully—in the future she came from, she really hadn’t heard the name Liang Guangqi. She hadn’t heard her grandmother mention this person either. Comrade Xia Sui had fought on the criminal police front for decades, later voluntarily transferring to economic investigation when her health couldn’t take it anymore, then retiring after a few years to go home. Xia Qiuyuan recalled that the other team members were no longer in the same system or jurisdiction as Xia Sui later on, though they still had some contact. Only Liang Guangqi was never mentioned.

Xia Qiuyuan’s sudden, scrutinizing gaze gave Liang Guangqi a chill down his spine. “I’m not getting snipped, thanks!”

Xia Qiuyuan: “…If you want to suffer the hardship of picking lychees, we won’t stop you. We’ll take leave together.”

Liang Guangqi’s mouth curved up. Xia Sui saw it and let out a scoffing laugh. Look at this fool; he’s never picked a lychee and just hearing about the work makes him think it’s a treat. He’ll find out what a nightmare it is soon enough.

With a few words, the lychee-picking squad gained another poor soul.

As May arrived, Xia Qiuyuan was both tired and sleepy. After work, she rushed to the herbal tea shop downstairs for a bowl of hot, dampness-dispelling tea. Holding the porcelain bowl, she could feel the warmth in her palms. She downed it in one go, then stuffed a piece of dried tangerine peel into her mouth to mask the taste.

Xia Qiuyuan was dazed, wondering where that idle minor could have run off to, when she heard a loud shout from an older woman: “Someone stole a bracelet! A gold bracelet!”

Hearing the shout, Xia Qiuyuan didn’t even have time to swallow the tangerine peel. She turned and locked onto a teenager running quickly through the crowd. At a glance, she recognized him as the minor she was focusing on.

“Kuang Yun! Kuang Yun, stop right there!” Xia Qiuyuan didn’t have time to check on the victim; she just started chasing. Luckily, she was wearing black duty sneakers today. Even though the teenager was fast, he couldn’t outrun her. Especially in this area—when she had nothing to do, she liked to walk around and memorize the streets and buildings to find shortcuts.

Xia Qiuyuan vaulted up a three-meter wall twice, flipping over the high wall separating the apartment phases. She chased Kuang Yun to the edge of the artificial lake, tackled him to the ground, and pinned his neck with her elbow, forcing his cheek against the dirt.

“Kuang Yun, did I not tell you to be a good person and stay honest? Don’t let me catch you again!” Xia Qiuyuan looked at his yellow-dyed hair and angrily increased the pressure of her elbow. “Why aren’t you back in school studying? What are you doing out here all day? You’ve even taken up robbery? I’m telling you, you’re done today. I’m calling your parents to set you straight!”

Kuang Yun struggled but couldn’t get free. He bit into a mouthful of dust, spat it out indignantly, and roared at Xia Qiuyuan: “Do you have anything better to do? Why are you watching me all day? Besides calling my parents, what else can you do?”

“I’m a cop. If I don’t watch you, what if you commit a crime? Didn’t the school notify you to go back? Why didn’t you go? And you dyed your hair like a duck—it’s hideous.” Xia Qiuyuan unceremoniously slapped the back of Kuang Yun’s head and snatched the gold bracelet from his hand. It was heavy, at least fifty grams.

Xia Qiuyuan felt frustrated. “I think you really have a death wish. You dare steal this? Do you want to be locked up for a few days?”

“Lock me up then! Anyone who doesn’t go in is a coward!” Kuang Yun was stubborn and not at all afraid of Xia Qiuyuan. He knew the police couldn’t really do anything to him. Since he couldn’t get free, he just lay there and let Xia Qiuyuan hold him.

Xia Qiuyuan was so angry she wanted to laugh. Before long, the woman who was robbed caught up, the click-clack of her high heels echoing. Xia Qiuyuan looked over and saw a woman in a gauzy dress with permed hair approaching with a cold face. The person standing with her was someone Xia Qiuyuan recognized: Qin Yu.

Qin Yu ran over, catching her breath, hands on her hips. “Officer Xia, you… you run too fast. We were calling you from behind but couldn’t stop you.”

“Help call the police.” Xia Qiuyuan hadn’t brought handcuffs, so she could only keep Kuang Yun pinned. She gestured toward the bracelet. “Is this thing yours?”

“Yes.” Another more mature-looking woman knelt down slowly and took the bracelet from Xia Qiuyuan’s hand. “This bracelet was left to me by my mother. It’s a bit large and loose. He just came up and grabbed it; I didn’t react in time. Thank you for your help.”

“You’re welcome… it’s our job.” Xia Qiuyuan leaned back slightly, overwhelmed by the woman’s strong perfume. Before she could pull away, she felt a warm palm touch her back.

Qin Yu looked at the woman with a bit of pride. “Auntie, this is the Officer Xia I told you about. I told you that since I live here, you don’t need to worry about my safety. My neighbor is a cop.”

Su Wan glanced at her, weighed the gold bracelet in her hand, and slid it back onto her slender, fair wrist.

“…” Qin Yu suddenly realized something was wrong. Good security—and then her aunt’s bracelet got snatched at the entrance. Um… “I meant… the security at my place is pretty good,” Qin Yu’s voice dropped.

Xia Qiuyuan pursed her lips, offering a rare explanation: “It was an accident. This kid is the minor I’ve been looking for lately. He probably did it because he ran out of money.” With that, she angrily poked the Kuang Yun who was playing dead. “Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you? Try running away from home again and see what happens!”

“So annoying! You’re not my mom, stop meddling!” Kuang Yun was irritated by Xia Qiuyuan’s voice.

“If I were your mom, I’d have taken you to the training grounds long ago to teach you some life lessons!” Xia Qiuyuan didn’t believe in ‘sparing the rod,’ but for some unrepentant bastards, without a little force, they’d think they were the strongest in the world.

Su Wan had already called the police. They arrived quickly. Since this was someone Xia Qiuyuan was already looking for, the local police took him back to transfer him to the Criminal Investigation Team. Only then did Xia Qiuyuan have time to brush off her uniform and stand up. She stood there, staring at Qin Yu and Su Wan.

“…”

Was there anyone to save someone who wasn’t good at socializing? How do you start or end a conversation? She just wanted to go home and eat!