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CHAPTER 8
PART 3
Tan Yong and Dou Hui, after leaving the airport, each took a taxi. Tan Yong asked Dou Hui to take her luggage home first, while he rushed to City First Hospital. Li Bin had informed him via WeChat that almost everyone from the "big family" was receiving treatment at the hospital.
Tan Yong hurriedly arrived at the emergency department of the hospital and saw Li Bin in the corridor. Sitting on a bench beside them were Fan Wenjing and Gu Xiaoliang.
Fan Wenjing had been crying, clearly frightened, while Gu Xiaoliang remained his usual reserved self.
"Where are they?" Tan Yong urgently asked Li Bin.
"All nine of them are in the emergency room. They've pretty much filled up the hospital's emergency department."
"You mentioned earlier that they had food poisoning?"
"Yes, preliminary diagnosis by the doctors suggests that. They are currently inducing vomiting, performing gastric lavage, and giving them intravenous fluids."
Tan Yong glanced at the sobbing Fan Wenjing on the seat, then pulled Li Bin aside and asked in a low voice, "How many people have died?"
"At the moment, it's still unclear."
"Unclear? But you just told me earlier that most of them had died."
"It was a misunderstanding. The hospital received an emergency call to 120, and the person who called was probably in a state of panic, seeing a lot of people collapsing and not moving in the room. They said several people had died.
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The hospital got alarmed and immediately reported it to the police without knowing what was going on. By the time I arrived at the hospital, the doctors told me that these people were still alive, not dead. They were organizing rescue efforts. However, the situation doesn't look very optimistic."
"What do you mean by 'not very optimistic'?"
"It means we're not sure if they can be saved."
"Do they know the cause of the poisoning now? What did they eat that caused it?"
"It's still unclear."
"It must be related to dinner. I'll go to Li Xueli's house immediately to sample the food for inspection, and we'll find out the cause of the poisoning."
"That's already been done," Li Bin said. "Jiang and his team are at Li Xueli's house right now."
Tan Yong paused, realizing that Jiang Ming had taken over the investigation related to the 1203 case. However, with such a major incident, he couldn't simply ignore it and asked, "Who called 120 for help?"
"I don't know. But I asked the nurse who answered the call, and she said, judging by the voice, it seemed to be a woman."
"What about the phone number? The hospital's landline surely has caller ID."
"Yes, it does, and it's Li Xueli's home landline."
A landline... that meant anyone could have made the call. Tan Yong furrowed his brow and asked again, "Does the hospital's phone have a recording?"
"No," Li Bin paused for a moment, then sighed. "Old Tan, I called you because I know you're friends with them. I thought it was necessary to inform you about this."
"But I wasn't assigned to investigate this case, right? Are you reminding me not to overstep my boundaries?"
Li Bin sighed again, somewhat helplessly. "Just don't make it difficult for me. Jiang specifically told me today that any information or progress related to the 1203 cases should not be disclosed to you. He's in charge of the investigation. I've already broken the rules by telling you this..."
Upon hearing this, Tan Yong's anger flared up again, but he couldn't take it out on Li Bin. He just suppressed his anger and said, "Then I won't ask anymore. As their friend, waiting here for the results of their treatment and comforting the kids should be okay, right?"
Saying that, Tan Yong walked over to the bench and sat beside Fan Wenjing and Gu Xiaoliang, trying to comfort the two children.
Fan Wenjing saw the familiar "Uncle Tan" and felt slightly more stable, but she was still very worried and kept asking if her mom would die. Tan Yong didn't know how to answer and could only say reassuring words like "trust the doctors."
Looking at the two children, Tan Yong couldn't help but wonder: Weren't they eating dinner with the adults? Why did all the adults get food poisoning, but these two kids were fine?
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Although he knew that Li Xueli sometimes cooked separate dishes for the two children, it didn't mean that the adults' food was completely off-limits to them. Thinking about it, he asked Fan Wenjing, "Wenjing, what did you have for dinner tonight?"
"Chicken soup hotpot," Fan Wenjing replied.
"Besides chicken soup, were there any other dishes?"
"Yes, there were vegetables, meat rolls, mushrooms... various kinds of mushrooms."
Mushrooms? Tan Yong frowned. Could it be that they accidentally consumed poisonous mushrooms?
"Wenjing, did you and Xiaoliang eat the mushrooms?"
Fan Wenjing nodded.
"Both of you ate them?" Tan Yong confirmed again.
"Yes, Mom served me chicken soup with several types of mushrooms, and they were all delicious."
This wasn't right. If it was poisonous mushrooms, how come the kids were okay? Moreover, children's bodily functions aren't fully developed yet, so if they were poisoned, their condition should be even more serious. However, at the moment, it seemed impossible to ask further questions.
After thinking for a while, Tan Yong asked another question, "Wenjing, do you know who made the emergency call tonight?"
"I don't know," the little girl shook her head. "I was in my room doing homework, and I heard a loud knocking at the door later. When I went to open it, I found them all collapsed... The knocking was done by the doctor uncle and aunt."
"I see. Uncle Tan knows now," Tan Yong patted Fan Wenjing's head and then asked Gu Xiaoliang, who was beside them, "Xiaoliang, what about you? Do you know who made the emergency call?"
Gu Xiaoliang shook his head, and Fan Wenjing added, "He was in his room just like me, didn't know what was happening outside."
Tan Yong nodded, indicating he understood.
After sitting with the two children on the bench for over an hour, the doctors from the emergency department came out of the treatment rooms.
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Tan Yong immediately approached them to inquire about the situation. The doctor said, "After inducing vomiting and gastric lavage, out of the nine people, eight have been stabilized, but one is still in a critical condition."
"Who?" Tan Yong instinctively asked.
The doctor shook his head, "I don't know, but it's a man."
A man... that could only be one of Gu Lei, Wang Xingxing, or Yuan Dong. Tan Yong asked, "Why is his condition worse than the others?"
"Our current assessment is food poisoning, and it's possible he consumed a larger amount of contaminated food than the others."
"Do you, as a doctor, think it could be due to poisonous mushrooms?"
"It's entirely possible. This season is the peak time for mushroom growth, and almost every year around this time, our hospital receives patients who mistakenly consumed poisonous mushrooms. It's just that we've never had nine patients at once, and we're fortunate that the emergency call was made in time; otherwise, it would have been much more dangerous."
"Can the person who hasn't recovered from the critical condition still be saved?"
"We'll do our best, but it's hard to say right now; he's still unconscious."
"So, are the others awake? Can I see them?"
"Are you their family?"
"Yes, and I'm a police officer." Tan Yong showed his credentials.
"Oh, in that case, you can. But the patients have just regained consciousness, and they've been through vomiting and gastric lavage, so they are still weak. Please allow them to rest."
"Understood, I'm just going to check on them, not to disturb their rest."
Fan Wenjing also insisted, "I want to see my mom!"
"Okay, you can go in. Please be quiet."
"I'll go in with you," Li Bin said.
The two police officers, accompanied by the two children, entered the emergency department. There were four treatment rooms in total, each with three beds, and right now, almost all of them were occupied by members of the "big family."
In Room 1, there were Li Xueli, Fan Lin, and Su Xiaotong. All three women had pale faces, their lips were dark, and they looked very exhausted. Having just experienced a near-death situation, seeing Tan Yong and the others enter, they felt like they had gone through another world.
Fan Wenjing cried and rushed to her mother's side, while Gu Xiaoliang went to Su Xiaotong, calling for his mom. Li Xueli looked at Tan Yong, tears streaming down her face, and weakly said, "Old Tan, why are you here? Weren't you... on a trip?"
"When I was at the airport, Li Bin called me and said you were in trouble, so I hurried back."
Li Xueli nodded, lacking the strength and energy to say more. Tan Yong knew that she was the one responsible for buying groceries every day, so her connection to the food poisoning was likely the strongest.
He wanted to ask her some questions, but seeing her weak condition, he felt it wasn't the right time. However, the problem was that he couldn't investigate this case anymore, and if he missed this opportunity, how would he inquire later?
Just as Tan Yong was feeling conflicted, a heart-wrenching cry suddenly came from the next room. Tan Yong recognized it as Shen Fengxia's voice, and his heart clenched. He immediately walked with Li Bin to the neighboring room.
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In this treatment room were Xia Qi, Shen Fengxia, and Yuan Dong, along with several doctors and nurses. They were all gathered around Yuan Dong's bed, and the heart monitor beside it emitted a loud beeping alarm, indicating Yuan Dong's death.
Shen Fengxia collapsed onto Yuan Dong, crying uncontrollably, while Xia Qi sat up on the bed, covering her mouth, tears streaming down. In a moment, Gu Lei, Wang Xingxing, and Han Lei came over from the opposite room, and Li Xueli, Fan Lin, and Su Xiaotong also managed to walk over, supporting themselves. Everyone heard the doctor's words simultaneously:
"I'm sorry, we did our best... but he had an excessive amount of toxins in his body, which had already entered his bloodstream and heart. There was nothing more we could do."
Everyone present wore expressions of grief and sorrow, and several of them burst into tears. Han Lei weakly asked, "Doctor... why did we get poisoned?"
"Our preliminary assessment is food poisoning, and it's highly likely it was caused by toxic mushrooms."
"Toxic... mushrooms?"
Everyone looked at each other and then turned to Li Xueli. Fan Lin said accusingly, "What kind of mushrooms did you buy?!"
Li Xueli's face was as pale as a sheet of paper, and her head shook as if she couldn't believe it. "No... this can't be possible. I bought wild mushrooms from a reputable stall at the market! It couldn't have been toxic!"
"We've been poisoned, and you say it couldn't have been possible?" Fan Lin responded with a reproachful tone.
Li Xueli looked at Tan Yong, grabbing his arm, and pleaded, "Old Tan, you have to help me clear my name! I really bought them from the market! And... so many people were buying them; if it was really poisonous mushrooms, how could only we get poisoned?!"
Actually, Tan Yong had thought of this possibility before. Besides, he also considered an even worse and more dreadful possibility.
Seeing Tan Yong's serious expression, Li Xueli thought he didn't believe her words, and she cried even harder, once again pleading with Tan Yong to investigate this matter thoroughly.
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Tan Yong's mood was complex and extremely uncomfortable. How could he say it? …I'm sorry, this matter is no longer under my jurisdiction. Could he say such words?
Just then, the chief of the criminal investigation team, Jiang Ming, and another police officer, Xiao Liu, entered the crowded emergency room. They had come from Li Xueli's house. Jiang Ming immediately noticed Tan Yong's presence and his face darkened. He looked at Li Bin.
Li Bin awkwardly explained, "Chief Jiang, because Old Tan is their friend, that's why I informed him about this. Besides, I thought he had already gone on a trip and wasn't involved..."
Jiang Ming appeared displeased but refrained from confronting Tan Yong directly in front of everyone. He asked Tan Yong, "Weren't you on a trip with your wife? Why are you back?"
"I haven't left yet," Tan Yong responded, annoyed. "So, do I not have the right to visit a friend anymore?"
"Old Tan, you're a senior police officer, and we've been colleagues for over twenty years. Do I have to use strong words?" Jiang Ming's tone and expression became even more serious. "The police department has regulations, and in the current situation, you must maintain distance from them! As long as you interact with them, it's inevitable that you'll mix official and personal matters. Who knows if you're here to visit friends or to investigate a case? To put it bluntly, you're obstructing my investigation!"
Tan Yong's blood boiled after those words, but he found himself unable to respond. This was the first time in many years that Jiang Ming had criticized him so severely in his leadership role, and it was in front of so many familiar faces. Losing face was one thing, but in that moment, he felt an unprecedented frustration and helplessness. After standing there for a moment, he left the crowded room without saying a word.
Leaving the hospital, Tan Yong walked aimlessly on the street, his spirits low. The hospital wasn't particularly close to his home, but he didn't want to take a car; he just wanted to be alone in the night breeze.
This case was far from simple.
Only three days had passed since Gong Yamei's will was announced, and now this "big family" group had suffered a mass food poisoning incident. This couldn't be a coincidence. It was almost certain that Gong Yamei's death, the substantial inheritance, and the poisoning incident were all connected.
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"If the situation you mentioned (a death) occurs, the handling would be the same as when someone gives up their inheritance rights. The money originally meant for that person would be evenly distributed among the others."
Tan Yong remembered this sentence that Attorney Feng had said, and it sent a chill down his spine.
Whenever someone died, the inheritance that person should have received would be distributed evenly among the others. Under this mechanism, the fewer people there were, the more money each of them would receive.
This poisoning incident, if he guessed correctly, was clearly the work of someone within the "big family" with a sinister purpose.
It was blatantly a ruse. Otherwise, if only one person, excluding themselves, survived, it would be too obvious. By controlling their own intake and calling for emergency help in time, they could achieve their goal of murder through this poison plot.
The target of the killer was definitely more than just Yuan Dong alone; he or she probably wanted to kill half or even more of the people, multiplying their share of the inheritance!
In other words, if tonight, several people had consumed a large amount of the chicken soup, the bodies now lying in the hospital might be more than just one.
Thinking about this, Tan Yong's blood began to boil, but an icy chill enveloped his innermost being. His body felt like it was in two extremes, alternating between cold and hot, beyond his control.
This heinous murderer had hidden within the warm and happy "big family." It was despicable! How could they not notice such a person around them? They often ate, chatted, and drank together. For a detective, this was the greatest irony!
Furthermore, could this killer be the same person who had killed the tenant of 1203, He Yushan, two years ago?
If so, hadn't he or she been around me all this time? I even often ate and drank with him or her... This is truly a disgrace! How many times had this murderer sneered at me in their heart! More importantly, who could guarantee that he or she wouldn't continue to commit crimes in the future?
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Tan Yong stopped in his tracks, his anger and worry causing his face to contort. People nearby saw his appearance and hurriedly moved away, but he remained unaware.
After a few minutes, Tan Yong realized an even more frustrating and disheartening fact - he had no way to investigate this series of cases anymore.
This meant that this sense of shame would accompany him for the rest of his life, becoming a permanent regret.
Whether it was out of a sense of duty or justice, he couldn't allow himself to give up like this. However, what could he do? Jiang Ming had already made his stance clear, and he was a reasonable person. In the current situation, it really wasn't suitable for him to continue investigating this case.
Unless...
After about half an hour of serious contemplation, Tan Yong made a decision. Perhaps it was the most willful and important decision of his life. But if he didn't do this, he believed he wouldn't be able to live his remaining years in peace, let alone happiness and joy.
Tan Yong took out his phone and made a call. When the other party answered, he succinctly expressed his intentions.
"Officer Tan... have you thought it through? Are you really decided on this?"
"Yes, I've thought it through," Tan Yong replied firmly.
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