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CHAPTER 9
PART 2
Several minutes later, Jiang Ming informed Tan Yong to come to his office and told him that Director Chen had agreed to let him continue investigating the case. Not only that, Director Chen also mentioned the possibility of forming a special task force with Tan Yong as the team leader.
Tan Yong was extremely excited and told Jiang Ming, "A special task force would consume a lot of police resources, and no one understands the people in the 'extended family' better than me. So, I think for now, it's not necessary. This case can be handled by me and Li Bin."
"Alright, Director Chen mentioned that whether to form a special task force or not depends on your opinion. However, he did have a request."
"What request?"
"He wants to know if it's possible to solve this case within a set timeframe. He's concerned that the killer might strike again."
Tan Yong nodded and said, "I share that concern. So, I plan to try to solve it within a month."
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"Okay, I'll inform Director Chen about it later. For now, let me brief you on everything we've investigated from the night of the incident, which is Tuesday night, up until now. Originally, this morning, Xiao Liu and I were going to continue the investigation. After this, it will be your responsibility, with Li Bin assisting."
"Sounds good."
"First, let's talk about the food poisoning. We arrived at Li Xueli's house immediately after the incident and collected samples of the food for testing. The test results are out, and they revealed the presence of the highly toxic mushroom 'Flame Morel' in the chicken soup."
"'Flame Morel'? The most poisonous mushroom known!"
"Yes, just 3 grams of it can be lethal. Based on the toxin ratio in the food samples, there was clearly more than 3 grams of Flame Morel in that pot of chicken soup, which led to nine people getting poisoned and one fatality."
"Chief Jiang, please wait a moment while I take notes." Tan Yong took out a small notebook and a pen to record the information.
Jiang Ming continued, "Flame Morel is a red mushroom with a finger-like appearance, significantly different from edible mushrooms. It's impossible for someone to sell such a thing in a regular market, let alone for someone to buy and consume it. So, it's safe to say there's no such thing as 'accidentally eating' poisonous mushrooms; it was clearly a deliberate act of poisoning."
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Tang Yong raised his head and said, "In the 'big family,' Li Xueli is responsible for buying groceries and cooking. Recently, Su Xiaotong has been helping her with the cooking. In theory, they are the prime suspects, but they must have realized that poisoning someone in such an obvious manner doesn't fit the profile of a cunning killer. So, I believe there's a possibility that someone else secretly poisoned the food."
"Yes, finding out who poisoned the food is the focus of the investigation. Yesterday, during the day, those people from the 'big family' were still in the hospital receiving treatment, and they returned home at night. I originally planned to go there this morning to conduct investigations and interviews, but now I'll leave it to you."
"Alright."
"The second matter concerns Su Xiaotong and the Gu couple. You mentioned earlier that this couple arrived in Lishi less than a month ago, and the Gong Yamei murder case happened shortly after. They are also among the inheritors of the estate, which raises suspicions. So, I contacted the Jingzhou City Public Security Bureau to learn more about them, and it turns out they aren't as simple as they seem, especially Su Xiaotong."
"Oh? What have they done before?" Tang Yong asked with a serious expression.
"The couple has a son named Gu Xiaoliang, right? But do you know that Gu Lei is not Gu Xiaoliang's biological father?"
Tang Yong was surprised. "I didn't know that. Su Xiaotong and Gu Lei never mentioned this. So, who is Gu Xiaoliang's biological father?"
"His name is Zhang Sheng, and he's already deceased."
"How did he die?"
"This matter is a bit mysterious. The police from Jingzhou City stated that they only know the surface details and cannot ascertain the truth. In other words, there are doubts surrounding Zhang Sheng's death."
"What does that mean? If they suspect foul play, why didn't they investigate it?"
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"Of course, they did investigate. However, they said that at the time, only three people were involved: Su Xiaotong, Zhang Sheng, and Gu Xiaoliang, back then, the child's surname wasn't Gu, he was called Zhang Xiaoliang. After the incident, Zhang Sheng died, Gu Xiaoliang became mentally challenged, and only Su Xiaotong's side of the story remained. So, even if they suspected something was amiss, in the absence of evidence, they were helpless. Later, Su Xiaotong left Jingzhou City with her son and settled in Lishi with Gu Lei."
"Wait a moment, you just said that Gu Xiaoliang became mentally challenged after experiencing 'this incident'? Does that mean he wasn't born with an intellectual disability?"
"That's correct."
"What exactly did their family go through in the beginning?" Tang Yong asked urgently.
"It was a charcoal-burning suicide. The incident occurred about a year ago. It is said that Su Xiaotong's ex-husband, Zhang Sheng, after a failed investment, wanted to die together with his wife and child. He bought sleeping pills, mixed them into drinking water for his family to consume, and then, while his wife and child were asleep, he committed charcoal-burning suicide at home. As a result, Su Xiaotong woke up midway, saved her son, and called the police. When the police arrived, they found that Zhang Sheng had already died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Although Su Xiaotong and her son survived, Gu Xiaoliang, who had previously taken sleeping pills and inhaled an excessive amount of carbon monoxide, suffered organic brain damage, leading to mild mental retardation."
At this point, Jiang Ming leaned forward slightly, gazing at Tan Yong, and said, "It sounds suspicious, doesn't it? If this incident was really orchestrated by Zhang Sheng, why did Su Xiaotong, who had already taken sleeping pills, wake up midway? Furthermore, if they both survived after waking up, it suggests that the concentration of carbon monoxide inside the house hadn't reached lethal levels. So, why did Zhang Sheng die?"
"It does raise suspicions. So, you mean there might be an alternative explanation for this charcoal-burning suicide case. Perhaps, in reality, Su Xiaotong was the one behind it, attempting to kill her husband in this manner," Tan Yong analyzed.
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"Yes, that's what the police in Jingzhou City also considered as a possibility. Unfortunately, there's no evidence to prove this, so it remained unresolved."
"But if that's the case, it doesn't make sense — Su Xiaotong wouldn't want to bring her son along to kill her husband, would she? Causing her son to suffer from mental retardation surely wasn't her intention."
"Perhaps she intended for her son to play along but overlooked the difference between a child and an adult. Adults might survive inhaling a small amount of carbon monoxide without severe consequences. However, it might not be the same for a child in the midst of physical and brain development."
"That's a possibility," Tan Yong nodded and then asked Jiang Ming, "Are there any other details?"
"That's the gist of it. There are some more specifics that Li Bin knows, and he will inform you. In summary, I believe that Su Xiaotong and her husband are under significant suspicion in this case, and a thorough investigation is needed. I suggest you start by looking into the charcoal-burning suicide case from a year ago to see if Su Xiaotong has any prior involvement in murder. If you can establish that, this case might be related to her."
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"Understood," Tan Yong nodded. "By the way, Jiang Team, when I met with Lawyer Feng yesterday, I also inquired about the possibility of Gong Yamei's will being leaked in advance. He replied with absolute certainty that, prior to this, besides Gong Yamei and himself, there was no third person who could have known. Gong Yamei entrusted him with such an important matter out of trust, and Feng stated that he didn't know any of the 'Big Family' members, including Su Xiaotong's couple. In other words, he couldn't have colluded with anyone."
"This is only Feng's statement."
"Yes, I will verify whether what he said is true. But I tend to believe his words. Because if he wanted to deceive, he wouldn't need such a complicated method; he could have simply tampered with the will."
"Alright, I trust your judgment. In any case, we'll await the results of your investigation into this series of cases."
"Understood!" Tan Yong stood up. "They have returned home, right? I'm heading to Yuehai Bay right now."
"Go ahead, looking forward to an early breakthrough in the case!"
Tan Yong walked to his office and informed Li Bin about his decision to give up inheriting the inheritance in order to continue the investigation. Li Bin was visibly shocked. Tan Yong didn't have time for small talk and instructed Li Bin to join him for a visit to Yuehai Bay. He had already planned how to conduct the investigation and questioning.
As discussed earlier with Jiang Ming, the breakthrough point would be the Su Xiaotong couple. Tan Yong called Su Xiaotong, inquired politely about her health, and, upon learning that she was fine, proposed a visit to gather information. Su Xiaotong agreed.
Tan Yong and Li Bin left the Criminal Investigation Detachment and drove to Yuehai Bay residential area.
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