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CHAPTER 13
PART 4
On this particular evening, it seemed like nothing unusual had occurred. However, Tan Yong, lying in bed, couldn't manage to fall asleep. It was already 1 a.m., yet his mind was consumed by the case.
The question of who the culprit was lingered in his thoughts, leaving him deeply troubled. All he had were some suspicions and guesses; he lacked evidence and a direction for investigation.
The sole clue was the call Xia Qi made to Su Xiaotong, Han Lei, Fan Lin, and Li Xueli before her death. It was evident that Xia Qi's call wasn't casual chatter but a probe. The issue was: how did she probe, and what did she discover?
This question tormented Tan Yong relentlessly. The more he couldn't understand, the more he endeavored to do so, leading to a throbbing headache. He vigorously massaged his temples to alleviate the pressure and pain.
After about ten minutes of rubbing, the headache eased. It seemed he had hit a dead end with his previous thoughts. He needed to change his perspective to ponder the issue.
Tan Yong put on his clothes, got out of bed, and sat at the desk, turning on the desk lamp. He wrote "Xia Qi" on a piece of paper, drawing four lines diverging from the name, with the names Su Xiaotong, Li Xueli, Fan Lin, and Han Lei at the ends. Then, at the other end of the paper, he wrote the names Gu Lei, Wang Xingxing, and Shen Fengxia, and drew three question marks.
Sometimes, a visual representation can offer a different viewpoint and approach to thinking. Tan Yong stared at this simple mind map for a while and indeed found a different line of thinking.
Why was it necessarily Xia Qi who made the probing calls? Why not Li Xueli, who spoke more often, or the straightforward Fan Lin, or the sharp-minded Su Xiaotong? Why was it the seemingly uncalculated and non-intrusive Xia Qi?
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Tan Yong circled Xia Qi's name and drew a big question mark beside it.
Was it because Xia Qi knew something the others didn't? What made Xia Qi unique among the members of the 'big family'?
According to Fan Lin, Xia Qi had separately met Gong Yamei and had become close with her. So she might have known about the will beforehand. But—Tan Yong suddenly had an idea—could it have been even earlier? Could Xia Qi have known about this before coming to Lishi?
In other words, Xia Qi coming to Lishi and moving into Yuehai Bay Community was actually related to this matter!
However, Xia Qi and Gong Yamei didn't know each other before...
So, did Xia Qi know someone around Gong Yamei? Someone who knew about Gong Yamei's significant inheritance, which she wouldn't leave to her immediate relatives?
Oh right, Lawyer Feng mentioned that Gong Yamei had a son. Their relationship was strained; after learning about the company's bankruptcy, he knowingly sided with his wealthier father, disregarding his mother. Feeling cold-hearted, Gong Yamei changed her phone number and lived alone in Lishi. And she preferred to leave the substantial inheritance to people from the 'big family' rather than to this deeply hurting father and son.
Also, before Gong Yamei was killed, she received a call from an out-of-town number. The person who called deceived her into going to Guanhai Pavilion on Huanhai East Road. Only someone familiar could have done this. Could that person be...
Tan Yong's body trembled slightly. He realized his thoughts were getting clearer, as if he was finally understanding the ins and outs of this case. At that moment, he remembered Do Hui's "spot check" visit and a sentence Li Bin had said tonight: "Women who deeply love their men are always very concerned and use various methods to test them."
With that thought, Tan Yong couldn't contain his excitement, rushed out of the room, and pushed open the door to Li Bin's adjacent room.
Li Bin was sound asleep when Tan Yong pressed the wall switch for the light and called out, "Li Bin, wake up!"
Startled, Li Bin woke up to see Tan Yong standing by his bed, wearing shorts and a draped shirt, asking, "What's wrong, Lao Tan, is something amiss?"
"No, I suddenly figured something out about the case!"
Li Bin glanced at the bedside clock, "It's half past one. You're still awake?"
"I couldn't sleep, and I don't want you to sleep either. Get up, listen to me! Then, let's analyze together and see if my thoughts hold."
"Okay." Li Bin got up, splashed his face with cold water in the bathroom, instantly becoming alert. He sat on the bed, looking at Tan Yong seated across from him. "Go ahead, Lao Tan."
Tan Yong showed the mind map he drew to Li Bin. "I just realized why it was Xia Qi who probed by calling, not someone else. It's likely because Xia Qi knew something others didn't, allowing her to conduct the probing. In other words, the others couldn't even 'attempt to probe'. Think about it, does it make sense?"
"Right, it does. So, what do you think Xia Qi knew that 'others didn't'?"
"Gong Yamei had a massive inheritance! She might have known this from the very beginning!"
"'From the beginning'? When was that?"
"Before Xia Qi moved to Lishi!"
"But at that time, Xia Qi probably didn't know Gong Yamei..."
"True, I also thought about that. But she might have known someone around Gong Yamei, like Gong Yamei's son!"
Li Bin, being quick-minded, immediately grasped the connection, "Gong Yamei's son naturally knew about the substantial inheritance his mother had. Because their relationship was terrible, he also knew his mother would rather leave the inheritance to someone else than to her own son. So, he devised a plan for this inheritance..."
"Yes!" Tan Yong exclaimed excitedly, "Your thoughts align perfectly with mine!"
"But logically, something seems off. If Gong Yamei's son cared so much about this inheritance, why did he initially choose to be with his father? And it seems like his father took away even more money, being wealthier than his mother. Logically, if he made that choice, he shouldn't care about this inheritance. Conversely, if he really cared about it, he should have cultivated a good relationship with his mother from the start, not make a decision that left Gong Yamei feeling so hurt."
"What if he regretted it? Or something happened in these two years that changed his mind, wanting to get hold of this inheritance?"
"That's a possibility."
"This can be easily verified. Tomorrow, let's find a way to investigate the current status of Gong Yamei's ex-husband and son. Now, let's analyze the subsequent events based on this line of thinking."
"Okay!" Li Bin's eyes were wide awake, completely devoid of sleepiness.
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"I speculate that when Gong Yamei was deeply hurt by her son's 'betrayal,' she might have said some harsh words, like 'I'd rather leave the money to those who genuinely care about me than to you.' At that time, her son didn't care much; after all, his father was wealthier, and he relied on him. But later, he regretted it and wanted to acquire his mother's inheritance. However, directly approaching his mother to mend fences was too conspicuous. So, he had an idea—let 'someone else' do it."
"That person is Xia Qi!" Li Bin continued. "Gong Yamei's son found Xia Qi, who was lively, lovely, and likable, and had her get close to Gong Yamei. She portrayed affection towards Gong Yamei, making her feel like a daughter, and eventually persuading Gong Yamei to leave the inheritance to Xia Qi!"
"Yes, that explains why Xia Qi and Gong Yamei had a particularly good relationship and why she visited her for private chats, among other things. The 'big family' members noticed this, prompting Fan Lin's suspicions, suggesting that Xia Qi deliberately tried to please Gong Yamei."
"But they thought that Xia Qi only knew about Gong Yamei's large inheritance after getting to know Gong Yamei. They didn't expect that Xia Qi already knew about this before coming to Lishi City! That's why she came!"
"Yes, I just realized this too."
"If that's the case, everything that happened afterward can be explained."
"Right. On the night Gong Yamei was murdered, didn't she receive a call from an out-of-town number, tricking her into going to Guanhai Pavilion on East Ring Road? Think about it, it was close to eleven o'clock. The person who could call her out at such a late hour must have had a very close relationship with her, possibly someone Gong Yamei desperately wanted to see — very likely her son! On the surface, Gong Yamei had let go of the past and severed ties with all her relatives, but she couldn't have lacked feelings for her own son. So, when she found out her son had come to Lishi City and wanted to see her, she went immediately! But what she didn't expect was that her son had malicious intentions, aiming for wealth and willing to kill."
"Lao Tan, are you suggesting that Gong Yamei's son killed his own mother? But as a son, could he really do such a thing?"
"At the moment, it's just speculation. Conclusions can only be drawn after an investigation. Let's put that aside for now and sort out what happened next."
"Okay."
"After Gong Yamei's death, Lawyer Feng informed everyone about the inheritance. Others found out only then, except Xia Qi. But this outcome was different from what they had expected. Gong Yamei didn't leave the inheritance only to 'Xia Qi, who is like a daughter,' but divided it among everyone in the big family. Consequently, the inheritance decreased from over two billion to just over two hundred million, a discount of nearly ninety percent. Gong Yamei's son was obviously dissatisfied."
"So, he instigated Xia Qi to poison, hoping through this act to kill about half or even more of the 'big family' to gain a larger share of the inheritance," said Li Bin, scratching his head. "Up to this point, it makes sense. But what happened afterward, I don't understand. Who killed Xia Qi? And why would the murderer want to kill her?"
"Think about it, what did Xia Qi do before she was killed?" Tan Yong suggested.
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"She made phone calls to Su Xiaotong, Fan Lin, and four other women."
"Exactly. Now, think, why would she call and test them? If she was the one poisoning, would she need to do that?"
"Ah, you mean the poisoner isn't Xia Qi, but someone else!"
"Yes, that's what I think."
"Then... who could it be?"
"That's the question Xia Qi was pondering, 'Gong Yamei's son asked me to cooperate, but how come another more ruthless person emerged, seemingly planning to kill even me!'"
Li Bin suddenly realized, "So, suspicious Xia Qi thought of a possibility — Gong Yamei's son might have found another 'partner' besides her!"
"Yes! Xia Qi believed that this person must be a woman. I don't know why she thought that, but there must be a reason. Maybe Gong Yamei's son is especially good at manipulating and deceiving women. So, she called Su Xiaotong and the others, seemingly chatting, but actually testing if they were related to Gong Yamei's son. If I'm not mistaken, Xia Qi and Gong Yamei's son are lovers! Just as you said, 'Women are particularly concerned and will use various means to test when it comes to men they deeply love!'"
Li Bin clapped his hands together, "That explains everything! After testing the four of them, Xia Qi found that one person indeed had a problem, probably a partner arranged by her boyfriend. But she didn't dare to be completely sure, so she sent that vague message to the group, perhaps wanting to probe further. The murderer realized something was amiss and immediately found a way to eliminate Xia Qi!"
Tan Yong let out a long breath and nodded, "Yes. Although this is only our speculation, it's the most realistic possibility we can think of. It won't be difficult to verify. Tomorrow morning, we'll discuss with Captain Jiang, focus on investigating Gong Yamei's son and his relationship with Xia Qi!"
"Okay, Lao Tan, you're amazing!" Li Bin patted Tan Yong on the shoulder. "Staying up all night and figuring out this case. There's hope for solving it now!"
Tan Yong glanced at his watch and sighed, "It's not yet 'staying up all night,' but it looks like I might actually end up staying up all night."
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