Chapter 4: Statement — They all don’t have proof that they weren’t at the scene.

On March 13th at 9:03PM, A City XX District’s police department received an emergency call.

The man who had made the report was Ye Kang Ping. His father, Ye Hong Sheng, had died in his room, and he had also found his niece, Ye Zhen Zhen, lying unconscious in the living room of the first floor.

The police had hurried to the scene. At the top of the flight of stairs, they had discovered a small bloodstain. Meanwhile, the unconscious Ye Zhen Zhen had already been delivered to A City Center Hospital. The deceased Ye Hong Sheng was found in his room on the second floor. The culprit had used a sharp weapon to stab Ye Hong Sheng twice in the chest, killing him.

That day, Zuo Yi originally wasn’t on shift, but he still ended up being summoned on his phone to take over. The police had immediately cordoned off the scene. Apart from the medical personnel that had arrived to rescue and give medical treatment to Ye Zhen Zhen, there were only four people within the Ye Family’s mansion.

There was the victim’s second son, Ye Kang Ping, his wife Sun Qian, the nursemaid Zhou, and the gardener w.a.n.g Er Gou.

According to the forensic investigator’s preliminary evaluation, the victim’s time of death had roughly been around 7:09PM, and the cause of death had been the stab wounds to his chest by a sharp weapon. The police, however, hadn’t able to find this sharp weapon.

Zuo Yi had found out all he could about this situation before he had begun questioning witnesses for their statements.

First on the list had been the one who had sounded the alarm, Ye Kang Ping.

“Around 7:09PM, where were you, and what were you doing?”

Sun Qian’s complexion had been pale. She had glanced at Ye Kang Ping but didn’t say a word. Ye Kang Ping coughed, and with a voice that had fluctuated slightly, he had said, “We, we were outside watching a movie. When we finished watching the movie, we didn’t feel at ease with our father at home alone, so we came back to take a look. We didn’t expect…”

Zuo Yi had knitted his brows. “You left the deceased alone from the very beginning, so how come you suddenly felt uncomfortable with him home alone?”

Ye Kang Ping had coughed once again. “You, you might not know, but today is the anniversary of my mother’s death. Every day, father will urge everyone to go out on this day and stay at home alone.”

Zuo Yi’s brows had knitted even closer. “Then why were nursemaid Zhou and gardener w.a.n.g Er Gou still here?”

“This, this you will need to ask them.”

Zuo Yi had glanced at him and changed his question. “What movie did you two watch?”

“Ghost, Ghost School, the one that Emperor Mo stars in. My wife is a fan of his.”

Beside Zuo Yi, Li Xin Ran’s eyes had brightened and he had nearly whistled. “I didn’t expect a wealthy family’s missus to also chase after stars~!”

Zuo Yi’s gaze had swept over him, and Li Xin Ran had immediately wilted. “Hehe, you know, my girlfriend is also a fan of his.” Emperor Mo Zhen was simply the public enemy of the male species.

Zuo Yi had turned his head and continued to question Ye Kang Ping. “What time did the movie end?”

“Eight, eight and a half or so. We drove straight from the cinema.”

“Do you have the ticket stub?”

“Yi, no, I don’t.”

His shifting tones of voice had made Zuo Yi’s brows raise slightly. “Is your throat unwell?
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”

Ke, ke, ke. Ye Kang Ping had coughed continuously before he had finally spoken with a level voice. “I’m just a little——too shocked.”

Zuo Yi had kept silent and stared at him. Ye Kang Ping had felt as if every pore on his body was being cross-examined by the other side. He had immediately felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Luckily, Zuo Yi had quickly withdrawn his gaze. “Is there anyone else who can prove that you two went to go watch the movie?”

Ye Kang Ping had thought for a moment before saying, “There doesn’t seem to be any.”

Zuo Yi had skimmed through his notes and slightly raised his eyes to glance at Ye Kang Ping. “You went to go watch the movie on the anniversary of your mother’s death. Your frame of mind must be pretty good?”

“Because, because of…” Ye Kang Ping’s voice had begun to fluctuate even more.

Because today was also the anniversary of the day we met.” Having been withdrawn the entire time as she sat beside Ye Kang Ping, Sun Qian had finally opened her mouth to speak.

Zuo Yi had declined to comment and closed his notebook. He had left to seek out the next witness. Ye Kang Ping and his wife had watched him walk far away before finally releasing sighs of relief simultaneously.

The second statement had come from nursemaid Zhou.

Nursemaid Zhou had appeared to be very calm. Compared to Sun Qian, she had a greater resemblance to a n.o.ble missus who remained calm in the face of disaster. “I had stayed at my daughter’s home until roughly 8:00PM, where I had left my daughter’s place to go here. It takes me roughly an hour to travel, so by the time I had arrived, Mrs. Sun and her husband had already called the police.”

Zuo Yi couldn’t help but look her in the eye for a while. According to her file, she was already 49 years-old, but she had still appeared to be young and svelte. What had caught his attention the most, however, was her extremely calm manner. Even when he had stared at her, she had merely scowled slightly.

“I heard that today was Old Mistress Ye’s death anniversary, so you all should have stayed outside the mansion.”

Nursemaid Zuo had nodded. “The Ye Family indeed has this unwritten rule, but I have worked for the Ye Family for 25 years, and the Master’s body is not as healthy as it once was. I honestly didn’t feel rea.s.sured about him staying at home alone, so I returned to check up on him.”

Zuo Yi had paused for a while before asking, “Is there someone who can prove that you had stayed at your daughter’s place?”

“My daughter.”

“Apart from her?”

“No one.”

Zuo Yi had closed his notebook. “Thank you for your cooperation.”

Nursemaid Zhou had watched him leave before she had returned to her cleaning tasks.

The final witness had been w.a.n.g Er Gou.

:“Today at 7:09PM, where were you, and what were you doing?”

w.a.n.g Er Gou’s complexion had slightly flushed. The hair on his head had also been somewhat disarrayed, as if he had just woken up. He had looked at the police officer in front of him and had frankly replied, “I was in my room sleeping.”

Zuo Yi had asked, “Why did you stay at the Ye Mansion and not leave?”

“Originally, I had planned on going out, but I had a slight fever today. I drank some medicine and planned on taking a nap. I intended to go out again when my fever had died down. In the end, I accidentally overslept. I woke up when you all arrived.”　　

Zuo Yi had glanced at Li Xin Ran beside him, and Li Xin Ran had nodded in response.

Zuo Yi had asked again, “Then can anyone prove that you stayed in your room and slept the entire time?”

w.a.n.g Er Gou had chuckled straightforwardly. “Police officer, I don’t have a wife. Who would be there to prove that I went to sleep in my own room, eh?”

Zuo Yi had closed his notebook. “So there is no one?”

“Eh, no one.”

w.a.n.g Er Gou hadn’t appeared to be very tall, but he was very buff. His skin was a bit dark, and his grin readily exposed white teeth. His manners could be typically described as simple, and his sense of fashion could be said to be lacking.

Seeing the other side look him over, w.a.n.g Er Gou had embarra.s.sedly scratched his head and smiled at Zuo Yi.

Zuo Yi had shifted his eyes away. “What are some of your primary duties at the Ye Mansion?”

“I’m mainly in charge of the gardens. Some weeks, if nursemaid Zhou is not physically strong enough to do some things, I help out there as well.”

Zuo Yi had thought for a moment before asking, “What is nursemaid Zhou like as an individual?”

“Nursemaid Zhou has stayed with the Ye Family for several years, very competent. The Master and Young Miss’s everyday meals are taken care of by her. These past years, the Ye Mansion had also been managed by her so everything is clean and orderly.”

“How was her relationship with the deceased?”

w.a.n.g Er Gou had said, “The Master completely trusted her, and she held great respect for the Master.”

“Thanks for cooperating.”

Finished with questioning people for statements, Zuo Yi had stood to the side and stared at his notebook, lost in thought.

Li Xin Ran had verified nursemaid Zhou’s statement with her daughter and had walked over to Zuo Yi. He had informed the other, “Leader, I finished verifying her statement. Nursemaid Zhou indeed left around 8:00PM.”

Zuo Yi had changed his posture, leaning against the wall to glance at Li Xin Ran. “The reliability of the relatives’ testimonies aren’t very high.”

Li Xin Ran had nodded. “Did you still discover something?”

“Discover?” Zuo Yi had laughed. “They all don’t have proof that they weren’t at the scene.”

March 15th, 10:00PM. Zuo Yi’s office light still shone brightly.

He browsed through the statements collected on the day the crime had been discovered and had tried to find some details that he may have overlooked.

On the night of the 13th, the murderer had killed Ye Hong Sheng quietly, and Ye Zhen Zhen had been pushed down the stairs. Not wanting to disturb anyone, it seemed that the murderer knew that the Ye Family Mansion would be empty that day. Most likely, he or she had chosen that day to commit murder for this exact reason.

Looking at it this way, it seemed that the murderer had been familiar with the deceased, remarkably familiar to have even known this unwritten rule.

The married Ye couple, nursemaid Zhou, w.a.n.g Er Gou, and also Qin Kong all possessed the criteria to be the murderer, and none of them had clear-cut proof that they had not been at the mansion. What, however, could their motives have been?

Zuo Yi ma.s.saged his temples and drank the coffee that had already gone cold on the table.

“Leader, are you still not going to leave? You aren’t planning on staying in this office for the night, right?” Li Xin Ran had already changed into his civilian clothes, catching sight of Zuo Yi still in his office as he grabbed his car keys.

Zuo Yi put down his cup and glanced in Li Xin Ran’s direction. “You leave first. I’ll take my leave soon.”

Li Xin Ran picked up his keys and walked a few steps toward the exit before he turned his head to look back. “Leader, cold coffee is bad for your stomach.”

Zuo Yi chuckled and waved good-bye. Li Xin Ran flirtatiously blew him a kiss and then left the police station.

The only one left in the large police station was Zuo Yi. He walked a round through the station and indescribably felt that it was more s.p.a.cious and emptier than before.

He bowed his head to glance at all the information on his desk. Zuo Yi sighed and then tossed back the cold coffee. He picked up his coat and left the station.

A City at night and at day was like two different cities. When the majority of the populace fell asleep, other people officially began their day.

The pub on South Clarity Avenue was at its peak business hours. During the entire walk down the street, he caught sight of loud, intoxicated men and women. Zuo Yi lit his cigarette and crossed the intersection. Not very far ahead of him was a lamppost. A woman wearing a red dress had just gotten entangled with a drunk man.

Zuo Yi blew out a smoke ring and dropped his cigarette, grinding it down with his heel. He walked up to them.

“What are you doing?” He gripped the large man’s right hand, preventing him from continuing his a.s.sault.

The large man shot a drunk glance at Zuo Yi. Because he wasn’t able to embrace the woman and grasp her waist as he had wanted, a haze of anger descended upon him. “Who’re ya? This is none of ya G.o.dd.a.m.n business!”

The strong scent of the alcohol on his breath made Zuo Yi slightly wrinkle his brows. The corners of his lips bent down as he fished from his pocket his ID. “Police.”

The large man stared blankly at him. Even though he still had his arrogant appearance, he subconsciously took a step back. “Is the police that amazing? This father drinking is also breaking the law?”

“Drinking does not break the law, but visiting a prost.i.tute does.”

The large man still wanted to say something, but taking into consideration Zuo Yi’s expression, he silently shut his mouth. Watching as the large man walked far away, swearing at each step, Zuo Yi turned to the woman who had kicked his leg. “f.u.c.king b.a.s.t.a.r.d, who are you calling a prost.i.tute?”

Zuo Yi somewhat helplessly glanced at her. “Sister-in-law, I already let you sell this bar and open a restaurant, but you didn’t listen. Is it that fascinating to tangle with drunk customers every day?”

Zuo Qian Man lifted her wine-red hair and turned to walk towards the bar. “This old woman is a beauty of South Clarity Avenue. If I left, how many customers would weep!”

Zuo Yi followed her to the second floor. Zuo Qian Man gave him a gla.s.s of lemonade and looked at him with a smiling face. “Little boy, you didn’t return home last night. Is it because you have a woman now?”

Zuo Yi rolled his eyes. “An investigation case.”

“Case?” Zuo Qian Man thought for a while before her eyes suddenly brightened. “You wouldn’t happen to be on that Ye Hong Sheng murder case the news is all over, right?”

Zuo Yi picked up the lemonade from the table and smoothly drank a mouthful. “Mn.”

Zuo Qian Man somewhat excitedly grabbed his arm. “Then did you see his granddaughter? The news said that he left a huge inheritance for his granddaughter. I reckon it’s over a billion yuan!”

Zuo Yi raised his eyes to glance at her. “So what if I have met her?”

“Then take advantage of the opportunity!” Zuo Qian Man looked at him as if she was looking at a pile of yuan. “You said you’re 27 already, but all you do all day is look at cases. You don’t even have a girlfriend! This time, take advantage of the case. Why not also seize that grandaughter at the same time?”

Zuo Yi downed his cup of lemonade in one shot and laughed at her. “Go shower and sleep.”

Meanwhile, Ye Zhen Zhen was in the hospital, looking through an article about Ye Hong Sheng’s murder. She cried out, the newspaper in her hand falling to the ground as light as a feather.

Her grandfather had set aside an inheritance for her? Reportedly, it was…over a billion yuan?!