Liu Yuxin, Ouyang Wen's fiancée.
She had an uncle named Yang Shaoquan.
This was the person Hu Jia had been in contact with recently, who was rumored to know the third line of those four poems.
Back then, Yang Shaoquan was a businessman. Once, when he encountered thugs demanding protection money, Hu Shilong stepped in to speak for him, and the two became acquainted from then on.
Later, when they chatted, they found out they were both from Zhong County. It was truly a tearful reunion between fellow townsfolk.
Thus, with the accumulation of various connections, Yang Shaoquan became Hu Shilong's close friend.
It was precisely because of this that Ouyang Wen met Liu Yuxin. Their relationship was so good that they soon established a romantic relationship.
Hu Jia had always believed that Liu Yuxin would become his sister-in-law, but unexpectedly, a change occurred. Due to business failure, Yang Shaoquan had to retreat to his hometown.
The reason Hu Jia believed Yang Shaoquan would know the third line of the poem was because, while visiting people he had contacted in the past, he heard someone mention that Yang Shaoquan had returned to Zhong County once.
Of course, Hu Jia didn't know why he himself had returned to Zhong County at that time. If it was to visit graves, the person said he had brought Mou Jixuan back with him.
This seemed a bit hard to explain.
Accompanying Ouyang Wen, or bringing Li Yang Wenwu, would both be understandable.
Why would he bring Mou Jixuan back to his hometown to visit graves?
Therefore, Hu Jia knew that visiting graves was not the reason for his return to Zhong County.
But, what else could be the reason?
He thought of Yang Shaoquan.
After all, there were no acquaintances left in his hometown, and the only one was Yang Shaoquan.
What truly made him suspect that Yang Shaoquan might be related to the third line was when he encountered Liu Yuxin in the city.
At that time, everyone was busy investigating the Huang Shaxi female corpse case and the insulin case, and he was the only one idle.
But before he could be idle for two minutes, Mou Chun Ya came looking for him.
She said a girl wanted to see him.
Hu Jia was very surprised.
Who would come to find him at Sister Chun Ya's place? When he followed her, he discovered it was Liu Yuxin.
Liu Yuxin at this moment was very different from the Liu Yuxin in his memory.
Upon seeing Hu Jia, Liu Yuxin's eyes immediately reddened. They hadn't seen each other for many years, and indeed, there were endless topics to discuss.
Liu Yuxin said she had run away from an arranged marriage. She had no other choice and decided to come find Hu Jia.
"Why didn't you look for me at the police station? Why come here? And how did you know you could find me here?" Hu Jia was very puzzled.
Liu Yuxin was also surprised. "Didn't you leave me this address back then? You even told me only to come here to find you."
Back then?
Hu Jia immediately realized that the "back then" Liu Yuxin was referring to should be between 1921 and 1923.
Because this memory was missing, and crucially, he had asked Liu Yuxin to find him at the Mou family's, which proved that he trusted the Mou family a great deal at that time.
Hu Jia was struggling to figure out what he had been doing during that period, and Liu Yuxin's arrival brought some information.
Liu Yuxin said that about six years ago, which was 1923, Hu Jia had brought Mou Jixuan to Zhong County.
She didn't know what Hu Jia and her uncle had discussed in the room, only that her uncle was very angry, even to the point of slamming tables and chairs.
After Hu Jia left, her uncle began to regret it, even coming out to chase after him for a distance.
But he didn't catch up.
Liu Yuxin heard her uncle muttering to himself, "I shouldn't have told him, I really dare not tell him, Shilong, I'm sorry."
It was precisely this sentence that made Hu Jia suspicious. What was it that he shouldn't have told him? Also, in 1923, not long after his return, Mou Jixuan had an accident.
Could it be that what he heard from Yang Shaoquan was the very cause of all the subsequent changes?
What could it be?
Was it a clue about the key, or that third line of poetry?
After much thought, Hu Jia leaned more towards the third line of poetry.
Because Hu Shilong had left a total of four lines. The first line was left to Feng Si, who was involved in the case.
The second line was left to his partner Li Zhenhui, who was investigating the case together.
Following this line of reasoning, it was highly probable that the third line was left to a close friend.
Therefore, Hu Jia immediately decided to return to Zhong County.
However, this plan was halted by Liu Yuxin, or perhaps it was because Lü Qing Qing's case caused a delay.
In any case, Hu Jia did not make the trip in the end.
But now, Liu Yuxin had arrived, suddenly appearing at the police station.
She was brought in by Tong Meng, who claimed she was caught for theft.
Liu Yuxin stealing? This was something Hu Jia hadn't expected. However, this was not his top priority right now; what he needed to consider was how to explain this to Ouyang Wen.
These two were almost married.
"Why did they break up back then?"
"Because my brother wanted to be a police officer."
"A police officer? Is there something wrong with being a police officer? Liu Yuxin didn't want Ouyang Wen to be a police officer?"
"It wasn't that she didn't want him to be a police officer, but that she didn't want him to be a warlord's police officer. Sister Yuxin's parents were killed by warlords."
Hu Jia's explanation made Lü Qing Qing understand. More than ten years ago, this land was plagued by warlord conflicts, and as mentioned before, the police at that time served the warlords.
Since Liu Yuxin's parents were killed by warlords, she naturally did not want her husband to serve warlords.
Due to different choices, the two parted ways.
"But do you know? Sister Yuxin is now over thirty, and she still hasn't married," Hu Jia sighed.
"Because of Ouyang Wen?" Lü Qing Qing was greatly shocked. "She regrets it, she could have come back."
"But by the time she came back, everything had changed." Ouyang Wen no longer had her in his heart.
Hearing this, Lü Qing Qing could only fall silent. Indeed, some choices, once missed, are missed forever.
"She ran away this time to escape an arranged marriage. The suitor is a widower. Sister Yuxin doesn't want to marry him. But she's over thirty now; she can't find anyone else except such a match."
"What do we do now? We can't keep this a secret. Why don't we find an excuse to send Ouyang Wen away?"
Lü Qing Qing was a little worried. After all, seeing her first love in jail, regardless of what Ouyang Wen might think, Liu Yuxin herself would likely not want this.
Alas! Hu Jia sighed, his eyes drifting elsewhere. "Forget it, it's too late."
Lü Qing Qing looked up and saw Ouyang Wen walking out of the office with a worried expression, followed by Tong Meng.
Clearly, Tong Meng had just gone in to report.
"Who was arrested? Did you go to see her?" Ouyang asked Hu Jia eagerly.
Seeing Hu Jia's silence, Ouyang Wen turned to leave.
"Brother," Hu Jia called out to him. "It's her."
Ouyang Wen narrowed his eyes, pondered for a second or two, "Crazy."
It was unclear whether he was cursing Hu Jia or Liu Yuxin.
Finally, Liu Yuxin went to see Ouyang Wen voluntarily. This was after Hu Jia had persuaded her.
He said, "I know you don't want to see him. But if you don't go to see him, he will come to see you. Because this case has been reported to him, and as the captain, he will eventually see you.
Do you want him to see you locked up here? Do you want him to see you as a police officer?
No!
Then you might as well go see him proactively. Go to his office to see him.
As a friend."
Liu Yuxin was finally persuaded.
She pushed open the door, and Ouyang Wen was standing just behind it, looking at her. They were both silent.
Finally.
"Long time no see."