"Junior Sister Leng?!"
Although the exclamation was soft, it was still caught by the person beside her.
Hua Jinrong shook the folding fan in his hand and said with a smile, "I didn't expect that Detective Lin, not only are you Director Xu's student, but you are also acquainted with Miss Leng~"
"Not really acquainted. This Senior Sister Leng is a senior from Jinling Women's College of my younger sister, Qingge, and she helped my sister a lot when she enrolled. When I went to the college to visit my sister, I greeted her, and we are barely acquainted."
"To be acquainted with such a stunning beauty, Detective Lin, you truly have a way with women~"
After making this teasing remark, Hua Jinrong strode forward and simply introduced their identities to the female guests of the Shangguan family. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
However, Madam Shangguan heard this and was very angry.
"Detective? Inspector Hua, didn't our master pass away from a sudden illness? What are you looking for a detective for? Could it be that Inspector Hua suspects our master was murdered?"
"Madam Shangguan, the true cause of Master Shangguan's death can only be determined after an autopsy by the forensic doctor. Until then, we cannot make any assumptions."
"What?! Autopsy?! Damn it! Our master is a prominent figure in Harbin, and you want to cut him open?"
Madam Shangguan immediately started to quarrel, and Hua Jinrong, who had stirred up a hornet's nest, stopped shaking his fan and made his escape on the pretext of the detective needing to examine the scene.
"Oh my god, women are terrifying! I thought my mother was scary enough when she was angry, but I didn't expect this Madam Shangguan to be no less intimidating." Yan Tinghao said, patting his chest with lingering fear.
Hua Jinrong took the opportunity to explain the situation of the Shangguan family. Shangguan Hong was originally a live-in son-in-law of the Leng family. With his unremitting efforts, the Leng family's business grew bigger and bigger, eventually making him the richest man in Harbin. As his status rose, people gradually forgot his identity as a live-in son-in-law and referred to him as Master Shangguan. The Leng family was already sparsely populated, and after Shangguan Hong's first wife, Leng Shu Ying, passed away early, he simply changed the Leng family's businesses to carry the Shangguan surname. Shangguan Hong and his first wife Leng Shu Ying had a daughter, Leng Ning Yue, who took her mother's surname. However, not long after Leng Ning Yue's mother, Leng Shu Ying, died of illness, Shangguan Hong married his current wife, Xiahou Jin, and the following year, they had their second daughter, Shangguan Yu Yan. Shangguan Hong had no siblings, so the Shangguan family usually consisted of only the four of them, along with the butler Uncle Wang, the driver He Zhang, and a few servants.
As they spoke, the three of them arrived at the study on the second floor.
"Detective Lin, this is where Master Shangguan was found dead. According to the butler, Uncle Wang, Master Shangguan often worked until late at night. To avoid disturbing his wife, Master Shangguan would usually rest in the small room behind the study. This morning, Uncle Wang, as usual, came to wake Master Shangguan at seven o'clock. When he opened the door, he found that Master Shangguan was not resting in the small room but was slumped over his desk. At first, he didn't think much of it, assuming Master Shangguan was just extremely tired. But after calling out to him several times at the desk, Master Shangguan showed no reaction. Helplessly, Uncle Wang reached out to nudge him, and as soon as his hand touched the stiff Master Shangguan, he fell straight to the side!"
"Where is the body?"
"I heard that Madam Shangguan has a fiery temper, so I guessed she wouldn't agree to an autopsy of Master Shangguan's body. I sent someone to secretly move the body back to the police station for the forensic doctor to perform the autopsy."
"But as far as I know, without the family's signed consent, an autopsy cannot be performed."
Hua Jinrong, hearing this, calmly fanned himself: "Detective Lin, the Shangguan family is not without other relatives besides Madam Shangguan."
"It's Senior Sister Leng?"
"As expected of Detective Lin, you can even answer preemptively."
At this moment, a police officer came to find Hua Jinrong and asked him to go over.
"Little Yanzi, the buns were too salty this morning, and I'm a bit thirsty. Go get me a glass of water."
"Yes, Boss!"
After Yan Tinghao left downstairs without suspicion, the study door was pushed open again. This Detective Lin seemed to have expected someone to come and turned around excitedly, grabbing the person's sleeve: "Senior Sister Leng, it's really you! When did you return to Harbin?"
"I returned yesterday, and before I could even find you, this happened at home. But what about you? Why are you, a young lady, dressed as a man and impersonating your brother, Lin Jingxing?"
This Detective Lin was not the real Lin Jingxing, but Lin Jingxing's twin sister, Lin Qingge.
"Senior Sister Leng, this is a long story. Just remember that I am Lin Jingxing now, and Lin Jingxing is me."
Hearing Lin Qingge's words, Leng Ning Yue's brow furrowed even tighter.
"You're not going to be reckless again, are you?" Lin Qingge, feeling inexplicably guilty, rolled her eyes and changed the subject: "Senior Sister Leng, it's rare for us to meet again after so many years, so please don't bring up such disheartening matters. I'm sorry, I forgot that your father just passed away. Senior Sister Leng, please accept my condolences."
"It's fine, he was no more than a stranger to me." Leng Ning Yue said indifferently, but Lin Qingge shook her head in disagreement.
"Even so, Master Shangguan is your father, Senior Sister Leng. The reason for his sudden death should be investigated." Lin Qingge then leaned down to examine the desk carefully and pointed to a corner near the chair: "Looking at it against the light, there is a mark from a cup. The circular stain left in this state indicates that the liquid in the cup was at a high temperature."
Leng Ning Yue thought for a moment and said, "My father had a habit of drinking warm milk at night to help him sleep, so Uncle Wang would warm a cup for my father every day, sometimes bringing it to his bedroom, and sometimes to the study."
Lin Qingge nodded, then walked to the other side of the desk.
"The desktop is clean and tidy, and all documents are sorted and placed in order. It seems Master Shangguan was a meticulous person."
"Yes, my father had almost exacting requirements for the placement of items. But what does this have to do with my father's death?"
"We don't know the connection yet, but it's certain that someone has rummaged through the items in the study, especially the documents in the drawers." Lin Qingge said as she gestured for Leng Ning Yue to look.
"Although the documents in the drawers are also arranged sequentially, the edges of these documents are not aligned. This would be unbearable for the meticulous Master Shangguan."
"Are you saying that someone sneaked into my father's study last night and searched for things?"
"Yes, and the person was a woman." Lin Qingge narrowed her eyes slightly and carefully pulled out a light brown strand of hair from a gap in the drawer.