The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 156: Chapter 156: One Step Slow, Every Step Slow

Han Xiaorui was dumbfounded, unable to believe it. ”Officer Li, what murder case has anything to do with me?”

Officer Li knew Han Xiaorui. Besides, their investigation had already indicated she likely wasn’t heavily involved; this was just a routine inquiry.

”Do you know Zhang Fa Cai?”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”I know him. I sell all my seafood to him, and he pays a pretty high price. But I’ve decided I won’t sell to him anymore.”

”Why?” Officer Li asked.

Han Xiaorui replied, ”Zhang Fa Cai is decent at business, but his character isn’t great. Yesterday, I sold him a boatload of fish. Zhang Fa Cai went to the bank to transfer the money to me. Since the amount was quite large, I went in person too.”

”But as soon as we came out of the bank, Zhang Fa Cai’s wife slapped me and accused me of seducing her husband. I got dragged into his mess and slandered by his wife, which damaged my reputation. So I slapped both of them and decided I would never work with them again.”

”What does a murder case have to do with Zhang Fa Cai?”

Officer Li replied, ”The person who died is Zhang Fa Cai. His head was bashed in, and he died from excessive blood loss.”

Hearing this, Han Xiaorui was aghast. ”My God! Officer, you don’t suspect me of killing Zhang Fa Cai, do you? I admit I hit him yesterday, right in front of the bank. You can go ask.”

”After that, I left, went home, and picked peaches in my yard. In the evening, I ate dinner at home and didn’t go out. His death has nothing to do with me.”

Seeing her reaction, Officer Li said, ”We’ve investigated. The only reason we’re asking you to come in is because you had a conflict with Zhang Fa Cai yesterday. His wife, Li Rong, isn’t at home, and we can’t find her at the moment. We now suspect that Li Rong is the one who killed Zhang Fa Cai.”

Hearing this, Han Xiaorui blinked. ”Officer Li, Li Rong was furious yesterday. When she hit me, she even said I was Zhang Fa Cai’s mistress he was keeping on the side. Their relationship has clearly broken down. You could investigate from that angle.”

When an acquaintance commits murder, it’s usually for money, for love, or for revenge. There’s rarely a fourth possibility.

Officer Li replied, ”We will investigate thoroughly and apprehend the killer.”

After explaining things to her sister, Han Xiaorui got into the police car with Officer Li and headed to the police station.

Although Han Xiaoqing knew her sister hadn’t killed anyone, she worried, ’What if she gets wrongly accused?’

She flipped through the family address book and first called their lawyer, Chen Nanyang. He asked which police station Han Xiaorui was at and said he would head over immediately.

Han Xiaoqing then thought of her sister’s boyfriend, Ye Feng, so she called him as well. ”Brother Ye, my sister just went to the police station...”

Ye Feng was taken aback for a moment, then reassured Han Xiaoqing, ”I know. Xiao Rui didn’t do this. No one is going to frame her.”

Hearing this, Han Xiaoqing breathed a sigh of relief. ”Thank you, Brother Ye.”

”You don’t have to thank me. It’s what I should do,” Ye Feng replied. After hanging up, he immediately called the police station to inquire about the situation.

After getting a grasp of the situation, Ye Feng let out a sigh of relief.

He had his driver take him to pick up Han Xiaorui in person.

When Han Xiaorui arrived at the police station, she explained the whole situation again, signed a statement, and took responsibility for her words.

Officer Li instructed Han Xiaorui, ”Until the killer is found, don’t go out to sea.”

Han Xiaorui sucked in a sharp breath. ’This is cutting off my source of income!’

’What on earth did that Zhang Fa Cai do to make his wife, Li Rong, snap and kill him?’

Chen Nanyang arrived first. He conferred with the officers at the police station and was relieved to learn that the situation wasn’t serious.

Han Xiaorui was his cash cow, after all!

”I suspect Zhang Fa Cai’s wife did it. Lawyer Chen, can you help me find out what exactly was going on between Zhang Fa Cai and Li Rong?”

Chen Nanyang nodded. ”Zhang Fa Cai’s two seafood restaurants are very famous, so he’s something of a public figure. It should be easy to investigate.”

”I’ll leave it to you, then. As for the relevant fees, we can settle them all at once when this is over,” Han Xiaorui replied. She preferred to keep things clear-cut.

”Don’t be so formal,” Chen Nanyang said with a light laugh. ”Oh, look, Ye Feng is here.”

When Han Xiaorui saw Ye Feng, she looked surprised and chided him playfully, ”Honestly! You’re supposed to be resting. You shouldn’t be out here causing trouble.”

Watching Han Xiaorui hurry over to Ye Feng, Chen Nanyang scratched his head. He had actually met Han Xiaorui around the same time as Ye Feng.

But in the end, Ye Feng was the one who had first recognized Han Xiaorui’s good qualities and accepted that she was divorced with a child, so he was the one who ended up dating her.

What about him?

He came from a good family, had graduated from a prestigious university, and had never lacked for money growing up.

Even with his career, he hadn’t followed his family’s arrangements, instead choosing to resign from a public sector job to open his own law firm.

Though he had been stunned by Han Xiaorui’s beauty and had sympathized with her plight, he just couldn’t accept a woman who was divorced and had a child.

By the time he realized he was developing feelings for Han Xiaorui, could accept that she had a child, and decided to try pursuing her, Ye Feng was already by her side.

’Sigh. One step behind, always a step behind.’

Chen Nanyang reined in his emotions. ’It’s better to just be friends, to keep it a professional relationship.’

After greeting Ye Feng, Chen Nanyang took his leave. He had to go investigate the Zhang Fa Cai matter with his team.

Han Xiaorui was worried about Ye Feng. ”I’m fine. You should go back quickly. This doesn’t have much to do with me, so they can’t pin it on me.”

Ye Feng gently stroked Han Xiaorui’s head, his heart aching. ”You did nothing wrong. It’s normal to react that way when you’re publicly slandered and insulted. Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Okay, I’m not afraid. I’m fine now, so you should go home early and get some proper rest.”

Han Xiaorui held Ye Feng’s hand and transferred a small amount of her Water Ability to him.

’Too much would make him recover too quickly, which might make him suspicious.’

Ye Feng nodded. ”Alright, I’ll head back then. You should go home soon too, so the kids don’t worry. Let me take you home first.”

Han Xiaorui shook her head and waved her hands. ”No, there are plenty of turtle-taxis over there. You don’t need to take me. The roads on that side aren’t as good as in the city. The bumps wouldn’t be good for you.”

Firmly rejected by Han Xiaorui, Ye Feng could only do as she said and had the driver take him home.

Zhang Fa Cai was dead. It was all very sudden.

Panic spread through the Fa Cai Grand Restaurant. No one knew if the seafood restaurant could stay open.

Zhang Fa Cai’s son quickly took over the management of the restaurant, but he was also worried about his mother.

Li Rong had fled in the middle of the night, her body still stained with blood. She washed herself in a small stream and changed into clean clothes.

She stuck to the small paths, not daring to take the main roads, and certainly not daring to ride in a car.

She walked like this all the way until dawn, when she finally found a place to hide.

Looking at the sun in the sky, Li Rong thought of her son and daughter and burst into tears, but she did not regret killing Zhang Fa Cai.

She hated that ungrateful man!

’I don’t want to get divorced and become a laughingstock.’

’Even more, I don’t want the huge fortune I struggled and suffered with Zhang Fa Cai to earn to end up in the hands of some other woman.’

’For my son to take over quickly, maybe I should just turn myself in. That way, the case will be closed sooner, and the three restaurants will belong to my son and daughter.’