SGEIRS -Chapter 389 A New Lead

In the evening, after dinner and a brief conversation with Lord Du, Gu Jingxi and Meng Jinyao returned to their guest room.

Once inside and after closing the door, Gu Jingxi said, “Jinyao, I’m going out for a while. If you’re tired, go ahead and sleep. You don’t need to wait for me.”

Meng Jinyao understood his purpose and nodded gently. “Be careful, husband.”

Gu Jingxi, always cautious, disguised himself slightly. He changed into a set of dark clothes, covered his face, glanced around to ensure no one was watching, and then scaled the wall and slipped out.

Meng Jinyao watched him leap onto the wall and disappear over it, curiosity stirring within her about how he had managed to climb so effortlessly.

After leaving the county office, Gu Jingxi headed to a small residence in the eastern part of the city—a house he had arranged for Fang Xuan and Fang Ce to rent, intended for discussing business or other purposes.

Fang Xuan and Fang Ce had been efficient in their tasks. Fang Ce had already brought the parents of the girl who had been raped and murdered back to this residence. They were kept from seeing anyone and were forbidden from going out. Previously, they had left the sorrowful county of Deqing, but had not traveled far, only moving to the neighboring county.

Upon learning this, Gu Jingxi nodded in satisfaction. The case of the girl, who was raped and then killed, could be a potential breakthrough. He took it seriously but did not immediately meet with the girl’s parents.

First, he met with Fang Xuan and asked directly, “Fang Xuan, what did you find regarding the matter I asked you to investigate?”

Fang Xuan recounted carefully: “My lord, I have investigated. The reason Master Li had prior involvement with the girl was because she was skilled at embroidery. One day, Master Li noticed her providing embroidered goods to his family’s shop and introduced her to Miss Li, his sister, to make clothes for her.”

“This girl had a beautiful appearance and a unique temperament. Master Li developed feelings for her and wished to take her as a concubine. This plan even received the consent of Master Li’s elders, and a matchmaker was prepared to inform the girl’s parents. However, before that could happen, the girl was raped and murdered. Before this, Master Li and the girl had no enmity; their meetings were always polite.”

Gu Jingxi frowned. It all sounded reasonable, consistent with what he had previously learned. It seemed truly unrelated to Master Li. Yet, based on his years of experience handling cases, he sensed that things were not so simple. The case still had gaps, even though the girl’s brother had already confessed. He asked, “Aside from this, is there anything else?”

Fang Xuan nodded slightly and continued, “There is a coincidence. The girl and the son of her neighbors died on the same day. That young man had been recovering from an illness, and the doctor said a little more rest would leave him unharmed. But suddenly, his condition worsened dramatically, and he died the next day. He passed away in the morning, and the girl went out that afternoon and didn’t return. When discovered, she had been raped and murdered, and it was her brother who found her.”

Gu Jingxi’s eyes brightened at this new lead. After a moment’s thought, he asked, “What was the relationship between the young man and the girl?”

Fang Xuan replied, “They grew up together, childhood sweethearts, and were very close.”

Hearing this, Gu Jingxi began forming a tentative hypothesis.

Perhaps the girl had a lover and didn’t wish to marry Master Li. The lover was the young man who had died. Upon learning this, Master Li might have sought to harm the young man. The girl, guessing the reason, confronted Master Li, leading to a dispute. Finally, Master Li, driven by love turned into hatred, raped the girl and, in anger, killed her.

However, these were only preliminary conjectures.

After a moment, Gu Jingxi asked, “What were their names again?”

Fang Xuan answered, “The girl’s name was Shen Qinghe, her brother was Shen Qingshan, the neighbor boy was Yang Yingjie, and Master Li was Li Xin.”

Gu Jingxi nodded and instructed, “Bring the parents here. I have some questions for them.”

Fang Xuan acknowledged and left to fetch the middle-aged couple. The couple, having lost their only child—murdered by the adopted son they had raised—were devastated. Though only in their thirties, the weight of grief had aged them to resemble people in their forties.

When brought to the hall, they saw a striking young man in dark clothes who radiated authority. They hurriedly knelt and said, “Your servants/servant wives pay respects, my lord.”

Gu Jingxi spoke gently, “No need for formalities. Sit down. I have some questions for you.”

The couple were overwhelmed by the honor.

Father Shen quickly waved his hands. “No, no need, my lord. We can stand. Ask whatever you need—we will answer truthfully.”

Gu Jingxi did not insist. He began, “I heard you once considered matching your biological daughter with your adopted son?”

Mother Shen, hearing this, was filled with regret and exclaimed angrily, “We brought a wolf into the house! We should never have rescued that beast and raised him as our own! We only had one daughter. If she married someone else, we would feel regret, so we thought to match them. But the daughter didn’t want it. She considered Qingshan a brother, so we gave up. Yet Qingshan liked Qinghe. After Qinghe rejected him, he became melancholy. A few days later, Qinghe suffered her misfortune.”

Gu Jingxi asked, “Did Miss Shen have feelings for Yang Yingjie?”

At this, both Father and Mother Shen froze and instinctively shook their heads.

Father Shen said, “Yingjie and our children grew up together like siblings. Qinghe considered Qingshan a brother, and she surely had no other thoughts toward Yingjie. Yingjie was slightly younger and regarded as a little brother.”

Gu Jingxi said, “But Yang Yingjie and Miss Shen died on the same day.”

Mother Shen’s eyes filled with tears, and she spoke with grief, “Yes, both children died the same day. Heaven is unjust. Our Shen family did nothing wrong, nor did the Yangs, yet our only children were lost that day. Yingjie was originally going to recover, but his condition suddenly worsened. Our poor Qinghe was also harmed by that beast.”

Father Shen recalled that day in deep sorrow. That day, he had arranged Yang Yingjie’s funeral. Around evening, the news of his own daughter’s death came, and they both fainted on the spot.

Gu Jingxi calmly stated, “Miss Shen’s body was found at the Li family’s separate estate. That estate was maintained only by a deaf-mute couple and their two children. On the day of the incident, their children were out shopping. The deaf-mute husband was injured, and the deaf wife was busy in the kitchen. When she came out, she saw your adopted son Shen Qingshan holding Miss Shen’s body. The mute servant fainted.”

Hearing this, Father Shen nodded. “He initially wanted to frame Master Li by secretly placing Qinghe’s body in the small estate, but the servant saw it and tried to get help. The beast, afraid, tried to kill him to cover it up but failed. The mute servant survived. At first, he denied framing anyone but eventually confessed. My lord, the case is closed—why investigate further?”