No te apoyes en la barandilla oeste para retener el claro otoño

Capítulo 38

"She went to the kitchen and the living room, why didn't she look at the clock there?"

"She was busy with other things at the time and didn't notice the clock at all. She only remembered the 9:35 o'clock she mentioned later when Uncle Lin asked her about it."

“Well, besides that, what else could point to this Fang Rouzhi?” Attorney Jian asked.

"There are three points. First, Zhou Jin's attire before her disappearance. She was dressed as a man, so acquaintances would immediately recognize her, but those who had only met her once or twice probably wouldn't. Zhou Jin had hinted to the hotel owner who lent her the men's clothing that she was going to meet someone she didn't know very well, which is why she dressed like that. Zhou Jin worked as a nanny in this house for a week, and everyone knows her, except for Fang Rouzhi, who doesn't know her very well. It was because Fang Rouzhi was hospitalized that Zhou Jin was hired to take care of Xiaoxi. Zhou Jin left the day after Fang Rouzhi returned, so Zhou Jin thought that if she dressed as a man, Fang Rouzhi might not recognize her. Second, the night I asked Ling Ge to test the soundproofing in Yushan's room, someone broke into Yushan's room."

"Ah!" Zeng Yushan exclaimed in surprise.

“Ling Ge said with certainty that the person was looking for something in the room, but why didn’t you find anything in the end? I think she switched something.”

"What?" Zeng Yushan asked nervously.

"Umbrella."

"Umbrella?"

"It was raining heavily the day she met Zhou Jin. Zhou Jin bought an umbrella at an umbrella shop, and Fang Rouzhi brought the umbrella back with her when she left Zhou Jin's place. It hadn't rained when she left the Shen family, so she didn't bring an umbrella. She never expected that the umbrella would end up in your hands."

"Now that you mention it, I remember. I went out again after I came back the next day, and I just grabbed an umbrella from the washroom. I've kept it there ever since, and I don't know whose it is. Nobody mentioned it to me. Was it Zhou Jin's umbrella?"

"Yes, I've already asked the umbrella seller. He remembers Zhou Jin. Zhou Jin was dressed as a man that day, but when she spoke, it was a woman's voice, which startled him. So he has a deep impression of Zhou Jin. Fang Rouzhi has been wanting to get that umbrella back from you. She feels it's not safe to leave it with you, but she can't ask for it directly. First, she's afraid you won't agree. If she asks you for the umbrella, would you agree?"

“Of course I wouldn’t agree. What makes her think it’s hers?” Zeng Yushan said.

Jian Dongping smiled and said, "So, she didn't ask you for it. Besides, she was also afraid of arousing your suspicion, because the police confirmed that there was Zhou Jin's blood on the inside of the umbrella."

"Xiao Ge said she found the umbrella, the one? That's strange, why didn't she throw it away? How did Yu Shan have the chance to take it?" Attorney Jian found it unbelievable. Jian Dongping laughed.

"Because it rained the next day, she originally intended to take the umbrella out to throw it away, but it rained again, so she had to bring it back. Unfortunately, the umbrella was taken away by Yushan shortly after she got it back. Hahaha, what bad luck! She must have been frantically searching for it for a long time."

"Why didn't she throw the umbrella away after she got it from Yushan's room?" Attorney Jane asked again.

"According to her statement to the police, she tried to throw the umbrella away twice but failed because it was of good quality; someone else would pick it up as soon as she tried to throw it away, so she had to quickly retrieve it. Therefore, she later decided to simply wash the bloodstains off the umbrella. She used the opportunity of accompanying Xiaoxi to class to sneak away to Zhou Jin's place. On the day she attacked Xiao Ge, she was also accompanying Xiaoxi to class, intending to sneak back to wash the umbrella, but Xiao Ge got it before her. She was unlucky!"

"Haha, she's really unlucky," Attorney Jane laughed.

"And what about the third one?" Fang Qi asked.

"When she sneaked into Yushan's room, Xiaoge cleverly got chewing gum stuck to her slippers. Later, the chewing gum got stuck in a hole in the sole of her slippers, but she didn't notice. During that time, her attention was completely focused on the umbrella."

"How could someone as lazy as her pay attention to the soles of her shoes? She doesn't even wash her milk cup!" Zhang Yufen muttered.

"Of course, the most important evidence the police had against her wasn't what I've mentioned, but rather that someone testified that she had copied a set of storage room keys. The witness was the person who made the keys. She later returned to the scene, first confirming whether Su Zhiwen was really dead, and then carelessly threw Fang Qi's junior high school textbooks and cheongsam around, staging a theft scene."

"How did she know about those books..." Fang Qi stared at him, not asking any further questions, but Jian Dongping knew what she wanted to ask.

“She didn’t sleep all night, constantly watching the storage room. She saw you go in and come out. Also, you were 15 years old in your third year of junior high, right? According to her own account, she wanted to remind the police of this.”

Fang Qi frowned and remained silent. Jian Dongping didn't want to bring up the past to avoid upsetting everyone, so he changed the subject to Su Zhiwen.

"Su Zhiwen promised Fang Rouzhi he would return the pearl the day after he received the jade ruyi, but Fang Rouzhi didn't trust them at all. She feared they would continue to blackmail her, so she decided to kill them. However, she knew she couldn't handle both of them simultaneously, so she killed Su Zhiwen in the storage room first. Then, she took Su Zhiwen's phone and texted Zhou Jin, telling her to come for the transaction at 5:30 pm the next day. She sent the text in Su Zhiwen's voice, and Zhou Jin didn't object. According to Zhou Jin, she called Su Zhiwen that night, but his phone was switched off. Zhou Jin didn't know Su Zhiwen was dead, so she went to the meeting place on time the next day. When she arrived at the designated location, she called to ask if Su Zhiwen had arrived. Fang Rouzhi had the phone, and she said they had arrived and Su Zhiwen had gone to the restroom. This was the last call Zhou Jin made to Su Zhiwen. Zhou Jin went upstairs, and as soon as she entered, Fang Rouzhi attacked her. She had left very early that day, specifically to wait at the scene."

"Did Fang Rouzhi get the pearl later?" Shen Biyun asked.

Jian Dongping smiled and took a perfectly round pearl out of his pocket.

“I found this in a small hole at the bottom of the stairwell. I guess it was a hole dug by a dog that fell in. Zhou Jin never found Pearl; she was lying to Fang Rouzhi the whole time.” Jian Dongping sighed and said, “I initially thought Fang Rouzhi didn’t kill Zhou Jin simply because she couldn’t dispose of the body. Later, I learned that she kept pressuring Zhou Jin about Pearl’s whereabouts, but when she couldn’t get any answers, she gave up. Even if Zhou Jin had told her where Pearl was, Fang Rouzhi would still have killed her to cover it up.”

A silence fell over the room.

"Su, Su Zhiwen was very excited that day. Was it because he successfully extorted money?" Zeng Yushan asked after a while.

“Yes, he and Zhou Jin both believed that the jade ruyi was a guarantee for their future life. They planned to leave after this job and start a new life, and Zhou Jin herself admitted this. I went to see her yesterday, and she could speak again. She even identified the murderer the day before yesterday. She told me that on May 7th, she was planning to leave with Su Zhiwen by train after everything was over. She even bought lollipops and pens for Su Zhiwen. It is said that Su Zhiwen likes to eat something sweet when he writes poetry, but unfortunately… Okay, I’m done.” Jian Dongping sighed. “Do you have any other questions?” “I really find it inexplicable. Why didn’t she throw away the umbrella? Wouldn’t it be better for someone else to pick it up than for it to stay at home?” Lawyer Jian was puzzled.

Shen Biyun couldn't help but laugh out loud.

“Qiming, you don’t understand her at all. Just go and see her room. She’s the kind of person who’s most reluctant to throw things away. She’s kept things from years ago. So, I really believe she’ll keep the umbrella because that’s the kind of person she is.” Shen Biyun coughed lightly, covering her mouth with a handkerchief, and said, “She probably thought it was wise to throw the umbrella away at first, but then she saw someone else come to take it and regretted it. She thought that keeping it might not attract anyone’s attention, so she took the umbrella back.”

“She said it would be a pity to throw it away, but if she brought it back, she would feel like it was a hot potato,” Jian Dongping added.

Attorney Jane smiled and shook her head, unsure of what to say.

"Did she push Mom down the stairs? What was her motive? Mom has always treated her well," Fang Qi asked.

"There are two reasons. First, she always believed that her father, Fang Guohua, was killed by your mother. She told the police that she once saw Aunt Shen put poison in her father's cup."

Shen Biyun gave a cold laugh.

"Hmph! Fang Guohua refused to take his medicine, so I had to grind it into powder and put it in his cup. Now it seems that last time, she must have switched the powder, which caused her father's sudden heart attack and death. That good-for-nothing idiot!" Shen Biyun said coldly.

Jian Dongping continued:

"Secondly, there's a chapter in *Lady's House* that recounts how Aunt Shen encountered Fang Rouzhi on a suburban highway and brought her back. The article says that Fang Rouzhi looked exhausted and covered in mud. She claimed that she got lost while trying to take a shortcut to visit a primary school classmate and tripped and fell. But I suspect that's not the case. That year, her husband was on the run for murder and later disappeared. After reading this chapter, I wondered if her husband contacted her while on the run, asking her to deliver something, and then she killed him and buried him on the spot?"

"Is that really true?" Fang Qi covered her mouth in horror.

"Her husband's body was found yesterday. She admitted that she killed him in a fit of anger. Her husband had always treated her badly, and she had been dissatisfied with him for many years. Later, she met Aunt Shen on her way back. She was worried that Aunt Shen had seen through her, so she had been plotting to kill Aunt Shen."

"Actually, I tried to subtly probe her about her husband, but she remained calm, so I didn't pay much attention," Shen Biyun said with a smile. "It seems she has a really good mental fortitude."

"Then why did she kill my father?!" Zeng Yushan shouted angrily.

"Because that night, she was supposed to come over for dinner, but when she arrived, she found that Aunt Chen had gone to a friend's house without informing her, making her come all for nothing. She was very angry, so she decided to play a trick on your father. She didn't expect your father to die. She thought that if he tripped over the rope, he would at most suffer a concussion. She thought that if your father was injured, your mother would also suffer. She actually wanted to get revenge on your mother."

"How vicious!" Zeng Yushan sighed. At the same time, she glared fiercely at Fang Xiaoxi.

Fang Xiaoxi rolled her eyes at her and didn't say anything.

Silence fell over the room once more.

After a moment, Fang Qi said:

"I never imagined that she had been plotting to harm us all these years!" Perhaps thinking of the past, Fang Qi's face turned pale and her voice trembled slightly.

Shen Biyun took a sip of tea and replied quietly, "If you had told me everything back then, our family wouldn't be in this state today! Fang Qi, if you love someone, you have to trust them. I really hope you can understand this."

That's true, but have you lived up to it yourself? Jian Dongping thought, if you had always believed that your daughter Fang Qi hadn't murdered Zeng Hong, you would have exposed it long ago. Perhaps Fang Rouzhi would have been exposed long ago, and she wouldn't have had the chance to sow discord, much less to murder you and Su Zhiwen. Besides, back then, she hadn't killed many people yet, and her mental fortitude probably hadn't developed to the point where she is now. Perhaps a little intimidation from the police would have made her confess. But now, it's too late, and the price paid is too high…

As Jian Dongping was sighing to himself, he heard Shen Biyun asking Yu Shan a question.

"What are you and Xiang Bing planning to do?"

“I don’t know…” Zeng Yushan’s voice dropped eight octaves.

“Although I don’t like him, I don’t approve of you treating marriage like a game. Think it over yourself.” Shen Biyun’s voice was full of authority.

“I…I will be careful…” Zeng Yushan said obediently.

For the first time, Jian Dongping saw a lady's expression on her face.

18. Epilogue

"Ling Ge, what's wrong with you?" As soon as Jian Dongping entered the ward, he saw Ling Ge sitting on the edge of the bed in a daze.

"Look." She was holding a pair of new sandals.

Jian Dongping looked and saw that a small flower on the sandal had been pulled off.

"So the shoes were broken." He felt a little sorry for them, but then he thought, "They're just a pair of shoes."

"I only wore them for one day. These are brand new shoes, and they're so expensive. They're ruined after just one day," Ling Ge said sadly, looking at her shoes with teary eyes.

Seeing her tears, he felt a pang of sympathy, so he patted her shoulder to comfort her.

“You should be happy because you were bravely wounded and you can go back to work next week.” He tossed the expensive shoes aside. “It’s just a pair of shoes. It was so dangerous back then. I’m lucky to have survived. I didn’t care about the shoes.”

"Fang Rouzhi is a bastard!" she shouted indignantly, then sighed with infinite regret, "My new shoes..."

Looking at her expression, he couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, I know a shoe repairman who's really good at it. I'll just ask him to fix it for me."

"These new shoes cost 1580 yuan, and I only wore them for one day before they need to be repaired! Fang Rouzhi is so awful!" she said angrily, wiping away her tears.

"Okay, okay, don't be sad. Look what I brought you. I knew you didn't have any shoes, so I bought you another pair. But this time it wasn't as expensive, only about 200 yuan. You can wear these for now, and then alternate between them when the other pair is repaired, okay?" He took a plastic bag out of his bag and handed it to her.

She touched the shoes in the plastic bag, looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with joy and gratitude.

"Thank you," she said.

"Aren't you touched? There's more," he thought to himself.

"Here are some more, take them and wear them." He placed a large plastic bag he had just brought in on her lap. It contained new women's clothing he had gotten from a friend who was in the clothing business.

"Where did you get so many clothes? They're so pretty!" she asked, rummaging through the various dresses and tops in the plastic bag, her eyes sparkling with delight.

“My friend is in the clothing business, and I got these from him. Try them on first, and I’ll pay him if they fit. Don’t worry about the price; he’ll give me a discount,” he said, thinking to himself, “Please, get rid of those tacky clothes already; they’re making my eyes bleed.”

"I don't want it, here you go." She stuffed the clothes back into the plastic bag and returned them to him.

"Why not?" he asked curiously.

"Then, how much money will that cost?" She seemed very worried about it. He saw her subconsciously reach for the small ledger under her pillow, a gesture that stung his heart. He immediately grabbed her hand.

"Ling Ge, are you going to settle accounts with me?" He was a little annoyed.

"I should settle the score with you now." She shook off his hand, took out her little green ledger, and solemnly opened it. "How could I take so many of your things? Shoes, clothes. And the cost of my house renovation. During the renovation, I stayed at your house, and I don't know how much my room and board would cost. I've already done the math, but now it's probably gone up again..." she said worriedly, taking out a calculator.

He was furious when he saw the computer.

"You think I'm staying at your house and you're going to pay for my food and lodging? Do you think my house is a hotel?" He threw a gun aside over the computer.

She was unhappy.

“You may not care, but I can’t. I don’t want to eat and stay for free! Even if we were husband and wife, let alone just friends, I can’t let a man support me! I wouldn’t feel at ease!” She said righteously, then seriously started calculating on her fingers, “How about this, when I live at your house, I’ll pay you 500 yuan a month for meals, is that enough? I’ll try to eat only one meal, just dinner, but your food is good, so if I eat two meals, 500 yuan won’t be enough.”

“Who wants to make money off your 500 yuan!” he said angrily.

Every time she saw him get really angry, she was always a little scared, so she immediately shut her mouth, but she still clutched the small ledger in her hand. Jian Dongping knew that her feelings hadn't changed.

He thought for a moment and said:

"Ling Ge, how about this? If you insist, you can... um, be my housekeeper from now on, and do some housework for me every day to offset your room and board expenses, how about that?"

"What is a housekeeper?" she asked, confused.

"He usually cooks me nice meals, does my laundry, and cleans up after me. Sometimes he tidies up my room and does other chores. How about that?" he asked.

Ling Ge thought for a moment and said, "Doing laundry and tidying the room is no problem, but I'm afraid I won't be able to cook well."

"That's alright, let's change cooking to serving food." He was overjoyed at the thought of seeing her serve him food and do his laundry every day.

"Then wouldn't I become your servant?" she suddenly realized.

"What are you talking about? Who would buy shoes worth 1580 yuan for a maid?" he retorted.

She tilted her head and thought about it, then realized he made sense and nodded with a smile.