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Глава 37

Jian Dongping smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay. I'll get started now."

"What does Young Master Jian want to say today?" Zhang Yufen asked Fang Qi secretly.

"I don't know," Fang Qi answered softly, then asked Jian Dongping, "Is Ling Ge's injury any better?"

“She’s much better, thank you,” Jian Dongping replied. As soon as he finished speaking, Zeng Yushan asked, “Dongping, are you going to tell us about Fang Rouzhi? Then hurry up, I can’t wait.”

"Don't rush, let's start from the beginning," Jian Dongping said with a smile.

"Stop babbling! Just say what you want to say!" Fang Xiaoxi urged in a low voice with a sullen face. She was in a bad mood today, which Zhang Yufen noticed and was secretly pleased with. She thought gleefully, "This arrogant little girl has finally had her day. Who told your mother to do such a shameful and immoral thing!"

“Alright, let’s start with Zhou Jin.” Jian Dongping suddenly raised his voice. “Zhou Jin is a columnist for our weekly magazine. She disappeared a month ago. Actually, every one of you knows her.” Jian Dongping paused and looked around.

“Zhou Jin? Who’s that? I don’t know him.” Zeng Yushan shook her head blankly.

"Yes, who is she?" Fang Qi asked as well.

“She worked as a temporary nanny in your home for a week this March,” Jian Dongping said calmly.

"Huh? It's that Lili? I don't even know her last name!" Zeng Yushan exclaimed in surprise.

"I didn't pay attention either. I only know her name is Lili. I didn't even notice her last name. She's Zhou Jin? Why would she come to our house as a temporary nanny?" Fang Qi asked, puzzled.

“She’s here to see Su Zhiwen,” Jian Dongping answered briefly. Seeing that no one else was asking questions, he continued, “Actually, she and Su Zhiwen have known each other for many years. Su Zhiwen was once a young man with ideals and ambitions. He was very talented, wrote poetry, and even published a collection of poems. His pen name was Haifeng (Sea Breeze).” Jian Dongping saw that Fang Qi’s face looked as if she had been struck by lightning, but she didn’t speak, nor did the others. So he continued, “Shortly after graduating from university, he married his college sweetheart, Zhu Lin. At that time, he aspired to be a poet. In Zhu Lin’s words, Su Zhiwen was full of hope and ambition for the future. But reality and dreams are different. His unrealistic ambitions ultimately led to his wife leaving him, which was a fatal blow to him. After the failure of his marriage, he was on the verge of a mental breakdown. He first became addicted to gambling, then made bad friends. He even invested in and opened a dance hall, but it quickly went bankrupt. The constant setbacks made him lose his way, and he quickly fell into depravity.”

"So what exactly is his relationship with this Lili?" Zeng Yushan asked anxiously.

"It was in this state of depravity that he met Zhou Jin. Su Zhiwen and his friends came to the small town where Zhou Jin lived, and the two met by chance. Su Zhiwen quickly made Zhou Jin, a high school girl who was only 18 at the time, willingly become his lover. Zhou Jin was very infatuated with him. In order to please him, she even stole 5,000 yuan from her not-so-wealthy home to pay off his gambling debts. However, Su Zhiwen took the money and abandoned Zhou Jin without paying back a single penny of the debt. As a result, Zhou Jin was almost sold into prostitution by the casino owner. Fortunately, she managed to escape in the chaos and call the police, thus escaping danger. However, although the matter was settled, the disaster was not over for Zhou Jin. Because the place where she had the incident was a small town, she quickly became the focus of gossip in the streets and alleys. Zhou Jin's mother even went to her school to criticize her, which made her even more ashamed. So, she decided to leave her hometown to find her enemy, Su Zhiwen. She wanted to settle scores with him."

“Enemy?” Zeng Yushan repeated the two words, but no one responded.

The room was completely silent; no one seemed to have expected that Su Zhiwen and Zhou Jin had such a past.

“Because Su Zhiwen once showed Zhou Jin a map and told her his plans. According to Zhou Jin’s sister, Zhou Lan, Zhou Jin was planning to follow Su Zhiwen’s footsteps all over the country to find him. She gave up her dream of going to university, and this search lasted for six years.” Jian Dongping paused for a moment. “Zhou Jin has two characteristics. The first is that she likes to take pictures. Every time she goes to a place, she will take pictures of the local customs and culture. The second is that she has a compulsive memory disorder related to numbers. That is to say, she has a habit of compulsively counting. When she comes to see me, she will unconsciously count the number of steps on the stairs, the number of turns, how many books are on my table, how many buttons are on my clothes, and even how many tea leaves are in my teacup.” “That’s really strange!” Fang Qi said.

“I remember now,” Zhang Yufen interjected, “She does like counting. When she found Fang Rouzhi’s pearl necklace and gave it to me, she said there were 17 pearls!”

"That's right!" Jian Dongping looked at her excitedly and said loudly.

Zhang Yufen was surprised that her simple remark would receive praise, and she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. But when she turned her head, she found Shen Biyun frowning at her.

"17? Yu Fen, why have you never told me this before?!" Shen Biyun seemed very unhappy.

"I just suddenly remembered it. If he hadn't brought it up, I really wouldn't have remembered it. Is it that important, Madam?" Zhang Yufen asked anxiously.

Shen Biyun closed her eyes, gently shook her head, and whispered, "Never mind. Let's just listen to Dongping continue."

“This is very important, Aunt Yufen. But let’s put it aside for now and talk about it later,” Jian Dongping said politely.

Zhang Yufen shut her mouth. Now, she didn't know if she was right or wrong, so she could only listen to him continue.

"Zhou Jin arrived in the city at the beginning of last year, making a living by singing Teresa Teng's old songs at a nightclub. Coincidentally, she spotted a familiar figure on that street—Su Zhiwen. Clearly, Su Zhiwen had been a regular there for a long time. Zhou Jin recognized him, but didn't immediately approach him to acknowledge him. Why? Because six years had passed, and Zhou Jin had changed a lot. The innocent high school girl of yesteryear was now a singer in a cheongsam. In her autobiographical novel, *My Absurd Journey*, Zhou Jin mentioned her feelings at the time. She said Su Zhiwen no longer recognized her, and she wanted to go up and tell him who she was, but ultimately didn't, afraid of scaring him away. She then quietly searched for a better way to approach him. Soon after, Zhou Jin had the opportunity to attend a press conference for Miaolin Company, 'Shanghai's Sensual Memories…' at that press conference, she sang Teresa Teng's old songs…"

"Was that her?" Fang Qi exclaimed. "Then, I really didn't recognize her as the temporary nanny. I didn't even notice her."

“Yes, I never expected it…who would have thought a singer would come to our house as a nanny!” Zeng Yushan said.

Fang Xiaoxi gave a cold snort and didn't say anything.

“Zhou Jin saw Su Zhiwen and Aunt Shen dancing at the press conference, and she had a bad feeling. Sure enough, not long after, the newspaper published the news of Su Zhiwen and Aunt Shen’s marriage. Since then, Su Zhiwen has never appeared on the street where the dance hall was, and Zhou Jin regrets it very much. She doesn’t know how to get close to Su Zhiwen again.” Jian Dongping looked around and continued, “I met her at the end of February this year. She submitted an article to me, and I thought her writing was good, so I asked her to write a column. In March this year, she started asking me where cultured men usually go to play. She mentioned Miaolin Company to me, and she also knew that our newspaper had interviewed Aunt Shen and Su Zhiwen on November 2nd last year. This shows that she has been studying Su Zhiwen’s life. She has been trying to contact him. She is guessing where Su Zhiwen might hang out based on my habits. She also bought a copy of ‘Lady’s House’.”

"How exactly did she get in touch with Zhiwen, Dongping?" Shen Biyun asked.

According to Zhou Jin's novel, when she left the Shen family, she left a note for Su Zhiwen, instructing him to go to the entrance of Lane 45, Xincheng Road, and then follow the instructions in a mnemonic to find the meeting place. Since she had told Su Zhiwen that mnemonic many years ago, it would somewhat evoke his memory of her. When Su Zhiwen was at a loss about the mnemonic on Xincheng Road, he even received help from Xiang Bing. Of course, Su Zhiwen eventually called Zhou Jin and asked her to come and pick him up, and the two finally made contact.

"I see." Shen Biyun nodded and asked, "Then how did Zhiwen explain his actions back then to her?"

"He told Zhou Jin that it was his friend's idea to dump her back then, and he never expected it to have such serious consequences. When he learned about Zhou Jin's experiences over the years, he felt extremely guilty and decided to spend the rest of his life making it up to her. In the novel, Zhou Jin wrote that Su Zhiwen decided to run away with her and live an ordinary life."

Shen Biyun nodded slightly.

“Please continue,” she said.

“Okay, let’s go back to where we were. I think Zhou Jin applied to be a temporary nanny for the Shen family for two reasons: first, to get in touch with Su Zhiwen, and second, to investigate the suspicious points in the book ‘Lady’s House’.”

"There are suspicious points in 'Lady's House'? What do you mean?" Zeng Yushan interjected.

“Zhou Jin discovered three suspicious points in ‘The Lady’s House.’ First, the day after Zeng Hong’s death, two of the ropes the Shen family used to bind the books were missing. Zhou Jin had inquired about this with Aunt Yu Fen.” Jian Dongping glanced at Zhang Yu Fen, who quickly nodded. “Second, Zeng Hong liked even numbers. Zhou Jin is extremely sensitive to numbers, so she naturally remembered this trait of Zeng Hong. The book says that when Zeng Hong married Aunt Shen, he gave each of the children a pearl necklace in multiples of six. At that time, Yu Shan hadn’t been born yet, so the children should refer to Fang Rouzhi and Fang Qi. But the pearl necklace that Zhou Jin found for Fang Rouzhi was missing a pearl.” Jian Dongping turned his gaze to Zhang Yu Fen. “You just said the necklace had 17 pearls. I think it should have had 18, and now one is missing.”

"I only remember her saying 17, but I don't know what that means," Zhang Yufen said, puzzled. She didn't know the difference between 17 and 18.

"What is the third point of doubt?" Fang Qi asked.

"Aunt Shen once said in her book that since her son died, she has had a habit of going downstairs to have a drink every night in the middle of the night. This cannot be considered a suspicious point, but only a fact."

"What does this prove?" Now it was Shen Biyun's turn to ask the question.

"Zhou Jin connected these three events with the disappearance of the puppy Glass."

"Glass! Glass?!" Zeng Yushan felt as if she had been pricked by a needle.

"Because the puppy disappeared the day after Aunt Shen fell, Zhou Jin connected the puppy's disappearance with Aunt Shen's fall. She believed that everyone in the family knew Aunt Shen's habits, so the person who tripped Zeng Hong with the rope took advantage of this and placed the puppy's glass toy on the stairs at night, causing Aunt Shen to fall. When the murderer placed the toy, it startled the puppy, which may have taken her shoe. During the struggle with the puppy, she broke her necklace, and when she finally picked up all the necklaces, one was missing."

"So, she really did kill Glass?!" Zeng Yushan slammed her hand on the table and roared through gritted teeth.

“Yes,” Jian Dongping replied.

"But why did she kill Glass? Even if Glass caused her necklace to break, she found it later. Glass can't talk, so why did she have to kill it?" Fang Qi asked immediately.

"After Aunt Chen fell, it caused quite a commotion that night. Because she was flustered and nervous, I think she didn't realize until morning that a pearl was missing from her necklace. She must have searched everywhere but couldn't find it, so she assumed the dog had eaten it. She was afraid that if the dog defecated and the pearl came out, it would arouse suspicion, so she decided to kill it to get rid of it. By the way, Fang Qi, where is your pearl necklace? Your stepfather gave you one too. Your two necklaces and Fang Rouzhi's should be the same, right? Why did Aunt Yufen immediately identify Fang Rouzhi's necklace when Zhou Jin found it, instead of yours?"

“Because I threw that one away many years ago. Aunt Yufen knows this, and my mother knows it too. Besides, my eldest sister really likes to wear that pearl necklace. She wears it all the time,” Fang Qi said indifferently.

"You threw away the necklace not simply because you didn't like your stepfather, right? Did someone tell you that he was spying on you through the guest room? And even pointed out that little hole to you? That's why you insisted on changing rooms later."

Fang Qi's face immediately turned bright red.

"Could such a thing really be true?" Shen Biyun stared at her daughter with a serious expression.

"Yes, yes." Fang Qi lowered her head.

"Damn it! Fang Qi! Why didn't you tell me about this! Is it because of this that you hate your brother so much?! You think this is how you get revenge on him, is that it?!" Shen Biyun glared at her daughter, her anger barely contained. "Let me tell you, Fang Qi, Zeng Hong isn't that kind of person! He's a gentleman!"

"Biyun, it seems Fang Qi has been provoked by someone else," Attorney Jian quickly comforted her.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Shen Biyun continued to stare at Fang Qi relentlessly.

"I don't know how to say it. You, you didn't seem to like me at all back then. You only had Yushan and my brother in your heart. She said that if I told you, you would send me away and leave this family forever. I was scared..." Fang Qi couldn't continue, her eyes swirling in her eyes.

"You idiot!" Shen Biyun cursed, then asked Jian Dongping in an unusually harsh voice, "Alright, continue, what else did this bitch do?!"

Jian Dongping nodded.

"So, how did I find out about this spying incident? I remember Xiaoxi saying in her testimony that Yushan had pretended she couldn't find her puppy and used that as an excuse to enter the storage room, but she clearly heard the dog barking in the guest room. Yushan's room is on one side of the guest room, and Fang Rouzhi's room is on the other side. I once had Ling Ge hide in Yushan's room in the middle of the night to test the phone. I'm sorry, Yushan..."

"It's okay! As long as you help me find the killer who destroyed the glass, you can tear down my room if you want!" Zeng Yushan said decisively. "Okay, I'll continue. I had Ling Ge do a volume test a few nights ago. The results showed that the room's soundproofing is very good. It's almost impossible for Yushan's room to hear the sounds from the guest room, and conversely, it's very difficult for the guest room to hear the sounds from Yushan's room. So, if it's hard to hear clearly at night, wouldn't it be even harder to hear clearly during the day? But I think Xiaoxi isn't lying, so I think the dog barking she heard is most likely coming from the room on the other side of the guest room, Fang Rouzhi's room. I just went to Fang Rouzhi's room and found that small hole; it's behind a painting."

"I once asked Xiao Ge about the shoes everyone wears. Fang Qi and Yu Shan usually like to wear high-end leather shoes, but they go barefoot when they do morning exercises because they practice yoga. Aunt Shen usually wears flat casual shoes, while Fang Rouzhi usually wears black leather shoes, but she wears ballet flats when she practices. Whether it's leaving the dog's toys at the stairwell at night or kidnapping the dog during the day, the perpetrator is required to wear shoes, and specifically, shoes that make almost no sound when walking. Ballet flats are very cheap and make very little noise when walking. It seems that only she has such shoes in this house because Fang Qi and Yu Shan look down on such shoes and wouldn't buy them. Although Aunt Shen wears flat casual shoes, her legs are uncomfortable, so her steps are always very heavy. Therefore, Fang Rouzhi is the most likely person to leave toys to try to harm Aunt Shen."

“When Fang Xiaoxi heard the dog barking, Fang Rouzhi was probably in the room trying to kill the puppy. She was afraid of dogs, and the puppy was hostile to her, so it wasn’t easy for her to quickly control the situation. It’s natural for the dog to bark a few times during this process.” Jian Dongping noticed that Fang Xiaoxi lowered her head sadly. She must be regretting her loose tongue now. If she hadn’t tried to throw feces on Yushan, the matter wouldn’t have affected her mother.

Tears of anger welled up in Zeng Yushan's eyes.

"I'm not wrong, am I? I'm not wrong, am I? It was her who did it!" She slammed her hand on the table, speechless.

“Alright, let’s talk about Zhou Jin.” Attorney Jian clearly wanted to change the subject. “Just based on the timing of the pearl necklace, the dog’s disappearance, and Biyun’s fall, can she be sure that Fang Rouzhi did it? That’s too arbitrary.”

“I think she discovered the hole. Because when she was working as a temporary nanny, she lived in the guest room. And I suspect she also asked Xiaoxi about the puppy, and Xiaoxi must have told her the details of Yushan hiding the dog, so she discovered the hole quickly. If the barking came from Fang Rouzhi's room, it would be unusual, because everyone knows she hates that dog.”

"Xiaoxi, have you said these things to Zhou Jin?" Shen Biyun's stern gaze swept over Fang Xiaoxi, who dared not look up.

"I said that."

"Did you hear the dog barking the day after I fell?"

"I... I don't remember, but I haven't seen the glass since." Fang Xiaoxi burst into tears as she said this.

"Murderer! You and your mother are both worthless! Get out of my house! Murderer!" Zeng Yushan picked up the coffee cup in front of her and threw it at Fang Xiaoxi. Coffee foam splashed all over Fang Xiaoxi's face and body. Fang Xiaoxi jumped up and tried to run away, but was stopped by Shen Biyun.

"Sit down!" Shen Biyun coldly glanced at her granddaughter and said, "It's just a cup of coffee, no one's going to smash your head! Sit down!"

Fang Xiaoxi wiped away her tears, feeling wronged, and sat down again. Zeng Yushan stared at her intently, her expression as if she wanted to swallow her whole and grind her into pieces.

After everyone quieted down, Jian Dongping continued, "For the sake of her future life with Su Zhiwen, she later used that pearl to blackmail Fang Rouzhi."

"You mean, Zhiwen was also involved in the extortion?" Shen Biyun asked, slightly surprised.

"Yes."

“But Zhiwen didn’t have to do that at all. I promised to give him the money and let him go. Why would he do something like that?” Shen Biyun was very puzzled.

Jian Dongping smiled and said, "Because Fang Rouzhi has been instilling in him the idea that you can't give him money and that you are very careful with your money. He probably also realized that you are not very generous to your daughter, so he believed Fang Rouzhi's statement."

"It seems Fang Rouzhi has a talent for stirring up trouble," said Attorney Jian.

Shen Biyun kept her lips tightly closed and did not speak.

“However, I’ve always found it strange that Fang Rouzhi has something to be blackmailed about. She seems to be a poor person who is only living here because of your help,” Jian Dongping asked.

“She had a jade ruyi. Shortly after I married Zeng Hong, I gave the jade ruyi to her. It was her father’s family heirloom, belonging to the Fang family. I thought it would be better to return it to the eldest daughter of the Fang family. Of course, I wouldn’t write this in the book. Fang Rouzhi locked the jade ruyi in a box and put it in the storage room. I had told Zhiwen about this before, so he knew about it.”

“I see.” Jian Dongping took a sip of coffee and continued, “Okay, I’ll go on. Because Su Zhiwen thought you wouldn’t give him money, and he needed money to start a new life, he discussed it with Zhou Jin and decided to blackmail Fang Rouzhi. Su Zhiwen bought a briefcase beforehand to put that jade ruyi in. He probably also wanted to put some clothes in it, but he didn’t expect that he would never have a chance to leave that storage room.”

“I’ve had the key to the storage room the whole time. Fang Rouzhi never asked me for it. How did they know I would let Zhiwen go to the storage room that night?”

"Well...actually, Fang Rouzhi and Su Zhiwen had been waiting for this opportunity. Su Zhiwen wanted to take the jade ruyi and leave, while Fang Rouzhi planned to murder him in the storage room. That afternoon, Xiaoxi overheard you talking to my father through the crack in the door. I reckon you mentioned more than just the 3 million; you also mentioned having Su Zhiwen go to the storage room to get the painting. Xiaoxi told Fang Rouzhi what she overheard, and Fang Rouzhi thought it was a good opportunity to murder Su Zhiwen. She knew there was an empty box in the storage room, and she had already planned to suffocate him. Because with her physical strength, disposing of a corpse was the most difficult thing. She thought that if Su Zhiwen suffocated in the box, it might be considered an accident. That was her initial idea. After making up her mind, that afternoon she quietly slipped into the kitchen and took the rolling pin."

Shen Biyun frowned and glared at Fang Xiaoxi, who lowered her head in shame.

“Why don’t you tell me the whole story from that night?” Attorney Jane said to her son.

"Okay, here's what happened. When Fang Rouzhi learned that Aunt Shen wanted Su Zhiwen to go to the storage room that evening, she immediately informed Su Zhiwen. Since they often talked together, and sometimes Su Zhiwen even came and went from her room, no one would suspect that Su Zhiwen was threatening her. After dinner, Su Zhiwen went downstairs, and Fang Rouzhi waited in the corridor. It was around 8:30-8:40. No one was in the living room; Fang Qi was still on the phone in the study; Zeng Yushan had gone to the garden to find Xiang Bing; and Zhang Yufen had gone to deliver milk to Shen Biyun upstairs. In fact, this is a gap in the story. In her testimony, Fang Rouzhi said that she went to the garden for some fresh air, but no one saw her. On the contrary, someone saw her in the corridor downstairs. Xiang Bing said he saw Su Zhiwen enter the storage room and was about to climb in through the window when he saw Fang Rouzhi, so he immediately hid. This shows..." She was in the corridor at that time, right next to Su Zhiwen. When Xiang Bing looked back after hiding for a while, the corridor was empty. Actually, Fang Rouzhi had already followed Su Zhiwen to the storage room. Moreover, Xiang Bing stated with certainty that Su Zhiwen didn't have a suitcase in his hand when he entered the storage room, but later he discovered that the suitcase, which had been placed under the stairs, was now at Su Zhiwen's feet. Su Zhiwen was confirmed to have bought the suitcase on May 5th. The storage room was locked before Su Zhiwen entered, and the suitcase wouldn't have flown in by itself, so someone must have taken it in after Su Zhiwen. Based on the timing, the most likely culprit was Fang Rouzhi. Xiang Bing said that Fang Rouzhi suddenly appeared from beside the stairs, and the suitcase was hidden under the stairs. She bent down to pick up the suitcase and then suddenly straightened up; to Xiang Bing, who was looking out the window, this was quite sudden.

Jian Dongping paused to catch his breath before continuing, "After Xiang Bing entered the storage room, he only saw Su Zhiwen because Fang Rouzhi was hiding behind the mural. Xiang Bing injured Su Zhiwen with a vase, and at the same time, he vaguely saw that Su Zhiwen was holding something that looked like a jade ruyi. But because he was too flustered, he didn't have time to look closely before leaving. Before he left, he wrote the words 'Not Xiang Bing' on the inside of the box with Su Zhiwen's finger. Uncle Lin said that this did indeed confuse the police for a while." Jian Dongping turned his gaze to Zeng Yushan, who turned her head away from him. He continued, "After Xiang Bing left, she was certain that Su Zhiwen had lost consciousness, so she inserted a rolling pin into the keyhole."

"When Xiang Bing left, he didn't close the storage room door properly, so Yu Shan came shortly after he left. When Yu Shan came in, Fang Rouzhi hadn't had time to leave yet. Yu Shan took the painting and left, which gave her another idea. But here she made two fatal mistakes."

"Ha! What mistake did she make!" Yushan exclaimed again.

“She told the police that around 9:35 a.m., she saw Yushan sneaking upstairs without shoes. How did she see that you weren't wearing shoes? Through the painting directly opposite the stairs. In fact, she could only see your feet through the frame of that painting in the hallway if she was standing behind you, on the side of the stairs near the storage room. Because if she were standing in front of you or in another position, you would see her. But if she were outside the window at that time, the stairs would block the painting, and she wouldn't have been able to see your feet.”

"Oh, I see! Then what's the other mistake?" Zeng Yushan suddenly realized. "According to her own testimony, after seeing the shadowy figure, she rushed to the garden, and then went to the kitchen to drink milk around 9 o'clock. She said that Aunt Yufen was shoveling oil stains on the floor at that time. However, according to the testimonies of Fang Qi and Aunt Shen, around 9:20, Fang Qi saw Fang Rouzhi, who was panting and looked uneasy, run from the garden into the living room. She said she saw the shadowy figure near the gate. While Fang Qi was talking to Fang Rouzhi, Aunt Shen went to the kitchen to check on Aunt Yufen's breakfast for the next day. At this time, Aunt Yufen was complaining that Fang Rouzhi hadn't washed the milk cup, which means that she had already drunk milk around 9:20. The two accounts are in reverse order. I tend to think that she drank the milk first. She rushed to the garden after drinking the milk, but because Aunt Yufen was squatting on the ground shoveling oil stains at the time, she didn't notice whether she went from the living room to the garden or from the garden to the living room. In fact, drinking the milk was also a last resort. She wanted to test whether Aunt Zhang had noticed her actions, and it turned out that Aunt Zhang didn't pay much attention."

“I had my back to her at the time. I only know that she opened the refrigerator door and said it was hot in the garden and she wanted to drink milk. I thought she came in from the garden. She said she went back to her room, but I didn’t notice that the door wasn’t closed properly. I thought she hadn’t closed it properly when she came in,” Zhang Yufen interjected.

"Later, she went into the garden through the kitchen door, hurriedly ran back to the living room, and told Fang Qi about the shadowy figure. Her purpose was to tell Fang Qi that she wasn't in the hallway. She wanted to create the impression that after finishing her meal, she went to the kitchen to drink a glass of milk and then went directly to the garden, essentially creating an alibi. Here, she deliberately created a time difference. She did drink the milk, but no one considered whether the milk came first or the shadowy figure came first." Jian Dongping took a large gulp of coffee and continued, "Based on the contradiction between the picture frame and the milk glass, I believe she should have been near the storage room before 9:20. If so, then the 9:35 time is problematic. Because according to her, she went directly back to her room on the second floor after leaving the living room. If she went back to her room around 9:20, then 9:35..." She saw Yushan downstairs, which meant she had to go downstairs again, but no one saw her, and she didn't mention it herself. Even if she did go downstairs then, the chances of her being seen were high. Around 9 o'clock, Xiaoxi went downstairs to the study, and they might have bumped into each other. At that time, Zhang Yufen was in the kitchen, and Fang Qi was in the living room; both could easily have heard the noise on the stairs, but no one heard it. Therefore, I think she saw Yushan before she saw the shadow and drank the milk, but it certainly wasn't that late then. So I guess there must have been something wrong with the clock she saw. The clocks in the living room and kitchen are the same. Aunt Shen later told me that the clock in the storage room was deliberately set 20 minutes fast, so anyone entering the storage room would inevitably give themselves away due to the time discrepancy. Fang Rouzhi really fell for this trap.

Attorney Jane chuckled.