I’ve Got a Knack for Investigation
I’ve Got a Knack for Investigation Chapter 023

Hang Jiabai had just taken Deng Ling away when another group of police officers came to arrest Yang Hao’an, who had just woken up and was searching the house for Deng Ling.

He kept turning his head back as he was taken away in handcuffs. His grandfather, Yang Baozong, stood at the second-floor window, watching Yang Hao’an being taken away.

Lin Shuyue didn’t leave the Public Security Bureau. She chatted with He Yuling about makeup and waited for Deng Ling’s arrival.

When Deng Ling arrived, she and He Yuling stood up straight together.

Deng Ling entered with a gentle temperament, tall figure, fair skin, and hair that cascaded like a waterfall to her waist, swaying back and forth as she walked. She also had a smile on her lips.

Even in handcuffs, she didn’t show the slightest bit of panic, as if she had come to the Public Security Bureau just to go through the motions.

Lin Shuyue sneered inwardly. Wasn’t that what she thought? After all, her grandfather was a former high-ranking general in the military who was assigned as the director of the Pengcheng Public Security Bureau in the newly established Special Economic Zone of Pengcheng immediately after retiring. And he had held that position for thirty years, only retiring the year before last.

Lin Shuyue glanced at the Good and Evil Detection System. Deng Ling’s good-evil value was remarkably different from her appearance. Her sin value was between 80 and 90, which was close to being extremely wicked.

Deng Ling entered the interrogation room with the leisurely air of someone strolling through a shopping mall. As soon as she sat down, she smiled at the familiar faces opposite her. These people were the ones who would bring gifts to her house every New Year and on other holidays.

What was she afraid of? She wasn’t afraid at all.

Moreover, she had been very careful when she did things back then. There were no surveillance cameras at that time. If she stubbornly refused to admit it, who could have evidence to prove that she was the one who drove the car and killed those people?

Deng Ling wasn’t flustered in the slightest. Everyone in the residential compound knew about her being taken away. Her grandfather Yang Baozong and her husband Yang Hao’an would know as soon as they woke up. At that time, they would definitely put pressure on the Public Security Bureau. She would definitely be able to get out before noon.

However, Deng Ling’s composure turned into panic when she heard the words on the Walkman, but she calmed down within a few breaths.

After the tape finished playing, she looked at Hang Jiabai, who had played the recording. “Ah Bai, is this how you want to bring me down? It must have taken a lot of effort to find a voice actor to dub my voice, right?”

Hang Jiabai scoffed and said to her, “This is a copy. The original has already been sent to the forensic department for identification. The results are out. Deng Ling, your sophistry is useless in the face of absolute evidence.”

“Deng Ling, I’m asking you, where were you on the night of May 29, 1994, between eight o’clock and midnight?”

Deng Ling remained as stubborn as a dead pig not afraid of boiling water. “I was at home coaxing my children to eat and sleep. My husband, children, and grandfather can all testify to this.”

Ten years had passed, such a long time. Deng Ling wasn’t afraid of investigation at all. Ten years ago, her eldest daughter was only five years old, and her younger son was only three years old. What could they possibly know? What could they be asked? Not to mention Yang Hao’an.

“Then, as you said, how could your fingerprints and shoe prints appear at the scene of the crime? Where did the fingerprint on your index finger go?”

Hang Jiabai’s words made Deng Ling subconsciously look at the index finger of her right hand. Compared to her other fingers, the fingertip of this index finger was smooth, and the fingerprint that should have been there had long since disappeared.

Deng Ling was a perfectionist. The worn-off fingerprint on her index finger had always been a painful point for her, so she learned to eat with her left hand and write with her left hand. She always hid her right hand and avoided using it whenever possible. In the past ten years, she had hardly ever let others see the palm of her hand.

And all of this was discovered when Hang Jiabai handcuffed her, and she subconsciously dodged and hid her hand. On the way back after escorting Deng Ling, Hang Jiabai had carefully observed her and confirmed that there was indeed no fingerprint on her right index finger.

Deng Ling remained silent. No matter what Hang Jiabai asked, she only had one sentence: she would talk to him after her lawyer arrived.

Hang Jiabai and the others weren’t angry and directly locked her up.

Yang Hao’an’s psychological quality was even better than Deng Ling’s. Even though his DNA matched the DNA extracted from Liang Haihui’s body perfectly, he didn’t say a word. He even greeted everyone familiarly from the moment he entered the Public Security Bureau.

Like Deng Ling, he was certain that his grandfather would get him out and didn’t take this matter to heart at all.

The couple’s mouths were as tight as a duck’s beak.

Lin Shuyue had also scanned Yang Hao’an’s good-evil value, and it was similar to Deng Ling’s.

Lin Shuyue watched him walk into the interrogation room, sighing inwardly. Deng Ling and Yang Hao’an were truly two of a kind.

Lin Shuyue waited until noon and finally waited for Hang Jiabai. He pointed outside, and Lin Shuyue followed him out.

There was a restaurant just outside the Public Security Bureau. The two found a private room. Before entering, Lin Shuyue casually took two bottles of mineral water from the refrigerator by the counter and handed one to Hang Jiabai after entering the room.

Hang Jiabai unscrewed the cap and drank half the bottle. He sat down on the stool and asked Lin Shuyue, “Do you remember me telling you that there was a footprint and a fingerprint at the scene of the crime back then? Now both the footprint and the fingerprint have found their owners.”

Hang Jiabai’s question was very interesting. From the Walkman, Lin Shuyue already knew that Liang Haihui’s death was caused by Yang Hao’an, and that Deng Ling, after knowing that her husband had killed someone, had personally driven the car to knock down the witness Wang Guiquan’s family on Songshan Avenue to cover up the truth, resulting in two deaths and two injuries in Wang Guiquan’s family of four.

So, logically speaking, the fingerprint and footprint that didn’t belong to anyone in the Zheng family should also belong to the murderer Yang Hao’an. But Hang Jiabai’s question indicated that the result wasn’t this.

A thought flashed through her mind. “It’s Deng Ling.”

Hang Jiabai nodded at Lin Shuyue.

“Yes, it’s Deng Ling’s.” The waiter brought the food in, and the two tacitly closed their mouths.

This restaurant’s fish head noodles were exceptionally good, and the food was served quickly. Hang Jiabai and Lin Shuyue were both hungry and only felt like continuing their conversation after eating a little more than half a bowl.

“The people who handled this case back then have all been taken away by the procuratorate. Several police officers from the Taijiang Police Station have already retired. When asked about this matter again, they told us what they knew back then.”

“The original footprint and fingerprint tracings were ordered to be destroyed, but the police officer responsible for the destruction was careful and secretly made a copy before destroying them. He has kept the original until now.”

“Now, the case from back then is clear. It’s just that neither Deng Ling nor Yang Hao’an will confess.”

Hang Jiabai and Lin Shuyue both knew that these two wouldn’t confess so easily. After all, Elder Mr. Yang Baozong of the Yang family was still around. He was the pillar of the Old Yang family! He was the backer of Yang Hao’an and Deng Ling!

But what did that matter?

Article 46 of the Criminal Procedure Law stipulates that all cases shall be judged on the basis of evidence and investigation and study, and not on the basis of confessions alone. A defendant cannot be found guilty and sentenced to punishment if there is only the defendant’s confession and no other evidence; a defendant can be found guilty and sentenced to punishment if there is no confession but the evidence is sufficient and conclusive.

In the face of absolute evidence, even if Deng Ling and Yang Hao’an never confessed the details of the crime, they would still be punished.

Yang Baozong was indeed the former director of the Pengcheng Public Security Bureau, but he had retired. And which person in power didn’t have one or two “political enemies”? With this case being handled so quickly, weren’t those people exerting their influence behind the scenes?

After finishing the noodles, Hang Jiabai paid the bill first, put on his hat, and left in a hurry.

Yang Hao’an had been brought to justice, but his case was still under investigation. With Yang Hao’an and Deng Ling remaining silent, they weren’t sure if the only victims were Liang Haihui and Wang Guiquan’s family.

As Lin Shuyue exited the restaurant, the Good and Evil Detection System made a crisp sound.

[Ding! Limited-time task: ‘Wife-murderer who has been refusing to confess’ has been completed. The innocent has been cleared of injustice, and the guilty have been brought to justice.]

[Ding! Calculating task rewards…]

[Ding! Task reward calculation complete. Rewarding host with 1000 RMB and 300 points. No special item reward.]

[Ding! The host’s current point balance is 1100. Do you want to spend 1000 points to upgrade the system?]

After the final notification, the Good and Evil Detection System jumped in front of Lin Shuyue, and two bright red options appeared on it: “Yes” and “No”.

Lin Shuyue virtually clicked on “Yes”.

[The Good and Evil Detection System is upgrading. Please wait a moment… Upgrade progress 1%…]

The upgrade progress was very slow. Lin Shuyue didn’t look at it anymore. Her phone rang. Lin Shuyue answered it. The caller was Zheng Zhonglu.

He was very excited on the phone. He said, “Reporter Lin, we received a call from the procuratorate. They said that the murderer who killed my sister-in-law back then has been caught, and we can go pick up Ah Fu.”

Lin Shuyue was also very happy for them. She directly hailed a taxi to Zheng Village.

Zheng Zhonglu and Old Man Zheng were still waiting for her. When they saw Lin Shuyue arrive, Old Man Zheng had already cried his fill. He walked over tremblingly and was about to kneel down to Lin Shuyue, but Lin Shuyue quickly stopped him.

“Uncle, if you kneel to me, I’ll lose years off my life.”

“Thank you, Reporter Lin, thank you. If it weren’t for you, we don’t know how many more years Ah Fu would have had to wait. Thank you, thank you.” Old Man Zheng held Lin Shuyue’s hand and shook it repeatedly.

When the Zheng family received the call informing them of Zhengjun’s innocence, they all thought they were dreaming.

They had thought the road to seeking justice would be long. Old Man Zheng had already prepared himself to keep appealing until he died.

This day had come too quickly, so quickly that the Old Zheng family couldn’t react.

They didn’t even ask who the real murderer was. Their main priority now was to welcome Zhengjun back.

Ten years. The Old Zheng family’s sky had been dark for ten years, and it had finally brightened.

“Congratulations, Uncle. I wish your family a smooth and bright future.” Lin Shuyue congratulated Old Man Zheng with a smile.

The Zheng family all loved hearing these words. They still had tears on their faces, but smiles had also appeared.

Old Man Zheng asked Zheng Jiao, “Ah Jiao, have you prepared the pomelo leaf water, peach leaf water, and the big red belt?”

Zheng Jiao was carrying a bucket in her hand, which contained the pomelo leaf water and peach leaf water. A large red cloth was wrapped around her body. “Everything is ready, Grandpa.”

“Good, good, good. When we get to the prison gate, and you see your father come out, you sprinkle the water on him.”

Old Man Zheng instructed, repeating himself over and over. No one thought he was being long-winded. They just let him keep talking as they got into the car.

Lin Shuyue also felt the joy of the Old Zheng family. She sat in the passenger seat, recording their joyful moment in its entirety.

This case was actually not complicated. In fact, if Yang Hao’an hadn’t had his grandfather, Yang Baozong, as a ‘protective umbrella’, this case could have been solved back then.

Why hadn’t it been solved all this time? Because at that time, Yang Baozong’s position was the most stable and his power was at its peak. Also, because the laws at that time were not perfect, and the overall capabilities in various aspects were not developed enough.

So, those who knew the truth chose to remain silent, the victim was wrongly imprisoned, and the witness’s family was ruined.

Why were Yang Hao’an and Deng Ling so bold? It was because they had a powerful and influential grandfather, who was the top leader of the Pengcheng Public Security Bureau! He could have his way in the city bureau!

But were those police officers willing to handle the case so carelessly back then? If they were really willing, they wouldn’t have unreservedly told the truth about what happened back then when they were brought back to the police station today. Nor would any police officer have secretly kept the evidence from back then.

Then why didn’t they step forward to speak up for justice? This was the reason why Deng Ling had targeted Wang Guiquan’s family back then.

She wanted to completely cover up this matter and silence the police and court staff who knew the truth, but she couldn’t really harm their families.

So what could she do? Wang Guiquan’s family became the “chicken” used to scare the monkeys.

Those police officers and court staff also had parents and children. Who wouldn’t be afraid of Deng Ling causing trouble behind their backs?

So the matter was settled, and the Old Zheng family had been seeking justice for many years, but had nowhere to turn!

If Lin Shuyue hadn’t brought this matter to Hang Jiabai’s attention, if Yang Baozong hadn’t retired two years ago, and if Hang Jiabai’s family background wasn’t as good as the Yang family’s, this matter might have continued to be wrong.

Perhaps Old Man Zheng would have died without seeing his beloved youngest son acquitted. Perhaps Ah Qin would have died of illness without seeing the real murderer caught.

The problem was that no one dared to speak up. But as long as one person made it clear that they wanted to stand up for this matter, then those who had kept silent back then would stand up one by one.

Even if they all knew that speaking out about this matter would be a stain on their careers, and they might even go to jail for it, they still came without hesitation.

When Lin Shuyue and the Old Zheng family arrived at Taijiang Prison, Zhengjun had already come out. The gate of Taijiang Prison opened for him. He had already put on the casual clothes that Zheng Zhonglu had bought and given to him for the New Year. He was carrying a small duffel bag containing his toiletries and stood blankly at the gate.

Looking at the outside world, which was completely different from when he was imprisoned.

The former farmland had become houses, with tall buildings in the distance and two large roads nearby.

When Old Man Zheng saw his son, tears couldn’t help but fall again. Zheng Jiao, carrying the bucket of pomelo leaf and peach leaf water that she had been reluctant to let go of, ran to Zhengjun.

She took some water from the bucket with the pomelo and peach leaves and sprinkled it on Zhengjun while crying.

Zhengjun looked at his daughter, who was only in kindergarten when he left, but had now grown into a slender and graceful young woman with a face so similar to his deceased wife. Thinking of his wife, who had died tragically, and the many years of Zheng Jiao’s growth that he had missed, he choked up and couldn’t speak.

Old Man Zheng walked over, supported by Zheng Zhonglu and his wife.

Old Man Zheng had aged, and Zheng Zhonglu and his wife had also changed from ten years ago. Zhengjun would never see his mother, who always used to nag him. He suddenly knelt on the ground. Old Man Zheng walked over and hugged him in his arms. Zhengjun burst into tears.

The Old Zheng family also cried together. The sorrow in their cries made the onlookers also shed tears.

In the afternoon, Lin Shuyue returned to her workplace and told Wang Mingzheng about the wrongful conviction and the protective umbrella behind the real culprit. Wang Mingzheng listened in astonishment.

Wang Mingzheng really couldn’t have imagined that Lin Shuyue would be so capable! The aftermath of the internet addiction school hadn’t even ended yet.

Now, various television stations and media outlets were reporting on internet addiction schools, and adolescent psychology. People were still discussing this matter in major online forums.

They received letters about it every day at the newspaper office. Wang Mingzheng had just had dinner with the big boss outside last night!

And now Lin Shuyue had tracked down another big news story?! And it was a big news story, like a wrongful conviction that attracted so much attention?!

The way Wang Mingzheng looked at Lin Shuyue now wasn’t like looking at a capable subordinate, but like looking at a god of wealth! Since the Suishan case, every report Lin Shuyue had written had guaranteed sales.

Their sales in the past month had been far higher than the same month last year. If this continued, their sales this year would be the highest in recent years!! How much money was that?! Wang Mingzheng felt comfortable all over just thinking about it.

“Report, Little Lin, hurry up and write the report. I’ll reserve tomorrow’s front page for you!” Before Wang Mingzheng could even start to make promises, his phone rang again. He took it out to look. The caller was Zhang Xiongfeng from Pengcheng Television, who had directed the documentary about the internet addiction school last time.

He was now the confirmed director of the news department.

Wang Mingzheng answered the phone. The first sentence on the other end was about Lin Shuyue’s wrongful conviction case.

Wang Mingzheng spoke to him with a smile and then waved at Lin Shuyue.

Lin Shuyue returned to her workstation, opened a blank document on her computer, and her fingers tapped on the keyboard. A large font appeared in the document: Ten Years of Injustice Finally Cleared: Behind Three Lives, the Culprit is Actually Him!

Half an hour later, Lin Shuyue sent the report to Wang Mingzheng. In this report, she detailed Zhengjun’s long road of appeals over the past ten years, the ten years of surveillance that Wang Guiquan and Ah Qin had endured, and the two tragically deceased children.

She wrote about the “stench” beneath Deng Ling and Yang Hao’an’s good reputation, the “protective umbrella” of Yang Baozong’s power, and the accomplices who kept their mouths shut.

The Good and Evil Detection System hadn’t finished upgrading yet. Lin Shuyue saw that the system backpack wasn’t affected, so she ignored it and started packing up to leave work.

Her phone rang. Lin Shuyue took it out to look. It was a text message from Hang Jiabai. They had received approval from the provincial department to detain Yang Baozong. But when they arrived at the Yang’s house, Yang Baozong was gone.

Lin Shuyue frowned. At this moment, Huang Qiang also returned.

He was travel-worn, with sweat all over his forehead. Ignoring the people who greeted him, he strode up to Lin Shuyue, stared at her, and asked urgently, “Ah Yue, Ah Yue, Yang Hao’an has been arrested, right? What about his grandfather? How is his grandfather?”

Lin Shuyue didn’t understand why Huang Qiang was so agitated, but she still replied, “Team Hang from the Public Security Bureau just sent me a message saying that Yang Baozong has run away.”

Huang Qiang opened his mouth wide. After a moment, he laughed, and then he started crying as he laughed.

The people in the office were all confused by Huang Qiang’s actions.

Huang Qiang wiped his face, quickly ran to his workstation, took out a book from the bottom drawer, and then ran outside, ignoring the surprised looks of everyone else.

“Master, wait for me, wait for me.” Lin Shuyue realized something big had happened and quickly chased after him, constantly calling out to Huang Qiang. Huang Qiang turned a deaf ear. He didn’t wait for the elevator but ran down the stairs.

Lin Shuyue looked at the elevator still stopped on the seventh floor, and followed him down.

Huang Qiang ran all the way to the entrance of the Public Security Bureau.

Before entering the Public Security Bureau, Huang Qiang stood in place, waiting for Lin Shuyue to catch up. He looked at Lin Shuyue, his eyes filled with a strange light. “Ah Yue, Ah Yue, I can finally avenge your senior brother!”

After saying that, he went into the Public Security Bureau without looking back.

MidnightLiz[Translator]

Hi! I’m Liz.🌙✨ schedule: M͟i͟d͟n͟i͟g͟h͟t͟L͟i͟z͟T͟r͟a͟n͟s͟l͟a͟t͟i͟o͟n͟s͟✨ 📢 hi guys, I have to prep for my licensure examination this Sep, will be back updating the ongoing novels (actually already done some of them but I don't have time to proofread & edit them atm) once it's over, wish me luck pls~ for any concerns, suggestions, recommendations or just want someone to talk with you can reach out and dm me on discord~ 📢 💌Thank you for visiting, and I hope you enjoy reading! 💫📖

1 comment
  1. anazu salted fish has spoken 1 month ago

    🥹

    Reply

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