Chapter 13: Evidence Over Tears  

Zhu Qing had just hung up the phone when she looked up to see the two lively members of her team bickering their way over.  

Zeng Yongshan and Xu Jiale had been arguing since the police canteen, continuing their spat all the way to the break room. Now, each holding a thermos cup, they still refused to let it go.  

“Xu Jiale, who said you could copy me and drink wolfberries?” Zeng Yongshan smacked his arm.  

Xu Jiale rubbed his arm exaggeratedly. “I knew you were targeting me! At lunch, you even tried to shove me aside to make room for the new guy!”  

Zeng Yongshan immediately lowered her voice. “What ‘new guy’? He’s Senior Liang!”  

“Fine, Inspector Liang then. ‘Senior Liang,’ my foot—”  

A sharp rap on the table interrupted their quarrel. Mo Zhenbang had emerged from his office, signaling for everyone to quiet down.  

“Chen Chaosheng’s autopsy report is out, and there’s some follow-up work to be done. Qikai, head to the Sheng residence.”  

“I’ll go with Inspector Liang,” Zhu Qing said, holding up an envelope. “Sheng Peishan’s banquet invitation ended up with me by mistake.”  

On the drive to Mid-Levels, Liang Qikai focused on the road while Zhu Qing gazed absently at the passing streets.  

The lingering doubts in the case swirled in her thoughts…  

“You don’t remember me?”  

In truth, the newly transferred Inspector Liang had recognized Zhu Qing long ago.  

At the Wong Chuk Hang Police Academy, he had been two years her senior. Back then, this strikingly beautiful yet solitary girl had drawn countless eyes. She could have chosen any respectable, comfortable job—yet she had deliberately taken the hardest path.  

The grueling training at the academy flashed vividly in his mind: the scorching summer drill grounds, the chorus of groans during marching practice…  

Liang Qikai chuckled. “Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of being a policeman—but even I almost couldn’t take the hardship.”  

“Sorry.” Zhu Qing pulled her thoughts away from the dark green leather notebook. “What did you say?”  

“Zhu Qing, do you remember that mock community outreach class?” Liang Qikai suddenly asked. “The one where someone played the role of a scavenger.”  

Such exercises were routine at the academy.  

In her memory, one student had acted as an elderly street sweeper, while the others crowded around the “old man,” offering sympathy and trying to cozy up to him.  

“You were the only one who noticed the ‘old man’ was hiding unreported clues.”  

Zhu Qing: “The chief instructor always said, ‘Evidence over tears.'”  

“Right then, I knew you’d grow into an uncompromising madam,” Liang Qikai said, his voice still gentle.  

The instructor’s teachings from that year seemed to echo in her ears—  

Pointless sympathy only burdens the victims’ families.  

Inspector Liang’s smile was warm, like winter sunlight. “And sure enough, you’ve become an outstanding officer.”  

An outstanding officer? Zhu Qing looked down at the police badge on her chest.  

She hoped so.  

…  

The Serious Crimes Unit had become frequent visitors to the Mid-Levels Villa. The property security and the Sheng family staff were long accustomed to their arrivals.  

Zhu Qing handed the velvet-textured envelope to the steward. “I accidentally took the Second Miss’s banquet invitation when I rode in her car earlier.”  

“Madam, you’re too kind,” Steward Cui said, accepting it with both hands. “You could have just called—we’d have sent a driver to retrieve it.”  

Liang Qikai stepped forward to explain their purpose, and Steward Cui promptly arranged for someone to guide them.

It was just routine wrap-up work, so Zhu Qing didn’t follow along. Instead, she stayed in the living room to wait.  

Steady footsteps approached from a distance as Liang Qikai, led by a servant, stood outside Sheng Peishan’s door, waiting.  

“Second Miss, the detective is here,” the servant said softly, knocking on the door.  

Before the words had even faded, a soft *click* came from the children’s room at the end of the third-floor hallway.  

First, the door cracked open slightly, and Sheng Fang peeked out with his little head, barefoot, tiptoeing his way out.  

His steps were light, shifting from tiny shuffles to a small run—until he caught sight of the unfamiliar male detective. His chubby little face immediately fell.  

Downstairs in the living room—  

Steward Cui brewed a cup of tea for Zhu Qing and mentioned in passing that everyone could tell the Sheng family’s Young Master liked this detective.  

The Young Master was usually unruly, but deep down, he was a pitiful child. Though he always acted indifferent with his hands behind his back, he actually longed to be close to her.  

“Detective, would you like me to invite the Young Master down for a visit?”  

Going out together, coaxing information from the nurse, calling the CID office right after parting…  

Perhaps it was Liang Qikai’s earlier words that made Zhu Qing unconsciously recall the instructor’s teachings from police academy.  

Like doctors, officers had to rein in unnecessary empathy and learn to maintain professional distance with family members.  

“No need.”  

Steward Cui didn’t insist further.  

From the kitchen, the aroma of food wafted over.  

Zhu Qing still remembered the angelica and deer antler soup she had that day and casually asked, “Is Aunt Ping cooking?”  

“Back then, this long dining table would be full for dinner…” Steward Cui gazed at the empty dining room, his tone wistful. “Now, when Aunt Ping finishes cooking, the food is just divided into two portions and sent to Second Miss and the Young Master’s rooms.”  

The premium Longjing tea was rich and fragrant.  

As Zhu Qing set the teacup back on the table, Steward Cui expertly refilled it for her, his posture still ramrod straight. “Detective, do you believe in feng shui?”  

“Actually, even while the house was still being renovated, Second Miss had concerns about its feng shui.”  

“She accompanied the old master all over Hong Kong to finally invite Master Gan—you know how the wealthy believe in these things. This master was even poached from the shipping tycoon’s family at a hefty price.”  

The teacup still steamed with heat.  

Zhu Qing asked, “How was it resolved in the end?”  

Sheng Fang looked toward the living room.  

Zhu Qing was still whispering with Steward Cui, not even lifting her head.  

“They picked an auspicious day to move in, and the ritual alone took three days and nights.” Steward Cui held up three fingers and suddenly scoffed. “If you ask me, they’re all just charlatans.”  

“What good did changing the feng shui do? Second Miss still ended up in that car accident.”  

“The blow was too much for her. She shut herself in her room for three whole months, refusing to even open the curtains.”  

Sheng Peishan had repeatedly mentioned that the house felt eerie and convinced Old Master Sheng to invite the master.  

After the master selected an auspicious date for the move, the Sheng family deliberately halted nighttime construction.  

In other words, it wasn’t Chen Chaosheng who had called off the entire construction team back then.  

He was just the messenger.  

Zhu Qing looked up.  

At last, she had found a new breakthrough in the case.  

Steward Cui sighed regretfully. “No amount of money can outwit fate… Heaven has been too unfair to this family.”  

…  

At that moment, separated by three floors…

The young master of the Sheng family pursed his lips tightly, the obsidian-like brightness in his eyes dimming.  

Adults were all the same.  

Only naive children would believe they truly considered him a friend.  

Silently, he turned around, dragging his beloved Ultraman plush toy as he walked back. The sound of the door closing was so faint it was almost inaudible.  

But the next moment, the little master stubbornly shoved the door open again with a loud thud.  

Sheng Fang hugged his Ultraman and sat by the doorway of the children’s room, acting like a tiny guardian.  

Unaware that he had let out a childish sound of defiance—  

“Hmph!”