Chapter 19 Chapter 18 Green Tea and Arsenic

The first day of October in the Gregorian calendar. a new morning.The autumn rain has stopped, but the sky is still gloomy. Looking at that posture all day long, you can never expect to see the sun. I came to the gate of Ling's mansion alone, but saw Ling Mufeng tending the flowers and plants in the courtyard.I called through the door: "Mr. Ling." Ling Mufeng turned his head and saw me through the bars on the courtyard gate.He opened his mouth slightly, showing surprise.Then he winked at the servant waiting on the side, and the servant came and opened the door and let me into the yard.

"Detective Feng, haven't you already left? Why are you back?" Ling Mufeng looked me up and down.In his view, I have no reason to come back. I didn't answer, just went straight to Ling Mufeng and handed him something in my hand.It was a jade bracelet, emerald green and translucent, one could tell it was a high-quality item.Ling Mufeng's expression changed immediately, he grabbed the bracelet in his hands and asked at the same time, "Where did this come from?" Instead of answering, I asked, "It seems that Mr. Ling is very familiar with this thing?"

Ling Mufeng was stunned, and waved his hand: "Please, Detective Feng, move forward and go to the inner hall to explain in detail." I had a sense of proportion in my heart, so I walked straight into the hall without hesitation.Ling Mufeng followed behind me, and before entering the hall door, he told the servant: "Go and watch in the courtyard, don't let others disturb us." The servant stopped in response and stood guard outside the courtyard. Ling Mufeng let me into the living room, and we both sat down in front of a coffee table.Then Ling Mufeng stroked the bracelet and asked: "This is the jade bracelet worn by my wife, why did it fall into your hands?"

I didn't go around in circles, and said bluntly: "I found Chu Yun's body, so I got this bracelet naturally." "Chu Yun's body?" Ling Mufeng looked stunned, "Could it be that my wife is no longer alive?" I stared angrily at the other party: "What are you pretending to be? Chu Yun doesn't know how to swim at all. She was thrown into the river by you, how could she survive?" Ling Mufeng was speechless to refute my reprimand.He was silent for a while in embarrassment, and then said: "Chu Yun has been missing for several months, I have been looking for it in many ways, but there is no news - Detective Feng is so capable, he found it so quickly?"

I heard the tentative meaning in his words, so I said "hey": "It's not that I have great skills, this is thanks to Chu Yun's sister Ye Mengshi. The two sisters are connected in heart, so Ye Mengshi can feel Chu Yun The pain. That’s how we found Chu Yun’s body.” Ling Mufeng let out an "oh", with a dubious look on his face, and at the same time he brought the bracelet in front of his eyes for a closer look. "This bracelet is indeed Chu Yun's property..." He raised his head in deep thought, and looked at me with piercing eyes, "Excuse me, Detective Feng, where did you find my wife's body?"

I sneered and said, "It doesn't matter where I found it. The important thing is that I have hidden the body in a secret place now—only Ye Mengshi and I know where this place is." Ling Mufeng narrowed his gaze: "So Ye Mengshi has also returned to Feng'an Town? Why isn't she with you?" I replied, "She went to the police station to look for that old man surnamed Wu." The corners of Ling Mufeng's eyes twitched slightly, but he quickly covered up his emotions, nodded indifferently and said, "Officer Wu has been worrying about Chu Yun's whereabouts for the past few months. You have helped him this time." But there's something on my mind."

I looked at Ling Mufeng and laughed out loud.Ling Mufeng asked me, "Why is Detective Feng laughing?" I reached out and patted his elbow, and said, "Mr. Ling, you don't have to be so nervous." "Nervous?" Ling Mufeng asked with a smile, "Why should I be nervous?" "That's needless to say? Old man Wu took over Chu Yun's case, isn't he just trying to overthrow you? It's a pity he couldn't find Chu Yun's body, so he couldn't convict you." I leaned forward and stared at the other party. He added: "If we tell the old man where the corpse is, I'm afraid your life will not be easy in the future."

Ling Mufeng squinted his eyes and looked at me, and asked indifferently: "Then Detective Feng is here today to see Ling's embarrassment?" But I smiled and waved my hands: "Mr. Ling, did you worry too much?—Let me tell you the truth, although Ye Mengshi has gone to look for old man Wu, she will not tell the whereabouts of Chu Yun's body for the time being." The other party. She went to the police station just to keep me safe." Ling Mufeng understood what I meant after taking a little time: "Detective Feng is worried that Ling will harm you?" "I came to the house alone, how can I not worry? Everyone knows that the dead will not reveal any secrets."

Ling Mufeng actually nodded in agreement, but he immediately said: "Now you don't have to worry. Because Ye Mengshi has already been protected by Police Chief Wu, it is meaningless for me to kill you." I smiled: "Mr. Ling is really a sensible person—I believe that a sensible person will never do meaningless things." Ling Mufeng also laughed. He folded his hands and leaned against the back of the chair, closing his eyes as if thinking about something.After a while, he opened his eyes and said: "Since Detective Feng didn't come to see Ling's embarrassment, he must have another purpose. Please be frank, if you keep that secret, what kind of conditions do you need?"

I said, "I don't have many requests, I just want to trouble Mr. Ling to help me with one thing." "What's up?" "This matter is divided into two steps. The first step is very simple: I would like to ask Mr. Ling to go to the tea shop in the town first and buy two taels of high-quality green tea, and then go to the pharmacy to buy five yuan arsenic and bring them back together." Give me." Ling Mufeng frowned, but he didn't say much, just asked again: "What about the second step?" "After you buy the tea and arsenic, I will naturally tell you what to do in the second step. Now let Mr. Ling think about it. Are you willing to do this or not?"

Ling Mufeng pondered for a while, and said: "Okay, I will tell my family to buy tea and arsenic first." But I shook my head: "No. You can't let other people know about buying arsenic. Mr. Ling must buy it in person. If someone asks you what you are doing on the road, you can only say to buy tea." "Oh?" Ling Mufeng said meaningfully, "This sounds really interesting." I spread my hands and put on an attitude of indifference: "I'm not forcing you—do it or not, it's up to you." It's easy for me to say this, but for Ling Mufeng, there are no more choices.He knew that since Ye Mengshi had arrived at the police station, Wu Chunlei might learn the secret of Chu Yun's body at any time.The longer this is delayed, the greater the risk.If my request can be fulfilled, send Ye Mengshi and me out of Feng'an Town as soon as possible. This is the long-term solution.As for what I want to do in the second step, he can only play by ear.Thinking of this, Ling Mufeng stood up: "Okay, I'll go buy tea and arsenic right now. Detective Feng just sit in the hall for a while, and Ling goes back quickly." I clapped my hands and praised: "Very good!" After Ling Mufeng left, I continued to sit alone by the tea table and meditate.Thinking about the past, there are thousands of thoughts in my heart.Now it seems that although I am useless and useless, this final plan has a 70% chance of winning.It's just that when the plan was completed, the feeling in my heart was really difficult to distinguish between joy and sorrow. After a while, I suddenly heard a family member's voice shouting outside the courtyard: "You two wait a moment... Hey, don't..." The voice was a little flustered, mixed with the sound of hurried footsteps, as if there was an unexpected visitor Forcing his way into the yard.My thoughts were interrupted by the noise, and when I just raised my head, I saw Sergeant Wu stepping into the hall first. As I stood up, I asked in surprise, "Officer Wu, why are you here?" "You still ask me?" The old man looked annoyed, "I want to ask you: why are you here?! Didn't I tell you to leave Feng'an and never come back?" While he was speaking, a woman followed through the hall door.The person who came was extremely beautiful, with eyebrows and eyes like the moon, and skin that was as snowy as snow. She was the woman I admired and missed the most in my life. "I can't stop him..." The woman looked at me and said apologetically, "He must come to you." "You told him everything?" The woman shook her head: "That's not true. I just said that you went to Ling Mufeng's house." Sergeant Wu sat across from me, stared at me and said, "Tell me, what do you want to do when you come back?" That family member also chased into the hall now, persuading him with a perplexed expression: "Sir, you'd better wait outside first. We, Master Ling, have ordered that this Mr. Feng has something important to do, so don't let others disturb you." Sergeant Wu didn't bother to talk to him, so he just greeted the outside of the hall: "You two come here, and drag this guy out for me first." Those two policemen grabbed the family member and dragged him into the yard with both soft and hard methods.The family was in distress: Ling Mufeng was not at home, so he didn't dare to offend the sheriff from this county casually. Sergeant Wu stretched his knuckles and tapped the tea case again, and said to me, "Speak up. If you don't understand, I'll drag you out too!" I asked with a wry smile, "Why are you dragging me?" "Let me tell you, I would rather take you back to the county seat and put you in a big prison than let you stay in Feng'an Town!" The old man said while pointing to my nose.I knew he was really in a hurry. In his opinion, I was looking for my own death when I returned to Feng'an Town. After looking at each other for a while, the old man and I finally shook our heads as if surrendering, and said helplessly, "Well, let me tell you why I came back—because we found Chu Yun's body." Sergeant Wu was extremely surprised: "What? You found Chu Yun's body?" "Yes." I lowered my voice and continued, "Ye Mengshi and Chu Yun have a spiritual connection, and can feel each other's pain. It is precisely through this that we found where Chu Yun's body is." The old man showed an excited expression: "Why didn't you say it earlier? As long as I find Chu Yun's body, I can arrest Ling Mufeng immediately!" "That's what we thought. But now... we've changed our minds." Inspector Wu inexplicably asked: "Why?" "Chu Yun is dead, so what's the point of arresting Ling Mufeng? This incident is a tragedy, and it has been a tragedy since 21 years ago. Ling Mufeng is just a character in the tragedy. We don't want to punish anyone anymore. We just want this tragedy to end - for good." The old man still didn't quite understand: "What do you mean?" I looked up at the woman beside me and said, "We want to take Chu Yun's child away, we can't let that child stay in Feng'an." The old man also looked up at the woman: "Is this your idea?" The woman nodded and said: "Yes. Although I have only met that child once, that child has already called me 'Mom'. How can I bear to leave her? Now that Chu Yun is dead, if this child stays in Feng'an Town , continue to live with Ling Mufeng, then the tragedy will enter a new cycle. I must take her away. I want to take her to Shanghai to start a new life." The old man's eyes flickered, and it seemed that he was also moved by this rhetoric.Although Chu Yun's daughter is young, she has a beautiful appearance, and she will definitely be a great beauty in the future.What would happen to her fate if she stayed in Feng'an?In the eyes of the townspeople, she will inevitably become a "monster" who overcomes her father and mother. Will her life start a new tragedy?All this made the old man hesitant to make a decision. After much deliberation, it was indeed the best choice for Ye Mengshi to take the child away. Du Yuhong gave birth to a pair of twin girls back then.The one who stayed in Feng'an became Chu Yun with a miserable fate, and the one who was brought to Shanghai became the happy Ye Mengshi. Now this family has a third-generation daughter. If she stays in Feng'an, she will become the next generation. A Chu Yun; if she goes to Shanghai, she will become another Ye Mengshi. How could Sergeant Wu fail to understand such an obvious truth?But he shook his head and sighed softly: "Ling Mufeng will never agree to this. No one has the right to take his child away." I asked: "If Ling Mufeng is convicted of manslaughtering Chu Yun, how many years can he be in prison?" The old man said: "The crime of manslaughter is not serious in the first place. Ling Mufeng has a solid family background. I guess it will come out in two or three years." "That is to say, even if we can send Ling Mufeng to prison, the girl will leave him for two or three years at most. When Ling Mufeng comes out, the girl will definitely have to return to him." "Of course, he is the baby's biological father. Unless he gives away the child himself, how can others snatch it from him?" This is finally getting to the point.I tapped the tea table with my finger, and said to the old man, "We just want him to give away the child!" The old man thought it over: "Are you trying to blackmail Ling Mufeng with Chu Yun's matter, forcing him to hand over the child to you to raise?" "Yes. As long as he writes a document asking us to take the child away, we won't hand over Chu Yun's body to the police. Then he won't have to go to jail." Police Chief Wu still hesitated: "This matter..." "I know you are unwilling to let Ling Mufeng go, but this is really the most ideal ending." I continued to persuade the other party, "This tragedy has lasted for two generations, and it must not continue." "But will Ling Mufeng be easily blackmailed by you? He is thoughtful and vicious. I am worried that not only will he not be controlled by you, but he will..." Seeing that the other party was hesitant to speak, I took over and said, "Are you worried that he will kill us?" Sergeant Wu nodded, looking worried: "I'm especially worried about you." I understood his concern: because of that dream, he was always concerned about my safety.But I've already thought about my rhetoric: "I won't delay too long, I have to ask Ling to make a decision today. If he is willing to sign the paperwork, we will take the child and leave immediately, just in time to catch the noon train; If he refuses to sign, then I will hand over Chu Yun's body to you, and you can just take Ling Mufeng into prison, and Mengshi and I will naturally leave Feng'an and never come back again." "Okay then." The old man finally agreed, but he then emphasized, "You and Ling Mufeng will negotiate in the room, and I will take my subordinates to guard in the yard. Then no matter what the outcome of the negotiation is, you both You have to leave and never come back.” Before I could answer, the woman beside me rushed to laugh and said, "This is the best. With Sergeant Wu guarding the outside, no matter how vicious Ling Mufeng is, he wouldn't dare to lay hands on us." I nodded in agreement, then I reached out and gave the woman a gentle shake.The two looked at each other and smiled knowingly. "Okay, okay, let everything end." Sheriff Wu got up and walked out of the hall alone.When he crossed the threshold, he looked up at the sky with thick clouds, and sighed softly: "I am indeed tired..." After the old man went out, the woman sat down next to me.Then she took something out of her pocket, smiled and said to me: "I just bought this from the town, and it's specially for you." I stared at it, and saw that it was shiny, but it was a ring made of silver.At this time, the woman continued: "It is a custom in Feng'an Town that if a young man and a woman are in love, the woman will present a silver ring to the man. If the man accepts the ring, it means he has accepted the woman's affection. Come on, Give me your left hand, this ring should be worn on the middle finger." I was stunned, looking a little dazed. "What's the matter?" The woman frowned sadly and asked me, "Have you not made up your mind yet?" "How could it be?" I abruptly pulled my thoughts back, and at the same time stretched out my left hand and said sincerely to the woman, "I made my decision a long time ago, and I will never change it." The woman smiled in relief, she gently lifted my wrist and put the ring on my middle finger.Then she breathed a sigh of relief as if she had finished some work, and said, "Okay." I also responded: "Okay." At the same time, there was a bitter stream in my heart. There seemed to be some noise outside the courtyard, and I could tell that Ling Mufeng had returned.So I withdrew my left hand, adjusted my posture, and prepared to open the curtain of this last big show. Ling Mufeng walked into the hall, and when he saw that woman was there, he was slightly taken aback.Of course, it was another person who concerned him the most at this moment.When he got close, he asked me in the first sentence: "Why is Police Chief Wu here?" "The old man is a hound with a very sharp nose. He smelled meat, so he came here naturally." Speaking of this, I smiled and changed the subject, "But don't worry, I didn't tell him that. Where is the piece of meat hidden?" Ling Mufeng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and said: "That's good." After he finished speaking, he turned his head to look at the woman next to me, cupped his hands and said: "Miss Ye, I have offended you a few days ago. This is purely a misunderstanding. Wang Haihan." The woman stared at Ling Mufeng, with hatred and fear in her eyes.After a while, she reluctantly nodded and said, "Don't mention the past, the important thing is to arrange the future." "Miss Ye is right. We just want to talk about the future." Ling Mufeng sat down opposite.The three of us surrounded a small tea table, the woman and I were on one side, and Ling Mufeng was sitting alone on the other side. I noticed that Ling Mufeng was holding a paper bag in his hand, so I asked, "Is this the tea you bought?" "Not bad." Ling Mufeng nodded, "This is the best green tea in Anzhen, Quanfeng." "Then please ask Mr. Ling to make tea." I also emphasized, "You must do this yourself." Ling Mufeng said: "Okay." Then he took the bag of tea leaves and left the hall.When he came back after a while, he was already holding a teacup in his hand. In addition to the three cups of freshly brewed fragrant tea, there was also a pot of boiling hot water in the teacup. After Ling Mufeng sat down, he brought two cups of hot tea to me and the woman respectively, and he took the remaining cup and said, "You two, please have some tea." "Not busy." I stretched out my hand to stop it, and then pushed the teacup in front of me towards Ling Mufeng, "Mr. Ling, I want to exchange it with the cup of tea in your hand." Ling Mufeng was taken aback for a moment, then understood, and said with a fixed gaze: "Detective Feng is worried that Ling will poison the tea?" I didn't deny it, and said bluntly: "The situation is so serious, we must guard against it—not to mention that Mr. Ling came back with arsenic this time." "Since Detective Feng wants to change it, let's change it." Ling Mufeng put down the tea cup in his hand and picked up another cup on the table.Then he put his left hand into his bosom again, took out a small paper bag and threw it on the teacup, saying: "Detective Feng entrusted me to buy this arsenic, how dare Ling use it?" "So, Mr. Ling didn't poison the tea?" Ling Mufeng brought the teacup to his lips, and took a sip, which was his reply to me. I held the cup of tea I had exchanged for in my hand, and said, "In that case, Mr. Ling, please pour this bag of arsenic out of the window, so as not to stay here and harm others." Ling Mufeng put down his teacup, and asked in surprise, "You asked me to pour out this arsenic?" "That's right. After pouring out the arsenic, the first step is done; let's talk about the second step." After I finished speaking, I took a sip of the green tea in the cup, and the fragrance of the tea was clear and lingering. Unceasing wandering, it really is the best. Ling Mufeng chuckled, and said, "Detective Feng is trying to amuse someone Ling?" "How can this be a pastime?" I looked at the other party sternly, "I want to test Mr. Ling's sincerity. If you don't kill me, it's meaningless for me to negotiate any conditions with you." "Detective Feng is really cautious." Ling Mufeng looked back at me, "Then you can rest assured now?" I pointed to the small paper bag on the tea table: "If you pour out this bag of arsenic, I will be at ease." Ling Mufeng didn't say any more, he picked up the paper bag and walked towards the window.That window was facing the bamboo forest behind the small building, and the river was surging outside the bamboo forest, where Chu Yun fell a few months ago. When he reached the window, Ling Mufeng pushed the window sash open, held the paper bag in his right hand and stretched out the window.Then he tore open a corner of the paper package with his left hand, and shook his right wrist slightly.Pieces of powder leaked out of the paper bag, and were blown by the autumn wind, and disappeared in an instant.After pouring out all the powder in one package, Ling Mufeng picked up the empty paper package and showed it in front of my eyes. I checked the paper bag carefully and praised: "Good!" Only then did Ling Mufeng throw the empty paper bag far away in a corner of the hall, and washed his hands in the clean basin again.Then he came back and sat down again, and said to me: "Detective Feng, what does Ling need to do in this second step, can you explain clearly now?" I put the teacup in my hand back on the table, and then took out a written document from my pocket. "We are going to take Chu Yun's child away. This is the document for the transfer of custody rights that has been drawn up. Please sign it." I said while handing the document to Ling Mufeng. Ling Mufeng stared at the two of us: "Are you going to take Ling'er away?" "Yes. This child will only repeat the tragic fate of Chu Yun and Du Yuhong if he stays in Feng'an, so we have to take her away." "This is absolutely impossible!" Ling Mufeng said firmly, "Ling'er was born to me, and she will always belong to me, to Feng'an Ling's family!" "Mr. Ling, you have to think carefully!" I stared into Ling Mufeng's eyes and threatened, "We are not begging you, we are saving you. And taking that child is our condition." Ling Mufeng accepted the document silently, but he tore it into pieces without even looking at it, and then he smiled coldly: "Take my Ling'er away? As long as I'm still alive, you don't even think about it!" "In this case, there is nothing to talk about." After I said this to Ling Mufeng, I turned to look at the woman beside me.Then I picked up the teacup in front of me and slowly brought it to my lips.At this moment, Ling Mufeng said: "I think there are still many things to talk about." My movement of drinking tea was frozen in the air, and I raised my eyes to look at Ling Mufeng.I saw that he was also looking at me with a strange smile in his eyes. "You have torn up the paperwork—" I frowned and asked him, "then what are we talking about?" "You've got hold of me, thinking you can blackmail me? But you don't know that Ling also holds your secret. If this secret is leaked out, your situation will be a hundred times more dangerous than Ling's!" After Ling Mufeng finished speaking, he took a sip of tea leisurely, looking confident.