This was a case that occurred in Shanghai. The deceased, a woman surnamed Liao, was 43 years old. The murderer was her husband, a man surnamed Wang. The couple had been in a discordant marriage for many years. After seeing news reports about the silver nitrate poisoning and some instructional videos on how to obtain it, Wang purchased silver nitrate and poisoned Liao’s food that very day.
After confirming his wife’s death, Wang reported it to the police, falsely claiming she died from a random poisoning. However, due to his crude methods and clear purchase records, the investigating police saw through his lies on the spot and arrested him.
At his doorstep, Wang had loudly denied buying silver nitrate, and this gossip quickly spread throughout the neighborhood. By the time the Shanghai police took him back to the station, reporters who had smelled blood in the water had arrived with their camera cannons.
All of the above was information provided by the Shanghai police during a video conference call with Huo Ranyin and his team.
The head of the Shanghai police who called regretfully told Huo Ranyin that in recent years, there has been an emphasis on transparency in handling cases. For a case with such high public interest, they would soon release a brief official statement. Once the police announcement was out, the media would inevitably follow up. He acknowledged the hard work of the Ning City team and warned them to be vigilant for similar cases.
After the conference call ended, the already poor atmosphere in the criminal police brigade worsened. The mood was as if someone had brushed a layer of transparent glue in the air, making everything feel sticky and oppressive.
Ji Xun went over to Tan Mingjiu and struck up a conversation, “Mourning your lost year-end bonus?”
Tan Mingjiu was dejected. “I gave up hope for that long ago. Right now, I just want to physically go to the Weibo server and smash this trending topic.”
Ji Xun clicked his tongue. “Too violent. You’d be better off hoping some celebrities have the mercy to create a big scandal and draw everyone’s attention away.”
Tan Mingjiu was half-dead. “You’re absolutely right, old man.”
Just then, Huo Ranyin walked out of Bureau Chief Zhou’s office. He said, “Tan Mingjiu, tomorrow morning you’re in charge of re-interrogating Xin Yongchu. Use the copycat case to bluff them about their poisoning timeline.”
“Understood,” Tan Mingjiu said. “What about you, Captain?”
“Planning to go with me to find Lian Dazhang and Lian Panpan?” Ji Xun chimed in from the side. “Good, a wise choice.”
“Yes, we’ll go find the Lian family and follow that lead.”
Huo Ranyin replied, then picked up the copy of the A4 paper that had been mailed to “The First Moment.” He said, “I’ve confirmed it again. This anonymous letter doesn’t mention Lian Dazhang, nor does it mention the specific method of how the poison was put in the milk candy.”
“So the good news is, the media can’t leak this detail if they don’t know it. In the worst-case scenario, if you encounter a copycat in the future, you can still use this detail to differentiate and identify them.”
“It seems this accomplice of Xin Yongchu’s isn’t so malicious as to deliberately use potential copycat criminals to muddy the waters and hide themselves.”
“Or, perhaps, they, who also believe they are carrying out justice, never even considered that there would be copycat criminals.”
The first day of February finally ended in such a flurry of activity.
The next day, when Ji Xun and Huo Ranyin prepared to visit Lian Dazhang, Huo Ranyin came to pick him up.
Last night was another unsurprisingly sleepless night. From the moment he got in the car, Ji Xun couldn’t stop yawning.
“Didn’t sleep well last night?”
“I never sleep well. It’s nothing new,” Ji Xun said nonchalantly. To perk himself up, he made small talk. “What date is Chinese New Year this year? When does the bureau go on holiday?”
“New Year’s Eve is on the 7th. The holiday starts on the afternoon of the 7th.”
“So New Year’s Eve dinner is in five days?” Ji Xun rubbed his face. “Have you bought your ticket home?”
“Haven’t bought one,” Huo Ranyin said. “I’m staying in Ning City to work overtime during the holiday.”
“When you’re young, you trade your life for money. When you’re old, you trade money for your life,” Ji Xun remarked. “Of course, this kind of talk is too early for a spirited young man like you. You have at least three more years you can fight hard before you start feeling your age like me.”
“Ji Xun—” Huo Ranyin’s tone was a warning.
Ji Xun stopped just in time and changed the subject. “Look, we’re here.”
Ahead of the car, an old residential complex came into view.
Lian Dazhang’s family was currently renting on the first floor of the complex, in apartment 101. This was a school district property, right next to the school Lian Panpan attended, a five-minute walk away. Although it was an old complex, the interior was well-renovated, about 120 square meters with four rooms, providing more than enough living space for a family of three.
They met Lian Dazhang first.
Lian Dazhang had been resting at home for the past two days. The poisoning had truly frightened him. The typically hardworking Lawyer Lian was now only willing to review cases at home, refusing to go out for anything.
“Lawyer Lian,” Huo Ranyin got straight to the point, “have you been following the recent online discussions about the poisoning case?”
Lian Dazhang smiled. “It happened to me. How could I not follow it?”
“Then you must also know that the poisoning was done by Xin Yongchu’s accomplice, right?”
“Mmm…”
“Do you still remember Xin Yongchu?” Huo Ranyin asked.
“I have some impression,” Lian Dazhang said.
“Why didn’t you contact the police to inform them of this?”
“Although he bullied me when we were young, school violence is one of those things… Have you two looked at the data on first-instance school violence cases concluded by courts nationwide in 2015? There were just over 1,000 cases in total. And very few school violence incidents ever make it to court. So you can see from the data, school violence is not as infrequent as people think. Very few children grow up in school without experiencing any violence at all—and violence isn’t just beatings. Verbal abuse, having your belongings thrown away, not being allowed to use the restroom, these are all forms of violence.”
Lian Dazhang looked troubled.
“This minor connection from childhood, I personally didn’t think it was important information, so I didn’t make a special point to contact the police.”
“Then what about when you refused the plea from Tang Zhixue’s family from your village back then? Did you also think that wasn’t important information?”
“Captain Huo, you see, I’m a lawyer. My job is courtroom defense. Their request was for the police to continue pursuing the culprit. Pursuing culprits is your job, what use would it be to find me? Could I control the police’s work?”
“Indeed, that is not within your scope of work,” Huo Ranyin said. “So from beginning to end, you kept your door tightly shut and never even showed your face, correct?”
“Alas,” Lian Dazhang sighed, “if you can’t help people, you shouldn’t waste their time or give them unrealistic expectations. I don’t think there was anything wrong with what I did back then. However, you’re bringing these things up specifically. Do you think Xin Yongchu would retaliate against me because of these past events? I wasn’t poisoned because of bad luck. But rather…”
He shifted his buttocks uneasily, the composure he had just displayed instantly vanishing. After all, it is easy to remain detached when it does not concern you. Now that his personal interests were at stake, he became anxious, nervous, and even garrulous.
“They’re targeting me with poison specifically? Captain Huo, I feel I’m in great danger right now. Can I apply for police protection? When are you going to sentence Xin Yongchu to death? He killed someone, and while he confessed to the murder, it wasn’t a voluntary surrender but a way to negotiate with the police. This is an extremely egregious case of lawlessness, and it absolutely does not meet the criteria for a lighter sentence!”
“Lawyer Lian is very knowledgeable about the law,” Huo Ranyin said coolly. “But sentencing is the judge’s job. I trust the judge will fully consider all circumstances and make a judgment that is reasonable and lawful.”
Lian Dazhang gave a sheepish smile. “Of course, of course.”
“One more question,” Huo Ranyin said again. “Lawyer Lian, do you know ‘The First Moment’ and Kong Shuiqi?”
There was a detail worth pondering in the anonymous letter received from Kong Shuiqi.
To submit an anonymous tip to “The First Moment,” one could simply address it to “The First Moment Editorial Department.” However, the anonymous person wrote “The First Moment Editorial Department, Attn: Kong Shuiqi,” which was enough to prove that the anonymous person had some degree of interaction with Kong Shuiqi.
“I know of them. In the legal profession, you have to be famous for people to bring you cases. So I sought out ‘The First Moment’ magazine, hoping to publish some reports to increase my visibility. At first, I had no connections and couldn’t find a way in. It was my daughter, Panpan, who found Editor Kong’s email address on Weibo for me. I sent him a message, and through back-and-forth communication, we got in touch.”
As Lian Dazhang was saying this, Lian Panpan happened to walk past the doorway.
She casually threw out a sarcastic comment:
“That’s right, back and forth, and Dad, you went down the path of finding media to create hype and hiring water armies for trending topics, never to return. A pity it never worked. What’s fake is fake, only what’s real is real.”
Huo Ranyin’s gaze shifted from Lian Dazhang. He glanced at Lian Panpan, and then past her to Ji Xun, who was sitting leisurely on the sofa.
Ji Xun was holding a cup of tea in his left hand and a small cookie in his right. He took a bite, his expression relaxed and content, looking as if he were enjoying afternoon tea in a coffee shop.
“Sister Bei Jia,” Ji Xun said, “your skills are amazing. These are the best cookies I’ve ever eaten.”
Huo Ranyin: “…”
It’s only been a few minutes, and he’s already calling her “Sister”?
Bei Jia’s smile was deep. “If you like them, have some more. My husband and daughter don’t really like what I make. It’s rare for someone to enjoy them. I’ll pack some for you to take with you when you leave.”
“Thank you very much then,” Ji Xun said without reservation, then asked naturally, “By the way, can we see your daughter’s room?”
Lian Panpan, who had already walked to the washroom, turned her head, her tone fierce. “No, you can’t enter my room!”
“What’s there to not let them see? It’s just a pile of books,” her mother shot back. “Go right in, look at whatever you want.”
“Mom!”
“They are police officers here to investigate the case of your dad being poisoned. Don’t be so unreasonable. They won’t rummage through your private things,” Bei Jia scolded.
With the mother’s endorsement, the two successfully entered Lian Panpan’s room.
Unexpectedly, in the young girl’s room, two 1.5-meter-wide beds were placed side by side, making the originally large room feel cramped and crowded. Perhaps noticing Ji Xun’s gaze lingering on the two beds, Bei Jia voluntarily explained:
“I usually sleep with my daughter to better supervise her and make sure she rests well. She always says she’s sleepy, but I make her go to bed at 11 PM and only wake her at 6 AM. I even get up an hour earlier than her to make breakfast, and I don’t feel sleepy. We were wondering if Panpan had some sleep problems, so I came to sleep with her to keep an eye on things, and also to supervise her homework at night. The high school entrance exam is coming up soon, we can’t afford any more delays.”
“We?” Ji Xun found this word worth savoring.
“Originally, my husband was going to sleep here too,” Bei Jia said, with a hint of complaint. “But he’s busy with work and often doesn’t get home until midnight. He was afraid of disturbing our daughter’s rest, so he gave up the idea.”
Ji Xun noticed Lian Panpan in the living room turn her head and purse her lips.
This was quite normal. If his parents had insisted on watching him sleep in the same room when he was 15, despite having the means to live separately, he would have felt suffocated too.
Bei Jia had other things to do. She left her daughter’s room to the two officers and went out to busy herself.
Ji Xun tapped a finger on the printer on the desk. It was a Canon, with original ink, consistent with the print ink traces detected on the anonymous letter by the forensics team. The A4 paper placed casually on the printer tray also had a faint scent of perfume.
Huo Ranyin, who had been standing behind the curtain looking out the window since they entered, seemed to perceive Ji Xun’s thoughts without looking at him. He said, “It’s not just Rose of No Man’s Land. There are other brands of perfume. Une Rose, Berlin Maiden, and others. They are all rose-scented.”
“It seems our beautiful young lady has a special liking for thorny roses.”
Ji Xun quipped, continuing to look around the room.
As Bei Jia had said, there wasn’t much of interest visible in the room.
It was all books.
A cabinet full of books.
Various tutoring books, various literary classics, and a few books with plain covers.
“Did your parents let you read comics when you were a kid?” Ji Xun chatted with Huo Ranyin.
“No.”
“You never secretly read them?”
“No.”
“I really can’t tell you were so well-behaved and dull as a child,” Ji Xun lamented. “But I have to regretfully inform you, Captain Huo, that with just one little trick, you could have escaped your parents’ depressing and excessive surveillance.”
His finger landed on one of the books with a plain cover.
He pulled it from the shelf and opened it. It was a fan-fiction novel.
He whistled. “Lucky.”
On the title page of the fan-fiction novel, there was an author’s personalized signature.
To Songliubo:
Super, super, super happy to meet you~ You’re such a great beauty!
Hope we can do this every year~
He closed the book, put it back, and said to Huo Ranyin, “Look up Songliubo. It should be Lian Panpan’s Weibo account ID—the kind her parents don’t know about.”
Huo Ranyin acknowledged.
Ji Xun turned his head and found Huo Ranyin’s eyes still fixed on the window.
He also glanced outside and saw the rustling trees in the garden.
“Panpan, stop dawdling. Hurry up and change your shoes, you’re going to be late for your tutoring class.”
Bei Jia’s voice suddenly came from outside.
Ji Xun turned back.
“Mom, you haven’t given me my lunch money for today.”
“Your mom gets up early every day to make you a packed lunch with so many good things in it for you to take to your tutoring class, and you still think it’s not enough?” Bei Jia said irritably.
“Can’t I have bubble tea?”
“Drinking bubble tea every day will ruin your skin and make you fat!”
The mother scolded her daughter in a low voice, then took 15 yuan from her pocket and handed it over.
“You can drink it today, but not tomorrow or the day after, understand?”
“A cup of bubble tea costs 25 yuan now,” Lian Panpan said.
“With that money, can’t you eat something nutritious?”
Bei Jia had a headache. She took out another 10 yuan and stuffed it into her daughter’s hand. Only then did Lian Panpan go to the entrance hall and start changing her shoes.
“Officers, I need to take my daughter to her tutoring class, so I’ll be leaving now. Old Lian is at home.”
“It’s fine, we’ve finished looking around too. We’ll leave with you,” Ji Xun said. “Ms. Bei Jia, thank you for your hospitality.”
“I should be the one thanking you. It would be best if you can find out who poisoned my husband as soon as possible,” Bei Jia said, quickly leading her daughter towards the parking lot.
Ji Xun and Huo Ranyin fell a step behind.
Huo Ranyin’s phone was open to Songliubo’s Weibo homepage. It was filled with various cosplay photos, as well as all kinds of shoes, bags, clothes, perfumes, and cosmetics, all of which were very expensive.
“A lawyer’s family has a high income. But from what we just saw, Lian Panpan isn’t very free with her spending money,” Ji Xun said. “The question is, where did she get her money from?”
“We’ll look into that later,” Huo Ranyin replied. “Before that…”
They arrived outside the residential complex.
Bei Jia was driving a red Porsche. She had already driven out of the garage with her daughter and nodded at Ji Xun and Huo Ranyin as she passed them.
The two waited in place for a little longer. Just then, a man wearing a fisherman’s hat, with the brim pulled down so low it almost covered half his face, came out. He was carrying a bag and hurried to an electric scooter by the side of the street, pulling out a key to start it.
Huo Ranyin pressed down on his hand.
Ji Xun pulled out his key.
“What are you doing! Are you crazy—” the man in the fisherman’s hat had just started shouting when a police ID appeared in front of him.
“Criminal police,” Huo Ranyin said. “Explain why you were staking out and following the mother and daughter ahead.”
