I became the Counterpart of the Winner in a Period Novel-Chapter 296 - 281: Exposing the Secret

"Something seems off."

"The pearl earring, why would the murderer take it? Was it accidentally ripped off?"

"I think so. The courtyard was shared by two people, and over several months, there should be traces left. But when we checked, all traces of the other person were wiped clean. That’s not something an ordinary person could do."

"But that’s also strange, Liu Chu erasing traces to create the illusion that he was never there and accidentally ripping off the pearl earring, then having to take the other one too. But using a blunt weapon to kill someone is conspicuously evident. If Liu Chu was the one erasing the traces, isn’t that like the old saying ’there is no silver here just by stating it’?"

"I’ll have another talk with Li Youcai." In the first questioning, Jiang Mingyue had already used spiritual power, and what she saw was almost the same as what Li Youcai said. He didn’t know much. Moreover, Liu Chu wore a mask. If it weren’t for his distinctive behavioral habits, it would have been easy for him to deceive people. Plus, he didn’t visit the small courtyard often, seemingly going only when necessary, rarely running into Li Youcai.

Calling it a meeting was an exaggeration, as she merely paced in front of Li Youcai’s house, using spiritual power within an effective range.

This time she looked slowly, frame by frame, missing no detail.

Wait a minute, why are there two "Liu Chus"? Both wore the same masks, were the same height, even their behavioral habits were almost identical.

In the scene, one called the other "Brother Chu," and this Brother Chu called the substitute Lv Yan. No, to be precise, both Liu Chu and Lv Yan used the alias "Liu Er."

Now the question is, who was the one involved with Li Hongmei? Was it Liu Chu or Lv Yan?

Was it Lv Yan?

Jiang Mingyue said to the person beside her, An Jian: "Have someone investigate this person, Lv Yan."

Continuing to flip through the frames, nothing particularly stood out.

"Anything special?"

An Jian was aware of her abilities, and without a third person around, Jiang Mingyue shared the information she had seen with him.

"Wow! Even on a date, wearing a mask, is that life enjoyable?"

"What they care about are the profits."

"Indeed."

All current household registrations were handwritten. The archive room was packed, and An Jian spent a whole day combing through it, finding fifty-nine people named Lv Yan, ages ranging from ninety-year-old seniors to babies just registered for a month. After ruling out the impossible, there were still thirteen left. Five were within the jurisdiction of Nanxi County, the rest elsewhere. An Jian divided the team for visits.

Jiang Mingyue and An Jian formed a team and went to Jing County.

Although she had never been to Jing County, the name was all too familiar, for Jiang Zhenzhu had been serving at Jing County Farm.

Speaking of which, there hadn’t been any news about Jiang Zhenzhu lately. Her cousin had sent Xue Hong a letter before. As former friends, he’d likely read it, and hopefully, it would cast a shadow over him for life after reading.

Xue Hong indeed received it but locked himself in his room for three days.

No reason other than that, having plotted against a close friend for the position of procurement director, thinking Jiang Ming’an would be injured and step back, only for it to backfire on him, turning him into a vegetative state. Had he not stumbled upon a miraculous remedy, he’d still be in the hospital or possibly even abandoned by his family.

One could say Jiang Ming’an occupied a very conflicted place in his heart.

Waking up, Xue Hong never reached out to Jiang Ming’an, and Jiang Ming’an never came to see him either.

They were still as in tune as before, only for Xue Hong, it now carried bitterness.

Jiang Ming’an must have figured it was him who did the deed, right?

If time could reverse, he would not have listened to his grandfather’s advice and resorted to unscrupulous means. But there are no do-overs in life.

Three days later, Xue Hong finally opened the envelope and read the letter. As he read, his face darkened to the point of looking like water would drip from it.

It was just a thin sheet of paper, but it dropped a world-shattering bombshell on him.

He wasn’t his father’s child, but his grandfather’s.

And this shameful origin was leaked, with the leaker being his cousin’s wife.

Not being his father’s child, and a secret leaked from his own family.

Xue Hong couldn’t handle either of these facts in isolation.

He wanted to rush to the study and confront his grandfather but calmed down. No, he couldn’t ask. Call him a coward if you will; he feared his grandfather might confirm it, which would be like the sky falling on him.

Then Xue Hong secretly went to investigate, and he really found out the truth.

He always knew that Jiang Ming’an would never lie, irrespective of the circumstance. He despised it, but now he’d rather hope all that Jiang Ming’an wrote was false.

Xue Hong couldn’t afford more leave, so he composed himself and continued with work.

But at the same time, he was causing trouble behind the scenes. Since his cousin couldn’t manage his wife, he’d hold the cousin accountable.

He reported the evidence of taking bribes and having an affair with Zheng Honglian together.

Soon, Xue Zongsheng was taken away, a piece of news Jiang Mingyue got from her cousin. Zheng Honglian was also implicated...