The Scheming Ex-Husband's Courtship-Chapter 686 - 593: Murder in a Locked Room (4)

Something is off, definitely off.

Nan Zhan’s intuition told him that Yuan Xiaoqian must have been murdered.

But where’s the evidence? Where’s the method of the crime?

Nan Zhan took the note to Qin Yong and Feng Guang, who were brought to another room by Leng Shaoqing, to identify it.

Upon seeing the writing, Feng Guang covered his face again, weeping inconsolably: "This is Xiaoxian’s handwriting. Why—she was never a greedy girl. Why would she steal a bracelet and even commit murder? I can’t believe it."

"Feng Guang, where were you fifteen minutes ago?"

Feng Guang lifted his swollen eyes: "I went outside to gather fireworks."

Qin Yong said, "Yes, it was me who asked him to. Many people must have seen him."

"And what about you, Housekeeper Qin?"

"I was also gathering fireworks."

Nan Zhan nodded: "Secure the scene, wait for the police."

He returned to the room upstairs, sat down on a chair, and lit a cigarette.

Soon, a cup of coffee was placed on the table in front of him.

He looked up, saw Jian Si standing in front of him with a look of concern.

"Half milk, half water, your favorite."

Nan Zhan smiled knowingly, picking up the coffee cup: "Thank you."

Jian Si sat down beside him, "How’s the investigation going?"

"Although I know who the murderer is, I lack the evidence, and most crucially, I haven’t figured out the method and motive of the crime yet."

Jian Si asked in surprise, "You’ve figured out who the murderer is?"

"Yeah." Nan Zhan took a drag from his cigarette, "I found a strange lighter, her suicide note, and the missing jade bracelet in Yuan Xiaoxian’s room."

"This really looks like Yuan Xiaoxian committed suicide out of guilt."

"This is a meticulously crafted setup by the murderer, I believe, it’s something he’s been preparing for a long time." Nan Zhan leaned back in his chair, holding Jian Si’s hand and gently rubbing the palm with his thumb, muttering to himself, "The disappeared object contaminated with poison, the shattered cellphone, drag marks on the skylight, strange ropes, the suicide note..."

Jian Si couldn’t comprehend what all these things were related to, she just blurted out, "Perhaps Yuan Xiaoxian regretted it, and wanted to burn the suicide letter, hence the lighter..."

"Wait." Nan Zhan suddenly sat up, his eyes intensely focused on her: "What did you just say?"

Jian Si startled, "I said Yuan Xiaoxian regretted..."

"The part after that."

"She wanted to burn the suicide note..."

"Yes, it all makes sense now, the murderer’s method, how he created two locked rooms, how he killed Han Feiyi and Yuan Xiaoxian yet managed to create a perfect alibi, now, I only need the motive."

At that moment, Nan Yu rushed in, "Brother, the investigation data on those four has been sent over. You’d want to see this, it’s unexpected."

～

"What, it’s concluded?" The people in the second-floor room were called out, some curiously asking, "Does that mean we are no longer suspects?"

"Not exactly." Nan Zhan patiently explained, "The murderer is cunning. We only found evidence in the room where Han Feiyi was murdered, suspect fingerprints were found on the damaged door lock, but there’s no equipment on the scene to compare or collect fingerprints, so we have to wait for the police to find out who the murderer is. Please stay either on the first floor or outside at the party, but do not leave."

"Alright, let’s go downstairs for some food, it’s suffocating staying in this room."

"Such a good party, what bad luck."

The crowd gradually made their way downstairs, discussing as they went.

Nan Zhan and Jian Si walked at the rear.

Nan Zhan instructed Qin Yong, "Look after these rooms, do not let anyone tamper with the scene or move any evidence."

Qin Yong nodded, "Don’t worry, Mr. Nan."

Jian Si affectionately linked her arm in his: "You’ve been working so hard and haven’t eaten anything this evening. I asked the kitchen to make you a bowl of hot noodles to warm up your stomach."

"Good." Nan Zhan pulled her closer around the shoulders, "Engaging in mental work for so long, I am indeed hungry."

After everyone went downstairs, the corridor on the second floor quickly returned to silence, empty and gaping like a giant open maw, despairingly waiting.

～

Nan Zhan sat at the table eating noodles, it was nine o’clock now, and he had not eaten anything all day.

"What’s next?" Jian Si whispered as if in secret, her mouth almost touching his ear.

This tender sensation made Nan Zhan somewhat distracted while eating. In fact, tonight, he had planned a surprise; after the fireworks, he would take her to the bedroom he had prepared in advance, filled with roses, red wine, and violin music... Then, let things naturally take their course in such a romantic setting.

However, his plans were completely upset by the unexpected murder, much to his regret.

"Wait." Nan Zhan put down the chopsticks in his hand.

Jian Si nodded in agreement.

At that moment, Nan Yu hurried over and said, "The police won’t be able to come anytime soon. There’s only one road from the city to here, and there was a severe car accident on it just now, causing a traffic jam stretching over two kilometers."

Nan Zhan frowned: "That’s why I said your police department should have sent a plane."

Nan Yu scratched his head: "Our police department is quite poor."

There were other people in the living room who, hearing that the police could not come temporarily, became anxious. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Mr. Nan, do we have to spend the night here?"

The villa only had two floors with limited rooms, and there were nearly a hundred guests attending the banquet, naturally, it could not accommodate everyone.

Nan Zhan said: "I’m very sorry for the inconvenience, but human life is paramount. We can only ask you to bear with it a little longer. I will keep urging the police to try to get them here sooner to close the case."

"Let’s play cards." Zhuo Yanbei suddenly suggested, "Come on, we need one more player, who’s in?"

The people there were eager to get close to the six big families, and seeing them there, they no longer thought about leaving.

Immediately, someone raised their hand: "Come on, I’ll play a few rounds with Young Master Zhuo."

The living room quickly became lively again. Nan Zhan turned his head to Jian Si and asked, "Are you tired?"

"I’m not tired, do you want to rest a while?"

Nan Zhan shook his head.

Jian Si looked at the bustling living room, thinking of the suddenly lost lives, and sighed: "The deceased are unrelated to everyone here, so nobody really takes it to heart. They only feel surprise, not sadness."

Nan Zhan laughed: "Are you feeling sorry for them?"

"Yuan Xiaoxian was still so young, she got injured today, and I even helped her bandage the wound. Now, a lively person has suddenly lost their vitality. And although Han Feiyi was arrogant, she was still in the prime of her youth, it’s quite a pity."

She thought of Feng Piaopiao, feeling inevitably melancholic.

Nan Zhan embraced her, comforting her as he patted her shoulder: "Don’t think about it anymore, I’ll take you to see a good show later."

"What show?" Jian Si always felt he was mysterious, as if he was plotting something.

"Just wait a little longer, I’ll take you to catch the murderer."

"Catch the murderer?"

~

9:50 PM.

The corridor on the second floor was deserted, illuminated only by the dim lights of the corridor.

At that moment, a window in one of the rooms on the second floor suddenly cracked open. Following that, the gap widened, and a large hand appeared on the window frame, forcefully prying open the window.

Under the dim moonlight, a figure jumped in from outside the window, carefully catching the window ledge to avoid making a noise, then landing on the floor with both feet.

The person, using the moonlight, searched around the room, and ultimately headed straight for the box in the corner.

He squatted down and started rifling through the box carefully, until he had looked through everything in it, seemingly not finding what he was looking for, and then moved on to another box.

"No, no, why is it not here, I clearly saw them put it here," the shadow muttered to himself, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Of course it’s not here, because the real evidence isn’t here at all." The room’s lights suddenly turned on, startling the man, who reflexively ran towards the window, but Nan Yu was faster and blocked the way just in time, grabbing his arm.

Jian Si, standing at the door, looked at him incredulously and exclaimed: "Housekeeper?"

The person Nan Yu had grabbed was indeed Housekeeper Qin Yong.

Qin Yong, however, appeared very calm, "Why are you arresting me? I just came to check on the evidence as Mr. Nan had instructed me to ensure it wouldn’t go missing, you’ve misunderstood."

Nan Yu said: "Old housekeeper, there’s no need to continue denying it, you have the keys to all the rooms here. If you wanted to check the evidence, why didn’t you come through the front door openly but instead chose to climb through a window? Is it because you also know that such an act is not respectable?"

Qin Yong fell silent.

Nan Yu continued: "Furthermore, this window was supposed to be locked, why was there a gap left? Because while you were handling the evidence, you also left a loophole, sneakingly opening a small crack in the window when everyone was unattentive, enabling you to stealthily sneak in."

"I don’t understand what you’re talking about."

"Old housekeeper, stop pretending. The facts are clear, just confess. How exactly did you kill Han Feiyi and hang Yuan Xiaoxian? A confession may earn you leniency while resistance will be met with severity. Just speak the truth, and we all can go home, as they are not willing to waste time here with you."

Many people were standing outside the room, all watching Qin Yong with eyes filled with sarcasm, laughter, anger, and indifference.

Suddenly, Lian Yang burst out from the crowd,