Chapter 190

Chapter 190: Clues After Elder Jiang returned to Jiangcheng and visited his son at the hospital, he invited the two public security leaders and the lead officer investigating Jiang Yi's poisoning case to his home that very evening. In the Jiang family's reception tea room. When the three of them saw Elder Jiang, they all greeted him in unison, respectfully, "Elder Jiang." Although Elder Jiang held a high and powerful position, he never put on airs or flaunted his status. He gave a slight nod and made a gesture for them to sit down. "Please, sit." The tea room was spacious, with a rectangular golden nanmu table serving as the tea table, on which sat a set of blue-and-white porcelain tea ware. Elder Jiang sat in the center, facing the three of them. Jiang Shixu sat to the Elder's right. The three men did not sit down immediately, but instead turned to Jiang Shixu and greeted him one by one: "Young Master Jiang." Only after Jiang Shixu responded politely did the three take their seats across from Elder Jiang, each giving a brief self-introduction before beginning to report on the current progress of the case. After returning to Jiangcheng, Elder Jiang had immediately familiarized himself with the situation surrounding Jiang Yi's case. The police had already gathered some clues. The lead investigator was a man named Tang Jun, a middle-aged police officer in his forties. Tang Jun said with a grave expression, "According to Mrs. Jiang, Xu Jingxuan is the primary suspect. From Mrs. Jiang, we learned that when Xu Jingxuan was still the Jiang family's adopted daughter, she would brew nourishing soup for President Jiang every few days. President Jiang also had a habit of drinking a cup of black coffee every morning without fail. So we launched our investigation from these two angles, and sure enough, we uncovered some clues." Tang Jun handed two reports to Elder Jiang. "These are the test reports for the coffee cup President Jiang regularly used and the clay pot used to brew the nourishing soup." Elder Jiang's brows furrowed tightly as he took the reports and flipped through them. Worried that the Elder might not understand the technical jargon, Tang Jun explained in plain terms: "The toxin detected in the clay pot is the same as the poison that afflicted President Jiang. We can preliminarily confirm that the nourishing soup he regularly drank was laced with poison." "The clay pot is made of a special material. When simmered at high temperatures, the toxin seeps into the pot itself, and even after washing, residual toxin remains. However, the black coffee President Jiang drank every morning was iced, and the glass material of the cup doesn't easily absorb toxins—after washing, almost no residue remains. That's why the coffee cup's test results came back normal." "Additionally, we learned from the servants that the coffee President Jiang drank every morning was personally brewed by Xu Jingxuan." The deeper Elder Jiang's brows furrowed, the more he listened. "What does Xu Jingxuan have to say?" Tang Jun replied, "The suspect is currently serving time in prison. We've already interrogated her, but she has remained silent throughout—she hasn't said a word." After speaking, Tang Jun added, "According to Mrs. Jiang, the imprisoned suspect Fu Yuanzhou may have a direct connection to this poisoning case. We interrogated Fu Yuanzhou as well, but he also refused to say anything." "Have you checked the surveillance at home?" Elder Jiang asked. "We have. No anomalies were found. The kitchen surveillance footage only shows Xu Jingxuan brewing the soup, but she had her back to the camera, so we can't see her tampering with it. Nothing unusual was found around the coffee machine either. If Xu Jingxuan did poison the coffee, she likely added the poison after brewing it, in a blind spot outside the camera's view." "There's also..." Tang Jun hesitated, glancing at Elder Jiang. The Elder lifted his eyelids and looked at him. "What is it?" Tang Jun said with some reluctance, "When we asked Mrs. Jiang about Fu Yuanzhou and Xu Jingxuan's motives for murder, she said that the specific reasons would have to be explained by you, Elder Jiang—she wasn't at liberty to disclose them." Elder Jiang's gaze was heavy and deep. After a moment of silence, the Elder slowly spoke, recounting the key points of the grudge between Jiang Yi and Fu Yuanzhou's mother and son. As police officers, they had seen and heard plenty of scandals among wealthy families. But hearing Elder Jiang personally recount his own family's dirty laundry still gave them a slight shock. It was only momentary, though—they quickly composed themselves and listened attentively, occasionally jotting down notes. Finally, Elder Jiang said in a deep voice, "My thoughts align with Yueying's. I believe Xu Jingxuan is the most likely suspect." The three nodded. Tang Jun said respectfully, "We will do everything in our power to investigate this case." Thinking of his son in the hospital with little time left, a deep sorrow filled Elder Jiang's eyes, and his voice carried a profound sense of helplessness and grief. "Thank you for your hard work. Please get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible." At the very least, Jiang Yi deserved to know who had killed him. He shouldn't have to die with his eyes open in regret. The three nodded solemnly and replied in unison, "Understood." Jiang Shixu's voice was cold and sharp. "I'll send people to assist with your investigation." ... Chu Tang had been lying in the intensive care unit for three days. On the fourth day, the doctor said visiting was allowed. Every day from 2:30 to 3:00 in the afternoon, there was a half-hour visiting window. For the first visit, Jiang Shixu wanted to go see Chu Tang, but Ruan Shaodong absolutely refused to allow it. Jiang Shixu didn't argue with Ruan Shaodong. His own daughter had nearly lost her life several times at the hands of that man, and this time she was hanging by a thread. Putting himself in Ruan Shaodong's shoes, if he were in that position, he too would absolutely refuse to let that man anywhere near his daughter again. Jiang Shixu understood Ruan Shaodong. But he still couldn't suppress the ache in his heart. These past few days had drained him completely. Chu Tang had just been snatched back from the jaws of death, and right on its heels, his father had collapsed. One Fu Yuanzhou had thrown their lives into chaos and turned the Jiang family upside down. After exchanging a few words with Ruan Shaodong, Jiang Shixu turned and walked away. Before he even reached Jiang Yi's hospital room, Jiang Shixu heard heated arguing from a distance. From the sound of it, it seemed to be Lin Yueying arguing with someone. Quickening his pace, Jiang Shixu rounded the corner of the corridor and arrived at the door of Jiang Yi's room. From afar, he had only heard Lin Yueying's voice, but now that he was closer, the argument became clearer, and Jiang Yi's weak, feeble voice also reached his ears. Jiang Yi: "What are you stopping me for? Living like this is worse than dying and being done with it—I'm going to die sooner or later anyway." Lin Yueying shouted through tears: "If you want to die, have you thought about Mom, Dad, and Shixu? How could they ever bear to see you go like this?" "What's the use of not being able to bear it?" Jiang Yi's voice rose slightly, hoarse as he spoke. "The doctors already said I have at most a month left. Whether I die sooner or later, I'm going to die!" "A month is still time!" Lin Yueying sobbed. "Every extra day you live counts." Jiang Yi's voice also grew choked with tears, sounding utterly anguished. "Living like this is pure torture. Every night I wake up in pain, painkillers and sedatives never stop, my hair falls out in clumps, and I can't eat a single bite of food. Tell me, what's the point of living like this? I'd rather be dead! Every day I open my eyes and count how many days I have left—I'm truly sick of this life. Let me die. Dying is easier than living."