Siheyuan: Sap is the last word

Xu Damao's face changed. "You...what nonsense are you talking about! How could I be related to Jia Zhang's death!"

Liu Haizhong narrowed his eyes and looked Xu Damao up and down, "Xu Damao, I warn you, you'd better not let me catch you! Otherwise, I will never let you go!"

After saying that, Liu Haizhong turned and left, leaving Xu Damao standing there alone, his face pale and trembling all over.

......

In the interrogation room, the lights were dim and the atmosphere was depressing. He Yudong sat on a cold chair, facing the interrogating police's repeated questions.

"What's the conflict between you and Jia Zhang?"

"I...I don't have any conflicts with her, we just have some arguments from time to time..."

"Quarrel? As far as we know, you and Jia Zhang often quarreled, and you even beat her, right?"

"I...I didn't hit her! I just...just pushed her..."

"You pushed her? Jia Zhang is an elderly lady. If you pushed her, it could have caused her death! What else do you have to say?"

He Yudong felt that he had no way to defend himself. No matter how he explained, the police seemed to have determined that he was the murderer.

"Comrade police officer, I really didn't kill Jia Zhang! I just came back from outside today and I still have 500,000 yuan in cash. How could I possibly kill her!"

"Five hundred thousand? Where did you get five hundred thousand?" The policeman's eyes suddenly became sharp.

He Yudong had no choice but to tell the police about the jade pendant sales. After hearing the story, the police immediately sent someone to Jubaozhai to verify the situation.

He Yudong spent a long night in the interrogation room. He didn't know what his future would be like, he only knew that his life had been completely changed.

......

The next morning, the police brought He Yudong an unexpected piece of news: Liu, the shopkeeper of Jubaozhai, confirmed that He Yudong did sell a jade pendant and received 500,000 yuan in cash. Moreover, after forensic identification, Jia Zhangshi did not die of poisoning, but of a sudden heart attack.

All the evidence shows that He Yudong had nothing to do with Jia Zhang's death.

He Yudong was finally cleared of suspicion and released.

He dragged his tired body back to the courtyard, only to find that the yard was still bustling with people.

"Shazhu is back! Shazhu is back!"

The neighbors gathered around and asked about the situation.

He Yudong ignored them and went straight to his room. He just wanted to have a good sleep and forget all this.

However, when he opened the door, he was stunned.

In the room, a ragged woman was sitting on his bed, holding a baby in her arms, looking ahead with empty eyes.

This woman was Qin Huairu.

"You...why are you here?" He Yudong asked in surprise.

Qin Huairu raised her head and looked at He Yudong, her eyes full of despair and helplessness.

"Silly, I...I have nowhere to go..."

He Yudong looked at the baby in her arms with mixed feelings. He knew that Jia Zhang's death was a huge blow to Qin Huairu.

He sighed and said, "You stay here first."

Qin Huairu nodded gratefully, tears flowing silently.

He Yudong closed the door, walked into the yard, lit a cigarette, and took a deep breath.

He looked up at the sky, feeling confused.

Although Jia Zhang's death had nothing to do with him, it completely changed the trajectory of his life.

He didn't know what his future would be like, but he knew that he had to stay strong and live on.

Just then, a figure appeared stealthily at the gate of the courtyard.

This person is Xu Damao.

He was holding a package in his hand and had a sinister smile on his face.

He walked to He Yudong's window and quietly stuffed the package in...

He Yudong felt cold all over, and the metal touch of the handcuffs made him feel like he was falling into an icy cave. He was taken to the police car, and the bumps along the way made him even more upset. Jia Zhang's death was like a huge rock pressing on his heart, making him breathless. He kept thinking about what happened, trying to find a clue to prove his innocence.

The police car stopped at the entrance of the police station, and He Yudong was taken into the interrogation room. The glaring incandescent light shone on his face, making him feel very uncomfortable.

"Name?" a young policeman asked in a serious tone.

"He Yudong."

"Do you know why you were brought here?"

"I don't know." He Yudong shook his head. He knew he had to stay calm and not lose his composure.

"Someone reported that you were involved in Jia Zhang's death." The police stared into He Yudong's eyes, as if trying to find some flaws in his eyes.

"I didn't kill her!" He Yudong's voice trembled a little. He felt like he had fallen into a huge trap and couldn't climb out.

The interrogation that followed was like a nightmare. The police kept asking him about his relationship with Jia Zhang and his whereabouts on the day of the incident. He Yudong answered all the questions truthfully, but he could feel that the police did not believe him.

He thought of the jade pendant and the letter, and felt even more uneasy. Was it really because of these two things that he was involved in this storm?

The interrogation lasted for several hours, and He Yudong was exhausted both physically and mentally. In the end, due to lack of evidence, the police had to temporarily release him.

Walking out of the police station, He Yudong felt like he had been through the gates of hell. He looked up at the sky, which was gray, just like his mood.

He walked aimlessly on the street, not knowing where to go. He had lost his job, his home, and now he was a murder suspect. He felt that his life had come to a dead end.

At this moment, he suddenly thought of Qin Huairu. Jia Zhang was dead, Qin Huairu must be very sad, he wanted to go see her and comfort her.

He came to the gate of the courtyard, but hesitated. He was now a murder suspect, and if he went in, it would definitely cause everyone to talk about it. He didn't want to bring more trouble to Qin Huairu.

Just as he was hesitating, Qin Huairu came out of the yard. She saw He Yudong, was stunned for a moment, and then walked over quickly.

"Yudong, are you okay?" Qin Huairu's eyes were full of worry.

"I'm fine." He Yudong forced a smile, but his pale face and haggard look betrayed him.

"I know you must be very sad. I...I am also very sad." Qin Huairu's voice choked, "Mom...she...she just left like this..."

He Yudong looked at Qin Huairu's sad face, and his heart was filled with pity. He reached out and patted her shoulder gently, wanting to comfort her, but he didn't know what to say.

"Yudong," Qin Huairu raised her head and looked at him with tears in her eyes, "I believe you, you will never hurt my mother."

He Yudong's heart felt warm, and Qin Huairu's trust made him feel extremely comforted.

"Thank you, Huairu."

"Yudong, what are you going to do now?" Qin Huairu asked with concern.

He Yudong smiled bitterly. What else could he do? He could do nothing.

"I don't know. Let's take it one step at a time."

"Yudong," Qin Huairu hesitated for a moment, then said, "If you...if you have nowhere to go, you can...you can stay at my house first."

He Yudong was stunned. He didn't expect Qin Huairu to say that. He looked at Qin Huairu with gratitude in his heart.

"Huai Ru, thank you, but..."

"Stop talking, Yudong," Qin Huairu interrupted him, "I know you're having a hard time right now, so don't be polite to me. Besides, I... I also need someone to accompany me now."

He Yudong looked at Qin Huairu's pleading eyes and finally nodded.

"Thank you, Huairu."

A smile appeared on Qin Huairu's face, and she took He Yudong into the courtyard.

The people in the yard were surprised to see He Yudong and Qin Huairu coming back together. They began to whisper and talk about it.

He Yudong could feel those strange looks, but he ignored them. He just wanted to have a good rest and then find a way to prove his innocence.

At night, He Yudong lay on the bed where Jia Zhang had died, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. His mind was full of Jia Zhang's death, the jade pendant, and the letter.

He stood up, took out the jade pendant from his pocket, and examined it carefully in the moonlight. The jade pendant was emerald green all over, with exquisite carvings, and it was obvious at a glance that it was worth a lot of money.

He remembered what Manager Liu said, that this jade pendant might be hiding some secret.

At this moment, he suddenly noticed that there seemed to be some pattern engraved on the back of the jade pendant. He turned the jade pendant over and carefully identified it, and found that it was a strange symbol.

He had never seen such a symbol before, it looked like an ancient text, full of mystery.

He had an idea and took out the letter, comparing the words on the letter with the symbols on the jade pendant.

Suddenly, he found that a word on the letter paper was exactly the same as the symbol on the jade pendant!

He was shocked. Could there really be some connection between this letter and this jade pendant?

He continued to compare and found a few more words on the letter paper, which were the same as the symbols on the jade pendant.

He connected these identical symbols and found that they actually formed a sentence:

"At midnight, at the ancient well in the back mountain."

What does this sentence mean? Where is the ancient well in the back mountain?

He Yudong was filled with doubts and curiosity. He decided to find out tomorrow.

The next morning, He Yudong came to the back mountain. He followed the instructions in the letter and found the ancient well.

The ancient well was surrounded by weeds and it looked like no one had been there for a long time.

He Yudong took a deep breath and bravely looked towards the wellhead.

It was pitch black in the well and I couldn't see anything.

He hesitated for a moment, then picked up a stone from the side and threw it into the well.

"Boom!"

After a muffled sound, an echo came from the well.

At this moment, He Yudong suddenly heard a voice behind him:

"what are you doing?"

He Yudong felt his head buzzing, and everything in front of him became blurry. He was like a moth caught in a spider web, struggling helplessly, but getting deeper and deeper. Jia Zhang's death was like a huge rock, pressing heavily on his chest, making him breathless.

He was taken to the interrogation room, where the glaring light made it hard for him to open his eyes. The interrogator slammed the table and shouted, "Tell me! How did Jia Zhang die? What's your grudge against her?"

He Yudong trembled all over and stammered, "I... I don't know... I don't have any grudge against her..."

"Nothing to celebrate? Then why did you go to see her before she died?" The interrogator pressed on step by step, his tone aggressive.

He Yudong tried desperately to recall, but he couldn't remember when he went to see Jia Zhangshi. He only remembered that he went to Jubaozhai, and then... and then returned to the courtyard...

"I... I don't remember... I really don't remember..." He Yudong's voice became smaller and smaller, almost inaudible.

"Don't remember? I think you are pretending to be stupid!" The interrogator stood up suddenly, walked in front of He Yudong, and looked down at him condescendingly, "Do you think we can do nothing if you don't tell us? We will find evidence! When the time comes, you can just wait to go to jail!"