The Plow

While gnawing chestnuts, Ling Shu was absorbed in his own thoughts, not even knowing when Cheng Si would leave.

After all, his energy was not as good as before, and he had just been injured, so he lost consciousness after thinking about it, and the half-eaten chestnut in his hand fell to the ground, rolling half of the room.

In a daze, someone bent down to pick it up and put it on the cabinet next to the hospital bed.

"You are always forgetful." The visitor said softly.

It wasn't Cheng Si's anxious voice, but the gentleness and sweetness in the memory, just like the bowl of iced sugarcane water in summer, without adding honey, it could still penetrate into the heart.

Ling Shu rubbed his eyes and turned over, and sure enough, he saw a man standing by the window with his back to him, pulling up the curtains.

"It's windy outside, if you just sleep with the door open, you'll blow your head later, it's even more difficult to recover."

"Du...Yunning?" Ling Shu asked suspiciously.

The cheongsam woman hummed.

"you are not……?"

Ling Shu wanted to ask if you were dead, but the words came to his lips, but he couldn't ask.

Du Yuning's temperament is very peaceful, not like the high-spirited her when she first married into Yuan's family, nor like when she later became a boudoir resentful woman, more like when she was studying in the past, carefree, don't have to think about anything, everyone With passion, you can pour it on the hot soil of youth.

"I'm not dead, I've been alive." Ling Shu heard her say, "Do you think I'm dead?"

Ling Shu sat up while supporting his aching head, and his vision became dark and blurred from time to time, the sky was getting darker, and as the curtains were drawn, he could hardly see Du Yuning's expression clearly.

"You are not dead? Then where are you? Do you know that we have been looking for you these days? Everyone in Shanghai thinks you are dead, and your husband Yuan Bing is also in prison!"

"I know."

Du Yuning's voice was very cheerful and light.

"Now is exactly the result I want. I hate him. If he hadn't locked me in this cage and watched me decay and rot, how could I have become addicted to smoking? Do you know that he still has other people outside? I'm an illegitimate child, I'm like a fool, I don't know anything. Why can he have three wives and four concubines, hugging left and right, and I have to live my whole life with Mrs. Yuan's chastity arch?"

Ling Shu: "So, you really have an affair with Hong Xiaoguang, who is he?"

Du Yuning: "Him? He is you!"

Ling Shu: "Nonsense..."

He was about to get up and pull Du Yuning, lest the other party run away, but when Du Yuning said that, he suddenly turned around, his face was pale and lifeless, the corners of his mouth were bleeding, and his two eyeballs almost fell out of their sockets, which was very scary.

Ling Shu suddenly broke out in cold sweat, his whole body trembled suddenly, and the carp jumped up like a jerk.

"you're awake?"

Du Yuning was gone.

There was a man sitting in her direction just now, looking down at the file.

It is Yue Dingtang.

Ling Shu was still in shock, and suddenly realized that he was having a nightmare.

"I just had a dream."

He panted slightly, his chest and back were wet, as if he had just been fished out of the water.

The slender neck was stretched straight, as if it would break at any moment.

"Nightmare?"

Yue Dingtang raised his head, took off his glasses, got up and turned on the light.

The room was brightly lit.

Ling Shu breathed a sigh of relief inexplicably.

But Yue Dingtang's next words made him tense again.

"Bad news, Yuan Bing is dead."

If you are really afraid, you will come.

Ling Shu was stunned for a moment, his head was buzzing, and he was a little confused for a while.

"How did you die?"

His lips were white and dry, and his voice was extremely difficult.

"Tobacco poisoning attack, terminal illness, no cure."

Yue Dingtang got up and poured him a glass of boiled water.

"I went one step late. He failed to rescue him. He just swallowed his last breath, and he didn't even have time to ask a word."

"Du Yuning's personal maid, that Alan also died, two people died within two days, both were key figures in the case, how could it be such a coincidence?"

Ling Shu drank a few sips of water, and then his throat felt much more comfortable.

Yue Dingtang: "I asked, before Yuan Bing died, someone visited him."

Ling Shu: "Who?"

Yue Dingtang: "Yuan Lingbo, Yuan Bingdao's second sister."

Ling Shu: "This person should have settled in Hong Kong a long time ago, why did he come back suddenly?"

Yue Dingtang nodded: "Yuan Bing has a separate cell, and he gets along well with the policeman. The person who came to visit the prison claimed to be his second aunt, and the policeman agreed to let her visit the prison."

Ling Shu couldn't help but said: "How lax is the jurisdiction of the arresting house in the dignified concession?"

Yue Dingtang snorted: "That's true, otherwise, how could people drink, play cards and eat supper inside?"

Ling Shu had an expression on his face that I couldn't understand what you were talking about.

His hair was wet with sweat sticking to his forehead, black and white were clearly distinguished, his breath was insufficient, and he couldn't support his usual chic and comfortable.

Yue Dingtang glanced at him and swallowed the ridicule that was on his lips.

"It stands to reason that if Second Aunt Yuan was fake, Yuan Bing would have found out immediately, but according to the police officer's confession, after this woman went in, she stayed there for about an hour without much movement coming out. After the other party left, he still I went in and took a look, and found that Yuan Bing was sitting there obediently, without making any noise. Half an hour later, there was a sound from inside. Yuan Bing said that he was unwell, and the condition was getting worse. The police quickly called for a doctor. But it's too late."

Ling Shu: "Food poisoning? Have you confirmed that the corpse is his?"

Yue Dingtang: "The corpse is indeed him, there is no doubt. His initial cause of death was determined to be an overdose of opium, that is to say, his second aunt went to visit the prison and brought him opium to smoke. The guard The police took bribes, so they hid it from us at first, and now they have been dismissed and questioned."

It is not an exaggeration to say that money can turn ghosts around. It is not an exaggeration to apply it to the current Shanghai Beach.

Although Yuan Bing was temporarily detained due to suspicion, the Yuan family still had some wealth, which was enough for him to buy through the patrol room and live comfortably in it. Moreover, because of his identity, everyone did not dare to mess around. No one would ask, and he was let in so easily, and had close contact with Yuan Bing.

No one knew what they talked about in that hour, and whether that woman was Yuan Bing's second aunt, all of these would become a complete mystery after Yuan Bing's death.

If there is no accident, even if they have turned the whole Shanghai up, they still cannot find a woman named Yuan Lingbo.

"What about Alan, what's the autopsy result?" Ling Shu turned to ask the maid.

"You may not believe it." Yue Dingtang said, "Now the preliminary report shows that Alan was indeed hanged and strangled to death."

Ling Shu: "This doesn't completely rule out homicide. If someone puts her in a coma first and then puts her on a hanging rope, she can also be hanged and suffocated to death without any abnormalities being detected."

Yue Dingtang shook his head.

"Whether it is or not, it doesn't matter now."

Before, they wondered why if the other party came for Yuan's house, why didn't they attack directly from Yuan Bing, but went through Du Yuning first. Not long after they said this, something happened to Yuan Bing.

Once the news of Yuan Bing's death gets out, it will definitely cause a sensation again, adding more complicated and confusing colors to this mysterious case.

Many novelists may be inspired by this and make up more bizarre plots, and the Yuan family trilogy serialized in newspapers and periodicals can also make a lot of money because of this.

However, these have nothing to do with the case itself, and will even make the case farther and farther away from the truth.

What if we turn our eyes back from the cause of death of the three people and jump directly to the result?

After becoming a policeman, Ling Shu has been involved in many cases, ranging from trivial to major unsolved cases. There are many things that happen in Shanghai every day, and there are more cases that cannot be solved. Many files have already accumulated dust and dust at the bottom of the box. When he has nothing to do, he will go to the archives to browse slowly, and no one will urge him to read it quickly. This has become a kind of pastime and pleasure for him.

From these cases, Ling Shu also gradually realized some thoughts.

For example, when you seem to be led by a ball of thread, ignore the rope for now, you can try to get past the person pulling the thread and go to the front, and you may find another scene.

"Does Yuan Bing have an illegitimate child?"

"No." Yue Dingtang said with certainty. "Although Yuan Bing is a romantic outsider, his long-term smoking of opium should still have a certain impact on his fertility."

Ling Shu: "Yuan Bing has three aunts. If both Yuan Bing and Du Yuning die, it stands to reason that the inheritance of the Yuan family should be inherited by the three aunts. But the third aunt is dead and has no children. The eldest aunt is far away. The United States has not yet received news of the Yuan family's accident, and the only second aunt, Yuan Lingbo, came to visit him before he died."

Yue Dingtang: "That's right, but once she appears, it will be difficult to get rid of the suspicion of killing her nephew and plotting property. If this Yuan Lingbo is real, it is impossible for her to appear again."

Ling Shu: "If there is no one to inherit the property of the Yuan family, the government will take it back and confiscate it, and re-auction the house."

Yue Dingtang frowned.

He made a gesture to signal Ling Shu not to speak further.

But he himself did not make a sound for a long time, apparently trying to clear his mind.

Ling Shu thought of the maid, Alan, and Yuan's house.

This woman is bound to be a key part of it.

She might have been an insider, or a participant, so she had to die.

In order to cover up some things, the murderer killed people and silenced them, thinking that death would be the end of the matter, but from another point of view, the more dead people, the more flaws there would be.

"I'll check Alan's background first."

"I want to visit Yuan's house."

The two spoke almost simultaneously.

Yue Dingtang: "Although the death of Yuan Bing and Alan is unfortunate news, it also has an advantage, that is, it will indirectly clear your suspicion. Now you don't have to be so anxious."

Ling Shu: "The sooner the case is solved, the sooner I can completely get rid of the suspicion. Otherwise, the murderer will go unpunished, and I will definitely be suspended by the police station for probation. My career ideal is to be a policeman, and I don't want to lose this job."

This job of eating and waiting for death and leisure.

he added inwardly.

Yue Dingtang had a look of seeing through but not telling the truth.

"The doctor asked you to rest more, you should not walk around now."

"I think I'm much better." Ling Shu rubbed his head, "I dreamed about Du Yuning just now."

Yue Dingtang was silent.

For them, although this name is already a memory of the past, the memory is still there and will never be erased.

Du Yunning is so sad now, but her past was so pure and beautiful.

That is the past that belongs to both of them.

Although she didn't say anything, everyone wanted to comfort her spirit in heaven with the truth.

"Tomorrow, after the doctor's rounds make sure you can be discharged from the hospital, we will go to Yuan's house to have a closer inspection." Yue Dingtang said.

Ling Shu yawned: "I think we should have missed some important details last time."

Yue Dingtang saw that he was tired and pale, so he sorted out the files in his hand and got up.

"You have a good rest, I'll come back tomorrow."

"Walk slowly, don't turn off the lights." Ling Shu slid into the bed and pulled the quilt up over his ears.

"Are you afraid of the dark, or of ghosts?" Yue Dingtang teased.

The man didn't say a word, as if he was asleep.

Yue Dingtang smiled, walked to the door, was about to open the door, seemed to think of something, and turned his head again.

"By the way, I forgot to ask you. You said you were just making pictures for fun. After practicing writing with your left hand for a few years, why did you change hands when you even shoot? Is it just for fun?"

Ling Shu remained motionless.

For a long time, when Yue Dingtang was about to leave, he heard the other party's sleepy voice.

"I'm a policeman. I can use my left and right hands, so I can save my life at critical moments. You don't understand if I tell you."

The author has something to say:

A small theater that has nothing to do with the main text:

Yue Dingtang: Let me tell you a ghost story.

After hearing this, Ling Shu didn't change his face, and remained calm.

Yue Dingtang thought to himself, I'm not afraid. Could it be that I was wrong?

While he was getting up to smoke, Ling Shu took out the earplugs and threw them into the wastebasket.