Hu Jia interrogated Wu Neng overnight, which startled Wu Neng, who had just relaxed. However, when Hu Jia placed the 18 envelopes in front of Wu Neng, he finally understood where he had gone wrong.
"Indeed, I switched the letters inside," Wu Neng no longer argued. He was afraid that if he didn't tell the truth, the murder charge might actually fall upon him.
"Do you know why Yi Ran was so rich? He was just a small postman, yet he lived better than most people in this city. Is that normal?" Wu Neng pointed to the letters on the table, "This is not normal! Because this damned Wu Neng actually used these举报信 (reports) to extort people."
It turned out that as a postman, Yi Ran was in charge of delivering mail to the Supervisory Bureau. At some point, Yi Ran discovered this "path to riches" through extortion.
Because he knew that most of the letters sent to the Supervisory Bureau were related to举报 (reports), he secretly withheld the letters and threatened the reported individuals.
And Wu Neng was one of them.
These past two years were a period when Chongqing was vigorously developing its education sector, with many public schools built in the urban areas. Each school would have various material supplies, and Wu Neng, being in the logistics department, naturally handled a significant amount of funds.
As the money flowing through his hands increased, his integrity began to decay.
Wu Neng's corrupt behavior was quickly recorded and anonymously reported to the Supervisory Bureau.
However, the举报者 (reporter) never expected that his report letter would not reach its destination but would be intercepted by Yi Ran halfway.
In a way, Yi Ran could be considered a man of his word. According to Wu Neng, Yi Ran had extorted money from many people over the years, but he was still quite disciplined. Once he received the money, he would hand over the letter and never resort to double threats.
What was even more infuriating was that those who were corrupt were also happy to have Yi Ran help them intercept the举报信 (reports). After all, compared to being reported, they would rather spend some money.
Therefore, Yi Ran indirectly became a "roadblock" for the举报者 (reporters) and an accomplice to corruption.
Previously, Wu Neng honestly paid money to redeem his letters. However, his transfer order had recently come through, and he would be working in another department, meaning he would no longer handle logistics.
Thinking that he would have no opportunity to commit corruption and gain money in the future, and having been threatened by Yi Ran for years, Wu Neng decided to deal with Yi Ran before his transfer, disrupt his work, and vent his anger.
However, unexpectedly, at this critical juncture, Wu Neng actually died.
Wu Neng died, and Huang Yuan also died.
But Wu Neng thought of those举报信 (reports). He decided to follow Yi Ran's example and take advantage of the举报信 (reports) to make a fortune. This led to his act of stealing the letters.
"How did you know the letters were at the Chuanxisuo?" Lu Qingqing asked.
"Huang Yuan told me," Wu Neng explained.
"So, you really had that kind of relationship with Huang Yuan?" Lu Qingqing thought the love letter was fake and believed Huang Yuan hadn't cheated. She didn't expect to have misjudged her.
"Yes, we hid it very well, and Yi Ran didn't know at all," Wu Neng replied.
So, Yi Ran, to his death, was unaware that he was wearing a cuckold's hat. Lu Qingqing truly felt sorry for that man. However, considering that man was not a good person either, it could be considered retribution.
"You administered the poison?" Hu Jia just wanted to confirm the crucial point.
"This really wasn't me. Everything I said earlier is true. I was about to be transferred out of the logistics department, so why would I kill him?" Wu Neng paused, "Besides, I wished he was alive. He treated Huang Yuan quite well and was very generous. With him supporting Huang Yuan, I wouldn't have to worry about that woman pestering me for money."
Damn it!
Lu Qingqing wanted to curse him: "Scumbag!"
Although they hadn't found the killer, it did reveal a piece of information to Hu Jia and the others: Yi Ran wasn't well-liked, but rather, he had too many people he could threaten, which made him seem influential.
However, according to Wu Neng, those who were reported must have wanted to pay to resolve their issues, avoiding their举报信 (reports) from actually being sent to the Supervisory Bureau. Therefore, from this perspective, those people would not only not kill Yi Ran but would rather wish him to live.
Then, who exactly killed Yi Ran?
...
Since no clues could be found from Wu Neng, they had to go to the deceased.
After all, in many cases, the body itself is the witness.
"How is it?"
Hu Jia was very concerned about the killer's method of poisoning and was curious about how the deceased had been poisoned. If they could find the carrier of the poison, perhaps they could follow the trail.
"It has been confirmed that both of them died from oral poisoning. Ricin was found in their oral cavity, throat, and stomach," the forensic doctor handed over the monitoring report.
There were two ways to be poisoned by ricin: oral ingestion and injection.
If it was oral ingestion, the killer would have had multiple ways to administer the poison, but if it was injection, it would be relatively more limited.
"And what's strange is that Huang Yuan was like she fell into a castor bean pool. Her entire body, including her neck, face, and ears, had ricin, including some sensitive areas."
The forensic doctor pointed to the autopsy report, "Yi Ran's case is simpler, with the poison simply entering through his mouth."
Uh...
This discovery was quite surprising.
Why would Huang Yuan cover her entire body with ricin?
To cover the entire upper body, head, and private parts with castor beans is certainly not something an ordinary person would do. If it was done, there would only be one possibility: the ricin was voluntarily applied by Huang Yuan.
But what was her purpose in doing so?
After returning from the forensic doctor's office, Hu Jia kept thinking about this matter.
He couldn't figure it out.
Sometimes cases are like this; just as one mystery is solved, another one immediately arises.
Lu Qingqing knew that Hu Jia would likely have trouble sleeping tonight, so she specially made a bowl of noodle soup and brought it to him.
If it were any other time, she could have persuaded him to rest. But now, because of Li Yang, she couldn't.
So, she could only stay up with him.
The two of them carefully studied the 18举报信 (reports), and their contents left them stunned.
From corruption and bribery to bullying and abusing power, from abuse of power to murder for money.
The crimes of the reported individuals were simply unforgivable.
"Parasites, all of them are parasites of the country," Hu Jia was so angry he wanted to arrest them immediately.
"Don't worry, none of these people will escape," Lu Qingqing compiled all the举报信 (reports) into a binder. They had already agreed to secretly investigate these individuals first. Once they were cleared of any involvement in Huang Yuan's poisoning case, they would have Luo Wenwu send these举报信 (reports) to the Supervisory Bureau.
Those who have made mistakes can never escape the judgment of justice.
"Don't stay up late with me. Solving a case is not something that can be done overnight." Looking at Lu Qingqing beside him, Hu Jia suddenly felt a pang of heartache.
"You know yourself that it can't be done overnight, so why do you stay up all night?" Lu Qingqing was indeed a bit sleepy, yawning several times.
But she just didn't want to sleep. She wanted to show Hu Jia with her actions that if he insisted on staying up, she would stay with him, unless he didn't care about her.
"Alright, I know I was wrong. My mind is stubborn, and I can't figure things out immediately. I will try my best to get enough rest in the future."
Hu Jia admitted his fault first. He finally understood what it felt like to want someone close to him to sleep, but they refused to listen.
"I'm going to wash my face and then get a little sleep," Lu Qingqing said, preparing to go home.
"Hey!" Hu Jia said anxiously, reaching out and grabbing Lu Qingqing's hand. "Um, you should sleep here tonight, don't leave."