Chapter 20

Liu Mumu was taking a nap in her room and hadn't woken up yet when she vaguely heard someone crying and shouting outside, making it impossible to sleep.

Irritated, she climbed out of bed, rubbed her eyes, and opened the door.

From the second-floor hallway, she could see the living room downstairs. Jiang Li was trying to comfort Jiang Jia, who was wailing.

Jiang Jia looked completely different from the polished beauty she'd been the last time they met. Her makeup was smeared from crying, her eyes were swollen and red, and her hair was a mess.

She was crying and cursing at the same time. Liu Mumu listened carefully. Jiang Jia was cursing Zhan Hongye for being utterly heartless and doomed to die without descendants, Zhan Huitian for being a treacherous, ungrateful wolf, and Zhan Ni for being a jinx.

Jiang Li seemed to share her feelings. She patted Jiang Jia's back to comfort her while saying things like they should sue them.

Quite the lively scene. Liu Mumu watched from the second floor for a while.

Jiang Li was the first to notice her. She sat up straight and looked over warily.

Jiang Jia, on the other hand, only turned around belatedly. The moment she saw Liu Mumu, it was as if all the anger she'd suffered in the Zhan family had suddenly found an outlet.

Grabbing Jiang Li with one hand and pointing at Liu Mumu with the other, she said, "Sis, you have to believe me. That girl in your house is a jinx, just like Zhan Ni. Neither of them is any good.

"Every time they walk through the door, something happens to the family. Isn't that how our Old Zhan ended up dead? Those two little beasts teamed up and drove me out of the house. Don't be fooled by how she's acting like a decent person now. If something really happens to your husband, she'll be the first to turn on you."

Jiang Li glanced warily at Liu Mumu and scolded Jiang Jia in a low voice. "Shut up. Don't talk nonsense."

She wasn't like Jiang Jia. Jiang Jia might have seemed well off, but the money was actually all in Zhan Hongye's hands.

When Jiang Li married Dong Zhenghao, they hadn't even signed a prenuptial agreement. Old Dong might have had his own little schemes, but for the sake of the son she'd given him, he couldn't treat her unfairly.

The only thing she wasn't happy about was the extra Liu Mumu. One day, she would inevitably take money that should have gone to her son.

Jiang Li had originally been confident in her plan, thinking she could easily handle an inexperienced young girl with a few little tricks. But after seeing what Liu Mumu could do, she no longer dared to entertain those crooked thoughts.

Besides, no matter what, Old Dong valued his son most. Even if some money went to someone else, the bulk of it would still be theirs.

She could think of it as paying for peace of mind.

Jiang Jia had no idea what her sister was thinking. Seeing that Liu Mumu didn't take her seriously at all and was leisurely walking past them toward the kitchen, she grew so agitated that she was practically hopping around.

"Sis, listen to me... Mmmph..."

Jiang Li had no intention of listening. She clamped a hand over Jiang Jia's mouth.

When Liu Mumu suddenly stopped and turned to look at them, Jiang Li hurriedly forced a smile and stiffly explained, "She's in a bad mood and talking nonsense. Don't take it seriously."

Liu Mumu hadn't taken it seriously, but she held grudges.

"If I were you..." She smiled at Jiang Li. "I'd stay away from her."

The smile on Jiang Li's face froze. Her heart lurched.

Liu Mumu continued unhurriedly, "Your sister's got bad luck hanging over her. Spend too much time with her, and it'll rub off on you."

Since these sisters liked telling people's fortunes so much, she couldn't let them down.

Besides, she wasn't lying. She'd read Jiang Jia's face the first time they met. Now, she was simply seeing her initial judgment come true.

Jiang Li quickly withdrew her hand, pushed Jiang Jia to her feet, and said, "All right, I've got things to do. You should head home for now. We'll talk later."

Coming from Jiang Li, that "we'll talk later" probably meant "don't contact me again."

How could Jiang Jia not understand what her sister meant? She was about to explode. Her expression changed abruptly as she stood up and confronted Jiang Li. "Jiang Li, what's that supposed to mean? You believe this little bitch after she says a few words, but you don't believe your own sister?"

A trace of awkwardness flashed across Jiang Li's face, but even so, her own interests mattered more. "That's not what I mean. I really do have things to do. You should go home. Old Zhan transferred several houses to you before, didn't he? He didn't exactly treat you badly."

Jiang Jia could hardly keep herself from cursing. What kind of thing was that to say? And from her own sister, no less.

Back when Jiang Jia had mocked her for having a lower standing in the Dong family than the housekeeper, Jiang Li had been furious on her behalf. Now the tables had turned. Seeing the disbelief on Jiang Jia's face, Jiang Li secretly relished it.

Jiang Jia was so angry she was panting. She glared viciously at her own sister, then at Liu Mumu, who was watching the show, and pointed at them. "Just you wait. You bunch of snobs!"

Then she grabbed her bag and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

Liu Mumu didn't even spare her another glance. She'd just watched a free soap opera. She poured herself a glass of water and went upstairs.

Less than ten minutes later, the front door suddenly opened again.

Thinking Jiang Jia had come back, Jiang Li looked over impatiently. Instead, she saw Dong Zhenghao walk in, scruffy and unshaven.

Zhan Hongye had died so suddenly that everyone was still in shock. The whole family had forgotten there was still a Dong Zhenghao out there, drifting around.

"H-husband, why are you back?"

Dong Zhenghao had just left the police station after being questioned all day. He didn't feel like saying a word.

Even hearing the news of Zhan Hongye's death didn't make him happy anymore.

He sat down on the sofa, and the sour smell of sweat wafted over. Jiang Li shifted back a little. "Have you eaten?"

"Just find me something to eat. Where's Mumu?"

"She's upstairs. I'll go get her." Jiang Li found two slices of bread in the kitchen for Dong Zhenghao to tide him over, then went upstairs to call Liu Mumu.

Liu Mumu was a little surprised to hear Dong Zhenghao was home. As soon as she came downstairs, he said, "Zhan Hongye is dead. The police suspect I did it. They brought me in the night before last."

"Oh." Liu Mumu answered calmly, thinking, What a coincidence. They suspect you, and they suspect me too.

What do you call that? A family that gets into trouble together stays together?

"Do you know what happened?" Dong Zhenghao asked tentatively.

"Why are you so curious? The police have already started investigating. As long as you didn't do anything, it has nothing to do with us." Even if she knew what had happened, Liu Mumu wouldn't tell him.

Dong Zhenghao, who had done a few things himself, said awkwardly, "I'm just worried about complications."

Liu Mumu was speechless. "Your business rival is gone, and all you can think about is how he died? Is money really that hard to earn?"

Dong Zhenghao's eyes lit up. That was exactly what he wanted to hear. Could anything be more important than making money?

Jiang Li felt that, in Liu Mumu's eyes, her father was probably nothing but an emotionless money-making machine.

Still, well done!

The Dong family remained as "harmonious" as ever. Meanwhile, the Zhan family's villa, with the lady of the house driven out and only the brother and sister left, felt rather quiet.

Zhan Huitian needed to claim the inheritance and take care of various procedures. He had plenty to deal with, so Zhan Ni was left at home alone.

She took care of her own lunch and dinner. It wasn't until ten that night that Zhan Huitian came home, carrying something that looked quite heavy.

He glanced at Zhan Ni, who was still sitting in the living room, and was about to head upstairs when she said, "You're back, Brother. Have you eaten? I warmed up some food for you in the kitchen."

Zhan Huitian stopped and replied, "Not yet."

"Wait in the dining room. I'll bring it out."

He hesitated, then nodded and turned toward the dining room. As he passed the living room, he set the bag down on the sofa.

Zhan Ni carried the food out, only to find that Zhan Huitian wasn't in the dining room. She went looking for him in the living room, but he wasn't there either.

Then she heard water running in the first-floor bathroom and figured he was probably washing his hands.

As she turned, the corner of her eye caught the sofa, and she noticed the bag.

Curious, she walked over and peered inside. Whatever was in it seemed long and cylindrical, wrapped in newspaper. One part wasn't fully covered, and she could just make out the material underneath.

It was a familiar shade of gray.

It was clearly Dad's vase. Why was it in her older brother's hands?

Before Zhan Ni could figure it out, the water in the bathroom stopped. Zhan Huitian walked out and saw her standing beside the sofa. He suddenly asked, "What are you looking at?"

Zhan Ni was so startled she nearly jumped. She managed to keep her expression steady and asked as casually as she could, "I was looking at the thing you brought home. What is it?"

Zhan Huitian's gaze swept over her face. "Oh," he said casually. "Someone gave me a vase. Be careful with it. Don't break it."

His attitude made it hard for Zhan Ni to tell whether he knew what the vase was for.

After her father disappeared, the police had come to search the house with a warrant. They hadn't seemed to find anything. After they left, she'd secretly searched the study herself, but she couldn't find the vase.

She'd thought the matter had ended with her father's death. Then, today, her older brother had brought the vase home.

After finishing dinner, Zhan Huitian carried the bag containing the gray vase back to his room. Zhan Ni hesitated for a long time in the kitchen, but eventually decided to contact Liu Mumu.

For reasons she hadn't quite figured out herself, she didn't tell Liu Mumu that the vase was in her older brother's hands.

Zhan Ni: Mumu, are you there? Dad's been in trouble these past few days, and I haven't had a chance to contact you. You're not mad at me, are you?

Liu Mumu was a little surprised when she received Zhan Ni's message.

She knew Zhan Ni fairly well. Zhan Ni did well in class, but didn't get along with her classmates. In simple terms, she was proud and conceited. Sometimes, she'd overhear something someone said without meaning any harm and assume they were deliberately targeting her. Eventually, everyone kept their distance.

After Liu Mumu had rejected her so bluntly last time, someone with her personality shouldn't have contacted her again.

But perhaps her father's recent death had left her with no parents, and she was feeling upset and looking for someone to talk to.

Liu Mumu didn't think much of it and replied with a single line.

Liu Mumu: I heard your father passed away. My condolences.

She wasn't angry with Zhan Ni, but their personalities were so different that they probably weren't suited to being friends.

Zhan Ni: Thank you. There's something else I wanted to ask you. The vase my father had is missing. Do you think whoever got it might come after me?

Liu Mumu frowned. The vase was missing?

Liu Mumu: As long as you don't give anyone the chance to draw your blood, you'll be fine.

Zhan Ni: But didn't you say someone could use a person's birth date and time to harm them?

Liu Mumu: Yes, but they need your exact time of birth. Unless you tell them, most people would have a hard time finding it out. You don't need to worry too much.

Her answer didn't put Zhan Ni at ease. It only made her more nervous.

Most people would have a hard time finding out, of course. But her family knew.

Whenever they celebrated their birthdays, her mother would go on about what time the two siblings were born and how difficult the births had been.

So she knew her brother's birth time, and he knew hers.

Zhan Ni gripped her phone so tightly that her fingers turned faintly blue and white.

Two days later, Zhan Huitian received a notice from the City Bureau. The autopsy was complete, and they could take care of the paperwork to claim the body.

This time, Zhan Huitian only brought Zhan Ni to the City Bureau. He didn't notify Jiang Jia.

When they arrived at the police station, however, Zhan Huitian discovered that Jiang Jia was already there.

He glanced at Jiang Jia, his expression darkening slightly.

Zhan Ni, by contrast, politely greeted her. "Hello, Aunt Jiang."

Jiang Jia didn't even spare her a glance.

Fang Chuan watched the family's strange way of interacting and stepped forward. "Would you all come with me to take care of the paperwork?"

"Sorry for the trouble," Zhan Huitian said politely.

Jiang Jia gave a quiet snort and followed them, swaying along in her high heels.

With Fang Chuan leading the way, they quickly completed the process. Next, a family member had to confirm that the body was indeed the deceased.

Fang Chuan took them to see the body. Zhan Hongye's remains had been well preserved and hadn't changed much since they'd last seen them.

For victims of special cases, the autopsy wasn't the most important thing. The body had been kept to remove any unclean substances lingering on it and prevent contamination.

After treatment, Zhan Hongye's body had returned to normal. It had been stitched up again and looked even more complete than before.

Zhan Huitian signed the paperwork and had the people he'd hired take the body away.

Fang Chuan escorted them to the police station entrance. Only as he was leaving did Zhan Huitian deign to speak to Jiang Jia. "Dad's funeral will be held as scheduled in two days. As his wife, I hope you won't be late."

With that, he got into the car without looking back.

Jiang Jia clenched her hand, her long nails digging into her flesh, but she was still furious.

She turned and saw that Fang Chuan was still there. Her eyes shifted, and she asked, "Officer, do you know how the investigation into my Old Zhan's case is going? Do you have any suspects?"

Fang Chuan replied, "Sorry, we can't disclose specific details of the case for now. The investigation is still ongoing."

Jiang Jia hadn't really expected an answer. She smiled. "I understand the difficulties you're facing, but..."

She drew out the last word, then leaned closer to Fang Chuan, looking mysterious. "I suggest you look into Zhan Huitian. He and his father had a conflict a long time ago. He acted respectful to his father on the surface, but who knows how much resentment he felt inside?"

"Does Ms. Jiang have any specific evidence to provide?"

"When we first got married, Old Zhan was extremely harsh when disciplining the children. Zhan Huitian wasn't exactly a high achiever, so he got beaten a lot. He even said he'd kill his father sooner or later."

"Does Young Master Zhan seem very mature now?" Fang Chuan prompted.

"That was all for the money. Old Zhan was so furious that one time he said if Zhan Huitian didn't behave, he'd send him back to his mother, and he wouldn't get a cent of the family's money. He was scared out of his wits. That's why he became more and more obedient."

Fang Chuan nodded slightly. "So, did Mr. Zhan leave his entire inheritance to Young Master Zhan?"

The moment Jiang Jia heard that, she was overcome with anger. Her expression cooled. "You bet. Even his own daughter didn't get a thing. He took it all."

"Thank you for providing us with this information, Ms. Jiang. We'll verify it carefully."

That was exactly what Jiang Jia wanted to hear. Even if Zhan Huitian really was innocent, she couldn't let him take all the money without paying a price.

She nodded in satisfaction, picked up her bag, and left.

"What do you think?" Fang Chuan asked Yan Xiu, who had appeared behind him at some point.

Yan Xiu's dark eyes followed the direction Jiang Jia had gone, his thoughts unreadable. He asked, "Have you confirmed where Zhan Huitian was on the night of the banquet?"

"Between ten and midnight, he said he went to a friend's bar. But we only have surveillance footage showing him entering and leaving, and interestingly enough, the bar has a back door."

"What about witnesses?"

"The only person who could give us a clear time saw him after eleven. We can't confirm that Zhan Huitian wasn't there when Zhan Hongye was beaten."

Yan Xiu nodded and turned to head back.

Fang Chuan followed behind him as he said, "A witchcraft artifact can't be away from its owner for long. Based on my original theory, it should have been left in the Zhan family home, but clearly it wasn't."

"Our people searched his study and confirmed something had been taken from a spot on the display shelf. I suspect that was the witchcraft artifact. Could he have taken it out that night?" Fang Chuan guessed.

"Even if he did take it out, clearly someone else arrived at the scene after he was attacked. They may have done something to him, then taken the artifact and his phone. There must have been information on the phone that he didn't want anyone to discover."

While reviewing the surveillance footage at Binjiang Building, they'd noticed some strange details. Four of Zhan Hongye's ribs had been broken, apparently from being beaten that night. But when he entered Binjiang Building, he showed no sign of pain and walked normally. That wasn't how an ordinary person would have reacted.

Fang Chuan summed up the situation. "That night, Zhan Hongye left home with the artifact, possibly to meet someone. He trusted that person, so I suspect it was the one who gave him the artifact. But he was beaten up by a group of people on the way. Afterward, someone took the artifact and used some method to make him return to Binjiang Building to wait for death. Looking at it this way, it doesn't seem to have much to do with Zhan Huitian?"

Yan Xiu stopped and turned his head to ask Fang Chuan, "What has Zhan Hongye been doing with the artifact all these years?"

"Eliminating rivals? I looked into it and narrowed the period down to the past five years. There have been five deaths involving people who were at least somewhat connected to Zhan Hongye. All five cases were similar to the Qin Kai case, and the victims had all been his business rivals."

"To put it simply, he killed people for money."

Fang Chuan agreed with that assessment.

"Then what did the person who gave him the artifact want?"

Fang Chuan blinked. "Could it have been money too?"

"Five years ago, Zhan Hongye's company received an overseas investment. Every year, more than half of the company's profits went into overseas accounts. A rough estimate puts it at over a hundred million yuan." Yan Xiu curled his lip.

Fang Chuan shivered at his words. "The way you put it, this sounds like a whole chain of schemes. Zhan Hongye got the artifact five years ago and started killing people, and his company received investment that same year. There's a lot more going on here than meets the eye... As his heir, Zhan Huitian took over the company and its shares. Does he really know nothing?"

Yan Xiu neither confirmed nor denied it. He was only responsible for providing necessary leads; solving the case had nothing to do with him.

Zhan Huitian himself knew nothing about the police's suspicions.

After claiming his father's body, Zhan Huitian began making funeral arrangements.

Fortunately, once you paid, the funeral home had a well-established process. The deceased's family didn't have to worry too much.

That day, the Dong family was also invited to attend the memorial service. Dong Zhenghao and his wife were all that was needed, but after a moment's hesitation, he decided to bring Liu Mumu along too.

This was the third funeral Dong Zhenghao had attended that month. Old Dong wasn't the least bit sad. On the drive to the funeral home, he even hummed a little tune the whole way.

That bastard Zhan Hongye had tried to hurt someone and ended up getting hurt himself. Just thinking about it made him happy.

That kid Zhan Huitian had even wanted him to read the eulogy. As if! He didn't just not want to read it; he wanted to sing "Good Days" instead.

But for the sake of appearances, he calmly declined the offer.

Many people had come to pay their respects. Most of those present had heard about the Zhan family's inheritance dispute, as well as the rumors surrounding Zhan Hongye's cause of death.

Still, everyone at the scene wore expressions of deep sorrow.

Even Jiang Jia put on the full act of a bereaved widow.

Liu Mumu stood beside Dong Zhenghao, keeping a low profile and freely observing everyone who came and went.

For instance, Jiang Jia kept wiping her eyes, but hardly shed any tears. And Zhan Ni kept bowing to those who came to pay their respects, looking utterly heartbroken.

Liu Mumu didn't quite understand. What was she so sad about?

Then she spotted the fortune-teller she'd met once before, Mr. Ning.

Zhan Huitian personally received Mr. Ning, treating him with great respect. Mr. Ning offered a stick of incense, then left.

The ceremony ended about two hours later, and then the group went to the cemetery.

Only then did Zhan Ni finally spot Liu Mumu among the crowd. Their eyes met, and Zhan Ni walked over to her.

Dong Zhenghao didn't stop her. He took Jiang Li aside, leaving the two women alone.

He hated Zhan Hongye with a vengeance, but he wasn't about to take it out on his children. And his sister-in-law being driven out by the Zhan family's children had nothing to do with him, either.

She was Jiang Li's sister, not his. If Jiang Li didn't care, what did it have to do with him?

Liu Mumu stayed by Zhan Ni's side through the funeral.

The crowd began to disperse in twos and threes, and the two women walked slowly.

Up ahead, two tall men were heading out of the cemetery, chatting as they went. They hadn't noticed anyone behind them.

Their conversation carried easily to the two women.

One of them asked the other curiously, "Did the Zhan family really leave the entire inheritance to his eldest son?"

The other sighed. "A little over a month ago, Mr. Zhan asked me about changing his will. After all, he had a daughter, too. Unfortunately, he didn't get the chance."

Liu Mumu felt Zhan Ni's hand suddenly tighten around her arm. She frowned and shook it off.