Eyes that are the same as those of evil

Chapter 91 The Case of Burning the Corpse 9
Zheng Yan told Tan Ming to quickly take Yu Lan back to the police station.

This dramatic turn of events was truly unexpected. What usually happens between gamblers and husbands and wives is happening among people in their fifties, all over money for their grandson's medical treatment.

They were left unsure how to comment, and after much thought, could only sigh.

Life is mostly not easy.

Sighs rose and fell, but Tan Jia was still working on her dough sculpting, twirling the sculpting knife between her fingers and adding charred details to Zhou Qiaoan's face every few seconds.

Sculpting dough figures like a fashion designer.

Seeing her carefree attitude of openly slacking off, Zheng Yan felt less tense and even had time to comment on her improved dough sculpting skills. Compared to her first Harbin red sausage, this one was much more presentable.

After giving her feedback, I took a second look at her relaxed and easygoing demeanor and said, "You seem to understand different groups of people very well."

She casually remarked, "To live with people, you need to understand them; to integrate into human society, you need to understand more people; and to communicate with people, you need to delve deeper into their lives. Isn't it normal to know a lot after communicating with people for twenty years?"

Zheng Yan wanted to say that ordinary people wouldn't communicate based on understanding, but then she suddenly remembered Tan Jia's identity—Tan Jia was adopted by Tan Ming's uncle and aunt. Children like that are indeed more sensitive from a young age.

“That’s right,” his tone suddenly softened, and he praised her clay sculpture again, even giving her half of the snacks his daughter had given him. “When we interrogate Yu Lan later, you can listen outside. After the interrogation, it should be around lunchtime. Use my card to get a few more meat dishes.”

Tan Jia leaned back, looking at him suspiciously.

It's strange that you're suddenly so warm and gentle.

Yu Lan was quickly taken to the police station.

She was all alone; her son was tied up at home, her daughter-in-law had to take care of the child, and she was carrying a bunch of vegetables on her way to collect compensation, intending to sell them along the way.

She remained calm even when invited into the interrogation room, still appearing numb with exhaustion.

Zheng Yan presented the evidence he had found and asked seriously, "Yu Lan, why did you suddenly buy Zhou Qiaoan a large insurance policy two months ago?"

Yu Lan's face didn't even twitch: "We two old folks have worked our whole lives and still have no security. We thought we could rely on our son, but he can't either. Without insurance, we won't be able to afford medical treatment in the future."

"Is that all? Then why did you buy it two months ago? Your grandson is seriously ill and needs money right now, why did you have to use the money to buy insurance for Zhou Qiaoan?"

Yu Lan fell silent, her head bowed.

Zheng Yan pressed, "Is Zhou Qiaoan's death related to you? Don't you really know why he went out that night? According to people who saw him, he ran out of his house in a panic, trying to escape to the city as if his life depended on it. Is it because you wanted him dead?"

Seeing that she still didn't react, he used a more provocative tone and asked again: "Just to raise money for your grandson's medical treatment, you're willing to kill the person you've been married to for over thirty years? Do you think that even if your grandson survives with this money, he can still have peace of mind after finding out about this? Can you have peace of mind? Can your son and daughter-in-law have peace of mind?!"

Yu Lan let out a laugh.

"We can actually feel more at ease now that he's gone."

She lowered her head and picked the green dirt and grime from under her fingernails, speaking calmly about her family. "Zhou Qiaoan is an alcoholic, a gambler, and he also smokes and beats people. I'd rather not have married him and had to go out begging for food, digging in the ground to grow vegetables and sleeping under bridges than have him sucking my blood."

But things didn't go as planned. She married him, only to realize how awful he was after their son was born.

“In the early 2000s, my son was studying at the best junior high school, dozens of kilometers away. During the day, I would harvest crops on the mountain, and at night I would help take care of elderly people to earn money. I would give him the money and ask him to remember to pay for our son's tuition and food expenses. But he would turn around and use the money to gamble and drink. My son was so hungry at school that he stole food and begged people to share his meals. In the end, he ran away from school and borrowed money from a relative, and he survived on just twenty yuan. I only found out about this when he was on vacation... But Zhou Qiaoan stayed at home for a month and never told me anything. He went out to gamble with people every day, looking happy.”

“My son hates him and avoids him whenever he sees him. At that time, I made a promise with my son that I would divorce Zhou Qiaoan after he graduated from high school, and he would take me to college. We would definitely be able to live a good life.”

"In our senior year of high school, he was slapped by a drunk Zhou Qiaoan while trying to protect me. He hit his head on the door frame, suffered a brain hemorrhage, and became mentally unstable."

The signs of happiness came to an abrupt end; the mother and son collapsed at the end of their suffering, and from then on embarked on an even more arduous path.

Yu Lan paused occasionally while speaking, but her expression remained calm.

“After that, Zhou Qiaoan became a little more obedient, but he advised me to give up my son and have another one. I was unwilling, so I took my son everywhere to seek medical treatment. We ran out of money, but he still didn’t get better, so I accepted my fate.”

"A few years ago, I married my son to a woman with a slight disability, hoping to give him a child. What if he suddenly recovered while raising the child? The child was born healthy, weighing five pounds and six ounces, without any illness or disaster."

"Later it was Zhou Qiaoan again. He took the child out to play cards without paying attention, and the child got sick after returning home. He even kept it a secret from the child, not letting them know the source of the illness... and then the child missed the best treatment period."

“The whole family hates him. Although his son is mentally unstable, he can actually understand a little. He knows that his father has not only harmed himself but also the child. Several times he wanted to kill Zhou Qiaoan. One day, Zhou Qiaoan got drunk and fell into someone else's pond and almost died. I thought to myself, it would be better if he really died.”

Then she couldn't suppress the thought. She kept thinking about the benefits this matter could bring. Years of resentment piled up, and she stared at Zhou Qiaoan even at night.

The surveillance camera broadcast her voice as she spoke, and Tan Jia and the others took several deep breaths to suppress the thought that "Zhou Qiaoan really deserves to die."

Inside the interrogation room, Zheng Yan remained silent for a few seconds before continuing, "And then? You started planning how to kill him and get some money?"

Yu Lan lowered her eyes: "No need for any planning. It's very simple. Just wait until he's drunk and asleep, then untie the chains binding our son."

Let the son kill his father? Zheng Yan was stunned for a moment, but then, remembering the feud between the father and son, he regained his composure.

"But you didn't succeed, right? Zhou Qiaoan escaped, and then you secretly followed her, trailing her to Ghost Ridge Slope, waiting for the right opportunity to finish her off?"

Hearing this, Tan Jia stared intently at Yu Lan on the monitor, comparing her to the "her" in his dream. Could Yu Lan be the number one murderer?

But in her dream, she was from the killer's perspective and couldn't see what "she" looked like. No matter how she looked, she couldn't be sure.

At this point, Yu Lan answered.

“No,” her tears finally streamed down her weathered, deeply lined face, “I let him go. Being a demon is too hard. For decades, I’ve hated myself so many times for not killing him sooner, but I could never bring myself to do it… But heaven has eyes! He’s dead, a good death, a splendid death! I can now receive my compensation in good faith!”

Alas, life is mostly difficult.

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(End of this chapter)