Upon hearing the news, Jiang Fei broke out in a cold sweat.
Then he looked at Li Xiang with awe and asked the doubt in his heart, "Captain Li, how did you know?"
"It’s always good to be cautious."
"It seems you already had doubts about the Zhao Family. They can buy off a maid—it’s clearly not an ordinary person."
"Secretly investigate this maid and check her financial situation. I believe we can find a breakthrough soon."
"Yes, Captain Li."
Li Xiang hadn’t anticipated that just by visiting the Zhao Family, he would cause them to lose their composure.
That works well; they are in chaos themselves.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t really know where to look for the next breakthrough.
Now there’s direction; start with the maid.
Soon, the police brought out the maid’s personal information:
"Captain Li, this person is nad Zhou Xiaofeng, a local. She started working as a maid for the Zhao Family eight years ago, personally interviewed by the eldest daughter. After working for a while, she won the Zhao Family’s favor and has been there ever since."
"Interviewed by the eldest daughter of the Zhao Family?"
Upon hearing this news, Li Xiang suddenly thought of a possibility.
Could it be that the person who killed Elder Zhao was really his daughter?
Because her brother returned, the family’s inheritance would be left to him. Having worked hard managing the company for years, she’d have to give it all up without complaint because her brother ca back; who would agree to that?
"Yes, she was interviewed by the eldest daughter of the Zhao Family. Do you think it could be the eldest daughter?"
"Don’t speculate about things without evidence. How’s her financial status?"
"We investigated, and recently, she received a deposit of 100,000 yuan. The transfer account is overseas, but we couldn’t trace its origin. Also, she has a son who is addicted to gambling and has been in detention several tis because of it. That money was used to pay off his gambling debts."
All of Zhou Xiaofeng’s information was laid out; everyone could see the significant issues with this maid.
"Just as expected, the next step is to summon her to the station for a routine inquiry."
With key evidence in hand, the police imdiately summoned the Zhao Family maid, Zhou Xiaofeng, to the police station.
When Zhou Xiaofeng received the call from the police station, she was very surprised and did not know why the police wanted to summon her. Had she been exposed?
It shouldn’t be, right? Even if there is suspicion, it shouldn’t fall on soone like her who’s worked as a maid for eight years.
Could it be just a routine inquiry?
Feeling guilty, Zhou Xiaofeng did not tell Mrs. Zhao about being summoned by the police. Instead, she excused herself by saying there was sothing at ho and quickly headed to the police station.
At the station, Zhou Xiaofeng was taken to the interrogation room. Li Xiang received her.
"You’re Zhou Xiaofeng?"
"Yes, officer. I don’t know why you called here. I’m just a maid for the Zhao Family, and I know nothing."
"We didn’t call you here about the Zhao Family."
Hearing Li Xiang’s words, Zhou Xiaofeng secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it’s not about the Zhao Family, it’s fine: "Then...?"
"It’s about you."
"Huh? About ?"
Zhou Xiaofeng was shocked: "What about ?"
"We checked, and last week, there was a large sum of 100,000 yuan deposited into your bank account from overseas. Can you explain who sent you this money?"
When the police asked about the money, Zhou Xiaofeng beca flustered: "I... I have a relative overseas who is supporting us."
"Oh? What’s your relative’s na? We’ll verify it."
"This..." Zhou Xiaofeng had no overseas relatives, and now she was at a loss, stamring and unable to say anything concrete.
"Did you kill Elder Zhao?"
Seeing Zhou Xiaofeng’s psychological defenses crumbling, Li Xiang directly hit her with a sharp question, scaring her into a shiver: "What? No, no, it wasn’t ."
"You still say it wasn’t you? You’re the only one who could access Elder Zhao. That 100,000 yuan is your reward for murder."
"No, no, the 100,000 yuan is not a murder reward. I just promised him to get Elder Zhao’s phone for him to use; I don’t know anything else."
Zhou Xiaofeng panicked. Bearing the guilt of Elder Zhao’s murder was too much; she dared not hide anymore and admitted the truth.
"Him? Who is he?"
"His na is Ding Xiang. He’s a bodyguard for the Zhao Family. He asked to get Elder Zhao’s phone for him."
"Ding Xiang?"
Li Xiang took out his phone and showed her a photo: "Is it this person?"
"How did you?" Zhou Xiaofeng was even more astonished upon seeing the photo. She didn’t expect the police to investigate so quickly. She just ntioned Ding Xiang, and they already had his photo.
The police knew far more than she imagined, and her previous stubborn denial seed utterly ridiculous.
What Li Xiang showed her was a picture he took with his body cara of a man in a suit and sunglasses, who was Ding Yang.
"Tell us everything you know. If you hide anything, you know the consequences."
"I’ll tell you, after Elder Zhao completed his surgery and was recuperating well, that afternoon, Ding Yang ca to asking for a favor. I thought it was a small matter; we all work for the Zhao Family, nothing unusual. But I didn’t expect him to ask to take Elder Zhao’s phone while he was resting. Of course, I refused, and I was shocked when he threatened ... threatened ..."
When Zhou Xiaofeng said this, she paused, looking very uncomfortable, clearly indicating it was not a minor issue. Yet Li Xiang pressed on, "What did he threaten you with?"
"He threatened that if I didn’t help him, he’d expose for stealing Maotai liquor from the Zhao Family."
After revealing this, Zhou Xiaofeng seed sowhat relieved. For years, her excessive pampering and indulgence led her child to beco a gambling addict, squandering everything at ho. As a maid for the Zhao Family, she earned over ten thousand yuan a month but couldn’t support her son’s extravagant lifestyle; having debt collectors show up was unbearable.
To cover household losses, she resorted to stealing Maotai liquor from the Zhao Family using her work convenience.
Fortunately, the Zhao Family was wealthy, with their liquor storeroom stocked with Maotai boxes. Missing a few bottles wouldn’t be noticed since no one counted the inventory. When Elder Zhao drank, it was her job to fetch the liquor, making it easy to take.
But once, she was caught stealing by Ding Xiang during his patrol, leading to his threats.
The maid’s salary was high at the Zhao Family. Leaving under theft charges would make it impossible to find such a good job again, and her son’s debt would only grow, driving the family into despair.
"He said if I helped bring out the phone, he’d not only keep the theft a secret from the Zhao Family but also give 100,000 yuan. Helpless, I agreed."
"Indulging your child is harming him. Your son went down this path due to your excessive indulgence, and covering his gambling debts led you to cri."
By now, Zhou Xiaofeng was in tears, regretting her past actions.
But as a mother, seeing her son beaten by debt collectors tore her heart apart. What else could she do?
"Can I go back now? I have to prepare dinner for Madam."
Zhou Xiaofeng naively thought that by confessing everything, she could leave, unaware that her actions had broken the law, and she’d have to face legal consequences.
"Do you not realize you’ve committed a cri? Thinking about returning now? You are being detained."
"Ah?"
Not discussing Zhou Xiaofeng being criminally detained by the police, Li Xiang knew that Ding Xiang was the one who left the backdoor in the phone and set a controller on his vehicle. He imdiately ordered his subordinates for a full investigation on Ding Xiang.
Finding the thread to pull is the police’s forte. What they fear isn’t complicated clues but the absence of them.
Under the oversight of the task force, detailed information about Ding Xiang was laid out before Li Xiang.
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