Chapter 61 Interrogation

Upon receiving the order, Fang Zhou rushed to Yifeng City with his men and launched a comprehensive investigation into Li Hui's vehicle.

Li Hui was pregnant with Yang Qi's child. In all his years as a police officer, this was the most absurd case he had ever encountered.

From the discovery of the victim's body until now, he had never once suspected Li Hui. One reason was that Yang Qi had exposed himself so quickly; the other was the identity of being a mother.

Both reasons were fatal, severely clouding the investigators' judgment.

The only person in the entire special investigation team who remained calm and clear-headed seemed to be Han Ling.

He dared to think, dared to investigate, and found nothing bizarre about it at all.

Fang Zhou realized that he was beginning to lose his ability to read this kid Han Ling, harboring a vague premonition that the branch bureau's criminal investigation detachment was about to welcome an extraordinary figure in the future.

"Deep cleaned?"

The trace evidence examiner from the criminalistics technology squad inspected Li Hui's car inside and out, reached a conclusion, and reported it to Fang Zhou.

"Yes, it was definitely deep cleaned. The kind of deep clean where the seats and the trunk are completely stripped out. It would cost at least two hundred yuan."

A standard car wash cost only ten yuan back then. Two hundred yuan showed just how meticulous the cleaning must have been.

"Under these circumstances, finding any traces is virtually impossible," said the criminal policeman from the technology squad.

Without wasting any time, Fang Zhou gave the order: "Pack up and head back."

...

The branch bureau.

Observation room.

Through the one-way perspective glass of the observation room, the situation inside the interrogation room was clearly visible. The room served for monitoring, recording, and case analysis, while also providing investigators with a place to observe and gain experience.

At this moment, Ji Bowei and Hu Lihui were both standing there.

The interrogation had entered a heated phase. The two men discovered that this kid Han Ling really had a knack for interrogation; almost every sentence he uttered caused fluctuations in Li Hui's emotions. This indicated that he had a profound understanding of the criminal suspect's psychology, coupled with sharp insight.

Criminal police officers needed to understand suspects, but it was a double-edged sword. As time went on, one encountered all sorts of people, including perverts and madmen.

Once you could fathom the mind of a pervert, you were not far from becoming one yourself. It required a strong inner core and willpower, along with occasional psychological counseling.

A police officer pushed the door open and entered, his voice urgent: "Captain Ji! Captain Hu! Surveillance footage has captured Li Hui's car! It was on the evening of the second day of the Lunar New Year! That's the mandatory route leading to the corpse dumping site!"

Their previous targeted investigation into Yang Qi had caused them to completely overlook Li Hui.

The two turned around, and Ji Bowei asked, "Who was driving? Is it clear?"

The police officer replied, "The lighting conditions were poor, so we can only make out the vehicle model and license plate. We can't see the driver's face. Short hair, not Li Hui—it looks very much like Yang Qi."

The surveillance cameras of that era were generally standard definition, and nighttime capture results were quite poor.

Recently, the Ministry of Public Security had issued directives strongly promoting the application of high-definition surveillance equipment.

"Should we inform Han Ling?" the officer asked.

Ji Bowei looked toward the one-way glass and said, "Not yet. She's about to crack; don't interrupt."

Officer: "Understood."

Interrogation room.

Under Han Ling's psychological pressure, Li Hui's defense was gradually crumbling. Her expression slightly distorted, the makeup she had originally applied to enhance her appearance now made her look like a female ghost: "You think you understand me? A punk behind the ears, what do you know about life? What do you know about wasted years?!"

Han Ling tapped the filter of a cigarette against his fingers without lighting it, and replied, "Believe it or not, I actually do."

Li Hui cursed, "You know your grandmother's—!"

Han Ling smiled: "Your illicit affair with Yang Qi is the primary motive for the crime, but this alone probably wouldn't be enough to make you harbor murderous intent against your own biological daughter.

All these years, you must have harbored some resentment toward her, haven't you? Or rather, you blamed all your negative emotions and wasted years entirely on Hou Jiarou.

When Hou Jiarou caught you and Yang Qi in the act, it erupted completely. You might have regretted it after sobering up, but the result could no longer be changed."

Li Hui grew furious and tried to stand up, but her body was tightly bound and unable to move.

"Behave yourself!" a police officer in the interrogation room warned, "Stop moving around!"

Li Hui stared fixedly at Han Ling. When they met a few days ago, why hadn't she realized this little bastard's inner thoughts ran so deep?

Had the police of today really reached such a level?

"I don't want to guess. Tell me yourself, what on earth did Hou Jiarou mean to you?" Han Ling clamped the cigarette between his lips and flicked a lighter, igniting it. "If you don't talk, I really will go ask Yang Qi."

Li Hui gritted her teeth, and after a long while, said coldly, "Haven't you already caught Yang Qi? Why are you still targeting me? Who suspected me, was it you?"

Han Ling: "The progression of a case is the result of the joint efforts of the entire special investigation team. We are police officers; we will not let go of any suspicious clues."

Hearing this, Ji Bowei and Hu Lihui in the observation room exchanged glances, sighing and shaking their heads helplessly.

This guy's emotional intelligence was actually quite high.

"Were you at the scene when Hou Jiarou died?! Don't waste my time here!" Han Ling suddenly raised his voice and slammed his palm heavily on the table.

Li Hui shouted angrily, "I was! So what?! Not only was I there, but I even held Jiarou down for Yang Qi! Are you satisfied now?!"

Han Ling: "Shouting at me? You think you're justified in conspiring to murder?! And killing your own daughter, no less! I'd like to ask where your humanity is!"

By this point in the interrogation, Li Hui had completely abandoned all restraint, screaming: "If I hadn't been blind back then and met her father, could I have lived in a daze for over twenty years?! If I hadn't been saddled with this dragging burden, could I have missed out on those outstanding men?!

Look at her—she was looking more and more like her father day by day. Just looking at her made my blood boil!"

Han Ling's tone softened: "But... you raised her to adulthood, didn't you? You didn't abandon her.

Now I understand why Hou Jiarou was so resistant to intimate relationships. It was because of your unconscious indoctrination since childhood, which made her feel that men ultimately cannot be relied upon.

You must have cursed her father ten times a day, right?"

Li Hui: "Did I curse him wrong? Her father was never any good to begin with!

Not only did she look like him, but her personality was becoming more and more like his, and she even dared to lecture me? She thought she was all grown up!"

Han Ling: "The lecturing you mentioned refers to the romance between Zhao Zhiqiang and you?"

Li Hui: "Yes!"

Han Ling understood.

Li Hui had multiple motives for the crime. If she had truly loved Hou Jiarou, even if their illicit affair had been exposed, she could never have brought herself to strike.

The motive stemmed from four aspects.

First, Li Hui hated Hou Jiarou's father, and as that resentment spilled over onto the innocent, she gradually grew to loathe Hou Jiarou as well.

Second, burdened with Hou Jiarou, Li Hui suffered multiple setbacks in the marriage market. Coupled with her high standards, she had remained single until now. Without a daughter, she might have married a quality man long ago.

For women in the marriage market, there was a "contempt chain" ranging from high to low: the most popular were unmarried and childless, followed by divorced and childless, thirdly divorced with a daughter, and fourthly divorced with a son.

Li Hui was on the third tier. She could only choose whatever was left over after the first two tiers had made their picks, so the quality naturally varied.

Unless fate intervened, but unfortunately, Li Hui had never encountered her own share of fate.

Third, the need for control. Her daughter had been utterly obedient to her since childhood, but began to slip out of control in adulthood, and after getting married, started acting in outright defiance, even strongly interfering with the romantic development between her and Zhao Zhiqiang.

Fourth, and most importantly, Hou Jiarou had walked in on her illicit relationship with Yang Qi. Once word got out, she would be completely socially executed and have no face left to meet anyone.

The pent-up resentment of over twenty years suddenly erupted, culminating in tragedy.