"Brown hair?
I remember Xiahou Jin had brown wavy long hair.
Could it be her?"
After hearing Leng Ningyue's answer, Lin Qingge habitually rubbed her chin and analyzed:
"This single strand of hair is not enough to prove that Mrs. Shangguan did anything to Mr. Shangguan.
However, the documents in this drawer were all signed by Mr. Shangguan just last night.
Mr. Shangguan is so clean that it's almost impossible for him to let such an unsightly strand of long hair be in his drawer.
And according to the testimony of the butler, Old Wang, Mr. Shangguan never left the study last night.
This means that after Mr. Shangguan was murdered or lost consciousness last night, Mrs. Shangguan must have come to the study!
However, questioning the shrewish and unreasonable Mrs. Shangguan with such a strand of hair will not yield any results, but rather alert the enemy.
I suggest that Senior Sister Leng keep a close eye on Mrs. Shangguan.
By the way, Senior Sister Leng, does everyone in your family know that the will was locked in the safe by Mr. Shangguan?"
"Yes.
Not only the will, but my father also locks important property deeds in the safe."
"Since Mrs. Shangguan knew that the will was locked in the safe by Mr. Shangguan, and she still sneaked into the study last night, it means she wasn't looking for the will.
Judging from the scope and traces of her search, she should have been looking for paper documents.
Senior Sister Leng, do you know what kind of business Mr. Shangguan has been doing recently, and with whom he has had significant financial dealings?"
Leng Ningyue shook her head, "I don't know much about business matters, but I can ask some uncles and elders who are familiar with the Leng family."
At this moment, Yan Tinghao pushed the door open and walked in:
"Boss, your water is here!
Oh... Miss Leng is here too!"
Lin Qingge took the water cup handed over by Yan Tinghao and took a sip, but accidentally choked.
"Cough cough cough—Cough cough cough—"
Lin Qingge coughed violently. Leng Ningyue almost instinctively placed her hand on her back, patting it gently to help her catch her breath, then took out a handkerchief to wipe the water from the corner of her mouth.
After completing this series of actions, Leng Ningyue said with a hint of helplessness:
"You're so old, why are you still so careless."
"I can't help it. It's because all my good luck recently has been used to meet Senior Sister Leng, so much so that I choke even when I drink cold water."
"Then I'll leave?"
Leng Ningyue shot her a glare. Lin Qingge quickly waved her hands:
"No, no, no. Being able to see Senior Sister Leng again, let alone choking on cold water, I'd even be willing to get hit by a car if it meant seeing you!"
Hearing this, Leng Ningyue directly reached out and covered Lin Qingge's mouth, her voice tinged with anger, and reprimanded:
"Talking nonsense again!"
...
Yan Tinghao, who had witnessed the whole scene, touched his stomach, which felt inexplicably full despite not eating much breakfast, and said with a sense of unease:
"Boss, are you and Miss Leng a couple?"
Lin Qingge, who was asked, was stunned for a moment, then grinned and said:
"I fell in love with Senior Sister Leng at first sight and pursued her vigorously. Unfortunately, Senior Sister Leng was only focused on her studies, so I could only be heartbroken.
Now that I see her again, I realize that my past affection has not faded with our separation, but has become even more passionate and intense, like aged wine, making it difficult for me to contain myself."
"Tsk tsk, no wonder Detective Lin had such strong emotional fluctuations when she first met Miss Leng. It turns out she saw her beloved~"
Hua Jinrong, who had finished her business, appeared at the doorway at some point, leaning lazily against the doorframe.
"But even if it's your beloved, you shouldn't curse yourself.
It truly lives up to my father's words: love makes people blind.
Boss, you are such a smart person, yet you've fallen for love.
I've made up my mind!
From now on, I will stay away from love and focus on learning how to be a detective by your side!
At worst, I'll hire someone to look after my family property.
If that's not enough, I'll have my parents give me a younger brother or sister while they're still young."
???
Lin Qingge, who couldn't quite understand the straightforward yet peculiar thought process of the person in front of her, decided to ignore her and shift her attention back to the current case.
Lin Qingge briefly explained her findings to Hua Jinrong. After listening, Hua Jinrong called for the butler, Old Wang.
"Old Wang, did your master drink anything last night?"
"Reporting to Investigator Hua, our master has a habit of drinking hot milk every night, and last night was no exception.
However, after I heated the milk, I ran into the second young lady. She said she had something to discuss with the master and offered to take the milk to him."
Lin Qingge frowned slightly after hearing this:
"Are you sure it was the second young lady, and not Mrs. Shangguan?"
"Although the second young lady and the mistress look very much alike, I'm not so old and blind that I would mistake one for the other."
"Did you see anyone else go into the study last night?"
"Well...
I basically went back to my room to sleep after serving the master his milk every night.
My master's legs are not very good, and he needs a cane to move around. The study is equipped with a bed and a bathroom, so the master basically never left the study all night.
If the master had to leave the study, I, living downstairs, would wake up when I heard the sound of the cane, as it has become a conditioned reflex over the years.
That's right!
Lawyer Lin came last night before I went to bed.
He arrived in a hurry, and his hair was still damp, so he must have been called over by the master suddenly."
"Lawyer Lin?"
Lin Qingge's late father was also a renowned lawyer, so hearing these three words unexpectedly caused her to pause.
"The Lawyer Lin you're referring to, is it Lawyer Lin Yan, who returned from overseas not long ago, has won several cases in a row, and is currently quite in the spotlight?"
"Precisely."
Butler Old Wang nodded in confirmation:
"This Lawyer Lin was introduced to my master by someone else. My master hired him as the legal advisor for the Shangguan family.
All matters concerning the will are also fully handled by this Lawyer Lin."
"Do you know what Mr. Shangguan said to Lawyer Lin?"
"I don't know about that, but Lawyer Lin didn't stay long, leaving after about fifteen minutes."
Lin Qingge thought for a moment and asked again:
"Lastly, did you, the butler, clean the cup from which Mr. Shangguan drank his milk?"
"Strangely enough, I usually clean my master's milk cup the next morning.
But when I got up this morning, I found that the master's milk cup had already been taken to the kitchen, washed, and put back in its place.
The second young lady has always been delicate and hasn't done such chores, so it doesn't seem like she would do this..."
Upon hearing this, Lin Qingge looked at Hua Jinrong, who understood and immediately sent someone to go with the butler to retrieve the milk cup for examination.
Shangguan Hong, as the richest man in Harbin, lived a life of extreme luxury, even his daily milk cup was expensive.
When the young police officer collecting evidence learned the price of the cup from the butler, he was so startled that he carefully held it with both hands, afraid of accidentally chipping or breaking it.
Since there were no forensic services at the time, Hua Jinrong could only have the cup sent to a university laboratory capable of performing pharmacological testing.
After a tour of the study yielded no other findings, Lin Qingge followed Hua Jinrong and the others downstairs.
In the first-floor hall, she saw the "Lawyer Lin" mentioned by the butler, Old Wang.