Chapter 431: Chapter 406: The Spiked Barrel_1
Cao Pingzhang hurried to take out his phone, and in his rush, he made several typos while typing. Mr. Zhao took over and helped send the message.
Inside the interrogation room, Huang Youdao’s phone vibrated; he pulled it out, glanced at it, and a smile appeared on his face. Then he moved closer to Yang Liang and continued asking.
"Do you usually enjoy a couple of drinks?"
"Well, not much, just two liang in the evening. After my son died, I had to drink every day. I can’t sleep without it."
"Think carefully about the night of August 17. Who visited your home, who spoke to you, or maybe took something from your home? Also, you said Feng Shujuan had your keys; did you take them back? We didn’t find any keys in the cellar."
Yang Liang was startled for a moment.
"I didn’t pay attention. I thought Feng Shujuan had the keys. In the haste of burying the body, I didn’t check. But indeed, I didn’t see the keys at home. As for that night you mentioned, don’t mention it, I seemed to see Zhang Hongwei, but I thought I was dreaming after getting drunk. Why would he come to my house?"
Huang Youdao lifted his chin.
"Don’t rush; think carefully about what happened. What did you do at the time? Or do you remember anything Zhang Hongwei said to you, what he was wearing?"
Yang Liang shook his head. Just when Huang Youdao was about to give up, Yang suddenly paused in his movements.
"I remember now why it felt like a dream. I remember opening my eyes and seeing Zhang Hongwei coming in holding a red gift box, it looked like premium alcohol. Why would he visit me?
Especially since he had already told everyone in the village that he intended to marry Fu Chunyu and didn’t even mind my grandson’s existence. With our relation being so strained, why would he visit my house?"
Huang Youdao nodded, not bothering to clarify anything, and continued to ask:
"What about October 22? Did you drink that day?"
"I did. On the side of the coffee table in the living room, there was a barrel of alcohol. On the fifteenth of last month, I just bought a barrel of alcohol. I could drink two to three liang a day; my tolerance isn’t very good, and too much makes me a little drunk.
Because I was worried about having to lay the floor the next day, I went to sleep after eating and drinking. But I slept very heavily that night, and didn’t get up until the floor layers arrived the next day, and it was already past eight. However, I haven’t dared to drink these past few days after that."
Zhou Ning felt a shift in his heart at this point, knowing that old people generally have poor sleep. Being able to drink his usual amount and be semi-comatose was definitely not right; he looked back at Cao Pingzhang.
"Doctor Cao, there should still be people at Yang Liang’s house, right? Have someone check the room for the barrel of alcohol Yang Liang mentioned. Take the barrel back here directly, wearing gloves. We can test here to see if there’s any sedative in it, and of course, we need to check for fingerprints on the barrel as well as the alcohol content."
Mr. Wang raised his hand.
"The barrel, I’ve brought it back. It wasn’t sent to Qindao for examination; it was placed in the local laboratory. I think we do need to check its contents."
Cao Pingzhang hurried to make a phone call and not long after, he hung up and looked at Zhou Ning with shining eyes.
"The alcohol has been tested. There’s nothing wrong with the components; no drugs were added. However, the alcohol content reached 72°. According to the markings on the barrel, this alcohol should only be 38°. It looks like someone replaced the alcohol or mixed in some pure alcohol. No wonder Yang Liang passed out after drinking it, he’s lucky to have not gone straight to the morgue."
Having said this, Cao Pingzhang quickly edited a text message with this information and sent it to Huang Youdao.
Huang Youdao glanced at the message and walked over to Mr. Qu. He took a quick look at the display on the computer, 99% sure that everything Yang Liang said was the truth. The parts that raised doubts were only in the first few questions. Nodding, Huang indicated to the court clerk to send over the transcript.
"Yang Liang, if you think there are no errors or anything unclear, go ahead and sign it."
Yang Liang hesitated for a moment, but still took the pen and signed. As he put down the pen, he looked at Huang Youdao.
"Will I be executed?"
Huang Youdao shook his head.
"Don’t know, that’s for a judge to decide. But you’ve made a comprehensive confession, which should not result in a harsher punishment."
Yang Liang was led away, and Huang Youdao stretched lazily, feeling a sense of pleasure. After so many days, there finally was a glimmer of hope.
Liu Yongxin took off his headphones and took a sip of water. Mr. Zhao was the first to approach.
"Mr. Liu, don’t be hard on me, I just want to ask whether Yang Liang will be sentenced to death. I think Yang Liang is telling the truth. Feng Shujuan definitely took the money and ran, but now that she’s dead, only her children are left, and they will certainly hope for compensation."
Liu Yongxin sighed.
"Yang Liang is not yet sixty this year. According to how similar cases are handled, even if compensation is in place and the family’s forgiveness is obtained, the sentence will be reduced accordingly, but he would still serve no less than ten years in prison.
The house of Yang Guochang’s family is worth only about two hundred thousand, and the old house in his hometown is even less valuable. Even if all of it is counted together, it’s not much money, but if it all goes to Feng Shujuan’s family, even if Yang Liang is sentenced to ten years, what life will he have when he’s released?"
Zhou Ning nodded; what Liu Yongxin said was indeed true, and a very harsh reality at that.
If Feng Shujuan got along with her children, why would she have been left to live alone in Dayao City?
Seeing them only once or twice a year, even despised by her daughter-in-law during her confinement—how well could her family have treated her? They would probably be more eager for compensation this time.
Mr. Zhao shook his head; this question did not trouble him at all.
At this moment, inside the interrogation room, Zhang Hongwei had been brought in, and Mr. Zhao bumped Zhou Ning.
"This Zhang Hongwei is indeed quite smart," he said. "Do you think the death of Fu Chunyu’s husband has anything to do with him?"
Zhou Ning shook his head; this was something he had also considered before but couldn’t fathom.
"Listen, I can’t figure it out either. If he had already made up his mind during the New Year’s class reunion, then this Zhang Hongwei is too terrifying. This needs Mr. Huang’s judgment. There’s not much we can help with."
Mr. Zhao sighed, and everyone quieted down. Zhang Hongwei’s handcuffs were removed and he was cuffed to the interrogation chair, his face a mix of anger and disbelief.
"Do you police officers all eat shit? Can’t catch the real culprit, no evidence, so you just go hard at me, right? Is it because you want to make me the scapegoat? I tell you, you’ve got it all wrong. I’m getting a lawyer; I won’t say a word until the lawyer comes."
Huang Youdao laughed, arms crossed, casting a glance at the notebook in front of Mr. Qu.
There were prompt boxes on it, and seeing those, Huang Youdao directly sat down, crossed his legs in an unseemly manner, and started to fidget.
"I haven’t been able to eat or sleep well from October 27 until today, a total of thirteen days. Do you know why? Don’t look at me with that expression. I know my abilities are lacking, but I’ve brought in many experts, understand? A special investigation team has been assembled.
Your every move, how you skated through school days, how you led your cronies, how you scammed the villagers for money, how much compensation you embezzled from those responsible for accidents, how much more money you swindled from others, even the car rental company and the remnants inside the car—we know them all clearly.
See this? This isn’t just an ordinary laptop. It’s monitoring your physical actions, and can discern whether or not you are lying. So, put away your pretense of being irrationally angry, and that deeply affectionate front you have with Fu Chunyu."
You think throwing Fu Chunyu’s head, limbs, and the weapon in the cesspool makes them undetectable? Wrong. These pollutants do make the examination work more challenging, but it’s not impossible to analyze and distinguish. Now that it’s come to this, you might as well speak up yourself, starting with the class reunion."
Zhang Hongwei froze, unable to maintain his previous aggressive demeanor. It seemed that he was also trying to discern whether Huang Youdao’s words were true.
Huang Youdao wasn’t in a hurry; he picked up the examination reports and began to explain them one by one.
"Don’t believe me? That’s easy. Have a look at this. This is your bloodstain and fingerprint lifted from a tool in the greenhouse. See that? These two are completely identical. This is a glove found in the crevice of a Volkswagen Passat’s trunk; you didn’t notice it, did you?"
Zhang Hongwei’s expression changed, no longer the indignant fury from before. His gaze fell on those photos and reports, and Huang Youdao, without haste, laid out copies of screenshots from several bank accounts in front of him.
"Take a look at this. You think we can’t find the information if it’s not directly deposited into your account? You’re thinking too simply. The cash was withdrawn there, and the surveillance at the door saw you receiving the bag of money before going in for a deposit transaction.
As for the other amount, you let the party responsible for the accident directly deposit the cash into your card. When transferring the body parts to Menqiao Village, you actually thought of using Yang Liang’s tricycle. Such cunning isn’t common. Perhaps it was when you visited Yang Liang’s home on August 17 and saw Feng Shujuan’s body in the cellar, you thought of framing somebody else, didn’t you? What else do you have to argue?"
Zhang Hongwei fell silent, too weary to perform any longer; he simply closed his eyes and rubbed his thumb and forefinger together.
Zhou Ning watched this, his brows slightly furrowed.
If it were Xu Dayuan standing inside, Zhang Hongwei wouldn’t be so arrogant. After all, Xu Dayuan’s aura was much more oppressive, unlike Huang Youdao’s tepid manner. However, Zhou Ning held his tongue; after all, this was Dayao City.
They were here to help, not to take charge, so none of this was for him to question.
Meanwhile, Mr. Zhao grew somewhat impatient, rubbing his short hair and standing up to press his face against the one-way mirror.
"I mean, with this deadlock, when will it end? Zhang Hongwei is no kind soul, nor does he have any empathy. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have murdered and dismembered Fu Chunyu, who was near childbirth."
Zhou Ning was also anxious, but he knew that being anxious was useless. After some thought, he composed a text message and sent it to Huang Youdao. Mr. Zhao leaned in to peek, but Zhou Ning blocked him. After clicking send, Zhou Ning looked up towards the interrogation room.
Huang Youdao glanced at his phone, then subconsciously at the one-way mirror, and then promptly stood up, casting a meaningful look at Zhang Hongwei before walking over to the interrogation chair and tapping on the table with his finger.
Zhang Hongwei then opened his eyes, looking at Huang Youdao through the gaps between his fingers.
Huang Youdao opened the timer on his phone, starting a five-minute countdown, and then rolled up his sleeves to say in a measured tone:
"Don’t cover your face. I’ll say a few last words to you. As far as the police are concerned, the evidence against you for the murder of Fu Chunyu is conclusive. Don’t bother making any comparisons in your mind. You’ve been to the police station quite a few times before, and every time you stuck to your guns, you muddled through.
I’m telling you, that was the Public Security Division, but this is the Criminal Investigation Division—it’s completely different. I’ve just started a five-minute countdown. If you don’t want to speak when time’s up, we’ve done our duty, and it will be noted in the file that you refuse to confess.
Suspects who refuse to confess, as long as a complete chain of evidence is formed confirming the crime, cannot escape criminal punishment, and their sentences will be increased. However, you’ve already reached your limit, and it can’t get much worse. Still, getting fast-tracked for aggravated punishment is something I’m happy to see."
Huang Youdao looked at the timer. As the numbers ticked down, Zhang Hongwei’s breathing intensified. Zhou Ning exhaled in relief.
He’s panicking.
