Red Bean Lives in the Republic of China - Chapter 18.2

Chapter 18.2

He Yunqin and Yu Hongdou left one after the other without saying a word.

After a brief period of silence, Yu Hongdou turned to face He Yunqin and said, “Mr. He just now…thank you.”

He Yunqin smiled and stated, “I just want to solve this problem at night,” as he calmly glanced into the alley on the other side. “It’s a waste of time, and I don’t want to stay.”

Yu Hongdou thought. ‘He Yunqin seemed to be afraid that I would think too much.’ But no matter how emotional she was, she would not misunderstand that He Yunqin has a good impression of her. She curled her lips slightly and looked away.

The two didn’t talk to each other for a long time. After waiting for a while, Yu Chongyi finally got away and came out to look for them.

In front of He Yunqin, Yu Chongyi said nothing about what happened just now and just pushed the bicycle and said, “Mr. He, thank you just now.”

He Yunqin said, “Peter Wang will definitely come back after going out; let’s go look elsewhere. According to reports, Chen Baidie disappeared from her apartment in the French Concession. The apartment should have been sealed. I wonder if Mr. Yu has a key to the apartment. If so, I think it is better to go with you,” He Yunqin said.

“I do,” Yu Chongyi replied. “Chen Baidie has been missing for eleven days, yet her flat key is there. The police have made multiple trips inside to look into this. It’s likely been destroyed, even if there are any traces in the flat.”

After giving it some thought, He Yunqin nodded and said, “It’s better than nothing.” Nowadays, there are too many people, which is annoying. Come on, let’s go have a look when it’s quieter outside.”

“There are a lot of things going on tonight. Maybe we will be busy all night. You have to go to school tomorrow, so go back soon. Don’t follow us to Wang Peter’s place,” Yu Chongyi softly advised Yu Hongdou as she sat on his brother’s bicycle rear seat.

“Brother, remember that I have a good memory; even if it’s nothing else, I’ll help you with that,” Yu Hongdou replied, shaking her head. “I’m not able to assist you, but I can always direct you towards resources. After Wang Meiping’s terrible death, my greatest fear is that cousin Yuqi will follow in her footsteps and be killed. I’m not going to be able to sleep soundly even when I go home.”

Realising her brother was not letting her come, Yu Hongdou shook Yu Chongyi’s arm and whispered, “Brother, just let me go with you, okay.”

He Yunqin had never before seen Hongdou behave like a baby. It was unconscious, yet she spoke in a very clear and quiet voice. After listening to a few words, he felt her voice was right under his ears, blowing at him in an itchy way. By some strange coincidence, he actually raised his hand and touched the back of his neck. He still felt a little uncomfortable, so he took out a cigarette from his trouser pocket and put it in his mouth.

After being pestered by Yu Hongdou for some time, Yu Chongyi turned to face He Yunqin in shame. Seeing that He Yunqin had no objection at all, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said to Yu Hongdou, “Then you call home first, so as not to worry my mother. You can help me tonight. Let’s look for information, and when we go back to the French Concession, I’ll take you home.”

****

Peter Wang returned from his trip as expected. At first, he was pleased to hear Luo Dai mention that He Yunqin had paid him a visit, but then he noticed He Yunqin walking around with the Yu brother and sister; his smile vanished.

Peter Wang greeted He Yunqin and just went outside the room.

Ignoring him, He Yunqin walked to the study, squatted down and flipped through the piles of books in a corner, and said to Hongdou and Yu Chongyi, “All the information on weird folk rumours collected by Inspector Wang is here. You should search carefully first. If you find anything, tell me. I’ll take a closer look at Wang Meiping’s autopsy sheet.”

After giving a nod, Hongdou divided the information into two halves and assigned his brother to handle each. He Yunqin examined the autopsy page while sitting on the flannel sofa armchair next to him.

In the inner room, the three were rummaging through stuff and talking. Outside, Peter Wang remained still.

“The injuries on Wang Meiping’s body were all got in the past week, and judging from several large-scale soft tissue contusions and fatal penetrating wounds to the chest, the murderer was almost cold-blooded when he committed the murder,” He Yunqin said, scowling as he turned over the autopsy sheet. “The murderer was willing to treat Wang Meiping properly for the previous three months, which raises the question of why he was acting so cruelly.”

A groan sounded outside, and it appeared like Wang Peter had shifted in his chair.

“The forensic examination showed that Wang Meiping had never been assaulted before her death, and she had not been beaten in the past three months,” Yu Chongyi responded, lowering his voice.

Yu Hongdou lowered her head to flip through the information and said, “Brother, compared with her appearance when she was alive, Wang Meiping, when Wang Meiping’s body was found, her hair was neatly combed, her face was wiped clean, and her head and face were not damaged. So it was very easy to identify her.” She sighed and continued, “I mean, according to her relatives, she suffered from “malnutrition” and other ailments before the kidnapping. I’ve seen the pictures of Wang Meiping’s body. It was a little overweight.”

Yu Chongyi: “…”

He Yunqin had been studying this problem for a long time. After hearing this, he smoothly reported the number written by the foreign forensic doctor. “122 pounds.”

Yu Hongdou recalled Wang Meiping’s photo before she vanished and asked, “How tall is she?”

He Yunqin said concisely, “4 feet eight.”

Pondering for a few seconds, Yu Hongdou nodded very slowly and said, “For this height, 122 pounds is considered plump. It can be seen that Wang Meiping has been well fed since she was kidnapped.”

When she had finished speaking, she kept looking for information.

Wang Peter coughed outside, but He Yunqin did not reply. The chair began to make some noises a few seconds later as well.

He Yunqin pretended not to hear, and he still studied the autopsy sheet intently. “Wang Meiping was wearing a light purple brocade cheongsam when she was found, instead of the two-blue cloth trousers and blouse she had on when she arrived in Shanghai. It’s peculiar. The cheongsam appears to be of decent quality, indicating that she had access to food and clothing while being abducted. Have you looked into the Cheongsam’s origin, Mr. Yu? Is it manufactured or purchased at a clothes store?”

Yu Chongyi said nonchalantly, “We asked several department stores, but they couldn’t find them. There was no department store label on the back of the clothes, so I guessed they were made in a tailor shop—”

Suddenly Peter Wang came in. After hearing this, he snorted coldly and replied, “But there are hundreds or even thousands of tailor shops in Shanghai. You thought it would take too much effort to find them, so you didn’t continue to search. Naturally, you missed the clues. The key moment for clues to the murderer.”

A look of guilt filled Yu Chongyi’s face.

Yu Hongdou soon interjected, saying, “If we can confirm that this cheongsam was not from a department store, it would be even weirder.” She couldn’t stand to watch her brother receive criticism. “Who made the cheongsam for Wang Meiping when she was kidnapped? Why did she use it after she was treated like that? That kind of weird way to kill her?”

At first, she believed Wang Meiping had to be imprisoned in a dark dungeon and subjected to daylong torture. However, based on all of these hints together, Wang Meiping had been well fed and dressed.

He Yunqin said his thoughts while touching his chin. “One is that Wang Meiping has to have strong support because the murderer was unable to hurt her during the previous three months for whatever reason. I’m not sure if this is related to the purported ritual. There’s yet another chance.”

Peter Wang, who was sipping his wine, said, “A case within a case.”

“What is a case within a case?” Yu Hongdou asked.

“It implies that the person who killed Wang Meiping and the one who kidnapped her were not the same,” He Yunqin remarked.

No one said a word for a while.

After giving it some thought, He Yunqin remarked, “Mr. Yu, let’s postpone this for the time being. We have to split our forces into two groups and attend to these two urgent issues. The first is that you retrieve Wang Meiping’s body by returning to the police station. Pack a bag, and go investigate with your colleagues at the tailor shops next to the train station. Make sure you discover the Cheongsam’s origins before dawn. Second, you give the key to

open Chen Baidie’s apartment. Inspector Wang and I will enter the flat in the French concession to look for clues and examine traces.”

“Who wants to go with you?” Peter Wang muttered.

With a quick glimpse, Hongdou predicted he would most likely go.

Seeing Yu Chongyi’s expression of embarrassment, He Yunqin said, “If all goes according to plan, we might be able to locate the person who actually abducted Wang Meiping three months ago tomorrow morning. We can go inside to look for proof, but it is inconvenient for the authorities to know that because Chen Baidie’s flat is still under lockdown. You can invite Miss Yu to come along if Mr. Yu is truly concerned.”

Startled, Yu Chongyi exclaimed, “Hongdou? How is she able to accomplish this? She has no understanding of the gathering of evidence or trace science. She needs to go home for the night because she has lessons tomorrow.”

“With Dr. He here, he will take a good look at Miss Yu and will not let Miss Yu ruin the scene,” stated Peter Wang, crossing his arms.

He Yunqin said, glancing at the wall-mounted Western clock, “Mr. Yu, time is running out. Would you please decide sooner?”

End of chapter 18

Have a nice day!