CH 44

Bai Meng Ru and Yang Su Ping divided the tasks. Yang Su Ping was in charge of buying the food, while Bai Meng Ru flagged a taxi and travelled to a further market to buy the rat poison.

Fifteen minutes later, the two of them met back at the hospital entrance.

Bai Meng Ru instructed Yang Su Ping further, telling her not to show any flaws in her acting, otherwise it would be them who would die. Though Yang Su Ping was apprehensive, since the decision had already been made, she knew that there was no room for turning back.

Returning to the ward, Bai Meng Ru firstly checked the cabinet, and noticed that there was no signs that the fish soup Bai Zhen Zhen bought had been moved. Bai Zhen Zhen’s bag was also similarly still perched on the stool next to the bed.

“You’re back,” Father Bai smiled, “That was fast. What did you buy?”

“What- What else could it be? It’s just some meat and vegetables.” Yang Su Ping said with a lump in her throat.

“Dad, sister didn’t return?” Bai Meng Ru glanced at the bag on the stool again. The zipper was slightly ajar. There was more than sufficient space to stuff the packet of rat poison inside.

Father Bai did not suspect anything, replying: “Yes, she was probably upset after I criticised her. She clearly knew that she left her bag behind, yet she refuses to return and pick it up!”

Bai Meng Ru was overjoyed. Thanks to Bai Zhen Zhen’s ego, it gave her such a good opportunity to frame her.

She glanced around., and noticed that the patient next to them had already eaten lunch, and was currently taking a nap. The patient was sleeping with her back facing them. Their family members were also sprawled over the small table in exhaustion. They weren’t awoken by the sound of chatting.

Bai Meng Ru immediately gave Yang Su Ping a pointed look.

Yang Su Ping understood it. She suppressed the unease and nervousness in her heart, blocking Father Bai’s field of vision.

“Old Bai, why is there something on your eyebrows?”

“Ah? What is it?”

While Yang Su Ping was grooming Father Bai, Bai Meng Ru took the opportunity, turning her back to the next bed and opened the container holding the fish soup, before swiftly taking out the powder from her pocket and sprinkling it in the soup.

The poison was very potent. When she was buying it, the seller even instructed her to keep a close eye on it, not to let young kids accidentally eat it, if not it would be life-threatening.

That was exactly what she wanted.

Bai Meng Ru poured the entire packet into the soup, before crumpling the packet and stuffing it into Bai Zhen Zhen’s bag. The entire process took no more than ten seconds for her to complete it. Father Bai didn’t look over, and the two people next door were also sleeping soundly. No one discovered what she had done.

After finishing up, Bai Meng Ru took off her gloves and hid it in her pocket. After Father Bai drank the poison, she would throw the glove in a dustbin outside. Even if they found fingerprints, they wouldn’t be able to trace it back to her.

“Dad, Mom, aren’t you hungry? Let’s eat quickly!” Bai Meng Ru purposely said loudly.

Yang Su Ping finally moved away from Father Bai and walked to Bai Meng Ru, pretending to cooperate naturally: “Yes, it’s getting late and the food is getting cold. Let’s eat!”

Bai Meng Ru then called out to the bed next to them: “Aunty Zhu, have you eaten lunch? Do you want to join us?”

The person Bai Meng Ru called out to was the elder sister of the patient in the bed. She was awoken from her sleep. Rubbing her eyes, she replied: “Thank you, little girl. We’ve already eaten. You can go ahead and eat!”

Bai Meng Ru smiled back.

Naturally, she didn’t actually intend for her to join them for lunch. She was just looking for a witness.

“Come, Dad. This is the fish soup that sister bought for you. It’s been left here for so long, it’s getting cold. Eat it quickly before it turns cold.” Bai Meng Ru carried the fish soup over to the bed. She ensured that Aunty Zhu could see the entire process, to prove that she had only handed the fish soup over to Father Bai, and had never opened it before.

Yang Su Ping pretended to sort out the dishes that she had just bought on the cabinet.

“Dad, do you need me to feed you?” Bai Meng Ru smiled brilliantly, without a shred of hesitation or nervousness.

Father Bai did not realise that anything was wrong, shaking his head and urging: “No need, you should eat too! I’ll just drink some soup first.”

“Alright.”

Bai Meng Ru handed the bowl of fish soup to Father Bai, before getting up and walking back calmly.

As soon as she turned around, she met Yang Su Ping’s slightly flustered and hesitant gaze.

“Old Bai!” Just as Father Bai was about to eat, Yang Su Ping suddenly shouted.

Father Bai looked at Yang Su Ping in puzzlement.

Bai Meng Ru’s gaze suddenly turned fierce, falling coldly on Yang Su Ping’s face. The blatant threat in her eyes were clear for her to see.

Yang Su Ping looked at Bai Meng Ru. Towards the daughter she had personally raised, a trace of fear actually seeped out.

“No-Nothing… I just wanted to remind you to be drink slowly, be careful of the hot soup…” Yang Su Ping ultimately didn’t stop him.

Father Bai laughed: “It’s already been out for so long, the temperature is just right now!”

Saying so, he scooped a spoonful of soup, slowly drinking it.

****

An hour later, Bai Zhen Zhen returned to the hospital, rushing over to the ward while sighing: “Sigh, look at me being so muddle-headed, causing me to have to make another round trip…”

Her footsteps paused, and she raised her head to see two policemen standing in front of the ward examining her.

“Bai Zhen Zhen! You sure are good, to have willingly turned yourself in!” Yang Su Ping immediately shouted at her when she saw her.

Hearing this, one of the policemen asked Bai Zhen Zhen: “Are you Bai Zhen Zhen?”

Bai Zhen Zhen pretended not to know what happened. She blinked innocently and asked curiously: “Yes, I’m Bai Zhen Zhen. Why? Did something happen? What do you mean by turn myself in?”

“Coincidentally, we were about to give you a call.” The policeman pointed to the bag on the chair, “Is this your bag?”

At this moment, Bai Zhen Zhen’s bag had become part of the evidence, and was housed in a transparent plastic bag.

“Yes, I left it here. I left in a rush earlier. On the way back to my office, I was too busy using my phone. Only after I reached my office did I realise that my bag was missing, thus I returned to pick it up.” Bai Zhen Zhen explained.

Yang Su Ping added on in a strange tone: “She’s just making an excuse that she returned to pick up her bag. She probably came here to destroy the evidence.”

The policeman took out another piece of evidence in a plastic bag, asking Bai Zhen Zhen: “This item was found in your bag. Do you have anything you would like to say?”

“What is that?” Bai Zhen Zhen shook her head, “I’ve never seen that before. Why would it be in my bag?”

“This is a packet containing a form of powder. We have reason to suspect that the powder inside is highly likely to be the toxic rat poison that killed Mr Bai Bo.”

“What?!” Bai Zhen Zhen’s eyes widened, “Mr Policeman, what did you just say? I think I heard you wrongly. Isn’t- Isn’t my father recuperating well in this hospital? How could he… How could he…”

“Bai Zhen Zhen, stop pretending! We all saw that you were the one who brought that bowl of fish soup. The packet of powder was also found in your bag. You’re still trying to lie your way through?!” Yang Su Ping shouted coldly.

“What do you mean? I didn’t! I only brought Dad the fish soup, but I didn’t poison it!” Bai Zhen Zhen defended herself vigorously.

“Are we to take you at your word? The evidence is all here. You still want to deny it?!” Yang Su Ping strode over to the policemen, and said with her head held high, “Dear policemen, everyone in this ward can testify that after Bai Zhen Zhen left the fish soup and her bag in the room, no one had ever touched these two items. Who else could it be other than her!”

She turned to Aunty Zhu and gave her a look: “Sister Zhu, you have to speak the truth, if not our Old Bai would have died in vain!”

“What did you say?! Dad he… died?!” Bai Zhen Zhen’s entire body lost strength, and she fell against the wall.

“Cut the act! It was you who poisoned your dad, you unfilial child!” Yang Su Ping roared, pretending to rush up to fight Bai Zhen Zhen.

The policemen held Yang Su Ping back, saying: “Ms Yang, this matter has not been investigated yet. Let’s wait for the results of the testing and autopsy before making a conclusion.”

“There’s no one else who would do it other than her! It’s her, who always looked down on Old Bai for being a burden, who hated Old Bai for ruining her marriage, so she laid low to take revenge! Mr Policeman, quickly, arrest her!” Yang Su Ping hopped about in agitation.

Bai Meng Ru, who had not spoken for a long time, finally acted.

She was probably afraid that Yang Su Ping would be too impatient, thus she tugged on her sleeves while crying: “Mom, Dad only just passed. We should handle his funeral first. As for whether sister poisoned him… I believe the police will give us an answer…”

“Meng Ru! Haven’t you seen through your sister’s true face yet!!” Yang Su Ping shouted, before suddenly collapsing on the ground, kneeling. She cried towards the ceiling, “She deserves death! This ungrateful wolf, this unfilial daughter! Old Bai, open your eyes well in heaven! This is the daughter you raised!”

Bai Zhen Zhen glared at Yang Su Ping in disgust.

The reason why she took such a long time to come back was firstly to give Yang Su Ping and Bai Meng Ru time to take action. Secondly, was to wait till the deed had been done before appearing, so that she didn’t have to witness Father Bai suffering.

Though Father Bai met the same ending in the novel, and she was only “going with the flow”, she still didn’t want to experience such a scene.

However, she avoided Father Bai’s suffering, but she didn’t manage to avoid Yang Su Ping’s disgusting mouth.

“Mr Policeman, it’s useless to just talk. I’m willing to follow you back to the police station and accept the investigation.” Bai Zhen Zhen said calmly.

Bai Meng Ru was supporting Yang Su Ping. When she heard Bai Zhen Zhen say this, the corners of her mouth suddenly curved into a strange smile.

— System: “Emmm….”

— Bai Zhen Zhen: “I know what you want to say, but I haven’t gone against my character settings the entire time. I only did what a daughter should do. Father Bai’s death was due to his stepdaughter’s evil heart.”

— System: “…That’s true.”

— Bai Zhen Zhen: “^_^”

****

Under the escort of the policemen, Bai Zhen Zhen went to the mortuary to take a final look at Father Bai.

The dosage of rat poison in the soup was very high. In addition, Father Bai had drank nearly the whole bowl of soup. Before the doctor could resuscitate him, Father Bai was already gone.

Before he died, he probably never expected that the person who killed him was the daughter he had doted on for over then years, and the second wife he had protected his whole life. Even when he closed his eyes for the final moment, he was probably still suspecting his own biological daughter.

Looking at Father Bai’s pale face, Bai Zhen Zhen only took a glance before closing her eyes slowly and turning her head.

Even if he was just an NPC, this world was too realistic. For a moment, Bai Zhen Zhen couldn’t convince herself that this was just a “game”.

Bai Zhen Zhen finally regained herself after reaching the police staion.

“Ms Bai, regarding today’s incident, we would like to record your statement first.” The policeman said.

However, Bai Zhen Zhen went straight to the point, asking: “Are my stepmother and stepsister here as well?”

The policeman paused: “Yes, everyone who came into contact with Mr Bai Bo today is a suspect.”

“I wish to sit together with them and record our statements together. It would be easier to compare our statements that way.” Bai Zhen Zhen said, “Didn’t both of them insist that I killed my father? Be it as family members of the victim, or as eye witnesses, they should be present when I give my statement.”

The two policemen looked at each other. One of them went out to ask for permission, and got the approval. Afterwards, they led Bai Meng Ru and Yang Su Ping into the interrogation room and sat them beside Bai Zhen Zhen.

“Alright, they are here. You can speak now.”

Bai Meng Ru’s eyes were red from crying. In comparison, Bai Zhen Zhen hadn’t shed a single tear.

Bai Meng Ru specially observed the expressions and attitudes of the policemen. They should be more inclined to believe her at this moment.

“This afternoon, after I got off work, I bought a meal from the Fuyuan restaurant downstairs. Namely, I bought two bowls of rice, and bowl of fish soup and a plate of stir-fried malabar spinach. After my order was packed, I carried the food out of the restaurant doors and hailed a taxi. I have to specify that while I was waiting for my taxi, I noticed that there was a security camera along the street. The security camera should have recorded the entire process from when I exited the restaurant till when I hailed the taxi. You can investigate it.”

“After two or three minutes, I boarded a blue taxi. The car plate number is 2389. The taxi driver was a man named Chen, who was around 40 years old. I got in the passenger seat, and placed the food under the seat the moment I sat down. The driver and I got along very well, and we chatted the entire way. During the chat, my fingers were interlocked the entire way, and I’ve never reached down during that period. Oh right, the driver even praised my fingers for being long and slender at that time. You can interview the driver for these details.”

“After roughly half an hour, I reached my destination. I got off at the entrance of the hospital. As I alighted from the taxi, I happened to meet a colleague. She was also receiving treatment at this hospital, thus we entered the hospital and walked together. I only parted ways with her when I reached my dad’s ward. I believe that the hospital entrance has quite a few security cameras that can corroborate my claims.”

“My colleague is surnamed Liu. She’s currently staying in ward 1023, on the 10th floor in the Surgery department. She can prove that I did not lie. After parting ways with her, I entered my dad’s ward directly, and placed the food on the cabinet in front of everyone in the ward. At the same time, I left my bag on the stool.”

Bai Zhen Zhen systematically sorted out everything she did this afternoon. Seeing the shock on Bai Meng Ru and Yang Su Ping’s faces, as well as the surprised expression on the two policemen, she added on: “Perhaps you might feel that I deliberately remembered all these details, but it’s due to the nature of my job. I do administrative work, thus I’ve always been attentive to details. What happened today concerns my reputation, thus I have to dig out my memories one by one.”

Bai Meng Ru initially wanted to use this “deliberateness” to attack Bai Zhen Zhen. However, she didn’t expect that Bai Zhen Zhen would “address” this in advance, leaving her speechless.

“Mr Policeman, this is the entire process from when I bought the fish soup, till when I sent the fish soup to the ward. During this period, I had neither the time nor the opportunity to pour the so-called toxic rat poison into the well-packaged bowl of fish soup. There are security cameras and witnesses during the entire process who can prove that I have never done so too.” Bai Zhen Zhen said.

“Are we to simply take you at your word? What if there was a blind spot in the security cameras? Maybe you colluded with others?!” Yang Su Ping criticised.

Bai Zhen Zhen ignored Yang Su Ping, only focusing on the two policemen opposite her as she continued: “Mr Policeman, what do you think?”

The two policemen exchanged glances, but didn’t reply her. One of them said: “Ms Bai, your statement has been fully recorded. We will also carry out our investigation on the truth of your statement.”

“I’ve given my statement. Isn’t it time for my stepmother and stepsister to give theirs?” Bai Zhen Zhen said, “Now, it’s my turn to be the family member of the victim and listen to the statements of these two suspects.”

“Bai Zhen Zhen, what do you mean by that! What suspects, you’re obviously the one who committed the crime!” Yang Su Ping snapped.

“Why, are you feeling guilty?” Bai Zhen Zhen laughed coldly, “Aunty Yang, you said that I couldn’t afford the expensive hospital fees, causing me to think of killing my dad. Then, you and your daughter can have similar motives!”

“We do not! You’re the one who did it!”

“Mom!” Bai Meng Ru interrupted Yang Su Ping and took a deep look at Bai Zhen Zhen, “Sister is right. Everyone who went to the ward today and had contact with the fish soup is a suspect. To cooperate with the police, we should also give our accounts of what happened.”

Bai Meng Ru pursed her lips, looked at the policemen and softly said: “Mr Policeman, this was what happened…”

Bai Meng Ru explained clearly the reason why she and Yang Su Ping had gone out to buy food, and provided the route they took. She strongly emphasized that after they returned, it was only under Father Bai’s request that she had brought the fish soup – unopened – to Father Bai. As for this point, Sister Zhu could verify it.

“Yes, Mr Policeman, my daughter and I firstly didn’t have the poison, and secondly, never had any opportunities to poison the soup. There’s no way it could be us!” Yang Su Ping forced a laugh, but her body trembled uncontrollably.

“Actually, you just need to verify whether or not the packet in my sister’s bag previously contained rat poison, and whose fingerprints it is on the packet. Everything will be cleared after that.” Bai Meng Ru said, “A confession can contain lies, but evidence cannot lie!”

“That’s right!” Yang Su Ping echoed.

The police stated: “Our colleagues are already testing the evidence, but we must still record your statements. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Yang Su Ping waved her hands hurriedly: “No need for thanks. The important thing is that you quickly arrest this unscrupulous, unfilial daughter. Only then can we do justice to our Old Bai!”

“Not all the evidence have been collected, yet Aunty Yang can’t wait for the scapegoat to die to alleviate her guilt?” Bai Zhen Zhen remarked in amusement.

Yang Su Ping trembled: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You claimed to have gone out to buy food, but you actually went to buy the rat poison. You claimed that there was no opportunity to poison the soup, yet the people who had the most opportunity to do so is the two of you.”

“Sister, how could you say that…” Bai Meng Ru pretended to be wronged, “At the start, I didn’t believe that you would do such a thing. But if you insist on framing me and my mother, I can only believe that you are the murderer…”

“Please don’t, how could you come to a conclusion just like that? The result of the fingerprint analysis hasn’t even come out yet! Weren’t you the one who spoke about objective evidence!”

Bai Zhen Zhen had just finished speaking when a knock sounded on the door. A staff walked in, and whispered quietly in the policeman’s ear.

After the staff left, the presiding policeman said to the three of them: “The test results are out. The packet did indeed contain toxic rat poison, however… No fingerprints were found.”

“Bai Zhen Zhen, I didn’t expect you to be so smart, to even remove your fingerprints!” Yang Su Ping continued to cast stones on her.

“But the packet was found in your bag. I doubt you’re able to explain this.” Bai Meng Ru said.

Bai Zhen Zhen chuckled: “Haha, anyone could have stuffed this into my bag. My bag was left in the ward for so long. Maybe you planted it in my bag in order to frame me?”

“You- You’re maligning us!”

“Aunty Yang, don’t be so anxious. Why are you feeling guilty again?” Bai Zhen Zhen smiled gently, before looking at the policemen opposite her, “Mr Policeman, we can just watch the security footage to find out what truly happened.”

“Security footage?!” Bai Meng Ru and Yang Su Ping looked at each other. The two of them were dumbstruck with shock.

****

On the other hand, Huo Xiang was currently preparing for the wedding, and was passionately discussing with the wedding planner when Uncle Cai rushed over in a hurry.

“Young Master, bad news!” Uncle Cai took a deep breath, before continuing, “I just received news that the Young Mistress’ father… passed away an hour ago.”

“What?!” Huo Xiang jumped up from the sofa in shock, “Why so sudden?!”

“I’m not too clear on the overall situation either. Once I heard the news, I rushed over to inform you. Why don’t you give the Young Mistress a call and ask?”

“I’ll contact her immediately!”

Huo Xiang dialed Bai Zhen Zhen’s number. He intended to comfort her, but before he could speak up, he heard Bai Zhen Zhen say to him in a low voice: “Meet me at the hospital entrance in thirty minutes.”

Then, she hung up.

Huo Xiang ran to the car, his emotions conflicted.

— Huo Xiang: “Although it’s slightly immoral, but I’m inexplicably happy.”

— System: “Why do you say so?”

— Huo Xiang: “Zhen Zhen must be upset that her father passed away. If I go over now, I might be able to catch her when she’s feeling down. Even if her happiness points doesn’t decrease by twenty points, it would at least decrease by ten points!”

— System: “Haha, perhaps.”

— Huo Xiang: “Sadness points, here I come!!”