Forensic Doctor: Finding the Way Back to the Mystery of Ancient Realms

Chapter 23: The S City Wife-Murder Case: A Fog of Love and Hate

Spring in S City should be a season of revival and vitality, but a sudden murder of a wife is like a sudden cold wave, shrouding the entire city in a gloomy fog. The deceased, Lin Wanqing, was a famous socialite in S City, and her husband Zhang Yuan was a handsome businessman in the city. The two were once known as the "golden boy and jade girl" of S City, but now they are separated by Yin and Yang, which makes people sigh.

After receiving the report, Xu Youran and Situ Han rushed to the scene immediately. There was still a faint smell of blood in the air, intertwined with the fragrance of spring flowers, forming an indescribable complex atmosphere. The results of the on-site investigation showed that Lin Wanqing died in the bedroom of her home, with multiple sharp weapon scars on her body, which was obviously a carefully planned murder.

Xu Youran put on white gloves and walked into the bedroom carefully. Her eyes were as sharp as a hawk, not missing any details. On the floor beside the bed, a pool of dried blood told the story of last night's tragedy. She squatted down and carefully observed the shape and distribution of the blood, trying to find the murderer's trajectory.

"You Ran, look here." Situ Han pointed to a broken vase on the bedside table. The pieces of the vase were scattered all over the floor, and some of the pieces were stained with blood. "The vase was originally placed here, but now it's broken, and the position is a bit wrong."

Xu Youran nodded. She picked up a piece of debris and carefully observed the blood on it. "This blood should have been splashed, not dripped. This shows that the murderer had a fierce struggle with the victim when committing the crime."

Afterwards, Xu Youran and Situ Han questioned Zhang Yuan. Zhang Yuan looked haggard, his eyes full of pain and confusion. "I can't believe she would leave me like this." His voice was hoarse, as if every word had exhausted all his strength.

"Mr. Zhang, please describe in detail what happened last night." Xu Youran tried to keep her tone calm to avoid irritating Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan took a deep breath and began to recall. "Last night, we had an argument over some trivial matters. She...she was very emotional and said she wanted to leave me. I...I was also very angry at the time and said a few harsh words. But I never thought that she would...would..." At this point, Zhang Yuan was already sobbing.

Seeing this, Situ Han handed him a tissue and motioned him to continue. "What happened next? Where did you go after you left the bedroom?"

"I... I went to the study to calm down. After a long time, I didn't hear her voice, so I came back to check. As a result... I saw her lying on the ground, covered in blood..." Zhang Yuan's voice choked again.

Xu Youran and Situ Han looked at each other. From Zhang Yuan's expression and words, they felt deep sorrow and self-blame, but at the same time they also noticed a hint of unusual hesitation and evasion.

In order to further investigate the case, Xu Youran and Situ Han began to track down people who had emotional entanglements with Lin Wanqing. After some investigation, they found that in addition to Zhang Yuan, Lin Wanqing also had a close relationship with a young painter named Li Hao.

Li Hao is a talented but aloof painter whose works are highly sought after in the market. However, his relationship with Lin Wanqing is very subtle. They are neither lovers nor friends, but more like confidants in the depths of their souls. When Xu Youran and Situ Han found Li Hao, he was immersed in his paintings and seemed unusually calm about the news of Lin Wanqing's death.

"I know you will come to find me." Li Hao put down his paintbrush and said calmly, "But I have nothing to do with Lin Wanqing's death."

"Then can you explain the relationship between you two?" Xu Youran looked straight into Li Hao's eyes, trying to catch a clue from his expression.

Li Hao was silent for a moment, then spoke slowly. "We... were just passers-by in each other's lives. She understood me, and I understood her, but that was all. Her death made me very sad, but I did not kill her."

Xu Youran and Situ Han exchanged glances. They knew that Li Hao's words could not completely rule out his suspicion, but there was not enough evidence to directly identify him. So, they decided to continue to investigate further...

In the subsequent investigation, Xu Youran and Situ Han discovered that the marriage between Lin Wanqing and Zhang Yuan was not as harmonious and happy as it seemed. It turned out that Zhang Yuan had many enemies in the business world, and in order to consolidate his position, he had to deal with some shady people. And Lin Wanqing, although seemingly glorious, was suffering in her heart. She could not accept her husband's betrayal and depravity, but she could not give up her love for him.

At the same time, the appearance of Li Hao made Lin Wanqing see another possibility. Although the feelings between them were subtle and complicated, they made Lin Wanqing feel an unprecedented spiritual resonance. However, this relationship also made her fall into deeper contradictions and struggles.

Just when the case reached a stalemate, Xu Youran and Situ Han found a crucial clue from Lin Wanqing's diary. In the diary, Lin Wanqing recorded the deepening rift between her and Zhang Yuan, as well as the pure and brief emotional exchange between her and Li Hao with delicate strokes. More importantly, the diary vaguely revealed a major threat that Lin Wanqing might face - a business rival of her husband, who was determined to strike Zhang Yuan at any cost.

As the investigation deepened, this business rival gradually surfaced. His name was Zhao Hongyun, another big businessman in S City. Zhao Hongyun and Zhang Yuan had fierce competition on many projects, even to the point of being incompatible. According to insiders, Zhao Hongyun had publicly stated that he would "make Zhang Yuan pay the price" and had repeatedly made small moves behind the scenes to try to destroy Zhang Yuan's business.

Xu Youran and Situ Han immediately listed Zhao Hongyun as a key suspect and began to track his whereabouts. They found that Zhao Hongyun had indeed appeared in S City on the night of the incident, and the time was highly consistent with the time of Lin Wanqing's death. In addition, they also learned that Zhao Hongyun had a hidden hobby - hiring killers to kill business rivals.

In order to verify this conjecture, Xu Youran and Situ Han decided to conduct a surprise interrogation of Zhao Hongyun. The atmosphere in the interrogation room was tense and depressing. Zhao Hongyun pretended to be calm at first, but under Xu Youran's series of sharp questions, his psychological defenses gradually collapsed.

"Mr. Zhao, do you know Lin Wanqing?" Xu Youran's voice was calm and powerful.

Zhao Hongyun's eyes flickered for a moment, and then he pretended to be calm and answered: "Of course I know her, she is Zhang Yuan's wife."

"So, where were you on the night of the incident?" Situ Han asked immediately.

Zhao Hongyun was stunned for a moment, then hesitantly tried to change the subject. But Xu Youran did not give him this opportunity, she continued to put pressure on him: "Mr. Zhao, we have enough evidence to prove that you are inextricably linked to this case. Now, do you want to tell the truth yourself, or wait for us to reveal it one by one?"

Under the strong psychological offensive, Zhao Hongyun finally broke down and admitted that he had hired a killer to kill Lin Wanqing. It turned out that in order to completely defeat Zhang Yuan, he would do anything, including sacrificing innocent lives. He thought that this way he could weaken Zhang Yuan's psychological defenses and gain the upper hand in the business war.

The truth was revealed to the world, and the fog of S City finally dissipated. However, this tragedy of love and hate left a profound lesson for everyone. Lin Wanqing's death not only immersed her family in endless grief, but also made Zhang Yuan, Li Hao and others reflect on their own behavior and choices. Xu Youran and Situ Han continued their detective careers, using wisdom and courage to uncover the truths hidden in the darkness one after another...

Easter eggs:

Just when the case was about to be settled, Xu Youran found a hidden note in Zhang's room. The note read: "Corpse in the Box Case, next target..." These few words were like a bolt from the blue, making Xu Youran and Situ Han's hearts hang in the balance again.

"The corpse in the box case..." Situ Han muttered to himself, "What kind of mystery is this?"

Xu Youran tightly grasped the note in her hand, with a determined look in her eyes: "No matter how difficult the road ahead is, we must go on together. To uncover the mystery of thirty years ago and to restore peace to S City."

[Connect to Chapter 24 Preview]

How will the corpse-in-box case shock S City? Can Xu Youran and Situ Han uncover the truth again? How will Su Wanqing stir up the storm? All the answers are in Chapter 24 - "The Mystery of the Corpse-in-Box Case".