Free Web NovelChapter 578: Chapter 548: There is No Divorce, Only Widowhood_1
"It’s quite a coincidence, buying an apartment for your brother, and it turns out to be right above your mistress. On the morning of the incident, at 7:22, you went to the unit where the victim lived, and then at 8:02, you both left together. And there were no fingerprints on that cake box, correct?"
"Director Xu, don’t rush. Zhou Xiaozhou just called Mrs. Cui. The lab results will be out in half an hour. They will do the comparison on those traces. If there’s nothing, I’ll go over and compare myself. Oh, I need to collect blood samples and fingerprints from Xu Qingshu first and hurry them over."
Xu Dayuan nodded. Zhou Ning moved closer to the one-way mirror. Next door, Mr. Zhao, carrying a case, went to draw blood and collect fingerprints. Xu Qingshu was very cooperative.
Zhou Ning carefully observed Xu Qingshu. Though she was already 38 with two teenagers, she was well-maintained and without exaggerated cosmetic surgery marks. She appeared elegant and gentle, possessing the unique charm of a mature woman, and indeed, she was very attractive.
Perhaps back in the day, she was a great beauty. After all, even her brother, who bore a strong resemblance to her, was quite handsome. With such a beautiful wife, that’s why Kong Wanshan would say he would not opt for a divorce. He even treated Li Li’s threats with indifference.
Fang Mu whispered a few words to Liu Yufei, then showed her the surveillance footage on his computer. Liu Yufei nodded and sat down across the table from Xu Qingshu. freēwebnovel.com
"We asked you to come here today because, as I mentioned on the way, we’re investigating a traffic accident. We suspect she didn’t die from the accident. This person is somewhat related to you. I want to ask if you are aware of your husband Kong Wanshan’s private life?"
Xu Qingshu’s expression was calm, she looked at Liu Yufei with a faint smile.
"You’re unmarried, aren’t you, girl? I know what you want to ask. You want to ask if I know whether Kong Wanshan has a mistress outside, right?
Actually, when you are young, being together is about impulsive love. But over time, it’s not so simple anymore, with children and two families involved, as well as such a large estate.
I am aware that Kong Wanshan has mistresses outside, and more than one or two. Previously, some girl came to my house, claiming she would make me make room. Such things... I have never mentioned them to Kong Wanshan. There’s absolutely no need.
I am aware of our assets, and I control enough to last for half a lifetime. Both children are well-educated, independent, and academically excellent. What does it matter to me if he keeps a few mistresses outside, as long as he doesn’t bring back any diseases? I don’t have any excessive demands."
She spoke this very sincerely. Liu Yufei could feel that this was what Xu Qingshu truly felt.
After a pause, she pushed a photo across the table to Xu Qingshu.
"I think you know this person, right?"
After looking at the photo, Xu Qingshu hesitated slightly, her inner emotions clearly shifted from what she had just expressed.
"I know her. Her name is Li Li, the principal of the Golden Peacock Dance School. My daughter has been learning dance from her for several years. Could it be... It seems she was one of the mistresses too?"
Liu Yufei kept observing Xu Qingshu’s facial expressions, from being slightly stunned to a dawning realization to a kind of acceptance, very clear expressions of emotion. It was hard to tell if she was angry or indifferent.
"Yes, today at noon in the parking lot of Mailetian on the fourth floor, her car crashed into a wall and fell onto the south-side road below. The vehicle caught fire and exploded, and she is dead."
Xu Qingshu nodded and uttered "Oh," while slightly furrowing her brows and looking at Liu Yufei.
"So, you have brought me here because you suspect that I’m the murderer?"
"We need to investigate, since there is a motive between you and Li Li. Can you tell me all about your whereabouts from this morning until before picking up your child this afternoon? It would be best to have surveillance footage so we can verify it."
After thinking for a moment, Xu Qingshu took out her phone, looked at Liu Yufei for approval, and upon receiving a nod, she opened her call log and said:
"This morning, after I got ready, I went to my brother’s place at around seven. He had a performance in the provincial city today, so I bought some local specialties for him to take to his fiancée’s parents; after all, they are getting married after the National Day holiday, and you can’t always go there empty-handed. freeweɓnovel.cøm
At eight, I dropped him off at the orchestra’s meeting spot, then I went to Tuandao Road Market to buy some food. I also called the nanny to wake up the kids. When I got back home, we finished breakfast, and I took the eldest to his Taekwondo class while the youngest stayed home to do homework and play. The class was from 10:00 to 11:30.
After class, we bought pizza together. We ate with the nanny and the kids when we got back home. We took a short nap, around two-thirty, I suppose. I took my daughter out and asked the nanny to take the eldest to play ball. You guys came to fetch us after I picked up my daughter.
As for whether there is surveillance footage to prove it, there are cameras in my house, upstairs, downstairs, and even in the kids’ rooms—for the sake of the children’s safety. There should be surveillance cameras in front of the orchestra, the pizza shop, and the dance school, I guess. You can go check."
Xu Qingshu spoke indifferently, as if knowing that Li Li was a mistress and about her death did not affect her much.
Liu Yufei nodded and waved to Fang Mu. He placed the laptop opposite Xu Qingshu, the screen showing Xu Qingshu and Xu Qingquan.
"Do you know where Li Li lived?"
Xu Qingshu frowned slightly and shook her head directly.
"I don’t know. This is the building under my brother’s apartment. Could it be... does she live nearby?"
Liu Yufei nodded.
"Li Li lives on the western unit of the fourth floor in building number two. She bought the house three years ago. The account that paid in full was a bank card belonging to your husband. We’ve already found the transaction record and the previous owner, Kong Wanshan, went with Li Li, calling each other husband and wife."
Liu Yufei spoke very slowly, staring into Xu Qingshu’s eyes as she finished speaking. Xu Qingshu smiled and shook her head.
"I know what you’re implying, but you might not understand. Although Kong Wanshan runs a real estate company and is both the company’s chairman and legal representative, you might not know that there are three shareholders in the company.
One is my brother Xu Qingquan, the other is Kong Wanshan, and they each hold twenty percent. The remaining sixty percent is mine because the first piece of land that Kong Wanshan used to make his fortune in real estate was provided by my father.
Even though he also invested some money, my dad said it was our marital property. Under my father’s insistence, he gave the majority of the shares to me and also gave a part to my brother, with the latter inheriting the compensation from the demolition of three old houses from my father.
Moreover, when the shares were established, my father had a lawyer draft a deed of gift that clearly stated the cash value of the land donated, the proportion held in the established real estate company, and how it should be distributed. As for the part given to me, it was a gift to me personally, not marital assets.
Only the increased value and the dividends from the shares are marital property. But this company is actually under my control, with 80% of the shares. Once Kong Wanshan divorces me, his assets will shrink by at least seventy percent, and he will also lose two children, so he would not do that.
As for the suspicion you mentioned, it’s quite laughable to me. For Kong Wanshan’s sake, I wouldn’t lay a hand on such a chicken. It’s just not worth it. I want my children to have both parents. Even if one day their father is gone, it would be because of health reasons, not because he abandoned them. My dictionary does not contain the word ’divorce,’ only ’widowhood.’
Liu Yufei was stunned. The gentle Xu Qingshu’s words were so cold, but after such calcutions, indeed she had no reason to do anything. Kong Wanshan was not a fool; perhaps he really wanted to end this relationship.
Xu Dayuan crossed his arms, furrowing his brows.
"This Xu Qingshu is a tough character. Don’t be fooled by just a few words. She completely has Kong Wanshan by the throat. He can play around all he wants, but he absolutely doesn’t dare divorce. If he really divorced, he’d probably lose everything.
This is Kong Wanshan’s Achilles’ heel. Once a poor person gets a taste of being on top, how could they go back to living a hard life? I guess Kong Wanshan has tried to fight back before but was definitely given a memorable lesson."
Zhou Ning nodded, remembering Kong Wanshan’s demeanor during the interrogation. When it was brought up that Li Li wanted him to divorce and marry her, the look on Kong Wanshan’s face wasn’t panic—probably he thought Li Li was a fool.
"Even though Xu Qingshu is mostly cleared of suspicion, the choice of this house raises too many questions," Zhou Ning said.
Xu Dayuan snorted.
"Is there still no result from Cui Lili’s side?"
Zhou Ning raised his hands high above his head, unable to hold back a laugh.
"Boss, can we not rush this? I said half an hour, and she should be out any moment now."
Xu Dayuan sighed and gave Zhou Ning a look.
"One by one, it’s like I’m the grandchild, always having to look at your faces. Being a leader is really stifling."
Zhou Ning sidestepped.
"Don’t be like that, leader. I’m not one of ’those others.’ When have I not followed your orders? Have you forgotten how you insisted on making me stay in the observation room? Let’s watch Mrs. Fei’s interview properly."
Xu Dayuan didn’t respond, knowing he was in the wrong. Zhou Ning turned to look at the interview room, where Liu Yufei asked a few more questions, mostly about her daughter’s impression of Li Li. Xu Qingshu’s answers were quite standard, after all, the main reason for choosing the Golden Peacock Dance School was its proximity to her home.
"I want to ask one last question, according to what you just said, you bought this house for Xu Qingquan. Did you choose it, or did Xu Qingquan choose it himself?"
Xu Qingshu thought for a moment, opened her phone’s photo album, and found many pictures of various real estate listings. She handed these to Liu Yufei.
"He’s not young, and although he looks good and has a nice job, he’s very picky. From looks and age to lifestyle habits, even if a girl wears the same clothes for a day, he can’t stand it.
Last year, he finally found a girlfriend with a good family background and looks, and she was knowledgeable and very gentle in nature. You could tell at a glance she was a lady of a reputable family. They got along very well and started planning their marriage, so I began looking at houses for them everywhere.
They both didn’t want to leave Gulou District, but there were too few new developments here, and the locations weren’t very good. After looking around, they both liked Rongchang Garden. I initially didn’t like it because the houses were a bit old, as they were built in 1999.
But besides that, the layout of the houses isn’t bad, and although the community is semi-open, there’s proper security and parking, so we bought a place here. At the time, I really didn’t know that Li Li lived here.
Actually, if anyone should feel disgusted, it would be me. Also, there’s no law saying I can’t buy a house here for my brother, right?"
