Chapter 62: Captain Lu Works Overtime on His Wedding Night

Hearing this, the villagers outside broke into an uproar, pointing at Zhang Lanying and hurling curses at her.

"Zhang Lanying, you are so vicious! Whether it's a boy or a girl is entirely your son's problem. How can you blame Liu Na for it?"

"Exactly! Just because Liu Na couldn't give birth to a son, you murdered her. Are you even human?"

"Village Chief, you're no good either! How could you act as an accomplice?"

Huang Shixiong clenched his fists, suddenly strode toward the kitchen, and came out holding a cleaver.

With eyes wide and split with rage, he rushed toward Zhang Lanying. "I'm going to kill you to avenge Liu Na!"

Lu Chengfeng quickly intercepted Huang Shixiong, grabbing his arm.

Liu Xun acted with lightning speed and swiftly snatched the cleaver away.

Lu Chengfeng rebuked Huang Shixiong, "The two of them committed murder and broke the law; the law will punish them accordingly. If you take matters into your own hands, how are you any different from them? What will happen to your two daughters in the future?"

Huang Shixiong froze for a moment, then burst into loud sobs.

Weeping bitterly, he wailed, "I let Liu Na down. She told me many times that she wanted to take the two kids and rent a place in the city, but I was too stingy to spend the money. I wanted to save more and wouldn't let her go."

"If I had just agreed to let her go, she wouldn't have died. It's all my fault. I'm the one who killed my wife..."

The two young girls ran over and hugged their father, and the three of them wept together in each other's arms.

The villagers outside also wiped away their tears.

The village chief buried his head in his hands and squatted on the ground, looking thoroughly remorseful.

Meanwhile, Zhang Lanying lifted her chin, remaining as arrogant and overbearing as ever.

There was not a shred of guilt in her eyes.

Just as Lu Chengfeng and his team were preparing to escort Zhang Lanying and the village chief back to the municipal bureau for interrogation, Chief Huang arrived with his men.

Seeing the situation, Chief Huang found it difficult to maintain his composure.

"Captain Lu, is there some mistake here? Why are you taking the village chief away as well?"

Lu Chengfeng's expression was cold and stern. "Chief Huang, I don't need to report to you regarding this case. If you want to know the specific details, you can contact our Director Zhao. I'm sorry, but we're in a hurry."

Lu Chengfeng gestured to Liu Xun.

Liu Xun understood and called everyone to head back.

Just as Lu Chengfeng was about to get into the vehicle, Huang Shixiong walked over holding his two daughters by the hand and pleaded,

"Captain Lu, could you allow me to say goodbye to my wife? The children also want to take one last look at their mother."

Lu Chengfeng looked at the two pitiful little girls and nodded, "Alright, you can have them sit in the back row."

"Thank you, Captain Lu," Huang Shixiong bowed gratefully to Lu Chengfeng.

Lu Chengfeng opened the rear door for them to get in and instructed them to fasten their seatbelts.

Two hours later, they returned to the municipal bureau.

Lu Chengfeng instructed Liu Xun to escort the village chief and Zhang Lanying to the interrogation team for handover, while he took Huang Shixiong and his two daughters to the forensic center.

Shu Yan had just finished processing her work for the day, signed the documents one by one, and was preparing to report to the bureau director.

Lu Chengfeng led Huang Shixiong and his two daughters to knock on her door, explaining, "They want to say goodbye to Liu Na."

Shu Yan looked at the two dusty little girls, feeling a pang of sorrow in her heart.

She put down the documents in her hand, stood up, and said, "Come with me."

The group walked toward the morgue where the bodies were kept.

Lu Chengfeng leaned close to Shu Yan's ear and asked in a low voice, "Have you had lunch?"

Shu Yan replied softly, "I just ate."

Lu Chengfeng frowned. "You just ate now? What did you have?"

Shu Yan: "I ordered takeout, sour and spicy rice noodles."

Lu Chengfeng: "Sour and spicy noodles again? There's no nutrition in that."

Shu Yan: "I couldn't keep anything else down."

Lu Chengfeng was silent for a moment. "I might have to work overtime tonight."

Shu Yan: "Mm. Jiaojiao wants to treat me to dinner, and I already told her about us getting our marriage certificate."

Lu Chengfeng felt guilty toward Shu Yan. "Once this case is wrapped up, the two of us will go browse the jewelry stores and buy you some jewelry."

Shu Yan shook her head. "No need to buy those things. I can't wear them at work anyway. We should save more money; there will be plenty of places we'll need it in the future."

Knowing she meant they would need money to raise a child, Lu Chengfeng said, "Don't worry, I have savings. We can talk about it later."

Shu Yan said nothing more.

Arriving at the morgue, she took out her ID card and swiped it to enter.

It was chilly inside and deeply oppressive.

Shu Yan pulled out Liu Na's body and lifted the white sheet.

Huang Shixiong held his two daughters' hands and walked over to look.

Liu Na looked as though she had merely fallen asleep, except for her completely bloodless face.

The two children burst into tears, softly crying out, "Mom..."

Huang Shixiong reached out to touch Liu Na's face, then looked at her protruding belly, and finally broke down completely, sobbing uncontrollably.

A lump formed in Shu Yan's throat as well.

Lu Chengfeng raised his arm to pull her into his embrace, and the two of them stood quietly to the side.

After saying their goodbyes to Liu Na, Huang Shixiong took his two daughters and followed Lu Chengfeng back to Shu Yan's office.

Shu Yan fetched juice and snacks for the two girls.

The two girls didn't dare accept them and looked up at their father.

Only after Huang Shixiong nodded did they dare to take them, thanking her timidly, "Thank you, Auntie."

Lu Chengfeng couldn't help asking, "What are your plans for the future?"

Looking at his two daughters, Huang Shixiong sighed and said, "I'll just have to quit my job and go back to take care of them. Life might be a bit hard, but I won't abandon them."

Lu Chengfeng: "If you need anything in the future, you can call me."

Huang Shixiong was deeply grateful. "Thank you, Captain Lu. You've already helped me immensely; I can't trouble you anymore."

After sitting for a while, Huang Shixiong bade farewell to Lu Chengfeng and Shu Yan, preparing to take the two children to the construction site where he worked.

He needed to go back and resign from his job with the boss.

After seeing the father and daughters off, Lu Chengfeng and Shu Yan went to see Zhao Jianguo and made a brief report.

Soon, it was time to get off work.

Lu Chengfeng stayed at the bureau to work overtime and interrogate the suspects, while Li Jiaojiao drove over to pick up Shu Yan for dinner.

"I originally wanted to treat the two of you as a couple and get to know your husband at the same time, but it seems he lacks the culinary luck," Li Jiaojiao said.

Shu Yan fastened her seatbelt and replied, "There will be plenty of opportunities later for him to treat us."

Li Jiaojiao winked at Shu Yan. "That's more like it. I thought you'd gotten married and forgotten all about your best friend here."

Shu Yan: "A best friend is a best friend, and a husband is a husband. Are you actually getting jealous of him?"

Li Jiaojiao chuckled. "Of course! If I want to ask you out or come over to your place to hang out in the future, I won't be able to be as casual as before, otherwise I'll become a nuisance. I certainly don't want to be that kind of annoying person."

Shu Yan reached out and poked Li Jiaojiao on the forehead. "You have such a vivid imagination. I think you should hurry up and find a boyfriend yourself."

Li Jiaojiao resisted, "I don't want one at all. Living my life freely all by myself is wonderful."

Ten minutes later, the two arrived at the restaurant Li Jiaojiao had booked.

Knowing that Shu Yan had been suffering from severe pregnancy sickness lately and couldn't eat much, Li Jiaojiao specifically let Shu Yan order the dishes, selecting appetizing ones.

After placing the order and waiting for the waiter to leave, Li Jiaojiao continued, "Oh my, today is literally your wedding night, yet you're out here having a dinner date with me while your groom is stuck at the office working overtime, and the two of you can't even go public yet."

"Do you feel sad about it at all?"

Shu Yan smiled faintly, pressing her lips together. "No, I don't have time to think about all that. I went hiking this morning, and then stood in the autopsy room for two hours when I got back. Right now, all I want is to finish eating quickly, go home, take a bath, and get a good night's sleep."

Li Jiaojiao: "True, you really have had a hard time. You're pregnant and you still went hiking. You need to be careful, okay? You should find time to go to the hospital for a checkup as soon as possible. I've already asked Department Director Cai of the obstetrics and gynecology department for you."

"She holds clinic hours on Wednesday and Friday mornings every week. Remember these two times, register under her name when the time comes, and let me know once you've booked it so I can give Department Director Cai a heads-up."