Besides, even if there really was a body buried underneath, it might not necessarily have been her handiwork. What if she had simply guessed wrong? Perhaps it was a murder committed by the previous occupant of the house.
In any case, she needed to think this through carefully and handle it with caution.
After restoring the scattered items to their original positions, Qiuyun left after locking the door.
This time, she did not go home. Instead, she prepared for the worst-case scenario, returned to the estate, and took out the legal books she had bought earlier to read through them again.
According to the Criminal Procedure Law, no one may be found guilty without a lawful judgment from a people’s court.
In other words, even if a body were dug up in the courtyard, if Qiu Fuyang and his wife had fled abroad and were living there illegally, they would still only be criminal suspects who had not yet been convicted.
It would not have much of an impact on her or Qiu Ze.
In fact, she would be fine. The mere fact that she had saved Old Master Jiang was enough to secure her a stable position in the Jiang family and guarantee her a comfortable life.
But Qiu Ze was currently a trainee. If he debuted in the future and this matter came to light, his career in the entertainment industry would probably be ruined halfway.
Qiuyun took a deep breath and put down the book, rubbing her temples.
Yet if she kept this matter hidden, wouldn’t that make her an accomplice? She had already discovered a murder, but was still unwilling to clear the victim’s name.
After thinking it over and over, Qiuyun came up with a compromise. She would leave things untouched for now and first bluff that couple into revealing who had died and how. Then she would decide what to do.
What a headache.
She returned the law books to the shelf, gathered her things, and prepared to go home.
Who would have thought that, after receiving word that Miss had come, the girl would come running over and throw herself into her arms?
“Sister Xiaoqiu! I didn’t see you all day yesterday. I missed you so much!”
Especially after hearing from her father that Sister Xiaoqiu would not be coming back to work until after the New Year, she had even lost the motivation to carve wood!
Qiuyun crouched down and gathered her into her arms. “See? I’m back now. What do you want to eat tonight?”
Jiang Chuling shook her head. “Our family is supposed to keep watch at the hospital tonight, so we’ll have to eat there.”
“All right. I’ve been away for two days. How is Old Master Jiang doing? Have the police found out anything?”
“My dad said the board of directors is in complete chaos. Several projects that had already been agreed upon were suddenly blocked by people who refused to sign when the contracts were ready. Anyway, a few of the ones making the biggest fuss were reported to Grandpa by Grandpa Lin.”
Jiang Chuling wrapped her arms around Sister Xiaoqiu’s neck. “It seems the police haven’t made much progress either. Everything involves overseas phone numbers and bank accounts, and all the accounts have already been closed. It’s very difficult to trace.”
After getting a general understanding of the situation, Qiuyun nodded.
As for finding the commercial competitors behind it all, she would leave that headache to Old Master Jiang and the others. She would not get involved.
“What about Mr. Yijie? Have you seen him these past two days?” Qiuyun asked.
Jiang Chuling burst out laughing, clearly delighted. “Of course I have! The day before yesterday, Second Uncle even tried to hide. He took Second Aunt on a helicopter to a cruise ship, planning to lie low on the high seas for a while. But Grandpa is such a tough man. When the helicopter was only halfway there, he had air traffic control contact the pilot and stop it!”
Each branch had its own helicopter, but the maintenance, servicing, pilots, and flight applications were all handled by the estate’s security department.
With one phone call from Butler Lin, wasn’t it easy to have the helicopter stopped?
Jiang Chuling was brimming with excitement. “You have no idea! Second Uncle knelt in front of Grandpa’s hospital bed. When he found out Grandpa had already woken up, his eyes went wide and his mouth hung open for ages! He even slapped himself twice right there!”
Wow.
What a ruthless man.
“At the time, I was leaning against the sofa pretending to sleep. I thought Grandpa would just scold him a little and let it go. But who would’ve guessed? Tsk, tsk. Grandpa had the bodyguards bring over a stick this thick and beat Second Uncle on the butt!” Jiang Chuling pressed two fingers together, still shaken by the memory. “He was so scary. I’ve never seen Grandpa that angry before!”
Qiuyun guessed that Old Master Jiang must have had an explosive temper when he was young. It was probably only with age that he had begun taking better care of his health.
“Second Uncle was beaten dozens of times! Even I felt my heart tremble listening to him howl. Grandpa Lin said he was beaten until he bled before Grandpa finally ordered them to stop.”
Tsk, tsk.
Such a vicious punishment. He had brought it upon himself.
“Later, they probably locked Second Uncle up and sent him to another sanatorium, with Second Aunt going along to take care of him.”
The couple probably would not be getting out before the poisoning case was resolved.
Qiuyun was more than happy that the first branch had one fewer rival. “The second branch brought this on themselves. They’re no longer a threat. Since I’ve been away these past few days, I have two tasks for you.”
Jiang Chuling grew excited. “What are they?”
The girl was young and had a strong appetite for gossip, while her presence was inexplicably easy to overlook. She often managed to overhear things without attracting anyone’s attention.
For instance, her phone call with Pei Cizhou at the corporation, and the news about her second uncle being beaten this time.
Qiuyun instructed her, “Keep a close eye on your Third Uncle and Fourth Uncle. If you notice anything unusual, tell me or your father.”
“Okay!” Jiang Chuling patted her chest in promise.
That evening, the first branch went to the hospital to keep watch, while Qiuyun returned home to rest.
She had agreed with the girl that she would go back to visit her every few days. Counting carefully, there was still more than a month before the New Year. She had plenty of time to visit Mengtan and clock in for work.
When she got home, the property management staff and housekeepers learned that their female employer had returned and prepared a meal for two without charging extra.
After the siblings finished eating, they watched television for a while. Then Qiuyun received a text message:
[Industrial and Commercial Bank of China] Your account ending in 5032 has received an incoming cross-border transfer of USD 14,100,000.00, equivalent to RMB 100,000,000.00. (Exchange rate for reference only.) Sender: RiverFoundation. Memo: Irrevocable, No repayment. Due to the large amount, this transfer requires both manual and system verification by the receiving bank. Please confirm the actual posting time through official channels. Thank you for your patience! For details, call 95588.
???
Qiuyun’s eyes widened. She carefully counted the digits after the RMB amount.
“Units, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands…”
“What are you doing, Sis?”
“Don’t interrupt.” Qiuyun cut him off without mercy. “…Ten million, one hundred million!”
—Gasp!
Qiuyun sucked in a breath.
A full hundred million yuan had actually been transferred into her account!
She took another close look at the sender: the Jiang River Foundation.
Fortunately, she was familiar with the first branch’s financial records and knew that this was a foundation the Jiang family had registered overseas. Otherwise, she really would have thought she had been scammed!
She knew that Old Master Jiang intended to give her one-eighth of the inheritance from the second branch, but inheritances did not normally arrive so quickly. She had never actually calculated how much it would amount to.
Who would have thought that she would receive such a huge transfer less than two days later?
She had instantly achieved a small financial goal!
Before she could finish processing the shock, Steward Lin called.
“Hello, Xiaoqiu. Did you receive the money?”
“I did! I’ve received it!” Qiuyun sat up ramrod straight, speaking clearly and formally.
“That’s good. It’s just a small token from the Old Master. What you did—taking the medicine yourself when the situation was so dangerous—was truly moving. This money is from the Old Master’s private account, given to thank you. If you need anything in the future, don’t hesitate to ask the family.”
By referring to the Jiang family as “the family,” Steward Lin was making it clear that he truly regarded Qiuyun as one of their own.
Qiuyun naturally understood the favor being shown to her and replied modestly, “You’re too kind, Steward Lin. I noticed that the server seemed suspicious at the time. I was so eager to save him that I didn’t think twice before trying it myself.”
“To possess such courage and insight—meeting you truly is a blessing for Master.”
“Please, Steward Lin, you really must stop. You’re making me blush.”
