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Deadly Game of Fate [Oriental Mystery and Suspense]
*Chapter 12: The Haunted Mansion Murder Mystery (Part 5)

*Chapter 12: The Haunted Mansion Murder Mystery (Part 5)

Xia Zeqin found various items in each person's room.

In the room of the accountant Zheng Jueming, he discovered a dagger hidden under the pillow.

Zheng Jueming stammered for a while before finally managing to say, "I’m afraid of dying; it’s for self-defense, nothing more."

In the room of the Fourth Young Master, Lu Jing, Xia Zeqin found a letter corresponding with bandits. The letter revealed Lu Jing's intentions to collaborate with them to kill the deceased.

Lu Jing replied, "I do hate him, but since I've already allied with the bandits and made a series of plans, why would I act recklessly now? I’ve waited for so many years; a few more days won’t matter. I want to kill him, but I haven’t had the chance."

After receiving their responses, Xia Zeqin did not press further.

Next was Mu Xin.

"I found some items in your room, but," Xia Zeqin shook his head and continued, "I haven't yet found any direct connection between you and your father's death. However, I want to ask you this: Are you pregnant and do you not want this child?" As he spoke, he produced a miscarriage prescription and a packet of medicine he had found in Mu Xin's room.

The game did not shy away from this matter; the prescription clearly labeled "miscarriage medicine" at the top, and the packet was also labeled accordingly.

Mu Xin appeared dazed for a moment, then looked somewhat panicked as she weakly said, "My relationship with my husband isn’t good. I don’t want his child, so... this should be a private matter, unrelated to the murder case, right?"

"Not necessarily," Xia Zeqin replied, finally turning his gaze to Jian Fan.

Jian Fan looked up, their eyes meeting in the air.

Qin Nan, sitting nearby, swept his gaze between the two. The real show seemed to be just beginning.

"Family doctor?" Xia Zeqin asked with a smile.

Jian Fan simply responded with an "Mm."

"I didn’t find anything suspicious in your room," Xia Zeqin said, leaning back and relaxing his posture. "I have no questions for you. Let’s see if my teammates have anything to add."

Qin Nan was somewhat surprised.

He had thought that Jian Fan would be the one Xia Zeqin would press the hardest, but he didn’t expect him to let her off so easily.

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Since Xia Zeqin had no further questions, his female companion followed suit, shaking her head and remaining silent. However, Xu Tian, who had been listening intently to everyone’s statements since Xia Zeqin began, suddenly spoke up after he finished.

"Jian Fan, I have a question for you," Xu Tian said.

Jian Fan looked at her, signaling her to continue.

"In what circumstances would you consider killing someone?" Xu Tian asked a question that seemed completely unrelated to the script.

Xu Tian's question caught everyone off guard, including Jian Fan.

He turned to Xu Tian, sitting up slightly, displaying a seriousness that hadn’t been there before. "If he doesn't die, I will."

"So, that means you wouldn’t kill anyone unless your life was in danger, even if you had a grudge against them?" Xu Tian pressed on.

Jian Fan nodded, not denying it.

"I have no further questions," Xu Tian concluded, then withdrew her gaze, returning to her previous quiet demeanor, which was somewhat different from how she had first appeared.

"I’ll share our findings," Qin Weiyi chimed in.

No one objected.

Qin Weiyi, Mu Xin, and Zheng Jueming were responsible for checking the remaining six rooms, which included Xia Zeqin's team and Lin Junru and Xu Tian.

"We also checked six rooms. In the Young Master’s room, we found no suspicious clues. Personally, I think this is the most suspicious part. Borrowing one of Xia Zeqin’s earlier points, the Young Master is an illegitimate child. In the context of ancient times, one can imagine what he and his mother would face. He was only brought back after his biological mother died, so it’s reasonable for him to hate his father and have a motive for murder. The absence of any suspicious clues in such a situation is the most suspicious."

Qin Weiyi looked at Xia Zeqin. "You just asked Qin Nan a question, and it’s the same one I want to ask you. Xia Zeqin, you’re hiding clues."

Xia Zeqin neither confirmed nor denied it, instead asking, "Are you and Qin Nan teammates?"

"Not the killer, just my teammate," Qin Weiyi replied, not waiting for Xia Zeqin’s answer before quickly shifting the topic. "Aside from Xia Zeqin, we found some clues in the other five rooms. Until I have more information, I don’t have any questions for you. Let me briefly outline our findings."

As he spoke, Qin Weiyi placed everything he had found on the table.

"To the Young Mistress, we found a letter with seemingly flirtatious content exchanged with an actor, and a blood-stained gold hairpin; to the Eldest Miss, a medical book personally written by the family doctor, which contains not only simple prescriptions but also some poisons, along with various scattered medicinal materials found in the room; to the Second Miss, we discovered a blood-stained... uh, what would be called a pair of undergarments in ancient times; to the Third Young Master, there’s a journal-like document written in your own hand, where you repeatedly express a desire to kill your own father; and for the deceased’s brother, uh... uncle, we found a key in your room, engraved with small letters that, if I’m not mistaken, is the key to the family treasury."

"That’s all I wanted to say. Feel free to discuss," Qin Weiyi concluded.

Qin Nan hadn’t expected Qin Weiyi to approach it this way. He simply listed what he had found, maintaining an objective rationality even when it came to Xia Zeqin. Even when addressing Xia Zeqin, he didn’t act impulsively; he merely responded to Xia Zeqin’s cue, maintaining a level of composure that surpassed most of the others present.

After he finished speaking, he fell silent.

Zheng Jueming raised his hand. "I have something to say."

"Earlier, Xia Zeqin mentioned that the deceased—our master—was castrated, and in the Second Miss's room, we found blood-stained undergarments. I want to know the condition of the body at that time. Are these two incidents related?" Zheng Jueming directed his question pointedly at Xia Zeqin's female companion.