A pair of pure silver chopsticks engraved with exquisite patterns, a blood-red bracelet so dark it was almost purple, and a gold ingot, these three items were spread out in the open bundle.
Lin Baohe, his hands trembling, picked them up and caressed them, not because of their value, but because they had been touched by his birth father and mother...
Jiang Qi looked at Old Lady Lin with a smirk that was not quite a smile, "Which items did you sell? Tell us."
"Just... just these."
From that hesitant and mumbling voice, it was obvious there must be more. These few items were probably left because they were difficult to sell, or else, there would likely have been nothing left at all.
"If you tell the truth, considering your advanced age, you might avoid imprisonment, but if you continue to resist, don’t blame us for not showing enough respect for the elderly," Jiang Qi said, rolling up his sleeves.
Old Lady Lin unconsciously shuffled backward, "I’m of such an old age now, and if someone were to die, you... you would also be locked up."
"Old Lady, do you think we are hooligans who hit people on a whim?" Jiang Qi laughed and shook his head, "Your kang is too hot, I just can’t adapt, look how scared you are.
But Old Lady, from this, it seems you must have done quite a few unscrupulous things, or why else would you be so easily guilty, right?
So, tell us now everything about that couple, as it originally happened. As for whether you are murderers or not, we will have to conclude after our investigation.
However, if you can’t explain things clearly and well now, then I can’t guarantee what the final outcome will be."
Lin Baohe passed the items to Zhao Yulan and his gaze also turned to Old Master Lin and Old Lady Lin, "What exactly did my parents do? Where did they come from? And how did they meet you?"
At this point, Old Master Lin no longer held any hope for luck, having already realized that Lin Baohe had come prepared. Although he was still somewhat skeptical about the identity of these two men, he absolutely believed that if he did not cooperate, they really might imprison him.
"That year as fall was turning into winter, my second son caught pneumonia. Your mother and I, carrying him, went to Old Man Wang’s place in the neighboring village to get some medicine. On our way back, we encountered Japanese soldiers. Your mother and I were terrified and ran desperately toward the village."
We were running so fast that your mother tripped over a loose stone and the child she was carrying flew into the river. Neither your mother nor I could swim. We were just thinking about finding a branch for your mother to hold onto while I went into the river when a couple, around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, also carrying a child, ran by."
They had already passed us, but seeing how frantic your mother and I were, they turned back. The man handed his bundle to the woman and jumped into the river."
After a short while, the man, holding my son, suffered a cramp upstream and went under. The woman handed the child, that is you, to your mother and then jumped into the water."
The result... after she went down, she never surfaced again. Your mother and I, holding onto the rope, searched for a long time but found nothing."
At that moment, both your mother and I were confused. We couldn’t save the child, and two people had died; what was going on? I admit, after we opened the bundle, we became greedy."
Later, when we asked the villagers to help retrieve the bodies, we claimed the child that fell in was the couple’s child. You and our second son were about the same age, just eight or nine months old. With many children around, no one paid attention to what another’s child looked like. Over the years, no one ever suspected a thing."
Originally, the bundle also contained some pieces of gold and silver, along with some women’s earrings and rings. Those items were easy to exchange, so your mother gradually traded them for household necessities."
The remaining few items, we dared not bring out, fearing they might spell trouble. Later on, as the world changed, we dared not bring them out even more."
The couple’s origin and names, we truly do not know. However, judging by their clothing and belongings, they certainly weren’t from a meager background."
Hearing this, other than showing how ruthless and greedy Old Man Lin and Old Lady Lin were, it had no other use; Lin Baohe’s eyes conveyed profound disappointment.
"You’re lying to me! The Public Security Bureau wouldn’t arrest us!" at this point, Old Man Lin suddenly caught on—his event had happened before the liberation; the Public Security Bureau wouldn’t investigate things from before the liberation.
"You think just because it happened before the liberation, it’s beyond our jurisdiction? What happened before liberation is still part of China’s history," Jiang Qi snorted coldly, "After committing such a heinous act, how can you still be so self-righteous?"