Chapter 841 - Trails left by w.a.n.g Guofeng
Xia Yu drove to the destination that he agreed with Su Tao beforehand. His heart was aching when he looked at the bullet holes on his vehicle. He knew that fixing it wouldn’t be an easy matter.
Xia Yu had a good relations.h.i.+p with the repair shop, which he was confident that he wouldn’t be cheated. But he still couldn’t help feeling heartache for this car that he had just bought barely six months ago. As a car lover, Xia Yu couldn’t help cursing those pursuers who fired at his vehicle.
Su Tao had already made preparations yesterday. He rented a three-room apartment around Gu Rushan’s district. The landlord had left Beijing to develop his career in another city as he had just gotten married this year. That means that the furniture and renovation were well-preserved.
He had his concern for not arranging Zhang Ailian to the hotel. He was afraid that Zhang Ailian might be found by Rangure and kept under surveillance once more.
When Zhang Ailian entered the apartment, she noticed how thoughtful Su Tao was. There were baby diapers and even wet wipes. It proved that Su Tao was thoughtful since she was going to stay here with her baby. Placing a child down on the bed, Zhang Ailian sat down in the living room and started sobbing.
Su Tao poured a cup of water for Zhang Ailian, “w.a.n.g Guofeng is dead, and you can’t change that. But you have to stay strong for your son.”
“I only have him, but I never expected that he could commit suicide.” Zhang Ailian’s voice went hoa.r.s.e.
Su Tao and Xia Yu exchanged a glance. He knew that Zhang Ailian was misled by the news as well.
Xia Yu shook his head as he chewed on the gum in his mouth, “The news isn’t true. We already have enough evidence to prove that w.a.n.g Guofeng did not commit suicide. He was murdered.”
Zhang Ailian was taken aback by Xia Yu’s relation as she looked at the two men before her and replied painfully, “I’m just a woman. What can I possibly do about that? There’s nothing I can do to take revenge for him!”
“There’s nothing you can do to take revenge for him, but you can help to provide clues to aid our investigation. For example, are you sure that he doesn’t have any suicidal thoughts?” Su Tao asked.
Wiping her tears, Zhang Ailian replied, “It makes no sense for him to commit suicide! He even told me that he was going to set up a bank account to ensure that I would not have to worry about clothes and food in the future.”
Su Tao was stunned when he heard Zhang Ailian’s words. He immediately realized that there was something queer about this matter. He asked, “Has w.a.n.g Guofeng ever tell you that he has any hidden a.s.sets? Such as properties or hidden ident.i.ty?”
Zhang Ailian was no longer an ignorant girl. She looked at Su Tao in alert before she lowered her head. She did not reply to Su Tao’s question.
When Su Tao saw her response, he was confident that Zhang Ailian must know something.
Taking a deep breath, Su Tao persuaded, “Not only do you have to take revenge for the father of your child right now, but you also have to ensure that the two of you can lead a carefree life. As you can see, someone is trying to keep you under surveillance. There’s a choice before you right now. You can pick to trust us or trust them. At the same time, I would like to remind you that w.a.n.g Guofeng’s death might be related to those who were keeping you under surveillance.”
“What should I believe you? Who are you?” Zhang Ailian questioned.
“My name is Su Tao.” Su Tao replied calmly.
“You’re Su Tao?” Zhang Ailian was shocked as she looked at Su Tao. She had heard w.a.n.g Guofeng mentioning about Su Tao. He told her that Su Tao was her greatest opponent. However, Zhang Ailian never expected that she would fall into Su Tao’s hands right now, which she couldn’t help feeling anxious.
“w.a.n.g Guofeng and I weren’t friends, but I was troubled by his death. The entire world now feels that I’m the cause of his death. So I have to find the killer to prove my innocence.” Su Tao explained patiently. “I wouldn’t have rescued you if I was going to do anything to you. Then again, I won’t force you to make a choice. You can make a choice yourself. I can get Xia Yu to send you back anytime if you wish to go back.”
Xia Yu revealed an awkward smile upon hearing that. He did not want to return to the tiger’s den.
“Will you guys be able to protect me if I cooperate?” Zhang Ailian was finally moved. She had some understanding of Su Tao. Su Tao might be w.a.n.g Guofeng’s opponent, but Su Tao had a righteous reputation.
Although w.a.n.g Guofeng and Su Tao had been competing with each other, w.a.n.g Guofeng had still acknowledged what Su Tao did to promote TCM from the bottom of his heart.
“That’s for certain. I will contact the w.a.n.g Family for you. The w.a.n.g Family’s roots ran deep in Beijing. Your son might have lost his father, but that also means that your son is the only bloodline left in the w.a.n.g Family. So I’m sure that they will do everything to nurture him.” Su Tao resorted to using kins.h.i.+p.
“Really?” Zhang Ailian had a bitter smile on her lips. “But my ident.i.ty… I’m afraid that they won’t recognize me!”
“They won’t recognize you if w.a.n.g Guofeng is still alive. But now that he’s dead, they will change their mind for the sake of your son.” Su Tao sighed.
When Zhang Ailian heard Su Tao’s words, she began to calm down.
Su Tao looked at Xia Yu and gave him a signal. Wearing a smile on his lips, Xia Yu spoke out, “I’ll need some hair from your son to conduct a DNA test.”
Zhang Ailian nodded her head. She knew that it was to determine if his son was indeed the bloodline of the w.a.n.g Family. “This son is definitely the blood and flesh of w.a.n.g Guofeng.”
Xia Yu felt relieved. He was just testing Zhang Ailian earlier. Zhang Ailian was married, and it wasn’t sure if her son belonged to w.a.n.g Guofeng. If a DNA test weren’t conducted, the w.a.n.g Family wouldn’t recognize her son.
“Furthermore, we still have something to talk with you about. You will have to work with us if you want the culprit to face the law. I need to know some arrangements that w.a.n.g Guofeng did when he was still alive. He’s a smart person, and he will definitely leave something behind.” Su Tao made a request to Zhang Ailian once again.
This time, Zhang Ailian only hesitated for a few seconds before she sighed, “According to my knowledge, w.a.n.g Guofeng did leave something behind. He once told me to visit Qiongjin’s Wonderful Time Spa and look for someone called Old Sun if something happened to him.”
Su Tao and Xia Yu exchanged a glance upon hearing what Zhang Ailian revealed. w.a.n.g Guofeng was brilliant. He had already predicted that Rangure would abandon him.
Even if Rangure had kept w.a.n.g Guofeng under surveillance, she would never imagine that he would leave something so important with an employee in the spa.
“I’ll run an errand for you. I’ll need a letter and video from you.” Xia Yu said to Zhang Ailian.
Zhang Ailian had only hesitated briefly before she nodded her head with a bitter smile. She did not have the luxury of options right now.
Xia Yu then followed Zhang Ailian into the room. In the process of retrieving a few strands of hair from the baby, the baby did not startle awake.
Su Tao then placed the strands of hair bottle before leaving. He was confident to leave Zhang Ailian’s safety to Xia Yu.
He gave a call to Yuan Lan when he came out. With some time to recover, Yuan Lan had pretty much recovered. When the call went through, Su Tao was straightforward as he spoke his purpose, “I need help in finding someone. He’s an employee in Wonderful Time Spa with the surname Sun.”
“After that?” Yuan Lan’s voice was still as indifferent as always.
“Protect him!” Su Tao replied.
If something happened to that employee, they would lose the clue to what w.a.n.g Guofeng had hidden when he was still alive. Su Tao could sense that it must be related to Rangure.
There was a long queue outside the w.a.n.g Family’s Pharmacy when dawn tore through the nightscape.
Even with the Three Flavour Hall’s current reputation in Beijing, it was still inferior to the w.a.n.g Family’s Pharmacy.
The w.a.n.g Family’s Pharmacy was famed to have two National Healers. The two of them had built up their reputation over the years and winning a loyal batch of customers for themselves. They were mainly reputable figures in the society. As words spread among the upper circle, everyone knew to look for the w.a.n.g Family’s Pharmacy if they were suffering from any diseases.
The w.a.n.g Family’s Pharmacy was only closed for a few days to bask in sorrow. w.a.n.g Rui was in pain for w.a.n.g Guofeng’s death, but he continued to operate the business as usual.
When Su Tao arrived at the w.a.n.g Family’s Pharmacy, the butler treated Su Tao like an enemy when he announced his name. The butler was looking at Su Tao with a conflicted gaze. But in the end, he still went to tell w.a.n.g Rui about it.
w.a.n.g Rui had already paid the compensations to Su Tao. That also meant that their conflict had been temporary placed down. When w.a.n.g Rui heard that Su Tao had arrived, his heart bellowed with waves. He knew that Su Tao wouldn’t come if there were nothing significant. He explained the situation to his current patient before he came out to meet Su Tao.
There were two wooden chairs made of phoebe zhennan wood in the living room.
When w.a.n.g Rui arrived, he glanced at Su Tao faintly, “There’s no tea to serve you. There are many customers today, and I can only spare you five minutes.”
Su Tao wasn’t bothered by w.a.n.g Rui’s att.i.tude and smiled, “I’m here to ask demand something from you.”
“What is it?” w.a.n.g Rui was furious this time. “Have I not paid the compensation of ¥500,000?!”
The first thought that went through his mind was that Su Tao came to cause trouble.
“Relax!” Su Tao knew that w.a.n.g Rui had misunderstood his intentions. “I’m here to ask a strand of hair from you to conduct a DNA test. You must be curious about the child in the photo I showed your wife the other time, right? I would like to verify that for you guys.”
w.a.n.g Rui never imagined that Su Tao was talking about this matter. He and his wife were both having a headache over this matter as they were both trying to find ways to pursue this matter. However, he never expected that Su Tao would visit him.
“You want to help us get the DNA test done? How can I know that it won’t be forged?” w.a.n.g Rui replied coldly.
w.a.n.g Rui’s response was within Su Tao’s expectations. Taking out a bottle from his medical box, Su Tao placed it on the desk. “The child’s hair is here. You guys can decide if you want to get the DNA test done.”
When Su Tao was done speaking, he cupped his hands together and left.
“Send Physician Su out!” w.a.n.g Rui called out. The butler who was waiting outside stepped out to lead Su Tao out.
w.a.n.g Rui might seem composed, but his heart was already bellowing with waves. He opened the bottle and verified the few strands of hair inside. Based on his experience, he could confirm that those were hairs from a child.
He did not return to his patient immediately and entered the courtyard. He had to tell his wife about this piece of good news.