Chapter 12: The Cause of Sister Lin's Death

Liu Tianming steadied himself, made up his mind, and loudly declared, "I'll tell you who drove Lin Yuhe to her death—it's Niu Fuyun from the main street teahouse! Both Luo Li and I saw him running out of her house on the night of the sixth. He nearly ran into me!"

The crowd fell silent, the mention of Niu Fuyun catching everyone's attention. A young woman who worked at the Yipin Teahouse quietly slipped away upon hearing this.

Liu Tianming continued, "I stand by what I said. I take responsibility for my words. This is indirect murder, and I'll testify in court!"

Luo Li looked at Liu Tianming in surprise, impressed by his brother's sense of responsibility.

Just as Luo Li was feeling moved by his brother, Lin Yuhe's mother-in-law rushed over, hair disheveled:

"You're a teacher! You saw that scoundrel threatening my daughter-in-law on the sixth, and you didn't step in then. Now she's dead, and you want to testify? Testify to what, huh? Waaaah..."

Luo Li and Liu Tianming both froze. Yes, what were they afraid of at the time? Liu Tianming felt even more regretful; back then, he had assumed the worst about Lin Yuhe...

Uncle He immediately rushed into the house. Despite his old bones barely holding him up, he quickly came back out, brandishing a knife: "I won't let my son become a criminal. I'll go and kill that bastard myself!"

The crowd erupted in chaos again, with people crying and trying to disarm him.

Deep down, Luo Li felt a hint of comfort. Sister Lin had taken her own life to prove her innocence, and her in-laws believed in her. She was a chaste woman, but too naive. In these times, how could she take things so hard?

But sighing wouldn't help; justice had to be served.

Liu Tianming suggested reporting to the authorities, while Luo Li prepared to go find Niu Fuyun. Liu Tianming warned him not to act recklessly.

When Luo Li arrived at Yipin Teahouse, only Niu Fuyun's wife sat at the counter, her face pale. Luo Li didn't bother asking her anything and rushed inside. "Hey! Luo Ni'er, what are you doing? Niu San isn't here!" "Where is he? Did he run away to avoid getting arrested?" "What nonsense are you spouting?" Niu San's wife glared at Luo Li and turned away without saying another word. Luo Li sneered and continued searching, turning the teahouse upside down.

Finding no sign of Niu Fuyun at the teahouse, Luo Li returned to He Ji to see what the police had to say.

Just as he arrived, Niu Fuyun showed up with the police, led by the same officer with the peaked cap whom Luo Li had seen at the teahouse that day.

Luo Li immediately thought that this situation wouldn't be handled fairly.

He whispered a few words to Mr. Liu, who glanced at the officer and nodded in understanding.

The officer told everyone to go home, not to cause a scene, and not to be incited by others. Then, he asked to see Lin Yuhe's suicide note.

Liu Tianming shouted, "The note is evidence, and I'm a witness! It was him," pointing at Niu Fuyun, "who ran out of He Ji on the night of the sixth. We even heard a scream before that. It must have been him!"

The officer shot a sideways glance at Mr. Liu. "Liu Tianming, just because you're a teacher doesn't mean everything you say is true. This isn't your classroom; everything needs evidence. Eyewitness testimony alone isn't enough. Investigating is a job for the police, not teachers."

"Really? If eyewitness testimony isn't enough, what about physical evidence? The suicide note is evidence," Luo Li stepped forward.

The officer was about to speak when Niu Fuyun interrupted him. He unbuttoned his suit jacket, placed one hand on his hip, and sneered, "Luo Ni'er, who do you think you are? You're just a charlatan, a fortune teller. What right do you have to speak here? Get lost!"

Luo Li held back his anger. "Who am I? I'm also a witness. That night, I was with Mr. Liu. We had just left Sihai Woolen Sweater Store when we saw you running away like a dog. The store owner, Mr. Cai, can confirm that we were out late on the night of the sixth."