Jian Jing wrote down the main doubts in her notebook:
1. How was the groom poisoned?
Generally speaking, ordinary people get nitrite poisoning from eating food processed with the stuff, like cured meat and pickles. But what was the groom's family background? How could he possibly have eaten such things??
Even if he did eat it by accident, how come no one else got sick? Who could guarantee that the groom got the poisoned food out of all the dishes and drinks?
2. When was he poisoned?
Depending on the carrier, nitrites can take effect at different times. Eaten directly, symptoms appear in ten-odd minutes. But with vegetables, it could take up to 20 hours. In other words, he could have been poisoned as early as yesterday.
3. What was the missing gift?
What made the groom decide to disappear without telling anyone?
4. What happened while the groom was missing?
Did he really resolve the issue smoothly? Who did he give that watch to?
5. What was the killer's motive?
Why kill the groom? Was it a grudge? Or did someone stand to benefit from his death?
So many doubts.
Jian Jing thought for a long time and decided to investigate the gift first. The other three questions would be hard to explain. Only the gift ribbon was still in hand, so she would see if she could find any clues from it.
She took a photo of the ribbon and searched for the same style on a shopping site. Many similar products popped up, ranging from a few dollars to over ten dollars - very ordinary.
With so few leads, she would try her five senses card.
She had to admit, this limited edition card was extremely helpful for collecting physical evidence, especially the sense of smell, almost like a police dog... Ahem!
It took Jian Jing half a minute to discern several smells on the ribbon: her own perfume, a mix of other fragrances from the gift boxes, and a strong floral scent.
With her limited knowledge of flowers, it was likely neither a lily nor rose, the two most common blooms today. Eliminating those two, the scope of search suddenly narrowed.
Finally, she pinpointed the source at the long table in the lounge.
The table was lined with all kinds of bottled drinks, individually wrapped cookies and chocolates, and other snacks. Each type was neatly arranged in baskets with white silk cloth lining the bottom.
She lifted the silk from each basket one by one and found one slightly different from the rest. It was smaller in style and not an open basket, but a box with the lid tucked inside and draped with white silk gauze, easy for an ordinary person to miss.
Lifting the gauze, the bottom layer revealed a withering carnation. Though it was light yellow, similar to the color of premium roses, everyone knew it did not suit the wedding atmosphere.
Its meaning was motherly love.
Inside were Milky Rabbit candies, very childlike.
Jian Jing said, "Ask the staff here if they put this out."
Lu Groomsman immediately called over the person in charge, who said they only used imported premium cookies and chocolates here. The ordinary candy must have been brought in by a guest.
Jian Jing asked, "Did anyone notice who brought it in?"
The person in charge delicately replied, "Relatives of the bride and groom started arriving three days ago, coming and going. It's hard for us to keep track."
The bride and groom were locals who just arrived this morning, but both sides had out-of-town relatives who came one or two days in advance and stayed at the venue.
It was unreasonable to expect them to name four, five, six people.
Working backward, if it had nothing to do with the groom, he would not have noticed it, so how could he have left the ribbon behind? It wasn't hard to guess - unclear who brought the gift, but the groom must have hidden it.
Such bold yet meticulous actions were consistent with his earlier disappearance.
Jian Jing pondered for a while and asked, "Who is the groom usually closest with? No secrets between them?"
Lu Groomsman said A's name.
He explained that the groom was the youngest of his siblings - older brother, second sister, third sister. The older brother and second sister were birthed by the first wife. The third sister was birthed by the second wife. The groom was birthed by the third wife. So the siblings were not very close.
Lu Groomsman was the groom's cousin, son of the current Mrs. Fang's older brother. He and the groom were on good terms but not best friends who shared everything.
Both A and B grew up with the groom, but B was a bit complicated to describe. So A was considered his best bro. As for C, he was several years younger, more of a tagalong. Ordered around more, trusted with secrets less.
Therefore, A was the most suitable person to ask about secrets.
Jian Jing spoke with A alone and asked, "Do carnations or Milky Rabbit candies hold any special meaning for the groom?"
The tall A looked perplexed. "Why are you asking this?"
"Investigating the cause of the groom's death," Jian Jing replied. "Please tell me."
Lu Groomsman chimed in, "If you know, say it. Uncle has entrusted this to her."
A frowned, clearly distrusting her like C did, and reluctantly said, "I've never heard him mention those. Carnations are flowers you give to mothers, right? He probably gave them to Mrs. Fang during holidays."
"Was the groom close with his mother?" Jian Jing asked.
"So-so," A said.
"What does 'so-so' mean?"
"Not good or bad," Lu Groomsman cut in. "He was raised by nannies when young. Not much to worry about when he grew up either. They got along fine in daily life, he went home to eat often."
Jian Jing asked, "Considering the Fangs' status, it's unlikely the groom ate Milky Rabbits, right?"
"Obviously."
She thought for a bit then asked, "Is it possible to visit Mrs. Fang?"
Lu Groomsman said, "I'll take you."
As her nephew, he had a close relationship with Mrs. Fang. With him making the introduction, Jian Jing soon met Mrs. Fang relaxing in the penthouse suite.
Only in her forties, she was as beautiful and slender as a woman in her twenties or thirties, lounging on the sofa drinking bird's nest and white fungus soup.
"Little Yu, sit," she pulled Lu Groomsman to sit beside her and served him a bowl of the sweet soup. "Have some warmth in your stomach."
Lu Groomsman impatiently brushed it aside. "This is Miss Jian. Uncle has entrusted everything to her."
"Oh," Mrs. Fang looked Jian Jing up and down. "Bring a bowl of bird's nest for Miss Jian too."
The housekeeper nearby immediately brought over another steaming bowl of soup. "Please have some, Miss Jian."
"I won't be having any, thank you," Jian Jing cut to the chase. "Mrs. Fang, I have some questions for you."
Mrs. Fang clasped her hands over her stomach elegantly. "Go ahead."
Jian Jing asked, "What was the groom's attitude toward today's wedding?"
"He really liked Rongrong and looked forward to the wedding," Mrs. Fang replied. "Why are you asking this?"
Jian Jing looked at her steadily. "You must know he disappeared for a period today."
"I heard. Perhaps he just stepped away for a bit." Mrs. Fang said, "I don't think it's related to my son's death."
"Did you notice anything off after he returned?"
"No." Mrs. Fang was a little annoyed. "Miss Jian, my husband wants you to find the killer, not waste time on trivial matters."
Jian Jing responded coolly, "I decide whether it's a waste of time or not. Next question - how was the groom's relationship with his siblings?"
"What are you implying?" A young woman in a dress suddenly burst out from the bedroom, visibly unhappy. "Suspecting we killed little Yan?"
Jian Jing did not recognize her. "And you are?"
"She's little Yan's third sister," Lu Groomsman quickly introduced and placated Third Miss Fang. "Calm down. Just routine questions."
As if Third Miss Fang was so easily appeased. She sneered coldly, "Cut your bullshit 'routine questions.' You're interrogating us as criminals!"
Jian Jing's expression was flat. "I'm learning about the social relations of the deceased. You can end the investigation anytime you want."
Mrs. Fang smiled and gently advised her, "This was your father's idea."
Whoever held the purse strings was the boss. Even Third Miss Fang had to reluctantly swallow her anger, throwing out an "Do whatever you want" before storming off.
Jian Jing did not try to stop her either.
She felt that the three elder brothers and sisters ahead didn't have sufficient motives to commit murder—after Fang Yan's death, could they get more of the inheritance? Not necessarily, Mr. Fang wasn't dead yet.
If the old father had died, it wouldn't be surprising for the younger children to commit murder for the inheritance worth billions, but the person wasn't dead yet and still held financial power. What good would killing the little brother do? It was possible that what originally belonged to the new groom would now belong to his mother.
Besides, if the second and third eldest wanted to get rid of a competitor, they should have prioritized the eldest who was male and had entered the family business early on.
Therefore, compared to the young masters and mistresses, Jian Jing was more suspicious of Mrs. Fang.
The kangaroo paw was one thing, her attitude was another.
Mrs. Fang was of course grieving, with slightly reddened eyes and pale complexion. When speaking of her child, a few teardrops would well up in her eyes. However, amidst her sorrow, she hadn't lost her composure and was still very graceful in her interactions.
However, the pain of a middle-aged woman losing her son was extreme, especially for the mother. It was said to be heart-wrenching, screaming and crying to the heavens, and nothing less.
Mrs. Fang's gracefulness was somewhat strange instead.
Jian Jing asked some irrelevant questions: "What was his personality like, was he prone to making enemies?"
"My little Yan was very filial, he would prepare gifts for me specially during New Year's and holidays, and sometimes accompany me shopping too. Although a bit spoiled, he absolutely wouldn't have any enemies." Mrs. Fang dabbed at the corner of her eyes with a handkerchief, and gently said, "As for enemies, our family certainly has some, but all business-related. Who would want to target little Yan for no reason?"
Jian Jing asked: "Do you suspect anyone?"
Mrs. Fang said: "Miss Jian, I know what you mean, but his elder brothers and sisters treated him well. I'm certain they have nothing to do with this."
Jian Jing nodded without probing further on whether this was true or sarcastic.
After chatting with Mrs. Fang, she hurried off to visit the bride.
In her bedroom, she encountered President Kang who had just arrived.
"Jingjing." In the suite's living room, President Kang immediately grabbed her hand when he saw her arrive, "Where have you been, Murong City's been looking for you."
"You're Jinwu's President Kang right? I'm Lujiu's son Luyang, the groom's cousin." Lu Groomsman greeted respectfully and enthusiastically, "I was taking a walk with Miss Jian."
"The Lu family of Qusheng Wine." President Kang's gaze swept over him, implying deeply, "Our Jingjing is introverted, rarely seen getting along so well with someone."
Lu Groomsman laughed. "Miss Jian is clever and charming, everyone wants to get along with her."
"Is that so," President Kang smiled, "It's windy now, Jingjing stay here with me for a bit."
Lu Groomsman hesitated, signaling Jian Jing with his eyes.
Jian Jing was delighted to see him taken down a notch, pretending not to see: "I want to go see the bride."
President Kang said: "Rongrong is putting on makeup."
"I'll just chat with her for a bit." Jian Jing gripped President Kang's hand back, applying a bit of force before letting go.
President Kang's expression became meaningful: "Alright, you young girls have things to talk about." She released Jian Jing's hand, turning to Lu Groomsman, "How is your father? I didn't even know you and the groom's family were cousins."
Showing signs of starting small talk.
Lu Groomsman couldn't leave her hanging and follow along, forced to stay and chat idly.
Jian Jing finally got rid of the annoying supervisor, entering the bedroom happily.
Mrs. Nie was accompanying her crying daughter, at a loss asking: "What can we do now?"
"And the Fang family..." President Nie stopped mid-sentence when he saw Jian Jing abruptly enter, frowning, "Miss Jian?"
"President Nie, hello." Jian Jing closed the door and gently said, "The Fang side has no plans to call the police for now."
Mrs. Nie was surprised: "Why?"
"Unclear, I'm currently investigating this." She sat at the bedside, the bride laying on the bed with lifeless eyes. "I'd like to ask the bride a few questions, it may help."
Mrs. Nie frowned: "Calling you to investigate... Dear, this is..."
President Nie however had different considerations. Jian Jing was Jinwu's writer, even if not familiar with their family, she was naturally on their side.
And as soon as Jian Jing entered, she had revealed information, clearly demonstrating goodwill.
He pondered for a long time before asking: "What's the situation now?"