Jiang Li recognized the man immediately.
He was Wu Jianchuan, the very person Jiang Jinxiu had mentioned before—a low-level enforcer for the Revolutionary Committee. Whenever there were house raids, confiscations, or acts of vandalism, he was always among the first to charge in.
When her parents had been arrested and their home searched, Wu Jianchuan had been the one leading the raid.
In a sense, he was one of her enemies as well.
However, Jiang Jinxiu’s scheme to have her parents denounced and sent away had required influence beyond Wu Jianchuan’s capabilities.
That influence came from his brother-in-law, Li Qingyuan, a deputy director in the Revolutionary Committee.
It was only because Li Qingyuan had been pulling strings behind the scenes that Jiang Jinxiu and her husband’s plan had succeeded.
Wu Jianchuan also relied on his brother-in-law’s position to conduct shady dealings and make money from both legal and illegal channels.
For example, when Jiang Jinxiu arranged ship tickets to Hong Kong, it was Wu Jianchuan who used his brother-in-law’s connections to smooth the way.
Jiang Li hadn’t known any of this in her previous life.
She had only learned the truth after interrogating Jiang Jinxiu shortly before killing her.
These beasts.
Jiang Jinxiu.
Wu Jianchuan.
And Li Qingyuan, who sat comfortably in a position of power while committing countless wrongs.
All of them deserved to rot in hell.
Then Jiang Jinxiu’s voice drifted over.
“I’ve already talked to her. Once she’s recovered, she’ll transfer the job to Manman.”
Jiang Li narrowed her eyes.
So her enemy’s daughter still wanted her position?
Dream on.
She stayed hidden and continued listening.
Suddenly, Wu Jianchuan slapped Jiang Jinxiu on the backside and grinned.
“When you get to Hong Kong, don’t forget your old lover. Remember to miss me.”
“Of course I will,” Jiang Jinxiu replied flirtatiously. “I couldn’t forget you even if I wanted to. My body’s inconvenient these past couple of days, but tomorrow night come to my house. I’ll make sure you’re thoroughly satisfied.”
“Good. I’ll definitely come.”
“Anyway, that girl is pregnant now. I need to find a small clinic and get rid of the baby. Otherwise, she’ll cause trouble before we leave for Hong Kong or after we get there.”
“What? She’s getting an abortion?”
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
Wu Jianchuan immediately lowered his voice and leaned close to whisper into her ear.
Ordinarily, Jiang Li shouldn’t have been able to hear him.
But perhaps because she had drunk the Spirit Spring water, her senses had become extraordinarily sharp.
Every word reached her ears clearly.
Wu Jianchuan whispered,
“I have a relative who’s obsessed with maintaining her beauty and youth. She’s been secretly collecting aborted fetuses for years. The younger the mother, the better. A fetus from someone like your niece would be ideal. If you can get one for her, you’ll be well rewarded. She’s been having trouble finding suitable ones lately and is getting desperate.”
“I understand.”
Jiang Jinxiu seemed to know exactly which relative he meant.
Without hesitation, she agreed.
“I’ll definitely get it for her. Tomorrow I’ll make my niece get rid of the baby.”
After finishing their conversation, Jiang Jinxiu glanced around to make sure nobody was watching.
Then she kissed Wu Jianchuan on the cheek.
Apparently afraid of being discovered, they separated immediately and hurried off in different directions.
Originally, Jiang Jinxiu wanted Jiang Li to abort the baby so she would completely sever ties with that rough military officer.
Once they reached Hong Kong and Jiang Li recovered physically, her beauty and figure could be put to better use.
In Jiang Jinxiu’s eyes, Jiang Li’s purpose was to entertain wealthy business partners and help expand her future ventures.
If Jiang Li refused surgery at a clinic, Jiang Jinxiu was prepared to secretly slip her abortion-inducing medicine instead.
Now, however, someone wanted the fetal remains.
That meant she needed to arrange the abortion as quickly as possible.
Jiang Li had heard every word.
Good.
So Jiang Jinxiu, this shameless old woman, was openly inviting her lover into her home.
How bold.
What disgusted Jiang Li most was the discussion about collecting aborted fetuses.
The thought made her stomach churn.
Who could be so depraved?
It reminded her of ancient stories about consuming human placentas and other gruesome practices.
Jiang Jinxiu herself possessed attractive features thanks to the Jiang family’s good genes.
Unfortunately, that beautiful face had been wasted on someone rotten inside.
Surely her husband, Zhao Baolin, knew about the affair.
Either he feared Wu Jianchuan and his powerful connections and dared not object, or he willingly tolerated the humiliation because it benefited him financially.
The world truly contained every kind of absurdity.
Fine.
The day after tomorrow she would catch them in the act and drag their affair into the light for everyone to see.
As for forcing her to abort her child and handing over the remains—
They could keep dreaming.
Just thinking about it made her feel sick again.
Still, the most important person wasn’t Wu Jianchuan.
It was Li Qingyuan.
If he had been powerful enough to help engineer her parents’ downfall, then he had undoubtedly profited from it.
He had almost certainly received a share of her family’s treasures.
And perhaps her parents’ deaths in the countryside had been connected to him as well.
Jiang Jinxiu and Wu Jianchuan wouldn’t escape punishment.
Neither would Li Qingyuan.
If he remained untouched, his protection would continue shielding the other two.
Even if they were arrested for adultery, someone like him could likely find a way to get them released.
He was like an umbrella sheltering them from the storm.
Only by tearing that umbrella apart could the rain finally fall on those hiding beneath it.
Then another thought struck her.
The woman who wanted aborted fetuses…
Could she be Li Qingyuan’s wife?
What a monster.
Someone with such grotesque tastes and cruel methods barely seemed human.
Although similar practices existed in ancient times, this was no longer the ancient world.
For some reason, Jiang Li found herself thinking of a certain island nation to the east.
Foreign spies existed everywhere.
Especially from that country.
Perhaps…
If that old monster was connected to them, then Li Qingyuan might also be involved.
If they turned out to be part of the same network, catching them all at once would be ideal.
The mention of aborted fetuses suddenly reminded her of the incident at the hospital.
The female doctor had falsely diagnosed her pregnancy and tried to convince her to abort.
Could it be because she was collecting fetal remains as well?
Jiang Li vividly remembered the look in the doctor’s eyes when she had first seen her.
The doctor had looked at her like a hunter spotting valuable prey.
The realization sent a chill through her entire body.
Hell might be empty, but demons still walked among the living.
If that were true, then the doctor and this mysterious old woman were connected.
Perhaps the doctor was gathering fetuses for her.
The more Jiang Li thought about it, the more convinced she became.
She needed to visit the Public Security Bureau and tell them what she had heard.
The question was how to explain it.
After some thought, she decided she would simply say she had overheard the information by chance and let the investigators determine the truth themselves.
So she headed to the police station.
The female doctor had already been brought there.
Jiang Li found Captain Zhao, the officer in charge, and relayed everything she had overheard.
At first, Captain Zhao found the story difficult to believe.
But when he connected it to the doctor’s suspicious behavior at the hospital, it no longer seemed impossible.
After listening carefully, he nodded.
“What you’ve told us makes sense. We’ll question her along those lines and see what we uncover.”
“Thank you,” Jiang Li replied.
Just then, her stomach growled loudly.
She couldn’t let herself go hungry.
And she certainly couldn’t let the baby go hungry either.