Chapter 106 - 79: The Death Exemption Medallion Breakthrough

"By the way, let me be clear."

"I already met with Jiang Yu before seeing you. What do you think... did she talk?"

’He saw Jiang Yu, too?’

Qiao Wang froze. She immediately looked up at Xu De, her expression shifting slightly as a struggle appeared in her eyes.

’He’s met with Jiang Yu...’

’Would Jiang Yu talk!?’

’Would she... If she talked and I don’t... does that mean I’ll get a harsher sentence!?’

’But if I talk...’

She fell silent.

Xu De wasn’t in a hurry. He just sat quietly in his chair.

After a long while,

Suddenly, a voice broke the silence.

"She... She entered the welfare institute a year after I did."

"I was only five years old back then!"

Qiao Wang kept her head down, speaking through gritted teeth.

’Every person for themself!’

’It was Liu Jingqi who’d screwed her over so badly. All she ever did was bully people a bit; she’d never once thought of killing anyone!’

"Oh?"

Xu De nodded, his expression completely placid. He continued,

"Yes, I know that."

"Do you have any more details?"

Seeing this, Qiao Wang was startled and cursed him inwardly.

’His reaction... Jiang Yu really did sell me and Liu Jingqi out!’

She grew anxious, knowing full well that if she couldn’t provide any useful information, her sentence definitely wouldn’t be reduced.

"Liu Jingqi was already an adult!"

"She was just a bit skinny when she came in, but she should have already been an adult!"

Qiao Wang blurted out again.

"Mm," Xu De nodded.

"What evidence do you have to prove it?"

Qiao Wang was at a loss for words.

’Evidence?’

’She didn’t have any. This was over ten years ago, where was she supposed to find evidence!?’

"I... I..."

Qiao Wang stammered, her heart burning with anxiety.

She then rattled off several more leads, but none of them were fruitful. They were all just one-sided verbal accusations that a judge wouldn’t even bother to consider.

Seeing this, Xu De shook his head and made a move to stand up and leave.

At this, Qiao Wang became completely frantic. She wracked her brain and finally blurted something out.

"I remember now!"

"Liu Jingqi had an accent when she was a kid!"

’Liu Jingqi was... carried into the welfare institute by someone?’

’A staff member or someone else?’

Xu De suddenly paused. A thought flashed through his mind. He looked at her and said calmly,

"Continue."

Hearing this, Qiao Wang’s face turned red as she strained to think. After a long moment, she could only stammer,

"I... I don’t remember anything else."

"I don’t know what kind of accent it was, I just remember one phrase... something like ’doing like that’..."

"That’s how Liu Jingqi used to talk back then. It took her a long time to get rid of the accent, I’m very clear on that!"

"I really don’t remember anything else besides that."

After she spoke, unsure if she had said more or provided more valuable information than Jiang Yu, she looked up at him uneasily.

But Xu De remained unmoved. He stood up and began to gather his things.

"Miss Qiao, that’s all for this meeting. We’ll contact you again if we need to."

With that, Xu De stood up and left.

Watching his retreating back, Qiao Wang opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing, her heart in turmoil.

...

Outside the detention center.

"So, what’s the verdict?" Wang Chao asked, looking at Xu De.

Xu De thought for a moment, not rushing to a conclusion. "Let’s see Jiang Yu first, then we’ll talk," he said.

After saying this, he went to find a bailiff to make the arrangements.

A short time later,

Back in the attorney meeting room, the seat still held the warmth from Qiao Wang, but the person behind the bars had been replaced by Jiang Yu.

Looking at Jiang Yu, Xu De said calmly, "A few minutes ago, we met with Qiao Wang. What do you think, would she..."

...

...

「8:30 PM.」

The main entrance of the detention center.

Xu De walked out slowly and let out a deep breath, a hint of fatigue on his face.

The questioning of Jiang Yu was over, but overall, she hadn’t provided any useful information.

But... she had confirmed one thing!

"Liu Jingqi has a regional accent."

Wang Chao, walking out of the detention center’s main entrance, looked puzzled.

Lin Yue nodded. "It’s an accent from the Sichuan, Guizhou, and Chongqing area."

Although the internet wasn’t widespread yet, she was familiar with accents from all over the country and had quickly pinpointed the region Qiao Wang and Jiang Yu were referring to.

"What’s so strange about that?"

Wang Chao raised an eyebrow, a confused look on his face.

Regional accents were very common. In 2002, most people spoke with a heavy dialect.

"Having an accent isn’t strange, but..."

Xu De suddenly spoke up, his eyes narrowing.

’What is an accent?’

’An accent is a way of pronouncing words.’

’How does one come to speak with one?’

’You have to learn it!’

’How do you learn an accent? It’s difficult, unless...’

’...you’ve been immersed in it since childhood, unconsciously picking it up by imitating adults!’

But that raised a question.

When she first entered Jiaqin Welfare Institute, Liu Jingqi was four or five years old at most.

And it takes a child at least two or three years to pick up an accent!

In other words...

Liu Jingqi wasn’t from Lusen City. She was born in the Sichuan, Guizhou, and Chongqing region, and she must have been in Lusen City for an extremely short time before ending up at the institute!

Did she come to Lusen City with her parents and then get lost?

No.

A four- or five-year-old can give a simple description of their situation. And if someone from another province reported a missing child to the police in this city, the child’s accent would make them very easy to find.

So, we can basically rule out the possibility that her parents were in Lusen City at the time.

And that leaves only two options.

Either Liu Jingqi deliberately concealed her origins... but for a four- or five-year-old child to hide their background, even if possible, would be one hundred percent abnormal.

Or...

"There’s a problem with the welfare institute!"

Xu De said suddenly, his eyes narrowing as a hidden secret surfaced in his mind.

During the first trial, they basically had enough to convict Liu Jingqi, but she remained arrogant and unrepentant after the hearing, all because she was counting on being a minor.

But if...

’...my guess is right, then...’

’...he could really strip away her ’get out of jail free’ card of being a minor!’

’A minor? It’s that ’minor’ status I’m after!’

’He’d like to see just how arrogant Liu Jingqi could be without this ’get out of jail free’ card!’

"What kind of problem!?" Lin Yue asked, stunned.

"Subsidy fraud!"

Xu De blurted out.

"Subsidy fraud?"

Wang Chao was taken aback. "What’s that?"

...