The Case of Old Man Li's Suicide

Two days later, Lian Chi and Shen Jian She were officially transferred to the General Team of the 2nd Brigade of the Chang City Police Bureau.
Before they could even get to know everyone in the 2nd Brigade, a phone call came in.
Team Leader Wu hung up and immediately turned to Lian Chi and Shen Jian She: "Lian Chi, Shen Jian She, there’s a report from Zhongyuan Street. An old man has hanged himself. You two go there with Little Yang, Little Li, and Uncle Chu. Consider it getting familiar with the team’s workflow."
There was also someone named Little Yang in the 2nd Brigade, but his full name was Yang Xiao.
Those called, including Yang Xiao, immediately stood up: "Yes, sir."
Lian Chi and Shen Jian She naturally didn't refuse: "Yes, sir."
The Criminal Investigation Detachment was much wealthier than the Security Detachment. The Security Detachment only had five cars in total, and most team members had to take the bus to patrol the streets. But in the Criminal Investigation Detachment, each brigade had three cars. Lian Chi didn't even need to ask Team Leader Wu for permission; he directly drove two cars out of the garage.
Ten minutes later, the five of them arrived at the deceased’s house.
As soon as he stepped through the door, Lian Chi frowned.
Because the deceased had not only been taken down from the rafters by the family and covered with a bedsheet, but a brazier had also been placed in front of him, with several people expressionlessly squatting on the ground burning joss paper.
The surroundings were also crowded with onlookers.
In other words, the original scene had been disturbed.
Yang Xiao took out his ID, held it up, and said to the people at the scene, "Police business. Unrelated personnel, please clear the area."
The crowd of onlookers immediately dispersed from the yard.
Yang Xiao then looked at the people burning joss paper for the deceased: "Please accept our condolences."
The middle-aged man leading them finally reacted, his mouth twitching as he said, "Sorry to trouble you officers."
Yang Xiao: "Don't worry, we will handle this quickly."
The middle-aged man looked exhausted: "Thank you."
Lian Chi couldn't help but take another look at him.
Then, a thin man squeezed out of the crowd: "The officers are here."
Yang Xiao turned to look at him: "You’re the one who reported it again?"
The thin man: "Yes."
He said expertly, "I work at the hospital. I was on the night shift yesterday and finished this morning. While passing by here, I saw some stray dogs barking madly at their house. I couldn't help but peek through the door gap, and I saw a pair of legs hanging there. So I immediately ran to the supermarket ahead and borrowed their phone to call the police."
Yang Xiao: "What time did you see the deceased?"
The thin man: "Around 10 AM."
Yang Xiao: "What time did you report it?"
The thin man: "10:10 AM. After reporting, I specifically checked my watch to remember the time."
Lian Chi checked his watch; it was now 10:23 AM.
The thin man seemed to remember something and said with an annoyed expression, "Also, I told them not to move the body because it would disturb the scene, but they didn't listen."
Yang Xiao only said, "Thank you."
Then he put away his notebook, walked toward the body, and pulled back the white cloth.
Uncle Chu, who came along, was the medical examiner. He stepped forward to examine the body.
A few minutes later, he gave his conclusion: "The body is stiff, joints are fixed, and there are many livor mortis marks on the body that slightly fade when pressed. Estimated time of death is about 10 hours ago."
"There is a ligature mark on the neck, and a scratch on the middle finger of the left hand. Other than that, there are no other injuries. Preliminary conclusion is suicide."
Yang Xiao asked the middle-aged man: "Where is the deceased’s room? We want to take a look."
The middle-aged man pointed to a room on the left.
Yang Xiao and the others followed him in.
The room was very clean; the blankets on the bed were neatly folded, and even the mirror didn't have a speck of dust.
They checked the entire yard. Except for two rooms on the second floor that hadn't been lived in for a long time, everywhere else was very clean.
In other words, Yang Xiao and his team did a sweep but found nothing.
Yang Xiao then gathered the neighbors and asked, "Did anyone hear anything unusual last night?"
"Unusual sounds?"
They all shook their heads: "No."
"Oh, right. I got up to use the bathroom a few times last night, and every time I saw Old Man Li’s lights were on."
"What’s strange about that? Old Man Li committed suicide; he couldn't turn the lights off. It’s normal for his lights to be on all night."
"Yeah, I guess..."
In the end, Yang Xiao’s group still came up empty-handed.
But this seemed to be within Yang Xiao’s expectations. He looked at the middle-aged man and said, "We will take the body first and conduct a more detailed autopsy. This is the autopsy notification; please sign it."
"If there are no other issues, we will notify you to collect the body."
The middle-aged man took the notification and signed it: "Okay."
On the way back to the car, Shen Jian She couldn't help but say, "Is that it?"
"Didn't you see the family’s attitude was very strange?"
It was as if the deceased wasn't their relative.
Furthermore, Yang Xiao didn't seem to investigate the deceased’s social relations at all.
Yang Xiao seemed to have anticipated this question. He said, "Shen Jian She, Lian Chi, you two are new, so you don't know. Almost everyone in our Bureau knows this family."
"Old Man Li used to be the Vice Factory Manager of the Textile Factory. Later, the factory was dissolved, but he had already made enough money for three generations to live on."
"His wife wasn't healthy, and he only had one daughter when he was 35."
"Old Man Li loved and pampered this daughter to the extreme."
"Later, they got a son-in-law, that middle-aged man just now, named Di Xue Ming. The middle-aged woman standing next to him is Old Man Li’s daughter, Li Mei Yi. They were high school classmates. Di Xue Ming came from a poor rural area in Ningyuan County; his family background wasn't good."
Lian Chi recalled that the middle-aged woman had indeed been following the man, but she hadn't said a single word to them.
Yang Xiao continued: "But Di Xue Ming is a good person, and Old Man Li liked him very much. He originally had no chance of staying in the City, but later Old Man Li pulled strings to get him a job as a math teacher at the No. 2 Primary School."
"When Old Man Li’s wife passed away, it was Di Xue Ming who carried the incense burner."
"Four years ago, Old Man Li was seriously ill, and Di Xue Ming took over a month off to care for him."
"Later, Di Xue Ming’s father fell seriously ill, and Old Man Li spent several thousand yuan on his treatment, even using connections to get him into the provincial hospital."
"After Di Xue Ming and Li Mei Yi got married, they didn't have a daughter until they were in their thirties, named Li Xue."
"A month ago, Li Xue, who was only three, fell into a well and died."
Shen Jian She was startled: "What?"
Yang Xiao: "I was also the one who received the report that day."
"Di Xue Ming and Li Mei Yi usually had to work, so the care of Li Xue was left to the retired Old Man Li. That morning, Old Man Li went out to buy breakfast for Li Xue. While passing the market, he saw two people playing chess and stopped to watch for a while. Half an hour later, when he returned home, Li Xue was nowhere to be found. When she was found, her body was floating in the well."
"We guessed that Li Xue might have woken up, didn't see Old Man Li, and went to look for him. While passing the well, she saw the dried persimmons Old Man Li was drying on it and wanted to eat some, accidentally falling in."
"So, Di Xue Ming and Li Mei Yi’s attitude is understandable."
"Old Man Li’s suicide is also understandable."
Hearing this, Shen Jian She nodded, but soon frowned.
He still felt something was wrong, but he didn't know what.
After returning to the Police Bureau, Uncle Chu immediately conducted a detailed autopsy.
That afternoon, the autopsy report was released.
Uncle Chu read: "There are no stains on the deceased’s clothes, no bone deformities, and no pathological changes in the chest, abdomen, back, buttocks, or limbs..."
After reviewing the report, Yang Xiao said, "Alright, we can conclude now."
"The deceased indeed committed suicide!"
"No, this is likely a murder!"
At that moment, Lian Chi suddenly spoke up.
He finally knew what was wrong.
Facing the skeptical gazes of Yang Xiao and the others, Lian Chi said, "First, from the reactions of Di Xue Ming and Li Mei Yi, they clearly resented the deceased for their daughter’s death. So when they heard he committed suicide, their emotions were complex—partly relieved, partly saddened... to the point they didn't want to talk to us."
"The neighbors said the deceased’s lights were on all night, but when we arrived, the lights were off. Who turned them off? It must have been Di Xue Ming or Li Mei Yi. They didn't want to say a word, but they turned off the lights because they were afraid of wasting electricity?"
"Second."
Lian Chi picked up two photos.
They were photos of the deceased’s hands.
Yang Xiao looked at the photo in Lian Chi’s left hand.
But he looked at it over and over and saw no clue.
Shen Jian She was the first to react: "The deceased’s fingernails had just been trimmed."
"The cuts are very fresh."
Yang Xiao finally realized: "A person who wants to commit suicide—how could they be in the mood to trim their nails before dying..."