Chapter 22 - This Illness is Serious
To be honest, Scholar Wen's move to confess voluntarily completely caught Li Nan Ke off guard. It was like hitting cotton with a Vajra Palm.
‘Man, I was fully prepared for a heart-pounding showdown between us, but before I even took off my clothes, you already surrendered.’
This disparity made Li Nan Ke quite unhappy.
It was a complete waste of the interrogation speech he had meticulously prepared all night.
After all, what he wanted was to witness the culprit, under his step-by-step interrogation, go from initial arrogance and conceit to nervous prevarication, then fear and incoherence... until their psychological defenses completely crumbled, and they broke down in tears.
It was like slowly 'educating' an aloof and noble lady...
Instead, before he could even start the 'education,' the other party had already surrendered.
There was no sense of accomplishment at all.
"Aren't you going to defend yourself?"
Li Nan Ke frowned.
A hint of a smile, whether mocking or disappointed, appeared on Scholar Wen's lips.
"There's nothing to defend. Since you've come, it means you have evidence."
"Brother, having evidence doesn't necessarily mean you'll be convicted."
Li Nan Ke tried to encourage him to fight back.
Scholar Wen's face was filled with bitterness.
"I did it. I killed her. No amount of lies can cover up the truth."
His resignation frustrated Li Nan Ke, who could only give up.
However, to understand why Scholar Wen was so readily confessing, Li Nan Ke decided to investigate further.
"Could you take us to your study?"
"Of course," Scholar Wen nodded without hesitation.
…
The study was tidy and organized.
The lingering scent of sandalwood gave it an air of tranquility.
By the window was a large pearwood desk with a marble top. Various calligraphy scrolls were neatly stacked, accompanied by an ink painting of a landscape.
Outside the window, the walls were covered with lush green vines, creating a pleasant atmosphere.
Just a glance was enough to tell that Scholar Wen was a refined and carefree man of letters.
He was in the prime of his life, his writing flourishing.
It was a pity that he had ruined his own future.
Under Leng Xinnan's questioning, Scholar Wen confessed to his crime in detail, without omitting anything.
How he sneaked into the Wan residence, how he administered the 'Red Rain,' and so on.
Leng Xinnan had initially suspected that he was confessing so readily to cover for someone else. But after hearing his confession, she was completely convinced that Scholar Wen was the real culprit who had given Wan Ying Ying and Lin Jiao Yue the 'Red Rain'!
"Why?"
Leng Xinnan couldn't understand.
Scholar Wen's eyes seemed to lose focus as he said with a detached tone,
"Jin Er is dead, so I want revenge. It's that simple."
"But..."
Leng Xinnan wanted to argue, but thinking that Wen Jin Er's death was indeed caused by Wan Ying Ying, she felt a mix of complex emotions.
While Leng Xinnan was questioning him, Li Nan Ke was looking through Scholar Wen's belongings.
From calligraphy and paintings to daily necessities.
Until he accidentally discovered a hidden compartment. When he opened it, he found a stack of poems inside.
Although the poems weren't signed, it was clear that they were written by Scholar Wen.
Li Nan Ke carefully read through these 'hidden' poems, one by one, and the doubts in his heart gradually cleared with each poem.
"Tell us about Wen Jin Er. What kind of person was she?"
Li Nan Ke asked, putting the poems back in the hidden compartment and walking up to Scholar Wen.
Scholar Wen remained silent for a long time before saying softly,
"She was insecure and felt that she came from a poor background. At home, she was always cautious, afraid of being scolded.”
“Actually, our family did neglect her.”
“Perhaps because of this environment, she wanted to gain more attention, so she always tried hard to fit into those wealthy circles. That's why she associated with Wan Ying Ying and the others..."
What Scholar Wen said, Xiang Er had already mentioned before. Li Nan Ke only wanted to obtain the key information he needed.
So he interrupted him and asked directly, "How was your relationship with her?"
Scholar Wen lowered his head and didn't speak.
Li Nan Ke didn't expect him to answer, so he said in a speculative tone.
"Your relationship used to be good. But later, Wen Jin Er seemed to distance herself from you."
Scholar Wen abruptly raised his head and stared at Li Nan Ke.
His eyes held both shock and anger.
His reaction told Li Nan Ke that he had guessed correctly, so he changed the subject.
"Tell us about Wan Ying Ying. What kind of person is she?"
"Wan Ying Ying..."
Scholar Wen's handsome face immediately contorted with disgust. He gritted his teeth and said,
"She's a damned bitch!"
Such anger clearly showed that the hatred in his heart hadn't subsided.
Li Nan Ke pulled a chair over and placed it behind Scholar Wen, then took another one for himself and sat opposite him.
"I only want to know what kind of person she is," he said calmly.
Scholar Wen took a deep breath and said, suppressing his emotions.
"A completely spoiled young miss who thinks everyone should revolve around her. At the slightest displeasure, she would beat and scold her servants and even passersby, almost causing deaths.”
“Sometimes, she would even deliberately torture cats and dogs for her own amusement. Just ask anyone on the street, and they'll tell you how disgusting that young miss is."
Li Nan Ke asked, "Wan Ying Ying always believed that Wen Jin Er and He Qing Yu were having an affair. Is that true?"
"Bullshit!"
Hearing this, Scholar Wen became agitated, his face flushing red.
"Jin Er never liked He Qing Yu, and there was no affair between them!”
“Jin Er wanted to marry into a respectable family. He Qing Yu is a disgraced scholar with a criminal record and no future. Jin Er would never have taken a liking to him."
"Criminal record?"
Li Nan Ke caught a key piece of information.
Scholar Wen calmed his anger and explained,
"Sixteen years ago, He Qing Yu was implicated in a cheating scandal during the provincial examination. Although he was innocent, he was wrongly imprisoned due to political strife.”
“Although he was eventually released, the stain on his name couldn't be erased, and his future was completely ruined. He couldn't take the exam again. It was already quite fortunate that he was able to retain his scholar status."
Scholar Wen couldn't help but feel sympathy as he spoke.
He Qing Yu had thought he would have a bright future and could fulfill his ambitions. But unexpectedly, he suffered this misfortune. It was a true tragedy.
For a scholar, this was undoubtedly a devastating blow.
"So that's what happened. No wonder he became a music teacher."
Li Nan Ke took out his pen and paper, jotting down this information, and then asked,
"What do you think of He Qing Yu as a person?"
Scholar Wen thought for a moment and replied,
"Although I don't like him very much, I believe he is a man of integrity. He teaches music in that environment just to make a living."
This answer surprised Li Nan Ke.
It also overturned some of his previous unfounded speculations.
Scholar Wen didn't shift his anger towards He Qing Yu or slander him because of his sister's incident. Instead, he gave a fair assessment.
This showed his character.
If what Scholar Wen said was true, then there was no romantic relationship between He Qing Yu and Wan Ying Ying, Lin Jiao Yue, or Wen Jin Er.
Only Wan Ying Ying had unrequited feelings for He Qing Yu.
Leng Xinnan couldn't help but ask.
"Then why did you want to kill Lin Jiao Yue? You learned the truth from her and should understand that she wasn't really involved in this matter."
Scholar Wen replied, "Actually, I hesitated at first. But thinking that Jin Er trusted her the most, yet she didn't stop Wan Ying Ying's violence and even abandoned her later, I... I couldn't forgive her.”
“You can say I'm biased, but everyone has the right to be selfish and the instinct to fear. In that situation, maybe I would have been afraid too. Just being able to survive is already commendable.”
“But in any case, I don't regret giving them both the 'Red Rain.' However, now that Lin Jiao Yue has safely overcome the crisis with your help, I suppose it's her fate."
Li Nan Ke listened silently, the pen in his hand twirling between his fingers with dazzling dexterity.
Leng Xinnan watched, mesmerized.
"I still have a question," Leng Xinnan said, turning to Scholar Wen.
"Since you hate Wan Ying Ying and Lin Jiao Yue so much, why didn't you just poison them?"
Scholar Wen gave a strange smile, but his gaze shifted to Li Nan Ke.
"You're very smart. Do you know why?"
Without thinking, Li Nan Ke gave the answer, "Because you wanted Wen Jin Er to take revenge herself."
‘Revenge herself?’
Leng Xinnan was confused at first, but then she gradually understood.
Wan Ying Ying was killed by a Nightmare in the Red Rain dream, and that Nightmare was the manifestation of Wen Jin Er.
The Nightmare Lin Jiao Yue encountered was also Wen Jin Er!
It was their inner demon.
After all, witnessing their best friend's tragic death, especially knowing they were the cause, they would inevitably have psychological trauma and deep guilt, leading to nightmares.
Therefore, once they entered a Red Rain dream, they would definitely encounter a Nightmare.
Scholar Wen looked at Li Nan Ke approvingly and nodded.
"That's right. I wanted Jin Er to take revenge herself. But if they hadn't encountered a Nightmare in the Red Rain dream, I would have poisoned them or killed them directly with a knife."
Leng Xinnan looked at the calm yet crazed man and murmured.
"You truly have deep feelings for Wen Jin Er.”