Every document inside the safe was hauled out.
Those treasured materials never meant for outsiders' eyes, those cherished certificates outsiders couldn't comprehend, together with Qin Guan's desolate heart, were all laid bare before the crowd.
Qin Guan felt like he'd been stripped naked. He couldn't move, couldn't leave.
Nor could he escape this torment – he had absolutely no idea why these people had pried open his safe. What was their purpose?
In a contest between masters, this "utter ignorance" was the most terrifying kind – how could he counter when he didn't even know his opponent's objective?
Never in his career had Qin Guan encountered such a predicament.
"Your parents-in-law, who also essentially raised you, right? They've supported you for so many years, long treating you as family," Old He began, his gaze piercing as it fixed on Qin Guan. "Then you must surely know their family was originally quite wealthy. Over the years, with demolition and relocation payouts, plus property investments, they accumulated substantial assets. Multiple properties alone – one in Jiayuan Community, one in Guanlan Court, two in the New District, one in the provincial capital next door, one in the prime seafront area downtown… and there are also commercial properties…"
This was getting to the point.
Wealth.
So, they were here for the money? Investigating the Xu family's assets?
Weren't they looking for Qi Min? How did they suddenly shift to the assets?
Why bring this up?
Qin Guan sensed keenly that they must have uncovered some new clue. It was unlikely to be routine questioning. Or, was this another one of Xu Ruyi's tricks?
He dared not underestimate Xu Ruyi anymore – that woman who had always been so obedient to him. The bitch had changed utterly; her methods were not only ruthless but numerous.
Besides, she had help: Xiao Zhi.
Swallowing hard, Qin Guan forcibly suppressed the panic rising in his chest. He remained silent – with the truth unknown, saying nothing was the safest response.
"Now, your parents-in-law have both passed away. Do you know how these substantial Xu family assets were arranged?" Old He asked.
Qin Guan blinked.
He'd sensed the Xu family's wealth from his very first meeting with Xu's father back in elementary school. By middle school, meeting Xu's mother confirmed it. By the time he was dating Xu Ruyi, he knew it inside out.
Both Xu's father and mother came from well-off, well-educated families. The demolition payouts added significantly to their savings. They didn't speculate in stocks or make risky investments, but they bought numerous properties. Xu's mother had a keen eye for property; she caught several waves of surging prices, multiplying their assets several times over.
But as for how these assets were to be handled, his in-laws had never mentioned it – did they need to? Naturally, they would be left to their only daughter, Xu Ruyi. Naturally, they would be left to him, Qin Guan.
"They never said?" Old He pressed again.
Qin Guan shook his head.
"So, you're saying you didn't know about the will your father-in-law made before his death? You were completely unaware?" Old He continued.
Qin Guan nodded – A will? His in-laws' deaths were accidents! What will? Perhaps these people were trying to bluff him?
That was entirely possible. This whole thing could be a bluff from start to finish, designed to break his defenses.
"Then, what's this?" an officer who had been examining the files and certificates suddenly asked.
Qin Guan's eyes snapped towards him.
He was dumbstruck.
It was several sheets of paper. At the very top of the middle one, two large, dignified, and forceful characters stood out clearly: Will.
There really was a will.
Stuck among the files Qin Guan couldn't bear to discard!
How was this possible?
First, his in-laws had never made a will at all! His mother-in-law had passed suddenly; she was still agonizing over the Guanlan Court property when she went!
After her death, his father-in-law never mentioned it either!
And of course, he... he certainly couldn't have made one!
Moreover, Qin Guan would take those files out periodically to admire them. He had never seen any so-called will inside!
How could a will be stuck in there?
"It wasn't me! I didn't put it there! I know! It was Xu Ruyi! It must have been her! She's framing me! She's setting me up! That hammer is the proof!"
Only Xu Ruyi!
He knew it was Xu Ruyi!
That bitch, that bitch was harming him step by step!
What trick was this now?
Qin Guan gasped for breath; he was truly on the verge of losing control – he could clearly feel Xu Ruyi's entire conspiracy tightening around him like a net, yet he still couldn't grasp what exactly was being ensnared!
That terrifying bitch!
"It was her! This will, I've never seen it before, never touched it!" Qin Guan raised his hands, breathing heavily, struggling to stay calm, calmer. He was a professional lawyer; he absolutely could not lose to that ignorant woman! "You can check! There will be fingerprints on it, but definitely not mine! Because I knew nothing about it! I never even saw it! Let alone touched it! Xu Ruyi put it there! Please collect evidence!"
"But Xu Ruyi didn't know the safe combination, did she?" Old He countered calmly, his eyes fixed on Qin Guan. "You said so yourself just now. Three years ago, Xu Ruyi handed this safe over to you. You've been the sole user. You changed the combination. Since she didn't know it, how could she have put it inside?"
Yes, logically, that was true. But...
"No! You don't understand that woman! She's formidable! I don't know what method she used, I haven't figured it out yet, but it must be her!" Qin Guan's face paled. "Please collect evidence! Take the fingerprints! The fingerprints will prove my innocence!"
The forensic officers didn't move, watching him.
"Hurry! Do you believe her? Has she said something else? You can't trust her words; they're all lies! You... you're all being deceived by Xu Ruyi!" Qin Guan grew more frantic. "I had absolutely no idea there was a will. I never even looked at the contents of the will..."
"You never looked at the will's contents? Then why did you have this hammer here?" Old He picked up the hammer with his gloved hand.
What did that mean?
Qin Guan froze for a few seconds before finally understanding. "You think... this hammer... I was going to use it against Xu Ruyi?"
No one spoke.
The silence was confirmation.
The hammer, originally the hammer of Xu Ruyi's conspiracy, had now become his murder weapon?
Wrong! Wrong! Everything was upside down!
Upside down and ridiculous!
Qin Guan clutched his head, breathing with difficulty.
No. He had to stay calm.
This was getting more and more absurd.
That will, whose contents he was completely unaware of, must be extremely detrimental to him. And Xu Ruyi had placed it in the safe precisely to give him a sufficient – motive.
Yes, motive.
Millions worth of inheritance. Anyone would covet it.
But he had truly never harbored such thoughts! Because he had always known, always been certain, that as long as he married Xu Ruyi, those assets would inevitably be his one day!
Why covet something that was bound to be yours eventually?
Had he shown anything? No! He had never done anything to Xu Ruyi! All these years, he had meticulously crafted the image of the perfect husband, praised by everyone – in the neighborhood, at the firm, who didn't know Qin Guan was a wife-doting maniac?
"I truly didn't know the contents of the will. I have never harmed Xu Ruyi," Qin Guan choked back the turmoil raging inside him, forcing his voice to remain level. "I've always treated Xu Ruyi well. I couldn't possibly harm my wife for property. We have a child now. I love her, and I love the child."
"But," Old He opened the will, his gaze like a sword piercing Qin Guan, "you could harm someone else for property." He paused, then delivered the blow. "This mentions her. Qi Min."