Chapter 703: Your First Name, My Surname (4)
He walked over, putting the vase with the flowers onto the shelf and patting her on the shoulder before walking out of the door.
The winter nights were exceptionally cold. Even if there were countless stars in the sky, it could not ward off the bitter cold.
Mu Yuchen's handsome figure walked underneath the cold streetlights. After a while, he reached the gazebo by the lake where Li Si and Ah Bao had already been waiting for quite a while.
"Master, you're here!" Li Si and Ah Bao bowed honorably.
Mu Yuchen nodded calmly as he reached out to fix the windbreaker on his shoulders before stopping by the railing. "How's it going?"
"Master, I've brought this pen to quite a few cities according to Ah Mo's orders, and at least at a famous antique shop in City B. I've found some news about it," Ah Bao said in a lowered voice.
When Ah Bao said that, Mu Yuchen immediately frowned slightly. "City B?"
"Yes, Master! It was XX jewelry section in XX antique store of City B. The shop owner there is an old man. According to what he told us, he says that this pen was custom made by the person who bought it. Because the situation was rather unique, he remembered it quite clearly," Ah Bao responded as he handed the folder to Mu Yuchen.
Mu Yuchen reached out to take it, and borrowed the dim light to open the folder. Quickly, he took the pen out, and what also fell out was that yellowing photograph.
Mu Yuchen bent down to pick up the fallen photo. The words on the back greeted his sight clearly.
Holding it up to scrutinize, he silently looked up at Ah Bao moments after that. "Continue."
"Yes, Master!"
"He said that back then, the person who wanted this pen made was a very handsome, young man. The man looked like someone of status and was generous in spending, but he appeared humble too. I showed him Qi Qiming's picture, and he was certain that it was not Qi Qiming. The height did not match, but because the man wore sunglasses then, so he did not get a good look at his face either. Nonetheless, he can be sure that he should be someone from City B."
"That man told the shop owner to deliver the thing to XX residence mailbox on Dao Er Street. After that, I checked on the address, and this is when something weird happened. That residence is... under Miss Mu Zi's name! Right now, that house has been demolished, so most of the information was lost. Initially, I wanted to check when Miss Mu Zi bought the residence, but I couldn't find anything. Before Miss Mu Zi passed away, she wrote in her will that after she passed, that residence could be auctioned off, and all of the profits would be donated to welfare agencies."
Ah Bao's words were no doubt like a bomb dropped right into Mu Yuchen's lake of a heart, causing many waves!
A residence registered under Aunt's name?
How could that be?
Light flashed in Mu Yuchen's mind. From what he remembered and from some of the information that showed that Mu Zi rarely went to City B, how could she have gotten a residence there?
In fact, XX residence was not cheap. Based on what he knew, after Mu Zi passed away, all the assets were left to Lingtian and Lingshi. That was a huge sum of money as well. If she really had bought it, she would not have had such a huge sum of money left.
"Master, I highly suspect that someone else intentionally erased all of that previous information. I visited the old residents nearby and showed them Miss Mu Zi's picture. They were sure that Miss Mu Zi was the owner of the residence back then, but she never went there often. Sometimes, she wouldn't even be there in a month, and when she was there, she'd wear shades. She probably didn't want to be recognized," Ah Bao continued to say softly. He noticed that Mu Yuchen did not look too pleased, so he paused, but Mu Yuchen gestured at him for him to continue.
"All the old residents there say that they've never seen Miss Mu Zi interact with anyone else. Sometimes, they'd see a black car send Miss Mu Zi back to her place. It had a local car plate, but we don't have the actual number plate, and we have no way of finding out."
When Ah Bao finished, Li Si could not help but frown again. They finally found a clue and now the trail ended just like that.
He turned and looked a little worriedly at Mu Yuchen, yet he saw his Master's unfathomable expression. Instead of the gloominess from before, he seemed to be enlightened.
"Master, do you have a plan?" Li Si asked softly.
Mu Yuchen smiled mysteriously, the calm corners of his mouth curving up. "A cover-up only makes matters worse! Since we have reached this point in our investigation, it would be much easier to continue. Circle in on all those with status and positions in City Z. Those are people who can get them to erase such information. I think it would be much easier than trying to pick a needle out of the haystack! Also, go to the De Bao auction in City B. Auction this pen and try to promote it more widely. I'll personally inform the De Bao auction president."
When Mu Yuchen said this, Li Si's eyes immediately lit up. He could not help but look at Mu Yuchen admiringly.
How did he not think of this!?
That pen with a white Qinghua porcelain body with those sapphire gems on it was quite significant in price! According to the estimated value, it was definitely an item worth collecting!
If that person was really from City B and custom-made this pen years ago, then perhaps he would not be willing to let this pen fall into someone else's hands, or at least, it would attract his attention. Then, he would get the people at the auction to take note, and then with a little filtering, maybe...
Master was Master indeed. He was incredibly smart!
Li Si could not help but laugh. "Master, you have such a way with things! With our attack from both angles, I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of it this time!"
"According to the clues you guys got previously, in terms of comparison of height and looks, I'll leave the rest to you. Do as you see fits."
Then, he tossed the folder to Li Si before calmly turning to walk out from the gazebo.
Before he walked down the stairs, Mu Yuchen suddenly stopped and turned to look at the two of them. "Without my orders, do not reveal a single word to anyone else, including Ah Mo. Understand?"
Li Si and Ah Bao nodded before responding, "Master, don't worry, we understand!"
Mu Yuchen looked up at the night sky blanketed with stars. "Go home soon. Ah Bao, you can make your way to City B tomorrow."