The cold winter had not yet retreated, but the air of the city carried an unusual tension. As a series of mysterious murders unfolded one after another, the entire city's focus turned to a huge family embroiled in a battle for inheritance. The family's name—Shen—was well known throughout the city. With a long history and a vast commercial empire, they had once dominated many sectors. However, this once-glorious family had now fallen into an endless, bloody whirlpool due to a dispute over inheritance.
The case began with the death of a family elder, Shen Yunsheng, the head of the Shen family. Shen Yunsheng's death should have been a natural passing due to old age, but as the investigation deepened, the police discovered that his death was far from as simple as it appeared. The cause of death was not due to illness, but rather the action of an extremely rare toxin, which led to his sudden death from cardiac arrest within just a few minutes. Even more frightening, further testing of Shen Yunsheng's body revealed the presence of multiple different types of poison, sparking Su Wanqing's alarm—clearly, Shen Yunsheng's death was not the work of a single perpetrator but a coordinated effort involving multiple people.
"This is a meticulously planned murder, involving not just the use of poison, but a collaboration between several individuals," Su Wanqing said seriously as she left the laboratory, her face grim.
"Multiple poisons? This means the murderers had planned it in advance," Lu Chenzhou frowned, clearly realizing the complexity of the case.
As the investigation continued, Lu Chenzhou and Su Wanqing found that the complicated relationships within the Shen family made the case even more confusing. Although Shen Yunsheng was elderly, he still held control over the family business, and the family members' competition for inheritance had reached a fever pitch. Whether direct descendants or distant relatives, almost everyone had substantial financial stakes and personal interests in the inheritance, and the power struggles between them were fraught with bloodshed and calculation.
"Everyone seems to have a motive," Lu Chenzhou flipped through the Shen family's genealogy, carefully studying each individual's background. "Shen Yunsheng's eldest son, Shen Hui, had held an important position in the family business but was expelled after a falling out with his father. Shen Hui clearly has a strong desire to inherit, and his financial situation is precarious. Shen Yunsheng's second son, Shen Hong, set up his own company at a young age but has struggled to keep it afloat, meaning he desperately needs this inheritance. And then there are the distant relatives, who had never attracted attention before, but their ties to the family are shrouded in many unspeakable secrets."
As they delved into the family members, another development darkened their mood—Shen Yunsheng's inheritance was not just about wealth. As the investigation progressed, they uncovered many long-buried family scandals, which were the very root of the current murder case.
In a will that had been personally written by Shen Yunsheng, Su Wanqing found a shocking clue. It turned out that Shen Yunsheng did not divide the inheritance in the traditional manner; instead, he left the majority of the wealth and control of the family business to his stepson, Shen Minghao. Shen Minghao was the child of Shen Yunsheng's mistress, and although Shen Yunsheng had wanted to provide a better future for him, this secret had been tightly kept within the family, and Shen Yunsheng's other children were unaware of his existence.
"Shen Minghao? This completely changes our understanding of the entire case," Su Wanqing murmured. "He has always been a taboo figure in the Shen family, and his existence undoubtedly stirred envy in many. If Shen Yunsheng left him most of the inheritance, the anger of the other family members can be easily imagined."
Lu Chenzhou and Su Wanqing then began investigating Shen Minghao's background. They discovered that he was an extremely low-profile and mysterious person, rarely appearing in public. Although he did not formally hold management rights over the family business, he had always acted as an "advisor" and had significant influence over major business decisions. This role was highly subtle and allowed him to sway many of the family's decisions. Even more shockingly, evidence uncovered during the investigation showed that Shen Minghao was not as innocent as he appeared—he had expressed strong feelings of revenge, especially against the two brothers, Shen Hui and Shen Hong.
Further investigation revealed an even more complex psychological battle behind Shen Minghao's role in the inheritance dispute. In fact, not only was he one of the will's primary beneficiaries, but he had also intervened in the management of the family business from an early stage, which made the other family members extremely dissatisfied. The internal conflicts, broken parental relationships, and rising tensions within the family led them to lose all sense of reason after Shen Yunsheng's death and spiraled into a frenzied murder plot.
But even more complicated was the discovery, as the investigation deepened, that Shen Minghao was involved in a vast conspiracy. He had hidden ties to external forces, and these forces had been infiltrating the family from the periphery for a long time. These forces might even expand the scope of the murder case to threaten the very survival of the entire Shen family.
During a search of the Shen family's internal documents, Lu Chenzhou and Su Wanqing discovered a letter from a mysterious person. The letter mentioned a long-planned scheme, the core of which was to ensure that Shen Minghao would monopolize the family inheritance by murdering influential members within the family. The mastermind behind the plan was not a member of the Shen family, but an evil force that had long operated behind the scenes, using the family business to manipulate external resources.
The two quickly realized that this case was not just a family inheritance dispute but a complex network involving power, betrayal, and hidden political machinations. The secrets behind the Shen family were far deeper than they had initially imagined.
"We need to find the evidence and expose all of this as soon as possible," Su Wanqing said, tightly gripping the document in her hand, her gaze firm.
However, as the investigation deepened, Lu Chenzhou and Su Wanqing understood that they were facing not just a simple murder case, but a far-reaching conspiracy that spanned time and space. The dark forces behind the Shen family would influence their every move and shape the course of their future destinies.