The three housekeepers quickly arrived in front of Lin Chen.
The youngest of them was only in her thirties, while the oldest looked close to fifty.
"Hello, Mr. Lin."
All three greeted him respectfully.
They had seen Lin Chen before and knew he was an honored guest of Old Master Song. Even Song Lao treated him very politely.
Lin Chen smiled gently.
"Don't be nervous. I'm not the police. I just want to chat with you casually. Old Master Song treated you well, right? Just answer honestly whatever I ask."
The three nodded.
Lin Chen looked at the youngest housekeeper.
"What perfume are you using? The scent is quite elegant. Tell me the brand—I might buy a bottle too."
The woman froze for a moment.
"Mr. Lin, it's just a very ordinary brand."
Lin Chen asked, "Can you bring it over so I can take a look?"
"Of course."
The housekeeper returned to her room and brought the perfume back.
Lin Chen opened it and smelled it carefully.
The housekeeper asked nervously,
"Mr. Lin… is there poison in this perfume? I've been using it for a long time and nothing happened."
Lin Chen shook his head.
"This type of perfume itself isn't poisonous. But this particular bottle isn't normal. It contains a special substance that can trigger an allergic reaction in Old Master Song."
"Ah?!"
"But I've used it for a long time!"
The housekeeper hurriedly explained herself.
Lin Chen raised a hand.
"I'm not finished yet. Under normal circumstances, it would only cause a mild allergy, and Old Master Song would've been fine."
"But when he ate too much food and became emotionally excited, the allergic reaction intensified greatly."
"His body was already close to collapsing, so…"
The housekeeper's face instantly turned pale.
"I… I didn't know it would happen like this."
"If I had known, I never would've bought this brand."
Lin Chen replied,
"This isn't your fault. The perfume itself probably didn't originally contain that substance. Your perfume isn't expensive, but that additive is extremely costly."
"Someone secretly tampered with it."
"The food wasn't poisoned, and Old Master Song wasn't poisoned either. His allergic symptoms would fade away, and even an autopsy would have difficulty discovering anything."
"A very clever method."
Based on Lin Chen's estimation, a normal autopsy would simply conclude that Old Master Song was elderly, ate too much, and his body failed under the strain.
If that happened, Lin Chen probably wouldn't face legal trouble, but Old Master Song's death would still be connected to him somehow.
Song Shikang and the others could claim that he knew medicine, knew the old man's condition was poor, yet failed to warn him.
Song Wan would also be affected.
Song Qingquan might even be expelled from the Song family.
As the family head, Song Shize would naturally bear responsibility as well, and the position of family head might fall into Song Shikang's hands.
Song Shize asked gravely,
"Young Master Lin, how certain are you that this wasn't an accident, but a premeditated murder?"
Lin Chen lifted the perfume bottle in his hand.
"This perfume probably costs less than five hundred yuan, right? But the special substance inside costs over ten thousand yuan per gram."
"There are at least four or five grams mixed into this."
The crowd immediately broke into discussion.
Ten thousand yuan per gram meant forty to fifty thousand yuan total.
No perfume company would ever do something like that.
If this was confirmed, then it was unquestionably murder.
"Call the police immediately!"
"If this is true, we must find the culprit!"
Song Shikang stepped forward and said sternly.
His wife leaned against the freezer and started crying again. To outsiders, she looked like the most filial of the younger generation.
Song Shize said,
"Mr. Lin, thank you. The police will take over from here. Thank you for your assistance."
Lin Chen nodded.
He estimated it wouldn't be easy to uncover the truth.
Proving the perfume had been tampered with was easy enough.
But figuring out who altered it—that was a different matter entirely.
The mastermind behind this was extremely meticulous.
If another top doctor had come today—someone with less extensive knowledge—they might have completely missed the truth.
The autopsy would reveal nothing.
Even if someone investigated the perfume…
The perfume itself wasn't toxic.
And since the housekeeper used it every day without issue, who would bother suspecting it?
If they really wanted to investigate, would they have to examine every single item in the entire Song residence one by one?
"Mr. Lin, I'm truly sorry."
"My father treated all of us very well. My wife misunderstood you earlier. I sincerely apologize on her behalf."
Song Shikang said to Lin Chen.
Lin Chen replied calmly,
"I understand. Losing a loved one suddenly can make people emotional."
Not long afterward, the police arrived.
One of the officers questioned Lin Chen briefly.
Lin Chen then said to Song Shize,
"Patriarch Song, I'm staying at the Four Seasons Hotel nearby. Call me if there's anything."
"It's getting late. I need to take Qianqian to sleep."
Song Shize replied,
"Mr. Lin, thank you again. If it weren't for you, my father would have died without anyone knowing the truth."
"I'll arrange transportation for you."
Lin Chen shook his head.
"No need. I have a car. I'll just take the one I came in."
After speaking, Lin Chen left.
Cheng Xiaojun was holding Lin Xiaoqian in the car. The little girl had already fallen asleep—it was past nine o'clock at night.
"Qianqian, Daddy's got you."
Lin Chen took Lin Xiaoqian from Cheng Xiaojun's arms.
As he spoke, he carefully picked her up.
Lin Xiaoqian's eyelids twitched slightly, but hearing her father's voice made her feel safe, so she didn't wake up.
"To the Four Seasons Hotel."
Lin Chen and the others drove away.
Lin Chen silently pondered everything.
Old Master Song had left him half a percent of the family fortune, and another fifty-five percent was entrusted to him for distribution among Song Shize and the others.
Until the murderer was found, it wasn't appropriate to distribute anything.
Liu Feng said,
"Mr. Lin, it's best if you don't get too involved in the Song family matter from now on. Behind the conflicts of wealthy families are often brutal power struggles."
"It could put you in danger."
Lin Chen shook his head.
"It's not easy to stay uninvolved. At the birthday banquet, Old Master Song used up his favors asking those influential people to look after me. How could I just stand aside?"
There was still something written in the letter from Old Master Song that he hadn't revealed.
He now held the authority over distributing more than half of the Song family's wealth.
And eventually, he himself would receive fifteen billion yuan.
How could he possibly stay out of it?
Liu Feng asked,
"How many days are you planning to stay here? If it's for long, we'll need to bring in more people."
Lin Chen replied,
"At the very least, until Old Master Song's funeral."
About twenty minutes later, the car arrived at the hotel.
Liu Feng and the others first inspected the room thoroughly. Only after confirming there were no issues did they leave.
"Qianqian, wake up."
"You're all sweaty. Take a bath before sleeping."
Lin Chen kissed Lin Xiaoqian lightly.
The little girl woke groggily.
"Daddy… are we home?"
"Where's Mommy?"
"We're at a hotel."
"Daddy's going to help you get all clean first, then you can sleep."
Lin Chen said softly.
It still wasn't too late, so bathing before bed wouldn't affect her rest.
Soon, Lin Xiaoqian finished bathing.
"Daddy, I miss Mommy."
"I want to video call Mommy."
After the bath, she looked much more energetic.
Lin Chen started a video call with Xu Mengyao.
Xu Mengyao was currently showering, her hair still wet.
"Husband, I'm taking a shower. Call me again later."
She said shyly.
The video only showed her head and neck—nothing else—but Xu Mengyao still felt embarrassed.
Lin Chen smiled.
"Wife, it's fine. Qianqian misses you. It's already late—she just wants to talk to you a little before sleeping."
Xu Mengyao: "..."
-----------------------
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(End of Chapter)