Chapter 6: Reunion with Yoshiko

  When Yuxin Yuan knocked on the door of Meizi's house, the door was opened a crack. Meizi was wearing a white nightgown, her eyes were sleepy and she looked like she had just been woken up from a dream. She didn't look happy at all. But when she saw Lunian Xiang behind Yuxin Yuan, Meizi suddenly showed a surprised expression: "Oh, it's Mr. Lu! Welcome!" She quickly opened the door and let Lunian Xiang and his group into the room.

  As she entered the room, Yoshiko bowed to them at a ninety-degree angle, "Sorry for the rudeness, please sit down for a while, I'll go change my clothes." After saying that, she took her bag and entered the bathroom.

  Taking advantage of Meizhi's change of clothes, Yu Guangyuan carefully examined the guest room. It was the first time he had seen such a luxurious Chinese-style guest room, with heavy and dignified walnut tables and chairs, hollow window screens, making the entire room solemn and elegant, looking leisurely and quiet. The room was nearly 40 square meters, which made Yu Guangyuan, who was used to living in a 20-square-meter dormitory, feel envious. Just as he was looking around, Meizhi came out of the bathroom.

  Obviously, Meizhi had dressed up carefully, with her high bun and elegant demeanor, a snowflake-patterned silk cheongsam that set off her icy beauty. She walked in front of them with small steps, bowed and apologized, "Sorry to keep you waiting!"

  A faint scent of fragrance wafted through the air, accompanied by soft and beautiful words, which made Yu Xin's heart feel slightly intoxicated.

  "Lao Yu, what's on your mind today?" Lu Si Xiao's question pulled Yu Xin Yuan back from his distracted thoughts.

  "Ah," he cleared his throat, "I heard that Mr. Yamada's personal luggage was left with Secretary Oshima, I'd like to check it again and see if we can find any new clues."

  Mitsuko cooperatively brought out all the luggage from the inner room.

  Yamada Jiro's luggage was not much, only two large and small suitcases. The big suitcase contained all kinds of clothes, which were slowly checked, but nothing unusual was found. The small suitcase was a password-locked box, and after Miss Oshima entered the password and opened it, what first caught her eye was several stacks of green and red cash, which should be US dollars and Japanese yen. From the neatly arranged situation, no one had touched them.

  Yu Xin asked from afar, "Is there less cash?"

  Meizhi shook her head, "The chairman's $10,000 and 5 million yen in cash were just spare, the expenses these days were all exchanged from the 10,000 RMB I brought with me when I entered the country, not a single thread of the chairman's money in the box has been moved."

  Next to the banknotes were some medicines, and Yu Xin Yuan handed them over to Lu Si Xiao one by one. Most of them were nutritional supplements. However, two boxes of medicine were particularly eye-catching, with a beautiful woman's picture on the packaging, her expression was unbearable. "What is this?" Yu Xin Yuan asked.

  Ruth looked and said: "Sexual function promoting medicine, also known as **"

  Beautiful Michiko suddenly became unnatural, two red clouds flying up her face. She stood up and said, "I'll go get you some tea!"

  Apart from medicine, there were some Japanese cigarettes and liquor as well as daily necessities.

  Meizhi poured two cups of tea, "Please have some tea!"

  "Miss Oshima, has Mr. Yamada lost anything from his personal belongings?"

  Miichiko thought for a moment and said, "I sorted through Mr. Yamada's belongings and found that his high-end mechanical watch was missing; also one of the pair of high-end Japanese pearl lighters was gone, just like this one." Miichiko took out a lighter from the safe deposit box and said, "The chairman treasured this pair of lighters, saying they were passed down from his ancestors."

  Yu Xin Yuan carefully examined the lighter, and found that its material and workmanship were exceptionally exquisite. The body was made of platinum, giving it a noble and elegant appearance. Especially on both sides, there were circular patterns inlaid with fine lines, vivid and lifelike, which seemed to be crafted by a master artisan, exuding an air of nobility. The pattern looked like some kind of flower, and he handed it to Lu Si Xiang. Lu Si Xiang took a close look and said, "It's a chrysanthemum pattern, this is the crest of the Japanese imperial family!" Although Lu Si Xiang spoke calmly, Yu Xin Yuan's heart skipped a beat again, as it turned out that the case was related to the Japanese imperial family. It seemed that the case was getting more and more complicated!

  "Can Miss Oshima estimate the value of these two lost items?" Yuxin Yuan asked. This relates to the nature and sentencing of the theft crime.

  Oshima Michiko thought seriously: "I remember that precision mechanical watch was a limited edition, the purchase price at that time was about 50 million yen, now it may not be just this price!"

  His heart skipped a beat again: 500 million yen! What kind of number is this? He asked Ruth quietly, and Ruth thought for a moment, made a conversion in his mind, and said, "About 5 million RMB!"

  Even if reduced by 100 times, Yu Xin Yuan secretly spat out his tongue: In the early 1980s, "ten thousand households" was still the lifelong struggle goal of ordinary Chinese people; 500,000! For the vast majority of Chinese families, it is undoubtedly an astronomical figure.

  "What about the lighter?" Yu Xin Yuan continued to ask.

  ōshima Michiko shook her head: "I don't know about that. There aren't many lighters like this in all of Japan!"

  This means that the lighter is priceless. Yu Xin thought to himself: Even if he didn't kill anyone, just stealing these two items would make this person guilty of a serious crime!

  The bottom layer of the safe was a photo album. Upon opening it, most were pictures of Yamada's life, including several intimate photos with Oshima Michiko. The relationship between Oshima Michiko and Yamada Jiro was far from just being chairman and secretary.

  Under the large photo album, there is a small photo album that cannot be opened and has an edge with a password lock.

  He asked Oshima Michiko, "Do you know this password?"

  ōshima Michiko said: "I'll try." She took the album, thought for a moment, and pressed six digits. The album opened.

  ōshima Michiko flipped through the album, unintentionally glanced at it, and suddenly threw it away like a poisonous snake. In an instant, she understood something and wanted to retrieve it.

  But the album is firmly in Yu Xin's hands.

  The first few photos were of a slender woman, dressed in a kimono and tied up with ropes; as the photos went on, the woman became more and more exposed, and the binding force also increased. Although many of the women in the photos had their eyes covered, Yu Guangyuan's sharp eyes, honed from years of working as a detective, could see at a glance that it was the same person - the woman sitting opposite him, Oshima Michiko.

  Oshima Michiko looked very flustered and anxious, a stark contrast to her calm and elegant demeanor earlier. Her breathing was rapid and she seemed at a loss for what to do with her hands and feet. From time to time, she would steal a glance at Rusu Xia using the corner of her eye. Rusu Xia sat beside her, flipping through the photos with an air of nonchalance, as if he didn't care about anything, leisurely savoring the fragrant tea that Oshima Michiko had served him.

  Yu Xin suddenly understood the emotions and feelings of Oshima Yoshiko. He quickly flipped through these photos. Finally, a few yellowed photos caught his attention: one was a young Japanese officer, dressed in the typical attire of the invading Japanese army at that time, wearing a combat cap, with a clear face, seemingly still having some childishness, but with a sinister and ruthless look in his eyes.

  His gaze was fixed on the shoulder badge of the military uniform in the photo, one bar and two stars, a lieutenant colonel rank! Since he joined the Eighth Route Army at the age of 15, identifying the pseudo-military ranks of the enemy was a compulsory course, and these patterns had been deeply imprinted in his mind. In his impression, all Japanese lieutenant colonels were middle-aged men with a weathered face, battle-hardened, and a beard around 40 years old. With the age of the person in the photo, he could at most be a lieutenant. He felt a bit strange in his heart.

  There are two more photos behind, a bit blurry, seemingly two bound women, judging from their hairstyles, they look like Chinese women from the Republic of China era. Yu Xin Yuan originally had some sympathy for Yamada Jiro's misfortune, but after seeing these photos, he thinks it serves him right.

  Suddenly, Yu Xin Yuan felt a heat on his hand, and it turned out that Lu Si Xiao's hand had trembled, splashing hot tea onto his wrist.

  "Ah yo, Xin Yuan, didn't get burned, did you?!" Lu Si Xiao hastily said.

  ōshima Michiko took advantage of this to get up and go fetch a towel in the distance, temporarily getting rid of the awkwardness.

  It's strange that there are several blank pages at the back of the album, but you can see the residual marks of photos, as if someone had intentionally removed them.