Chapter 558 - 558: The Malicious In-Laws
"Your idea isn't bad," Ye Qing said as he packed the bag, looking at the woman, and spoke softly, "But let me give you a piece of advice. Is this man really worth all you're giving?"
"Why?" The woman was instantly stunned, looking at Ye Qing in astonishment, not understanding what he really meant.
Ye Qing smiled lightly, recalling that the first thing the man said when he entered the room last night was that it had nothing to do with him. Right then, Ye Qing had realized that the man had no sense of responsibility and, when confronted with a problem, his first thought was to escape from his own obligations. How could such a person ever be with this woman for long?
"I'm just saying; what to do is up to you," Ye Qing said as he stood up with the bag, "In an hour, you'll see him."
After Ye Qing finished speaking, he took the bag and left the cafe, leaving the woman still somewhat dazed at the table, still not understanding what Ye Qing wanted to say.
Taking these pieces of evidence back to the hotel, Ye Qing and Old Wang Ba took the man out, brought him to a remote area on the outskirts, and finally set him free.
The man was still frightened; even after Ye Qing released him, he dared not leave right away. It was only after Ye Qing and Old Wang Ba had walked far away that he finally turned and ran for his life, as if being half a second slower could result in Ye Qing catching up to him again.
Meanwhile, Ye Qing returned to the city, found an internet cafe, booked a private room, and played the video. This video, recorded by the woman, clearly captured the entire process of Lu Jiangong accepting bribes, and the amount of money involved was substantial enough to ensure that Lu Jiangong would never recover.
Looking at these things, Old Wang Ba said excitedly, "These photos, plus the videos and the account records, are enough to get Lu Jiangong in trouble dozens of times. Hmph, I think he really has to listen obediently now!"
Ye Qing organized everything, made several copies of the video, and with Old Wang Ba, left the internet cafe. The two bought a new phone and found an envelope, wrote the new phone number on the back of some of the photos, and placed them inside the envelope. They then quietly made their way to Lu Jiangong's house.
Lu Jiangong lived in an apartment complex of the city police station, and inside it, he had a small courtyard residence that did not match his rank. But who would dare to say anything in Xishan City?
Taking advantage of the lack of people around, Ye Qing slipped the envelopes through the crack under Lu Jiangong's door. Even though Lu Jiangong might not come home that evening, his wife and children were there, and surely they would inform him upon seeing the photos. Then, Ye Qing would be able to have a long chat with him.
Once he had completed all this, Ye Qing climbed over the back wall of the police compound to leave instead of going through the main entrance, to prevent being recognized.
Old Wang Ba was waiting outside, and upon seeing Ye Qing emerge, he immediately came over and asked, "How did it go? Is it done?"
Ye Qing nodded, took the bag, and left the vicinity of the police apartments with Old Wang Ba, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
"What do we do now?" Old Wang Ba looked at the bag in Ye Qing's hand and said, "We should keep this stuff safe for now, right? We can't just keep walking around with it all the time, can we?"
"These are for dealing with Lu Jiangong later," Ye Qing replied. He had already made up his mind to send the evidence to the Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission for investigation as soon as he found out Chen Xueru's daughter's whereabouts.
"Then we can't afford to lose it," Old Wang Ba thought for a moment and said, "How about we stash it in our rental place for now? That area's pretty chaotic; even if Lu Jiangong tracks us down, we can easily hide the stuff and they won't have a hope of finding the evidence!"
Ye Qing nodded, finding Old Wang Ba's suggestion rather good. They packed the bag properly and took a cab directly to Lin Dade's place.
By the time they arrived, it was almost dark, with the fragrance of food wafting through the air. Ye Qing stopped by the roadside to buy some meat and vegetables, knowing that he would surely be invited to stay for dinner at Lin Dade's place, and it would be good to bring something along.
Just as they were approaching the corner of the alley, the noise from a commotion inside reached them. Old Wang Ba perked up his ears and said, "Is there a scene to watch?"
Old Wang Ba loved to join in on the excitement and hurried over. Ye Qing followed and, upon reaching the mouth of the alley, saw a crowd surrounding a house. A fierce woman in her thirties stood at the doorway, yelling loudly, while a pale woman who looked like she had not fully recovered from a serious illness was seated on the ground at the door. She was holding a gaunt little girl about five or six years old who looked on in terror at the people around her, helplessly clinging to her mother. This little girl was Ding Ding. There was no doubt that these were Lin Dade's neighbors, the mother and daughter.
"Zhou Guiting, you bitch, what the hell do you want?" The fierce woman, with hands on her hips, yelled angrily, "Do you think dragging this on is fun? You're going to divorce in the end anyway, what the hell can you do? I'm telling you, I came here today to get an answer. You had better sign the papers, or do you believe I won't make you lie in bed for another half a year!"
The sickly woman, Zhou Guiting, hung her head and kept her lips sealed, not uttering a word, just holding her daughter tightly. Lin Dade and the others stood by, seething with anger at the fierce woman but feeling helpless.
Ye Qing walked over with a furrowed brow. Lin Dade, seeing Ye Qing approach, hurried over and said, "Young Brother Ye, you've arrived!"
"What's happening?" Ye Qing asked.
"This is the family I was telling you about..." Lin Dade whispered, "this woman is her husband's sister, named Zhang Xia, and she's here today to force her into a divorce again."
Ye Qing frowned, even though Lin Dade had already told him about this matter. But now, it looked like things were even worse than he had expected. The way the Zhang family handled things was just too extreme, wasn't it? No matter what, Zhou Guiting had given birth to a child for her brother-in-law, and she was still considered the Zhang family's daughter-in-law. To treat her like this, was that even human?
Seeing Zhou Guiting staying silent, Zhang Xia grew furious, spat out a mouthful, grabbed Zhou Guiting's hair, and yanked her up, slapping her twice across the face, she cursed angrily, "Speak, damn it, speak! Will you sign or not sign, you think playing mute is going to work?"
"Don't hit my mom! Don't hit my mom!" Ding Ding started crying with a wail, her thin arms reaching out to push Zhang Xia away.
"Get lost!" Zhang Xia, impatient, slapped the little girl across the face, showing not the slightest bit of pity even though she was her own niece.
"Don't hit her! Don't hit her!" Zhou Guiting was frantic, hugging the little girl to her chest and shielding her with her body. Yet, the cries of the girl were still clearly audible.
"Talking is talking, but why hit?" Lin Dade couldn't stand it anymore and stepped forward, "The kid doesn't understand, why are you hitting her?"
Zhang Xia pointed at Lin Dade, angrily retorted, "You fuck off to the side, you motherfucker, believe it or not I'll beat you too!"
Lin Dade immediately shut his mouth. Although he was a man, he couldn't fight against so many people on Zhang Xia's side.
"Damn it, you don't drink a toast only to drink a forfeit, huh? Fine, let's see just how capable you really are!" Zhang Xia stepped back in a huff, "Hit her!"
Around Zhang Xia were seven or eight men who, upon hearing her command, moved toward Zhou Guiting. Although there were quite a few onlookers, no one dared to step forward to stop them. The thugs that Zhang Xia had brought were all notoriously fierce ruffians from Wuling City. Moreover, they had the backing of the police!
Seeing these men coming over, Zhou Guiting trembled with fear yet didn't back down, desperately hugging her daughter close, using her body to protect the girl within.
"Don't hit my mom, don't hit my mom, uncle, please help, help my mom..." Ding Ding cried desperately, turning her head to look helplessly at the bystanders. Although she was young, she truly understood the situation she was facing.
"Talking is talking, but why hit people?" An elderly lady, in her sixties or seventies, stood out, blocking the men, "The girl is already hurt like this, you're still hitting her, do you want her life?"
The man in the lead glared at her and barked, "Old Beggar Lady, fuck off out of the way, or believe it or not I'll hit you too!"
The elderly lady sighed, "Oh, young man, you can't do such evil; you will suffer Heavenly Retribution!"
"Heavenly Retribution? What the fuck is that?" The man scoffed coldly, "I've lived this long knowing only that fists are what really work. Heavenly Retribution? You call down the heavens for me to see, fuck, Heavenly Retribution!"
As he spoke, he grabbed the elderly lady's clothes and tossed her aside. She was too old to dodge and fell directly to the ground, unable to get up.
Ye Qing watched with eyes red with fury, he couldn't believe these thugs dared to hit an elderly lady of sixty or seventy. They were fucking inhumane. Clenching his fists, he was ready to intervene when suddenly a roar came from the side, "What are you doing!"
The person shouting was Lin Dade. His wife, Wang Cui, tried desperately to pull him back, but Lin Dade shoved her hand away and angrily ran over, "Even hitting an elderly person, are you still human?"
The thugs glanced at him, and the lead man sneered, "Who do I think it is? It turns out to be Lin Dade. What? Don't you recognize your brother Hei anymore? You want to meddle in my business?"
It turned out this man was Hei, the one who controlled Lin Dade and the other tricycle drivers. No wonder Lin Dade hadn't dared to speak up just now. However, Lin Dade still had the courage to stand up, and Ye Qing admired him even more for it.
"Hei, we're all from poor families, why bully people?" Lin Dade suppressed his anger, "It's hard enough just to eat, if there's a problem, can't we just talk about it? Why must you hit people?"
Zhang Xia, standing by the side, didn't even look at Lin Dade, but slowly said, "Old Hei, what's taking you so long?"
Hei's expression suddenly changed, and pointing at Lin Dade's nose, he cursed, "Shut the fuck up, if you don't want to die, get the fuck out of here!"