Chapter 235 - 235 226 As the Water Recedes, the Rocks Emerge

Words : 2401 Updated : Sep 27th, 2025

235: Chapter 226: As the Water Recedes, the Rocks Emerge 235: Chapter 226: As the Water Recedes, the Rocks Emerge The lights in the interrogation room were a bit dazzling. Not gentle at all. Being in there for too long was irritating, aggravating. “The second young master sought me out...” Wang Song began anxiously. “Name.” “Yuan Yulang, Yuan Yulang sought me out, asking for my help with something. Because I had a relative who was a classmate of his... I used to think that knowing the Yuan family was a great honor, but I never expected him to be... I just... I just did it,” Wang Song rambled on, his emotions surging as he spoke. Nervous, excited, and somewhat angry and indignant. Without further questioning from Lei Xin, Wang Song continued on his own: “Yuan Yulang had a meal alone with me, probably to assess me, and then he asked if I was willing to take a risk. Of course, I said I was.” “I never thought it would be something illegal,” Wang Song defended himself. “I did think about refusing, but he then took out a huge stack of cash. My family was just renovating our house and needed the money, so I took it. I thought to myself, now that it’s come to this, to refuse the second young master would be to offend him.” “A suitcase full of cash, five hundred thousand, I counted it over and over. Yeah. Many times. A suitcase that thick with money, and it only held five hundred thousand. It’s been so long since I’ve seen cash, even someone like me, working in logistics, got dazzled by the thickness of that case.” “Later on, we met up two more times, both outside, just for tea. And then the matter was settled.” Listening to Wang Song’s statement, Lei Xin knew he was telling half-truths. However, as long as he was willing to talk, Lei Xin let him speak. As for digging into the details later, there was plenty of time and energy for that. For example, the specific times they ate, their meeting times, could all be verified with surveillance footage, or by asking the waiters at that time, and so on. Nowadays, with so many location-tracking software and cameras around, just finding a few scenes where both appeared would confirm the situation. For a case, it’s all about people, money, and objects. Once the relationships between people are established, it’s just about defining their roles and affiliations. Once the financial aspects are nailed down, the outline of the case becomes clear. Physical evidence acts as a supplement, supporting the story and financial relationships. Beyond that, Wang Song’s own thoughts and his guesses as to Yuan Yulang’s thoughts were unimportant. The law cares about actions, not intentions; what’s done is done, what’s not done is not done. “Yuan Yulang planned to murder Yuan Yutang, when did you first become aware of this...” Lei Xin suddenly asked. Wang Song lowered his head to think, then said softly, “Probably about a year now, at least ten months.” “Where did the photo come from?” “Given by Yuan Yulang.” “Who did he get to take the photo?” Lei Xin pressed for details. Details are indeed very difficult to fake because they are like branches, and compared to the main theme, they are too complex. No one can complete all the details perfectly; if they could, they would be overwhelmed by the third layer of intricacies. Wang Song shook his head: “I don’t know who specifically took it.” “So why, after a year of no action, did you decide to act now?” Lei Xin had many questions as well. This case seemed too murky on too many points. Of course, Lei Xin had some speculations. With these family feuds and melodramas, regardless of life and death, leaning towards family members was never wrong. Speculations aside, verification still required a confession. Police work was about evidence, not fabricating stories. Wang Song hummed and hawed for a bit, then said, “The chairman’s study was burglarized, and Yuan Yulang saw it as an opportunity.” “An opportunity? Why?” “Taking advantage during the chaos. Because the eldest and the third have always been at odds. If something happened to someone, everyone would assume it was the other party’s doing. The second young master... Yuan Yulang doesn’t like to take the initiative. He always seems passive, but he’s ambitious; more so than the third young master.” At this point, Lei Xin really wanted to ask what else Yuan Yulang had done under cover of chaos but held back, instead asking, “Be more specific, how did he contact you.” “There was a special email...” “Email account and password.” As Lei Xin asked more and more, the case of Yuan Yulang inciting murder became increasingly clear. With testimony, physical evidence, and both motive and plot in place, the overall evidence for the case might be somewhat scant, but it was already sufficient. Captain Lei Xin felt a surge of excitement, a pity he didn’t have a cigarette on hand, or he would have smoked it in one go. Incitement to murder was always a difficult point in homicide cases. The act of incitement itself was hard to define clearly. If this case could be closed, it would really make headlines. At the same moment, the detectives of Qianjin District had also brought in Yuan Yulang. Yuan Yulang was slightly overweight, not much of a belly but his face seemed puffy, chubby, giving the impression of an easy target. He arrived with the lawyer from Jianyuan Company, adopting an air of innocence as if to say don’t mess with me, I have my father behind me. The lawyer too was cool and professional, the suit expensive. But when Yuan Yulang saw Wang Song, who was looking down, his expression became slightly unnatural. He uneasily reached to adjust his own lapel. Lei Xin greeted him with a smile full of yellow teeth. “Come in,” Lei Xin waved him over, appearing amiable. Yuan Yulang straightened his expression, striding in with head held high. The lawyer, however, was left outside. “I’ll wait for you outside, remember what I told you...” the lawyer gave his last few words of advice. Yuan Yulang impatiently uttered “uh-huh” a couple of times, and just as he was about to enter the interrogation room, he suddenly turned around to see at the other end of the dark corridor a lawyer in a Burberry custom suit handing out cigarettes to a few police officers, which made Yuan Yulang’s body go limp. He hadn’t expected the oppressive feeling the police interrogation room brought to be so intense. Yuan Yulang was like a panda that had been taken away from its keeper, suddenly released into the wild, supposedly for some rewilding program. His sister’s wilderness, his sister’s rewilding, did anyone ask the panda’s opinion? Did it sign its name? Did it hold up an ID card and recite the ID number? Can you prove it was of sound mind when it signed the agreement? Yuan Yulang felt his own consciousness starting to blur. Hiding behind a desk and planning conspiracies was simple enough. But once pulled away from the desk, away from the office, what is the world like? Yuan Yulang didn’t know. At that moment, he was like a baby left without an adult, his cheeks involuntarily starting to tremble with puffiness. He was tens of times more nervous than Wang Song. With one look, Lei Xin knew things were settled. Better to be foolish than criminal, but once you really sit here, you realize how high the sky is and how thick the earth is. It’s only a mere few feet. ... Yuan Jiansheng didn’t show up at the Qianjin District police station until the interrogation was over. He didn’t ask to see his younger brother, Yuan Yulang, stating that he was just there to understand the case details. The eldest, Yuan Yuming, followed him without any expression on his face. But the effort to keep his skin taut betrayed a bit of his inner thoughts. Yuan Yuming, also in his forties, seemed slightly more corpulent than his younger brother, dressed quite plainly, with everything he wore being domestic brands, even the wristwatch was a Seagull. From a forensic doctor’s viewpoint, Doctor Jiang viewed Yuan Yuming, and with his “tide dress sense” skill, deduced the judgment as “hypocritical.” Wearing full suits and shoes of domestic brands is already a rare sight, but wearing a Seagull watch is just too fake. Those who truly value their money wouldn’t spend it like this. Yuan Jiansheng’s complexion was pale, supported by his daughter Yuan Yushan, as he leaned on a chair while Lei Xin and others explained the case to him. Doctor Jiang sat to the side, with no part in speaking, and Huang Qiangmin and others did not want him to intervene at this time either. Yuan Jiansheng’s daughter, Yuan Yushan, looked to be in her twenties or thirties, supporting her father Yuan Jiansheng all the way, appearing very filial. She wore a white Chanel top paired with a black Chanel pencil skirt and had very smooth, ear-length black hair. With one glance, Doctor Jiang thought the girl had a good fashion sense, playing to her strengths and hiding her weaknesses. Her thighs were likely a bit meaty, her calves slender, her arms long, her neck as well, and her facial features were neat. Her waist wasn’t so slim, but her figure was well-proportioned, the type that would look good as a corpse. She didn’t speak, just accompanying her father, Yuan Jiansheng. As the case was narrated, the flesh on Yuan Jiansheng’s cheeks slowly caved in. In fact, Lei Xin’s explanation was already a very abridged version, but Yuan Jiansheng, as a father, still couldn’t bear it. “Dad, I won’t listen to the very detailed stuff,” said the eldest son, Yuan Yuming, as he stepped forward and gave his greeting. Unexpectedly, Yuan Jiansheng’s emotions exploded in an instant, his voice sharp as he said, “That email account and the second son’s WeChat ID, have you had people surveilling them?” Yuan Yuming was stunned, “Dad, what are you talking about?” “You’ve been monitoring the second son for years now. He thought he was being patient, but little did he know, the people around him had sold him out to you long ago,” Yuan Jiansheng chuckled coldly. Yuan Yuming was so baffled he dared not speak. Yuan Jiansheng sighed, “He never considered the fact that we run a company where employees are free to come and go. Those who come to make money can wait two years, three years, or even five, but who would endure with him in secret for seven or eight years? They might as well take the money you offer and play both sides or just resign and leave.” It was then Yuan Yuming confirmed that his father truly knew, and he quickly said, “I only bribed a few people around him...” “And you think the rat by his side could keep a secret?” Yuan Jiansheng’s expression grew increasingly sorrowful. “Your brothers are at each other’s throats, and you actually wanted to profit from their fight, you... you watched as Yutang was killed... how could you bear it?” Yuan Yuming started to panic, glanced at the few police officers by his side, and said in a low voice, “Dad, let’s go back and talk about this.” “There’s no need to talk anymore, you can take care of yourself,” Yuan Jiansheng got up and said, “I’ll just pretend I never had a son.” Yuan Jiansheng took his daughter, Yuan Yushan, by the hand and walked out. Yuan Yuming felt his scalp tingle. All his power and wealth came from his father. In the past, he always felt like the natural heir, full of immense self-confidence, akin to Mount Tai in his steadiness. But the father of today made Yuan Yuming feel alienated and terrified. “Dad,” Yuan Yuming, with his corpulent body, quickly ran to Yuan Jiansheng’s side and called out in a low voice, “Dad, I’ve got so much to do every day, how could I possibly spend all day watching the second one’s anonymous WeChat IDs? His sudden action caught me by surprise too...” “You must have had someone specifically looking at that stuff. Didn’t they report to you when they saw such important information?” Yuan Jiansheng asked indifferently, “Do I need to call them out for a confrontation?” Yuan Yuming’s face turned even paler; he grabbed Yuan Jiansheng’s arm with one hand and said in a low voice, “Dad, please give me another chance.” Yuan Jiansheng shook his head firmly, instead glanced at his daughter Yuan Yushan, and patted the back of her hand gently, saying, “Starting tomorrow, Yushan will intern at the company. You should take a break for now.” Turning around, Yuan Jiansheng bowed slightly to the gathered detectives, saying, “Thank you all for your hard work.” After speaking, he nodded towards Huang Qiangmin and Jiang Yuan, saying, “I thought this was a minor case, but unexpectedly... once the company’s affairs lessen, I will invite you both out to dinner.” Huang Qiangmin and Jiang Yuan didn’t know what to say. This man was the father of both the victim and the perpetrator; it was hard to say whether they should recuse themselves from him or not. Yuan Jiansheng paused for a moment, then thanked the detectives from Qinghe City Bureau and Qianjin District separately. This time, his daughter Yuan Yushan lagged two steps behind, not following him immediately. Instead, she took the opportunity, while everyone was talking, to approach Jiang Yuan, stopped in front of him, and sincerely said, “Thank you, Doctor Jiang, hope to see you again.” “No need for thanks. Please, take care,” Jiang Yuan responded politely. Yuan Yushan looked at Jiang Yuan and said, “I will.” Yuan Yushan’s voice and her gaze were just as lucid, presenting a very beautiful public image. Only, she didn’t quite seem like a family member of the victim, or, for that matter, a family member of the perpetrator.

Chapter 235 - 235 226 As the Water Recedes, the Rocks Emerge

Comments (0)