The Art of Teasing - Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Ye Ling hadn't been sitting long before Lian Huaixin and Lian Xin returned together.

Lian Huaixin had only taken off his outer coat; his trousers and shoes were still standard-issue military uniform. Upon entering, he nodded to Ye Ling, swept his gaze around the room, then headed straight for the dining room, asking, "Where's Yu'er?"

Old Master Lian said, "In the study." He gestured toward Lian Huaixin and said, "Let's eat first."

Seeing his parents' expressions were as usual, Lian Huaixin felt somewhat reassured. He said, "For Yu'er's matter, let those few young whelps handle it. On Yu'er's side, tell her to be more careful herself. She only has one driver; the moment something comes up, her manpower is stretched too thin."

The moment the old madam heard Lian Huaixin mention this, her anger flared. She said, "She still thinks she has enough people. I tried assigning her a driver and arranging a car, and she refused."

Lian Huaixin said, "Her stubbornness—she takes after her sister. Send Lian Xin; that kid is the most skilled at handling his youngest aunt."

The old madam's anger only intensified when Lian Huaixin mentioned Lian Xin. She said, "And you talk about him and Ye Ling—what kind of a job do you call this that they did? Does this count as venting Yu'er's anger?"

Lian Huaixin said, "They certainly made mistakes, but when it comes down to it, there were openings on Yu'er's side that others could exploit."

---

After entering, Lian Xin glanced at the two elders who were eating and obediently sat down on the living room sofa. He picked up an apple and bit into it, then casually passed one over to Ye Ling. He called for a household servant and instructed in a low voice, "Send some fruit to the study and brew some tea. Oh, right, are there any pastries the young miss bought left? If so, send those to the study too."

The servant said with difficulty, "The old madam has given orders not to send food to the young miss."

Lian Xin stared at her with open irritation and said, "Did I say I was sending it for Yu'er?" He waved his hand and dismissed the servant. He then offered the fruit platter to Ye Ling again, saying, "Fill your stomach. Don't go hungry."

Ye Ling realized this was another person denied a meal. She guessed Lian Xin had already developed ample experience in being starved by the old madam. She thanked him but waved her hand in refusal, saying quietly, "There was a serious mistake in this matter, and the old madam is still fuming." She was currently being ignored, and there was still one upstairs who was being starved. If she sat here eating fruit with Lian Xin on top of that, what would that make her?

Lian Xin sighed, "I honestly don't know whether to say we underestimated that bastard or overestimated that bastard."

Ye Ling noted that Lian Xin had called him a bastard twice, which showed how deeply Zheng Dongsheng's actions had infuriated him.

Under normal circumstances, when conflicts arise, you settle things through your own skills, each side relying on their own tactics and abilities. Direct abduction—that is the most taboo of all actions. Once it reaches that point, the nature of the conflict escalates from a contest of interests to a life-and-death struggle. Unless matters truly reach that degree, people generally don't resort to this lightly.

Take Zheng Dongsheng this time—the house wasn't something he drove an excavator to demolish himself. As long as he was willing to spend money to persuade the family member not to sue or pursue the matter, transfer the land deed, and plug the hole in his capital chain, it would basically have been a matter of financial loss. After all, they had only intended to teach Zheng Dongsheng a lesson, not truly push him to his death. Businesspeople seek profit and still value a degree of harmony; they aren't bandits or thugs out to rob and kill.

But this time, they truly had underestimated Zheng Dongsheng. This man was, in fact, quite practiced in the business of robbery and murder, and there was truly nothing he wouldn't dare to do.

Ye Ling said, "I suspect there are things about Zheng Dongsheng we haven't uncovered yet. Otherwise it wouldn't warrant such desperate risks."

Lian Xin nodded, saying, "I've already sent people to investigate."

Ye Ling said, "Our side is also intensifying the interrogation of his henchmen."

They had only chatted for a few moments before Lian Hui, Lian Zhao, and the others returned one after another. The group greeted the old madam, Old Master Lian, and Lian Huaixin, then went upstairs to the study together.

Following behind Lian Xin, Ye Ling entered the study and saw Wen Zhengyu standing beside the desk, looking reasonably well. She looked at Wen Zhengyu, and Wen Zhengyu looked back at her.

After the Lian brothers entered the room, they closed the study door.

Lian Xin called to Wen Zhengyu, "Yu'er, come sit and eat something."

Wen Zhengyu said, "Grandmother said no meals."

Lian Xin said, "She said no meals, not no snacks. Come over and eat something. If you truly starve yourself, she'll turn around and scold you for being stupid and not finding food on your own."

The seven brothers, along with Ye Ling and Wen Zhengyu, sat in a circle around the coffee table.

Ye Ling sat beside Wen Zhengyu. She peeled a pear and handed it to Wen Zhengyu.

Wen Zhengyu looked up at Ye Ling, saw Ye Ling smiling at her, and recalled how Ye Ling had lost her temper that morning and given her the cold shoulder, yet now acted as if nothing had happened. She concluded that Ye Ling was mercurial. But still, after she had been kidnapped, Ye Ling could come over and even enter the study to discuss with her brothers how to help resolve this matter—she knew she should be appreciative. She accepted the pear and thanked Ye Ling quietly.

Lian Hui asked, "Fourth Brother, what did our youngest uncle say?"

Lian Xin said, "Youngest Uncle just asked about what happened and told me to clean it up myself. On his way back, he stopped by the Public Security Bureau and had a few words with the bureau leadership. He'll have to head back to the base soon." His phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and answered. After finishing the call, he said, "The concrete mixer truck has been found, but the driver hasn't been located yet. Everyone from the company's management and transport division has been arrested and is being interrogated one by one."

Lian Ye asked, "They haven't found the driver? The traffic police's surveillance cameras didn't capture him?"

Lian Xin said, "Face was masked."

Lian Ye let out a derisive laugh and asked, "What? Does that concrete company think this can be wrapped up by paying a little compensation for a traffic violation?" His expression darkened, and he shouted furiously, "What does it mean that they still aren't planning to hand over the person?"

Ye Ling was silent for a moment before speaking. "If the concrete company is deliberately shielding the driver, they very likely erased the driver's company records beforehand. This person can't be traced through the company. But if this person is indeed a driver for the concrete company, even if the internal records are erased, the person can still be tracked down through social security records, bank payroll records, and the company's internal payroll sheets and accounts. So it's highly probable that the driver operating that mixer truck today wasn't a concrete company employee at all. Among the people arrested at the concrete company today, the driver won't be one of them. And if I'm not wrong, the truck certainly wasn't found at the concrete company—abandoned on the roadside, wasn't it? Has the concrete company reported the truck stolen yet?"

Lian Xin nodded slightly. She hadn't been wrong at all.

Ye Ling said, "Real estate companies, construction companies, concrete companies—they're always tightly connected. Right now, just arresting people isn't enough. The accounts must be audited. Find the concrete company's real books, then dig deep along this line." When she finished, she nodded apologetically to everyone and rose directly to go outside and make a call.

Lian Ye said, "If we can't find the driver, there will be a critical gap in the chain of evidence."

Lian Xin said, "Finding the person who directed this—with that person's confession and evidence—is equally effective." He thought for a moment and said, "This Zheng Dongsheng matter is extremely suspicious."

Lian Zhao nodded, "A little, yes."

Seeing that Wen Zhengyu seemed to be pondering this, Lian Xin asked, "Don't understand?"

Wen Zhengyu said honestly, "I don't know what's suspicious about it."

Lian Xin said, "Generally, once you find the vehicle, you find the driver. Even when things go wrong, it's always the driver who takes the fall. Never have I seen the boss take the fall for the driver. Zheng Dongsheng has already been exposed. If the concrete company boss takes the fall again now, aside from dragging himself down, it's utterly meaningless."

Ye Ling pushed the door open and returned. She said, "They've already gone to seal the records."

After sitting down, she continued, "Those petty thugs—ask them one thing and they know nothing. Someone approached them for the job. Gave them money, photos, and Zhengyu's home and studio addresses. Told them the abduction method and instructed them to grab her, hold her in the suburbs first, then make phone contact. They don't even know who hired them or where the person they were kidnapping came from. They knew Zhengyu had bodyguards. Afraid the bodyguards would spot them, they didn't dare follow from the residence. They began tailing from the studio."

Wen Zhengyu said, "But the people in the van that followed me today have already confessed it was Zheng Dongsheng."

Ye Ling said, "Qi Wei isn't a police officer. What she extracted can't serve as evidence. Furthermore, even a confession made to the police can be retracted and reversed at any time. Those men don't even know what Zheng Dongsheng looks like, and it wasn't Zheng Dongsheng who contacted them. They were blocked on the road tonight. Someone gave them a case of cash, with a photo and a note inside, promising that after the kidnapping was successful, once they delivered the person to the designated location, they'd get another million. If they were caught, they were to say they were Zheng Dongsheng's men, that Zheng Dongsheng had a grudge against Zhengyu. Pinning it on Zheng Dongsheng—someone would certainly believe it. They can't be used to charge Zheng Dongsheng."

Wen Zhengyu furrowed her brows. Even now, she couldn't say for certain whether Zheng Dongsheng had been behind the kidnapping. She thought for a moment and asked, "So you're saying the kidnapping can't be traced to Zheng Dongsheng? Or perhaps it wasn't Zheng Dongsheng who did it? He was framed?"

Lian Xin pressed a hand to his forehead.

Several of the other brothers silently cast Wen Zhengyu a glance or two; a few sighed inwardly.

Lian Ye asked, "And they just went ahead and did it?"

Ye Ling said, "They're drug addicts."

Lian Ye cursed another obscenity through gritted teeth, shaking with fury.

Lian Xin's face had turned ashen.

Wen Zhengyu shuddered in fright. If they had abducted her and given her a needle…

Ye Ling moved her hand behind Wen Zhengyu and patted her soothingly. She continued, "Zheng Dongsheng may have a new backer. His current affairs—those deaths—none of it will land on him as long as the actual perpetrators aren't caught to give him up. At most, he bears some indirect liability and can extricate himself by paying the victims a little compensation. His greatest crisis right now is still the bribery and the broken capital chain. Once an infusion of capital arrives, it can resolve his current difficulties. As for the bribery—although an arrest warrant has been issued, it's not ironclad. If he finds a buyer, injects capital, his foundation can be preserved. He had Zhengyu abducted to likely disrupt mine and Lian Xin's line of sight, enabling his backer to maneuver in the shadows." She noticed Wen Zhengyu looking at her with a slightly fearful expression and let out a soft laugh. Softening her voice, she said, "It's fine; we'll just respond to each move as it comes. At least his arrest warrant hasn't been lifted, and his company and personal accounts haven't been unfrozen yet. He's quite passive. Even if there is a backer wanting to manipulate things, it will be very difficult." She added to Wen Zhengyu, "The mixer truck is a crucial lead here. Once we find transactional accounts between him and the concrete company, the mixer truck, those scumbags, and Zheng Dongsheng—this line can be linked immediately. We can then immediately seal both companies and simultaneously issue an arrest warrant for Zheng Dongsheng on suspicion of kidnapping."

Lian Zhao rose and said, "I'll go personally." After speaking, he stood and left.

After watching Lian Zhao leave, Wen Zhengyu asked, "But what if the concrete company can't be connected to Zheng Dongsheng?"

Ye Ling said, "If the concrete company had no connection to Zheng Dongsheng, they would have handed over the driver by now. Who holds the keys to the mixer truck, who was driving that vehicle—it would be transparently clear. It wouldn't have to become this complicated." Worried that Wen Zhengyu, having never been exposed to these things, might not immediately grasp the logic, she added by way of explanation, "Whether there are connections—not only can it be investigated through company and personal accounts, but given how much surveillance there is now, pulling surveillance footage works as well. For the concrete company to help him this much at this moment—it boils down to two things: personal ties and profit. If personal ties, the person helping must have an extraordinarily close relationship. If profit, for profit sufficient to drive this level of help, the benefit involved must be enormous, which means there will certainly be financial transactions."

Wen Zhengyu understood after Ye Ling put it that way. She murmured quietly to Ye Ling, "Thank you."

Ye Ling said quietly, "Don't worry."

Wen Zhengyu gave a soft, "Mm."

Lian Xi raised his eyebrows and gave Lian Xin a meaningful look, signaling for his fourth brother to look at the two of them.

Lian Xin shot Lian Xi a glare. Nothing unusual here. He straightened his posture and began discussing with Ye Ling and the brothers how to delegate tasks.

A knock sounded at the door.

Lian Xin called out, "Enter."

The door opened. Wen Zhengyu saw at once the household servant with Wen Shishu following behind. She cried out in delighted surprise, "Second Aunt!" and rushed over, beaming as she hugged Wen Shishu's arm. "Why did you come?"

The Lian brothers were briefly taken aback as well. Someone from the Wen family had actually come to their house.

Wen Shishu said to Wen Zhengyu, "Got your call, scared me so much I sprouted wings and flew over. Acceptable?" She looked Wen Zhengyu up and down. Seeing she could still smile, she sighed in relief and said, "Not bad, didn't get badly frightened." She then shifted her gaze to the people seated and asked, "Having a meeting?"

Ye Ling answered, "Mm, Zheng Dongsheng's matter."

Wen Shishu asked, "Mind if I participate?"

With a stern expression, Lian Xin told Wen Shishu, "Please, have a seat."

Wen Shishu sat down in the spot Wen Zhengyu had just occupied. She turned to Wen Zhengyu and said, "Go get yourself another chair."

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