“Jiang Xuan, Jiang Shuang already knows he was wrong. He even repented to me over the phone. Just forgive him. We’re all family. There’s no need to let things get this far,” Jiang Hai said. Jiang Shuang might be an utter bastard, but he was still Jiang Hai’s biological younger brother. There was no way Jiang Hai could simply watch him go to prison.
“That’s right, Jiang Xuan. Once Ah-Shuang comes back, Auntie will personally drag him over to apologize to you.” Zhang Wendan joined in trying to persuade him. The last time she visited her younger son, she saw that he had already lost weight, and it hurt her terribly. She disliked Jiang Xuan just as much as before, but this time she had no choice except to lower her head. Sometimes she truly hated it.
While the youngest brother had still been alive, her husband had constantly been suppressed and unable to hold his head up. The old man had favored the youngest as well. At last the youngest died, only for the old man to place the Jiang family’s hopes on Jiang Xuan, who had shown extraordinary intelligence since childhood. Fortunately, Jiang Xuan later refused the political path the old man arranged for him and instead ignored everyone’s objections to inherit his maternal grandfather’s company. The old man became deeply disappointed in him, and the eldest branch finally saw daylight. Zhang Wendan had thought they could finally hold their heads high and that the old man’s heart had shifted toward the eldest branch. Yet Jiang Xuan still ended up with the upper hand.
“You’re asking the wrong person.” Even Jiang Xuan himself was somewhat surprised. “I didn’t know about this when it happened. You don’t really think I have that much power, do you? Even if I did, other people might not agree to help me.”
At the beginning of the year, the country had just gone through a massive anti-corruption campaign. Countless officials had fallen. Everyone had been on edge at the time, and even after the campaign ended, many officials no longer dared make small moves. How long had it been since then? Even if Jiang Xuan wanted to offer gifts, no one would dare accept them, much less let him control their decisions.
“If it wasn’t you, then who else could it be?”
Zhang Wendan blurted it out.
Jiang Xuan looked at her, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. “How would I know? Auntie knows perfectly well what Jiang Shuang is normally like. He’s offended plenty of people. It wouldn’t be strange for someone to give him a shove from behind.”
Zhang Wendan understood that logic too. She simply thought Jiang Xuan was the most likely culprit. The timing was too coincidental not to make her suspicious.
“If you want to know who’s causing trouble behind the scenes, just investigate. With the Jiang family’s ability, surely you won’t come up completely empty-handed?” Jiang Xuan said with a trace of mockery.
“It really wasn’t you?”
Jiang Yerong, Jiang Xuan’s uncle, finally spoke. Like his wife and sons, he had thought Jiang Xuan was the most likely possibility. He had never felt much affection toward this nephew. Jiang Xuan and his father had both been so outstanding that their very existence constantly reminded him of one fact: he could not compare with either of them.
“I actually just thought of someone,” Jiang Xuan suddenly said.
“Who?” Zhang Wendan immediately asked.
Jiang Xuan was not saying this merely to clear himself. Whether he spoke or not, the Jiang family would discover the person’s identity as soon as they investigated. “Jiang Shuang arranged for someone to post two threads smearing Yuan Xia on the Shanhai University forum. The photos attached to the first thread weren’t all of Yuan Xia and me. The man in those photos was one of Yuan Xia’s friends. Whoever took the pictures used forced perspective to make it look as though Yuan Xia and his friend were involved.”
“We already know about that. Jiang Shuang may have been involved, but if that teacher hadn’t been blinded by greed, no matter how Jiang Shuang tempted him, he couldn’t have succeeded,” Zhang Wendan immediately retorted, dissatisfied that every sentence Jiang Xuan said seemed to place the blame on Jiang Shuang.
Jiang Xuan glanced at her calmly. Jiang Shuang had been the mastermind, yet his aunt could still lie through her teeth and pretend he was barely involved. That was a skill in itself. “Since Auntie thinks it has nothing to do with Jiang Shuang, then I have nothing else to say. You can investigate it yourselves.”
“Wait, Jiang Xuan. Your aunt is just anxious because she loves her son. This matter really was Jiang Shuang’s fault. Keep talking. Ignore her,” Jiang Yerong hurriedly called him back. Zhang Wendan still wanted to speak, but he glared at her. More harm than help. Jiang Shuang had become the way he was because his wife had spoiled him lawlessly from childhood.
Jiang Hai hesitated. “Jiang Xuan, is the person you mean the man in the photo?”
“No. Strictly speaking, it should be a friend of Yuan Xia’s friend.”
Jiang Hai asked, “Then do you know who he is?”
Jiang Xuan said, “I don’t know the details. I only know his surname is Chu.”
This time even Old Master Jiang’s expression changed. Chu was no ordinary surname in the capital. There was practically no one there who did not know the Chu family. The Jiang family was not exactly at the bottom of the pyramid, but with their current standing they could only hover around the middle. The Chu family, by contrast, occupied the very top, a place the Jiangs could only look up at. Very few families in the capital could be compared with the Chus.
Jiang Xuan walked out of the Jiang residence and looked back once. The house was not especially luxurious by capital standards, but its grounds were more than spacious enough for the entire Jiang family. It had been built after the Jiang family rose to power. At that time they had not dared attract too much attention, so the exterior was designed to look simple and plain. Yet inside that plain building, a group of black-hearted people had been raised.
After getting into the car, the driver asked where he wanted to go. Jiang Xuan gave him an address. He planned to visit his mother first and, if possible, persuade her to move to Shanhai City.
As soon as Jiang Xuan heard that something had happened to Yuan Xia, he had sensed trouble coming. Later, after receiving Chu Yifeng’s call, he immediately contacted his mother and told her to find some excuse to leave the Jiang residence temporarily. Once the Jiang family learned about the matter, his mother, Madam Kong, would inevitably become the target of Auntie and Cousin-in-law’s ridicule. Back at the Jiang residence, where a bombshell had just been dropped, no one was calm.
Tao Yue did not know what had been discussed. Seeing that everyone looked unhappy, she assumed Jiang Xuan had refused to let Jiang Shuang off and angered the family. She immediately seized the chance to speak badly about Jiang Xuan.
“Enough!”
Tao Yue jumped in fright and looked fearfully at Old Master Jiang. Although the old man had once doted on Jiang Xuan, after Jiang Xuan disappointed him deeply he had also begun to dislike him. Refusing to follow the path the old man arranged was one reason, but what truly hardened Old Master Jiang’s heart was the fact that Jiang Xuan was gay. The old man cared deeply about face, power, and advantage. If someone could not bring benefit to the Jiang family and even brought shame instead, he would never tolerate it no matter how much he had once liked that person. Everyone in the Jiang family knew this, including Jiang Xuan himself. The last time the old man had become this furious was when Jiang Xuan was exposed as gay. If Jiang Xuan had not inherited the Kong family company, Old Master Jiang would have thrown him out long ago. That was the first time anyone in the family had seen him so angry, and it had left a deep impression. Now that the old man was furious again, Tao Yue no longer dared say another word.
Zhang Wendan could not help speaking. “Dad, just because the Chu family may have interfered, are we supposed to stand by and watch Jiang Shuang go to prison?”
Jiang Shuang bore full responsibility for the traffic accident. According to the traffic regulations cited for criminal cases of this kind, if one person died or three or more people were seriously injured, the driver responsible could face up to three years’ imprisonment or criminal detention. The bad news that had arrived earlier was that the truck driver had been confirmed dead. That meant Jiang Shuang was very likely to receive a prison sentence.
“We don’t even know whether the Chu family interfered. It could just be Jiang Xuan’s guess. He said himself he wasn’t certain,” Jiang Yerong comforted his wife.
Jiang Hai did not think so. He had the feeling Jiang Xuan definitely knew something. Jiang Xuan hated them enough that failing to seize a chance for revenge would not suit his personality. “Either way, we should investigate first. If the Chu family really did have a hand in this…”
He did not finish the sentence, but everyone except Tao Yue understood. If it was true, Jiang Shuang was probably destined for prison.
The more Zhang Wendan thought about it, the more hopeless she felt. Her poor younger son.
Just as Jiang Xuan had said, the matter was not difficult to investigate. Someone with a decent relationship with the Jiang family warned them that they would be better off staying out of it and letting the case proceed normally. Orders had come down from above to investigate the matter thoroughly, and the officials could only handle it according to law. The person did not say who had issued the order, but there were only a handful of major forces in the capital capable of making them so wary they did not even dare mention a name.
Jiang Yerong returned home with the news. Everyone felt as though a huge stone had been pressed onto their chests. Zhang Wendan collapsed back onto the sofa in despair and burst into tears.
Old Master Jiang’s expression was dark. No one knew what he was thinking.
Jiang Hai quietly observed his grandfather from the side. He knew the old man was an extremely cold-hearted person. At this moment, he was probably not worried about whether Jiang Shuang would go to prison, but whether the Chu family would implicate the rest of the Jiang family because of him. A trace of bleakness rose in Jiang Hai’s heart.
That morning, Jiang Hai traveled alone to the neighboring province. Jiang Shuang was still being held at the detention center there. His family’s continued failure to get him out had left him increasingly irritable, with an uneasy premonition gnawing at him. The people at the detention center had not treated him any better because of his identity either, making him want to beat every last one of them. His patience was nearing its limit when a police officer told him his family had come to visit. Jiang Shuang finally brightened.
“Brother, are you here to take me out? Hurry up. I don’t want to stay in this hellhole another second. They actually dared treat me like that. Once I’m free, I’ll make them regret it. Right, why didn’t Mom and Dad come?” The moment Jiang Shuang saw Jiang Hai, he resumed his usual arrogant young-master attitude.
Jiang Hai felt a mix of anger and disappointment toward this younger brother. Several days of detention had not made him reflect even slightly. He had no real ability of his own, yet every moment he dreamed of using the Jiang family’s power to command wind and rain. Jiang Hai could only hope this incident would finally force him to reflect on himself.
“Jiang Shuang, listen to me.”
Jiang Hai’s expression was extremely serious, completely unlike his usual indulgence. Even someone as brainless as Jiang Shuang noticed something was wrong. The uneasy feeling in his chest became stronger.
“Brother, you’re not about to tell me I still can’t get out, are you?”
“It’s not that you can’t get out yet. It’s that the Jiang family is not going to interfere in this matter.” Jiang Hai spoke evenly. Jiang Shuang had just breathed a little easier when he heard the rest, and his entire body froze.
“Brother, what are you saying? Why can’t I understand you?”
Jiang Shuang’s emotions surged. He shot to his feet and gripped the metal mesh in front of him with one hand. His other arm was in a sling because of a minor fracture. His face flushed red as he shouted with resentment, “What do you mean the Jiang family isn’t going to interfere? I’m your biological younger brother. What about Mom, Dad, and Grandfather? Are all of you really going to stand there and watch me go to prison?”
Jiang Hai said woodenly, “I warned you before not to target Jiang Xuan. You refused to listen and caused a mess this huge. Jiang Xuan was never someone you could handle. Now that something has happened, even the Jiang family can’t protect you. Don’t blame Mom, Dad, or Grandfather for this either. The people interfering in the case are not someone the Jiang family can move. What you need to do now is plead guilty obediently. Mom, Dad, and I will find you the best lawyer. When the time comes, just listen to what the lawyer tells you. We’ll do everything we can to reduce your sentence as much as possible. Do you understand?”
“Jiang Xuan, Jiang Xuan, Jiang Xuan. I’ll never let you off!” The instant Jiang Shuang heard he was going to prison, his fear transformed into fury toward Jiang Xuan. If he had known this would happen, he should have killed Jiang Xuan first.
“Talking like that now is useless. Did you understand what I just told you? This accident is serious. The driver you hit died in the hospital the day before yesterday. There are witnesses and physical evidence. An acquittal is impossible.”
Jiang Shuang collapsed back into the chair and slammed his left fist onto the table, his face full of hatred and unwillingness. “I understand.”
The Jiang family had been certain they could at least reduce Jiang Shuang’s punishment. Jiang Shuang himself restrained his temper for his own sake and cooperated with the lawyer in putting on a show from beginning to end. But when the actual trial began, the opposing lawyer dealt them a crushing blow.
In a single exchange, the lawyer hired by the Jiang family was refuted into silence. None of the arguments they had prepared could be used, and even the performance Jiang Shuang had rehearsed never got a chance to begin. Instead, they were stunned by the material produced by the other side’s lawyer. Jiang Shuang was a spoiled second-generation heir who behaved arrogantly and without restraint. He had done no shortage of vicious things, and when everything was listed out, his record was appalling. When he was seventeen, he had caused another car accident. That incident had been even more serious than the current one: three people were badly injured and two died. Yet he escaped responsibility because someone else took the blame for him. The opposing lawyer used that incident to argue that Jiang Shuang had never truly repented and stated that, judging from several pieces of evidence, there was a high probability Jiang Shuang himself had been the driver responsible back then. The Jiang family became so frightened they no longer dared appeal. If the old accident were reopened, Jiang Shuang would be facing far more than a three-year sentence. After only one round, the entire matter was effectively settled.