"Who sent you to kill me?"
Chen Jinzhao glanced at Yu Mengzhi before asking the question. Although he already knew the answer, the proper procedure still needed to be followed.
Yu Mengzhi pursed her lips, twisting her hands together.
Yang Biao swallowed and said truthfully, "When I first took the job, the contact person was overseas. After that, we always communicated through an intermediary. But yesterday, for some reason, Yu Lingxiao contacted me directly and told me to act as soon as possible. He also told me to kidnap his granddaughter."
"That's all I know."
Yang Biao looked pitifully at Chen Jinzhao.
Chen Jinzhao sneered.
In fact, whether this confession was made or not didn't matter. He already had Zhu Ziqian's notebook, which was enough to convict Yu Lingxiao.
He tied Yang Biao up, then turned to Yu Mengzhi.
After taking a deep breath, Yu Mengzhi said, "Call the police. After tonight's events, I have repaid his kindness of raising me. From today onwards, I am no longer his granddaughter."
Chen Jinzhao looked surprised.
Yu Mengzhi turned to look at Chen Jinzhao, "The thing he asked me to get from you, it's his criminal evidence, right?"
"Indeed, the crimes he has committed are too numerous to count," Chen Jinzhao said.
Yu Mengzhi thought for a moment and then said, "Jinzhao, can I make this call?"
Chen Jinzhao's eyes flickered, and he handed the phone to Yu Mengzhi. Without much hesitation, she dialed Tao Qiyue's number. "Officer Tao, I'm the informant, Yu Mengzhi. I want to report a case to your bureau! Yu Lingxiao hired someone to kidnap me and also attempted to assassinate Chen Jinzhao. We are currently in the abandoned factory in the center of Donglong Village. Can you come over?"
Tao Qiyue was about to get off work when she heard Yu Mengzhi's words and immediately became alert.
"Wait!"
"Can you repeat that?"
Yu Mengzhi had no choice but to repeat.
When Tao Qiyue heard that Yu Lingxiao had sent people to assassinate Chen Jinzhao, she suddenly interrupted Yu Mengzhi, "How is Chen Jinzhao's condition now? Is he injured? Do you want me to call for an ambulance?"
Anyone could hear the concern in her tone.
Yu Mengzhi was stunned for a moment, then cast a resentful glance at Chen Jinzhao. He really was a scumbag!
Facing this gaze, Chen Jinzhao was bewildered and even a little confused.
Yu Mengzhi steadied herself and said, "He and I are both fine. However, many people died here. Please make arrangements accordingly."
Tao Qiyue was greatly shocked, then nodded, "Okay, don't move around for now. I'll be there immediately."
After hanging up the phone, Tao Qiyue realized that Yu Mengzhi had used Chen Jinzhao's phone, which made her eyes flicker a few times.
However, in the face of a major case, romantic affairs had to be put aside for the moment.
That night.
The Ninghai Municipal Bureau became lively again.
Tao Qiyue led a large team to Donglong Village, while also dispatching a small team to closely monitor the Yu family's manor, to prevent Yu Lingxiao from getting wind of the situation and fleeing overseas.
The heavy rain gradually stopped, and Tao Qiyue muttered, "Let's see how the Yu family overcomes this crisis!"
In the car.
Tao Qiyue thought of something and, after repeated hesitation, called her grandfather, Tao Zixing. The old man had already gone to bed, but upon hearing that Tao Qiyue was about to arrest Yu Lingxiao, his sleepiness vanished, and he remained speechless for a long time.
"Grandpa, what's wrong?" Tao Qiyue asked.
Tao Zixing's expression was complicated. Once Yu Lingxiao was arrested, it would implicate many people, including himself and Tao Qiyue's father, affecting the entire chain of relationships.
Should he stop it?
Finally.
Tao Zixing said with a bitter smile, "Qiyue, you've grown up."
"Grandpa, what do you mean by that? Are you going to plead for Yu Lingxiao?" Tao Qiyue felt that her grandfather's tone was strange and a bad premonition arose in her heart.
"Grandpa doesn't mean that," Tao Zixing said.
"I'm just feeling sentimental. Yu Lingxiao is probably not clean. Grandpa will also lend you a hand."
Tao Qiyue was overjoyed and quickly thanked Tao Zixing.
Tao Zixing, however, sighed, "Qiyue, take good care of yourself. Don't work too hard for your career, understand?"
Tao Qiyue quickly agreed, not thinking too deeply.
After hanging up the phone.
Tao Zixing sat by the bed for a long time before getting up and rummaging through the closet for a military green short-sleeved shirt. Looking at himself in the mirror, Tao Zixing felt regret.
With the truth coming to light, he would also be unable to escape.
The only thing he could do now was to surrender himself to the provincial authorities and strive for leniency, and to help Tao Qiyue uproot the network of relationships that Yu Lingxiao had woven.
He wanted to push his granddaughter completely into Chen Jinzhao's camp.
Before leaving.
Tao Zixing found Chen Jinzhao's number in his phone contacts, which he had gotten from Tao Qiyue before. He hadn't expected it to be useful so soon.
When the call was connected, Chen Jinzhao's voice came from the phone.
Tao Zixing said, "General Chen, I am Tao Zixing, retired from the Jiangnan Military Region, and also Tao Qiyue's grandfather."
Chen Jinzhao did not answer immediately but guessed the purpose of Tao Zixing's call, "Do you want to smooth things over for Yu Lingxiao? I'm telling you, this matter is deeply involved. No one can stop it."
If Tao Zixing were not Tao Qiyue's grandfather, Chen Jinzhao would have hung up the phone long ago.
"No, you misunderstand," Tao Zixing said.
"I just want to ask you for one thing. Qiyue is absolutely innocent. What we did has nothing to do with her. This girl admires you the most, but she still doesn't know your true identity."
"So—"
"I want to ask you to take care of her in your future life."
Chen Jinzhao fell silent.
Judging from this, Tao Zixing must also be involved in this case. After all, the Tao family and the Yu family were considered allies before, so how could there not be any dirty interest exchanges?
"I understand," Chen Jinzhao said.
Tao Zixing sighed, and his whole body seemed to age considerably. "General Chen, thank you."
"No need. Qiyue is my friend. It's only right for me to take care of her. However, I don't know how she will feel when she learns of this matter. I can only do my best to prevent her from doing anything foolish."
"Alas..."
Tao Zixing sighed again.
After thanking Chen Jinzhao several times, he asked his driver to bring the car. Once in the car, driver Xiao Liu asked with concern, "Old Master, it's late at night, and you're not resting. Where are you going?"
"To Jiangning, the Supervision Department."
Driver Liu's expression froze. He saw the determined look on Tao Zixing's face in the rearview mirror but hesitated to start the car. "Elder Tao, it's already late. Why don't we go tomorrow?"
Having followed Tao Zixing for so many years, Xiao Liu had already become his confidant.
Tao Zixing lowered his eyelids and said calmly, "No need. Let's go now. The sooner the better."
"Xiao Liu, don't ask things you shouldn't, and drive carefully."