"This... Taozi, what's going on?"
"Did you really take the censer?"
...
The Jiang family's faces were as grim as they could be.
Everyone thought Li Chonglou was the thief, but they never expected Jiang Tao to be the one crying thief.
The words spoken moments ago felt like invisible slaps, fiercely striking their own faces.
"So what if I took it?" Jiang Tao's face was dark.
He hadn't expected Li Chonglou to know the man who had been with Lu Yunxu that day.
No wonder he could get this censer.
With irrefutable evidence presented before them, even with a hundred mouths, he couldn't deny it.
But he didn't care at all.
Because he was the heir of the Jiang family, the eldest grandson.
After speaking, he actually sneered, "Heh heh..."
"Li Chonglou, you think you've caught my weakness?"
"How ridiculous!"
"I am the eldest grandson of the Jiang family. My grandfather's collection will be passed down to me. What's wrong if I sell a few of his collectibles?"
"On his birthday banquet, he knew it was me who did it, yet he still protected me in front of everyone."
"And after that, not a single word of scolding. This is my privilege!"
His words left all the relatives speechless.
Although Jiang Tao's words were arrogant, they weren't wrong.
Everyone in the Jiang family knew he was the old man's favorite, doted on since childhood.
Even if they knew about this, at most, it would be a few scoldings, not a major incident.
Li Chonglou thinking he could bring down Jiang Tao with this matter was simply too naive.
"Li Chonglou, don't try to change the subject. Even if Jiang Tao stole the item, it has nothing to do with you!" Liu Zhiru said with a dark face.
"You've racked your brains to gather this evidence, yet you're dragging your feet on divorcing my daughter."
"What do you mean by that?"
Self-interest was human nature.
The Li Chonglou of the past would never have done this, nor had the ability to.
But the arrogant look on his face just now made Liu Zhiru tremble with fear.
Without anyone knowing, he had gathered evidence of Jiang Tao selling antiques.
Such scheming, one could tell how deep it ran.
This kind of person must never be allowed to remain by his daughter's side.
Seeing this, Jiang Tao became even more smug and carried away. Since the matter of the antiques was exposed, he cared even less. He sneered, "Grandpa said, 'He who doesn't seek small gains will not achieve great things.'"
"He promised to return thirty-five thousand to you, which means he wants to earn more from you in the future!"
"What a pity, Li Chonglou, you won't have that chance."
"Did you think we were the only ones going to the hospital today?"
"I already told Ji Shan to go to the hospital herself. Even if you rush back now, you won't be able to stop her from entering your mother's ward."
"A nobody like you dares to compete with me. What are you?"
"Wait to collect your mother's body!"
Hearing this, Li Chonglou's expression changed drastically, and a cold light burst from his eyes.
But in a flash, it returned to normal.
He put away his phone and said coldly, "For Jiang Yuxin's sake, I never intended to kill you."
"But you have repeatedly trampled on my bottom line, even threatening me with my mother's life."
"Jiang Tao, since you are seeking your own death, I will grant it!"
After speaking, he looked at his mother-in-law, Liu Zhiru, "You, in order to ensure Yuxin's father's safe release, didn't hesitate to force me to divorce."
"But do you know that all of this was orchestrated by Jiang Tao?"
"He abused his authority, embezzled public funds in your husband's name, sold company secrets, and had already arranged everything."
"Even if it wasn't for me, one day, if you got in his way, he would unhesitatingly send your husband to jail!"
"The irony is, you are still being used as a pawn by him, dreaming of reaching the sky in one step."
Like thunder from a clear sky, everyone present was stunned, unable to believe it.
No one expected Li Chonglou to utter such explosive words.
This matter was completely different from stealing the jade censer.
Framing a relative was a violation of the Jiang family's laws.
And even the law!
Liu Zhiru's expression changed from disdain to shock, then to fear as she asked, "Jiang Tao, is what he's saying true?"
"Were you the one who got your second uncle detained!"
Jiang Tao's smug expression instantly froze, his face turned ashen, and the corners of his eyes trembled.
Impossible!
This matter was done flawlessly. From beginning to end, only three people knew.
That was their father and son, and Xu Tianhou.
No one else had ever said a word.
How could Li Chonglou know?
He must be bluffing.
He immediately argued, "Second Aunt, how can you believe him? He's just talking nonsense..."
Before he could finish, a recording suddenly played from Li Chonglou's phone.
It was the content of Jiang Tao speaking with Tian Lingli.
Word for word.
It was evident that Jiang Tao was drunk.
He had confessed the entire process of how he had embezzled public funds through his father and then framed his second uncle, Jiang Hongyi.
This recording was made by Tian Lingli after she had set a trap for Li Chonglou.
Even Jiang Tao's plan to bring people to the hospital to cause trouble that morning was reported by Tian Lingli.
She tried to harm him by setting a trap, but instead, she was turned by Li Chonglou into an instrument of his demise.
He got what he deserved!
"You kept saying you were helping your second uncle, and this is how you helped him!"
"If your grandfather found out about this, he would be furious."
...
After listening to the recording, several members of the Jiang family came to their senses and sternly rebuked Jiang Tao.
Jiang Tao's mind went blank, completely stunned.
He had no memory of saying these drunken words, nor how they ended up in Li Chonglou's possession.
Could it be that bitch Tian Lingli betrayed him?
In an instant, Jiang Tao's mind was in a mess.
He knew very well that he was finished this time.
Once these deeds were made public, not only would the Jiang family no longer tolerate him, but the police would likely come knocking.
"Jiang Tao, so it was you all along!" Liu Zhiru's eyes spewed with anger, grinding her teeth.
"You've caused our family so much misery, you beast."
"I'm going to call the police and have you arrested and imprisoned!"
Ever since her husband got into trouble, she and her daughter hadn't had a single good night's sleep.
The ridiculous part was that she had placed her hopes on Jiang Tao, which was no different from asking a tiger for its skin.
If it weren't for Li Chonglou, they would still be in the dark.
At this moment, she had the urge to kill Jiang Tao.
"Zhiru, don't get agitated." An aunt, seeing this, quickly pulled her hand and advised, "Jiang Tao is indeed not a good person."
"But he is, after all, the eldest grandson and heir of the Jiang family."
"If he goes to jail, how much of a laughingstock would the Jiang family become?"
Others also chimed in, "Yes, Second Aunt. Be merciful where mercy can be shown. Make Jiang Tao quickly get Second Uncle out. Don't let the family fall out so badly."
"If he goes to jail, won't Grandfather get sick from anger?"
"You're older than him, more sensible than him, so you should be more magnanimous. Don't stoop to his level..."
Because Liu Zhiru's suggestion of sending him to jail, Jiang Tao suddenly seemed like the victim.
Everyone, under the guise of the family's overall situation, began to speak up for him.
They urged Liu Zhiru to handle it discreetly.
Jiang Tao's expression shifted from initial shock to surprise, and then to ecstatic joy.
How could he forget that these Jiang family members didn't care what he did?
As long as it didn't harm their interests, no one would risk offending the old man to kick him while he was down.
Even if they knew he did it, what could they do?
"As expected, birds of a feather flock together." Li Chonglou looked at the opportunist faces of the Jiang family with a cold smile.
This scene was entirely within his expectations.
Given the nature of the Jiang family, even if they knew Jiang Tao had framed Jiang Hongyi, they would try to downplay the matter.
That's why he hadn't shown the recording directly to Liu Zhiru.
Either don't act, or strike with a decisive blow.
He vowed not to stop until he turned the Jiang family upside down today.
"Get out, all of you. Not a single one of you Jiang family members is good!" Liu Zhiru finally couldn't control her emotions and yelled curses, "Three years ago, you transferred my husband to another place and ganged up to bully my daughter and me."
"You always talk about doing it for the Jiang family, but who is doing it for us?"
"This matter isn't over..."
"Shut up!" Just then, a deep, aged voice boomed from the third floor.
Old Master Jiang, Jiang Weiguo, dressed in a Tang suit, his face ashen, roared down from above, "Look at yourself. After nearly thirty years of marriage into the Jiang family, you still act like a wild shrew!"
"Whoever dares to leak this matter, don't blame this old man for being ruthless. You will be expelled from the Jiang family from now on!"
His tone was sharp, filled with contempt and distance.
"I..." Liu Zhiru's face turned pale, her eyes filled with anger, but she dared not unleash it.
Jiang Weiguo had controlled the Jiang family for decades, his authority deeply ingrained.
She, an outsider wife, had worked hard in the Jiang family for so many years just to gain a foothold. Even though the old man openly favored Jiang Tao, she didn't dare to retort.
She knew that she and Li Chonglou were no different.
Both had married into the Jiang family, forced to humble themselves, and endure silently for self-preservation.
Now that she had a certain degree of influence, she wanted to find a sense of superiority in Li Chonglou.
Unfortunately, the outcome was so ironic.
Others were even more filled with trepidation.
This matter was indeed a family shame.
Jiang Weiguo cared most about the family's reputation. If it were to spread, the Jiang family's disgrace was secondary.
The already precarious company would immediately face internal instability and completely crumble.
Only Jiang Tao, as if granted amnesty, his eyes flashing with cunning, called out, "Grandpa, please don't be angry."
"I actually did it for the good of the family, I didn't mean to target Second Uncle."
"I'll immediately inform people to release Second Uncle!"
He knew the situation was irreversible.
At this point, holding Jiang Yuxin's father hostage was no longer a wise move; it would only give Li Chonglou an opportunity to cause trouble.
"Let this matter end here!" Jiang Weiguo, with a displeased expression, walked downstairs.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Tao smirked and approached Li Chonglou, whispering menacingly, "Useless, did you hear that?"
"In the Jiang family, Grandpa loves me the most."
"Let alone stealing a few antiques and selling them, even if I embezzled public funds and framed Second Uncle, so what?"
"For the family's reputation, Grandpa will not only not punish me, but he will also help me suppress it."
"In my eyes, you're like a dog. Bring out whatever tricks you have. In a little while, your mother will be angered to death by Ji Shan. Can you still remain seated then?"
Hearing this, Li Chonglou's eyelids twitched, and a flash of lightning appeared in his eyes, "Someone already warned Ji Shan yesterday. If she dares to provoke again, I'll rip her mouth off."
"She didn't learn her lesson, so today someone will entertain her properly for me."
"As for you, I told you that you won't be able to protect yourself, and Grandpa won't be able to protect you!"
Before coming, he had sent two WeChat messages, one of which was to inform Wang Dehai to have his brother Gangzi continue to guard the hospital.
This was to prevent Jiang Tao from resorting to other means.
As expected.
This grand play had only just begun.
The first two incidents were merely appetizers.
They were designed to draw out Jiang Weiguo.
Next, would be the real main course!