Free Web NovelChapter 611: Chapter 581 Repentance at the Grave_1
The police sirens wailed as the convoy sped down the road, Zhou Ning clutching his cellphone while Xu Dayuan sitting in front sighed.
"Up until now, although we have identified the person from the skull using facial recognition, we still can’t extract the DNA, unless we find Zhong Xiaoyan and take her blood for comparison with the DNA extracted from Liu Meiling’s face and neck. Otherwise, this case will have no evidence."
Zhou Ning grunted in response, and Xu Dayuan tapped him on the hand.
"I’m saying, kid, talk to me. A grunt, what’s that supposed to mean? Did you think of something?"
Zhou Ning forced a smile, which looked uglier than crying.
"Leader, I already told you my guess. Now that the whole city is searching for Zhong Xiaoyan, there has been no sign of her car leaving, nor any trace of her using public transportation. I think maybe she isn’t trying to escape.
And the graveyard is the most likely place she would take Xu Qingshu to. One thing we have to be clear about, though, if Zhong Xiaoyan went to the graveyard, she would notice that it had been dug up. After all, her counter-surveillance abilities are not something the average person can match."
Xu Dayuan nodded his head.
"Mr. Wang, speed up. Tell everyone over the radio to turn off their sirens. We’re going straight there. Although it’s not a public cemetery open for sale, there is a narrow path that leads directly there."
Zhou Ning glanced out the window; they were already near the foot of Tiger Mountain. Once they circumvented the road ahead, they would arrive at a gentle slope on the southern side of Ling Mountain. This was probably the route they had talked about.
Shortly after, all the police car sirens and lights were switched off, but their speed didn’t decrease.
Charging up Ling Mountain, from a distance they could see two figures by a gravestone, one kneeling and one standing, seemingly completely oblivious to the sound of the approaching cars.
When they were still several hundred meters away, all the vehicles stopped. Xu Dayuan was the first to rush forward, and when he got close to the two people, Zhong Xiaoyan turned her head. She looked at the crowd calmly, without much surprise.
All the police ran up to the two of them, with their guns trained on Zhong Xiaoyan. Faced with such a display, Zhong Xiaoyan raised her hands, showing what she was holding, glanced at Xu Dayuan, then her gaze fell on Zhou Ning. That look was uncomfortable, almost accusatory.
Zhou Ning averted his eyes, unable to bear being stared at like that. Right and wrong were clear to everyone present, but Zhou Ning had no authority to forgive anyone above the law.
As Xu Dayuan approached Zhong Xiaoyan, he noticed she didn’t have any weapons that could pose a threat. In front of her, Xu Qingshu knelt stiffly before the gravestone, his hand trembling as he wrote with a brush, the tip dipped in bright red paint.
Next to the gravestone were offerings of incense, paper money, and a few dishes of tribute.
Xu Dayuan moved closer and saw that Xu Qingshu was painting over the characters on the gravestone with red paint. The gravestone, unbeknownst to when, bore inscribed characters.
The inscription read: "The grave of the late forefather Shi Gongming born on 23rd July 1953 and passed away on 10th October 1998, and the late maternal ancestor Madame Shi Yun Yi. Erected by the dutiful daughter Shiyun on 8th September 2013."
Following behind Xu Dayuan, Zhou Ning also saw the engravings on the gravestone, which clearly had been re-engraved by someone after they had exhumed the remains just two days prior. It seemed Zhong Xiaoyan was in control of all police movements.
Xu Dayuan looked at Zhong Xiaoyan, holding only a bottle of red paint, with no sign of any weapon, as her bright red dress lacked even pockets. He then gestured to the others behind him.
"Zhong Xiaoyan, I should call you Shiyun, right? Come on, let’s go to the city bureau and talk."
Xu Dayuan wasn’t melodramatic; any attempt at stirring emotions would seem hypocritical in front of a girl who wanted to avenge herself, and he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Zhong Xiaoyan smiled, then pointed to Xu Qingshu, kneeling on the ground.
"Please wait a moment, Director Xu. Xu Qingshu has not finished yet; there are only four characters left."
Xu Qingshu tried to resist, but looking at Zhong Xiaoyan, all her words were swallowed back, tears streaming down her cheeks which she dared not wipe away.
And so, everyone stood still, watching Xu Qingshu finish painting the last few characters in red. Xu Qingshu collapsed in front of the gravestone, and while some officers wanted to approach, they were stopped by a gesture from Xu Dayuan.
Zhong Xiaoyan bowed deeply to her parents’ gravestone and glanced at Xu Qingshu, crumpled on the ground, urging:
"Kowtow and apologize. Director Xu and the others are waiting. Wasn’t this what you requested to do on your own? Did I threaten you?"
Xu Qingshu quickly shook her head, totally devoid of the arrogance she had shown at the detective squad, her tears and snot flowing freely but she did not care, clasping her hands in front of Zhong Xiaoyan, begging incessantly:
"It wasn’t you; I came to you on my own. I can’t bear the guilt on my conscience. I just wanted to kneel before Mr. and Mrs. Shi’s gravestone, to repent everything I have done; it was all my fault." ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
I looked at Mr. Shi’s kind deeds with contempt, forcing him to eventually commit suicide. I also caused the death of his beloved wife and child, leaving you destitute and unable to grow up by your parents’ side. All of this was my fault.
I have no right to ask for forgiveness. I just want to kneel before their graves and confess everything. After I sent out the photos that year, I even went to the school to watch the trouble unfold. I knew what sending out those photos meant. I don’t deserve to be forgiven!"
Xu Qingshu’s voice was very loud, and Mr. Yang had already raised his law enforcement recorder to tape the confession.
Zhou Ning glanced at her with a face full of surprise. When Xu Qingshu previously went to the Criminal Investigation Detachment, she spoke with righteous indignation, believing she was the savior of the three girls, and didn’t think her actions harmed anyone. Why was there such a one hundred and eighty-degree change now?
After Xu Qingshu finished speaking, she turned around and started to kowtow to the tombstone with a thud, her forehead quickly bruising. Only then did she straighten up, and Zhong Xiaoyan stepped forward, lighting the paper money and ingots before tossing them into the stone basin in the middle.
Only when the last spark had died out did Zhong Xiaoyan stand up, sigh, and say,
"Director Xu, I’m done here. I can go with you now."
Xu Dayuan nodded. Liu Yufei came over, and Xu Dayuan placed his hand on her shoulder and whispered to her.
"Just keep a good watch on her. No need for handcuffs. As for Xu Qingshu, transport her separately."
Zhong Xiaoyan turned her head and smiled at Xu Dayuan, without any unnecessary words, she got into the car with Liu Yufei. Everyone found it hard to believe that they could cooperate so well and find her so easily. The faces of Zhang Ping and others seemed a bit more relaxed.
He was best friends with Ma Liang. Ma Liang was seriously injured, and all he wanted was to catch the real culprit. He didn’t care whether the culprit had a hidden story or not; in fact, he found the final arrest quite enjoyable.
Look, this is the scale of subjective cognition. Right or wrong—before people make their judgments, they don’t notice that they’ve already lost their original intent of fairness from their senses.
Gathering his thoughts, Zhou Ning glanced over at Mr. Zhao. His eyes then darted toward the saucer and the writing brush. Mr. Zhao understood and hurriedly began to pack them away. After all, these items needed to undergo toxicological testing.
Half an hour later, the car returned to the technical department.
Zhong Xiaoyan’s blood sample had already been collected in the car and was sent to the laboratory immediately. Now, everything was waiting for the lab report.
Mr. Qu was working on document restoration, which included various recordings. Of course, as he mentioned, these were recordings that the police could see, and they were also the content that Zhong Xiaoyan wanted to leave behind.
The content was so rich it was astounding. There was information on everyone. He quickly organized the content. After all, most of it were recorded phone calls, followed by various photos. Several computers were bustling with activity.
Zhou Ning went over and looked at one of the files. It contained dialogues and photos of Kong Wanshan, various receipts, and commands to financial staff. Not to mention anything else, just for the tax evasion from 2010 to 2013 alone, the amount reached a staggering 39.55 million RMB.
As for evidence on substituting inferior products for good ones, swapping out steel and cement grades, bribing related personnel, and illegally obtaining bank funds, it was all there.
One portion was handled by Xu Qingshu, and the evidence chain was so complete. Looking it over, several neighborhoods developed by Kong Wanshan’s company had major issues, and he was implicated with more than twenty officials, with all types of evidence available, even including footage of bribes.
A portion of the criminal case findings required the economic investigation department to set up a special team for the investigation.
In economic terms, paying back taxes and fines was already an astronomical figure. Kong Wanshan faced criminal liability, and Xu Qingshu couldn’t escape either. Although shareholders wouldn’t be affected in terms of tax evasion, the evidence clearly proved she was the handler, which changed the nature of her involvement.
Especially in the real estate company, involved in bribery and fraudulent practices, this involved crimes of producing and selling counterfeit products and bribery. One charge started a ten-year sentence, and the other was three to seven years, plus property confiscation. It could be said that she could spend a dozen years in prison, and it would be like returning to the time of liberation overnight.
Seeing Zhou Ning looking at these materials, Mr. Qu shook his head.
"Zhong Xiaoyan has wasted her talent. If she worked for the National Security Department, she would be an incredible asset. Not to mention anything else, just the crimes committed by Kong Wanshan alone, the investigation and evidence gathering—over twenty people tracking for months might not be able to finish it."
Zhou Ning didn’t bite, continuing to review other content. They were all quite similar, implicating many individuals. Although Zhang Fangfang’s ex-husband had died, there was still plenty of relevant evidence, and there was even footage of the threats and their last meeting.
"When we checked Zhang Fangfang’s information before, when did she get divorced?"
Mr. Zhao came over and recited from memory,
"August 2011. They knew each other for 68 days, were married for 42 days before divorcing. According to these records, the parents of Zhang Fangfang’s ex-husband could claim back most of their property and also sue Zhang Fangfang.
As long as it’s proven that her ex-husband’s suicide has a direct connection with her blackmail and extortion, it’s not just an economic issue. It’s criminal liability. Zhang Fangfang could face charges of suspected intentional homicide or involuntary manslaughter and would be prosecuted under criminal law."
