Free Web NovelChapter 46: Chapter 46: No Complaint, No Case
"Dad, why don’t you sit down and have some water?"
Lin Qin felt exhausted just from their two-hour-plus walk. She couldn’t understand how her father-in-law, at his age, still had the energy to keep standing instead of resting for a bit.
"I’m not tired. I’m used to that walk." After being persuaded by his daughter, wife, and daughter-in-law, Zhang Dazhuang, despite his words, sat down next to Wen Xiu. "It’s been over half an hour. Why isn’t our eldest back yet? Could something have gone wrong?" he muttered softly.
"Arranging things with people doesn’t happen that fast. What on earth are you so worried about?" Wen Xiu asked. After decades together, how could she not sense his unease?
What was he worried about?
Zhang Dazhuang silently shook his head without a word, but he sighed to himself. A little while ago, when they were passionately discussing going to the Gu Family to negotiate the divorce and demand compensation, everyone had been fired up. But now that he’d calmed down, he realized that while his eldest son could intimidate them with a momentary show of force, the threat of violence alone probably wouldn’t be enough when their core interests were truly at stake.
After all, the Zhang family couldn’t actually let their eldest son risk his life and drag both families into mutual ruin. The Gu family would surely realize this, too, once their initial fear subsided.
Zhang Dazhuang often sold goods in town. All those trips meant he’d met all sorts of people and heard all kinds of stories, broadening his horizons. So yesterday, when his wife told him that the person at the heart of the scandal—the cuckolding and the acid-throwing—was from the Lin family, and that they had a set of fraternal twins, he knew exactly which family she was talking about.
Rumor had it the head of the Lin family was a resourceful man with extensive connections. They’d thrown a huge party for their twin grandsons’ tenth birthday not long ago, and many influential people had attended—even the deputy town chief had shown up in person.
He couldn’t be optimistic about the situation.
He feared that to protect their own, the Lin family would ally with the Gu family and strike a deal. The Gu family, after all, now had a powerful family connection of their own. If they really joined forces...
At the end of the day, his family was just a bunch of farmers who scraped a living from the soil. They had no money and no power. Even if his eldest son’s army comrade’s family friend, that "uncle," could help a little, his influence was probably limited. Zhang Dazhuang didn’t dare get his hopes up.
"Dad, don’t overthink it." Zhang Minzhen looked around before leaning in to whisper, "Don’t be fooled by all that power the head of the Lin family supposedly has. You think he’s so capable, but he’s actually corrupt. My big brother already knows about it..."
"Corruption?" Zhang Dazhuang, Wen Xiu, and Lin Qin all gasped, their faces showing disbelief.
"Do you have proof? And how did you find out something so confidential?" Zhang Dazhuang asked, staring at Zhang Minzhen.
"I just overheard it by chance. Now that we know, if we’re determined to find proof, we’ll find it." Zhang Minzhen knew she couldn’t reveal her daughter’s special ability, so she answered vaguely.
"Your big brother knows too? How could you just tell him like that? You know his personality. If he gets stubborn and insists on finding proof, won’t he be in danger? What if they retaliate?" Lin Qin grew anxious and looked at her sister-in-law reproachfully. For the first time, her tone toward her was unfriendly.
Zhang Minzhen: "..."
Zhang Dazhuang and Wen Xiu: "..."
Just as the atmosphere was growing tense, Zhang Wei Qiang strode into the small park. "Don’t blame my little sister. I know what I’m doing; it’s not dangerous. If we’re talking about danger, weren’t all my missions in the army more dangerous than this?"
"You’re always trying to be a hero..." Seeing him, Lin Qin glanced at his leg, and her eyes instantly turned red.
"Alright, alright. We’re adults, and Mom, Dad, and my sister are all watching." Zhang Wei Qiang felt a headache coming on. ’My wife is perfect, except that ever since I came home injured, she gets emotional like this at the slightest mention of my safety, no matter where we are or who’s around.’
"AHEM. Eldest, why don’t you start by telling us how your meeting went?" Zhang Dazhuang, who was clearly aware of his daughter-in-law’s new "quirk," knew it wasn’t his place as father-in-law to intervene, and his own wife wasn’t one to criticize her, either. Afraid the scene would drag on, he coughed loudly twice to decisively interrupt them.
Lin Qin felt like she was being rebuked. She bit her lower lip and lowered her head, hurt.
"I was just about to tell you." Sharing the same hesitation as the others, Zhang Wei Qiang didn’t dare try to comfort her. He rationally went along with the change of subject and quickly recounted his meeting with Lu Yongfeng.
The family stared at each other, stunned. The information Zhang Wei Qiang shared was just too shocking. This was especially true for Zhang Minzhen. When she heard that Gu Lihui and his mistress could be arrested on "hooliganism charges," she was overcome with a mix of emotions she couldn’t name. "I never actually wanted them to go to jail," she said.
"What does what you want have to do with it? Don’t waste your sympathy on the wrong people. Can you even imagine what would have happened to you just now if not for your big brother? Besides, the hooliganism charge is the state’s punishment for them. Did you force them to do it? Did you force them to go so far as to have those two bastards?"
Wen Xiu looked at her daughter disapprovingly. The undisguised smile on her face showed just how pleased she was. "Haha! Now, if that old hag’s son really goes to jail, let’s see how she can act so smug anymore!"
"..."
Zhang Minzhen was speechless for a moment before looking helplessly at Wen Xiu. "Mom, I’m not sympathizing with them. If they get arrested, they brought it on themselves. But with a father in prison, won’t Nuannuan be too ashamed to face the world?"
"Oh, right! I was so happy I completely forgot about Nuannuan! Oh dear—"
Wen Xiu abruptly slapped her thigh in frustration and looked up at Zhang Wei Qiang. "Qiangzi, can you think of a way to keep that Gu fellow out of jail? Or maybe just sever Nuannuan’s father-daughter relationship with him altogether?"
"Nonsense! How can a father-daughter relationship just be severed on a whim?" Zhang Dazhuang scolded Wen Xiu, then shook his head and sighed. ’So much to worry about!’
"I already thought of that, so I asked. According to Uncle Lu, this charge is the kind that officials won’t prosecute unless a citizen files a complaint."
Zhang Wei Qiang smiled. He saw the obvious relief on Zhang Minzhen’s and Zhang Dazhuang’s faces and knew they understood. Only Wen Xiu and Lin Qin still looked confused, so he explained, "What it means is, as long as our family and the Lin family don’t press charges against Gu Lihui, he’ll be fine."
"Ah..." ’There’s a rule like that?’
Wen Xiu’s mind worked fast. "Doesn’t that mean whether that Gu fellow goes to jail is entirely in our hands? In that case, even if his family doesn’t want to agree to our conditions, they’ll have to, won’t they?"
