Bashing the ‘Worthless’ Grandson

"He-jie, what do we do?! He exposed everything. We’re doomed when we go back."

Le Erya whispered to Lin Qinghe.

Gu Sheng had laid everything bare, putting some people on guard and inevitably making their investigation and evidence-gathering more difficult.

"Wait a little longer!"

Lin Qinghe chose not to act rashly.

She felt that things were not so simple. They still had not found any trace of Gu Sheng’s accomplices, and she felt uneasy.

Gu Sheng’s words plunged the Zheng Family into silence.

They knew very well that some departments simply worked at that speed. But what could they say? What could they dare say? What were they able to say?

They could only be thankful for the efficiency of the personnel involved. Otherwise, every one of them would already be behind bars.

"Young brother, I assume you won’t mind if I call you that?"

Zheng Jianguo, that old fox who had weathered countless storms, had regained his composure. Leaning on his cane, he stepped forward and asked, "Allow me to be presumptuous and ask: since you’ve already submitted the materials, shouldn’t you simply wait for the result? Why did you come here today?"

Zheng Jianguo began calculating inwardly.

He was an old fox who had experienced all manner of things, and he was an excellent judge of character. After listening carefully to Gu Sheng, he concluded that Gu Sheng probably had not lied.

He simply felt that it was too troublesome, so he had submitted everything all at once.

At that thought, Zheng Jianguo felt somewhat relieved.

Fortunately, Gu Sheng had submitted everything directly. The Yao Family’s affairs probably involved too many people, leaving certain bigwigs hesitant and unable to make up their minds.

If Gu Sheng had exposed everything online, the public outcry would have made it impossible to suppress the anger of the masses.

With all of Hangcheng potentially descending into chaos, the Zheng Family might even have been pushed forward as an example to punish.

Still, he could not understand why Gu Sheng had not done that.

Doing so would clearly have been easier, and the chances of being exposed would have been lower.

Why hadn’t Gu Sheng simply posted everything online?

That was because Gu Sheng knew very well that once these materials reached the internet, they might be exploited by people with ulterior motives.

By then, the situation could spiral completely out of control and develop in a direction even he could not manage.

If the modern world had still been peaceful, he would not have considered such a situation a problem when it first appeared.

So long as justice was served, a little chaos would not matter.

But it had not been long since the first Spirit Tide had erupted.

Hangcheng was the capital of Zhejiang Province and one of China’s top ten cities. If widespread chaos erupted now because of public outrage over the Yao Family incident, problems might arise during the stabilization efforts after the first wave of the Spirit Tide.

That was something Gu Sheng did not want to see.

"Why? That’s a good question."

"At first, I really did plan to do as you said. Unfortunately, you were lucky."

"Who told me to know far, far more than you do? I didn’t want anything to happen to Hangcheng at a time like this. I wanted it to remain calm and peaceful, so I abandoned that plan."

As Gu Sheng spoke, he looked toward Le Erya and Lin Qinghe, as though implying something.

"But your Zheng Family had no business doing what you did. You shouldn’t have jumped out and stirred up trouble, let alone come looking for me!"

"In less than a month, your Zheng Family is already preparing to cause trouble again. Tell me—aren’t you people just asking for it?"

Zheng Jianguo was inwardly startled.

The entire Zheng Family had been preparing for his birthday lately. The elders had repeatedly warned the younger generation not to cause trouble at such a time, and he had not heard of anyone committing an offense.

But since Gu Sheng had said it, there had to be something.

He turned toward the younger members behind him and tapped his cane against the ground. "Who caused trouble? Step forward yourself."

He was genuinely furious.

Normally, it would be one thing for these juniors to cause trouble, but they had chosen to do it during his seventieth birthday and even provoked an enemy.

Wasn’t this simply courting disaster?

The members of the Zheng Family exchanged glances.

In the end, Zheng Shaobai, a member of the Zheng Family’s third generation, stepped forward. He walked shakily to Zheng Jianguo and said, "Grandpa, Grandpa, I really didn’t expect things to turn out like this. I already paid them!"

"What happened?"

Zheng Jianguo narrowed his eyes and asked sternly.

Gu Sheng watched their "performance" from the side.

He really had not expected that, apart from Zheng Shaotian, the other members of the Zheng Family would also be no good.

He had come too late this time. He should not have been so hesitant back then. It would have been better to finish them off sooner.

Zheng Shaobai stammered, "Three days ago, I… I got into a conflict with someone while drag racing. I… I used a knife and stabbed him, sending him to the hospital."

"But I already gave his boss a sum of money and had him pass it along as medical and recuperation expenses."

"They agreed not to pursue the matter. How was I supposed to know that boss would take the money and run?"

"Only later did I learn that the man died in the hospital the next day because he had no money!"

"He-jie, this seems to be that medical accident from a few days ago where no one could be held responsible!"

Le Erya lowered her voice. "The Zheng Family really is awful. They stabbed someone during a street race and even caused his death. They deserve what’s coming to them!"

"Quiet! We’re Criminal Inspectors. We can’t support something like this."

Lin Qinghe turned and smacked Le Erya on the head.

The girl had no sense of restraint. If someone caught hold of her words, losing her job would be the least of her worries.

"I’ll beat you to death, you unfilial wretch! How many times have I told you not to cause trouble? Not to cause trouble…"

Zheng Jianguo raised his cane and began beating Zheng Shaobai wildly.

He struck with genuine force, without the slightest hint of pretense.

How could an old man swinging a cane possibly beat someone to death? Zheng Shaobai knew that perfectly well, so he lowered his head, curled up, and remained silent, hoping to smooth things over.

"Gasp… gasp…"

Zheng Jianguo beat him until sweat poured down his head and he was nearly unable to catch his breath before finally stopping.

By then, Zheng Shaobai’s face looked utterly miserable. His nose was swollen, his face bruised, and his entire body was covered in injuries. He lay motionless on the ground, and his wounds were truly severe.

After resting for a while, Zheng Jianguo turned toward Gu Sheng.

"Young brother, this matter is due to the Zheng Family’s failure to discipline him properly. My grandson was certainly in the wrong, but causing a death was not his intention."

"He has sincerely repented, and our Zheng Family is willing to pay five million as compensation to the deceased’s family. Do you think that will be enough?"

"Five million~"

Le Erya was stunned by the number. She held up five fingers, opened her mouth wide, and waved them in front of Lin Qinghe.

"Stop fooling around~"

Lin Qinghe was not surprised.

Zheng Ruilong of the Zheng Family had dirty hands and was connected to numerous incidents. She had tracked several of them before and knew very well how wealthy the Zheng Family was.

Five million was nothing more than a drop in the bucket to them.

"Clap, clap, clap…"

Gu Sheng casually tucked the gun into his coat pocket and raised both hands to applaud them.

"What a deeply moving performance—beating the ‘worthy’ grandson."

"Mr. Zheng Jianguo, you performed it so smoothly and flawlessly. You must have done this plenty of times before, right?"

"As expected of an old hand. Your skills haven’t diminished with age."

"Unfortunately, you miscalculated one thing: when did I ever say it was him?"