Chapter 87: Delayed Justice

Inside the special care ward, Director Zhang saw with his own eyes that Li Dawei had truly gone to surrender. He sank helplessly onto the hospital bed, at a complete loss for what to do.

To be honest, the turn events had taken had far exceeded his expectations.

If time could be turned back, he would never have allowed a despicable man like Liu Changsheng to seize leverage over him and drag everything into an uncontrollable spiral.

But regret came too late now. For him to walk away clean was no longer possible.

Just as he was thinking of finding his powerful backer and working out a way forward, the door was pushed open.

The young nurse assigned to care for him led in seven or eight people.

At their head was none other than Secretary Yan of the Hengshui Brewery.

Secretary Yan was nearly sixty, with a full head of white hair, yet he carried himself with an imposing dignity that needed no anger to make itself felt.

Behind him came Deputy Chief Tian Jun of Donghe Police Station.

There were also a man and a woman from the police, each holding a notebook as if taking records.

Last of all came Yu Bin, the son of Yu Lajun, a repairman from the Hongshui Brewery, along with a broad-shouldered middle-aged man whom Director Zhang found oddly familiar, though he could not recall the name.

Very quickly, however, he remembered: that broad-shouldered man was Yu Lajun’s apprentice, Zhang Li, one of Yu Bin’s people.

For police officers and Secretary Yan to come here together, there was no doubt it could not be for anything good.

At that thought, panic seized Director Zhang. He wanted to lie back down and play dead, but the instant Secretary Yan’s gaze fell on him, it seemed to prick his nerves raw. He sat rigidly at the bedside, not daring to move.

“Director Zhang, looks like your injuries are about healed,” Secretary Yan said slowly after glancing around the special care ward. His voice was so cold it seemed to lower the room’s temperature.

Terrified, Director Zhang forced a nervous smile. “Thank you for your concern, Secretary Yan. May I ask what brings you all the way here today with so many people?”

“You don’t know?” Secretary Yan smiled, and there was killing intent in that smile.

“How would I know? I’ve been lying here all these days recovering,” Director Zhang said with an awkward laugh.

“That so? Your injury is an injury, and you’ve been so well cared for you’re practically fatter now. Then what about Old Yu’s injury? Was that not an injury too?” Secretary Yan’s patience seemed to be wearing thin. With both hands clasped behind his back, his tone grew deeper and heavier.

“You... what do you mean by that?” Director Zhang swallowed hard, cold sweat already beading on his forehead.

“What do I mean?” Secretary Yan slammed a hand hard onto the bedside cabinet. “Do you really not know in your own heart?”

“Secretary Yan... I... I...” Director Zhang wanted to argue, but the words caught in his throat and would not come out.

After all, he was in the wrong. Before the facts, no amount of honeyed tongue could make the dead live or the black become white.

Besides, Li Dawei was no longer at his side.

Without him, Director Zhang had lost even the courage to keep twisting the truth.

“Speak! Who gave you the nerve to cut off Old Yu’s medical expenses?”

“Speak! Who made you revere Liu Changsheng like some immortal?”

“Speak! Who told you to bend the law, flip black and white, and falsely blame Old Yu so he could take the fall?”

“Didn’t you know the explosion that day was caused by Liu Changsheng smoking without permission, and that the evidence was ironclad?”

Secretary Yan fired off four questions in succession. Every line rang with force, every word struck with precision, and each one carried a blaze of fury.

Director Zhang knew he could not hide it any longer. In his panic, he suddenly made a decision no one had expected. He sprang from the bed, glaring fiercely as he shouted, “What are you yelling at me for? Everything I did was for the good of the Hengshui Brewery! You say the explosion that day was not caused by Old Yu violating regulations, but by Liu Changsheng. Then let me ask you: do you know why Old Yu suddenly took so many apprentices and stayed up all night to repair the bottling equipment?”

“Do you know?” he roared.

The room fell silent.

Secretary Yan was stunned. He turned to Zhang Li beside him. “What exactly is going on? Is there some inside story here that I don’t know?”

“Secretary, don’t listen to his nonsense. If Liu Changsheng had listened to warnings and not smoked that day, there would never have been an explosion. Director Zhang and Liu Changsheng are wearing the same trousers, of course he’s going to speak up for him,” Zhang Li said in a hurry.

“I’m speaking up for Liu Changsheng? Don’t you know your master Yu Lajun was the one who borrowed Liu Xing’s film-covering method and then caused the explosion through illegal operation?” Director Zhang was not at all afraid of Zhang Li, and his tone grew more and more forceful. By the end, his spittle was flying straight into Zhang Li’s face.

Even Tian Jun was caught in it, frowning as he stepped back twice.

Yet inwardly he was shaken to the core.

Because in what Director Zhang had just said, he had mentioned Liu Xing.

That was something he had to be careful with. After all, Liu Xing’s relationship with Deputy Director Wu was anything but ordinary.

If he chose the wrong side, then coming here with Secretary Yan to settle Hengshui Brewery’s dispute might end with merit turning into trouble.

So he had to tread carefully.

Secretary Yan was also deeply puzzled. He looked at Director Zhang and asked, “What exactly is going on? What film-covering method? And who is this Liu Xing?”

“Liu Xing is the mastermind behind this explosion. He tricked Old Yu, he tricked me, and he tricked Old Li too. If his film-covering method were real, the workshop would never have exploded,” Director Zhang said. Seeing that he had successfully seized Secretary Yan’s attention, his eyes rolled, and a vicious scheme to shift blame and frame others surfaced in his mind, rapidly taking shape.

The reason he targeted Liu Xing was simple: Liu Xing was not an employee of Hengshui Brewery, yet he had been involved in the repair of the bottling equipment. That was an established fact, one that even Zhang Li could not deny.

Moreover, the situation had now become clear to him.

He absolutely could not continue sacrificing Old Yu just to protect Liu Changsheng.

Secretary Yan’s fury was right there before his eyes. If he still refused to be sensible, he feared he would die very badly.

As for Liu Xing, he had no acquaintances in Hengshui Brewery and no backer in the police station. He was the perfect person to throw under the bus.

As long as he survived this day, Director Zhang believed that even if Secretary Yan later discovered the flaw in the story, he would not pursue it further. After all, Director Zhang himself was the one in charge of Hengshui Brewery, while Secretary Yan had long since retired.

If the explosion in the workshop had not caused such enormous repercussions, Secretary Yan would never have come out to preside over the situation in the first place.

Thinking of this, Director Zhang sneered inwardly. He almost admired his own brilliance.

Secretary Yan had no idea what filthy calculations were going through his mind. Shocked, he turned to Zhang Li and asked, “Is what Director Zhang just said true? Was the real culprit behind the explosion this Liu Xing? Was it because of this film-covering method?”

“I... I...” Zhang Li was an honest man. Under Secretary Yan’s relentless questioning, he had no idea how to answer.

Seeing this, Director Zhang pressed his advantage and, with embellishment after embellishment, began to tell the story of the film-covering method and Liu Xing’s background.

Anything that was unfavorable to him, he simply skipped over.

For example, he said nothing about how he had tricked Liu Xing’s film-covering method without paying a cent for it.

And when it came to the fact that the foolish scheme had originally been his own idea, he pinned everything on Old Yu.

After all, only Li Dawei, Old Yu, and he himself knew the inside story. The others knew nothing at all.

Of course, since he had spoken at such length, he would have to produce evidence.

That evidence was the one thousand yuan Liu Xing had taken from the Hengshui Brewery.

The invoice and receipt from that time had been preserved!

Although no formal receipt had been drawn up then, he was certain Liu Xing would never dare deny it.

Once Secretary Yan understood the so-called inside story, he was instantly consumed by rage. With a wave of his hand, he said to Tian Jun, “Chief Tian, you heard that, didn’t you? The real culprit behind all this is a kid named Liu Xing. You must help me arrest Liu Xing at once, or this explosion at Hengshui Brewery will not end well!”

Those words made Tian Jun want nothing more than to strangle Director Zhang on the spot.

If he had not known Liu Xing’s identity and methods, he might have immediately taken people to Nitrate Village to arrest him and give Secretary Yan an answer. But now that he understood the situation, if he went to arrest Liu Xing, would he not be courting disaster?

Setting aside whether he could even arrest Liu Xing in the first place, even if he could, he would likely never get past Deputy Director Wu.

He was no fool. With one glance he could see that Director Zhang was trying to use Liu Xing as a human shield, a scapegoat to absorb the blow.

Seeing Secretary Yan waiting for his reply, his temper flared as well. He fixed Director Zhang with a glare and said coldly, “You say Liu Xing is the culprit behind the workshop explosion. Then let me ask you this: was Liu Xing even in the workshop when the explosion happened?”

“This... no,” Director Zhang replied with a strained smile.

Even if he wanted to say yes, he did not dare.

Once he lied, the matter would be far too easy to investigate.

“Since Liu Xing wasn’t in the workshop, what does the explosion have to do with him?” Tian Jun asked coldly. “Even if that film-covering method came from Liu Xing, if he did not personally operate it in the workshop, how can you twist the truth like this? Can you really live with yourself morally?”

“I...” Director Zhang was left speechless.

Indeed, everyone knows a kitchen knife can be dangerous, but the responsibility does not lie with the maker of the knife. It lies with the person who uses it.

If, by his logic, one were to hold the maker responsible, then would not everyone in the world be guilty?

The same was true of Liu Xing’s film-covering method. Even if it carried safety risks, if he had not personally carried out the operation, on what grounds could Director Zhang falsely accuse him? Was that not madness?

Secretary Yan also felt that Tian Jun made perfect sense. If Liu Xing had not been in the workshop that day, then there was no evidence at all pointing to him as the cause of the disaster. If they really arrested Liu Xing, it would likely be Hengshui Brewery that lost face in the end, not Liu Xing.

What puzzled him, however, was why Tian Jun cared so much about a village cowherd.

Director Zhang had the same question in his heart.

But he did not dare ask.

Just then, before he could think of another way to exonerate himself, the deputy director of Hengshui Brewery, Zeng Dezhi, walked into the special care ward with a dark expression. Behind him followed Li Dawei and five or six security guards.

“Why have you come, Xiao Zeng?” Secretary Yan asked in confusion.

“I’ve come to report the true inside story of the workshop explosion at Hengshui Brewery to you. Old Li has told me everything, including the hidden matter of how Liu Changsheng used leverage to threaten Director Zhang,” Zeng Dezhi said.

He was not tall, but his voice was loud and remarkably clear.

Seeing Director Zhang turn pale and panic-stricken, he waved to the two security guards beside him. “What are you standing there for? Control Director Zhang first.”

“You can’t arrest me! You really can’t. I’m actually a victim too,” Director Zhang cried miserably as he tried to run. The next second, he was pinned to the ground and could not move an inch.

“What on earth is going on?” Secretary Yan asked in alarm.

Tian Jun was equally bewildered.

“You should ask Old Li. He knows the inside story best. Alas, of course, he was also misled by Director Zhang and ended up turning what should have been a matter that could change the fate of Hengshui Brewery into what it is now,” Zeng Dezhi said with a soft sigh, then stepped aside to let Li Dawei come forward.

For a brief moment, all was quiet.

Everyone looked at Li Dawei.

Director Zhang trembled in despair.

He wanted to tell Li Dawei not to speak, but the words would not come out.

“Secretary Yan, the whole story must begin with how I came to know Liu Xing,” Li Dawei said, ignoring Director Zhang and speaking slowly and clearly.

This time, he did not utter a single falsehood.

He also concealed nothing about how, back then at Hengshui Brewery, he, Director Zhang, and Yu Lajun had schemed to frame Liu Xing and steal Liu Xing’s film-covering method, including the petty plan of refusing to give Liu Xing two thousand yuan.

Secretary Yan listened in silence. When he finally understood, he was so furious that he ground his teeth and kicked Director Zhang hard.

The force behind that kick was tremendous. Director Zhang was sent straight into unconsciousness.

Seeing that Zhang would not die from it, Tian Jun turned his face away as though he had seen nothing.

After all, in his eyes, a man like Director Zhang truly deserved a beating.

A heartfelt thanks to the reader Fate’s Origin, Fate’s End, Born of Fate for the five hundred starting coins, and thanks to book friend 20180704230618635 for the one hundred starting coins.

Thank you all for your recommended votes!