"What? Still not ready to talk?"
Hou Liangping gave Xiao Wenshun time to think, but what he didn't know was that Xiao Wenshun was frantically trying to figure out how to escape his current predicament.
His affairs absolutely could not be etched into the bloodline.
He absolutely did not want to be nailed to the pillar of shame and become a cautionary tale for future generations.
"Well, strictly speaking, this isn't money laundering. Everything I spent was hard-earned money!"
Xiao Wenshun argued while thinking rapidly.
Hou Liangping slapped the evidence in his hand onto the table and reprimanded him.
"Xiao Wenshun, I've already given you enough respect. You should understand that with this evidence, whether you confess or not doesn't matter anymore!"
The entire foundation of the money laundering charge rested on the fact that his vegetables were, on the surface, not worth such outrageous prices, making it appear as though he was laundering money.
But what if he could prove that his vegetables really were worth those prices?
Wouldn't that mean he hadn't participated in laundering money for corrupt officials at all and had merely been used by others?
Thinking of this, Xiao Wenshun suddenly felt he had found a breakthrough.
He hurriedly said,
"I can explain everything clearly. My vegetables are indeed worth that much money!"
Hou Liangping looked at Xiao Wenshun, doubt flashing across his eyes.
"What evidence do you have to prove that your vegetables are really worth that much?"
"Actually, your family eats those vegetables too, don't they?"
This question caused Hou Liangping to fall into thought.
The vegetables supplied to his family were indeed special. Not only were they delicious, but they could also quickly restore energy.
"Even if those vegetables are rare delicacies, they shouldn't be sold for such outrageous prices."
Hou Liangping still didn't believe Xiao Wenshun's explanation because it simply sounded unreasonable.
"Sigh, I'm too lazy to explain things to you. You're not qualified to hear it anyway."
"Those who should know will naturally know, and for those who shouldn't know, even knowing would be useless."
A trace of disdain suddenly appeared in Xiao Wenshun's tone.
For an outsider who understood nothing, anything he said would be meaningless.
It was better to let Zhong Xiaoai explain it to Hou Liangping personally.
Then he changed the subject and looked at Hou Liangping with slight confusion.
"However, I'm rather curious. You and Xiaoai have been married for over ten years. In a sense, you're already half an insider."
"As an insider, why don't you know about Spirit Vegetables? And why don't you know about the Xiao Family?"
"And as the son-in-law of the Zhong Family, do you know that your father-in-law took his mother's surname, and that he and I share the same father? We're both surnamed Xiao."
Xiao Wenshun suddenly leaned close to Hou Liangping and whispered words that made his entire body tremble.
Hou Liangping stared at Xiao Wenshun in disbelief.
Indeed, when compared to old photographs of his father-in-law in his youth, there was a slight resemblance between their brows.
Xiao Wenshun continued, curiosity evident in his voice.
"I'm actually curious—who exactly instructed you to investigate this matter?"
"They're either setting you up, or they're setting up the Zhong Family behind you!"
Faced with this barrage of questions, Hou Liangping immediately realized that things were not simple.
He frowned deeply and asked again,
"What exactly do you mean?"
"It means exactly what it sounds like."
"You can call your family and confirm it."
"And remember, tell them everything honestly."
"Don't try to beautify anything."
"If you leave out even one sentence or say a single thing incorrectly, you'll be responsible for the consequences."
Xiao Wenshun returned to the interrogation chair and kindly reminded him with a confident expression.
The reason he had panicked earlier was entirely because he had been frightened.
But after being teased by his clansmen, he quickly calmed down and used his super brain to deduce the entire situation.
Naturally, he was no longer nervous.
After exchanging glances with Lu Yike, Hou Liangping no longer hesitated.
He stood up and said,
"Yike, continue the questioning. I'm stepping out for a moment!"
Hou Liangping was unable to understand Xiao Wenshun's calm confidence.
Especially the matter regarding the person behind him.
If Xiao Wenshun truly was his father-in-law's half-brother, then he had really caused a huge misunderstanding.
Family had ended up fighting family.
He would probably receive a severe scolding.
Lu Yike nodded and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
She understood what Hou Liangping's departure meant.
After he left, Lu Yike stopped asking questions and instead casually chatted with Xiao Wenshun.
Her tone was no longer as confrontational as before.
Instead, it became relaxed and friendly, as though she were chatting with an acquaintance.
After all, she had merely been playing the "bad cop" role.
She wasn't stupid.
She had clearly heard the conversation between Xiao Wenshun and Hou Liangping earlier.
If Hou Liangping's side truly confirmed everything, then the man before them was not someone the Anti-Corruption Bureau could afford to offend.
Therefore, Lu Yike continuously steered the conversation toward Xiao Wenshun's family background and related topics, attempting to determine exactly whom he represented.
Lu Yike came from a military family.
Her father held a position in the military, so she knew something about the internal situation.
She knew there was an old general surnamed Xiao in the military—a highly respected figure revered as the "pillar of stability."
Not only had this old general received the highest military honors, but he also possessed special authority.
He could freely mobilize troops from military regions, directly assume the position of military region commander, and hold the highest command authority over local forces.
Although General Xiao had never used this authority and kept an extremely low profile, rarely appearing in public, that did not mean he lacked power.
After all, possessing power and not using it was fundamentally different from not having power at all.
General Xiao's status could be summed up in one sentence:
With a single word, he possessed the power to erase neighboring small countries.
Such a person—even if his youngest son were a useless shut-in—was absolutely not someone she could casually offend.
In ancient times, the man before her would at least be considered a prince.
From this perspective, those so-called vegetables were not money laundering at all.
Rather, they were gifts offered by powerful figures attempting to curry favor with Young Master Xiao.
People willingly handed over money in hopes of obtaining his approval.
As for everything that happened afterward, it was likely because those corrupt officials had discovered Young Master Xiao's hobbies and deliberately pushed him into the spotlight to divert attention.
Because with the status of the Xiao Family, there was simply no need to covet those few hundred million.
One hundred million might be an enormous sum to ordinary people, but for the Xiao Family, countless individuals would willingly offer up their entire fortunes with just a single word.
Therefore, money laundering simply didn't exist.
Lu Yike clearly understood that if she could gain Young Master Xiao's favor, her future career would undoubtedly be smooth sailing.
"I actually preferred your previous arrogant attitude."
"Go back to that."
Xiao Wenshun casually retorted and no longer paid attention to her.
For a shut-in like Xiao Wenshun, burying his head in his phone was far preferable to exchanging even a single sentence with them.
After all, he had no interest whatsoever in such "ugly women" from the three-dimensional world.
Especially considering how poorly she had treated him earlier.
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