Lu Hongjun was in the park discussing bird care with a few old men, when several uniformed officers approached, confirmed his identity, and took him away in handcuffs.
An old man who didn’t get along with Lu Hongjun snorted and said, "I told you his daughter’s money came from an illegitimate source, but you all said I was jealous of him. How about now? Was I right?"
A kindly old man replied, "The matter hasn’t been clarified yet. Who knows what’s really going on? Perhaps it’s just a false alarm."
The other old man wanted to continue, but the kindly one was uninterested: "Ah, it’s getting late, I should head home."
In the interrogation room, Lu Hongjun insisted he knew nothing about any old items. He claimed his life had been spotless and this was a setup by personal enemies.
Guo Qinqin was infuriated upon hearing this and laid out the evidence: "You’re profiteering from the resale of state assets, the evidence is clear. There’s no use in arguing. If you want leniency, just confess about that batch of old items."
Lu Hongjun wasn’t easily intimidated by her words: "Comrade, I haven’t done such things. You can’t fabricate stories to slander me."
Few people knew about his collection of antiques, and even fewer had seen them. As long as Jiaxin’s bodyguards kept quiet, his denial wouldn’t be challenged without evidence.
Seeing his refusal, Guo Qinqin left with a grim face.
Soon after, Lu Jiazong was summoned to assist in the investigation. At first, he claimed ignorance of the antiques. But under the interrogator’s pressure, he eventually confessed.
Lu Jiazong said, "My Third Uncle had a batch of old items; Jiaxin told me about them. But I’ve never seen them, only know they went to Jiaxin."
"What kind of things? How would I know? I’ve never seen them. But my Third Uncle has high standards; he wouldn’t take ordinary things. Jiaxin is the same; she won’t be interested unless it’s something good."
Guo Qinqin asked many more questions, even trying to trap Lu Jiazong into saying Jiaxin’s business capital came from Lu Hongjun, but the trap didn’t work.
Lu Jiazong said, "Where did Jiaxin’s business capital come from? She picked up an ancient painting in the Ancient Capital’s antique market. That clever girl figured nobody in the Forty-nine City would pay the price, so she took it to Yangcheng City and sold it to the Third Young Master Nie Zhan of the Nie Family, who is her current companion."
"Third Young Master Nie spent generously, giving Jiaxin tens of thousands in greenbacks. She used that money to start a shoe business and made a fortune."
"My Third Uncle didn’t even know she’d made so much money. After the girl became successful, she stood up to my Third Uncle."
"Were Jiaxin’s business funds from selling those old items? No. My Third Uncle only gave those to Jiaxin a couple of years ago, and by then she’d already been well-off in Hong Kong for several years."
Lu Jiazong’s testimony confirmed that Lu Hongjun had a batch of priceless antiques, which he gave to Lu Jiaxin. However, her business capital was unrelated to these antiques.
In light of Lu Jiazong’s testimony, Lu Hongjun continued to deny any knowledge, and further elaborated: "I only have Jiaxin as a daughter. She moved to Hong Kong and won’t come back, so I had to make arrangements for my own old age. After careful consideration, adoption seemed the best option."
"Among the grandchildren, Lu Ping, as the oldest, couldn’t be adopted. Lu An’s work in the Public Security Bureau is too dangerous. Lu Zhang is too young, his character yet to be defined. Only Lu Shan is reliable and mature, and his wife, Da Mai, is also good-natured. Most importantly, they already have two sons and a daughter, so there’s no worry about heirs. But Lu Shan is the eldest of the second branch; traditionally in our family, the eldest must look after and bury the parents."
"To get Jiazong to agree to Lu Shan’s adoption, I deliberately let my people tell him I had a batch of priceless antiques that would go to Lu Shan after my death. He wasn’t smart but aspired much, persuading my brother and sister-in-law to let Shanzi be adopted under my name."
"After Shanzi’s adoption, he repeatedly asked why the items hadn’t been given to him. Unable to keep stalling, I told him they were given to Jiaxin. He believed me and grew deeply upset with Jiaxin, causing their relationship to drift apart."
Logically, this story made sense, but Guo Qinqin didn’t buy it. Despite repeated interrogations, Lu Hongjun stuck to his narrative.
Lu Jiaguang spent the whole day waiting, expecting things to blow over as before. Surprisingly, not only was the second brother summoned for investigation, but he himself was also called.
Regarding the allegations of smuggling goods and antiques, Lu Jiaguang claimed complete ignorance, nearly driving Guo Qinqin up the wall.
Subsequently, Second Sister-in-law Lu, Lu Shan, Da Mai were all summoned, but they all claimed to know nothing about the matters, nor had they heard or seen anything.
Realizing the situation was dire, Lu Jiaguang immediately called the steward, alarmed to find Jiaxin still abroad: "Tell Jiaxin that Third Uncle, her father, was arrested by the police; the whole family is being called in for questioning. This is very serious."
Steward Meng could discern the gravity of the situation: "What happened?"
Lu Jiaguang briefly explained the situation.
After hearing this, Steward Meng immediately called Nie Zhan: "Mr. Nie, the boss’s elder cousin just called, saying the old master was arrested by the police."
"Arrested by the police? Did they say why?"
Steward Meng said Lu Jiaguang didn’t specify, but emphasized the seriousness of the situation. Although the boss is cold to the old master, he’s still her father; she wouldn’t just let him rot in jail. At least, she’d hire a top-notch lawyer for him. As long as it’s not a capital crime like murder or arson, there shouldn’t be any major issues.
Nie Zhan didn’t call Jiaxin immediately but first sought Su Heyuan’s advice. No matter how bad Jiaxin’s relationship with Lu Hongjun was, she wouldn’t wish for him to end up in prison or dead.
Recalling the steward’s words, Nie Zhan said, "He’s been taken by the authorities, accused of smuggling goods and implicated with Jiaxin in smuggling national relics. I’m not sure about the first charge, but saying Jiaxin smuggled relics is utterly baseless."
"I’ll call now to find out what’s happening."
Nie Zhan gave a slight nod and said, "Also, remind them that my father-in-law is elderly and can’t withstand coercion or enticement. If anything happens, Jiaxin and I will pursue it to the end."
Su Heyuan cheerfully agreed: "Okay, I’ll call now and inquire."
Half an hour later, Su Heyuan called Nie Zhan, detailing the case’s background: "It’s the stepdaughter Huang Xiaoyu’s official complaint, leading to this investigation. While the smuggling case seems unavoidable, they likely have evidence. Regarding relic smuggling, there’s no found contraband. As long as Lu Hongjun insists Huang Xiaoyu bears false witness for revenge, he should be fine."
Moreover, since Lu Jiaxin is involved, the relic smuggling issue will likely be downplayed and eventually resolved quietly.