Chapter 580

The news that Lv Yizhi had been taken away for an "invited talk" spread like a silent tsunami, sweeping every corner of the senior leadership buildings in Baiyue Province within twenty-four hours.

On the officialdom surface it was calm, but beneath dark currents surged, reefs breaking apart.

Shifts in wind first manifest in the most sensitive nerve endings of the power field. The once bustling Lü Family now lies so deserted that even the echo of footsteps can be heard.

Lv Yizhi's youngest daughter, Lv Shuting, was also running around all day.

No information could be gathered.

Former subordinates who used to go to the Lü Family to "report work" like busy bees now either cannot get through on the phone or politely and distantly reply, "In a meeting."

Even Wu Changsheng, whom Old Lü relied on most, had vanished like evaporating into thin air, with no news at all.

This feeling of being instantly abandoned by the whole world is more terrifying than any direct interrogation, giving a sensation of suffocation, as if about to suffocate.

Jiang Lin was equally desperate.

Jiang Lin, held inside the high walls of the detention center, had her information channels strictly limited, yet this systemic "silence" itself was the clearest signal.

She knew better than anyone:

Lv Yizhi—the building she had clung to for over a decade, regarding it as a heaven‑reaching pillar—was not tilting but collapsing outright!

Once the foundation on which she depended shook,

The weightless sensation of plummeting from the clouds and the extreme fear of the future could drain a person's vital energy in a short time.

When Lin Dongfan entered the interrogation room again, the Jiang Lin he saw was no longer the Prosecutor General's wife who could still feign composure and try to preserve her last dignity.

Only a short day had passed.

She seemed to have had her spine pulled out, her whole body shrinking into the wide interrogation chair; likely she had not slept all night from worry, her eye sockets slightly darkened, her complexion exhausted to the extreme.

The skin she had once meticulously maintained had lost its luster, her whole body exuding an air of decadence.

This was not mere decadence.

It was a despair that permeated from inside out after her beliefs collapsed and her future was utterly destroyed.

She didn't even lift her head to look at Lin Dongfan, her gaze dull and fixed on the handcuffs on her wrist, as if examining the fate that had locked her in.

After Lin Dongfan and Jian Sining took their seats, they did not speak immediately.

Lin Dongfan placed a thin file folder on the table, merely staring fixedly at Jiang Lin; the oppressive feeling of that scrutinizing gaze instantly made her unable to sit or stand still.

Silence lingered for a while.

Jiang Lin finally mustered the courage to raise her head and weakly asked Lin Dongfan, "I heard you arrested Lv Yizhi—is that true?"

"That's not something you should be inquiring about."

"For now, this so-called 'arrest' is merely an invitation talk in disguise, a de facto detention meant to create a high-pressure situation."

"The superiors have already set a deadline."

"If no corruption evidence against Lv Yizhi is obtained within 24 hours, he must be released."

"Considering procedural justice and today's interrogation purpose, Lin Dongfan could neither admit to the arrest nor deny it."

"If he admitted the arrest, he would be suspected of fraud."

"If he denied the arrest, Jiang Lin would harbor a sense of luck and likely resist the interrogation."

Lin Dongfan coldly fixed his eyes on Jiang Lin's: "You didn't want to see me? Now I'm here as you wished—state any reasonable demand, and I will consider it."

This carrot‑and‑stick tactic still works fairly well.

Jiang Lin, whose heart had been ashen, now flickered with a faint smile; though it was somewhat bitter, at least she had set aside her former defiance.

Jiang Lin gathered herself and replied, "Lv Yizhi can barely protect himself now; I fear he will send someone to kill my son. If you can keep my son safe, I am willing to cooperate with your investigation."

"I can guarantee your son's safety."

Lin Dongfan first gave Jiang Lin a reassurance.

"But you must give me a reasonable explanation—why would Lv Yizhi want to eliminate your son?"

"Because..."

Jiang Lin wanted to speak but stopped, as if she had something hard to say.

Jian Sining, who had been lowering her head to take notes, now paused and looked at Jiang Lin: "Let's be frank—stop beating around the bush."

"I'm organizing my words."

Jiang Lin thought back and recalled carefully: "When I married Qiao Lianzhou back then, he was merely a low‑level clerk. Others rose like rockets, but Qiao Lianzhou stalled, belonging to the sort of good‑for‑nothing who couldn't even squeeze out a fart even if you beat him with a stick. I told him to go give gifts and network, but he wouldn't go."

"Qiao Lianzhou never went to network?" Lin Dongfan questioned doubtfully.

Jiang Lin shook her head: "He lacks emotional intelligence, does things single‑mindedly. To help him get promoted, I personally approached his superior—Lv Yizhou. At first I only wanted to give a gift and ask Lv Yizhou for a favor, but I didn't expect Lv Yizhou to be uninterested in my gift; he only admired me, saying I looked like a Hong Kong/Taiwan star."

Upon hearing this, Lin Dongfan could not help but directly size up Jiang Lin's appearance.

Although her youth had faded, her charm remained, her facial contours indeed delicate, a bit like the unfastened‑button girl in an adult film.

Jiang Lin blushed and gave a bitter smile, then continued: "Back then, Lv Yizhi told me that if I accompanied him once, he would promote Qiao Lianzhou. I thought, spending a night together wouldn't hurt, so I agreed. But I didn't expect that the first time would lead to a second, then a third, and eventually I became his underground mistress."

"Does Qiao Lianzhou know?" Lin Dongfan asked.

Jiang Lin shook her head and replied: "He didn't know at first; in his heart, Lv Yizhi was his benefactor who had helped him rise. But he didn't realize that his smooth ascent was all thanks to me… that thing. So sometimes when I'm in a bad mood, I don't even want to see him—he's just stupidly pure."

"You just said he didn't know at first—when did he learn the truth?" Lin Dongfan pressed.

Jiang Lin answered without hesitation: "That night he went to the rooftop, feeling hopeless, he returned home and confronted me, asking if I was fooling around behind his back, and we had a huge argument. In my anger, I not only admitted to keeping a fitness trainer, I also admitted to my affair with Lv Yizhi. At the time I just wanted to mock him—he was a good‑for‑nothing. Without me, he'd forever remain a low‑level clerk and never reach his current high position."

Hearing this, Lin Dongfan couldn't help but recall his previous life.

In his past life, his tragic fate resembled Qiao Lianzhou's—both were seen as good‑for‑nothings by their wives, and they ended up dying in a muddled, confused way.

This damn melodramatic plot is so heart‑wrenching!

Lin Dongfan swallowed his anger and continued pressing for details: "That night, after you and Qiao Lianzhou finished arguing, what did you do?"

Upon reaching the crux, Jiang Lin fell into an emo state.

Her spirits sank to the lowest point.

She lowered her head, pondered for a while, then spoke with regret: "That day I blurted out that Qiao Xu wasn't his biological son but Lv Yizhi's offspring. He slapped me, pressed me onto the sofa, and choked my neck…"

Speaking, Jiang Lin slightly raised her neck.

He pointed at the scar above: "Can you see it? There should still be marks from being choked; that day he almost choked me to death."

"And then?" Lin Dongfan continued to ask.