Chapter 581: Interrogating Jiang Lin

Later he let go, pointed at my nose and cursed me as a lowly person, saying he would make me and Lv Yizhi pay the price, and also sever the father-son relationship between me and my son Qiao Xu.

At this point, every pore on Jiang Lin's body exuded an intangible hatred.

She turned her head and wiped away a tear.

She spoke with anguish:

I became Lv Yizhi's mistress for his future; what right does he have to call me a lowly person?

All these years, to help him rise smoothly, I served as Lv Yizhi's plaything; I swallowed my bitterness, endured my grievances—anyone could insult me, except Qiao Lianzhou, who had no right.

Later, in anger, I put a few sleeping pills into his tea.

When I left in the morning,

I found he hadn't woken.

I feared something might happen to him, so I originally planned to splash ice water to wake him.

Later Lv Yizhi suddenly called me, saying his son's illegal lung transplant had been exposed and someone needed to take the blame...

As she spoke, Jiang Lin's voice cut off again.

She seemed deeply regretful.

She turned her head aside; the tears would not stop.

Lin Dongfan couldn't tell if she was acting or genuine; her emotions were indeed a mix of sorrow and hatred, as if nothing she did was what she wanted.

Lin Dongfan pressed: 'Continue.'

'Let me calm down first...' Jiang Lin raised her hand to wipe tears; one could clearly see that her once delicate wrists now bore red marks from the handcuffs.

Jian Sining took out a pack of tissues from the documents and handed them over.

Thank you.

When Jiang Lin dried her tears, her eyes were already red from crying, and she blew her nose with clear mucus.

After her emotions had somewhat eased,

She continued: 'Lv Yizhi called me, telling me to go along with it and send Qiao Lianzhou on his way. I was also afraid and dared not act rashly. But Lv Yizhi pressured me over the phone, saying if I didn't send Qiao Lianzhou on his way, no one would take the blame for the illegal lung transplant, and I would die.'

'Are you sure it was Lv Yizhi alone who forced you to kill, not that you also wanted to?' Lin Dongfan fixed his gaze on Jiang Lin, carefully judging the truth of her words.

Jiang Lin lowered her head, fiddling with the tissue, and replied sorrowfully: 'Although I hate Qiao Lianzhou, I truly never thought of killing him. If not for Lv Yizhi's pressure, I wouldn't even dare imagine it.'

'If you never thought of killing Qiao Lianzhou, why did you secretly put sleeping pills in his tea?' Lin Dongfan pressed.

Jiang Lin said: 'He had just learned his son wasn't his biological child and was furious; I feared he might attack me while I slept, so I gave him sleeping pills. If I wanted to kill him, I'd increase the dose, not just give two pills. Though Qiao Lianzhou is a good-for-nothing, he used to treat me well; we had feelings.'

'You had feelings, yet you let him raise another man's son for over a decade!' Lin Dongfan recalled his past life, and anger flared instantly.

Jiang Lin lowered her head to explain:

'My son Qiao Xu is not Qiao Lianzhou's biological child, and this was not what I wanted.'

'When I was pregnant then, I didn't know whose child it was. After giving birth, I secretly did a paternity test to learn the truth.'

'But by then I discovered it was Lv Yizhi's child, and it was too late.'

'The child was already born; I couldn't abandon him. For over a decade I never told Lv Yizhi the child was his, and we got along fine.'

'Until the child fell seriously ill and needed a lung transplant.'

'After the hospital found a matching lung source, I didn't ask Qiao Lianzhou to use his influence to seize it, knowing he wouldn't do such a thing.'

'So I placed the paternity test on Lv Yizhi's desk and asked him to figure something out.'

'At that time Lv Yizhi was also bewildered.'

'He never expected to have a son.'

'Later, following Lv Yizhi's suggestion, I went to the president of Provincial Renmin Yiyuan, He Zhiqiang, and told him that if he saved my son's life, he could succeed Wei Shouqin and be promoted to ministerial level.'

'Finally we reached the core point.'

Lin Dongfan frowned, eyes narrowed, and asked coldly: 'Is this promise your personal commitment to He Zhiqiang, or did Lv Yizhi ask you to convey it?'

'It was Lv Yizhi who asked me to relay it.' Jiang Lin said: 'I lack the ability to help He Zhiqiang reach ministerial level, but for Lv Yizhi it's just a matter of saying a sentence.'

At this point, Lin Dongfan continued to stare at Jiang Lin's eyes, judging truthfulness.

If Jiang Lin had not spoken,

then it would be clear: the plot to murder Qiao Lianzhou was Lv Yizhi forcing her behind the scenes! Arranging Qiao Xu's illegal lung transplant was also Lv Yizhi operating behind the scenes!

Lin Dongfan went out to use the restroom and smoked a cigarette.

By the way, he called Li Mingtang to report the interrogation progress, urging Li Mingtang to immediately apply to the Supreme People's Procuratorate for an arrest warrant—formally detain Lv Yizhi.

After hanging up, he returned to the interrogation room.

Lin Dongfan then asked Jiang Lin: 'You've been Lv Yizhi's underground mistress for over a decade. How well do you know him?'

'On the surface he appears upright, but behind the scenes he grasps both wealth and beauty.'

Jiang Lin recalled: 'His wife bore him no sons, only two daughters. The elder daughter is about my age; she died in a car crash five years ago. The younger daughter, Lv Shuting, works in finance and is very wealthy. When Lv Yizhi learned Qiao Xu was his biological son, he was delighted, for it fulfilled one of his dreams.'

'Has his daughter Lv Shuting used his position to illegally amass wealth?' Lin Dongfan asked.

Jiang Lin thought carefully.

She shook her head and replied: 'I haven't had much contact with Lv Shuting, so I'm not clear on her affairs. I only know she acts ostentatiously, loving grandeur. She poured huge sums into building a garden-style villa in her hometown Taoyuan County, reminiscent of ancient Suzhou gardens, covering over four thousand square meters, costing more than five hundred million, and named it Lü Mansion.'

'Who owns the rights to that garden villa?' Lin Dongfan asked.

Jiang Lin said: 'For now it's under Lv Shuting's name, but in reality it's the Lü family's ancestral property. Lv Yizhi told me that if my son acknowledges his ancestry, changes his surname to Lü, he could eventually inherit Lü Mansion.'

'So you mean the actual control of the villa lies in Lv Yizhi's hands?' Lin Dongfan asked.

Jiang Lin nodded: 'Yes, I feel Lv Shuting is just a nominal figure. Lv Yizhi believes in feng shui; last year a wealthy merchant, catering to his taste, gave him a thousand-year-old arhat pine. It was lifted by crane and transplanted into the rear garden of Lü Mansion. I don't know how much that tree is worth, but Lv Yizhi treasures it.'

'What's the name of that wealthy merchant?' Lin Dongfan asked.

Jiang Lin shook her head regretfully: 'I don't know; those shady deals, Lv Yizhi won't easily tell me. In his world I'm merely a plaything, nothing. Once I saw Wu Changsheng visit him; I wondered why Wang Daochen's secretary would come to the Lü family's door. When I asked what was up, he told me not to ask what I shouldn't, not to listen to what I shouldn't.'

'Then did you hear what they talked about?' Lin Dongfan asked.

Jiang Lin shook her head again: "I can't stand it; Lv Yizhi made an excuse to send me away. He is on guard against many people around him, including me."

Lin Dongfan asked again: "What else do you know? Think about it carefully."

This interrogation lasted a full three hours or more.

The more they learned about Lv Yizhi, the graver the expressions of Lin Dongfan and Jian Sining became; the gates of Qincheng Prison had already swung open for Lv Yizhi!