Chapter 960

Meng Yu lay on the ground, trembling all over, not daring to lift his head or speak, not even daring to breathe loudly.

Of the few people lying on the ground, someone was still whimpering in pain; after Lao Ba lightly kicked him, he immediately shut his mouth.

Lin Dongfan held his wine cup, took a slow sip, and remained as steady as Mount Tai.

He questioned Meng Yu again: "Playing dumb now is too late. I'll ask you one last time: Did your father send you, or did you come on your own?"

"It's me myself, it has nothing to do with my father; he doesn't know."

In this scene where power is king, Meng Yu clearly knows his father's weight; he absolutely dare not drag his father into it, otherwise he'd be in deep trouble.

Lin Dongfan stared at Meng Yu for a while.

He didn't ask anything further.

He set down his wine cup, stood up, and told Yang Qing: "Arrest all of them."

"Are you sure?"

Yang Qing worried that arresting Meng Yu would further exacerbate the conflict between Lin Dongfan and Meng Qinghe.

Lin Dongfan naturally had considered these factors; he replied dismissively: "Rioting, assault with weapons. You're a deputy director of the Provincial Department—do I need to teach you this?"

"Fine."

Yang Qing saw that Master Fan had never even thought of easing relations with Meng Qinghe.

Since that's the case.

Then there's no need to hold back.

Just do it!

Yang Qing pulled out his phone, called his subordinate: "I'm at Entertainment Emperor KTV; bring people over immediately. Over a dozen people here attacked me and the Mayor with weapons—take them all away."

He hung up after speaking.

At that moment Lin Dongfan sat back down on the sofa and poured himself another cup of wine.

He glanced at Meng Yu lying on the ground, smiled faintly: "Whether your father knows or not doesn't matter; what matters is that you've broken the law."

!!!

Meng Yu lowered his head, trembling, not daring to make a sound.

Soon after, the criminal investigators from the Provincial Department came and handcuffed Meng Yu and the others. The boss of Entertainment Emperor KTV, scared like a grandson, hurriedly apologized to Lin Dongfan and Yang Qing.

Late night.

Meng Qinghe had just finished washing up and was about to sleep when his phone rang; it was Lao Liu from the Municipal Public Security Bureau calling.

"Deputy Mayor Meng, I have a situation to report. Just now, your son was taken away by the Provincial Department's people at Entertainment Emperor KTV, suspected of rioting and assault with weapons."

"Provincial Department? Who made the arrest?"

Meng Qinghe's voice and expression turned grim; he thought, "Who the hell doesn't give face? They even arrested my son!"

Lao Liu replied embarrassedly: "Deputy Director Yang personally made the arrest; the person is now detained in the Provincial Department."

"Yang Qing?!"

Meng Qinghe's anger flared to the top; since it was Yang Qing, this made sense—Yang Qing has always been in cahoots with Lin Dongfan.

Meng Qinghe angrily asked: "On what grounds did he arrest my son?"

"Around nine tonight, the Mayor and Deputy Director Yang were discussing work at Entertainment Emperor KTV. Your son brought over a dozen loafers and attacked the Mayor and Deputy Director with weapons."

As soon as Lao Liu finished speaking, Meng Qinghe was like someone eating coptis—bitter but forced to swallow it.

Meng Qinghe simply replied, "I understand," hung up, plopped onto a chair, dazed and bewildered, his mind full of how to retaliate.

Sleepless night.

The next morning, Meng Qinghe hurried into Character's office.

Character, who had been reviewing project documents, saw Meng Qinghe's poor complexion, set aside his work, looked up and asked: "Has something happened?"

"Secretary Character, they've arrested my son!"

Meng Qinghe didn't sit; he braced his hands on the desk's edge, stared straight at Character, regarding him as a lifeline.

Character listened, bewildered: "Speak slowly; you just said they arrested your son—who exactly are 'they'?"

"The Mayor and Yang Qing of the Provincial Public Security Department." Meng Qinghe said helplessly.

Character looked astonished: "Why did they arrest your son?"

"It's still because of that fight on the pedestrian street." Meng Qinghe put on a look of being wronged yet powerless.

Character's brows furrowed: "The pedestrian street? Is that the fight I saw the first day I came to Wuzhou?"

"Exactly."

Meng Qinghe nodded.

He continued his lament: "Secretary Character, you don't know. The two youths that fought that day were my son Meng Yu and the Mayor's son Lin Fuxing. My son is also a good-for-nothing, six years older than Lin Fuxing, yet he got beaten down and subdued. He must lack the violence gene."

"I really didn't expect those two youngsters to have such a complicated background." Character's brows tightened further as he lifted the tea in front of him and took a sip.

Meng Qinghe added: "That day my son was injured by Lin Fuxing—a fact, with a hospital injury assessment report. Yesterday I went to the Municipal Public Security Bureau and demanded the bureau enforce the law impartially. The result: Lin Fuxing, who caused the injury, faces no consequences, remains free, while my son was arrested by the Provincial Department's people."

"Absolutely absurd!"

Character heard this and flew into a rage, slamming his palm on the desk.

Up to now.

Character still hasn't learned the full picture.

In Character's memory, the fault in the pedestrian street brawl has always been Lin Fuxing. After hearing Meng Qinghe's grievance, Character flew into a rage.

Moreover, at the previous standing committee meeting, Lin Dongfan deliberately absented himself to slap Character in the face.

At this moment, Character's prejudice against the Lin father and son can be said to have converged into a river, instantly drowning most of his reason.

"When a son brawls and injures, the father rushes to shield him! He really treats Wuzhou as the Lin family's backyard? Utterly absurd!" Character's condemnation boomed, deafening.

Meng Qinghe, however, grew more excited the more he listened: "Secretary Character, I'll say something I shouldn't— the Mayor and Deputy Director Yang acting like this is purely using power for personal gain! They might not really be after my son; they're likely after me, Meng Qinghe! I even suspect the parking space scam was prearranged by them."

"I've also heard people talk about it before, saying Mayor Lin has always been unwilling to see you." Character said solemnly: "If he really used his authority to suppress dissent, the organization will definitely deal with him severely."

"Secretary Character, with your words, I can rest easy."

Seeing that Character's tea cup was empty, Meng Qinghe hurriedly refilled it. This diligent and sincere attitude made Character feel greatly relieved.

Character said: "You go back first; I'll handle this matter."

"Thank you, Secretary Character; if there's anything I need to cooperate with, please just instruct me." After Meng Qinghe left the office, he went directly to the Provincial Public Security Department.

Character then picked up the red desk phone: "Have the driver wait for me downstairs."

This afternoon, the Provincial Party Committee has a meeting to be held; Character thought it over, and seeing as this is a good opportunity, he wanted to bring up Lin Dongfan's issue for discussion.