Because of my silence, Yu Xiaoluo didn't ask further. We both got into the car, contemplating my grandfather's actions. His deeds had ruined other people's lives, yet he had done so to protect his son.
He was wrong, and he regretted it. In his twilight years, he orchestrated a grand scheme with his own death.
As of now, we had no evidence to prove Lin Zhijun was the x driver. If I hadn't conducted this investigation, I wouldn't have believed anyone who told me Lin Zhijun was the x driver.
By sacrificing himself, he used the assessment I underwent in the Heaven Art scam as a foundation of trust. He then employed an executor to orchestrate the revelation of the truth. Once I understood the truth, I would inevitably seek a way to deal with Lin Zhijun. Whether I or Lin Zhijun would emerge victorious was a matter that perhaps even my deceased grandfather thought Lin Zhijun had a better chance of winning. However, before this, my grandfather had asked me to leave this place of trouble. Even Lin Han had subtly suggested that my grandfather believed my fate was incompatible with hers, using this as a reason for me to leave.
By not leaving, I was inevitably dragged into this quagmire. What should I do now? Withdraw, or continue seeking the truth and fight against Lin Zhijun.
...
"Stop the car!" I broke the silence, shouting. Yu Xiaoluo pulled the car over to the side of the road and looked at me, bewildered, "What's wrong?"
"I'm going to find out the truth. Don't follow me."
"Where are you going to find the truth?"
"Don't worry about it!"
After I finished speaking, I opened the car door and got out. Yu Xiaoluo seemed flustered, rolling down the window and calling out to me, "Go back to the task force. What do I tell Lin Zhijun when I see him?"
"Find an opportunity to tell him that I have that item."
"What item?"
"He knows!"
I walked further away. Yu Xiaoluo grew anxious, "Tang Nan, are you trying to die? You won't even explain yourself clearly." I didn't respond, waving my hand with my back to Yu Xiaoluo.
...
I arrived at Huang Aiguo's shop. The old man was quick. I had only given him the money yesterday, and he had already posted an ad for subletting the prime location. However, Huang Aiguo was still clearing out some inventory. I walked in, and Huang Aiguo showed no surprise.
"This old fox," I cursed inwardly. I never thought I'd be deceived by Huang Aiguo. I had always believed I had him completely under my control, but that wasn't the case.
"Have you eaten?"
"No!"
"Let's go to a restaurant. My treat."
The portions here were generous. I ordered two dishes and a bottle of wine. I poured wine for Huang Aiguo, and he still had that look of being overwhelmed with gratitude. I was amazed. If a person can act to the core, engraved in their soul, then no one can discover it.
"When did you and grandfather plan this scheme?"
"Not long ago, after you solved the Heaven scam. The old leader was very happy, saying you accomplished what he couldn't achieve in his lifetime."
Hearing Huang Aiguo say this, I felt ashamed. What had I done? I was merely being led by my grandfather's scheme. This Huang Aiguo was also not simple. After my grandfather passed away, he deliberately loitered outside my residential compound, attracting my attention, then misled me, pushing me in the direction they wanted me to go.
"Huang Aiguo, what exactly was your relationship with grandfather?"
"I was a driver for the old leader at the museum. After the old leader retired, I resigned and worked with him."
"During the time of the resort scam?"
"Yes!"
Before that, my grandfather had already retired for several years, but due to his technical skills, he was rehired for a few more years. During that period, Huang Aiguo served as his driver. After my grandfather retired permanently, Huang Aiguo had nothing to do and was even assigned the job of a night watchman. It was at that critical juncture that my grandfather hired Huang Aiguo as his driver. In this regard, Huang Aiguo was not lying. It was more than three hundred yuan a day.
Huang Aiguo's lies were mainly regarding Zhang Bing. In the resort scam, Zhang Bing did not fall into the trap because of my grandfather. The one who tempted Zhang Bing with benefits and had him deceive people was Lin Zhijun.
Lin Zhijun called himself x because they traveled around to defraud people in that scam, hence he also called himself a driver. Lin Zhijun was the x driver, and Fang Sheng and Zhang Bing were each half a driver.
Fang Sheng was young, with a refined appearance but a ruthless heart. He was the main person in charge of the resort scam and also the murderer who dealt with obstacles in the dark. Zhang Bing was different from Fang Sheng; he was older and retired. However, in this scheme, Zhang Bing was indispensable and was the one who helped Lin Zhijun make money.
My grandfather heard from people at the museum that Zhang Bing might be involved in scams. For the sake of past events, he wanted to investigate and persuade Zhang Bing to withdraw. Thus, my grandfather hired Huang Aiguo to infiltrate the enemy's ranks.
It was all because of that year...
Back then, Zhang Bing, wanting to secure a position in his workplace, reached a deal with my grandfather and personally handed his son over to the police. Zhang Bing benefited from that incident and always held significant power at the museum. However, Zhang Bing did not work diligently. Instead, he used his authority to accept bribes from the archaeology team.
My grandfather knew about this, but because Zhang Bing's son had replaced Lin Zhijun as the thief, he tolerated Zhang Bing. Even after my grandfather retired, Zhang Bing, competing with others for the position of museum director, was arrogant and unrestrained, leading to him being reported. To remain at the museum, Zhang Bing threatened my grandfather with the matter of Lin Zhijun, forcing my grandfather to use his old connections to protect his reputation.
However, from then on, Zhang Bing lost his power and could no longer accept bribes. Not only that, but he spent money lavishly. By the time he retired, his family fortunes had declined, and he lived in a dilapidated shack.
At that time, Zhang Bing came to my grandfather again, wanting him to give him some money. My grandfather did not give him money and told Zhang Bing not to use this matter to threaten the Lin family anymore; Lin Zhiyuan was already a well-known entrepreneur and a distinguished youth in Xi'an.
Many years had passed since Lin Zhijun's theft of national treasures, and Zhang Bing did not possess any solid evidence. Furthermore, my grandfather disliked Zhang Bing. He felt guilty about Zhang Bing's son, and he had helped Zhang Bing, even at the cost of his own integrity. But he had only recently learned that Zhang Bing had long since severed ties with his son. At that time, Zhang Bing was still powerful and influential, yet he had abandoned his estranged son.
Based on this, my grandfather felt there was no need to help such a Zhang Bing and drove him out of the Lin family.
...
However, what my grandfather did not expect was that Lin Zhijun had secretly colluded with a fraud syndicate, using their illicit connections to acquire antiques and sell them for legitimate profits.
In addition to legitimate transactions, Lin Zhijun also defrauded people. The resort scam was a fraud concocted by Lin Zhijun as a mentor, in conjunction with the first batch of trainees from the fraud syndicate. Within Lin Zhijun's fraudulent scheme, two indispensable roles were played. One was the cleaner, Fang Sheng, and the other was Zhang Bing, who served as a tool for the elderly. Lin Zhijun personally approached Zhang Bing and offered him tempting conditions.
In this scam, Zhang Bing spared no effort in accumulating wealth, deceiving his neighbors, friends, and relatives. After the scam was exposed, Zhang Bing's identity as a mere tool was not discovered by the police.
Although Zhang Bing escaped legal sanctions, he never received the money Lin Zhijun had promised him. Zhang Bing knew that Fang Sheng was ruthless, so he dared not confront Lin Zhijun. Instead, he went to my grandfather's house to threaten him. My grandfather was shocked. He had never imagined that Lin Zhijun would associate with criminals. He was still immersed in the belief that his son had become a celebrity in the antique circle through his own efforts. But all of this was a lie, all of it was unacceptable.
From childhood, whenever Lin Zhijun made a mistake, my grandfather would help him cover it up. If he beat someone's eyes, my grandfather would say it wasn't Lin Zhijun's fault. If he stole national treasures and sold them to small vendors, my grandfather would say Lin Zhijun was immature. However, the resort scam had stolen the life savings of the elderly. Tens of millions had vanished without a trace when the police began their investigation. They only apprehended a few scapegoats, and not even Fang Sheng was considered a suspect.
After contemplating for several hours, my grandfather decided to report his son, Lin Zhijun, to the police. He first told his wife, my grandmother. She couldn't believe the news and her eyes were swollen from crying. She pleaded with my grandfather, "Let's help our child one last time. After this, we won't concern ourselves with his affairs anymore."
His grandmother's plea swayed my grandfather, or perhaps his heart was not firm to begin with. At that time, Lin Zhijun was in a period of rapid career development. He had a devoted wife and a smart, lovely daughter.
At this point, if Lin Zhijun were reported, the Lin family would be ruined, and my grandfather's lifelong reputation would be tarnished. How would the neighbors look at him? How would those who respected him, his subordinates, look at him? He would be spat upon and carried to his grave in disgrace.
After much deliberation, my grandfather gave himself a reason: one last time to help his son.
...
After having Huang Aiguo conduct a preliminary investigation, he learned that Zhang Bing had defrauded his neighbors, friends, and relatives of approximately eight hundred thousand yuan. My grandfather sold his lifetime collection of antiques, earning over a million yuan, and gave it all to Zhang Bing.
My grandfather thought Zhang Bing would return the money to his neighbors, friends, and relatives, but Zhang Bing did not. He disappeared, traveling to another place alone. Zhang Bing left his wife in Xi'an to bear the pressure from all sides. He indulged in food and drink, and gambled. Within a few years, the million yuan was squandered. Unable to survive elsewhere, Zhang Bing returned to Xi'an. Drunk, he went to threaten Lin Zhijun, who gave Zhang Bing a check for eighty thousand yuan.
Zhang Bing was overjoyed. However, on his way back, he was severely beaten by thugs. Due to drinking and external injuries, compounded, Zhang Bing suffered a ruptured blood vessel and became paralyzed. Zhang Bing asked his wife to use the eighty thousand yuan to treat him, but his wife returned the money to his neighbors, relatives, and friends. She then took Zhang Bing home and cared for him alone in a rented room. Zhang Bing cursed his wife daily, lying paralyzed and constantly complaining.
After tormenting his wife for a year in this manner, Zhang Bing was once again hospitalized due to paralysis. At this time, Zhang Bing's wife was mentally unstable. She refused treatment and brought the paralyzed Zhang Bing back home.
Later, my grandfather heard that Zhang Bing had died. He was discovered two days after his death in bed. Upon hearing this news, my grandfather began to realize he had made a mistake. He found Huang Aiguo again and began to intervene in the scam his son was involved in, attempting to find evidence of his son's crimes.