NOVPUB
Chapter 565: Chapter 555: If I Knew Then What I Know Now
"What are you doing, by what right are you arresting me?" Li Hongqi was handcuffed and felt panicky inside, but he put on a very composed exterior, looking like an innocent man wrongfully accused.
"By what right? By the right of you fabricating stories to scam university students out of their hard-earned money. Now shut your mouth, or you’ll regret it," a male police officer said as he shoved Li Hongqi into the police station.
"It’s got nothing to do with me, nothing at all," Qiu Shuping had been insisting ever since she was handcuffed.
"Whether it’s related to you or not is not for you to decide. We’ll find out after an investigation once you’re inside," another male police officer stated emotionlessly.
Mu Huazhen was holding down Zheng Guilin. When Li Hongqi and Qiu Shuping were being arrested, this woman tried to run, but under an old cop’s watch, there was no way she could escape. In no time, Mu Huazhen had pinned her to the ground and handcuffed her.
Once the group was inside the police station, the interrogation began immediately. Using Qiu Shuping and Zheng Guilin as the breakthrough, the questioning intensified. Two hours later, the criminal facts about their group had been clearly investigated, and of course, their den had also been raided, with Zheng’s mother being brought back to assist in the investigation.
This case was considered a major fraud at the time. Mu Huazhen’s leadership was very satisfied with how promptly the subordinates had detected the criminals’ illegal activities, preventing the scam from enlarging among students. They praised the three police comrades and emphasized that such a major case must be treated with utmost seriousness and the criminals punished harshly.
Because of this incident, Shen Yunfang was also invited to the police station to assist in the investigation. Shen Yunfang was forthright and honest, truly unaware of the individuals running a scam in the Capital. She only knew about a donation event Wu had organized for them back on the Agricultural University campus, but what happened after that, she had no idea.
The police comrades recorded the clues she provided and questioned her about the conflicts between her and the group of suspects.
Shen Yunfang didn’t hold back, recounting directly how the group had come to Agricultural University and beaten her, then sought reconciliation at the university president’s office, which she did not agree to. Finally, they went to her residential community and spread damaging rumors about her, tarnishing her reputation, she told them everything.
Because there was considerable evidence and witnesses to prove Shen Yunfang had no involvement in the fraud case, there was nothing more for her to do after cooperating with the investigation.
"Li Hongqi and your mother-in-law both said they want to meet with you. Are you going?" Mu Huazhen asked Shen Yunfang during dinner.
"Oh, they want to see me? What for?" Shen Yunfang was somewhat surprised.
"Who knows, probably they want you to think of a way to help them get out of their charges," Mu Huazhen speculated.
"Yunfang, I think you should see them. All things considered, you should do it for Hongjun’s sake. Moreover, with the severity of their crimes, if they get sentenced, they won’t be getting out for at least three to five years, so they won’t be troubling you for a while. If you show some generosity and visit them, you’ll earn some good reputation in return. Just like those old ladies downstairs, who, a few days ago, were criticizing you for being bad and unfilial, and now, once they knew Li Hongqi and the others had been caught, they started singing your praises for being sensible and not becoming embroiled with them," Ma Liguo spoke of those who frequently gathered around Qiu Shuping to gossip. Today, with Dagaimao coming to the community for an investigation, the ladies were scared out of their wits, dreading any association with the culprits. So, their previous pity turned inside out; they began actively providing information to Comrade Dagaimao, and the accusations they had thrown at Shen Yunfang became evidence of Li Hongqi and his group’s retaliatory actions against class comrades, transforming these idle gossipers into tainted witnesses.
After pondering for a bit, Shen Yunfang felt Ma Liguo was right. She could ignore the others, but Qiu Shuping was ultimately Hongjun’s mother. If she held onto old grudges at this point, it might seem petty, so, deciding to be generous, she went to see what message Qiu Shuping wanted to convey to Hongjun.
The next day, after finishing her classes, Shen Yunfang rode her bicycle to the police station. After being asked a few questions and signing some documents, she successfully met with Qiu Shuping.
She no longer had her previous briskness; less than two days in the little black room had tormented the woman in her fifties like a crazed hag.
"Wuu wuu, my second son’s wife, you have to save me, I’ve been framed, I don’t know anything, I really have been framed," Qiu Shuping wailed as she was brought in. Upon seeing Shen Yunfang, she threw herself over and burst into tears.
A female police officer following her frowned and pulled her back, "Behave yourself, sit here, and if you’re not going to be well-behaved, I’ll put you straight back in there."
Qiu Shuping had already been tidied up and made compliant, and upon hearing the police officer’s words, she didn’t dare to cry anymore, nodding submissively and sitting down on the bench according to their instructions, across the table from Shen Yunfang.
"You only have five minutes," the female police officer said, glancing at her watch.
Qiu Shuping nodded and bowed to her, and seeing that she was being ignored, she turned back to Shen Yunfang, tears streaming down, "Yunfang, Mother knows she was wrong before, please forgive Mother. For the sake of Hongjun, Mother can’t stay in here, please save me, if you don’t save me, Mother will die in here." As she spoke, tears pitter-pattered down; this time, they were real.
She had been locked up for two nights, and even without others intimidating her, she had frightened herself terribly. With her younger son also brought in, and the second son not around, she could only hope that her daughter-in-law would save her now.
Shen Yunfang looked at her pitiful state, her heart not feeling too good either. If things went as expected, the old lady was bound to be sentenced, since she was the mastermind, the one who wept and wailed as she tricked people out of their money. She couldn’t escape that. But looking at the old lady’s full head of white hair, thinking about how Li Hongjun would feel if he knew on the battlefield that his old mother at such an advanced age had to go to prison, it would surely be unbearable for him to accept.
"Mother, the police comrades are already working on the case, I’m just a university student, I don’t have the power to save you. All I can do is advise you to behave properly in there, cooperate proactively with the police officers in their investigation and evidence collection, and strive for leniency."
Ah, who can be blamed? An old woman from the countryside, in her ignorance, had been led onto a path of crime by her own son. Now, such an ending seems to have been expected all along, right?
"No, no, think of another way. I know you’re capable; maybe you can go find Hongjun’s comrades-in-arms or your classmates or something. I don’t want to go to jail; if I go to jail, your dad, that dead old man, will surely find another, and then there won’t be a place for me when I get out. Wuu wuu... I don’t want to go to jail; isn’t giving up the money enough? I’ll stay at home and be good when I’m out, I won’t come to the Capital again, wuu wuu..." Qiu Shuping could no longer hold back and wept bitterly.
Shen Yunfang sighed.
"Time’s up," the woman police officer behind her said.
"If only I had known then what I know now!" Shen Yunfang said as she got up and walked out of the visiting room.
"Oh my heavens, what sins have I committed to end up in jail at this old age, wuu wuu wuu..."
The wailing cries of Qiu Shuping echoed behind her.
