Lawyer Cheng’s attitude was extremely firm.
Du Zhaohui immediately put on a pained expression.
Zhou Cheng frowned.
Lawyer Cheng hadn’t come alone; he brought several assistants.
First, he denied the fact that Du Chengrong had shot Liu Tianquan and Liu Keying.
“All of Hong Kong knows that Mr. Du had reconciled with Fourth Madam. Mr. Du had no reason to kill. When Mr. Du left Hong Kong, he was only with the Eldest Young Master. We have reason to suspect that Fourth Madam was taken hostage by Second Young Master when leaving Hong Kong.”
“Whether to make a not-guilty plea for Second Young Master? That will wait until Mr. Du regains consciousness.”
Lawyer Cheng directly denied Du Chengrong’s shooting of the Liu siblings.
Zhou Cheng looked at Du Zhaohui, who stared blankly at the ceiling without speaking.
There were only five people on deck at the time – two dead, Du Chengrong unconscious, leaving only Du Zhaohui and Du Zhaoqi as witnesses. After Du Zhaoqi’s arrest, he decided if he couldn’t have a good outcome, neither would the Du family.
Perhaps Du Zhaoqi’s greatest hatred wasn’t for Du Zhaohui, but for his father Du Chengrong, which was why he identified Du Chengrong as Liu Keying and Liu Tianquan’s killer.
Murder charges?
Under Hong Kong law, Lawyer Cheng would argue excessive self-defense for the old man.
Du Zhaohui remained silent.
Lawyer Cheng quickly made his second point:
“We demand Mr. Du be transferred back to Hong Kong for treatment. Mr. Du is a cancer patient, and to maintain the group’s stock price, he has kept his condition confidential. As we understand it, mainland cancer treatment is far inferior to Hong Kong’s. If Mr. Du’s condition deteriorates, who will take responsibility? Although based in Hong Kong, Mr. Du is a patriotic businessman who donates annually to several Chinese universities… If you detain him, countless patriotic Hong Kong businessmen and overseas Chinese will be disheartened.”
Du Zhaohui’s body trembled.
Lawyer Cheng sighed, “Sorry, Eldest Young Master, very few people know this. Mr. Du requested secrecy. After several treatments, his condition was under control. If Second Young Master hadn’t done these things—”
Then Du Chengrong’s illness wouldn’t have been exposed.
With such a condition, even if Du Chengrong were sentenced in Hong Kong, he could get medical parole – after all, the Du family wasn’t short of money.
Du Zhaohui turned to Zhou Cheng, “I agree with Lawyer Cheng’s opinion and request my father be transferred back to Hong Kong for treatment. Please see what procedures need to be followed!”
Zhou Cheng gave him a long look.
“…Du Zhaohui, you’re quite filial.”
The supposedly filial Du turned his face away, feeling Zhou Cheng was mocking him.
Under Lawyer Cheng’s insistence, Zhou Cheng could only proceed with the application. Du Chengrong wasn’t an ordinary person – he had considerable influence in Hong Kong. If he died in Fujian due to inadequate treatment, it would indeed be sensitive.
This wasn’t something Zhou Cheng could decide alone; Hong Kong authorities had people speaking up for Du Chengrong.
Regarding smuggling, Lawyer Cheng didn’t admit a single word, letting mainland authorities investigate on their own – anyway, it had nothing to do with Du Chengrong.
With Chengrong Group, Mr. Du did not need smuggling.
It must have been Liu Tianquan and the Second Young Master’s idea.
Now there was a new explanation for Liu Tianquan’s death – a dispute over dividing the spoils.
Lawyer Cheng’s abilities certainly justified the annual legal consultant fees Du Chengrong paid him. Du Zhaohui regained consciousness on the 10th, and by the next afternoon, Lawyer Cheng had secured the paperwork to transfer both men back to Hong Kong.
Du Zhaohui lay in his hospital bed, looking pitifully at Xia Xiaolan:
“You’re not returning to Hong Kong? No, I can’t handle this situation alone.”
Beside Du Zhaohui lay Ah Hua, wrapped up like a rice dumpling.
Ah Hua was also alive, though his injuries were worse than Du Zhaohui’s.
He had escaped from the mercenaries’ gunfire and climbed onto the deck to warn Du Zhaohui to jump, then fell into the sea from exhaustion.
Du Zhaohui wasn’t lying – his most trusted Ah Hua was seriously injured, leaving him without anyone trustworthy nearby.
Xia Xiaolan looked reluctantly at Zhou Cheng.
Zhou Cheng smoothed her hair, “I told you I’d be fine. You wait for me when I’m on missions; this time I’ll wait for you to return from Hong Kong!”
Return for what?
For marriage, of course.
Zhou Cheng also had many loose ends to tie up.
Xia Xiaolan nodded: “Wait for me one more month!”
Du Zhaohui started moaning, “Quick, quick, go back to Hong Kong, or I won’t make it…”
Xia Xiaolan glared at him – couldn’t they say a proper goodbye? With such a strong voice, he wasn’t going to die anytime soon.
Xia Xiaolan and Du Zhaohui boarded the plane. It was a medical aircraft, bringing the best medical equipment from Hong Kong to keep Du Chengrong alive.
Zhou Cheng remained standing.
Nearby, a jeep door opened, and Jiang Yan stepped out:
“That Du guy likes Xia Xiaolan, aren’t you going to do something about it?”
“Many people like Xiaolan. If I had to deal with each one, I wouldn’t manage.”
Zhou Cheng glanced at Jiang Yan, “I heard you still want to rush to the front lines. Don’t push yourself too hard!”
Jiang Yan got back in the car, climbed into the passenger seat, and then stuck her head out: “Zhou Cheng, why aren’t you getting in? I’ve noticed you’ve become such a worrywart. Since you’ve filed for marriage, hurry up and get married, otherwise… Hmph, why can’t women go to the front lines? Sooner or later, the Marine Corps – no, all military branches nationwide will need women’s combat units. Let you stinky men see how excellent female soldiers can be!”
At first, women couldn’t even fly planes, but later there were female pilots.
Everything men could do, women could do too – this was true gender equality in Jiang Yan’s mind!
As for Zhou Cheng, once he filed for marriage, he should marry quickly. Once he became someone else’s husband, even the last trace of her lingering thoughts would disappear – this was Jiang Yan’s pride.
She could become an excellent soldier and truly let go!
…
On the way back to Hong Kong, Xia Xiaolan learned about Du Chengrong’s illness.
“Die beneath the peony, a ghost still full of charm.”
Du Chengrong truly embodied this saying.
He had testicular cancer.
Although this type of cancer wasn’t strongly related to sexual history, Du Chengrong had lived a promiscuous life, and getting this disease in his old age would indeed be rather awkward if the Hong Kong media found out. Du Chengrong was very fortunate – he wasn’t a young man, had no pressure to have children, and received treatment immediately after diagnosis. Testicular cancer responded well to radiation therapy. If not for this “accident,” Du Chengrong’s condition would have been well-controlled, and he could have lived several more years without issue.
Testicular cancer wasn’t as immediately lethal as other cancers, but it did affect fertility.
Du Zhaohui secretly told Xia Xiaolan:
“I suspect the child in Liu Keying’s womb wasn’t the old man’s either. The old man had indeed lost his ability to reproduce. When Liu Keying tried to speak about this, the old man promptly shot her dead, not wanting to let her finish. Don’t you find that strange?”
It was strange indeed.
When a man was cuckolded, especially a dominant man like Du Chengrong, wouldn’t he want to know who Liu Keying’s lover was?
Unless—
“Unless Mr. Du already knew about this, so whether Fourth Madam spoke the truth or not didn’t matter.”
Already knew?
If he knew, why did he welcome Liu Keying back to the Du family mansion and openly show her such favor?
Now it was Du Zhaohui’s turn to be stunned.