"The owner of Longqing Food Factory?"

Chen Ning snapped out of his daze and hurriedly explained, "Director Qian, I don't know this person at all. How could I possibly accept anything from him!"

Qian Song shook his head. "It's no use talking to me. I'm in charge of discipline and only look at the evidence. The evidence is conclusive, and there's no room for your sophistry!"

As he spoke, he sighed again, his face full of regret, and said, "Chen Ning, Mayor Zhang has mentioned you to me more than once. You are so young, yet you have already reached the position of section chief. You should have a bright future ahead of you, but this time... you are really too disappointing!"

"Director Qian, I..."

Qian Song waved his hand, "Don't say anything more. Since you've already brought the things over, just leave them here. Put aside your work for now and go back to await the disciplinary decision. I will report this matter truthfully to Mayor Zhang!"

Chen Ning opened his mouth, wanting to explain, but didn't know how.

She knew she had been set up, and in this situation, saying anything would be futile.

So he could only nod reluctantly and leave dejectedly.

Upon seeing her leave, Qian Song immediately put on his hat and hurriedly went to the municipal government office to personally report the matter to Zhang Zhiyuan.

Zhang Zhiyuan was extremely surprised when he learned of this.

“I know Comrade Chen well; she shouldn’t have done something so foolish!” Zhang Zhiyuan simply did not believe that Chen Ning would embezzle or accept bribes.

Qian Song shook his head. "Mayor Zhang, I don't believe it either, but now that the news has spread, and there's plenty of evidence and witnesses, if this isn't dealt with seriously, the impact will be enormous!"

Zhang Zhiyuan rubbed his temples. "Don't you think there are a lot of strange things about this? How could it be such a coincidence that someone delivered something to Xiao Chen's house and was photographed doing so, and that the food factory owner came to report it so early in the morning?"

Qian Song was slightly taken aback and said, "You mean, someone deliberately framed Xiao Chen?"

Zhang Zhiyuan nodded. "It's not impossible! So we must handle this matter carefully. Also, I've told you about Xiao Chen's background before..."

Qian Song's expression hardened. He and Zhang Zhiyuan had always had a good relationship, so Zhang Zhiyuan hadn't hidden it from him before. He also knew that Chen Ning had a powerful backer!

"Mayor Zhang, what do you think should be done about this?" Qian Song asked helplessly.

Zhang Zhiyuan thought for a moment and said, "I'll call Inspector Lin and ask. Even if we're going to deal with Xiao Chen, we need to get his opinion first!"

...

Just as Zhang Zhiyuan was calling Lin Yu to ask for instructions.

Chen Ning returned home dejectedly.

As soon as I got to my front door, I heard a noisy commotion coming from inside the house.

She pressed her ear to the door and heard vicious curses.

"You old hag, it's your honor that I've taken a liking to you, and you dare to slap me in the face? Believe me or not, I'll sleep with you right now, right in front of your man!"

"Get out of here! You scoundrel, get out of here! Help!"

"You beast! You dare touch my wife? I'll fight you to the death!!"

"You? Die!"

Clang!

The sound stopped abruptly!

Chen Ning's beautiful eyes widened, and she immediately took out her keys, opened the door, and rushed into the house.

As soon as he entered the house, he saw his mother being groped on the ground, while his father, Chen Gang, was leaning against a broken wardrobe, struggling desperately to get up.

Upon seeing this, Chen Ning completely lost his mind and immediately rushed forward, yelling, "You beasts, let go of my mother!!"

As soon as he stepped forward, he was grabbed by two thugs and pinned to the ground.

Bang!

The door was slammed shut again.

At this moment, the bald man who was bullying Chen Ning's mother slowly turned around, his fleshy face trembling uncontrollably, and looked at Chen Ning with a cold smile.

"Tsk tsk, you must be Chen Ning, right? You're quite the pretty hussy!"

He walked over and grabbed Chen Ning's pretty face. His face was full of lewdness.

"You, you let go of my daughter, or I'll fight you to the death!!"

Chen Ning's mother mustered her last strength and rushed over, only to be kicked to the ground by the bald man. "Tsk tsk! You old geezer, get out of my way! I was just thinking you had some charm and wanted to have a twilight romance with you, but now that your daughter is back, I don't even want you anymore!"

"Hey boss, this old lady is pretty good, she's got a lot of charm. If you don't want her, give her to me!"

"Haha, it would be nice if a mother and daughter came together!"

"Boss, you've had your fun, so let the rest of us have some fun too?"

Several of his men also revealed lewd expressions.

The bald man sneered, "Don't worry, you'll all have your fun today. After all, we've been paid. We absolutely cannot let this Chen family live. In a bit, pour gasoline on them and burn them to the ground!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ning's beautiful eyes immediately trembled, and she gritted her teeth and shouted, "Who exactly are you people! I warn you, murder and arson are capital offenses, aren't you afraid of the law?"

"The law?" The bald man sneered disdainfully. "The law is nothing in the face of money! These days, the air is thick with the smell of money, and human life is worthless! The employer has already arranged the ship tickets. After this job, we'll head overseas. After so many years of hiding and running, we're finally going to be free!"

It turns out that these bald men were all fugitives, guilty of robbery and murder, and had been on the run for several years. Just last night, someone found them, gave them a sum of money, and offered to kill Chen Ning's family! They even arranged for them to go abroad.

The bald gang was very professional at killing to cover up crimes. They had already prepared gasoline and other supplies before they arrived, planning to stage a fire after the murders to destroy the evidence, mislead the police investigation, and give themselves enough time to escape.

Chen Ning knew these people intended to kill her, and she was utterly terrified. She pleaded loudly, "I beg you, you can hurt me however you want, I can even serve you, I beg you, please don't hurt my parents, I'm begging you!"

"Serve us?" The bald man grabbed Chen Ning's hair and grinned maliciously. "Sorry, beautiful lady, I've never liked women who take the initiative. Haven't you heard the saying, 'Self-reliance leads to abundance'? Haha, how about we do something exciting next?"

Snap!

After saying that, a big slap landed on Chen Ning's pretty face, leaving a clear five-finger mark.

Soon, Chen Ning and his family of three were all tied to the stools.

Chen Gang stood by, his eyes blazing with fury, yet utterly powerless to do anything.

"You beasts, you bunch of animals... mmm!"

Before he could finish speaking, a bucket of gasoline was poured over his head.