Seeing that the house and land deeds had been successfully transferred, Jing Zhe was very satisfied and turned to leave, but was stopped by Manager Song.
"What's wrong?"
Jing Zhe asked curiously.
"President Jing, the ownership of Wenxiangju has been transferred to you. Shouldn't you and Prefect Li also write a guarantee for me now?"
"What guarantees?"
Jing Zhe looked at Manager Song with a curious expression.
Upon hearing this, Manager Song's expression froze, and a vague sense of unease crept into his heart.
"Besides, you need to promise to see Prefect Li alone. What's the point of coming to me?"
"..."
Manager Song gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, reminding himself to remain calm, then looked at Li Haoyun: "Prefect Li, what do you think of this..."
"Manager Song, I was just about to have the constables bring you here to discuss some matters. Now that you're here, it saves me the trouble!"
"..."
Now, Manager Song was completely panicked, because Li Haoyun said "have the constables bring you here to talk business" instead of "come to talk business with you"!
"Prefect Li...Prefect Li, what's wrong?"
Li Haoyun's eyes turned cold. "Yesterday, we received a report that our government had shut down one of the largest casinos in Anguo. The amount of money involved and the severity of the impact were shocking!"
Furthermore, through our inquiries with the three Du brothers, the casino's bookmakers, and numerous gamblers, they all pointed out that Manager Song was inextricably linked to the three Du brothers!
"..."
Manager Song wasn't scared when he heard this; in fact, he almost laughed.
Are you kidding me?
It's precisely because you knew that I gave away all the Wenxiangju items. Is it really necessary for you to repeat yourself?
"Prefect Li, we all know the truth about what you're saying, so there's no need to go into details..."
"Knowing full well?"
Li Haoyun glanced at him.
"Yes, President Jing has already told me everything, and I've already accepted my fate. So I transferred Wenxiangju to President Jing, and I only ask that Prefect Li write me a guarantee that the Song family will not be investigated again in the future!"
"..."
Seeing Manager Song's self-righteous expression, Li Haoyun was speechless with anger, and after a long while, he finally managed to utter a few words: "Are you dreaming?"
"???"
"I was planning to interrogate you for two days, but you confessed right away and even tried to force an official to let you go? You have some nerve! Guards!"
At his command, two constables rushed in. With just a word from Li Haoyun, they could easily subdue Manager Song.
Manager Song was completely dumbfounded. Looking at Jing Zhe standing leisurely to the side, he realized he had been tricked.
But he had no other choice at this point, so he could only bite the bullet and say, "Prefect Li, Chief Jing has already promised me that he has a good relationship with Prefect Li and will even have Prefect Li write a guarantee for us! I've already transferred my Wenxiangju to him, so don't even think about going back on your word!"
Li Haoyun sneered, and before Jing Zhe could even speak, he retorted, "I already asked you that question, and it was entirely voluntary. Now, if you want to back out, you have no choice! Moreover, I can add another charge against you: wantonly slandering an official of the imperial court!"
"..."
Manager Song was completely dumbfounded. It took him a long time to come to his senses. Looking at Jing Zhe's ambiguous smile, he realized that he had been deceived.
Jing Zhe smiled and said, "Shopkeeper Song, you're an adult, don't you know that everyone has to be responsible for their own actions? Even if we let you go, you've harmed so many people and so many families. Can you really be at peace with yourself? So, you should go to jail and repent!"
Compared to the three Du brothers, your crime is relatively minor. I'll plead with His Majesty to give you a lighter punishment, perhaps only imprisoning you for thirty or forty years! Consider it repayment for voluntarily giving me Wenxiangju!
"..."
Manager Song, a man in his forties, would have a hard time surviving in prison for twenty years, let alone thirty or forty.
That would just mean he'd die, wouldn't it?
"President Jing...you're not keeping your word!"
"Heh, honesty depends on who you're talking to!"
Jing Zhe sneered, then said seriously, "Good and evil will eventually be rewarded, and the vicissitudes of life are inevitable. Manager Song has done so many bad things. If you don't go to jail to cleanse your sins, aren't you afraid that your children and descendants will suffer retribution as well?"
"..."
Upon hearing the word "children and descendants," Manager Song paused for a moment, then finally realized what was happening. He looked at Jing Zhe with disbelief, "President Jing...you...you mean..."
“Your wife and children should not be punished. Besides, the bad things were done by Manager Song and your brother Song Er. As long as you two go to jail and accept punishment, I will ask Prefect Li not to punish your wife and children, so that they can continue to live in Jingzhou.”
He glanced at Li Haoyun as he spoke, and Li Haoyun nodded in agreement.
“As you know, gambling is the most shameful thing in Anguo. If family members get involved with gambling, how can the rest of the family hold their heads high? So I can promise Manager Song that as long as you go to jail and actively cooperate with Prefect Li in handling the case, and tell the truth about what you know, I will not announce to the public that you are related to the casino. Your wife and children will not know, and they will not look down on their father because of this!”
"..."
Upon hearing this, the man in his forties burst into tears like a child.
"Thank you, President Jing. I plead guilty and I'll go to jail!"
At this moment, Jing Zhe said again, "Later, I will have to ask Prefect Li to send someone to arrest Song Er as well. However, I have already promised him. When arresting Song Er, could you please not disturb his family? It would be best if they went in plain clothes?"
Li Haoyun indicated that he understood, summoned several shrewd constables, gave them some instructions, and then left. Li Haoyun then added, "Chief Jing, that Wenxiangju is far too famous. When I report to the court, it will surely be mentioned... You're taking it over so rashly..."
Li Haoyun was giving a well-intentioned suggestion. Although Jing Zhe had persuaded Manager Song to "voluntarily" give Wenxiangju to him, who would believe it if word got out?
Upon hearing this, Manager Song said in a deep voice, "You can rest assured about Prefect Li. I can write a letter of voluntary transfer to President Jing right now, stating that Wenxiangju has been operating at a loss for a long time and is voluntarily being transferred to President Jing!"
After listening to him, Li Haoyun had someone bring paper and pen. After Manager Song finished writing, he signed and stamped the document and handed it to Jing Zhe. He was able to cooperate so well thanks to Jing Zhe's words about taking care of his family, wife and children. He had no other thoughts now, and only hoped that his wife and children could live a good life.
"President Jing, I have another request!"
"Please speak."
"I want to go back to Wenxiangju and tell the staff about the transfer, so that it will be much smoother for President Jing to take over."
Jing Zhe nodded in agreement.
“I want to go home one more time... to see my wife and children one last time, so they don’t have to worry about me and can just go back to their hometown afterward.”
Jing Zhe glanced at Li Haoyun, who nodded in response, so he said, "Okay."
————
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