Chapter 85 Green Vein Operation 18 Finally Exposed
The seven high-back red velvet chairs in the middle of the conference room were already filled with today's core inquiry team members.
In the middle is an elderly centrist duke who serves as the chairman of this meeting. On the left and right are important members of the ruling party and the opposition party. They are the main questioners today and exercise supervisory power on behalf of the parliament.
There were nearly a hundred people sitting densely in the conference room, but it was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. The stenographer was ready to go, and everyone looked towards the door at the same time.
The chaotic footsteps became clearer and clearer. Today's protagonist, the Chief Justice, and his jury were about to enter.
The media area was on the side, facing the entrance door. Heather craned her neck to look at the door.
She saw another of Lancaster's assistants, Mr. Hinds, who had shown them the house earlier, standing by the door, waiting for the important person to come in.
However, Mr. Evan never showed up, and Heather was anxious, wondering whether Lena had successfully handed the information to Evan.
At this moment, a tall black figure walked through the door. Before Heather could see clearly, everyone around her stood up.
Jennifer pulled her up and said, "The Chief Justice is here. Salute."
The man walked to the center and finally stood in front of the isolated brown podium. His assistants and subordinates formed a circle three steps behind him.
He turned around slowly and calmly looked at the audience in front of him, as if this was not a questioning session targeting him personally, but a press conference for the announcement of a major bill by him.
"Good afternoon, everyone. Please take a seat."
The moment she saw his face clearly, Heather clenched her velvet handbag tightly, the folding fan inside piercing her palm. She looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar figure in the center, mechanically following the movements of the people around her and sitting down.
It turned out to be Lancaster.
She still held on to a last glimmer of hope, perhaps the Chief Justice was temporarily unwell and needed his confidant to attend today's meeting in his place.
The chairman of the inquiry panel began his opening remarks for today's meeting.
Jennifer's words completely shattered her fantasy.
"What's wrong with you, Mrs. Lawrence? Why do you look so bad? Do you know Mr. Lancaster?" Jennifer looked at her suspiciously.
Heather took a deep breath, and was almost unable to open her eyes because of the smell of tobacco and leather around her: "The smell of smoke is too strong, I can't stand it."
Jennifer expressed her understanding. "Those men are like that. You've never been to a newspaper office. They're always filled with smoke. It's said that only in this way can they quickly memorize and organize key information."
Hazel forced a smile. "It's okay. It'll take a while to get used to it. But I heard from others that the current Lord Chancellor is the Duke of Ashwood. I think you're talking about... Mr. Lancaster?"
Jennifer listened to the chairman's boring and repetitive opening remarks with boredom, and answered her incoherently: "Ashwoody is not his last name, it's the name of the duke's family territory. More than half of the titles in England are based on territories, not surnames. What's so strange about this?"
She seemed to be disdaining Heather's ignorance, but seeing those confused and trembling eyes, she couldn't help but explain further: "This man's father, the former Duke of Ashwood, was once a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is almost their family legacy. No wonder so many people are wary of him."
So that's it, of course it is.
Heather withdrew her gaze and closed her eyes gently.
There were so many coincidences and so many signs that she should have known long ago, but she deceived herself and found so many high-sounding excuses and reasons, refusing to admit that Lancaster was the Chief Justice himself.
Jennifer looked at her suspiciously, and Heather thought her expression must be very distorted.
"…Are you okay?" Jennifer asked.
The villain in Heather really wanted to stand up and shake everyone's shoulders regardless of the occasion and say: I'm so stupid, really, all I know is... "It's okay."
The opening remarks finally ended, and the questioning session officially entered the main topic.
Lancaster still stood upright and motionless opposite, as if he was the interviewer.
"Your Excellency, please allow me to ask the first question on behalf of everyone. There are rumors that you have close ties with the assistant of Dorotheus, a prominent proponent of industrial pollution, and that you are promoting clean-up legislation for personal gain. How would you respond?"
The first question was asked directly. The privileged observation seats in the front row were able to remain quiet, but the public audience in the back row could no longer control their whispers.
"I deny it." Lancaster's voice was not loud and his expression was calm, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he suppressed the restlessness in the conference room.
"Then please prove your innocence."
"Mr. Congressman," Lancaster said casually, "First, the legal principle is that the one making the claim must provide the evidence. Therefore, it stands to reason that the person questioning my impartiality should submit the evidence."
He stared straight at the Conservative MP who asked the question, his calm eyes filled with oppression, which almost made him stand up.
"However, since I'm holding a question-and-answer session today, I will do my best to answer everyone's questions here. First, I have no personal relationship with Hughes's assistant, Mr. Cummins. I contacted Mr. Cummins through the newspaper after reading Hughes' article in advance, out of concern for the future of the empire and for the health of its citizens. This can be confirmed by the president of Lianhe Zaobao and Mr. Cummins himself."
Behind him, Cummins and another middle-aged man came out and bowed slightly to the members of the core inquiry team.
The congressman who asked the question tried to refute, after all, the witnesses might have agreed on their testimony in advance, but he remembered what the justice had just said, that whoever makes the argument must provide the evidence, so he decided to skip this question for the time being.
"Your Excellency, you just said it was out of concern for public health, but the fact is that the author of those articles was originally an unknown person. His name can't even be found on the lists of the Botanical Society or the Royal Academy. How could you actually take the initiative to contact him for such an unauthoritative theory?"
Lancaster rested his slender knuckles on the edge of the table and tapped it twice casually, obviously prepared for this question.
"New theories are always so advanced that they are difficult to understand or even verify. I specifically consulted the Royal Society and the head of Kew Gardens, botanist Sir Banks, about this. Only after receiving his confirmation did I proceed to the next step, Sir?"
Heather saw an elderly gentleman come to the middle of the hall and humbly greet Lancaster and the questioning members. She couldn't help but relax a little. She remembered what Dorothea said, that Sir Banks was in the same boat with them in the Green Shield business.
Sir Banks spoke with a smile, looking nothing like a scientific tyrant.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please understand that botany as a science is bound to have many unsolved mysteries, and even I find it difficult to say what is right and what is wrong.
But anyway, I tried to repeat some of the experiments in Hughes' article, especially the part related to plant purification, and did get the same results.
Furthermore, I've reviewed the list of plants used in the Residential Green Shield program, and some are indeed new species introduced from overseas by the Royal Society, a project I personally oversaw. I can confidently say that even if the effectiveness of these plants in purifying pollution varies, they are undoubtedly beneficial to personal physical and mental health."
The MP who asked the question had nothing more to say. Sir Banks' position in the research field was unshakable. He personally endorsed it, and most of the nobles in the privileged observation seats believed it, especially those who had previously spent money to install green shields in their homes. They were even more satisfied and relieved.
Heather looked at the high-spirited man on the stage with mixed feelings. He was so adept at his field, and he handled the attention and questions with ease, making it impossible to resist.
Yet, at the same time, he was so different from the Lancaster she knew, the one who made her feel at ease, the one who always worked for her and treated her as his subordinate. This man was a natural born superior, someone who would never submit to anyone. It seemed as if everyone was just there to be toyed with and applauded by him. And she seemed to be one of them.
No one in the questioning group stood up to ask questions for a while, and the audience in the back row couldn't help it.
The first to rise was Mr. Haveden of the tannery, who was surrounded by the leading members of the London factory-owners' circle.
"Your Honor, Lord Banks may be able to tell us whether plants can improve water or air quality, but that doesn't mean industrial emissions are toxic. We all agree that sacrificing a little dirt can bring convenience and social progress. I believe we shouldn't treat it as a major threat and force all factories to incur unnecessary costs."
I can say responsibly that I live in a house within five miles of the leather factory and spend more than ten hours there every day. If it is really harmful to my health, how can I dare to continue to stay there without any hesitation? "
His words resonated with the nobles. If it were truly poisonous, these cunning industrial capitalists would surely be the first to flee, not daring to take even the slightest risk. Could it really be that it was merely dirty and not poisonous?
Lancaster casually glanced at the silver pocket watch on his hand and said, "I have heard of the name of Mr. Haveden."
Haviden was delighted. He didn't expect that such a big shot would remember his name.
"Your Honor, you may have read my comments in the newspaper. You must be aware that I have never made any defamatory remarks against you. I have only discussed the facts and the bill itself."
"Well, I'm sorry, but it's hard for me to discuss this matter without you." Lancaster reached out from behind, and Sinds stepped forward and handed a file bag to him.
“Mr. Haveden, I received an anonymous tip from a citizen that you bought a mansion in the suburbs far from the city center. You even sent people to the Green Shield to learn about plant species and carefully built a natural forest residence.
Most of your family members still live in the industrial area, but the two sons who are most likely to inherit the family business have been sent there. You yourself are almost always in that villa when you are not in public. Recently, after work every day, you would rather take a three-hour carriage ride than stay in the city.
Excuse me, is this what you mean by not worrying about industrial pollution at all?"
"What?" The man next to Havden stood up first. "Havden, didn't you tell me your son was going to the border to handle trade business? Well, you actually went to live somewhere safe without telling us!"
Haveden wanted to make a stubborn excuse, but his son was right there in his suburban estate, and the Chief Justice could find the truth with just a search warrant.
"I...I just...my son is sick, both of them..." He couldn't continue speaking under the questioning eyes of everyone. He could only sit down dejectedly and never dared to look up again.
Lancaster clapped his hands twice. "Well, the industrialists who know the factories best are running so fast. This further proves the lethality of industrial pollution and the necessity of the Cleanup Act. Do you think I'm right, members of the inquiry?"
Heather looked at Haveden thoughtfully. He had no secret weapon at all. Didn't that mean Theodore was not hired by him, but was probably working for his opponent?
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