To sum up Chapter 88, it’s just because of two words: unwillingness and inferiority.
The reason why the Xia family case lasted so long was not because of the suspect's attitude.
In fact, much later, the deputy captain of the criminal investigation team told Du Wanwan that she had broken down the psychological defenses of both Xia Chun and Xia Yinqing, and they confessed their crimes with enthusiasm. The suspects in the case answered every question, and many of them even confessed their secrets.
The interrogation took so long because the case spanned such a vast time period and was so complex that it took a long time to compile the evidence. After the complete case details were compiled, it was necessary to determine which information could be released publicly and which details should be withheld. It's said that the publicity staff responsible for writing the police report revised the draft until they were almost completely bald before finalizing it and releasing it to the public.
Because Du Wanwan is the victim and also the victim's family member, she knows the entire process of the case in detail.
After reading the whole process, I was speechless.
To sum up, it’s just because of two words: unwillingness and inferiority.
The source of all this lies in the resentment of the Xia family, one of Jiangcheng's four great families. Sixty years ago, ever since Du Jingyuan officially ascended to the throne of Jiangcheng's richest man, the Xia family has been unwilling to be outshined by the Du family.
Among them, Mr. Xia is the most outstanding.
Grandpa Xia and Du Jingyuan are the same age. Growing up, Du Jingyuan was always the "kid next door," and Grandpa Xia was considered incompetent. Unexpectedly, by the time his son came of age, the Xia family had lost to the Du family again.
Or maybe everyone else said that the Du family won, but Old Master Xia still couldn't figure out where he lost.
Because Du Jingyuan gave birth to a daughter, and the Xia family, including Mr. Xia’s brothers, gave birth to many sons.
Du Jingyuan's daughter was exceptional in every way, praised everywhere and always well-connected in the wealthy circles. Meanwhile, the Xia family's sons were disliked wherever they went, considered naughty, arrogant, and impolite.
So, some people said that the Xia family's descendants were useless and deserved to be suppressed by the Du family. In the future, when the older generation passed away, there would be no place for the Xia family in Jiangcheng.
The consequences, Mr. Xia felt horrible and unwilling to accept. But what could he do?
The most outstanding son of the Xia family is Xia Yinqing, and the most outstanding daughter is Xia Chun. The two are no match for Du Qingjia, the daughter of Du Jingyuan.
Most people would think that if they couldn't beat them, they would just join. But Old Master Xia, who didn't know where this feudal stubborn idea came from, thought that if he couldn't beat them, he would just marry Du Qingjia.
In Mr. Xia's view, the matter was simple: daughters were born to marry. Since the Du family had no sons, everything in the future would belong to their son-in-law, Du Qingjia's husband. You mean women's inheritance rights? No, in the Xia family's view, women had no inheritance rights.
In this way, Old Master Xia began to force his son Xia Yinqing to pursue Du Qingjia.
Since junior high, Xia Yinqing had been forced into a pursuit mission. He was in the same class as Du Qingjia, and every day he had to find ways to win Du Qingjia's favor. He also had to fill out a detailed spreadsheet every day, reporting on the progress of their relationship. Any slip-up, such as angering Du Qingjia or seeing Du Qingjia being closer to someone of the opposite sex than Xia Yinqing, would result in punishment.
"..." Du Wanwan was so surprised that she asked Pei Xingyao, "Could it be that brain damage is a genetic disease?"
Otherwise, how could Mr. Xia be as crazy and stupid as Xia Yinqing?
No one answered. Anyway, Xia Yinqing had been taught since childhood that she must revitalize the Xia family and surpass the Du family. After junior high school, she was told to marry Du Qingjia and swallow up the Du family. Whoever married the Du family's daughter would be the master of the Du family.
Junior high and high school are the most critical periods for the formation of a person's three views. Xia Yinqing's three views were completely distorted by Grandpa Xia's distorted education, from temporary doubt to firm belief.
No wonder they later made a harem system full of filthy men.
In order to help Xia Yinqing pursue Du Qingjia, Grandpa Xia even asked someone to teach him how to flirt with girls. It is conceivable that in youth, it must be an incredible experience to have a boy of the same age as you who always uses adult methods to flirt with you.
Du Qingjia's standards were naturally high, and she had a long list of well-connected, well-mannered, and attractive young men from wealthy families, such as Meng Qian, as her friends. She had attended public school since she was a child, and she got along well with her classmates, even the boys from more modest families.
Anyway, her circle of friends includes all kinds of people, even some eccentric school bullies and hooligans.
But there was no Xia family member, let alone Xia Yinqing.
In her opinion, the men in the Xia family were all strange, often unable to maintain a single topic of conversation. She felt that Xia Yinqing spoke self-righteously all day long, using a greasy, middle-aged manner, and that every word and action seemed to be geared towards holding hands, hugging, and having sex.
"Yes. One time, I heard her say to her good friend Wu Zige, 'Xia Yinqing actually wanted to show me his abs. Is he horny? How can he be so disgusting at such a young age?'"
Nearly thirty years later, Xia Yinqing could still recount those words, word for word, showing how deeply they had hurt him. Even so, he never doubted Old Man Xia's "teaching of girls," and he couldn't understand why Du Qingjia could be friends with all men, rich and poor, just because she despised him.
Weirdos can’t understand the thinking of normal people. How can normal people understand the weird thoughts of the Xia family?
But after years of exposure to normal social concepts and years of being taught abnormal concepts, humans are social animals, and society and experience will always leave traces.
When it came to Xia Yinqing, it gave him two completely different thoughts.
One reason was that his behavior and speech were out of place among his peers. Whenever he appeared, he was ridiculed and talked about. This led to Xia Yinqing becoming increasingly socially anxious and terrified of facing people, especially the daughters of wealthy families. He knew full well that these wealthy daughters looked down on him. He subconsciously felt inferior, feeling disdained, and a desire to do better.
The other is a deep-seated disdain for women, believing they look down on him because he's not as rich as Meng Qian, or not as hunky, masculine, or handsome as other men. He always believes his flirting skills are superb, and that women who dislike him and then date other men don't truly love those men; they just want their bodies to be slept with by them.
This theory coincided with the viewpoint that Old Master Xia had taught him: conquer a woman's body, and you can conquer her heart. As long as you sleep with her once, a woman will obey you obediently.
But the reality is not as the theory says, what should we do?
Xia Yinqing never thought that he was wrong, he just felt that he had not done enough.
Then, by chance, he developed the obedient talisman.
The obedient talisman is a spell that controls the soul, but the effect is controlled to a very subtle degree. It can not only affect people's thinking for a long time and slightly, but also control the backlash effect within the range that the human body can bear.
From this point of view, Xia Yinqing is indeed a talisman genius. But if a person only harms others and society, what is the use of being a genius?
It's not a pity, it's just hateful.
After developing the obedient talisman, Xia Yinqing was overjoyed and reported it to Old Master Xia. Old Master Xia's first reaction was to ask him to experiment on Du Qingjia.
That year, Du Qingjia was just twenty years old.
According to Xia Yinqing, it was Du Qingjia's twentieth birthday, and he had thrown a grand party, inviting nearly every young man and woman from Jiangcheng's wealthy circles. This allowed Xia Yinqing to be among the guests, and, taking advantage of the opportunity to toast, he cast a spell on Du Qingjia for the first time. He attempted to order Du Qingjia to rest in the upstairs room, awaiting his "visit."
But that was the first time Xia Yinqing used the forbidden spell, and Du Qingjia's soul was very powerful. Du Qingjia fought back without hesitation without any clear consciousness.
She hurt Xia Yinqing badly.
Xia Yinqing, who attempted to rape her, could no longer rape her.
Xia Yinqing became impotent from then on.
Because he was hit by the obedient talisman, Du Qingjia remembered nothing and had no idea that there was such a stain on his birthday party.
Xia Yinqing was frightened like a mouse.
From then on, impotence became his hidden secret. He dared not tell anyone, and he dared not approach women again. Also, because of Mr. Xia's teachings, he felt that he could never get Du Qingjia again.
Because he no longer has the ability to conquer any woman's body.
But after more than ten years of education from Old Master Xia, his desire for Du Qingjia and the Du family's wealth had become his nature. He didn't think of giving up, and instead hid in the dark, researching various methods.
Finally... or rather his brain finally failed, Xia Yinqing came up with an even more bizarre method - since he couldn't control Du Qingjia, he would train a tool and use the tool to control Du Qingjia.
Women sometimes succumb to the feelings brought by tools, so of course he can also use tools to conquer Du Qingjia.
...I have to say, this idea is really very Xia Yinqing.
Most people can't come up with such a stupid idea.
Xia Yinqing was inspired again by this idea. He decided to use various talismans such as the obedient talisman to weave a huge net to trap Du Qingjia, the prey.
He began making preliminary arrangements, cleverly exploiting loopholes in the rules and subtly experimenting with forbidden spells within the protective formation. Initially, the effects were minimal, requiring him to employ numerous obedience spells to achieve the desired effect. Throughout this process, his cousin, Xia Chun, provided him with immense assistance.
The delicate appearance of a woman is inherently deceptive, lowering one's guard. Xia Chun helped him insert numerous obedience talismans into Du Qingjia's daily diet, from his sophomore year until his graduate school graduation, a total of five years, until he finally reached the point where he could control a person's mind and memory.
Of course, things don't come without a price. Xia Yinqing's reward to Xia Chun is eternal youth.
He used talismans to force Xia Chun to stay young and beautiful.
The brother and sister waited and finally waited for a perfect opportunity - Du Qingjia joined Runjia Entertainment and was ready to do something big.
The Xia siblings knew that the success of Runjia Entertainment hinged on whether Du Qingjia could gain a firm foothold within the company and whether she, as the heir, could convince the entire group. The key to Du Qingjia's career success lay in the success of her meticulously planned film projects.
Of course, the Xia brothers and sisters cannot let her succeed. How can they control such a strong woman?
The brother and sister then coincidentally set out to obstruct Du Qingjia's cause. It was at this point that the various obedient talismans they had prepared earlier came into play. It was also at this time that Xia Yinqing discovered her perfect chess piece: Xiang Yongkang.
Under the influence of the obedient talisman, Du Qingjia immediately forgot the agreement with Lou Yiqi and the film project he was preparing. Controlled by the obedient talisman, he thought he had fallen in love with Xiang Yongkang at first sight and wanted to date Xiang Yongkang wholeheartedly.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly, but who knew that just having the obedience talisman alone couldn't completely control a person? Du Qingjia always wanted to resist and instinctively sought help from the outside world, but Xiang Yongkang, on the other hand, was completely unyielding and devoted to Du Qingjia. He cheated on her with his secretary while Du Qingjia was still pregnant.
This was a failed attempt, and the final result caused a series of troubles:
Du Qingjia is pregnant and can no longer use the Obedient Talisman in large doses, otherwise she will become a walking corpse. However, once the Obedient Talisman stops, Du Qingjia's mind will return, and she will notice the abnormality. With Du Qingjia's intelligence, she may be able to turn the tide and destroy all of Xia Yinqing's current success.
Xiang Yongkang and his mistress, a secretary, have an illegitimate child, who is about to give birth. The two are plotting to kill Du Qingjia by staging a fake daughter-in-law swap, so that Du Jingyuan can inherit the Du family's inheritance after her death.
Most importantly, Xiang Yongkang simply didn't listen to Xia Yinqing's orders, as he hadn't been taking the obedient talisman for a long time, only a few months. Xiang Yongkang often forgot to carry out Xia Yinqing's orders, and he always regarded himself as the heir to the Du family. He was not the tool Xia Yinqing imagined.
He just wouldn't listen, and according to Xiang Yongkang's plan, he was the most reasonable heir to the Du family.
Xia Yinqing was certainly not happy about the fact that the results of his hard work were easily obtained by others. Just at this moment, Xia Yinqing got a system.
Old Master Xia had no idea his precious grandson was "no longer viable" and still believed that Xia Yinqing wasn't masculine enough and didn't have the slickness to win over girls. So, before his death, the old man used his own life to pray for a system.
He died contentedly, unaware that this was a flawed system, with no specific functions beyond possession. Xia Yinqing obtained it but had no way to use it, but he discovered that this system could be cultivated.
It's like a program that can run no matter what code is written, and can fulfill many of his wishes.
Moreover, at that time, Du Qingjia had already reached an uncontrollable point and was about to give birth. Xia Yinqing also learned that according to the physical characteristics of the Du family's daughter, Du Qingjia who used the obedient talisman for a long time would have only two outcomes:
Died in childbirth, two lives lost.
Or die in childbirth, leaving behind the child.
His beloved Du Qingjia died just like that! Xia Yinqing cried secretly and immediately decided to leave the opportunity to seize the Du family to Du Qingjia's child.
He took a different approach and got involved in the incident of swapping the real and fake daughter.
Xiang Yongkang wants to use the fake daughter's identity to deprive Xiang Wanyi of her inheritance rights and transfer the Du family's property to his own name. Xia Yinqing then wants to find the real daughter and control her, thereby achieving the goal of actually controlling the Du family's property.
The two parties hit it off immediately and took separate actions, which together led to Du Qingjia's death 20 years ago. Xiang Yongkang wanted to kill Du Wanwan, while Xia Yinqing wanted Du Wanwan to be sickly and grow up in a loveless environment, confused and muddle-headed. So they destroyed Du Wanwan's sword palace and meridians at birth, but secretly tried their best to protect her and let her survive.
It was not until twenty years later that Du Wanwan was found by Du Jingyuan and returned to the wealthy family.
During the twenty years of waiting for the return of the real daughter, Xia Yinqing perfected the system he had obtained and created various forbidden spells for Xia Chun to use. Xia Chun used the obedient spells to not only secretly control and confuse various people in the entertainment industry, but also began to sell them to others, making a name for himself in the entertainment industry.
The more the brother and sister realized the joy of making money by controlling people with forbidden spells, the more reluctant they were to give up the Du family's assets.
Just think about it, 900 billion, if it belonged to them, how carefree their lives would be?
Xia Chun is obsessed with money and surpassing Du Qingjia, determined to personally seize the Du family fortune from Du Qingjia's daughter. Xia Yinqing is determined to get Du Qingjia's daughter if he can't get her. Unable to do it himself, he uses the harem system to control one man after another to pursue Du Wanwan.
"If Xia Yinqing had teamed up with Xia Chun from the beginning to compete with me in my career, given the crisis-ridden environment of Runjia Investment at the time, I would have had a very difficult time winning." After reading the entire police report, Du Wanwan commented, "If they had treated me as an opponent instead of a woman, everything would have been more fun."
Pei Xingyao shook his head: "No ifs."
——
It took another three days for the brief police report to be officially released to the public.
The incident caused an uproar early on.
That night, inspectors from the Xuanguan Bureau raided the Choubusi Bar and took everyone away. Word of the incident spread, and all sorts of rumors were spread. Rumors of drug trafficking and forced prostitution were all floating around, and at first, they were accused of fabricating rumors.
Who knows, the truth is more terrifying than guessing.
In addition to those charges, the Sleepless Bar was also charged with buying and selling prohibited spells.
The day after the Chou Bumei Bar was raided, Xiatian Entertainment was also shut down. All employees of Xiatian Entertainment, from staff to artists and those they had collaborated with in the entertainment industry, were placed under investigation. This unrelated incident, like pulling out a carrot and bringing out mud, led to a series of cases, leaving everyone in the entertainment industry feeling insecure. For the better part of a month, all the entertainment industry gossip about marriages and romances was sidelined, replaced by brief reports on criminal cases.
Topics like someone using a banned spell and being under further investigation, someone being detained for suspected criminal offenses, etc. Fans' houses collapsed one after another, and in the end, half of the entertainment industry was almost made up of legal experts.
Like an earthquake and tsunami, the entertainment industry was cleansed.
Once-high-profile A-list celebrities were jailed, detained, or even banned. The entertainment industry saw a major shakeup of star power. In stark contrast to the hype-driven artists represented by Xia Tian Entertainment, those who worked diligently on their films finally got their chance to shine, demonstrating their abilities and making a name for themselves.
It was not until the official police report on the Xia family case was issued that the onlookers realized that there was such a behemoth hiding in the dark, always watching covetously. It not only made the entertainment industry a mess, but also caused tragedy for two generations of the Du family.
The cause is two words: unwillingness.
——
However, no matter how big the storm is, it will pass, and time is the best detergent to wash away gossip.
In March, the filming of "The Legend of Hu Ji" was completed.
The Du family case fueled a surge in popularity, allowing the series to make the leap from web series to satellite television, earning it a TV broadcast. In May, "The Legend of Hu Ji" premiered, earning steadily increasing ratings and popularity. Two newcomers under Runjia Entertainment, Lin Yanzang and Qiao Lele, became nationally famous, quickly becoming top-tier actors and actresses.
The two were bombarded with endorsement offers and role requests, and their commercial value skyrocketed. However, after careful consideration, they decided to turn down other roles and participate in the large-scale historical costume drama "Chang'an Moon" planned by Runjia Entertainment Group.
In August, preparations for "Chang'an Moon" were completed and filming began.
Ye Shiqing was still the lead writer, and the script was still destined for a hit, but this time, a more cautious cast, a stronger production team, and more meticulous polish were employed. After six months of filming, "Chang'an Moon" was completed and acquired by a top-tier satellite TV station.
In August of the following year, "Chang'an Moon" was broadcast to explosive ratings, completely breaking the tradition of political dramas being well-received but not popular. By the end of September, it had already secured the top spot in the annual ratings.
By the end of the year, when Runjia Investment Group did its accounting again, Runjia Entertainment Group finally turned losses into profits. Not only did it achieve profitability, it also became the third largest net profit division among the five major divisions of the group. It was truly a remarkable turnaround.
It was in Du Wanwan's hands that he successfully turned things around.
At this point, everyone at Runjia Investment Group was finally convinced of Du Wanwan's support, and no one dared to challenge her anymore. Du Wanwan handed the position of President of Runjia Entertainment Sub-Group to Yi Jiantai and returned to the group headquarters to officially take over the role of Chairman.
When Du Wanwan went from being the eldest daughter of the Du family to Mr. Du, the Xia family case, which had been under review for almost two years, was finally heard in court and the verdict was announced.
Xia Yinqing and Xia Chun were sentenced to immediate death for allegedly illegally producing, selling, and using a large number of banned talismans, which had an extremely adverse social impact and led to other serious crimes. All Xia family businesses, including Xia Tian Entertainment, were also seized.
After more than twenty years of grievances, the dust has finally settled. The Du family's blood feud has finally been truly avenged.
In the depths of winter, heavy snow fell once again, covering the ground and the sky and the earth were all white.
Like every year before, Du Wanwan brought Luo Zhen and Pei Xingyao to the cemetery, holding roses.
But this time, she didn't need anyone's support or worry.
After Shang Yunle's treatment, her body has completely recovered and returned to the level that a person of her age should have.
The person that Pei Xingyao carefully supported was replaced by Luo Zhen.
Luo Zhen is old, but still in good health. He insisted on coming to pay tribute to Du Jingyuan and his wife and Du Qingjia.
"Grandpa, Grandma, Mom, I'm fine." Du Wanwan didn't feel sad, but instead happily reported her achievements. "I've increased Runjia Investment's net profit again this year. I'm doing a good job and plan to keep doing it. One day in the future, when I'm ready, I'll marry Pei Xingyao. Don't worry, Pei Xingyao is a wonderful man, very kind to me and always listens to me. He's just a little old-fashioned sometimes, and he's becoming less and less funny..."
"Wanwan!" Two voices sounded disapprovingly.
Luo Zhen scolded him lightly, and Pei Xingyao defended himself helplessly.
How is he old-fashioned?
Du Wanwan giggled, and with the rose in front of her, she suddenly saw a figure walking slowly towards her in the snow.
It turned out to be Meng Qian.
After the Xia family case broke that year, Meng Qian struggled to accept that he had been right beside Du Qingjia, unprepared and allowing her to fall prey to his scheme. Even more difficult was the fact that the murderer had been right beside him the entire time – Xia Yinqing, whom he had known since childhood – and yet he hadn't noticed. He insisted that he was partially responsible for Du Qingjia's death and struggled to forgive himself, suffering several bouts of illness and nearly failing to recover.
But what can Du Wanwan say?
If you do something wrong, you have to pay the price. Some things cannot be undone by regret.
She could only say, "Uncle Meng, my mother won't blame you, but if you won't let go of yourself, I can't do anything about it. Because although I don't blame you, I'm not going to get along with you intimately either."
Du Wanwan felt that Meng Qian paid homage to and missed her mother, but she also didn't want to have any contact with Meng Qian.
"Let's go home." Du Wanwan said, and she and Pei Xingyao supported Luo Zhen on the left and right, passing by Meng Qian who was holding a rose.
There are three graves on the mountain. They belong to a family of three and they don’t need any men.
Because only good men are worthy of being with her.
"Good man Pei Xingyao, let's go home." Du Wanwan carefully checked the blanket for Luo Zhen in the back seat, then sat in the passenger seat, waiting for Pei Xingyao to fasten her seat belt, and announced at the same time.
"I want salt and pepper lamb chops tonight!"
It’s good to be healthy again. You can eat whatever you want and don’t have to worry about anything!
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