Chapter 992 - 957: The Truth Comes to Light

The news that there is an ancient tomb beneath Jianjie Square has spread like wildfire, and recently, passersby can’t help but pause to watch, pointing and discussing the underground relics, with some saying it’s a Han Tomb, some saying it’s an ancient city, and some claiming it’s the Dongzhou Vault.

For a time, opinions were varied, but compared to what is truly buried beneath, there’s an unprecedented consensus: everyone believes President Tang of Jiayue Department Store has definitely unearthed numerous treasures back in the day. It was he who instructed the builders not to report to the authorities and seized the artifacts, antiques, and treasures under the cover of dark, moonless nights. This is the very reason why the Tang Brothers became rich overnight.

Even more intriguing is the belief that their decision to build Jianjie Square here was truly to use the plaza as a cover to plunder the artifacts.

The legends surrounding this matter have become more and more fantastical; despite the lively discussions among the folks, they are just stories. The real handling still depends on the official stance.

Autumn has just set in, yet the temperature remains hot. However, Tang Jingwei, who is in Nanjiang, feels a chill from the depths of his heart. He has just dealt with the aftermath of his son’s passing, not expecting a forgotten old account to be dug up again. The civil engineering project of Jianjie Square was then managed by the company’s vice president, Duan Yuanhong, who has now resigned and immigrated to Xingjia Slope.

During the construction of Jianjie Square, Tang Jingwei never heard any report about discovering an ancient tomb.

Upon hearing the news from Dongzhou, his first thought is that someone is targeting him, aiming to trap him into a desperate situation.

Tang Jingwei specifically called his younger brother, Tang Jinglun, despite them not being harmonious, the current predicament forced them to unite and warm each other.

Tang Jingwei found Tang Jinglun for another reason; Tang Jinglun and Duan Yuanhong are quite close. Last time, he was forced to retire mainly due to their collaboration, so after turning the tide, the first thing Tang Jingwei did was to get rid of Duan Yuanhong, disrupting their alliance.

Tang Jinglun stepped into the study, seeing a pottery figurine dancing on the desk, he instinctively frowned. Actually, he had guessed his big brother’s purpose even before coming.

Tang Jingwei spoke leisurely: "Have you heard about the issue at Dongzhou Jianjie Square?"

Tang Jinglun replied: "I heard some, but it’s utterly groundless. All our procedures were legal and regular at the time."

Tang Jingwei asked: "Is this pottery figurine beautiful?"

It is a double-sleeved dancing figurine of a woman, dressed in a deep robe with winding lapels, arms raised with sleeves swirling up, long sleeves flowing down from the air to behind, her posture forming a graceful S-shape, full of dynamic and passionate dance.

Upon close inspection, five characters can be found engraved at the elbow bend, the strokes filled with red paint. According to experts, "five" is an abbreviation for dance.

Tang Jinglun once saw a similar one at the National Museum, and that dancing figurine was unearthed from Dongzhou, a national treasure. The one on his brother’s desk was certainly no lesser than the one at the museum.

Tang Jinglun deliberately said: "It’s truly beautiful."

"Familiar, right? Duan Yuanhong gave it to me." Tang Jingwei appeared extraordinarily calm today; nothing is more sorrowful than a dead heart. His son is dead, and there are few things left that can move his emotions.

Tang Jinglun said: "Old Duan was indeed generous; if it were me, I definitely wouldn’t have been willing to gift such a good thing."

Tang Jingwei replied: "The purpose of gifting is to gain more benefits. Duan Yuanhong could become the vice president of Hua Nian because he knows how to handle people. You have such a good relationship with him, you likely understand him better than I do."

Tang Jinglun chuckled: "Old Duan is someone who plays his cards close to the chest; his good relationship with me is just on the surface. Our actual relationship isn’t that good."

Tang Jingwei said: "This dancing figurine is a Han Dynasty treasure. Duan Yuanhong gave it to me eight years ago. I remember the Dongzhou Jianjie Square project was handled by you two back then?"

Tang Jinglun answered: "Yes."

Tang Jingwei asked: "Do you remember if anything like ancient tombs was discovered at the construction site back then?"

Tang Jinglun replied: "Don’t listen to the outside nonsense; if we had really discovered relics, we definitely would have reported to you. We can’t bear such responsibility."

He glanced at the dancing figurine again and said: "Old Duan knows your taste well, finding connections to get this dancing figurine for you as a gift is normal. Do you really think this was dug out from underground?"

"What else could it be?"

Tang Jinglun said: "How about you ask Duan Yuanhong directly? I know nothing about this matter."

Tang Jinglun’s heart sank into extreme unease; Hua Nian was done for, and Jiayue Department Store was also doomed. Simply using the phrase ’trouble doesn’t come singly’ is insufficient to describe their current predicament. Everything is not coincidental but someone silently manipulating everything from behind. When others were setting up the layout, they didn’t realize immediately; now, the time has come to draw the net.

After Tang Jinglun left, he immediately contacted Duan Yuanhong.

Duan Yuanhong thought this matter had long been buried underground and was surprised it resurfaced, feeling somewhat nervous: "President Tang, wasn’t the matter from back then already dealt with?"

Tang Jinglun said, "You’re quite bold, giving him the dancing figurine to get ahead. He’s certainly suspicious of us now."

Duan Yuanhong said, "What can suspicion do? There’s no evidence anyway."

Tang Jinglun said, "Is the dancing figurine not evidence? Several people were involved in this matter back then, and who can guarantee that each of them will keep their mouths shut?"

Duan Yuanhong said, "Rest assured, the information definitely didn’t leak from me."

Tang Jinglun chatted with Duan Yuanhong a bit, mainly to verify if the leak came from him. The truth didn’t matter; the main issue was the old matter resurfacing. If the relevant departments paid attention, they would certainly go deep into an investigation. Even if this could be settled, more issues concerning the Tang Family would arise.

A sense of impending collapse hung over Tang Jinglun’s heart. He realized he must leave quickly; otherwise, he might miss the opportunity to escape entirely.

Before Hua Nian’s debt crisis broke out, Tang Jinglun was already planning a backup plan. He hadn’t left yet because he still had substantial interests in the company. Leaving just like that felt unsatisfying, but since his nephew Tang Tianyi’s death, a sense of unease engulfed him.

The police’s autopsy result indicated that Tang Tianyi died by suicide. Upon hearing this, Tang Jingwei didn’t show emotional instability but remained very calm, which made Tang Jinglun even more worried. He needed to disembark earlier, else he wouldn’t know where his brother might drag him next. His brother’s calmness was just the precursor to a storm.

Tang Jinglun purchased a ticket for that evening, planning to fly to Neon. After a brief stay there, he would continue to North America. He foresaw unsettling days ahead, intending to leave under the guise of visiting relatives and observe the situation from afar.

Tang Jinglun’s careful planning finally came to a halt when he encountered police waiting for him at the airport, indicating some matters required his assistance in the investigation.

Xu Chunliang informed Qin Zhengyang of what he learned, and Qin Zhengyang specifically went to talk to Mrs. Zhang. Under his persuasion, Mrs. Zhang finally handed over the artifacts her son Liang Zhigang had entrusted her to keep.

Meanwhile, Three Two Three, who was hospitalized after being assaulted, underwent a mental struggle and handed over photos and recordings to the police.

A case forgotten for over a decade finally surfaced. The police acted swiftly, capturing several involved individuals.

As these suspects confessed one by one, the outline of the case from back then became clearer. Duan Yuanhong was responsible for Jiayue Department Store construction, while Tang Jinglun was the overall project manager; both were involved in this matter.

Liang Zhigang was in charge of sand and gravel work for Jiayue Department Store. During excavation, he discovered a Han Tomb and other underground ancient structures. He reported this to Duan Yuanhong, who covetously planned to conceal the artifacts and leveled the tomb overnight.

Duan Yuanhong’s motive was driven by greed, and because of time constraints and heavy tasks, reporting to archaeology would halt Jiayue Department Store construction, causing immense losses he couldn’t afford.

Several individuals involved received hush money from Duan Yuanhong. After receiving his share, Liang Zhigang stole some artifacts and sold them to dealers.

After discovering this, Duan Yuanhong severely reprimanded Liang Zhigang, but he retaliated by leveraging this as a threat to extort more money from Duan Yuanhong, shortly leading to a construction site dump truck accident.

Liang Zhigang has been dead for years now. He was involved with three others; one died of illness, and the remaining two are alive but were limited in their knowledge, merely following Liang Zhigang’s lead back then.

Duan Yuanhong has now immigrated overseas; Tang Jinglun was close to escaping abroad.

No matter how the police interrogated, Tang Jinglun kept denying all knowledge, claiming ignorance of the Han Tomb and that Duan Yuanhong acted on his own deceitful accord.

However, the police produced a phone recording from back then, showing Tang Jinglun was clearly informed. Moreover, account transactions disclosed he transferred three million to Duan Yuanhong’s private account, which was quickly distributed to several other accounts.

The police efficiently revealed records of Duan Yuanhong’s and Liang Zhigang’s account dealings back then.

Tang Jinglun stayed at the police station all night, his eyes swollen from fatigue. He knew the law well enough that detainment typically doesn’t exceed twenty-four hours.

Yawning, he said, "Can I rest a bit? I haven’t slept all night, and I’ve said all I know and don’t know. I genuinely don’t know about this. Duan Yuanhong is the person you want for detailed information."

"Don’t worry about that; Duan Yuanhong will be back shortly for you to confront."