Chapter 596 388: To Take As One Pleases

Duan Rong returned to Liu Shushan's hidden courtyard, and it was already late at night.

But Xiao Yu, Shen Mizi, Ximen Kankan, and Liu Shushan were still awake, sitting there waiting for him.

As soon as Duan Rong stepped into the courtyard, Xiao Yu greeted him with a concerned look. "Why are you so late?"

Duan Rong replied, "Got held up by something."

While speaking, Duan Rong gently squeezed Xiao Yu's hand as a gesture of comfort.

The two walked into the hall, and Ximen Kankan joked, "You finally came back! If you hadn't returned soon, your wife would have driven us out onto the streets to find you."

Xiao Yu laughed, "Don't talk nonsense, when did I say I'd drive you out onto the streets?"

Ximen Kankan said, "You didn't say it aloud, but you were thinking it."

Xiao Yu playfully scolded, "You seem to have some skill; do you possess mind-reading abilities?"

Ximen Kankan wanted to say more, but Duan Rong had already cut him off, asking, "Let's start by discussing the findings of your investigation, shall we?"

Ximen Kankan immediately recounted some important information from the investigation carried out by him and Liu Shushan. Liu Shushan supplemented whatever Ximen Kankan left unclear.

Duan Rong listened intently, his eyes reflecting deep thought.

Most of the information from their investigation was known to him, but there were some aspects he was unfamiliar with.

For instance, certain details concerning this major case involving the Shen Family.

Initially apprehended was, of course, Tang Wanhong, and the entire Shen Garden was surrounded.

Tang Wanhong had placed the transaction ledger in a black iron box under the pretense of pawn business, storing it in the warehouse of a pawnshop owned by his sworn brother from years ago.

This came about because Xiong Yi noticed that Tang Wanhong visited the pawnshop periodically. Curious as Tang Wanhong wasn't pawning anything, Xiong Yi wondered why he frequented the shop.

Xiong Yi then shared this information with Li Hong.

Chen Xun quickly sent people over, using a false pretext to redeem pawned items to seal off the modest shop.

Soon after, the transaction ledger of Shen Garden was found in the pawnshop's warehouse.

After acquiring the ledger, Chen Xun immediately instructed Li Hong to lead a team to seal Shen Garden and capture Tang Wanhong, sending him to the Great Prison in Prefecture City.

Although the ledger was quite detailed, it documented transactions between officials and Tang Wanhong, without directly implicating Shen Yanliu.

In the Great Prison, Chen Xun subjected Tang Wanhong to severe torture and interrogation, but Tang Wanhong knew well he faced death whether he spoke or not, thus held his tongue.

Shortly after Tang Wanhong was captured, news reached Shen Yanliu.

Shen Yanliu remained composed, but Ma Chunmin was immediately flustered; she even had Tang Wanhong's wife and children abducted. She bribed an elderly prison guard who delivered meals, having him show Tang Wanhong the longevity lock belonging to his son.

Upon seeing the longevity lock, Tang Wanhong instantly understood what was happening.

Only Shen Yanliu and his wife knew the whereabouts of Tang Wanhong's family. Evidently, this was orchestrated by Shen Yanliu.

Tang Wanhong was deeply anguished; despite his two-decade friendship with Shen Yanliu, he had already decided not to betray him. Yet unexpectedly, his son's life was used as leverage against him.

In Shen Yanliu's eyes, he was nothing but a pawn.

Tang Wanhong confessed that very night!

Chen Xun was naturally overjoyed; with Tang Wanhong's confession, the evidence chain was complete.

These dirty dealings took place within Shen Garden, managed by Shen Yanliu, inevitably implicating him. With Tang Wanhong's confession, the accusation was thoroughly substantiated.

That night, Chen Xun personally led a team to seize Shen Yanliu's household.

The night of the incident, Shen Yanliu dispatched several confidants to Divine Cloud Prefecture, anticipating that without Tang Wanhong's confession, Chen Xun wouldn't act so swiftly!

Unexpectedly, his mansion was already surrounded by soldiers.

Shen Yanliu immediately organized his servants and hospital guards to resist, loudly accusing Chen Xun of suppressing dissent and framing him.

Chen Xun had anticipated Shen Yanliu wouldn't surrender, but having planned meticulously, he couldn't allow Shen Yanliu to stubbornly resist.

Under the assault of several True Qi Realm experts, Chen Xun directly abolished Shen Yanliu's Dantian.

When Liu Shushan mentioned Chen Xun abolishing Shen Yanliu's Dantian, Shen Mizi, seated nearby, noticeably twitched her eyelids.

However, Duan Rong knew that Chen Xun had not only destroyed Shen Yanliu's Dantian but also broke his hands and feet.

Duan Rong shared some of his investigation results with them, primarily about the defenses within the Prefecture City dungeon.

Upon hearing there were three True Qi Realm experts stationed within the Prefecture City dungeon, the group fell speechless.

Duan Rong glanced at Shen Mizi and said, "You should mentally prepare yourself; your father might… find walking somewhat challenging."

He offered these words as a kind reminder to give Shen Mizi some readiness; it was the least he could do. Regarding other matters, Duan Rong felt he probably couldn't offer further help.

As Shen Mizi heard these words, her eyes slightly reddened. She could vividly imagine the suffering her father endured in prison. If it was as Duan Rong described, her father couldn't even walk, making any hope of rescuing him seem even more remote.

Liu Shushan listened to Duan Rong's words, eyeing him with curiosity.

The Prefecture City dungeon was highly confidential, its information tightly sealed; even as a local, Liu Shushan found it difficult to access insider knowledge. How did Duan Rong know about this?