CHAPTER 190: CHAPTER 190: QIN SHENG IS THE BEST SCAPEGOAT

Su Junhui was well aware that Su Keqin and Su Keyue held no significant place in Su He’s heart. They could be somewhat useful now only because Xiaobao needed companionship. He wasn’t at ease leaving Xiaobao with anyone else. By letting Su Keqin and Su Keyue live with Xiaobao, the boy could have two older sisters doting on him. If Su Keqin and Su Keyue’s mother wasn’t foolish, she wouldn’t stir up trouble that would lead her daughters to mess things up.

Su He said, "You make some sense. I’m not getting involved, but that doesn’t mean others won’t. Take Qin Sheng, for example. This time, his club has already been implicated, and Qin Sheng has a bunch of famous lawyers on hand. He could give the Li Family some benefits, letting them scoop enough money from the hospital and thus drop the lawsuit against him."

"Qin Sheng isn’t that naive," Su Junhui countered. "I’ve received information that both Li Qing and Lian Yingya met with Qin Sheng the night they returned to Jiangcheng. A few days later, Lian Yingya sent Li Qing to Qin Sheng’s club, where he was tortured into critical condition. Qin Sheng can’t wash away the suspicion, no matter what."

Although Su Junhui wasn’t in Jiangcheng, his information-gathering skills were not weak. Those deeply embedded in the legal field usually have well-informed sources. They had to carefully scrutinize every word their clients said; otherwise, they could be ruined by misleading information. This was especially true for Su Junhui. He wasn’t just representing himself; he was also one of the prominent figures of the Su Family.

"So, you’re saying Qin Sheng is caught between two fires now?" Su He asked.

"Yes. The one who wants to diminish the impact of Li Qing’s death is Qin Sheng indeed."

「Qin Family.」

The periods when Qin Sheng was unconscious grew longer. Despite consulting numerous renowned doctors, no cause for his illness could be found.

Finally, after spending a great deal of money and much persuasion, the butler managed to invite Master Jiang over.

After observing for a long time, Master Jiang concealed a trace of astonishment in his eyes. "You’ve been poisoned for at least ten years. The fact that it only recently manifested shows you’ve been incredibly lucky."

Qin Sheng asked, "Wasn’t it Fu Bing who poisoned me?"

Master Jiang’s face hardened. "If you’re going to indiscriminately slander the child I hold dear, then I might as well stand by and watch you die."

His increasingly emaciated body had robbed Qin Sheng of his former sharpness. "Please, Master Jiang, save me," he pleaded.

"And after I save you?" Master Jiang withdrew his hand, saying calmly, "My most prized disciple was tortured by you until he was neither human nor ghost, and ultimately died a most grievous death. If he hadn’t died, his future would have been limitless. Why should I save you?"

"Jinhai won’t die!" Qin Sheng insisted.

"Won’t die?" Master Jiang retorted. "He’s only human; why wouldn’t he die? Of all the wounds you inflicted on his body and mind, did you ever once show mercy?"

Master Jiang glared at Qin Sheng. "When your own body began to fail, you panicked. What about Jinhai? Doesn’t he feel pain? I think it would be best if you died and the Qin Family collapsed. It’s high time the rotten mess of the Qin Family was done away with!"

Qin Sheng managed a laugh. "Master Jiang, you are too naive. If the Qin Family could force Jinhai to do those things, do you think I’m the only one involved? My death won’t affect the Qin Family in the slightest; others will take my place. If Jinhai doesn’t reappear, the secrets he wants to know will remain hidden forever."

"If you want to tell him, you can just burn paper offerings for him," Master Jiang said, unmoved.

"You..." Anger caused Qin Sheng to cough violently.

Jinhai couldn’t possibly die. Both Master Jiang and Fu Bing were renowned doctors of their time, and besides, Ning Wan was still by Fu Bing’s side.

True to a doctor’s compassionate heart, Master Jiang administered an injection to Qin Sheng. Qin Sheng’s violent coughing gradually subsided.

"The poison has infiltrated your very bones," Master Jiang stated. "I can’t cure it. I can only prescribe some medicine to make your final days a little more comfortable."

Master Jiang went out to write a prescription. Qin Sheng put on his robe and got up. He moved to the other end of the sofa, watching Master Jiang, his mind racing with calculations.

Suddenly, Master Jiang looked up. "Thinking of imprisoning me?"

That voice was nothing like what one would expect from a man in his nineties.

"Who are you?" Qin Sheng demanded.

"The one who will send you to the netherworld."

Hearing this, Qin Sheng, far from panicking, leaned back in his chair composedly. "If you kill me, the real Qin Sheng will never see the light of day."

"He’s been gone for so many years. It wouldn’t matter if he were dead now." That tone was unmistakably Qin Jinhai’s.

Qin Sheng suddenly burst into laughter. "Qin Jinhai, you’ve fallen into my trap!"

The white-haired "old man" remained unperturbed, continuing to leisurely sketch and write.

"So you’re not Qin Sheng. No wonder your personality changed so drastically," Li Yuan’s voice came from the main entrance. How could the man she had chosen so unhesitatingly be such a ruthless, cold-hearted beast?

Qin Sheng muttered, "It was you... you poisoned me."

"I failed the child I carried for ten months!" Li Yuan retorted fiercely. "For that alone, shouldn’t I poison you to death?"

The seated old man removed his mask, revealing Qin Jinmo’s face.

Qin Sheng’s eyes looked as if they would tear from their sockets. "You... all of you..."

Qin Jinmo walked to Li Yuan’s side. "From the moment you deliberately tried to sow discord between Jinhai and me, I knew you weren’t my father." He was four years older than Jinhai; his memories of their father were much clearer. Their father would never have allowed them or their mother to be harmed. Yet this man had repeatedly stabbed them in the heart, especially Jinhai.

"Did you intentionally transfer Qin Jinhai’s assets into your name?" the imposter Qin Sheng asked.

"It’s better for them to be in my hands than for you to squander them," Qin Jinmo replied, walking to Li Yuan’s side. "Mom, call the police. Fu Bing would prefer him to be in prison."

Li Yuan nodded and dialed 110.

The police arrived quickly, and Qin Sheng was taken away. The club under this Qin Sheng’s name had been responsible for countless deaths.

Qin Jinmo said, "We also need to find a way to pin the Wu Shipyard matter on him." Even though Fu Bing had disbanded the Wu Shipyard, it remained a lingering problem. If it wasn’t dealt with now, Fu Bing could be implicated by it in the future.

The vast Qin Family Mansion returned to its former silence. Every step echoed clearly.

Li Yuan’s gaze fell on the study in the corner. "Let’s go back first. Everything has been resolved too smoothly recently; I feel like there’s a trap."

"Are you talking about Qin..." Qin Jinmo started to say "Qin Sheng," but it was his father’s name, and he couldn’t bring himself to utter it. "You mean that person was abandoned by the Qin Family Clan, deliberately pushed out to take the fall?"

"Yes," Li Yuan affirmed. She had been in the Qin Family for thirty years. The real Qin Sheng was the only pure flower that had bloomed in the mire of the Qin Family. She had no certainty whether he was still alive. She understood that the Qin Family would be greatly weakened by losing Qin Jinhai and this "Qin Sheng" in such a short period. If the Qin Family Clan had long planned to abandon this "Qin Sheng," they should have already moved the items in the study.

The news of Qin Sheng being taken away for investigation spread everywhere that very night.

Fu Bing sensed a dangerous atmosphere. The exposure of the club wasn’t enough to topple this ’Qin Sheng’. His arrest could only mean one thing: this imposter had been abandoned by the great ship that was the Qin Family. Who would lead the Qin Family now?

Wu Shi absentmindedly fiddled with the pen in his hand, a faint smile playing on his lips as he listened to the news broadcast on television. "Xiaobing," he said, "we can also pin the Wu Shipyard on ’Qin Sheng’."

Hearing this, Fu Bing was silent for a long moment before replying, "He’s the perfect scapegoat!"