RYEY -Chapter 458 The Scheme Succeeds

The police immediately went to the local newspaper and went straight to the editor-in-chief. The editor was a little flustered seeing the police.

“Who wrote this article? Bring them out.”

“Well, it was submitted by a reader. We thought the topic was novel, so we published it.”

“Show us this reader’s submission.”

The editor quickly pulled out a letter. On the envelope were large letters: “Scandalous News: Scandalous News about Li Huan, the Family Farm Owner of Liangzhou.”

Inside was the manuscript, identical to the newspaper publication, along with several photos—one showing Lu Xiaoyan pulling at Li Huan, and another showing the three men stealing.

Disappointingly, the author was listed as “An Insider,” and the address on the envelope was fake, easily recognized by local police familiar with the area.

“Looks like someone wants to target Comrade Li Huan. He and his wife Cheng Qiao were the first to try something new in this region. That someone would target him is just ridiculous.”

“What do we do then?”

“Go to Liangzhou Daily and confront Lu Xiaoyan. Find out what actually happened.”

Lu Xiaoyan had seen the news early that morning and felt giddy with excitement. She thought to herself, “I am involved with Li Huan. I just hope he sees this and comes to explain himself. Then I can pretend it’s true… or not.”

Before she could fully indulge in her fantasies, Liu Yang, along with police officers, barged into the office and shouted at her:

“Lu Xiaoyan, what are you doing? Why did you write this article? You’re making things up… do you have any shame?”

Her colleagues were stunned, unable to speak properly, until they saw the newspaper Liu Yang had thrown on the floor and their faces reflected indescribable expressions.

“Editor, I didn’t write this. If you don’t believe me, you can compare the handwriting with mine.”

Only then did Liu Yang remember the manuscript he had seen earlier. It clearly wasn’t Lu Xiaoyan’s handwriting; the author had deliberately used their left hand to disguise it.

“You wrote it with your left hand, didn’t you?”

“I can show you how I write.”

Lu Xiaoyan was fearless. When she was in school, her right hand had been injured by her mother, so she had learned to write with her left.

When she wrote with her natural hand, everyone realized the manuscript was not hers. However, the photos of her with Li Huan were real—they must have been taken by someone at Liangzhou Daily.

“I know who it is. Yesterday, Xiaoxiao brought Li Huan here. She also took that photo.”

“That’s nonsense! I only brought Li Huan to see you. I don’t even have a camera. How could I have taken a photo?”

Liu Yang looked at Xiaoxiao. As an intern, she certainly didn’t have a camera, and she didn’t even know when Li Huan had returned. So it couldn’t have been her.

“Comrade Lu Xiaoyan, please come with us.”

“Why? I haven’t broken the law.”

“You have. It concerns Li Huan’s reputation. And since your family stole items, that’s a crime. Our officers have already been to your house.”

“I didn’t tell them to steal. They made their own bad choices, so they must take responsibility.”

The police were losing patience. They had been instructed to thoroughly investigate who was defaming Li Huan, knowing that his wife is Cheng Qiao.

“Comrade Lu Xiaoyan, although you are a valuable employee, you’ve broken the law. Therefore, on behalf of Liangzhou Daily, I am firing you. This is the termination notice. Your last month’s salary will be retained.”

“Editor Liu, you can’t do this! I didn’t have an affair with Li Huan. I never intended such a thing. You’re all framing me. I refuse this!”

The editor sneered. “Refuse all you want. According to police investigation, your parents and two brothers admitted you were involved with Li Huan, and you even showed them a huge photo of him, saying he was the man in your heart.

Moreover, your parents said that if it weren’t for your guidance, they wouldn’t have gone to the construction site. It was your influence that made them feel taking future son-in-law’s materials wasn’t stealing.”

Lu Xiaoyan: “…Damn it.”

In any case, Lu Xiaoyan was taken away by the police. If she couldn’t find out who took the photos, then this entire incident would have been her own staged drama. The final judgment depended on Li Huan himself.

Li Huan had no idea he had once again become the subject of scandalous news. Those who read it sighed, thinking rich men become corrupt. Little did they know, his wife might be upset enough to consider divorce.

Cheng Qiao was reviewing a difficult case with Zhu Qingde when Shen Ying pulled her out of the office, handing her two newspapers—one covering Li Huan’s interview, the other reporting the scandal.

Cheng Qiao read the Liangzhou Daily first. The author clearly admired Li Huan immensely, portraying him as flawless, which pleased her—her man was indeed exceptional.

Then she saw the scandalous news and laughed aloud. Li Huan’s face was very serious; anyone familiar with him could tell he was going to confront them.

The person who took the photo had an excellent angle. It seemed as if the woman’s hand was on Li Huan’s arm, but Cheng Qiao could clearly see she was just tugging at his sleeve.

Based on this alone, claiming Li Huan was involved with someone else was absurd. Clearly, someone wanted to target Lu Xiaoyan and ruin her reputation.

It might also have been aimed at Li Huan, as the family farm had recently been reported, attracting envy from some people.

However, this flimsy gossip held irresistible power. The public, unaware of the truth, loved such stories and immediately assumed rich men become corrupt.

“Shen Ying, do me a favor. Find Hantong and have her handle this matter.”

Seeing that Cheng Qiao didn’t believe the newspapers, Shen Ying relaxed. Cheng Qiao was at a critical stage preparing for her graduation exams and couldn’t afford distractions.

Hantong had been bored out of her mind in recent days. Cheng Qiao was shuttling between school and the health center, not even stepping outside, so Hantong had no tasks.

She had originally planned to hunt a bear in the Qilian Mountains to make up for upsetting a little boy named Li Chen, as she had promised him a bear to play with.