From the way he spoke, it was highly likely.
Yan Xia nodded thoughtfully.
After work, she parted ways with Fang Jiangyi. The driver was waiting downstairs of the Shengshi Building. As soon as she got in the car, Wen Liang turned around and told her,
"Miss Lu, Uncle Fu has found the assistant who gave false testimony in court. He's already been detained at his residence. He's just waiting for you to go."
Yan Xia was extremely eager and immediately told the driver to head to the destination.
She'd heard that Lu Qianzhou had met this assistant a few days ago, but he hadn't told her. She wondered what his motive was. In Uncle Fu's eyes, Lu Qianzhou was a calculating person. It was always more reliable to rely on one's own people.
The place they arrived at was just an ordinary old residential building. The corridor was narrow, showing its long history.
The door opened. Uncle Fu stood at the door with two men. In the corner of the living room, a man was squatting on the ground, protecting a woman and a young child in his arms. It was quiet, and no one said a word.
Uncle Fu nodded. "Second Miss, this is the one. We've got the right person this time."
Yan Xia glanced at the man who was tightly protecting his wife and child and lowered her eyes. "Let the woman and the child go into the room. Just keep him here."
It was obvious that the man was very protective of his wife and daughter and didn't need anyone's help. He immediately pushed his wife and child into the room. Finally, only the man curled up in the corner remained in the living room.
Yan Xia took off her cap and casually sat on the sofa.
"Cut the crap. I have no intention of harming your family. You just need to answer a few questions truthfully."
The man didn't even lift his head. "I don't know anything. You won't get anything out of me."
Yan Xia knew that there were more than just a pair of eyes on him. His situation was far more dangerous than hers. After all, he had been personally involved and was one of the parties. He knew too much. If he couldn't keep his mouth shut, he would invite disaster.
Yan Xia was very calm. "Lan Yuzhou, since I've been able to track you down, it means I must have evidence. There's no point in lying to me."
Lan Yuzhou suddenly fell silent, keeping his head down.
Yan Xia continued on her own. "You know how Cheng Hua was ousted. To bring down someone of his status, there must be a spy around him. Without a doubt, that person is you."
Seeing his victim-like appearance, Yan Xia suddenly laughed.
"You don't need to play the victim here. You should've thought of this day when you conspired with them."
As if his sore spot had been hit, Lan Yuzhou suddenly looked up angrily at Yan Xia. He stood up and stepped closer to her but was stopped by the bodyguard. He was emotionally agitated and roared,
"You rich people take human lives casually. Anyone of you can manipulate me and take my life. No matter who I help, I can't live in peace. I've done everything I was told to do. Now I just want to live a peaceful life. Why won't you let me go? Why!"
Ignoring his out-of-control emotions, Yan Xia analyzed on her own.
"You know how they secretly manipulated things, transferred the company's assets, and framed Cheng Hua, right? I guess he did have some acts of taking bribes. It was just that after the company had problems and he was taken away by the procuratorate, some people who followed the trend saw that he couldn't make a comeback, so they took the opportunity to report his bribery, making it even harder for him to turn things around."
After all, once he fell from power, it might bring down more high-ranking people. So the people above would keep him firmly in prison and not let him have a chance to speak.
Fortunately, Cheng Hua was a smart man and didn't talk nonsense after he was imprisoned.
Otherwise, Yan Xia would've been in danger the moment she returned to the country. She might not even have been able to see Fang Jiangyi.
Lan Yuzhou looked at Yan Xia in confusion. She was a completely unfamiliar face.
"Who are you? Why do you want to ask these questions? What's your purpose?"
"You don't need to know. You just need to tell me everything you know." After thinking for a while, she added, "As long as you're willing to cooperate with me and help the innocent clear their names, I can protect you until the matter is resolved."
With Lu Qianzhou's influence, protecting him wouldn't be a big problem.
But thinking about it, if he agreed to testify in court again, his sentence this time would be more severe than last time because it wasn't just a matter of covering up a crime but also giving false testimony.
Lan Yuzhou fell silent, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.
Finally, he said, "I can only tell you that the story about Cheng Hua secretly transferring the company's funds is false. There were too many loopholes in that incident. He was just framed with so-called evidence. But he's not innocent. Just before I decided to give false testimony, I happened to see a list of bribe recipients at his place. That list involved many people with him at the center. He's far from innocent."
Yan Xia bit her lower lip. "Where's that list now?"
Lan Yuzhou shook his head. "I stored the list on a USB drive before, but then Fang Jiangyi took it. I guess it's still in his hands. I don't know now..."
Even though she'd been mentally prepared that her father might not be as upright as she thought, it was still hard to accept hearing it from an insider.
The father she'd always admired, trusted, and relied on wasn't as aboveboard as she'd thought.
Yan Xia frowned. "So, was all this planned by Fang Jiangyi?"
Lan Yuzhou didn't dare to continue. He seemed to be in awe of this name.
Fang Jiangyi had arranged for and threatened him to give false testimony. Of course, he'd been threatened as soon as he was out of prison. Moreover, he had a wife and child, so it was only natural for him to be afraid.
Yan Xia comforted him. "The content of our conversation today won't be leaked. I just want to understand the situation. Besides, what you say won't pose any threat to Fang Jiangyi. You don't need to worry."
Lan Yuzhou still refused to speak.
Wen Liang stepped forward as if to use force but was stopped by Yan Xia.
"Then I'll ask you another question. Did you give false testimony because you were threatened by Fang Jiangyi, or did you exchange something for it? He was able to get you out of prison in just a few months. I believe he must have a bigger backer behind him."
Lan Yuzhou looked at Yan Xia in surprise.
This person knew far more than he'd thought.
He couldn't help swallowing. "Who on earth are you..."
Yan Xia showed an expression of "none of your business".
Lan Yuzhou ran his hands through his hair, making it a mess. Then he suddenly squatted down again, holding his head.
"No, he didn't threaten me. Instead, he made a deal with me. Fang Jiangyi is a very nice person. Even until now, he's still taking care of me."
Yan Xia asked, "What kind of deal?"
Lan Yuzhou said, "He saved my daughter's life and gave me resources and money. So I did it voluntarily. It has nothing to do with others."