218: Chapter 218 You can't bury me, can you?

The living room of the Zheng family villa was brightly lit, with the crystal chandelier illuminating the entire space as if it were broad daylight.

Zheng Xin and Chairman Zheng Yan sat on the sofa, while Zheng Wan sat on the single armchair opposite them, her eyes red and puffy, clutching a tissue as she wiped them.

Zheng Ze sat on the far edge with his legs crossed, holding a cigarette between his fingers. The smoke curled up under the lights, blurring the mocking, half-smile on his face.

Zheng Wan's tears hadn't stopped since she entered the house. She never imagined that after traveling all the way from Yancheng to visit her critically ill father, she would nearly be violated by this animal in a hotel room.

If it hadn't been for that phone call, if it hadn't been for the old man's sudden critical condition, if it hadn't been for Zheng Ze rushing off to the hospital... she didn't know what would have become of her!

"Big Brother, he... he isn't human. He installed a camera in the hotel room, lit aphrodisiac incense, and wanted to... wanted to..."

She couldn't continue, covering her face and breaking into sobs.

Zheng Xin leaned back against the sofa, his face ashen.

As the mayor of Baishui City, he had spent half his life in official circles and had seen all kinds of people and experienced all kinds of situations.

But the animal sitting across from him right now was his own younger brother, his father's own son, born of the same mother, with the same blood flowing through his veins.

He looked at Zheng Ze, his gaze devoid of anger, filled only with indifference.

Chairman Zheng Yan didn't speak; he sat beside Zheng Xin, holding a cup of tea.

He was the chairman of the Sanshui Group, one of the top 100 private enterprises in Hannan Province, with a net worth of billions. He could command the business world, but at this moment, he couldn't say a single word.

What could he say? Scold Zheng Ze? Would scolding help? Beat Zheng Ze? Would beating him solve the problem?

He glanced at his sister, who was weeping like a fountain, then at his brother, who was still smoking with an expressionless face. A complex mixture of emotions churned inside him.

Zheng Xin spoke up: "Zheng Ze, pack your things and leave tomorrow. Go back abroad and don't come back."

Zheng Ze's hand holding the cigarette paused. He looked up at Zheng Xin, a mocking smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Big Brother, what do you mean? I've only been back for a few days, and you're kicking me out? The old man is this sick, and you want me to leave?"

"With the old man this sick, what have you been doing?" Zheng Xin's voice remained quiet, but it carried a hint of coldness.

"You've been out drinking with riffraff and trying to lay hands on your own sister in a hotel."

"The old man is in the emergency room, his life hanging in the balance, and what are you doing?"

"Do you even have the face to mention the old man?"

Zheng Ze's smile stiffened, but he quickly returned to his usual rogue expression.

"Big Brother, you need proof for what you say. What did I do? I didn't do anything."

Zheng Xin looked at him, a cold sneer forming on his lips. He didn't want to argue with Zheng Ze; there was no point in arguing with someone like this.

He only stated the outcome, blocking off all paths of retreat with a single sentence.

"You are leaving, whether you want to or not."

"Tomorrow I'll have someone take you to the airport. Go wherever you want, just don't stay in the country."

"Lest you get shot by a stray bullet one day, and we don't even have time to collect your corpse."

Zheng Ze stood up abruptly, his cigarette butt falling onto the carpet and burning a charred hole.

His face flushed red, and his voice rose an octave.

"Why does everyone keep telling me to run abroad? You told me to run back then, and now you're telling me to run again."

"What did I do wrong? I just ran a few casinos, issued some loans, and slept with a few women, that's all!"

"Is that such a big deal?" "Are you guys really going that far?"

Zheng Xin looked at him and suddenly laughed.

"You ask me why I'm telling you to run? Fine, I'll tell you."

"Because the people you've crossed twice now are people our family cannot afford to offend."

"Let me tell you, the Zheng family's reputation is worth less than a sheet of paper in front of Xu Weidong."

Chairman Zheng Yan set down his teacup and finally spoke, his gaze fixed on Zheng Ze's face.

"Big Brother is right." "It's not that we don't want to protect you; it's that we can't."

"Do you know who the new secretary of the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission is? Secretary Chen Liang."

"You might not have heard of him, but I'm telling you, back in Hanzhong Province, he was notoriously ruthless."

"Do you know what his nickname is? The Scourge of Crime."

"Just hearing that nickname should tell you what he does. Of all the cases he's handled and all the criminals he's targeted, not a single one has escaped."

"Furthermore, his methods are extremely brutal. For uncooperative criminals, making them disappear from the world in a 'reasonable' way is not a troublesome task for him at all."

A trace of panic finally appeared on Zheng Ze's face. He knew his older brothers wouldn't say these things without reason; they were genuinely afraid.

They weren't afraid of something happening to Zheng Ze; they were afraid of the Zheng family being dragged down with him.

"This is a society ruled by law. No matter how ruthless he is, he can't just bury me, right? I didn't kill anyone or commit arson. What can he possibly do to me?"

Zheng Xin sneered, a smile that made a chill run down Zheng Ze's spine.

"A society ruled by law? Do you even deserve to say those words? Isn't the casino you run illegal?"

"Aren't the loans you issue illegal? Isn't your forced contracting and bullying of the market illegal?"

"Everything you've done—which one of them isn't illegal? Don't you always think you're so powerful? Don't you think the police are just for show?"

"Let me tell you, it's not that the police couldn't investigate you. It's because the old man is still here, the Zheng family's reputation is still standing, and those people have been too lazy to move against you out of respect for the old man."

"Do you think you've been able to remain at large until now because of your own capabilities?"

"You're wrong, dead wrong."

"The only reason you're alive today isn't because you're so capable, but because the old man is still breathing."

Zheng Xin stood up and walked over to Zheng Ze, looking down at him. "Have the police ever really pursued you for the dirty deeds you've committed?"

"No, never."

"Do you think it's because you're lucky? Because your methods are clever? Because you're good at hiding?"

"None of that. It's because of the old man's face, because of the Zheng family's reputation."

"If no one would pursue the things you've done, do you think that as the highest-ranking official in the provincial political and legal system, anyone would dare to pursue him for doing things that can't see the light of day?"

"Do you think Secretary Chen Liang is a pushover, being able to survive in a place as complex as Hanzhong Province and rise to the position of secretary of the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission?"

"His methods are a hundred times more ruthless than you can imagine."

"If he wants to move against you from that position, do you think you can escape? Do you think those so-called connections of yours can protect you?"

"Do you think your fair-weather friends and drinking buddies would go against the secretary of the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission for your sake?"

"They would run faster than anyone, wishing they had never met you, wanting to delete you from their contact lists completely."

"Deputy Director Gao Qiang and Deputy Director Li Wenfu are the best examples. It's not like you didn't see it."

Zheng Ze's fingers began to tremble. "Damn it, Secretary Chen Liang wouldn't actually have someone take me out, would he?"

Wait... how did he end up clashing with the secretary of the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission?

"Wait, I don't quite understand. When did I offend a character like that?"

Chairman Zheng Yan looked at Zheng Ze's foolish expression and suddenly felt a sense of amusement.

Only now realizing the severity of the problem? What were you doing before?

Bullying men and women without even doing a basic background check—could he really be from their Zheng family stock?

Zheng Wan had long since stopped crying. She leaned back against the sofa, her eyes red and swollen, staring blankly at the ceiling.

If this brain-dead idiot had used even a fraction of the effort he spent on playing with women on politics, he would never have offended someone without even knowing who he had offended...