Chapter 172: Chapter 172: The Man Behind the Scenes!

Chen Xiao’s mind had already pieced together a relatively complete and reasonable case scenario at this moment.

The origin of all the incidents stems from a key figure—Li Xue.

And as for Wan De, he could very well be akin to a bomb.

Once this bomb explodes, it would equate to pushing the person responsible for Cheng Qing’s death into an abyss.

That’s why Wan De disappeared!

Li Xue, Cheng Qing, Chen Xianzu, and Wan De are the core figures supporting half of the case scenario.

However, Lin Xi raised a doubt at this point: “Honey, reasoning things through to now, Chen Ding is becoming more suspicious.”

Chen Xiao understood what Lin Xi meant and nodded: “The reason Chen Yuan’s family has maintained wealth for two decades is all because of Chen Ding.”

“However, it’s worth pondering Chen Ding’s attitude towards his brother, Chen Xianzu.”

Thinking of this, Chen Xiao dialed a phone number he seldom called.

The call connected, and Guo Qing laughed heartily:

“Brother! Missed me again?”

Hearing Guo Qing’s laughter, Chen Xiao couldn’t help but tease: “I miss those brothers who helped me dig graves even more than I miss you.”

“Hiss… What do you mean by that? Damn, you’re not thinking of doing that again, are you!”

Guo Qing instantly became alert, not forgetting to add: “Brother, doing such things once is enough. Though I have many men under me, I can’t handle such losses!”

Chen Xiao laughed: “Just joking, I just wanted to inquire about Chen Ding.”

“Isn’t he your cousin by family relation? Do you need to ask me?”

“I’m curious about his business affairs, especially his attitude towards intellectuals.”

Chen Xiao expressed his intention, and Guo Qing breathed a sigh of relief: “Ah, when you approached me a couple of days ago, I actually analyzed his company, and I found a fatal flaw in him.”

“How so?”

“That guy has a penchant for foreign things. However, he genuinely likes recruiting intellectuals, always thinking that those who read more are more reliable in handling affairs. I’m not against this view; actually, my company has an educational threshold now.”

“But for some diligent subordinates that are known well, it’s wrong to tilt the balance just because they have lower educational qualifications, isn’t that right? And that guy truly treats some so-called high intellectuals with high regard. The most famous incident I heard was when he took keen interest in a returning overseas graduate, with an impressive reputation, various certificates, and titles.”

“To get that overseas returnee, he went to great lengths and offered various favorable conditions, and often criticized his subordinates, saying things like knowledge is the future! Although the statement isn’t incorrect, someone informed me that the guy graduated from a second-rate overseas university; all those certificates and titles weren’t worth a dime!”

“It’s also because he blindly employed these so-called returnees and intellectuals, or else his company wouldn’t be struggling as much as it is now.”

After hearing this, Chen Xiao thought about it briefly and then asked: “So when did his company’s decline begin?”

“It started in the early 2000s, his finances began to encounter issues, and in the end, he had to cut ties to survive.”

This conversation made Chen Xiao realize that his suspicion was correct.

In Chen Ding’s heart, Chen Xianzu was the true future of their family!

Since he represents the future, Chen Ding might really consider sacrificing everything to protect his brother!

Having gained the desired information, an idea suddenly occurred to Chen Xiao.

Previously, to facilitate the investigation on Chen Yuan, Chen Xiao was constantly accompanied by Chen Ding.

So now, Chen Xiao suddenly decided to take Chen Ding to visit Chen Xianzu’s grave.

The decision was made, and after explaining to Lin Xi, Chen Xiao walked out the door.

Upon arrival at Chen Ding’s house, he appeared exhausted, sitting in the hall and seemingly lost in thought.

“What are you dazing about?” Chen Xiao asked upon entering.

Chen Ding snapped back to reality: “Why are you here? Did you find something?”

“Kind of, I want to go somewhere now, would you accompany me?”

“Where is it?”

“Brother Xianzu’s grave.”

Chen Ding’s eyes widened: “Why did you suddenly think of going to Xiao Zu’s place?”

“To see, do you mind?”

“Why would I mind? It’s just weird you always act so unpredictably.”

Chen Ding said, then took Chen Xiao to Chen Xianzu’s grave.

Upon arrival, the area beside the grave was unbelievably overgrown with weeds!

Looking at the grave, it seemed like it hadn’t been visited for quite a long time.

Seeing this scene, Chen Xiao couldn’t help but squint his eyes.

It’s known that August is a special month for the Chen Yuan family.

Under normal circumstances, members of Chen Yuan’s family would definitely visit Chen Xianzu’s grave.

Because Chen Xianzu died during the summer vacation in 1992, which coincides with July and August!

However, seeing the state of Chen Xianzu’s grave, it appeared that no one had visited for several months.

Chen Xiao pulled out a handful of weeds and intentionally lamented: “Once I heard a saying, that a person’s death doesn’t mean an end, but when everyone forgets them, that’s when they truly disappear.”

Chen Ding furrowed his brows: “It has been quite some time since anyone visited him, the last time was during the end of the year. I wasn’t home, and you know my father’s condition; he’s older now, it’s not easy for him to climb hills. Chen Yao is always out doing impractical things, so naturally, no one visits him.”

This explanation seems somewhat reasonable.

Chen Xiao didn’t say that the Chen Yuan family had completely forgotten Chen Xianzu; there were still traces of incense candles at the grave showing signs.

After pulling out more weeds, Chen Xiao began probing again.

“I heard from Qingtian’s Guo Qing that you have a particular preference for intellectuals?”

This remark struck hard, and Chen Ding’s expression became particularly unpleasant.

“Those were foolish things done in the past, now I see through it. There’s a saying ’those who appear righteous are often very cruel, and the most unfaithful are scholars,’ this saying is the absolute truth!”

Chen Ding’s emotions were clearly fluctuating!

The fluctuation seemed to have ignited Chen Ding’s inner powder keg.

Thinking about the things Guo Qing mentioned, Chen Ding, who once had high hopes for intellectuals, truly seemed heartbroken.

But inexplicably, Chen Xiao suddenly saw an emotion in Chen Ding’s eyes that seemed restrained the moment it appeared.

Under Chen Xiao’s ability to perceive, that emotion was magnified immensely.

Even the image of Chen Ding in his eyes seemed increasingly clear.

This made Chen Xiao very alert!

“What did his fleeting emotion mean just now?”

“Why did I see a hint of hatred in his eyes?”

“Why does he hate? Whom does he hate?”

While Chen Xiao was contemplating, a sudden phone call interrupted all his thoughts.

Seeing Xiaoji’s call, he moved to another spot to answer it.

“Hello, any new updates?”

“Yes, Brother Chen, we’ve found out about the man behind Lu Yuling.”

“Who is he?”

“It’s said he comes from Dongzhou, and his surname is Xu!”

Upon hearing the surname Xu, Chen Xiao’s thoughts seemed to twitch.

Reminiscing, Chen Xiao asked incredulously: “Surname Xu? Could he be called Xu Zaisen?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep