167 The Shocking Turn of Events at the Qiao Family

ool starts in September, she’ll be coming back.” Eden looked puzzled; how could Xia Tian not know such a simple fact"That's good!" Xia Tian's mood improved immediately. He hadn't seen Qiao Xiaoqiao in...Chapter 167: Unexpected Developments in the Qiao Family

Summer had just finished treating Liu Yunman's cousin when he received a call from Chu Yao. In the phone call, Chu Yao sounded very excited: "Honey, you're so cool! I love you!"

"I know I'm cool, no need to specially call and tell me," Summer was rather proud, it seemed only Chu Yao knew how cool he was.

"Honey, I've found your car for you!" Chu Yao started bragging, "See I'm awesome, right"

"Not bad, pretty quick. Who the hell dared to steal my car" Summer complimented Chu Yao before asking.

"Just a little thief who likes stealing cars. I've already taught him a lesson. It's such a small matter, honey, you don't need to worry about it. By the way, where are you I'll have someone deliver your car over," Chu Yao asked.

Since the car had been found and the thief dealt with, Summer wasn't bothered to follow up on this anymore. He told Chu Yao to send the car to Scholarly Residence and informed Sun Xinxin as well. As for himself, he went to Qiao Corporation.

The Eight Heaven-Reversing Needles were extremely draining. He wanted to spend time with Liu Meng so that his recovery would be quicker.

Recently, Liu Meng had been practicing martial arts, mostly focusing on the Ethereal Steps. Occasionally she would spar with Qiao Feng'er and Qiao Huang'er; if she lost, then she'd go back to practice her steps again. Her first goal in立誌成為魔女的柳夢的目標就是打敗喬鳳兒。

(transliteration of "Liu Meng's goal as a witch-in-training was to defeat Qiao Feng'er.") It appears the last sentence is already in English and does not need translation. The rest has been translated accordingly, maintaining the original HTML structure without adding any extra content or explanations.

"Little rascal, you've come at the perfect time! Teach me martial arts quickly!" Upon seeing Xia Tian, Liu Meng was overjoyed. "Practicing this Ethereal Step every day is so boring; I want to learn a more interesting martial art!"

Pitifully, before Xia Tian could talk to Qiao Xiaoqiao, he was dragged by Liu Meng to teach her martial arts nonstop. With no choice, Xia Tian had to personally instruct her in the techniques of arresting hands; at least this way their bodies could be close and he could recover his energy.

With abundant energy, Liu Meng refused to sleep even as it reached two AM, but Xia Tian was on the verge of collapse. He could only let her be and go to bed himself.

The Jiahai City Public Security Bureau was quite busy this night.

Ge Lei from the Major Case Team received a mysterious phone call with information about Mi Hong's whereabouts, then quickly led his team to rescue her. They also apprehended three kidnappers. However, seeing Mi Hong’s blank stare and disheveled clothes, Ge Lei felt no joy at all; even a fool could see what treatment she had endured during the kidnapping.

During subsequent interrogations, Ge Lei confirmed that Mi Hong was indeed violated by the kidnappers, but none of them would say why they kidnapped her. Not until dawn did one of the kidnappers crack under pressure and confess that he followed orders from a certain person. The name shocked Ge Lei.

Qiao Donghai—He Qiudong, head of the Qiao clan, was the name these three kidnappers all mentioned. It was unbelievable to hear that the kidnapping plot was orchestrated by Qiao Donghai, but with three kidnappers corroborating each other’s story, Ge Lei had no choice but to believe them.

At nine AM in the morning in Room 1 of the Interrogation Department,

Qiao Donghai looked at Qiu Ming across from him with a dark expression. He was surprised that this person was still in the police station.

"Brother Qiao, didn't expect that you would end up in this situation too" Qiu Ming spoke coldly.

"Qiu Ming, a small fry like you doesn't have the qualifications to talk to me," said Qiao Donghai indifferently.

Qiu Ming slammed his fist on the table: "Qiao Donghai, now that you've committed a crime, how dare you still act so arrogantly"

"Qiu Ming, I want to tell you that at present, I'm only cooperating with the investigation and at most am considered a suspect. Whether or not I have committed a crime is none of your business to decide. That's why I say people like you are nothing but pests in the police force—completely devoid of legal awareness!" Qiao Donghai said with disdain.

"You!" Qiu Ming abruptly stood up.

"What, planning to torture me for a confession" Qiao Donghai sneered. "Qiu Ming, if you dare do that, even Lin Zihao won't be able to protect you."

"How can you… know…" Qiu Ming's face changed suddenly as he realized something and quickly shut his mouth.

Qiao Donghai burst out laughing: "I said you're still in the police station because of Lin Zihao, didn't I Indeed, it looks like Lin Zihao wants to make things difficult for me."

Qiu Ming took a deep breath and sat back down: "Qiao Donghai, you better confess your crimes honestly. Tell me why did you kidnap Mei Hong"

"I don't have much to say to you," Qiao Donghai smiled faintly, "Have your chief come instead!"

"Qiao Donghai, it's no use who you ask for now. The evidence is conclusive; you're going to jail whether you like it or not!" Qiu Ming said coldly.

Qiao Donghai closed his eyes slightly and ignored Qiu Ming. No matter what Qiu Ming said, he acted as though he hadn't heard a thing, just like someone sleeping.

Qiu Ming wanted to beat Qiao Donghai up badly but didn't dare. Not only was Qiao Donghai still a criminal suspect, even if Qiao had already been sentenced, Qiu wouldn't dare hit him. After all, behind Qiao Donghai stood the powerful Qiao family.

The door of the interrogation room opened at this moment and someone walked in—it was Chief Huang Haitao.

"Qiu Ming, you can leave now," Huang Haitao waved his hand.

Although Qiu Ming was reluctant to go, he still left the interrogation room. With Qiao Donghai making it clear that he didn't care about him, there was nothing for him to do by staying here anyway.

Huang Haitao sat down opposite Qiao Donghai, and Qiao opened his eyes.

"Young Master Qiao, the evidence is very unfavorable to you," Huang Haitao spoke straight to the point. "Although I believe in you, our investigations are based on evidence. Governor Qiao also asked me to handle this case fairly."

"Director Huang, I know it's difficult for you, so I won't make things hard for you. I want to see Xia Tian; could you arrange that for me" Qiao Donghai said directly.

"This... Young Master Qiao, according to regulations, family members are not allowed to meet with the detainee." Huang Haitao seemed a bit troubled.

"Director Huang, Xia Tian hasn't married Xiaoqiao yet, so he isn't my relative. I believe I have the right to see an attorney" Qiao Donghai said with a slight smile. "Having the lawyer come along with Xia Tian also complies with regulations."

"Alright then, I'll go arrange it immediately." Huang Haitao nodded his head. He had no grudge against Qiao Donghai and naturally wouldn't deliberately target him; moreover, not long ago, Provincial Party Secretary Qiao called to remind him to handle the case impartially without letting any bad guys off the hook, but he also said something else at the end: don't wrong an innocent person. Huang Haitao understood clearly that what he said last was actually his true intention.

When Xia Tian heard that Qiao Donghai had been taken to the police station, he hadn't even gotten out of bed yet. Upon learning that Qiao Donghai wanted to see him, however, he didn’t hesitate but followed the lawyer arranged by the Qiao family straight to the police station.

"Xia Tian, I've been framed. If my guess is correct, this time it's Lin Zihao targeting me. But his aim isn't just me; it’s the entire Qiao family." Upon seeing Xia Tian, Qiao Donghai hurriedly said, clearly not wanting to waste any time. "During these days, you must protect Xiaoqiao. Also, I estimate that I won’t be able to leave for a while, so please take over my security company."

"Rest assured; I'll protect Xiaoqiao." Xia Tian agreed without hesitation. As his wife, he would naturally protect her.

"Be especially wary of that woman Mi Hong. She thinks it was me who kidnapped her and will definitely seek revenge against our Qiao family," Qiao Donghai instructed again.

"Is that woman really that formidable" Xia Tian wasn't entirely convinced.

"Regarding Mi Hong's matter, I don't have much time to discuss it with you now. When you return, contact Uncle Two; he will tell you the details about Mi Hong," Qiao Donghai quickly said. "In any case, Xia Tian, remember that your top priority right now is to ensure Xiaoqiao’s safety. As for me, I won't have any immediate issues. Tell Xiaoqiao not to rush to clear my name."

"Oh, should I go and take care of Lin Zihao then" Xia Tian casually asked.

“No need. You just focus on protecting Xiaoqiao.” Qiao Donghai shook his head with a bitter smile; this guy was thinking about using violence again.

"Alright, is there anything else" Xia Tian seemed to want to leave.

"Nothing more. Please hurry back home. I’m quite worried that something might happen in the Qiao family." Qiao Donghai was actually urging Xia Tian to go back; if it weren't for the fact that he couldn’t make a phone call, he wouldn't have let Xia Tian come personally.

Qiao Donghai’s intuition turned out to be accurate. As soon as Xia Tian returned to the Qiao Corporation building, he received news that someone from the Qiao family had been arrested again—this time it was Qiao Dongyun, who had given him a million-dollar check to leave.

Qiao Dongyun’s charge this time was rape. The woman accusing him, Xie Li, was a somewhat famous actress, and in addition to her testimony, there was also video evidence of the entire incident. With both physical evidence and witness statements present, Qiao Dongyun's guilt seemed as certain as anything could be.

While Qiao Donghai’s arrest had left Qiao Zhen Guo outwardly composed, Qiao Dongyun’s arrest made him unable to sit still any longer—simply because Qiao Dongyun was his son.

A few days prior, Qiao Zhen Guo was still delighted by Ji Nan and He Yunshan's downfall, expecting to reap the fruits of victory. However, now that he had been accused of rape, and if this charge were proven true, his as-of-yet unclaimed victory would likely be snatched away. "What does it matter to you if I leave or not""Hey, miss, you’re pretty feisty! I like that!" One of the young men whistled but his whistle was drowned out by the deafening music.“Hi, miss, our buddy...