Chapter 42 - The real culprit

In the afternoon Zhao Liying barged into her apartment and spoiled the peace of the environment.

"Xiao Hua! I'm so sorry. I couldn't come when you woke up. I was so worried. I wanted to come but that old man wouldn't let me. Only by threatening him using your name, could I slip away from his hands. How are you?"

"Would you be silent for a minute? My grandfather just snoozed off. I don't want to be forced back into my room."

Jing Lihua was thinking of the ways to escape while Zhao Liying continued her blabber. She couldn't leave otherwise her grandfather would drag her away from the office at such a crucial moment. Then suddenly, she came up with a brilliant idea. She grinned wickedly at Zhao Liying.

Zhao Liying stopped her blabbering at once. She didn't like the way her Xiao Hua was looking at her.

"You said you were sorry for not being able to visit me, right?"

"Well, y-yes?"

"Want to make yourself feel less guilty?"

In that evening a fashionable woman in big sunglasses, a pretty dress, and the latest handbag walked out of the apartment. The bodyguards outside the apartment were specially instructed by her grandfather to stop Jing Lihua from escaping. But they didn't suspect a thing. Once Jing Lihua climbed into Zhao Liying van, she took off her sunglasses. She checked her phone. She had just received a text from Zhao Liying.

"Please be back on the promised time. You know I've a flight to Hong Kong. Besides I don't want to get killed by your grandfather!" Zhao Liying was hiding under a brown blanket in Jing Lihua's bed as she texted. She was wearing Jing Lihua's favorite pair of pajamas.

"Don't worry. My grandfather wouldn't kill you immediately. I'll be back to save you if you got discovered by him." Jing Lihua texted back.

After texting back a few curses, Zhao Liying put her phone under the pillow. Her heart leaped when she heard footsteps from outside. She held her breath and waited. Then she remembered if she is supposed to be sleeping, she should be breathing.

Tang Liuwei opened the door. He looked at the bulge on the bed scrutinizingly. His eyes narrowed and he kept staring at the bed for almost five minutes. Zhao Liying was about to cry when she finally heard the 'thud' of the door closing. She heaved in relief and texted a few more curses to Jing Lihua.

And she thought her old manager was scary. Jing Lihua's grandfather was scarier.

Jing Lihua was already on her way to the hospital. Before deciding this move she had sent the sample of the prescribed medicines to Mei Xiu and asked her to know what they were used for. Surprisingly, the results astonished both Jing Lihua and Mei Xiu.

They were detoxifiers of a deadly poison.

All of this couldn't be a coincidence. She came up with the best possible theory. The chefs had added poison to her food. But she survived and the person felt threatened so he killed them all. It seemed like a plausible explanation. But the biggest mystery was that why did the doctors lie about her condition?

They wouldn't do that own their own. They must be bribed or threatened by someone to do do. Could it be the person who tried to poison her? His reasons must be that she would never know she was poisoned and go to find the person who was behind it. But if the person was capable of doing that, he could just have bribed the doctors into treating her wrongly. She would have died and his objective would have been achieved.

A series of questions flooded in Jing Lihua's mind. When she reached the foot of the hospital, she was greeted by the group of her bodyguards. She wasn't stupid. She knew there was a danger. So her security was needed.

She walked into the hospital and directly entered the director's room.

"How can you...", the director quietened once he saw who the person was and how many muscular bodyguards she was surrounded with.

"Ms. Jing. Please, take a seat" He took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Jing Lihua took back the seat and sat leisurely. Two of the bodyguards held the door while two stood on both her sides.

The director gulped. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Jing Lihua quietly placed the medicines on the desk and coldly stared at him.

"What is this about?" He looked nervous. Jing Lihua didn't reply. The director's hands began to sweat. Could it be that Ms. Jing had come to suspect it? Could she have already discovered what the medicine was for? As he thought more about it, the possibility seemed plausible. Then what was he supposed to do? He wouldn't dare to go against Mr. Li's command. He didn't want to see his hospital burn to ashes! But he couldn't offend Jing Lihua either!

God. What sin did he do to find himself in a situation like this? He was a very dutiful person and always took care of his patients. He was a nice man!

The silent treatment trick she learned fro her grandfather was surely working. The director looked he was about to cry and she didn't have to say a single word to make him so.

"I can explain", he nervously said waiting for Jing Lihua to respond.

"Explain. I'm listening"

"The poison... your health was very bad. You couldn't take on any stress. The drug caused psychological weakness. So I didn't tell you. I had planned to tell you after the drug was completely detoxified"

Jing Lihua frowned.

"Is this the excuse you thought of doctor Chen. I'm sorry but it sounds very unconvincing"

He was obviously lying. She had seen a mascara and it didn't affect her that much.

"I..."

Before he could say any further, Jing Lihua's phone rang. She looked at it. Heng Bingwen.

"I'll give you ten minutes to think about whether you want to tell me the truth or not. Trust me I'm a very forgiving person. If you are willing to cooperate, I can assure you that no harm will come to you" She said and went out to pick the call while her bodyguards stayed behind.

Doctor Chen really wanted to believe it. But Jing Lihua couldn't save him from the devil.

Once outside, Jing Lihua picked up the call.

"Hen..."

"President. I found an important clue", he sounded very excited, "We checked the man who had sold you the restaurant. I found out he had been missing since yesterday. I got very suspicious so I checked his phone records. It turned out he had been in contact with the secretary of 'Tang Huang'" Jing Lihua was astonished. That was unexpected. Of all the people, her grandfather's nephew Tang Huang wasn't the one she had expected to be the real culprit. "I even found out the group of professionals to which the killers were related to. And to confirm it, I checked if Tang Huang had any contact with the group. And it turned out, he had! It was indeed him who had hired those killers to murder the chefs! President, Tang Huang is the real culprit!"