Chapter 317: Sentencing

Chapter 317 Sentencing

"This is Jinghong's matter, why drag Yan Yan into it? Brother, sister-in-law, no offense, but if you keep talking like this, I won’t bother helping anymore."

He Qiaoxiang felt something was off as she listened.

This was about He Jinghong, so why involve Yan Yan?

And the one who ended up in trouble was Xiao Xiao.

It was all such a mess.

Han Zhiyin wasn’t having it. "This is originally... Yan Yan’s only okay now because Jinghong kept his mouth shut. Otherwise, she would’ve been in the police station long ago."

He Qiaoxiang: "Sister-in-law, are you saying that if I don’t help you, you’ll send Yan Yan to jail too?"

Leaving aside whether there was any evidence, this back-and-forth was enough to chill He Qiaoxiang’s heart.

"We..."

Han Zhiyin started to say more, but He Wenqiang stopped her.

"Xiangxiang, we’re all family. Let’s not argue now. The most important thing is to get Jinghong out."

He Qiaoxiang felt this matter was too difficult.

The connections she used to have were now playing dumb and refusing to intervene.

He Qiaoxiang glanced at her frantic brother and sister-in-law.

He Jinghong could be in trouble, but not Yan Yan.

Because Yan Yan was her daughter. If she really went to jail, how could she ever show her face again?

And Hao Chengbing’s career would be affected.

Their relationship with the Xu family would be over too.

Thinking of this, He Qiaoxiang calmly said, "I have a way to save Jinghong. You two go home and wait for news."

Han Zhiyin softened her tone. "Really? How many days will it take?"

He Qiaoxiang: "These things take time. Let’s see in a couple days. If my connections work, Jinghong will be out soon."

He Wenqiang: "Then we’re counting on you, Xiangxiang."

After He Wenqiang and Han Zhiyin left the Hao residence, He Qiaoxiang immediately called Hao Yanyan and told her to come home.

Hao Yanyan had been miserable these past few days.

Ever since Li Deshu disappeared and she didn’t hear news of Ye Xiaoxiao’s death, she had been a nervous wreck.

He Qiaoxiang’s call made her realize her predicament.

---

The moment Hao Yanyan returned home, she faced He Qiaoxiang’s wrath.

"You hired a damn hitman in the capital! If you’d pulled it off, fine, but you failed and just made everything worse!" He Qiaoxiang chewed her out—not that she tried to harm Ye Xiaoxiao, but that she hadn’t succeeded in killing her.

Hao Yanyan felt mostly relieved after hearing He Qiaoxiang's words.

"Mom, it wasn’t me—it was Cousin..."

"You can fool others, but not me. He Jinghong and Xiao Xiao may not have been close, but they were on decent terms. Why would he want to harm her?"

Hao Yanyan took a deep breath. "Mom, I vented a bit in front of Cousin, so he acted impulsively. But I never told him to kill anyone. This has nothing to do with me."

She knew she’d egged him on.

But with no proof, she was in the clear.

He Qiaoxiang looked at her daughter and suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"At least you’re not hopeless. Just pray you can sell this story at the police station. There’s no choice now—your cousin will have to take the blame. Serves him right for being an idiot."

Hao Yanyan stayed silent, knowing He Qiaoxiang would protect her.

...

He Wenqiang and Han Zhiyin waited for days, only to receive the court’s verdict.

He Jinghong was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to thirty years in prison.

Xiao Xiao hadn’t died, so normally, it’d be under ten years.

But his target had significant social influence, and with pressure from the other side, the punishment was severe.

Thirty years in prison was a fate worse than death.

A pampered rich boy like He Jinghong would never adapt to prison life.

In thirty years, he’d be nearly sixty.

The news hit them like a ton of bricks.

Their first move was to storm over to He Qiaoxiang.

But she shut them down cold.

"Big Brother, Sister-in-law, you should worry about your family’s future. Offending the Lu family and the Yun family—do you think you’ll last in Beijing now?

Of course, Jinghong’s situation is tragic, but should we all go broke over this?

I’ve called in every favor I had, spent every penny I could spare. I’ve done all I can—end of story."

Han Zhiyin refused to believe her. She flew at He Qiaoxiang, yanking her hair.

"It’s you! You did this! And that cursed daughter of yours—your whole damn family is poison!"

Han Zhiyin’s family had some clout back home, but in Beijing? Useless.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have bet everything on He Qiaoxiang.

He Qiaoxiang was knocked down, and the two women fought like alley cats.

Since they were handling family business, He Qiaoxiang had sent the housekeeper away.

Now, she was getting the worse of it.

Fortunately, someone had actually listened to what she just said.

He Wenqiang pulled Han Zhiyin up, looking at He Qiaoxiang with disappointment. "Xiangxiang, you've gone too far this time."

He Qiaoxiang smiled indifferently.

"Big Brother, you know very well that offending the Lu family leads to this kind of outcome."

In the end, He Wenqiang left with Han Zhiyin.

Han Zhiyin couldn't hold back her tears. "What do we do? Thirty years—Jinghong's life is over!"

"Maybe... maybe we should plead with Xiao Xiao to show mercy and let Jinghong off. Even if we can't get him released, a reduced sentence might be possible."

Han Zhiyin, now like a chicken with its head cut off, couldn't come up with anything better.

He Wenqiang thought the chances were slim. Ye Xiaoxiao was the victim—why would she forgive Jinghong?

"We can pay her off—with a lot of money!"

Seeing He Wenqiang remain silent, Han Zhiyin grew agitated. "He Wenqiang! Do you even want to save our son? Say something! Talk to me!"

Her chest heaved violently before she suddenly fainted.

"Zhiyin!"

He Wenqiang caught her. "Zhiyin, wake up."

...

Though Hao Yanyan had dodged a bullet, her factory project had completely failed.

The bank loan she had previously secured was suddenly rejected at the last moment before signing, claiming unspecified problems.

Hao Yanyan knew someone was sabotaging her.

She refused to believe that in a city as big as Beijing, she couldn't find anyone willing to do business with her.

Leaving the bank, Hao Yanyan stormed down the sidewalk in frustration, almost kicking her high heels off.

As she was fuming, a motorcycle suddenly sped past her.

It was moving so fast—right at her.

Bang!

Hao Yanyan was thrown forward. She didn’t feel pain, but her vision started to blur.

The gold necklace around her neck was snatched away.

The motorcycle's roar faded into the distance.

Besides the blood dripping from her nose and mouth from the impact, a thin cut appeared on her neck.

"Holy shit! It's a drive-by thief!"

"A woman got hit by a bike!"

A passerby who witnessed the scene immediately shouted for help and ran to help her.