Chapter 4341 — Evidence?
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Besides, if this Ling Yizhen had really been a traitor eating from the inside, if he had surrendered to the pirates without a second thought back then, why would he dare return alone now? There were only two possibilities: either he did not fear death, or there was something else behind it all.
Still, although Qi Wenmo was comparatively objective, his expression at this moment was far from pleasant. After all, this affair had tormented him for a full month, and only yesterday had he finally scraped together the three hundred thousand spirit jade owed in compensation to the Hong Merchant Guild and delivered it to Wei Zhao—only then could the matter be considered put to rest.
Qi Wenmo had never imagined that just as he had finally dealt with the trouble outside, this Ling Yi would come back alone. That was convenient enough, in fact—for who knows what lurks behind a man's face? Today was the perfect chance to have him confront Li Yanji and Guan Zhiyuan face to face. This incident had cast too wide a shadow; the whole cause and course of it must be made clear, or he would not let the matter drop!
"Li Yanji, Guan Zhiyuan, Ling Yi—all three of you are parties to this. In front of everyone here, tell me the whole thing, one by one, clearly. This affair must be settled today!" Qi Wenmo addressed the crowd in a low, heavy voice.
"Yes, Young Master, I'll speak first!" Li Yanji hurried to seize the opening. Anyone with a little experience knew that in such matters the one who speaks first holds the advantage, for people form first impressions; so long as his logic held up without any great flaw, he would naturally stand on undefeated ground.
Moreover, he and Guan Zhiyuan were both veteran resident escorts of the Qingtian Escort Agency, their seniority far beyond anything a newly joined, name-only escort like Wei Zhao could compare to. However shrewd and fair Qi Wenmo might be, he could hardly avoid favoring those close to him over strangers, and would surely be more inclined to believe the two of them. That was simply human nature.
That things had suddenly come to this pass was something neither of them could ever have foreseen. Now they had been driven to a point where there was nowhere left to turn, and could only try, before everyone's eyes, to slander Wei Zhao to death and leave him unable to argue.
When the two had first fled back, they had insisted that Wei Zhao and his companion were the true culprits behind the disaster. Taking advantage of Wei Zhao's and Huang Xiaotao's absence, they had poured all the filth onto them. If they had not done so—if it were known that Li Yanji and Guan Zhiyuan had surrendered without a fight—then they could never be escorts again, and at least within the Qingtian Escort Agency, they would never have a foothold.
And now the two were riding a tiger and could not get off. If the truth came out, and everyone learned that they had not only surrendered without fighting but had also slung mud and framed their comrades, then the matter would become grave indeed—not merely a matter of losing their rice bowls, but, by the rules of the jianghu, such treachery and betrayal warranted three knives and six holes!
So no matter what, Li Yanji and Guan Zhiyuan had to nail the charges onto Wei Zhao today, and make them airtight, leaving him not a word to say.
At this, Qi Wenmo gave an indifferent nod. Since all three would confront one another, so long as the truth could be brought to light, it made no difference to him who spoke first.