“That year, the ones who received the remains of little lass Jian’s mother were Sun Dongqing and Ye Zhifan that couple, the jade pendant was sent back here as a memento, I didn’t know the details that year, until one day Ye Zhifan was transferred into the town, and blurted out something silly after getting drunk, the overall meaning was that everything he had today was all thanks to the protection of this jade, those words were coincidentally heard by the village leader I asked to help take care of Ye Jian all those years ago.”
When talking about the past, Old Uncle Gen seemed to have lost the liveliness he had when he talked with Ye Jian, only bleakness that resembled the shedding leaves of autumn remained, “… When I hurried back from the military, only then did I know the jade pendant was in Ye Zhifan’s hands. After leaving behind a mental note, all I could see was how he managed to climb to the rank of Deputy Mayor from the Town’s Government Treasurer.”
“He occupied that Deputy Mayor’s position for three years, and afterwards, the speed of him climbing the ranks went faster and faster, from Deputy Mayor, to Mayor, then into the city, all the way till now where he is now in the Provincial Government, it only took him four years time!”
“The higher Ye Zhifan climbed, the true owner behind the jade pendant also climbed higher and higher, that’s why he had the authority to raise him from a Deputy Mayor to an executive in the Provincial Government in the short time of four years!”
All these years Old Uncle Gen was paying attention, the quicker Ye Zhifan climbed the ranks, the more he realized he absolutely could not allow Ye Jian to face Ye Zhifan head-on.
Principal Chen grabbed a peanut kernel and chewed in his mouth, his mind was quickly processing, “That also means this piece of jade isn’t a good thing for Ye Jian, and also Ye Jian’s mother?”
“You can think about it that way.” Old Uncle Gen’s gaze slowly retraced, the severe expression on his face bore the wisdom of an elderly person’s thorough understanding of life, “In Ye Zhifan’s case, that’s also not a good thing for him. He suddenly received such a large amount of authority, why don’t you tell me what the grounds for it was?”
“There aren’t good without a reason, or bad without a reason, everything happens for a reason. The moment Ye Zhifan picked up the jade pendant, he got into the Town from the village, the smoothness of his career would make people marvel, the more I am certain there’s someone puppetting Ye Zhifan directly. If an official becomes someone’s puppet, then this official should be careful to not become someone else’s scapegoat.”
Principal Chen’s heart was shook, he immediately pressed his voice down, “What Uncle means is that year Fallen Hero Sun Xueqing was acting under orders to investigate the jade pendant, but unfortunately died because she was exposed? Then why didn’t the owner of the pendant immediately take back the pendant, instead they allowed Ye Zhifan to hold onto it, and can still promote him this arrogantly?”
“Aren’t their actions a little too high profile? Aren’t they afraid of being known by the leaders? Besides, from the looks of the situation, I can only see the benefits the jade pendant brings, it gave Ye Zhifan a smooth sailing career, he’s even in the Provincial Government now.”
“Also, Uncle, don’t you think it’s weird that Sun Yaozu turned from a fugitive into an innocent person? Who is helping his investigation? Who then revisited his case again? I don’t think Sun Yaozu appealed personally, why would a fugitive press himself against the gun?”
“You’re trying to say that someone is secretly helping him?” About that, Old Uncle Gen really didn’t think about that; the main reason was that Old Mrs. Ye scolded Ye Zhifan that night and said she had raised a white-eyed wolf.
Furthermore, with how cautious Ye Zhifan was, he wouldn’t risk himself to clean the fugitive slate!
Principal Chen pondered for a brief moment, then continued: “Sun Yaozu became an innocent person, returned home with large swagger, started building a large home, setting up large feasts, becoming a large boss of the Town that was known far and wide. His actions are extremely high-profile, that really does seem like he had found a solid backing.”
They arrived at the same conclusion with this analysis; the two elders met each other’s gaze, then both of them revealed an understanding smile.
Then Principal Chen could be seen laughing while exclaiming: “Then that is truly a disastrous thing, and here Ye Zhifan still believed he had received some treasure, when he starts falling down after climbing to a higher spot, only then would he know how bad things would get for him.”
