Chapter 126: Hoisting a Stone Only to Drop It on One's Own Foot!

I do not know whether it was intentional or accidental, but at that very moment, the stage lights suddenly converged on Xiao Yu.

She was dressed entirely in white. At that moment, the only way to describe her was as an incomparable celestial beauty: phoenix-shaped eyes, a jade-like nose, cherry-red lips, willow-shaped brows, an alluring figure, and graceful curves. Not the slightest flaw could be found anywhere on her body; she was perfection itself. Even a simple white dress looked like an elegant ceremonial gown on her.

Her arrival was like that of a fairy descending from heaven into the mortal world.

Lin Suxin stared at Xiao Yu, and an involuntary sense of shame arose in her heart. In Xiao Yu’s presence, she felt like nothing more than an ugly duckling.

“How is this possible?”

Liu Kaifeng’s eyes widened as he stared at the scene before him in disbelief. Xiao Yu had actually come out. She had returned just like that, openly and without the slightest hesitation?

Wasn’t she supposed to be in prison? Once the court handed down its verdict, shouldn’t she at least have received a life sentence?

“Impossible! This is impossible!” Liu Kaifeng roared frantically. “How could you have gotten out? Why are you out?”

Xiao Yu did not even spare Liu Kaifeng a glance. She merely moved with graceful steps and walked onto the stage. Liu Kaifeng tried to struggle further, but two police officers forcibly dragged him away. He was removed before he even had time to finish shouting.

“Everyone, I’m sorry for arriving late. I hope I haven’t disrupted the selection for The Strongest Food God!”

Xiao Yu’s voice was extremely gentle, yet when it reached everyone’s ears, it seemed to possess a strange and captivating charm. It soothed everyone’s hearts. Everyone, including Chen Feng, experienced the same peculiar sensation, as though everything was meant to unfold exactly this way.

Tap. Tap.

Xiao Yu walked up to Chen Feng. A faint smile rested on her face.

“Little brother, I’ve kept you waiting.”

“Sis, it’s good enough that you’re back!” Chen Feng smiled at her sincerely.

Xiao Yu returned to her seat and sat down. Then, in that same gentle voice, she continued, “My name is Xiao Yu. I am the chairwoman of Qingxue Group. I believe everyone has already heard that, over the past few days, the bursting-juice beef meatballs produced by Qingxue Group were found to have quality problems. The main reason was that our group used inferior beef. However, I can assure everyone here that using inferior beef was absolutely not my decision.”

“Chairwoman Xiao, just because you say it wasn’t you, does that make it so?” Lin Suxin, seated among the judges, let out a cold laugh before speaking slowly. “I’m rather curious. How dare you show your face here? Is there truly no law in this world?”

Xiao Yu’s gaze fell upon Lin Suxin. She answered indifferently, “I was released because the police found solid evidence proving my innocence. As for what that evidence is, you’ll know very soon.”

As she spoke, Xiao Yu smiled faintly. “Before coming here, I had already communicated with Donghai Television. I will present the evidence here, in front of everyone.”

At this point, the host had also received instructions from the television station. He immediately raised his microphone and said, “Everyone, our production crew is ready. Please look at the screen.”

At once, a scene appeared on the electronic display, showing two people in conversation.

One was Liu Kaifeng. The other was the plump Boss Fang.

“Boss Fang, you are the largest supplier of beef to Xiao Yu. I’m sure you understand why I asked you to come here.”

“Young Master Liu, this won’t be easy. If anything goes wrong, people could really die. I’m only a small beef distributor, while Xiao Yu is one of my biggest clients. She brings me a considerable profit every year. You’re asking me to supply inferior, even poisonous beef. If this is discovered, how am I supposed to continue doing business? And if anyone dies, I’m afraid I won’t be able to escape responsibility.”

“Boss Fang, don’t worry. I won’t treat you unfairly.”

“This is a check for thirty million. It will make up for part of your losses. In addition, I’ve already found a scapegoat. If anything happens, he’ll take all the blame. He’ll say that Xiao Yu instructed him to buy tainted beef from unscrupulous merchants in order to earn greater profits.”

“Young Master Liu, since you’ve put it that way, if I still refuse, I’d be disrespecting you. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything.”

“Boss Fang, there’s no need to rush. We may have opportunities to cooperate again in the future. Those bursting-juice beef meatballs will belong to the Liu family sooner or later. Our cooperation is only just beginning.”

“Young Master Liu, I wish us a pleasant partnership.”

“A pleasant partnership.”

Boom!

The video instantly ignited the emotions of everyone present. No one had imagined that someone had been manipulating events from behind the scenes—and that the culprit was Liu Kaifeng, who had just been taken away by the police.

The reversal had come far too quickly.

But the video was not over.

The scene soon changed to another location. The main character was still Liu Kaifeng, but standing opposite him was a middle-aged man in a suit. His expression was terrible, and he was sweating profusely in front of Liu Kaifeng.

“Wang Zhi!” Liu Kaifeng looked down at him condescendingly. “You’re quite bold, aren’t you? You directly misappropriated Qingxue Group’s funds to cover the money you lost at the casinos in Macau. Tell me, if Xiao Yu finds out what you’ve done, what do you think will happen to you?”

Thud!

The middle-aged man named Wang Zhi fell to his knees before Liu Kaifeng and pleaded desperately, “Young Master Liu, please! I beg you, give me a way to live!”

In the video, a sly smile appeared on Liu Kaifeng’s face. He slowly said, “There’s something I need you to handle. We have a shipment of spoiled beef, and some of it is even poisonous. What I want you to do is simple: put it into production. If anything happens later and the police come looking for you, tell them that Xiao Yu and Chen Feng ordered you to do it. Do you understand?”

“Me?” Wang Zhi stared blankly at him.

Liu Kaifeng smiled. “Of course. You can rest assured. Don’t let the accounts expose Boss Fang. I’ll also help you cover the financial shortfall. On top of that, I can give you another ten million. With that money, you should be able to live comfortably for the rest of your life. How many years could the court possibly sentence you to?”

Wang Zhi swallowed nervously. Liu Kaifeng took out a check and held it out to him, saying calmly, “This is a check for ten million. You can verify that it’s genuine.”

“But…” Wang Zhi opened his mouth, torn with hesitation.

Liu Kaifeng said coldly, “I can tell you this with certainty: you cannot avoid prison. Whether for misappropriating company funds or for doing what I’ve asked, you will be punished. You may choose for yourself.”

Wang Zhi’s entire body trembled as he stared at Liu Kaifeng. At last, he slowly reached out with his right hand and took the check.

“I’ll do whatever Young Master Liu instructs.”

“That’s more like it.” Liu Kaifeng smiled. “I’ll notify you when it’s time to act. Remember, you must implicate Xiao Yu. As long as she is ruined beyond all hope, I’ll give you enough benefits to let you live out the rest of your life in comfort.”

The video still had not ended. Several more clips followed, showing conversations between Wang Zhi, Boss Fang, and Liu Kaifeng. They discussed how to deal with Xiao Yu, how to frame her, and how to make the incident grow more and more serious.

“People dying? If a few people die, then a few people die. The more who die, the better. The more serious it becomes, the less chance Xiao Yu will have of making a comeback!”

Liu Kaifeng’s utterly unconscionable words filled everyone with fury.

This was nothing less than treating human lives as worthless.

Everyone present felt as though their eyes had been opened. For the sake of a business battle, these people had acted without restraint. Using inferior beef would already have been bad enough, but they had even poisoned it at the same time. They were clearly determined to drive Xiao Yu to her death.

The video finally ended.

Xiao Yu calmly looked at everyone, then smiled and said, “That is all the evidence. I believe the law will give me a fair verdict. Now, can we proceed with selecting the Food God for The Strongest Food God?”

Lin Suxin was speechless. She no longer dared say a word. If, only a moment ago, she had still hoped that Liu Kaifeng had merely been taken away temporarily, then now she was certain: Liu Kaifeng was finished.

It was undeniable that privileged classes still existed in the country. But with the matter having grown so serious, Liu Shihui truly lacked the power to suppress it.

In fact, Liu Shihui himself had made the whole affair explode. In order to deal with Qingxue Group, he had thrown out an enormous amount of money in just three days, contacted all the major media outlets, and constantly agitated the public’s most sensitive nerves. The incident had already become known throughout the nation and had even drawn the attention of the central authorities.

That sharp blade could have dealt Xiao Yu a fatal blow with a single strike. But once turned around and used against the Liu family, it was more than enough to send the entire Liu family into hell.

They had picked up a stone only to drop it on their own feet.

That was the most accurate description of Liu Kaifeng.

(Once again, I’m asking everyone to vote with their monthly tickets. Young Master Feng truly made a mistake this time! To make up for it, I’ll be sending red envelopes in the subscription group. Everyone is welcome to join the Qidian Imperial Guards: 295112385. Red envelopes will be sent promptly at eight tonight. You’re all welcome! Finally, I’m asking for monthly tickets once more. Fourth Bro is always trying to tear us apart, so protecting ourselves is crucial! If there are any major donations today, there will be four updates!)

(To be continued)