After changing her clothes and organizing the evidence she had gathered, Lu Xinran went to the local police station.
“Comrade Police Officer, I want to report someone.”
Seeing Lu Xinran’s quiet and delicate appearance, the police officer assumed she must have suffered some terrible injustice.
He quickly comforted her. “Little Comrade, come inside and sit down first. Who bullied you?”
“Comrade Police Officer, I’m Lu Zhenbang’s granddaughter. I returned to China from overseas with my parents a month and a half ago. I want to report my grandfather’s nephew, Lu Xinglong, for murdering my grandparents, transferring their assets, and stealing from the family while in charge of it.”
“Their family of three is planning to flee to Xiangshi. These are letters Lu Xinglong exchanged with people outside.”
The police officer was immediately astonished.
Everyone in Shanghai knew the name of Old Master Lu. He was a famous capitalist, but also a patriotic capitalist who had supported the country with large amounts of supplies, ammunition, medicine, and even weapons during the War of Resistance.
Without his assistance, perhaps the war would not have gone as smoothly.
In the years since victory, whenever natural disasters occurred, he donated supplies and grain.
During the nationwide famine, he had even opened his grain stores and donated huge quantities of food.
Later, when his health deteriorated, he entrusted the family’s businesses to the nephew he had raised himself.
But compared with the old master, his conduct was worlds apart.
He behaved like a true capitalist, obsessed with pleasure and concerned only with his own interests.
Since they all lived in Shanghai, the police had heard bits and pieces about the Lu family as well.
A little over a month ago, news had spread that Old Master Lu and his wife had passed away one after another.
The entire city had been shocked.
And now his granddaughter was claiming that they had been murdered?
The expression on the police officer’s face immediately became serious.
Lu Xinran continued, “After killing my grandparents, they framed my parents as well, causing them to be denounced and sent down to the countryside. My parents originally returned to serve the country, but instead…”
“Now I’m the only one left at home, and they even want to sell me off.”
“My grandparents raised their family and treated them with kindness, but instead of remembering that kindness, they’ve repaid it with betrayal again and again!”
Lu Xinran’s eyes were red, her face filled with unbearable grief, and her voice choked with emotion as she spoke.
Seeing a young girl so frightened and helpless, the police officer felt deeply sympathetic.
After all, she was the granddaughter of the patriotic capitalist, Old Master Lu.
“Comrade Xiao Lu, don’t be sad. We will thoroughly investigate the matters you’ve reported.”
“Thank you, Comrade Police Officer. These are the documents and evidence I managed to collect with great difficulty. They’ve already started moving things out of the house. If you bring people over to take a look, you’ll see for yourselves…”
“Understood. We’ll send people over immediately.”
“If they really murdered people for their wealth and transferred the family assets, we absolutely will not let them off!”
“Thank you, Comrade Police Officer.”
After leaving the police station, Lu Xinran returned home.
She would deal with this family first.
Then she could take care of everything else.
Lu Xinran arrived home after four in the afternoon.
She returned to her room.
Half an hour later, Lu Xinglong and his family came back.
The moment they saw the house completely empty, a series of shrieks rang out.
Then came the sound of hurried footsteps thundering up the stairs.
“Ahhh!—How could this happen? Was the house robbed?” Zhao Cuilü’s voice was shrill.
Soon, furious complaints and curses followed.
A sly smile curled up at the corners of Lu Xinran’s lips.
Before long, someone angrily pounded on her door.
Lu Xinran opened it and saw the three members of the ungrateful family standing outside, all wearing furious, vicious expressions.
“Lu Xinran! Did someone break into the house today? Weren’t you supposed to watch the house?” Lu Xinglong immediately launched into a furious tirade.
Lu Xinran rubbed her head. Her hair was slightly disheveled.
“Uncle, what are you talking about? I slept the entire day…”
She looked completely innocent.
“You were sleeping? Someone broke into the house and made that much noise, and you still managed to sleep?” Lu Xinglong shouted angrily.
“I sleep very deeply. I really didn’t hear anything…”
“Hmph! I think you colluded with someone and let them into the house to steal our things!” Lu Manling said viciously.
All of her belongings were gone too, and she was practically going insane.
“I just came back recently. I don’t know anyone here. If you want to frame me, at least come up with a reasonable excuse…”
Lu Xinran looked aggrieved.
“Even if it wasn’t you, you can’t just stand by and do nothing! At the end of the day, it’s still your fault!”
“Was I supposed to go outside and fight them, only to get killed in my own home?”
Lu Manling was rendered speechless by her retort.
She was seething with anger and looked toward her mother, not knowing what to say.
Just then, violent knocking came from the front door downstairs.
Lu Xinglong still hadn’t recovered from the shock.
When he had seen the completely empty secret room, stripped bare of everything, his vision had gone black again and again. Several times, he had nearly fainted.
His lips had trembled for a long while, yet he had been unable to utter a single word.
“Honey, someone’s knocking at the door,” Zhao Cuilü said after recovering first.
“Go see who it is.”
Lu Xinglong clutched his chest with one hand, nearly collapsing from the shock.
The family hurried downstairs again.
Seeing their furious, panicked, helpless expressions, as though the sky itself had fallen and they had no way to deal with it, Lu Xinran felt immensely satisfied.
This was only the beginning.
The real show was still to come!
After tidying herself up a little, she went outside to watch the commotion as well.
The police officers from the station hadn’t come alone.
They had also brought members of the Red Guards, whose job was specifically to investigate capitalist families like theirs.
“You—you’re looking for whom?” Lu Xinglong stared at the uniformed men wearing red armbands.
His heart sank.
An ominous feeling began spreading through him.
“We received a report that you are suspected of transferring assets and stealing from the family while in charge of it, and that you may be connected to the deaths of Old Master Lu and his wife. You are hereby asked to come with us and assist with the investigation.”
The police officer spoke with an upright and uncompromising air.
Lu Xinglong staggered backward.
Once again, his vision went black.
Zhao Cuilü quickly caught him.
He was the head of the family. At such a critical moment, he absolutely could not collapse.
“Comrade Police Officer, is there some kind of misunderstanding? Everyone knows the reputation of the Lu family in Shanghai. Someone must be jealous of us and trying to frame us!” Zhao Cuilü immediately argued.
“Actually, since you’re here, we were just about to report something too. Our house was robbed, and we’ve suffered huge losses!”
The police officer stepped inside and took a look around.
His conviction in the report they had received only grew stronger.
“We have evidence that you secretly transferred these assets yourselves. Now you’re actually trying to play the victim and report a robbery!”
“Take them away!”
“Otherwise, it shows that your thinking is corrupted and that your capitalist ways are deeply ingrained! You’re obsessed with luxury and pleasure…”
The accusations became increasingly serious.
Lu Xinglong’s face turned ashen.
If this continued, they would be arrested and sent down for denouncement before they even had a chance to recover their stolen belongings.
And there was also the matter of murdering the old master…
How could they possibly know about that?
Could it have been that former servant?
Seeing that they were still standing there without responding, the police officer immediately shouted,
“What are you waiting for? Come with us now!”
“Wait!”