The three of them looked over together.
Lu Guanghong and Zhang Shen'er stood at the door.
Currently, all matters in the Lu family were decided by Lu Chengwen.
The old couple had thought their eldest son would do everything in his power to save the younger one. However, after two days had passed, Lu Chengwen hadn't lifted a finger for his brother, acting as if nothing had happened.
Lu's mother had come to demand an explanation.
Lu Guanghong knew his son's temper and was worried his wife might be upset, so he hurried after her.
As a result, they ran into Officer Zhang Shen'er at the door and came in together.
Standing at the entrance, they heard Lu Chengwen reasoning with his mother.
After listening for a while, Lu Guanghong lowered his head in silence, while Zhang Shen'er felt a stirring in her heart.
This was Lu Chengwen?!
Reasonable, law-abiding, and deeply principled now?
Frankly speaking, given his wealth, he could easily pull some strings for his younger brother.
The world was never fair—money could indeed make almost anything possible.
Lightening the consequences for Lu Chengwu could incentivize Lu Chengwen to contribute more substantially to the city's development.
For any governing official, this wasn't a hard decision to make.
The severity of Lu Chengwu's offense was flexible.
Manufacturing counterfeit medicine? That was serious. A sentence of eight to ten years wouldn't be out of the question.
But if framed as a minor issue, it could be just that.
There was no malicious intent—just cutting corners to reduce costs, which was fundamentally different from producing counterfeit medicine with harmful intent. His legal team could even argue it was an internal technical error, leaving no room for rebuttal. Moreover, the drugs had been recalled and destroyed internally, with all procedures handled swiftly and flawlessly.
Not a single counterfeit pill had entered the market, and no harm had been done to society.
There were three tiers to this:
1. Deliberately committing evil to harm others.
2. Deliberately cutting corners to save costs.
3. Unintentional mistakes, promptly corrected, with no harm done to society.
The first deserved the harshest punishment, possibly even execution.
The second could warrant a prison sentence, whether long or short.
The third was purely a technical issue.
Zhang Shen'er had also come to discuss this case.
Given the gravity of the situation, Mayor Zhao was in a difficult position.
He urgently needed the Lu family to contribute to the welfare of the hundreds of thousands of residents in the Snow City slums. Countless families' housing, employment, children's education, and future stability depended on this project—on Lu Chengwen.
On a larger scale, the city's development trajectory, urban construction scale, and even its economic future for years to come hinged on this project.
Mayor Zhao couldn't afford to push the Lu family too hard, lest they become disheartened.
But the law was the law—no one could bend it to shield wrongdoing.
Thus, a balance had to be struck between legality, human sentiment, interests, and the bigger picture.
This was the challenge of governance.
Zhang Shen'er's involvement was the result of a collective decision.
The consensus was that Lu Chengwen was a notorious womanizer, so sending a beautiful woman to negotiate would offer certain advantages.
Of course, the risk was that Lu Chengwen might make inappropriate demands.
Mayor Zhao didn't think it would come to that, so he took the gamble.
Zhang Shen'er laid out the options with a cold expression:
"To summarize, there are three paths forward.
"First, prosecute for intentional production of counterfeit drugs for profit. Given the scale of the operation and the potential consequences, the sentence would likely range from five to seven years. And that's only because all counterfeit drugs were destroyed and corrective measures were taken.
"Second, treat it as cost-cutting that led to substandard drugs. Since no serious harm was done, permanently revoke his pharmaceutical business license, with a prison term of one to three years.
"Third, classify it as an internal technical error in production parameters, resulting in substandard drugs. Given that the Ninth Pharmaceutical Factory acted swiftly to rectify the issue and no major incident occurred, revoke his pharmaceutical business license, impose heavy fines on both him and the factory, and detain him for three months."
Zhang Shen'er stared coldly at Lu Chengwen.
"Lu Chengwen, which option do you prefer?"
Lu Guanghong remained silent, but Lu's mother grew agitated:
"Officer Zhang, our Chengwu isn't a bad kid. He just wanted to save some money—no, wait, he just made a mistake. I think revoking his license is enough. There's no need for detention—we can pay a higher fine."
Zhang Shen'er smiled faintly.
"Auntie Lu, this is already the greatest leniency we can offer the Lu family. If not for the Great Sage Group's outstanding contributions to urban development, Mayor Zhao wouldn't even bother with this! I, Zhang Shen'er, have always despised those who try to pull strings at the police station. I didn't come here today to listen to you haggle with me."
Zhang Shen'er showed no mercy.
She had never wanted to handle this kind of matter in the first place!
What was this? Opening backdoors for the rich? Disgusting!
These scumbags should all be lined up and shot!
Lu's mother grew frantic:
"Guanghong! Say something! You have such a good relationship with Mayor Zhao—you haven't even called him! Speak up! Chengwu is counting on you!"
Didn't Lu Guanghong ache for his son?
As a father, he was torn between the pain of seeing his son face prison and the anger at his son's recklessness—breaking the law and nearly causing irreparable harm.
Lu Guanghong shot a stern glance at Lu Chengwen, gritted his teeth, and said,
"Right now, Chengwen is the one calling the shots in the Lu family. Officer Zhang, I won't interfere. You can discuss this with Chengwen."
A trace of disdain flashed across Zhang Shen'er's lips.
Hmph! The rich—so concerned with their reputations, huh?
Mayor Zhao and the police chief didn't want to dirty their hands, so they sent me to do this disgusting job.
Lu Guanghong won't step forward either, leaving his son to negotiate with me.
How laughable!
This was the true face of these wealthy, black-hearted capitalists!
Lu Chengwen bit his fingernail, pacing back and forth.
Zhang Shen'er pressed, "Hurry up. Once this is settled, we still have today's incident to discuss. Let me remind you—Mayor Zhao's preference is to treat this as a technical error. If it's classified as a mistake, it's not a crime but a major oversight. No court trial would be necessary—just standard penalties."
She pulled a letter of intent from her bag and slapped it on the table.
"Sign here if you agree."
Lu Chengwen glanced at it, his grip tightening.
Zhang Shen'er grew impatient.
"Hey, hey—such a big boss, yet so indecisive. Just sign it already."
Lu Chengwen snapped, "What fucking technical error?! He did it on purpose!"
Lu's mother shrieked, "Chengwen! How could you say that?!"
Lu Chengwen said coldly, "Old Lu, take your wife home. I have work to do."
Lu Guanghong was taken aback.
In all his years, Lu Chengwen had never spoken to him like this.
Even Cold Qingqiu and Zhang Shen'er couldn't help but smirk at the scene.
Especially Cold Qingqiu.
Just moments ago, Lu Chengwen had been flustered and shy when she confessed her feelings.
But now, faced with such a critical matter, he had instantly become decisive and authoritative.
Lu Guanghong paused, then pulled his wife along.
"Let's go. Leave it to Chengwen."
"No! No way! Old Lu, this brat's grown too big for his boots—he doesn't even care about family ties anymore! You can't just stand by!"
Lu Guanghong's eyes flashed with anger.
"Don't you get it? Not even the heavens can save your precious younger son now! Every time he got into trouble as a kid, you'd coddle him—every single time! And now look what's happened—he nearly tore a hole in the sky!"
Tears welled in Lu Guanghong's eyes.
"You think I want this? If we bail him out this time, next time he might do something worthy of execution! A doting mother ruins the son!"
Lu Chengwen said impatiently, "If you're going to argue, do it at home. I have business to attend to."
He patted his father on the back.
At that touch, Lu Guanghong's tears nearly spilled over.
He looked at his eldest son and nodded, filled with both pride and overwhelming emotion.
His son had grown up. He understood things now.
He could shoulder the weight of the world.
His stern words were meant to cut through the chaos, to prevent further interference—he would handle this himself.
That gentle pat on the back was reassurance—a silent promise that he wouldn't abandon his brother, nor his parents.
He would do his best. He would bear what needed to be borne.
Lu's mother knew her husband's temper, but she hadn't expected Lu Chengwen to be just as unyielding.
Once these two made up their minds, nothing could change it.
She could cry herself to death, and it wouldn't make a difference.
She could only leave in tears, casting one last pleading look at Lu Chengwen.
But Lu Chengwen didn't dare meet his mother's gaze, keeping his eyes fixed on the letter of intent, his expression unreadable.
Once the older couple had left, Lu Chengwen spoke:
"Officer Zhang, I'll personally thank Mayor Zhao later. As for my brother's case, you may sentence him as you see fit. He deliberately cut corners to save costs. But given that we took corrective measures, I hope for leniency. Thank you."
Lu Chengwen bowed deeply.
Zhang Shen'er's lips twitched.
"Mr. Lu's integrity and impartiality, his willingness to uphold justice even against family, is truly moving. Rest assured—the law will neither wrong the innocent nor spare the guilty."
"Thank you."
Lu Chengwen looked exhausted.
[These past few days have been nonstop—I haven't had a moment to catch my breath. One crisis after another.]
[My family needs me. My friends need protection. And this city is full of bastards causing trouble…]
[Good heavens! I'm just a minor villain! Other villains live it up—why am I so damned miserable?]
[I really want to wash my hands of it all. But at the very least, I have to give the 300,000 displaced people from the slums a place to call home.]
[I'll fight! I've never had the chance to do something for so many people in my life. This time, even if it costs me everything, I'll build those homes for them!]
Zhang Shen'er was genuinely shocked.
Was this… Lu Chengwen?
Talking to yourself… Surely you wouldn't lie, right?
Lying to yourself — you'd have to be seriously messed up for that.
But from the time he was a kid until now… he was a complete scumbag!
What the hell is going on?
Why has he suddenly started playing the hero?
Leng Qingqiu watched Lu Chengwen's retreating figure, a soft, happy smile curling her lips.
My man is a true hero, dreaming of building homes for hundreds of thousands of people. What an incredible ambition!
For you, I'd walk through fire without a second thought.
Suddenly, Lu Chengwen turned around — and locked eyes with Zhang Shener.
Zhang Shener startled for no reason, hastily turning his head away to compose his expression.
Lu Chengwen narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint flashing through them:
[This little cop's got a real spark. I bet tossing him onto a bed and letting loose would be out of this world.]
[He's mad. Heh. The angrier he gets, the cuter he looks!]
[Tying him up and giving that tight little ass a spanking… now that would be something.]
Zhang Shener's face turned an alarming shade of green.
Leng Qingqiu's mouth twitched uncontrollably. So… Brother Chengwen's actually a massive pervert?