PDLP Chapter 162 The truth comes out (1)
Chapter 162 The truth comes out (1)
Zhang Guohua sat on the sofa, lit a cigarette, and started puffing away at it. Before he finished the cigarette, the advertisement ended and the scene switched to the press conference.
Countless flashes of light kept flashing. Accompanied by the continuous "click, click" sounds, it was as if a rapid and intense symphony was playing. The atmosphere on the scene was extremely hot, with a crowd of people surging, and the media reporters surrounded the place in three layers inside and outside.
Lu Jinghai lowered his head, looking haggard, and his already pale face was now even more bloodless. He sat quietly on the chair as if he had lost his soul, and next to him sat his anxious wife Dai Qin.
"Mr. Lu, why did you decide to hold this press conference so suddenly?" a reporter asked loudly, impatiently.
Another reporter followed up by asking: "Have you obtained more solid evidence to prove that Mu Kaiyuan accepted bribes?"
At this moment, Lu Jinghai, who had been silent all the time, suddenly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes stared at the camera tightly, his lips trembled slightly, and he said anxiously: "No! It's not like that! Mu Kaiyuan has never accepted bribes from beginning to end! It was me, I was blinded by greed for a while, and I secretly slipped him a bank card, but when he found out, he resolutely refused to accept it and quickly returned it to me. He is an honest and upright official. It's all my fault. I framed him..."
Lu Jinghai's words were like a thunderclap, exploding in the crowd. For a moment, the originally noisy scene fell into a dead silence. However, this short silence only lasted for a moment, and then it was broken by a thunderous noise.
"What? Do you mean to say that your previous accusations against Mu Kaiyuan were completely false? You wronged him?" Another reporter questioned with a look of astonishment on his face.
"You have repeatedly overturned your confession! So, which one is true? Which one is false? Are we just going to be played around with by you like puppets?" The angry voice resounded throughout the venue, and people's eyes were fixed on the man on the stage.
"Aren't you blatantly fooling and deceiving the broad masses of kind-hearted people by doing this? They trust in judicial justice and believe that the truth will always come to light, but you trample on this trust so wantonly!" The accusations came one after another, surging like a tide.
"Now, every word you say is full of doubt. Is there any credibility in your words? Or is it an elaborate scam from beginning to end?" The voices of doubt were endless, and the atmosphere became increasingly tense and solemn.
"Did Mu Kaiyuan's family bribe you with money, causing you to go back on your word and act capriciously? Otherwise, how do you explain your inconsistent behavior?" someone asked sharply.
At this time, Lu Jinghai's face was pale, and beads of sweat oozed from his forehead. When he made up his mind to hold this press conference, he knew that he had embarked on a road of no return. He took a deep breath and said solemnly: "Mu Kaiyuan's family did not bribe me. Before, the reason why I overturned my confession and framed Mu Kaiyuan was entirely because I accepted huge benefits from Zhang Guohua. In fact, the person who really accepted the bribe was Zhang Guohua. As for the fact that the project finally fell into my hands, it was Zhang Guohua who revealed the bid price to me."
As soon as the words fell, the whole place fell silent, as if time had stopped at that moment. However, just a moment later, a commotion like a storm broke out in the crowd. Everyone was talking and talking, finding it hard to accept this sudden turn of events.
"As far as I know, Zhang Guohua has always been an honest and upright person. Why do you want to attack him?"
"Do you just want to take all the state officials down with your own strength?"
"Zhang Guohua and Mu Kaiyuan have been colleagues and friends for many years. Why would he frame his friend?"
"You are obviously trying to sow discord."
"How could I possibly sow discord? Every word I said was completely true!" Lu Jinghai's face flushed and he loudly retorted in excitement. His voice echoed in the room, as if it was going to break through the roof.
"The army will soon hold a campaign for the secretary-general. Mu Kaiyuan and Zhang Guohua have always been the hot candidates for this position. However, in order to smoothly take over, Zhang Guohua did not hesitate to use all means to eliminate dissidents. He secretly wrote a letter of denunciation, pushing all the mistakes and crimes that he had committed onto Mu Kaiyuan." At this point, Lu Jinghai paused for a moment, took a deep breath and continued:
"When this happened, to be honest, I was really panicked because bribery is against the law, not to mention that Mu Kaiyuan didn't accept the money from me. So after a fierce ideological struggle, I finally decided to tell the truth."
However, what Lu Jinghai never expected was that on the morning of the same day, Zhang Guohua's housekeeper suddenly came to his door. The housekeeper looked mysterious and said to Lu Jinghai in a low voice: "As long as you are willing to cooperate with us and work together to find a way to bring down Mu Kaiyuan, then after you are released from prison, we can assure you that all engineering projects in the army will be fully handed over to your company. Not only that, we can also ensure that your living conditions in prison are almost the same as those outside. In addition, we can promise you again and again that this whole matter will only be properly handled within the army, and will never be known to the outside world, and will not have any adverse effects on you and your company."
I thought that since my bribery had been reported, I would not be able to escape legal sanctions no matter who accepted the bribe. And since framing Mu Kaiyuan could bring me wealth and glory for the rest of my life, this would be a win-win for me, so I changed my confession and framed Mu Kaiyuan.
But Zhang Guohua, this villain, went back on his word. Fearing that things might change, he actually exposed Mu Kaiyuan's case. He just wanted to use the pressure of public opinion to get the case settled as soon as possible.
After this incident was exposed, my life and company were greatly affected. After two days of reflection, I also deeply realized how big a mistake I made. I blame myself for being blinded by greed. Everything I have endured is my own fault.
But Mu Kaiyuan is innocent, and so are his family. He refused my bribe, and he is a good official who truly wants to serve the people. He should not be punished like this, and it is I who let him down. I solemnly apologize to him here, and I also beg the general public to forgive me and give me a chance to reform myself..."
Lu Jinghai's sincere words instantly drew indignant curses from the media reporters.
"If apologies work, what do we need the police for?"