Chapter 46

"What's going on here?" The participants, seeing Chen Kai and his group being caught, all cast curious glances, and some were even a bit afraid.

"Police are handling the case, everyone, there's no need to panic!" Pi Pengchi said to the crowd.

"Comrade Police, we are all law-abiding citizens. We bought tickets to enter. Could there be some misunderstanding?" Chen Xinli shouted.

"Right, right, it must be a misunderstanding!" Su Wen Yue's husband, Weng Xingguo, also shouted loudly.

"Be quiet!" Pi Pengchi gave each of them a slap and then said, "We'll clear up the misunderstanding right away!"

Soon, Chen Kai, Chen Xinli, Su Wen Yue, Weng Xingguo, and the young star who came with Chen Kai were all taken to the security room of the exhibition. Pi Pengchi instructed one of his subordinates to watch over the five people and then went to find Li Yi.

"Mr. Li, the people you mentioned have all been caught. Would you like to come over and discuss the case with us?"

"Sure!" Li Yi nodded and then said to Lin Ruxue, "Let's go!"

Actually, there was nothing much to guard at the exhibition booth, as there were police around. If it were other collectors, they might still check if any tourists were inquiring about prices, but all of Li Yi's exhibits were to be auctioned after the exhibition, so leaving Li Ting to watch over them was enough.

When Li Yi and Lin Ruxue followed Hu Pengchi into the security room, they saw Chen Kai and the others lined up, hands on their heads, facing the wall and squatting. Several police officers stood behind them, constantly shouting, as if they were interrogating criminals.

"Lin Ruxue!"

Hearing a sound at the door, Su Wen Yue couldn't help but turn her head and was immediately shocked!

She never thought that she would be seen in such a wretched state by Lin Ruxue!

This is so embarrassing!

"Be quiet, I told you not to move!"

A police officer saw Su Wen Yue turn her head and immediately kicked her, then nodded apologetically to Li Yi and Hu Pengchi, as if it was his responsibility that he couldn't control her.

Su Wen Yue felt like crying but could only face the wall and squat again. She then heard a light laugh from behind.

The person who laughed was Lin Ruxue, who really didn't expect to see such a ridiculous scene.

Pi Pengchi, as if he hadn't heard Lin Ruxue's laughter, solemnly said to Li Yi and Lin Ruxue, "Mr. Li, Ms. Lin, they extorted and blackmailed you. What exactly happened?"

"It's like this. This man called my wife, saying we were acting and that I had never even seen antiques." Li Yi pointed at Chen Kai and then at Su Wen Yue, saying, "She even directly called me a fraud and defamed my character! I don't know what they were up to, but calling at this time of the exhibition must have had some ulterior motive!"

Lin Ruxue, somewhat nervously, tightened her grip on Li Yi's hand. Although Li Yi wasn't lying and everything he said was true, it seemed a bit overblown to call the police and have them arrested over such a small matter. She was afraid the police would be angry and cause trouble for them.

"Oh, so Ms. Lin is your wife?" Pi Pengchi, seeing their intimate demeanor, looked enlightened and then frowned, saying, "Mr. Li, according to what you said, they only called you a fraud and said you had never seen antiques, which doesn't constitute extortion. Did they make any financial demands to you or your wife?"

Li Yi said, "Not yet, because she didn't have time to mention it before I hung up the phone and then notified you!"

"He's lying!" Su Wen Yue was almost furious.

She just wanted to mock Lin Ruxue a bit, which had nothing to do with extortion!

"Comrade Police, it's not like that!" Chen Kai also shouted.

He had already realized that he had been tricked by Li Yi!

"Quiet, we haven't asked you yet!" The young police officer guarding Chen Kai hit his head with a rubber baton, not hard, but it scared Chen Kai so much that he almost缩回了脖子。

"Is that so? Then I'll interrogate the suspects. Please wait a moment, Mr. Li." Pi Pengchi said to Li Yi in a friendly manner.

"Thank you for your hard work!" Li Yi nodded.

"It's our duty to serve the people!" Pi Pengchi chuckled.

The case was simple. Under the strict interrogation by Pi Pengchi and others, Su Wen Yue and Chen Kai confessed everything they could.

"Comrade Police, we are not bad people. They are falsely accusing us!" Chen Xinli shouted, full of委屈.

Lin Ruxue's heart suddenly sank because, according to Chen Xinli's account, they were the guilty ones.

"Shut up!" Pi Pengchi glared at Chen Xinli and then said to Li Yi with a gentle smile, "Mr. Li, if what they say is true, then this is indeed not extortion."

"Hehe!" Chen Kai, Chen Xinli, and the others immediately relaxed, and two of them even laughed.

Lin Ruxue's face turned pale instantly.

"No laughing!" Pi Pengchi turned and scolded the two who were laughing, then said, "They have committed the crime of defamation!"

"What?" Su Wen Yue's eyes widened in shock, never expecting such a twist!

The crime of defamation? Can cursing someone be considered defamation?

"How could we possibly defame them?" Chen Kai jumped up and was immediately pushed back down by a police officer, who gave him another warning.

Chen Xinli, Weng Xingguo, and the others looked indignant, but seeing Chen Kai's miserable state, they could only swallow their anger and not say another word.

Pi Pengchi looked at Chen Kai and the others with disdain and slowly said, "Mr. Li and Mrs. Li are invited collectors. To ensure the success of this exhibition, he specially brought Wang Xizhi's genuine works, Ru porcelain, and other valuable exhibits. They are the most important guests of this exhibition. And you said they were frauds who had never seen antiques. If this isn't defamation, what is it?"

"Ah? You mean they are..."

Chen Kai, Chen Xinli, Su Wen Yue, Weng Xingguo, and the young star named Bingbing were all stunned!

Li Yi was actually the collector at the central booth, surrounded by all the spectators?

He was the one who brought the Imperial Seal and the genuine 'Lanting Xu'?

My God, how powerful is this person? It seems he wasn't exaggerating when he talked about billions at the class reunion!

This is too terrifying!

"Mr. Li and Mrs. Li are very busy at the central booth. You caused trouble at this time. Just charging you with defamation is already lenient!" a police officer said angrily.

Pi Pengchi said, "This exhibition has been heavily promoted, and at least half of the audience came to see Mr. Li's exhibits. During the peak of the exhibition, these people said Mr. Li was a fraud and that he had never seen antiques. This clearly disrupts the exhibition and damages Mr. Li's reputation and character. I believe this is a particularly serious case of defamation, which can be subject to criminal penalties."

"What?" Su Wen Yue's hair stood on end.

She never thought that casually insulting Lin Ruxue and Li Yi could result in a criminal sentence!

Chen Kai, Chen Xinli, and the others were drenched in sweat. How unjust to go to jail over this!

"Mr. Li, Mrs. Li, if you have no objections, we will immediately file a public prosecution. The court will handle this case fairly. If you think they are lying and this is extortion, we will take them back to the police station for further interrogation, as they might be lying." Pi Pengchi said.

"We are not lying!" Chen Kai and the others shouted in unison and were then warned again by the police behind them.

Lin Ruxue, though upset by the insults from Chen Kai and Su Wen Yue, never thought they would be sentenced over such a small matter. She hurriedly said, "Isn't this too severe?"

Pi Pengchi smiled and said, "In our country, defamation is a crime that is only prosecuted upon complaint. The court will only accept the case if the victim files a complaint. If Mrs. Li feels they can be forgiven, we will not pursue it. It's up to you."

With the police saying this, how could Chen Kai and the others not understand? Su Wen Yue immediately cried, "Lin Ruxue, I was wrong today. For the sake of our classmate relationship, please forgive me!"