Chapter 1184: Humanity is so sophisticated!

April 7, 3:45 a.m.

Zhao Lei, the deputy envoy of Qilu Censorship of the Great Zhou Dynasty, came to the door of the Licheng Office of the Coordination Office located on Qianyuan Street in Licheng. Looking at the small government office in front of him with a serious expression, Zhao Lei pondered for a moment and then walked in with his men beside him...

"This is the headquarters of the Coordination Office! Please stop!"

Although the sentry on duty at the office did not recognize Zhao Lei, a local official of the second rank, he stopped Zhao Lei politely because he was wearing an official uniform.

Zhao Lei, who was stopped, did not speak. The Censorate's subordinate beside him angrily shouted:
"How dare you! This is Zhao Anchashi of the Censorate. How dare you stop him?"

The sentry was also stubborn when he heard this and immediately started to speak:
"I'm sorry, Lord Zhao, but the order from my superiors is that no one is allowed to enter the government office without permission!"

Zhao Lei's men wanted to say something after hearing this, but Zhao Lei stopped them and immediately ordered:

"Go in and report!"

"Thank you, Master Zhao, for your measurement!"

After saying this, the sentry from the Coordination Office exchanged glances with his companion, and then his companion entered the government office. About a cup of tea later, a tall and burly middle-aged man with a scar on his left face came out with several Coordination Office agents. Seeing Zhao Lei and his group being blocked outside the door, this man quickly clasped his fists and said:
"I didn't know that Lord Zhao would come to visit me. I am sorry for not coming in person to greet you. It is really impolite..."

After saying this, he kicked the sentry on the buttocks and cursed:
"You are such a fool that you don't know a great man. Look carefully, this is Zhao, the Censor of the Qilu Censorate. Next time Mr. Zhao comes, you must welcome him in immediately. Do you understand?"

"I understand! Sorry, Lord Zhao!" The sentry said quickly:
Zhao Lei was somewhat pleased with the scarred man's move, so he waved his hand and said:
"Captain Zhang is innocent of his ignorance! He was also doing his duty faithfully!"

"Thank you, Lord Zhao, for your magnanimity! A great man should not bear grudges against a small man!"

The scarred strong man Zhang Yong, also known as Zhang Baihu, smiled and spoke again:
"Master Zhao, you are so generous!"

"Master Zhao, please come in!"

Zhao Lei nodded slightly when he heard this, and then led his men into the coordination office. Zhang Yong deliberately fell behind until Zhao Lei and the others had walked in, and then he asked the somewhat aggrieved sentry:
"What's your boy's name?"

The sentry said without hesitation:
"My name is Niu Dahu!"

Zhang Yong glanced at the sentry and ordered:

"Go to the bank account and withdraw one or two taels of silver as a reward from me!"

After saying that, Zhang Yong walked into the government office. After another cup of tea, after a few simple greetings in the government office, Zhao Lei asked Zhang Yong impatiently:

"How is the investigation of Zhang Yong, that old man Chen, going?"

Hearing Zhao Lei's question, Zhang Yong's eyes flashed with a strange look and he said perfunctorily:

“Sir Zhao, the trial is in progress…”

Zhao Lei also sensed the evasiveness in Zhang Yong's words, and immediately said directly:

"Zhang Yong, don't play tricks on me. Just tell me what your coordination department has managed to get out of him!"

Facing the domineering Zhao Lei, Zhang Yong also restrained his smile and spoke in a very serious manner:
"Mr. Zhao, you should be familiar with the rules of our Coordination Office. You know that according to the rules, I cannot reveal anything to you or your company without the permission of my superiors!"

Zhao Lei seemed to have anticipated Zhang Yong's answer and immediately said:

“I know your Coordination Office has such a rule, but I also have an old saying here: the rules are dead and the people are alive!”

"We living people can't let ourselves be suffocated to death by urine!"

"Although we have given this man surnamed Chen to you, this man committed a crime in Qi and Lu after all, so we should intervene!"

Zhang Yong couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard this:
"I'm sorry, Lord Zhao, I can't tell you anything without the permission of my superiors!"

"How about this? Director Wang from our coordination office will be back in Licheng soon. If you have anything to ask, can you please go to Director Wang?"

"As long as Director Wang nods, I will tell you everything I know, Mr. Zhao, whatever you want to know!"

Zhao Lei was also very angry when he saw Zhang Yong using Wang Xuecheng as a shield. Ever since Wang Xuecheng ordered the arrest of Chen Fugui, a wealthy businessman from Licheng who was delighted to hear about Ye Mingsheng's speech in Licheng a few days ago, some officials from the Licheng Provincial Government and the Provincial Procuratorate have been a little panicked...
This Chen Fugui is a well-known wealthy businessman in Licheng. He owns a high-end restaurant in Licheng called Hongxingju. Many important people in Licheng and even in the whole Qi and Lu have eaten at Hongxingju. Therefore, many of them are familiar with Chen Fugui, including some governors, prosecutors, and some masters of the Licheng government office!

Therefore, Chen Fugui has been arrested by the Coordination Office now, and he is thought to be suspected of committing a serious crime such as murdering the Marshal. Therefore, some people also want to learn the latest situation of Chen Fugui's case from the Coordination Office to see whether Chen Fugui is really suspected of murdering the uncle, so that they can make plans for the next step!

However, to their disappointment, at such a critical time when Ye Mingsheng was about to arrive in Licheng, the Coordination Office was in a state of panic and no one dared to be careless. Therefore, even if the Censorate and the Governorate wanted to find out, they could not find any clues.

This made some people even more panicked. Under the instigation and promotion of these people, Zhao Lei, the deputy envoy of the Censorate, took advantage of the fact that Wang Xuecheng was not in Licheng and came to the office of the Coordination Office in Licheng, hoping to get some useful information from Zhang Yong!

Originally, Zhao Lei thought that he could use his status as the deputy provincial governor to put pressure on Zhang Yong, a small centurion, and he might not be able to withstand the pressure and say whatever he wanted. However, Zhang Yong's attitude was more resolute than he thought!
This made Zhao Lei feel a little tricky. After all, although his official position was much higher than Zhang Yong, the Coordination Office was a special department and Zhang Yong was not under his jurisdiction. Secondly, if this matter was not handled properly, he would get into trouble...
Thinking of this, Zhao Lei changed his attitude and said to Zhang Yong:

"Brother Zhang, although we are not in the same department, we are all loyal to Marshal Ye and we all make a living in Qilu. We should be of the same blood and share what we have!"

"When you said that your Coordination Office had something that needed our help in the past, can you honestly say that we, the Attorney General, would you cooperate?"

Zhang Yong fell silent after hearing this. Seeing this, Zhao Lei also felt that there was hope, and immediately continued to speak:
"Now that the Marshal is about to inspect Licheng, we should cooperate with each other sincerely and work together to ensure the Marshal's safety!"

"We, the Censorate, have always been open and transparent with your Coordination Office. We have never hidden anything. Brother Zhang, what matters in life is to put yourself in others' shoes!"

Hearing what Zhao Lei said, Zhang Yong looked even more conflicted. Zhao Lei then spoke more earnestly:

"Brother Zhang, Master Ma and Master Zhang are keeping an eye on this matter. Please tell me a little so that I can go back and report back!"

"How about just consider it as I owe you a favor, old brother?"

Although Zhang Yong was not afraid of Zhao Lei's hard tactics, he was somewhat overwhelmed by Zhao Lei's soft tactics. He hesitated for a moment and said helplessly:

“Sir Zhao, it’s not that I don’t want to tell you, but this old man is really stubborn. Our people tortured him for two days but couldn’t get him to speak…”

Zhao Lei's expression changed when he heard this. He hesitated for a moment and asked tentatively:
"Brother Zhang, do you think there is a possibility that Chen Fugui is innocent?" Zhang Yong lowered his voice and said:

"We found the token of the Supervisory Department in his home! And the methods used by our Coordination Office are definitely not something that ordinary people can withstand. Even if he is tortured into confessing, he should admit it now!"

"But this old guy insisted that it had nothing to do with him, and even turned the tables by saying that we framed him and put the token in his house, so this old guy must have received special training!"

Zhao Lei's eyes couldn't help but flicker as he listened to Zhang Yong's words. At this moment, a special agent from the Coordination Office came over and whispered something in Zhang Yong's ear.

Zhang Yong's face immediately turned ugly when he heard this. Seeing this, Zhao Lei couldn't help but ask:

"What happened, Brother Zhang?"

Zhang Yong hesitated for a moment before speaking:

"Director Wang sent a message that the Marshal will arrive in Licheng in three days. Director Wang asked us to eliminate the dangerous elements in the city before the Marshal arrives in Licheng!"

Hearing this, Zhao Lei immediately became a little nervous. After pondering for a while, he asked Zhang Yong:
“Since this Chen Fugui is a spy from the Supervisory Department, then tell me the truth, brother Zhang, are there any remnants of the Supervisory Department in Licheng who are preparing to assassinate the Marshal…”

Zhang Yong hesitated for a moment and said:
"We don't have any evidence in this regard at the moment, so theoretically there should be no evidence. But looking at the current behavior of this Chen, I have a bad feeling that he is dissatisfied with Lord Zhao, so I want to pry open the old man's mouth, but this guy is too stubborn, and he doesn't have any relatives in Licheng, so I still have no clue!"

Hearing Zhang Yong's words, Zhao Lei seemed to be in some kind of tangle. After thinking for a long time, he seemed to have made up his mind and said to Zhang Yong:

"Brother Zhang, I know that Chen Fugui has an illegitimate daughter and a mistress in Licheng. If we arrest these two people, I'm not afraid that Chen Fugui won't talk!"

Zhang Yong was delighted when he heard this and said quickly:
"That's great, where are Lord Zhao and the others?"

Facing Zhang Yong's gaze, Zhao Lei said in a deep voice:

"They are in Licheng, and we can find them anytime, but I have a condition, Brother Zhang!"

"What conditions?" Zhang Yong asked with some doubt:

Zhao Lei preached in a solemn voice:
"I helped your Coordination Office to pry open Chen Fugui's mouth, but afterwards your Coordination Office wants to hand Chen Fugui over to our Censorate for handling?"

"Master Zhao, what do you want this Chen Fugui for?"

"You don't need to worry about this Zhang, brother. Anyway, don't you want to get the news about the remnants of the Supervisory Department from him?"

"After Chen Fugui explains everything clearly, you hand the person over to our Censor. I, the Censor, will ensure that we handle the case thoroughly!"

Zhang Yong was somewhat moved by what he said, but after hesitating for a moment, he asked:

"But what if the higher-ups ask about it?"

"When the time comes, you can say that Chen Fugui is suspected of another case and our Censorate needs to investigate. You handed him over to us. If Director Wang asks about it, then our Censorate will naturally negotiate with Director Wang. The rest of the matter has nothing to do with you, Brother Zhang!"

Seeing that Zhao Lei was so determined to get Chen Fugui, Zhang Yong seemed to realize something, but he still looked a little hesitant!
At this time, Zhao Lei also said at the right time:

"Brother Zhang, you have done us a great favor by handing Chen Fugui over to me. I will definitely reward you handsomely later!"

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Zhao Lei deliberately emphasized the words "repay", and Zhang Yong, who got the answer he wanted, also said:

"I will follow your orders, Lord Zhao..."

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Yijing, Ye Mansion

In the evening, An Miaoyi listened to Qiqige's story and fell into deep thought. After a while, she asked Qiqige:

"Did Feng Yuning tell you all this?"

"Yes!"

"Qiqige, in your opinion, do you think what he said is true or false?"

Although Qiqige had already thought about this question in her mind, facing An Miaoyi's question at this moment, Qiqige couldn't help but fall into deep thought again.

Seeing this, An Miaoyi couldn't help but say:
"Don't worry, just tell me what you think. I will make my own judgment!"

Qiqige heard this and then met An Miaoyi's gaze and whispered:

"I think what he said is very likely true!"

Qiqige's answer seemed to have been expected by An Miaoyi, so much so that An Miaoyi's expression did not change at all.

An Miaoyi pondered for a moment and asked again:
"Did he say anything else besides this?"

Hearing An Miaoyi's question, Qi Qige hesitated, but under An Miaoyi's gaze she could only speak truthfully:
"He sends his regards to you, my lady!"

After saying that, Qiqige took the initiative to suggest to An Miaoyi:

"Madam, Feng Yuning is too smart. We can't keep him any longer..."

Facing Qiqige's suggestion, An Miaoyi did not respond, but just said as she instructed:
"Call Aunt Zhao!"

"lady!"

"I don't want to say it again!"

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)