The soldier took out the key, unlocked the cage chains, and roughly grabbed Lin Qingyuan by the collar, pulling him out.

Lin Qingyuan shouted, but he didn't call out Abu's name; he only yelled at Song Dekui:

"Hey! You guys surnamed Song, what do you mean by this? I didn't do anything, he's the one who offended you!"

As he spoke, he pointed at Lin Qinghua.

On the other side, Young Master Lin wanted to talk about Madam Gu, but seeing that Song Dekui ignored him and instead grabbed Lin Qingyuan, he immediately shut up.

It's best for the illegitimate son to go first when it comes to such matters of questioning in court.

Seeing that this illegitimate son was about to implicate him, he immediately lay back down in the grass and pretended to be dead.

Throughout the entire process, Lin Shouzhou, the head of the Lin family, kept his eyes closed and remained silent, as if it had nothing to do with him.

The women were terrified when they saw Lin Qingyuan about to be taken away.

Madam Lin raised her eyes to wipe away her tears, and said bitterly, "My son has always been honest and respectful. I don't know who this纨绔 (spoiled brat) offended outside, which brought this trouble to the family."

Lin Qingyuan was staggered as he was pulled out of the garrison headquarters. Only when he stood on the street did he finally let out a long sigh of relief.

"Come on, let's go to the inn, you stink!" Song Dekui covered his nose and fanned himself exaggeratedly with his hand.

Lin Qingyuan, however, stopped joking and said solemnly, "Where is Miss Song? I have something to say!"

Inside the garrison headquarters.

Zhao Tinglei was no longer a commander of a thousand men. Even after taking off his armor and putting on his official robes, he couldn't change his fierce and valiant nature.

In front of him sat two officials from the Censorate, who were in charge of supervising the life and death of all officials. At this moment, their faces were full of respectful smiles.

Zhao Tinglei looked at the Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, who was only sitting on half of his buttocks in front of him, and said with a smile: "You two don't need to be so polite. It is the duty of a subject to share the burdens of the court."

If we can help the Zhenbei Army find the traitor who betrayed military intelligence this time, I will report this achievement to the Emperor on behalf of both of you.”

Lord Zhou was overjoyed and bowed respectfully, saying, "With Lord Zhao's words, I feel at ease."

He made no attempt to hide his humility.

The Censor of the Censorate was a fifth-rank official in the capital, as was Zhao Tinglei. Moreover, he was promoted from a commander of a thousand troops to a fifth-rank official, which was ostensibly a promotion but actually a demotion.

Lord Zhou knew, however, that this fifth-rank official position was already the highest in Yunzhou, and it would remain so in the future.

Moreover, the person he was respectful to was not a fifth-rank official.

After the Crown Prince assumed regency, officials in Yunzhou were frequently transferred, especially the former Prefect of Hecheng, who returned directly to the capital to plead guilty.

To prevent a recurrence of the situation where local officials strangled the Zhenbei Army, the city adopted military rule instead of government, withdrew the prefect, and only left the garrison commander.

Having already become the supreme commander of a region, Zhao Tinglei showed no pride in his respect for Zhou Zhan, and even became more low-key.

With the Empress Dowager as their aunt, the Emperor as their cousin, and the addition of the Duke of Anguo, who serves as regent, the Zhao family is already the most prosperous and wealthy family in the Wu Dynasty.

It's lonely at the top!

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhao Tinglei took out a tightly sealed brown paper bag and said with a solemn expression, "My lords, these are some documents that I collected from the Prefect of Hecheng."

I'm just a rough man; reading this only makes my head spin. I'd appreciate it if you two could help me analyze it.

Zhou Zhan and his companion quickly took the brown paper bag; they were already used to this type of bag.

When I first arrived in Qili County a month ago, I was quite curious when I saw the paper bags.

These paper bags were especially used in county government offices; they were tightly sealed, sturdy to hold, and more convenient than the wooden boxes commonly used.

"You two must have already received news from Jiang Feng that there have been numerous cases of missing persons in Yunzhou in recent years. I used to only be in charge of military affairs and it was inconvenient for me to interfere in civil matters. Now, seeing these figures, I can only feel that they are absurd."

Zhao Tinglei glared angrily and slammed his fist on the table: "In the past ten years, there have been five hundred people who have reported cases to the government, most of whom are middle-aged men."

"You two should know that most people who are trafficked are women and children; men are rarely involved."

Zhou Zhan and his colleague exchanged a glance: "Sir, please give us your orders!"

Zhao Tinglei nodded gratefully: "I would like the two gentlemen to use the pretext of Lin Qinghua's collusion with officials to take the opportunity to investigate the Qi family's business dealings."

“This…” Zhou Zhan’s expression changed drastically. The unopened file bag in his hand felt like a burning hot plate, and the promise he had just made was stuck in his throat.

It was his assistant who spoke up: "Sir, we were ordered to leave the capital. The Emperor only ordered us to investigate the case of Lin Qinghua's collusion with officials, and said nothing else."

Zhao Tinglei withdrew his hand from the table and said coldly, "If you saw those slaves who escaped back, you wouldn't say such things!"

His fist clenched, making a cracking sound.

Sweat instantly beaded on Zhou Zhan's forehead.

Although the Qi family was only a branch of the Empress Dowager's family, they were still relatives.

The Empress Dowager also had an extraordinary relationship with the Eldest Princess.

Anyway, the relationships in the palace are complicated, so Zhao Tinglei doesn't care who he might offend; he just wants to go back to the capital to make a living.

However, if he could get close to Duke Anguo, he would have a powerful backer in the capital.

Zhou Zhan's eyes darted around: "Sir, could you allow me to consider this for a moment?"

Zhao Tinglei didn't press him, but simply stood up and said, "Anyway, the investigation in Pingyang Prefecture still has some time. If you two have time, you can go to the western camp and you'll definitely find the answer!"

Having said that, without waiting for the two censors' response, he ordered his guards to see the guests out.

As soon as the person left, an old man in plain clothes emerged from behind the curtain.

Zhao Tinglei didn't even turn his head: "Lord Yu, do you think these two censors can be won over by the Qi family?"

The old man in plain clothes stroked his beard and said, "The Qi family will definitely make a move."

My lord, rest assured, the slaves sent back by the Third Young Master are the bait; it will be difficult for the Qi family not to take the bait.

Furthermore, the Lin family member can no longer be imprisoned. Find a courtyard to house him separately; the Qi family will eliminate him. My lord, arrange for men to set a trap—a two-pronged approach.

Zhao Tinglei turned around abruptly, his gaze intense.

The old man cupped his hands in greeting and said frankly, "My lord, this is also a move!"

Zhao Tinglei was a veteran of countless battles, large and small. What were a dozen or so lives to him? He simply focused his mind and said, "Abu just came to ask me for someone. We don't need to bring him back."

The old man nodded: He only needed the heads of the Lin family members, without specifying which one, so it didn't matter if there were one more or one less.

He then added, "My lord, a messenger reports that the Third Young Master's fiancée from Suijin Town has arrived in Hecheng. Should we arrange for her to meet with the lady?"

As a competent staff member, he needs to consider everything.

Now that the Third Young Master is the Lord's capable assistant, we must continue to support and help each other. We must not miss any opportunity to win people's hearts.

Zhao Tinglei waved his hand: "No need, we're not from noble families, just military households of the Wu Dynasty with some courage."

Since neither Lady Uya nor my third brother had any complaints, I, as the elder brother, shouldn't say anything more.

However, the two beauties bestowed by the emperor in the backyard should be trained by the madam to be lively and energetic.

Over the years, my third brother has never wanted anyone to serve him in bed when he comes to the mansion. He must think that those maids are too vulgar and unattractive.

The women selected from various places now are different; they are skilled in singing and dancing and have many talents.

"Once my third brother enters the city, I, as the elder brother, will have a suitable gift to give him."