Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

Troublesome matters? Of course there were troublesome matters, and they were major troublesome matters that Zhao Kuo could not solve.

Otherwise, given Zhao Kuo's current power, why would he bother to fawn over Zhou Qingfeng by presenting him with a Resonance Cicada worth over three million as a gift? He simply needed something from him.

Seeing that the conversation was getting to the point, Zhao Kuo took the opportunity to bring up his troubles: "Commander Zhou, I've been having a lot of trouble lately because of a case. Have you heard of the major serial murder case involving courtesans?"

“I’ve heard a little about it, Mr. Zhao, please continue.” Zhou Qingfeng maintained a faint smile, his expression unchanging. He picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and patiently listened to what Mr. Zhao wanted him to do specifically.

Zhao Kuo drank a cup of wine with a troubled expression, then poured himself another. He had no appetite for the dishes on the table and kept shaking his head and sighing: "Initially, a geisha was killed. Her fingers were missing and her brain was dug out. Her body was left on the banks of the Two and a Half River. This is a typical case of water ghost killing people, because water ghosts love to eat human fingers and brains."

“It was originally a very simple murder case. All I had to do was catch the water ghost and kill him. So I handed the case over to Yiming to handle. I also wanted to give him some experience and accumulate some merit so that he could be promoted in the future.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng calmly picked up some food with his chopsticks and said lightly, "The Zhao family is so concerned about their nephew. They are truly good uncles. It must be that you, their nephew, have made a mistake in handling things."

Zhao Kuo smiled wryly and said, "The commander-in-chief is wise."

Zhou Qingfeng remained calm, thinking that since Zhao Sifu had mentioned this case and his nephew Shen Yiming today, Shen Yiming must have done something he shouldn't have, which made it impossible for his uncle, the head of the Night Patrol Division, to resolve the matter.

Seeing that Zhou Qingfeng didn't respond, Zhao Kuo had no choice but to continue: "After Yiming took over the case, he immediately began to investigate and hunt down the water ghost. For several days in a row, the water ghost was killing people and taking their brains indiscriminately in the city. This case caused widespread panic and the negative impact was getting bigger and bigger. Panic was beginning to boil over."

"Under pressure, I had no choice but to urge Yiming to speed up the investigation. So Yiming led his men to patrol the riverbanks day and night, setting up many sentries, both overt and covert, in order to stake out and capture the water ghost."

"In the end, everything went smoothly. According to the capture plan, the water ghost was indeed successfully captured, but this water ghost was actually a person in disguise. It was not the water ghost at all."

"With the case successfully solved, I could finally sleep soundly at night. But the day after the case was announced to the public, another murder occurred. Another geisha was killed, her fingers chopped off, and her brain gouged out."

Zhao Kuo paused here: "The real culprit has been caught, but the person is still dead. That means the culprit we caught is not the real culprit. So I made the decision to interrogate the prisoner myself."

"Only then did we learn that the culprit was actually a low-level monk who was just taking advantage of the situation. He imitated the real culprit to kill, remove the brains, and chop off the fingers, but in reality, he was just trying to rob the geisha of her personal belongings. He was just unlucky enough to be caught red-handed."

"Yiming led his men to arrest the criminals, and they were caught red-handed. They were thrown into prison without any interrogation, and the case was closed. But then a murder occurred. Even if Yiming had a mouth, he couldn't explain it. I could only dismiss him from his post and put him in prison to await further punishment. I was even invited for tea by an official from the First Inspection Division of the Censorate."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng glanced at Zhao Kuo and noticed that his expression was not good.

That makes sense. The tea in the First Division isn't exactly delicious. The Fifth Division specializes in handling major cases, but the First Division oversees all officials and reports directly to the city lord. If you're targeted by an official from the First Division, you'll be lucky to escape with your life.

In this matter, Zhao Kuo and his nephew were either tricked by their subordinates, or it was purely due to his nephew's carelessness, eagerness for quick success and merit that he made a big mistake, dragging his uncle down with him.

It's not a big deal to arrest the wrong person during a case investigation. The problem is that if the wrong person is arrested, convicted, and the case is made public, then the matter becomes much bigger. Everyone involved, from the person in charge to the leader, will be held accountable. At best, they will be dismissed from their posts; at worst, they will be imprisoned.

To put it bluntly, Zhao Kuo and his nephew have been involved in multiple crimes, including false accusations, abuse of power, cover-up, perjury, and dereliction of duty. An official from the supervisory department is determined to pursue the matter, and his nephew, Shen Yiming, is definitely going to jail. Zhao Kuo is also in big trouble, and it's questionable whether he can get through this ordeal.

Don't even mention that Zhao Kuo came from the personal guard and was personally appointed by his wife to be the head of the Night Patrol Division. Even if it were Zhou Qingfeng, he would still follow the rules and would not be able to escape accountability and punishment.

Zhou Qingfeng put down his chopsticks, picked up a towel from the table to wipe his mouth, and said calmly, "Prefect Zhao, since the First Division invited you for tea, you should know that things are not so simple. There is someone behind this who wants to take advantage of the situation to bring you down. Otherwise, the officials of the First Division would not be so bored as to provoke you."

Zhou Qingfeng had only a superficial understanding of the Inspectorate, but he knew that it was the First Lady's tool of the pen. If she wanted to get rid of someone, she could just give her a look and a bunch of officials in the Inspectorate would immediately write a report to impeach them, and the First Lady could then remove the officials who were in her way with a legitimate reason.

Such a useful knife, which of the powerful and influential people in Sword Tower City hasn't tried to stuff people into it? Zhou Qingfeng also wanted to stuff people in, but he just didn't have the time or the opportunity.

Therefore, inviting someone to tea in one place usually has only two meanings.

One approach is to follow the rules and ask someone to inquire about the situation. Under normal circumstances, this will not offend other officials rashly. As long as one can give a plausible explanation, they will not insist on pursuing the matter to the end.

One possibility is that someone was behind it all, taking advantage of Zhao Kuo and his nephew's mistakes to remove Zhao Kuo from his position as the head of the Night Patrol Bureau and install their own people in his place.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Kuo stood up, bowed, and clasped his hands, saying, "Commander-in-Chief is wise and insightful, with keen eyes. He saw through the surface and grasped the crux of the matter at a glance. Please, Commander-in-Chief, find a way to save me."

Zhou Qingfeng held the wine glass in his hand, twirling and playing with it. His eyes watched the wine ripple slightly in the glass, his expression calm. He didn't rush to say anything grand or impressive: "Sit down, don't be in a hurry."

Seeing this, Zhao Kuo had no choice but to sit down patiently. He had no other option but to ask Zhou Qingfeng for help.

This was a decision made after careful consideration and weighing the pros and cons. He could see that Zhou Qingfeng was a new generation of power that the First Lady had single-handedly supported, and that he was fundamentally different from the Ma, Mao, Tang, Song, and Zhu families.

Zhou Qingfeng has the First Lady's backing and sides with her, not with any other forces.

As a member of the First Lady's faction, it would be suicidal for him to get too close to any of the families he was appointed to. Even if the assistant commanders like Ma, Mao, Tang, Song, and Zhu could help him get through this hurdle, the next hurdle would be the First Lady.

Even if Zhou Qingfeng helped him, or even got closer to him and had a better relationship, Zhao Kuo would not be in any trouble, because the First Lady tacitly approved of, or even condoned, Zhou Qingfeng's expansion of power.

Zhao Kuo sat down again, his eyes eagerly awaiting Zhou Qingfeng to speak.

Zhou Qingfeng pondered for a moment, then smiled slightly: "What's the name of the official who invited you for tea?"

Zhao Kuo's expression brightened, and he clasped his hands in a salute: "Zhuangzheng, Zhuangzheng of the First Supervisory Office."

Zhou Qingfeng said, "Okay, I understand."

Seeing this, Zhao Kuo understood that the exchange of benefits had been achieved in secret, so he wisely stood up, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Commander-in-Chief, this humble official takes his leave."