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

Early in the morning, the Zhuang family's carriage was heading towards the Censorate.

Inside the carriage sat Zhuang Zheng, who had been riding high and enjoying great success lately.

A moment later, the coachman brought the carriage to a steady stop: "Master, we have arrived."

"Hmm." Zhuang Zheng gave a soft "hmm," lifted the carriage curtain, and stepped down from the carriage.

"Sir, would you like me to come and pick you up tonight?" the coachman asked.

Zhuang Zheng said calmly, "No need, I'll go home by myself tonight."

Upon hearing this, the coachman urged the carriage away from the gate of the Censorate.

Zhuang Zheng lifted his robe and looked up as he walked up the steps.

The steps to the Censorate were both high and numerous; one had to wait until reaching the entrance.

Jin Wei led a team of Plum Blossom Guards who had been waiting for a long time and took the initiative to block Zhuang Zheng's way.

Zhuang Zheng glanced at Jin Wei and asked with a smile, "Is there something you need?"

Jin Wei said calmly, "Deputy Chief Zhuang, I am here on orders to request that you go to the Fifth Division to cooperate with the investigation. Please proceed."

Zhuang Zheng frowned immediately: "Whose orders are you on?"

Jin Wei smiled slightly: "Naturally, it's an order from my superior."

As soon as he finished speaking, a squad of Plum Blossom Guards at the Devouring Fiend Realm behind Jin Wei stepped forward and surrounded Zhuang Zheng, seemingly blocking all of Zhuang Zheng's escape routes. When Zhuang Zheng saw the situation, his heart sank.

Before Zhuang Zheng could say or ask any more questions, Jin Wei led his men to invite him to the Fifth Division's independent prison as a guest, but his hands and feet were bound with old shackles, sealing off all his magic and supernatural powers.

In addition, four Plum Blossom Guards of the Food Demon Realm were arranged to guard Zhuang Zheng day and night in shifts, supervising each other and not saying a word to Zhuang Zheng. Finally, a personal physician was invited from the Imperial Medical Academy to ensure that Zhuang Zheng was physically and mentally healthy in prison, so as to prevent Zhuang Zheng from being injured or killed accidentally.

Zhuang Zheng stared at the ancient shackles binding his hands and feet and shouted at the two Plum Blossom Guards watching over him, "Hey, didn't you say you were cooperating with the investigation? Go ahead and ask, why are you putting these ancient shackles on me? I'm not a criminal."

The two Plum Blossom Guards stared at him calmly and silently.

Seeing that he received no response, Zhuang Zheng flew into a rage: "Bastard, is there no law or order left?"

Two guards stood outside the prison like statues, scrutinizing him.

Not long after, Jin Wei arrived alone. He beckoned to the two Plum Blossom Guards who were guarding him, signaling them to bring Zhuang Zheng over. Upon seeing this, the two Plum Blossom Guards immediately opened the cell and escorted Zhuang Zheng out of the cell.

They walked all the way to the torture chamber. Zhou Qingfeng sat down at the tea table and drank tea. Not far away, a prisoner was tied to a rack and was being tortured by whipping. The prisoner was covered in blood and had been whipped so badly that he could no longer scream.

When Zhou Qingfeng saw Zhuang Zheng arrive, he smiled faintly and said, "Sit down. It's rare for me to invite you for tea."

Zhuang Zheng glanced around, then sat down with feigned toughness and said, "I am not used to the tea from the Fifth Bureau. Please enlighten me, Commander. I do not know what crime I have committed that would lead you to arrest me as a criminal."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng chuckled and poured Zhuang Zheng a cup of tea, placing it in front of him: "Deputy Director Zhuang, don't be in a hurry. Let's talk over tea. There are some things that need to be confirmed with you in person. Once things are cleared up, we'll let you out. Relax, don't be so nervous."

Zhuang Zheng stared coldly at Zhou Qingfeng, reluctantly taking a sip of tea: "Speak."

Zhou Qingfeng smiled slightly, shifted to a more relaxed and casual sitting posture, and beckoned with his hand.

Upon seeing this, Jin Wei immediately placed the prepared case file on the tea table, then bowed his head and stepped back to the side.

Zhou Qingfeng reached out and opened the case file, smiling as he said, "Someone anonymously reported that you are suspected of threatening to solicit bribes, abusing your power for personal gain, and fabricating a wrongful conviction. The report also detailed how you used your position to seek personal profit."

"Firstly, they accepted bribes in exchange for not exposing the misconduct of officials and wealthy merchants or pleading on their behalf before the city lord."

"Secondly, he abused his power, using his authority to monitor other officials to threaten or intimidate them in order to obtain money or other benefits."

"Thirdly, they participate in factional struggles to eliminate rivals for their own party and seek promotion and other benefits."

"Fourth, extortion, threatening to expose officials' mistakes and forcing them to pay bribes in exchange for silence."

"Fifth, abuse of power for personal gain, using their position to learn about certain policy changes in advance, and then investing in related industries or regions to profit from them."

"Sixth, manipulate public opinion to make certain policies or events develop in a direction that is favorable to you."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Zheng was filled with dread. He knew that Zhou Silang was here to take his life, listing six major crimes right off the bat. If any one of these crimes was proven true, his fate would be dire.

However, he wasn't too panicked because he was very cautious. Even if they investigated, they wouldn't find any solid evidence, making it difficult to substantiate the so-called six major crimes. Besides, at his position, he had people protecting him. As long as no one was caught red-handed, someone could get him out unscathed.

Zhuang Zheng appeared calm, but subconsciously shifted to a defensive posture: "Commander Zhou, these so-called six major crimes are utter nonsense, a baseless accusation against me, and absolutely cannot be believed."

"I work in one place, responsible for supervising all civil and military officials. It's inevitable that I'll offend some treacherous people. It's normal for them to want to take revenge on me. I'm afraid the Fifth Division receives hundreds of anonymous reports like this every year. Commander, without solid evidence, you shouldn't waste my time."

Zhou Qingfeng smiled slightly: "Look at you, so anxious. If someone reports us, we have to investigate. It's our duty as the Fifth Division. To clear your name, I sent people to investigate the truth of the matter. They found out that your brother-in-law, Guo Xun, opened an Old Friends Tavern at the entrance of Yangjiao Lane."

Zhuang Zheng's expression changed slightly: "What's wrong? My brother-in-law runs a tavern to make a living, what's the problem with that?"

Zhou Qingfeng spread out the case file, pulled out Guo Xun's confession, and placed it in front of Zhuang Zheng: "If you are honestly selling wine to make money, of course there is no problem. Jianta will protect every law-abiding and tax-paying citizen."

“But I had someone investigate carefully, and your brother-in-law’s business is not just a simple beverage business.”

"According to your brother-in-law Guo Xun's confession, you accepted bribes through the Laoyou Tavern he owned. Customers would buy specific drinks at the Laoyou Tavern to bribe you. Each bribe ranged from hundreds of thousands to millions of yuan. These illegal bribes ended up in your hands after passing through a few hands."

In order to kill Zhuang Zheng in one fell swoop, Zhou Qingfeng obtained key information from Bi Muge and immediately planned to send Zhiqi and his men to collect evidence at the Old Friend Tavern and keep an eye on the tavern's customers.

They assigned people to keep a close watch on the owner and staff of the Old Friend Tavern around the clock to prevent any oversights.

They arranged for Jin Wei to disguise himself as an official and bribe Guo Xun. They caught him red-handed on the spot, secretly brought him back, tortured him severely, and interrogated him intensively. They managed to get Guo Xun to talk in a short time.

Zhuang Zheng looked at the confession in front of him and his face turned pale with fright, but he still stubbornly said, "It's fake, it's fake, I absolutely did not do it, don't try to frame me!"

Zhou Qingfeng smiled and pointed to the prisoner being tortured not far away: "I did not frame you. This is what your brother-in-law said himself, and he also provided your accounts of transactions with him. The evidence is irrefutable."

Zhuang Zheng suddenly turned his head and looked at the disheveled prisoner who had been beaten bloody. He hurriedly got up, put on his old shackles, and ran to the prisoner. He bent down and looked up at the prisoner's downcast face.

The prisoner was beaten beyond recognition, barely clinging to life. One of his eyes had been whipped out, the eyeball dangling grotesquely from its socket. He weakly murmured, "Brother-in-law, I'm sorry, I really can't take it anymore, I'm so sorry, so sorry..."

Zhuang Zheng looked terrified. His legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground. He knew it was all over. Zhou Silang's attack was too steady, too ruthless, too fast, and too accurate. He didn't give him any chance to survive. He killed him with a single blow.

Seeing this, Zhou Qingfeng said calmly, "Guards, take the criminal Guo Xun back to his cell and have a doctor treat his injuries properly. Make sure he lives to see the City Lord's verdict."

Jin Wei nodded slightly and pointed to the two Plum Blossom Guards to carry out the order. The two guards dragged the prisoner Guo Xun off the rack and out of the torture chamber, leaving only bloodstains along the way.

Zhou Qingfeng gave a wink to the guard standing behind him, without saying anything, but the guard understood immediately. He took out the prepared confession and quickly stepped forward to place it in front of Zhuang Zheng.

Zhiqi took out a brush and red clay: "Deputy Chief Zhuang, now that the evidence is conclusive and the person has been caught red-handed, if you have no defense, please sign and put your fingerprint on it. This will save you trouble and us trouble, and we won't waste each other's time."

Zhuang Zheng's face was filled with rage. He swept away the brush and red clay with one hand, tore the confession to shreds, and roared in fear, "I don't confess! I'm innocent! Why should I confess to something I didn't do? Zhou Silang, don't think you can cover up everything! You framed me! I'm innocent! I want to see the city lord! I want to see Lord Luo! I want to see Manager Zhai!"

Two Plum Blossom Guards immediately restrained Zhuang Zheng, preventing him from getting any closer to Zhou Qingfeng.

Zhou Qingfeng took a sip of tea, calmly watching Zhuang Zheng's out-of-control state, and said indifferently, "You won't see anyone. Don't expect anyone to come and bail you out. I dared to arrest you because I have enough evidence. You can't get out of here. Now you might as well think about what else you need to confess. Maybe you can atone for your crimes."

Zhuang Zheng's eyes were bloodshot and bulging with rage as he glared at Zhou Qingfeng and said, "Zhou Silang, don't even think about me implicating anyone. I won't let you have your way. Don't think I don't know what you're thinking."

Although Zhuang Zheng was terrified and panicked, he had not completely lost his mind. He knew that if he didn't say anything and refused to confess to the death, Zhai Xingyuan would definitely try to get him out of trouble. This was his only hope of escaping.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng's expression turned cold. He glanced at him as if he were looking at a corpse, took a sip of tea, put down the cup, casually flicked the dust off his clothes, stood up, and stood with his hands behind his back: "Zhiqi, send someone to take good care of Deputy Director Zhuang. Don't let him get sick or injured. Find a few more people to keep him company and chat with him so he won't be bored."

He understood immediately and clasped his hands in a fist salute, replying, "As you command."

Sword Tower has a rule: officials are not subject to torture. Therefore, the practice of severely torturing commoners cannot be used, otherwise all the evidence obtained will be invalid. However, there are ways to conduct a trial without torture, and we can always get Zhuang Zheng to talk.

The reason we're keeping Zhuang Zheng locked up now isn't to force him to confess. Whether he confesses or not is irrelevant, because the evidence is overwhelming and leaves no room for excuses. The key is how to expand our gains and pry more evidence of the Luo family gang's crimes out of Zhuang Zheng.

The best course of action is to seize this lead and eliminate all the members of the Luo family gang along Zhuang Zheng's line.

Zhou Qingfeng stepped out of the prison.

Jin Wei followed half a step behind him.

After walking out of the Fifth Division's prison, Jin Wei finally spoke: "Commander, the news of our arrest of Zhuang Zheng will probably spread far and wide by tomorrow. At that time, some high-ranking officials will likely come to bail him out, so you need to prepare a response as soon as possible."

Zhou Qingfeng said calmly, "Then let's add fuel to the fire."

Jin Wei was slightly taken aback, not quite understanding Zhou Qingfeng's intentions. Capturing Zhuang Zheng, Luo Bingyi's old subordinate, would definitely prompt the Luo family gang to take measures. Whether they asked for favors or used connections, trouble would keep coming their way.

The Luo family gang is not an individual, but a group, an interest group. Many big shots who are involved with this group will probably come forward one after another. Even Zhou Qingfeng will not be able to withstand the pressure from all sides.

Even if Zhou Qingfeng grits his teeth and withstands the pressure, he will still offend many big shots by not giving them face.

We should act quickly and make a swift judgment, instead of giving the Luo family gang time to operate. Why add fuel to the fire?

Jin Wei was unsure how to add fuel to the fire.

Zhou Qingfeng glanced at Jin Wei, his eyes deep, and said indifferently, "I want everyone to know that Zhuang Zheng was arrested because the evidence was conclusive and irrefutable. All the details of the case have been made public; there is no need to hide anything."

Jin Wei frowned, head down in thought, trying to figure out Zhou Qingfeng's true intentions. He vaguely grasped some of the clues, but couldn't fully understand them. It was as if a layer of fog shrouded him, preventing him from seeing the truth.

It's okay if you don't understand; just do it and think about it as you go. For now, just follow the commands.

So he clasped his hands in a salute and respectfully replied, "Yes, sir, I will do it right away."

Zhou Qingfeng nodded slightly, put his hands behind his back, and strode into the main office hall. He returned to the tea room, quietly brewed a pot of tea, and took out "The Record of Gods, Ghosts and Demons" to read it with a calm mind.

The news of Zhuang Zheng's arrest for his crimes spread throughout the entire Sword Tower in less than a day.

Upon hearing this news, Zhai Xingyuan immediately stood up from his chair in shock: "What? Zhuang Zheng has been arrested by our Fifth Division? Who led the arrest? Who dares to arrest Zhuang Zheng? Don't they know Zhuang Zheng is one of our own?"

Yan Wenjiu told Zhai Xingyuan the whole story, saying, "Zhou Silang suddenly sent people to arrest Zhuang Zheng at the gate of the Censorate and bring him back to the Fifth Division for trial. It is reported that he was caught red-handed for embezzlement and bribery. Zhuang Zheng is currently being held in the Fifth Division prison, guarded around the clock by Zhiqi and his men. Our people can't get close at all."

Zhai Xingyuan looked nervous, his mind racing. Almost instantly, he realized that this was Zhou Silang's bloody revenge. Zhuang Zheng had harmed someone Zhou Silang was protecting, and he would inevitably be purged afterward.

However, Zhai Xingyuan couldn't understand how Zhou Silang had managed to arrest Zhuang Zheng so quietly and decisively. He felt that something was amiss with what had happened.

However, the situation was urgent, and Zhuang Zheng had to be rescued as soon as possible. Otherwise, Zhuang Zheng might say something fatal, which would be a disaster. He didn't have time to think it over and immediately went to rescue him himself.

"Come with me." Zhai Xingyuan straightened his official robes, continued to play with the two dragon balls in his hands, trying to appear calm and composed. He then gestured for Yan Wenjiu to follow him to the Fifth Prison.