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

The two quickly arrived at the entrances to the five prisons.

However, Zhiqi, who was ordered to personally oversee the entrance, saw Zhai Xingyuan and Yan Wenjiu arrive and immediately stepped forward to stop them, clasping his hands in greeting and saying, "Manager Zhai, Manager Yan, may we ask what brings you here?"

Zhai Xingyuan said, "I heard you arrested Deputy Chief Zhuang of a certain department?"

Holding the implement, he said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Yes, Supervisor Zhai."

Zhai Xingyuan nodded slightly and directly used his authority to pressure people: "I am now ordering you, as the deputy head of the Fifth Division's Plum Blossom Division, to release Zhuang Zheng immediately. This is not a discussion, but an order."

Upon hearing this, Zhiqi said dismissively, "I'm sorry, but the commander has ordered that Zhuang Zheng is suspected of a major embezzlement and bribery case. The evidence is conclusive and irrefutable. Zhuang Zheng is currently under interrogation, and I cannot release him."

Zhai Xingyuan's expression was cold as he pointed to the clothes holding the weapon: "I am the deputy director of the Fifth Division. You obey the orders of Deputy Commander Zhou, but you can disobey my orders? Just for disobeying orders from your superiors, believe me or not, I can strip you of these clothes right now and get you out of here."

Zhiqi laughed and said, "Even if Supervisor Zhai strips my clothes off, I can't release the person. You don't need to make things difficult for a guilty person like me. I'm just following orders. If you really want to release the person, you might as well talk to Deputy Commander Zhou. As long as the commander says to release the person, I will absolutely obey the order."

Zhai Xingyuan stared coldly at Zhiqi, knowing that it was impossible to force Zhiqi to release the person by using his power, but he still had to try it himself. Maybe Zhiqi was a coward and would release the person if he was scared.

With this path blocked, Zhai Xingyuan decisively left, becoming increasingly certain that Zhou Silang was behind it all. He was extremely anxious because Zhuang was being interrogated in prison, and no one could even get a word in.

Zhuang Zheng will definitely be able to withstand the pressure in the short term and won't say a word more.

But if this drags on, who knows what Zhuang Zheng might say in an attempt to save himself.

Therefore, Zhai Xingyuan had to find a way to get Zhuang Zheng out of trouble as soon as possible, using all his connections and networks. This forced Zhai Xingyuan to find someone to pressure Zhou Qingfeng to release Zhuang Zheng.

Zhai Xingyuan began to visit the bigwigs associated with the Luo family gang one by one, but the replies he received were very disappointing. Almost none of them were willing to step forward and put pressure on Zhou Qingfeng at this moment.

Even Deputy Commander Jiang, who had promoted Zhai Xingyuan all the way, avoided meeting him.

Zhai Xingyuan was well aware of the real reason. It was because Zhuang Zheng had been caught red-handed and the evidence was irrefutable. The matter was now common knowledge. Asking these big shots to step in and put pressure on Zhou Silang to protect Zhuang Zheng was simply pushing him into a fire pit. The big shots were not stupid and would certainly not invite trouble.

If the matter doesn't escalate and remains a small-scale incident, then the bigwigs connected to the Luo family gang might send someone to speak to Zhou Qingfeng, asking him to be lenient and let the matter go.

But now that things have blown up, there's simply no room for maneuver.

Zhou Qingfeng merely added fuel to the fire, effectively silencing the bigwigs and preventing them from pleading with him or pressuring him to release the prisoners, thus avoiding offending many powerful figures.

Zhai Xingyuan was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, not daring to stop for even a moment. He gritted his teeth and went to Luo Bingyi's residence that very night to ask for help: "Teacher Luo, Zhou Silang has gone too far. He actually arrested your old subordinate Zhuang Zheng."

Luo Bingyi, looking old and frail, sat on a warm couch, with two maids massaging his shoulders and legs beside him. He calmly said, "I know. I received the news early this morning. Zhuang Zheng deserved to be arrested."

"He actually resorted to private threats and extortion, fabricated false cases, abused his power for personal gain, and committed so many crimes."

“I didn’t know that before, otherwise I would have been the first to teach him a lesson.”

Zhai Xingyuan looked at his teacher with a mixture of anxiety and helplessness, and took a few steps forward urgently, saying, "Teacher, although Zhuang Zheng is useless, he is still your old subordinate. Are you just going to watch him be killed by Zhou Silang?"

Luo Bingyi's cloudy eyes remained unmoved, and the age spots and wrinkles on his face showed no change: "If Xiao Zhuang were alright, would he let Zhou Silang hold a grudge against him?"

Zhai Xingyuan remained silent, head bowed.

Luo Bingyi was furious at his lack of self-respect and snorted coldly: "He was doing disgusting things in secret, and he even got caught. What a disgrace! Now he's been caught red-handed, with irrefutable evidence. Countless eyes are watching him, thinking I'll clean up his mess. That's wishful thinking, a pipe dream."

Upon hearing this, Zhai Xingyuan gestured for the two maids to leave, then sat down on Luo Bingyi's warm couch and said earnestly, "Teacher Luo, could you please think of a way? Zhuang Zheng is, after all, your old subordinate, who has worked for you for many years. In a sense, he is your student. We can't just stand by and watch him die."

Luo Bingyi took a sip of tea, and upon hearing this, he slammed the teacup down on the small tea table on the heated couch, his voice filled with anger: "Shut up! If you're not going to plead for him, then let him die. I don't have a disciple like that."

Zhai Xingyuan was speechless. He truly felt the crisis. Zhuang Zheng's arrest for his crimes had already affected Zhai Xingyuan's life and fortune. If Zhuang Zheng were to reveal the matter of the illicit liquor in order to protect himself, he would also be brought down, and everyone in the illicit liquor business would be finished as well.

However, he couldn't tell Teacher Luo about these things, because all the shady things he and Zhuang Zheng did in private were kept secret from Teacher Luo, and he couldn't possibly explain the pros and cons to Teacher Luo directly.

Luo Bingyi suddenly clutched his head and groaned in pain: "The cigarettes are in the bookcase, get me some, quick."

Seeing this, Zhai Xingyuan hurriedly looked around, ran to the bookcase and found a box of chewing tobacco. He then opened the box, took out a small piece and fed it to Luo Bingyi. Luo Bingyi's pale face immediately turned red, and his mental state quickly returned to normal under the effect of the chewing tobacco, stopping the trend of his mental deterioration.

"Teacher, please don't get angry. Getting angry is bad for your health. The doctor has advised you not to have any more emotional fluctuations, otherwise your condition may worsen." Zhai Xingyuan knew that his teacher was angry and nothing he said would work, so he had no choice but to shut up and stop mentioning the matter of getting people out of trouble, and instead tried to calm his teacher down.

Luo Bingyi's chest heaved violently as he took a deep breath. His mental state was already very poor, and he urgently needed to recuperate at the Imperial Medical Academy. Otherwise, his condition could worsen at any time, and his mind could be completely corrupted.

However, the deteriorating situation left him no room for rest and allowed doctors to try to stabilize his condition.

The way to maintain this is to smoke chewing tobacco for life.

As the name suggests, chewing tobacco is a type of tobacco that is chewed and prepared by a professional physician.

Chewing tobacco can quickly boost a patient's spirits, soothe emotions, and provide temporary peace of mind and body.

However, if one consumes the drug once, one must continue to consume it for the rest of one's life. If one fasts even once, the body will suffer the pain of being devoured by countless insects, and the mind will fall into even more serious disorder, rapidly sliding into the abyss of depravity.

This item is usually used by those who suffer from mental illness and are on the verge of degeneration. Although the quality of chewing tobacco varies, the price is generally not expensive, and most sick practitioners can afford it.

After calming down for a while, Luo Bingyi regained his composure, pointed at Zhai Xingyuan and said, "Zhai Xingyuan, I am giving you a serious warning: you are not allowed to interfere in Zhuang Zheng's affairs, understand? He is out of the game."

Zhai Xingyuan helped Luo Bingyi sit up, nodding repeatedly, "Understood, teacher."

Luo Bingyi let out a soft breath and earnestly admonished, "Xingyuan, don't blame your teacher for being strict with you. You've been too radical in your actions in recent years. In life and in work, you must know how to assess the situation and know when to advance and when to retreat. You must see things clearly before you take a step, otherwise one wrong step will lead to your own destruction."

Zhai Xingyuan stood aside listening to the lecture like a well-behaved student, showing no airs or prestige in front of others: "Yes, yes, yes, what the teacher said is right, but teacher, I still have some concerns."

Seeing that the student's attitude was serious and that he seemed to have taken it to heart, Luo Bingyi was less anxious and softened his tone, saying, "Tell me, what are your concerns?"

Zhai Xingyuan stood obediently with his hands on his stomach and bowed his head to answer, "Teacher, Zhuang Zheng being captured by Zhou Silang is definitely not the end, but rather just a signal that it has only just begun."

“If we do nothing now and let Zhou Silang kill Zhuang Zheng, it means that we have lost in our open confrontation with Zhou Silang. Have you thought about the series of reactions that this might trigger?”

“Before, everyone was probably watching and even leaning towards helping us. Everyone thought that Zhou Silang was parachuted into the Fifth Bureau without any foundation and could not possibly defeat us. Even when Zhou Silang put a knife to our throats under the pretext of investigating internal spies, it still did not shake people’s hearts. Everyone believed that we would win.”

“But once your old subordinate Zhuang Zheng is killed, and we still have no way to protect Zhuang Zheng, then in everyone’s eyes, we will not be able to defeat Zhou Silang even if we use all our resources.”

"I'm afraid the wind will change then. Some opportunists will immediately side with Zhou Silang, and even our own people will feel insecure and secretly plan their escape route. At that time, what will we have to fight against Zhou Silang?"

At this point, Zhai Xingyuan squatted down in front of Luo Bingyi, placed his hands on Luo Bingyi's knees, and said sincerely like a filial son and grandson: "Teacher, when a person is in power, everyone flatters you, but when a person loses power, everyone will avoid you like the plague. It would be good if they didn't take the opportunity to kick you while you're down."

"The students know that taking a step forward now risks setting themselves on fire, but taking a step back would be like jumping off a cliff. In any case, we must fight against Zhou Silang and win. Otherwise, let alone turning the tide and driving away Zhou Silang, we might not even be able to protect ourselves."

Upon hearing this, Luo Bingyi felt utterly exhausted and slowly closed his eyes wearily: "Xingyuan, Xingyuan, should I say you're clever or foolish? This is a trap set by Zhou Silang, just waiting for us to fall into it."

"How do you think the case was leaked? All the cases in the Fifth Division are top secret. How could it become known to everyone in one day? This is because Zhou Silang was behind the scenes, stirring things up and adding fuel to the fire."

"With everyone watching, all our connections have stalled. No one dares to step forward at this time. He used this move to cut off all our external support, leaving those who could help only to watch from the sidelines and not daring to get involved."

“If you insist on protecting Zhuang Zheng and getting him out of trouble, you are handing Zhou Silang a knife. Zhou Silang is just waiting for us to make a mistake. Once he catches us in the act, we will be plunged into an abyss of no return in an instant.”

"We can't save him. If we save Zhuang Zheng, we'll all be buried with him."

Upon hearing this, Zhai Xingyuan sighed inwardly. His teacher was not so easily fooled after all. Despite his old age and illness, his teacher still saw things very clearly and was not confused at all.

The defeat in the public confrontation with Zhou Silang will indeed deal a huge blow to the influence of the Luo family gang and Luo Bingyi's personal reputation, but the Luo family gang will not collapse immediately and still have a chance to perform.

But if we really take the risk and use some dirty tricks to protect Zhuang Zheng, and if we fail and Zhou Silang seizes on our mistakes, then the Luo family gang will be completely finished. This is a risky move, and the teacher always seeks victory through stability. He will never choose to take risks or go against the grain until the very last moment.

It was impossible to persuade the teacher to protect Zhuang Zheng now, so Zhai Xingyuan had no choice but to settle for second best and said, "Teacher, we will listen to you and not protect Zhuang Zheng, but shouldn't we send a message to Zhuang Zheng to keep his mouth shut in jail and not make false accusations against others? Otherwise, I'm afraid Zhou Silang will use this as an excuse to take advantage of us."

Luo Bingyi looked steadily at Zhai Xingyuan and said calmly, "Are you sure you won't leave any traces?"

Zhai Xingyuan said earnestly, "I am absolutely confident, please rest assured, teacher."

Upon hearing this, Luo Bingyi nodded slightly: "You may leave now. I'm tired and want to sleep for a while."

Zhai Xingyuan stood up, clasped his hands in a salute, slowly retreated to the door, turned around and strode away.

Time flies like an arrow, and three days later, in the tea room of the main hall of the Five Plum Blossom Division, Zhou Qingfeng was reading "The Record of Appraising Treasures in the Five Turbidities" while holding a cup of lychee black tea in one hand.

Jin Wei stood aside, waiting for instructions.

Only now did Jin Wei understand the young master's true intention in adding fuel to the fire. With this added fuel, no one dared to approach Zhou Qingfeng to put pressure on him. He couldn't help but admire the young master's methods immensely.

Zhou Qingfeng turned a page of his book and casually asked, "How's the interrogation going?"

Jin Wei responded with a fist and palm salute: "Zhuang Zheng has confessed and signed the confession last night."

Zhou Qingfeng raised an eyebrow: "Oh, he confessed so quickly? He had been refusing to confess all along. Why did he suddenly confess? Did the Luo family bribe the guards to pass messages inside?"

Jin Wei looked serious and said firmly, "Impossible, young master. Zhiqi personally guards the entrance and exit, and there are also four Plum Blossom Guards who take turns guarding Zhuang Zheng day and night. The guards are not allowed to leave the prison even for a moment, and they will ensure that Zhuang Zheng is always under their watchful eyes. Even a fly that flies in front of Zhuang Zheng will be cut into eighteen pieces and cleaned out."

“Interesting. A sudden change of heart must be suspicious.” Zhou Qingfeng stroked his chin, folded a corner of the book, closed it, and put it into his holy ring. Holding a cup of lychee black tea, he stood up and walked towards the outside of the hall: “Let’s go, let’s play with him.”