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

In the tranquil Zhai residence, as Zhai Xingyuan played his last trump card, the scales of victory quickly tipped in his favor. The situation, which Zhou Qingfeng had seemingly secured, underwent a dramatic and unexpected change.

This major change involves the list of shareholders receiving dividends from the private liquor business and the detailed annual dividend accounts.

If Zhai Xingyuan is arrested now and the list and accounts are handed over, this time bomb will explode on the spot. Zhou Qingfeng will completely lose control of the situation, and once this time bomb explodes, it will produce unpredictable chain reactions.

If the First Lady chooses to kill these high-ranking officials, it could lead to them banding together, desperate and reckless, launching a bloody coup under the guise of eliminating treacherous officials, and killing Zhou Qingfeng first.

If the First Lady chooses to forgive these high-ranking officials and burn the evidence, then Zhou Qingfeng will be the one who suffers. After all, Zhou Qingfeng personally dug up and handed over this evidence, thus incurring the wrath of more than half of the high-ranking officials in the Sword Tower. He will become the target of everyone's criticism in the Sword Tower, making his future difficult and likely to be finished within a year or two.

They didn't look at the list or the accounts, nor did they hand them over, pretending that nothing had been found. They couldn't let Zhai Xingyuan continue to hold onto this ticking time bomb, because the operation was carried out simultaneously by multiple departments. Qiu Chengde reported to the First Lady, and that's when the army and secret agents were dispatched to arrest everyone involved in the illicit liquor trafficking.

Now that the evidence is irrefutable and irrefutable, Zhai Xingyuan's arrest is a foregone conclusion.

If you suddenly change your mind and stop investigating, how can you explain it to your superiors? Lying and saying you made a mistake won't work either. You have all the witnesses, evidence, and testimonies. Saying you made a mistake at this point would be blatant deception.

Now that a landmine has been unearthed, it's impossible to back out.

Zhou Qingfeng felt an unprecedented sense of difficulty.

They can neither advance nor retreat.

He's stubborn and has no direction.

Very distressing.

"Brother Zhai, your courage and boldness in taking this personally is truly admirable." Zhou Qingfeng smiled and reached out to press Zhai Xingyuan's hands back. On the surface, he was gentle and friendly, showing no intention of arresting Zhai Xingyuan. In reality, however, he was thinking about how to break the deadlock and save himself, so as not to make a wrong move and regret it for the rest of his life.

Seeing that Zhou Qingfeng had no intention of grabbing him, Zhai Xingyuan slowly withdrew his hand and said with a smile, "Brother, you are still too green. People say you are a genius with unparalleled wisdom and strategy. Have you not heard that there are countless heroes in the world?"

"The Sword Tower, with its millennia-old heritage, has no shortage of geniuses."

"Brother, wasn't I a renowned genius on the Heavenly Ranking when I was young?"

“You’ve pressed me relentlessly, even pushing me to the brink of despair, not because your wisdom and political skills can overwhelm me, but because your mother is the First City Lord. That’s the only thing I lack compared to you.”

Zhou Qingfeng tapped his knee lightly with his fingers, smiling calmly. He did not refute Zhai Xingyuan's point of view, because he, Zhou Qingfeng, had earned his current high position entirely through his own hard work, never by relying on others.

Even the title of Fourth Young Master wasn't something he was born with; he earned it step by step. Now that he's lost, he's bringing up the fact that 'your mother is the city lord,' which is nothing more than the ravings of a defeated dog.

Because those who are at their wits' end always find reasonable reasons for their failure, proving that the other party's victory was definitely not due to their own ability, thus comforting their hearts that have become extremely fragile because of failure.

Zhai Xingyuan took a sip of tea, then took out two dragon balls and played with them in his palm. He smiled and said, "Brother, I know you're still thinking about how to break this deadlock. Don't think about it anymore. I've risked my life to set this up and played this big game with you. How can I let you get away so easily? I have a suggestion. I wonder if you'd be willing to listen to it?"

Zhou Qingfeng remained calm and said, "Oh, what's your suggestion?"

Zhai Xingyuan: "Rather than both sides suffering heavy losses and perishing together, wouldn't it be better to negotiate?"

Zhou Qingfeng: "Peace talks? How do we talk about it?"

Zhai Xingyuan: "Let me go. As long as you don't keep pestering me, I have my own way of getting away."

Zhou Qingfeng: "The evidence is conclusive and irrefutable. Do you think you can get away with this?"

Zhai Xingyuan: "You underestimate me. For officials at our level, as long as I'm not caught red-handed, I have a hundred ways to get away with it. There are plenty of people willing to bail me out, provided you don't keep harassing me. After all, with you, this big crocodile, biting me, no one else dares to get involved."

At this point, Zhai Xingyuan smiled and looked at Zhou Qingfeng. Although his expression remained relaxed, there was still a hint of tension in his eyes: "Well, as long as you agree to the peace talks, from now on, we'll keep to ourselves."

“You go your way, I’ll go mine. I can even avoid you whenever I see you and promise never to appear in front of you again. I will also remove all the spies I’ve planted under your command.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng gently tapped the tea table, turned his head to look at Zhai Xingyuan sitting a few steps away, and fell into deep thought. Zhai Xingyuan did not disturb him, allowing Zhou Qingfeng to think quietly.

Release Zhai Xingyuan?

Absolutely not! This person is too powerful; he must not be allowed to live.

Not only are they highly skilled and powerful, but they are also adept at forming cliques and manipulating power.

Furthermore, he was ruthless, decisive, cunning, adaptable, and exceptionally courageous.

If you make a mortal enemy of such a person, and you fail to defeat him, he will surely come back to haunt you in the future, and you will suffer the consequences.

Zhai Xingyuan has been arrested?

That won't work either. Zhai Xingyuan will inevitably die, but I will also pay an unbearable price for it.

At this moment, fate diverged into two paths.

Zhou Qingfeng hesitated, weighing the pros and cons, but could not take this crucial step.

So he slowly summoned the scarlet divination bucket in his mind and silently recited: Shake the divination sticks!

Two divination sticks flew out of the scarlet divination bucket, wobbling precariously.

[A very bad omen; arresting Zhai Xingyuan is ominous.]

[A very bad omen; peace talks, letting Zhai Xingyuan off the hook, ominous.]

When Zhou Qingfeng saw the divination result shown by the divination slip, a cold sweat broke out on his back. He never expected that both "catching and releasing" would be inauspicious. Where was the auspicious sign? Which path was auspicious?

“Brother Zhai, I need some time to think about your proposal. You can stay in the manor to recuperate during this time, and no one will disturb you. I will take those accounts and lists with me to take a look. You don’t mind, do you?”

Upon hearing this, Zhai Xingyuan smiled and said, "No problem. Anyway, I've already made many copies of these accounts and lists. You can have as many as you want. Take them with you if you want. I'll just wait for your message at home."

"Farewell." Zhou Qingfeng stood up and strode towards the gate of the mansion.

Bi Muge followed closely behind and said, "Commander, are we just leaving like this?"

Zhou Qingfeng said coldly, "You personally led people to secretly seal off the Zhai residence, allowing entry but not exit, and announced to the outside world that Zhai Xingyuan was injured and recuperating in the residence, and that no outside guests would be received. The accounts and lists were sent directly to my residence."

Bi Muge said, “Commander, you must not be soft-hearted or hesitate. Zhai Xingyuan is Teacher Luo’s most outstanding student. He is practically Teacher Luo’s shadow. Among us students, no one can match his talent. He is too much of a threat. If we let him get through this crisis, we will all die.”

"Just do your job, I'll make my own decisions." Zhou Qingfeng glanced at him sideways and left the Zhai residence without stopping.

He knew perfectly well what Bi Muge was worried about: he was worried that after betraying the Luo family gang, he wouldn't be able to completely wipe them out. If the remnants of the Luo family gang were to rise again, he, the traitor, would face a crazy revenge and die a very miserable death.