She remarried a cold-faced, powerful man, and the scumbag regretted it and cried his heart out.

"Zhao Yan, the prefect of Yangzhou, pretended to be honest and upright on the surface, but in reality he was greedy and insatiable. He secretly colluded with local gentry to embezzle government funds and buy and sell official positions, committing numerous evil deeds."

Tong Qingyun placed a thick stack of files on the table.

Jiang Jin'an sat on the rosewood chair, his expression cold and stern, and did not immediately look at the files.

Knowing that the lord was waiting for him to report, Tong Qingyun spoke methodically: "Zhao Yan has a group of henchmen who are dedicated to extorting money for him. One of them is named Li Hu, who is his confidant. This man is fierce and cruel, and kills people like flies. The people of Yangzhou suffer greatly, but dare not speak out against him."

“Zhao Yan has been operating in Yangzhou for many years and has deep roots. It will not be easy to bring him down. Moreover…” Tong Qingyun paused slightly and lowered his voice, “I also found out that before you arrived in Yangzhou, a mysterious man had entered and exited Zhao’s residence many times. He entered the residence at midnight last night and has not come out since.”

After saying that, Tong Qingyun handed over another booklet, "Sir, this is the account book of Zhao Yan's dealings with those wealthy gentry."

Jiang Jin'an then picked up the booklet and carefully read through it. It contained detailed records of the power-money transactions between Zhao Yan and those wealthy gentry, the content of which was so vile that it was shocking.

He closed the booklet, his long, slender fingers tapping lightly on the table. "This evidence isn't enough."

"Not enough?" Tong Qingyun asked in surprise. "Sir, isn't this enough?"

“It is not difficult to convict Zhao Yan, but it is not easy to eradicate the power behind him.” Jiang Jin’an’s tone was as cold as frost. “What I want is not just to punish Zhao Yan, but to bring order to the entire Yangzhou. We must strike decisively and leave no future troubles.”

Tong Qingyun immediately understood Jiang Jin'an's intention: he was playing the long game, aiming to wipe out the forces behind Zhao Yan in one fell swoop.

"Your Excellency is wise, I understand." Tong Qingyun clasped his hands in a fist salute. "I will make the arrangements immediately and continue the in-depth investigation."

Lin Yu suddenly interjected, "By the way, isn't today the seventh day of the lunar new year?"

Tong Qingyun nodded. "Yes, what's wrong?"

"Today is the day the Cheng family presents their betrothal gifts, and also the day our lord presents his. By now, the betrothal gifts from the palace should have been sent to the Marquis's residence, right?" Lin Yu said, a mischievous smile appearing on his face. "I wonder how our Commandant's wife will react when she sees the betrothal gifts bestowed by His Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jin'an's ears turned slightly red. He coughed lightly without showing any emotion and scolded, "Shut up."

The subordinates chuckled and wisely refrained from continuing the topic.

Jiang Jin'an looked out the window, her gaze somewhat unfocused, but the image of Shen Jingshu involuntarily surfaced in her mind.

What is she doing right now? After receiving the betrothal gifts, is she overjoyed or calm? Does she miss him?

He shook his head, putting those distracting thoughts aside. Now was not the time for sentimentality; he had more important things to do.

In the past two days, Jiang Jin'an accepted all the gold, silver and beautiful women that Qiao Xin sent, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Yan finally felt relieved.

He thought to himself, "What kind of living Yama is he? In the end, he's just a man. He's just as greedy for wealth and pleasure as I am."

Little did Zhao Yan and Qiao Xin know that the gold and silver had already been registered and recorded, and the beauties had been properly placed in the side rooms and guarded day and night by several captains.

Trying to send a message through this? That's wishful thinking!

Three meals a day were delivered on time, and occasionally one or two beauties would be summoned to play the zither and sing, so that the servants peeking outside the courtyard could hear the commotion and return to report with peace of mind.

This situation caused great suffering for the beauties, who lived in constant fear and became haggard.

That day, Zhao Yan sent another invitation, inviting Jiang Jin'an to his residence for a chat that evening.

Jiang Jin'an looked at the gold-embossed invitation in his hand, a chill running through his eyes. Zhao Yan was finally about to lose his temper.

"Go and make arrangements, have them all ready. Tonight, we're going to meet this Lord Zhao."

"Yes!" Lin Yu accepted the order and left.

Jiang Jin'an sat alone in the room, closing her eyes to rest.

As night falls, the lights are on.

Jiang Jin'an, accompanied by Lin Yu and two trusted confidants, arrived at the banquet on time.

In the garden of the Zhao family mansion, there was a huge round table, laden with all kinds of delicacies, fine wines and dishes, the aroma of which was irresistible.

Zhao Yan personally welcomed Jiang Jin'an to the head seat, and then sat down to the seat below him.

After several rounds of drinks, Zhao Yan raised his glass with a broad smile, "My lord, I would like to offer you a toast to thank you for your care and assistance to Yangzhou during this time."

Jiang Jin'an picked up her wine glass, clinked glasses with him, and drank the wine in her glass in one gulp.

Seeing this, Zhao Yan was secretly pleased and offered several more toasts.

Jiang Jin'an accepted all invitations, and soon the wine flowed freely as they drank and toasted each other. Gradually, he became intoxicated, his eyes glazed over, and his speech became incoherent.

Looking at Lin Yu and the other two, they were also staggering about.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Zhao Yan tentatively asked, "Sir, you have been in Yangzhou for several days now. Have you found any useful clues?"

Jiang Jin'an chuckled drunkenly, pulled out a booklet and tossed it into Zhao Yan's arms. "Li Maocai's whereabouts in Yangzhou, as well as his accounts with some people, are all here."

He squinted, his words slurred and indistinct, clearly tinged with drunkenness.

Zhao Yan's face immediately turned ugly. He hurriedly flipped through the booklet, and the contents made his heart pound. He never expected that Jiang Jin'an had found out so much!

Fortunately, a benefactor reminded me today to hold this banquet; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable once this booklet was sent back to the capital!

Looking at Jiang Jin'an's drunken state, Zhao Yan's face was no longer filled with the fawning expression he had shown earlier.

"You choose the path to heaven but refuse to take it, while you choose the path to hell but choose to walk into it yourself." Jiang Jin'an is courting death, so he has no one to blame but himself.

Zhao Yan continued to urge him to drink, and after a few more drinks, Jiang Jin'an was completely drunk, slumped on the table, unconscious.

"Sir, are you alright?" Zhao Yan asked, feigning concern.

Jiang Jin'an did not respond.

In the end, Qiao Xin nudged Lin Yu and asked them to take Jiang Jin'an to a guest room to rest.

The three of them staggered forward, helped Jiang Jin'an up, and then staggered out.

Qiao Xin asked in a low voice, "Sir, what do you think of this..."

"What are you looking at? Hurry up and follow them!" Zhao Yan said sternly. "Remember, you must do it cleanly and neatly, without leaving any trace."

Qiao Xin responded and followed closely behind.

Zhao Yan's eyes flashed with murderous intent as he slammed the wine glass in his hand to the ground. With a "crack," the glass shattered, and wine splashed everywhere.

Tonight's operation must succeed; failure is not an option.

Otherwise, all his years of hard work would be ruined. Not only would the benefactor not let him off the hook, but he himself would likely become a victim of the knife.

Jiang Jin'an must die!