How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

The case of Su Chuan and opium was thus settled. Commander Guo drew his pistol, ready to end Su Chuan's life.

"General, General, there's a phone call from Nanjing."

Commander Guo frowned, sensing something was wrong.

"boom!"

The gunshot hit Sugawa squarely in the thigh, and he immediately collapsed to the ground, howling in pain, but no one paid him any attention.

Commander Guo went inside to take a phone call, and when he came out, his face was grave.

"General..."

"Hmm." Commander Guo raised his hand to stop the questioning. "Immediately escort Namio Hayakawa to Nanjing."

"what?"

"Are they letting him go?"

Commander Guo looked at Guo Zixing and said, "Boss, you're in charge of escorting him."

Guo Zixing was startled and immediately agreed.

"Yes."

"Disperse," Commander Guo urged the people away.

Comprador Zheng pulled Zheng Peilan forward, "General, am I now cleared of all charges?"

Commander Guo glanced at Comprador Zheng with a complicated expression. “Go back and take good care of yourself. It’s all that son of a bitch’s fault. Once you’re better, come to my residence for a chat.”

"Yes," Zheng the comprador said happily, and hurriedly pulled Zheng Peilan away.

After everyone left, Guo Zixing finally asked the question that had been on his mind, "Do you really think Comprador Zheng is innocent?"

"Innocent? I think he's the one with malicious intentions. He's colluding with outsiders to harm his own compatriots. He's even more hateful than those Japanese."

"Then why are you?"

"Arms. That's the only thing he's useful for. Boss, the situation is tense; we need arms to keep us safe."

"But my son always felt that if we let the tiger go back to the mountain, Zheng's comprador might not be able to do things peacefully anymore."

"Hmph, it's just a stopgap measure. Now that Hanyang, Nanjing, and other places have their own military factories, they don't rely on it as much anymore. By the way, how are your soldiers in Wushan doing in their training?"

Guo Zixing was startled. How did Commander Guo know?

Seeing Guo Zixing's expression, Commander Guo laughed heartily, "You are still too young. If I didn't even know what you did in Wushan, wouldn't I have wasted all these years as the military governor?"

Now it was Guo Zixing's turn to break out in a cold sweat, and he hurriedly declared that he had absolutely no ulterior motives.

"Let's not talk about that, boss. Escorting Su Chuan to Nanjing this time was extremely dangerous. Were you scared?"

"Not afraid!"

“Good, this is my son. A wolf raised at home, no matter how fierce, is still just a dog. A dog raised in the wild, when it fights for its life, is no less than a wolf. Do you understand what I mean?”

"Your son understands and will certainly not let you down."

"Hmm," Commander Guo nodded with satisfaction. He continued, "There's one more thing. I'll build an anti-opium clinic in the suburbs, so those sons of the powerful and wealthy can all quit opium there. After you leave, Jiang Shen will manage it. Your brother..."

Even tigers don't eat their cubs; having reached middle age, Commander Guo ultimately couldn't bring himself to be cruel to Guo Ziyou.

Moreover, there was also the second wife's tearful complaint.

Guo Zixing naturally saw Guo Dashuai's reluctance and said, "In the end, Ziyou's first encounter with this was because he was schemed against. He should be given a chance to turn over a new leaf."

"Am I getting old...?" General Guo asked abruptly.

"The bond between parents and children is a matter of nature."

"So be it," Commander Guo said with a self-deprecating smile. "Ziyou's uncle saved my life back then. Without him, there would be no me today. That's why I've always indulged him. I'm letting him go this time, firstly to repay a debt of gratitude, and secondly because it involves other powerful figures. If I were to punish Ziyou, would they also kill their own children? I'm showing leniency so that they can save face."

Guo Zixing nodded, "You're thinking that it's not appropriate to be too harsh at this time."

Commander Guo turned around and walked behind the table to sit down. He was exhausted, and the intense pain in his waist made it impossible for him to stand up. He could only lean against the back of the chair to relieve the pain.

"It's not that we shouldn't be strict, but it's an expedient measure. Forget about smoking cessation centers, just throw them in jail and release them whenever they repent."

"Yes."

"Tell me, what have you all discovered this time?"

Guo Zixing stepped forward and reported, "The discussion about opium was quite heated, so I didn't elaborate further. This matter originated with the Zheng family, and I have investigated the following:"

First, the assassination of Mrs. Qiao during the Zheng family's surprise attack was carried out by the Japanese, whose purpose was to create chaos and incite conflict. However, they had been infiltrating the area for a long time and had not yet found out where the group was. After the son left, the matter was handed over to Jiang Shen.

Secondly, the Zheng family's surprise attack was... orchestrated by that Communist Party member, with two aims: first, to sow discord among the powerful and influential, and second, to expose the opium issue. However, there might have been a traitor within their ranks who leaked the operation, giving the Japanese the opportunity to interfere and fish in troubled waters.

Thirdly, the person who escaped from the Yuxin Newspaper has been caught. He was one of the reporters who originally wanted to expose the decadent lifestyle of the children of the powerful and wealthy, but he accidentally alerted Ziyou. Those photos... were taken at Ziyou's request after he had taken drugs. He risked returning to the newspaper to expose the news, but unexpectedly, Ziyou belatedly came to settle accounts with him.

Later, Ziyou took advantage of Zheng Peilan's time at the ballroom to drug her... and then published a scandalous story to suppress the opium. Unexpectedly, Zheng Peilan's maid came to find me, so the newspapers featured me and Zheng Peilan instead. However, in the rush, the matter wasn't handled cleanly and was easily discovered.

Other details, including the pistol and drugs that Ai Li hid in the dance hall, were all stolen goods given to her by Hayakawa to assassinate powerful figures…”

Guo Zixing laid out the results of his investigation over the past period in detail, each point linked to the next. If even one person involved hadn't harbored malicious intentions, this whole scheme would have failed.

Commander Guo's head was really starting to ache, especially since so many things had come crashing down on him all at once, leaving him with a temporary indigestion.

"Fine, let them handle it however they want. Wasn't that Jiang Shen investigating with you? Since you're not here, let him deal with it."

"Yes." Seeing that Commander Guo had a splitting headache, Guo Zixing tactfully withdrew.

The commander-in-chief wants Guo Zixing to escort Su Chuan to Nanjing tomorrow, but things are still in a mess here, so Qingru and Jiang Shen are waiting outside.

“Zixing.”

"Young Master Guo."

When Guo Zixing came out and saw the two of them waiting outside, his weariness lessened somewhat.

"Let's go somewhere else to talk."

It was already curfew, and they didn't want to go to the dance hall, so they went to Guo Zixing's villa nearby, where Su Chuan was also detained.

Hongyu brought out the simmered wine and dishes, and tactfully withdrew.

Jiang Shen took a sip of hot wine and asked impatiently, "So? Are you really leaving tomorrow?"

“How could this be fake? Su Chuan has a lot of connections behind him, and the government won’t let my father make decisions on his own.” Guo Zixing said as he served food to Qingru. She hadn’t eaten properly for several days and had lost weight from exhaustion.

Jiang Shen said, "That's really frustrating. If you ask me, this kind of black sheep should be killed directly."

Guo Zixing shook his head. "You shouldn't be so impulsive. Think about what happened in the Northeast. Is it really a matter of killing one Japanese person? Besides, the person who assassinated Mrs. Qiao that day hasn't been caught yet. We don't know how we're going to explain this to the Qiao family's daughters."

Qingru said, "You don't need to worry about that. After the trial today, I sent someone to inform the Qiao sisters. They don't want to leave Mrs. Qiao out for too long either. We agreed that Mrs. Qiao will be buried as soon as the official document is published tomorrow. The body has already been prepared."

Guo Zixing nodded and handed over the rest of the work to Jiang Shen.