Wife, you didn't really drug me, did you?

The rise and fall of a family often depends on a single decision made by a few people. Back then, the Zhou family was just a landlord with some land. Chen Jiusi called on landlords and other enlightened people to donate money and land to build the new Huangzhou Prefecture.

Zhou Wenfa caught up with the opportunity and donated his family's land, which enabled the Zhou family to rise to a higher level, transforming them from simple folk landlords into well-known gentry in Huangzhou Prefecture.

This can be considered defying fate and helping his family rise to a higher social class.

But that's life. Success and failure both come from choices. One choice brought the Zhou family prosperity, but another plunged them into an endless abyss.

At this moment, Zhou Wenfa looked at the police officer who had put shackles on him and Zhou Chu, who was standing behind him without saying a word, and said with a sob in his voice, "Chief Zhou, I did this all by myself. It has nothing to do with my fourth son. Please investigate, Chief Zhou!"

Zhou Wenfa had met Director Zhou before. He was also an outstanding representative of the gentry in Huangzhou Prefecture. He met Director Zhou with the Minister of Commerce, Shen Wansan, and even met the prefect. That's why he called out Director Zhou's name now.

After listening to Zhou Wenfa's words, Zhou Chu looked at him and said, "Your business is your business, and your fourth son's business is your fourth son's business. Our Huangzhou Prefecture does not practice collective punishment, but treason is no small matter. If things go wrong, it could lead to the confiscation of your property and the extermination of your entire clan."

“Zhou Wenfa, if we trace our ancestry back to our ancestors, we’re actually related. How could you be so bewitched as to think of betraying Huangzhou Prefecture?”

"The Lord of the Prefecture has treated you very well. Back then, with just your family's hundred or so acres of land, you were able to exchange it for the cotton cloth sales rights of the entire Fuzhou. You made a fortune, and your net worth increased more than tenfold. Even so, is it still not enough to buy your true heart?"

After hearing Zhou Chu's words, Zhou Wenfa smiled bitterly and said, "To lose what I've already gained is worse than killing me!"

“I am the patriarch of the Zhou clan. I cannot gamble with the entire family and tie myself to the Huangzhou Prefecture. If the Huangzhou Prefecture falls, won’t my Zhou family also be buried with it?”

"So you chose betrayal?"

Director Zhou glanced at Zhou Wenfa and then said, "Very well, since that's the case, there's nothing more to say. Let's just handle this officially."

Zhou Wenfa then looked at Chief Zhou and said, "Chief Zhou, but my fourth son has nothing to do with this matter, he..."

"Whether he has a problem or not is not up to you to decide, but up to him. Your letter has already been delivered to him, and I have also informed the commander of the Azure Dragon Army, Jin Yanzi, about this matter. If your fourth son takes the initiative to talk to Jin Yanzi and explain the problem, then he still has a glimmer of hope."

“If your fourth son hadn’t gone to find Jin Yanzi today, or even passed on the information, then your Zhou family would never have a chance to recover.”

"Only those who are truly loyal to Huangzhou Prefecture deserve to enjoy its glory!"

After saying this, Zhou Chu waved his hand and said, "Take him away!"

At this moment, Zhou Wenfa looked at Director Zhou and said, "Chief Zhou, please help me and stop that letter. It's not too late to stop it now, it's not too late. My fourth son knows nothing about my affairs!"

"He doesn't know!"

Zhou Wenfa shouted.

Zhou Chu didn't say anything, he just watched him being led away.

……

Outside the west city wall, at the Qinglong Army's garrison, the Zhou family steward found Zhou Ji, the fourth young master of the Zhou family, who was resting.

"Fourth Young Master, a letter from the Master."

The steward handed the diary to Zhou Ji with both hands. Zhou Ji looked at the steward and said, "I'm preparing for war at the front. What letter did my father write to me?"

As he spoke, Zhou Ji was about to tear the letter open when the butler immediately said, "Fourth Young Master, it would be better if you read this letter somewhere where no one is around."

Ok?
Zhou Ji frowned and looked at the butler, saying, "Old Wu, what exactly are you up to?"

"Let me tell you, this is right before a major battle. Don't you dare do anything reckless. If something goes wrong, no one can save you!"

The butler replied, "Yes, yes, we know. Don't worry, Fourth Young Master, we will never cause trouble easily."

Zhou Ji frowned, then looked at the butler and said, "Old Wu, you guys really didn't cause any trouble?"

Old Wu said, "I'm waiting for the young master."

"what the hell!"

The fourth young master frowned, muttered something under his breath, and then took the letter into his military tent. When he opened the letter and started reading, his expression immediately changed. His face turned a deep purplish-red, and he looked up at the doorway before his brows furrowed even more.

Because the contents of the letter were too shocking. His muddle-headed father had actually become a spy in Fuzhou and had even asked him to gather intelligence and find out whether the prefect had returned to Huangzhou Prefecture. Could a mere commander like himself possibly investigate such top-secret information?
And even if I knew, could I tell these bastards who wanted to overthrow my Huangzhou Prefecture?
Zhou Ji frowned, his face growing increasingly grim. He was now in a real dilemma. If someone else had asked him to do this, he would have arrested them without hesitation and handed them over to Jin Yanzi.

But this letter was written by my own biological father. How could I so easily sever the debt of gratitude for his birth and the affection expressed in his words?

Now, he faces the organization he is loyal to, for which he is willing to give his life, because it is his faith, and he believes that following the lord can bring happiness to the people.

Therefore, I cannot betray Huangzhou Prefecture.

On the other hand, that was his own biological father. If he handed over this letter, his biological father would probably be doomed. At the very least, he would be imprisoned for life, if not killed.

Is there any son in this world who sends his own father to jail?

Zhou Ji frowned, her mind filled with countless thoughts, and for a moment she didn't know how to solve the problem.

Just as Zhou Ji was unsure of what to do, Jin Yanzi received the information from Director Zhou.

Jin Yanzi looked at the intelligence in her hand with a grim expression. Zhou Ji was one of the officers she had personally promoted. Although he started relatively late, he had great potential. In terms of both personal strength and military ability, he was among the top in his generation.

"He was a promising talent, what a pity..."

Jin Yanzi put down the intelligence and ordered her men to guard the camp, preventing anyone from entering or leaving at will, especially going out.

After saying that, Jin Yanzi sent someone to keep an eye on Zhou Ji and the steward who was still staying in the military camp.

"If Zhou Ji contacts that housekeeper again, get him under control immediately."

As soon as Jin Yanzi finished speaking, her soldiers immediately responded.

After doing all this, Jin Yanzi closed her eyes. With the great battle imminent and Zhou Ji's incident so sudden, she had to find a qualified commander to replace him. In particular, the position that Zhou Ji's commander was defending was very crucial, and she could not allow the entire plan to fail because of Zhou Ji's defection.

Thinking this way, Jin Yanzi immediately thought of some reliable candidates for commanders and deputy commanders.

Just as Jin Yanzi was considering who to replace Zhou Ji, someone outside reported, "Commander." Jin Yanzi was startled and looked up in that direction, asking, "What is it?"

"Qianhu Zhouji requests an audience!"

"Weekly journal?"

Jin Yanzi was taken aback. Why was he here at this time?

Jin Yanzi had given it some thought. She had also made contingency plans regarding Zhou Ji's choice. For example, if Zhou Ji directly contacted the housekeeper and provided relevant information, it would be 100% traitorous behavior. Such a black sheep should not be allowed to live and must be eliminated as soon as possible.

Secondly!

Zhou Ji did not betray his father completely. He might have deliberately destroyed the letter, refusing to sell intelligence or report his father's actions to the army. This behavior is understandable, as loyalty and filial piety have always been difficult to reconcile. Since he chose filial piety, he should be dismissed from his post and not allowed to continue serving as a commander.

Besides these, Zhou Ji also had another approach: to find Jin Yanzi and explain the whole situation. This would be enough to show his loyalty. However, his father chose to betray him. Although he did not betray him, he was still able to entrust him with such an important position as a commander.
So things have reached a point where being single-minded has become a dead end, and Golden Swallow doesn't have any better way to resolve the matter.

At this moment, Jin Yanzi took a deep breath, clearing all these chaotic thoughts from her mind, and then said, "Let him in."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ji immediately entered and bowed to Jin Yanzi, saying, "Greetings, Commander."

Jin Yanzi glanced at Zhou Ji and said, "Oh, Zhou Ji, is there something you need?"

Zhou Ji immediately replied, "Something has come up."

"explain."

Golden Swallow spoke.

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Ji said, "I would like to ask the military commander to revoke my position as a commander of a thousand."

Upon hearing this, Jin Yanzi's expression remained unchanged as she said, "Why would I dismiss you for no reason? Tell me, what exactly happened?"

"My father seems to have become a traitor!"

"Hmm? Your father?"

Jin Yanzi seemed unaware of Zhou Wenfa's situation and appeared quite surprised. Zhou Ji then looked at Jin Yanzi and said, "Yes, my father has dealings with the Whale Shark Gang outside the city. They even sent me to spy on military intelligence, wanting to know whether the prefect has returned to Huangzhou Prefecture."

"This is a secret letter my father wrote to me."

Zhou Ji handed the letter directly to Jin Yanzi. Now it was Jin Yanzi's turn to be at a loss. She frowned and looked at Zhou Ji, trying to see something different on his face.

Zhou Ji remained silent, simply bowing his head and not uttering a word.

After a long while, Golden Swallow sighed and said, "Why did you give me this letter? Don't you know that this letter is enough to kill your father!"

At this moment, Zhou Ji knelt down and said, "General, I know, I know everything, but I cannot forget the brothers who were killed by those beasts outside the city. If I do anything today that would betray Huangzhou Prefecture, then I would be betraying my comrades who died in battle!"

"So I can't hide this matter, but I don't want to harm my father like this. So I hope the military commander can show leniency and spare my father, or at least not execute him. I am willing to take all the blame for him."

At this moment, Zhou Ji kowtowed to Jin Yanzi.

Seeing her like this, Jin Yanzi said irritably, "How did you end up with such a father!"

Zhou Ji remained silent, but Jin Yanzi said, "To tell you the truth, your father has been arrested, and this letter was deliberately put in by us. I know everything you've said, and I know it even better than you do."

Zhou Ji knelt on the ground, trembling all over. He hadn't expected that his little affair had already been known to the higher-ups. He had thought that Zhou Ji wanted to use his achievements to buy his father a chance to live, but now...
Thinking this, Zhou Ji said, "General, in consideration of my loyalty, my father has not yet done anything irreparable. Please give him a way out. My Zhou family is willing to hand over all our assets."

Jin Yanzi glanced at Zhou Ji and said, "Alright, stop talking nonsense. Your family's property should have already been seized by the Ministry of Revenue by now. You don't need to come and deliver it."

"But you..."

Jin Yanzi glanced at Zhou Ji and said, "You stay here with me and don't go anywhere. I'll come back and tell you what to do with you!"

As she spoke, Jin Yanzi got up and left the military camp. After Jin Yanzi left, Zhou Ji sat down on the ground with a heavy heart, his face full of helplessness. How could his father be so useless and more of a hindrance than a help!

Jin Yanzi left the military camp and came to a secret compound very close to the city, where Chen Jie was in charge of command.

At this moment, there were already two people standing in Chen Jie's room: Chief of Police Zhou and Chief of Inspection Wu Hong.

Then the two reported the situation to Chen Jie.

"Yes, so far we have discovered these five enemy espionage activities, and we took advantage of the situation to arrest all the people behind them."

Zhou Chu began to speak.

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie looked at the two men and then said, "Very good. But since they have mobilized so many people to inquire about my whereabouts, you should send them some information back. Say that they did not see me, but there are quite a few people in my residence. Create the illusion that I have returned to mislead them."

"As for how to spread this message, you can figure that out yourself. As for how to make it more realistic, you should have experience with that, so I don't need to teach you, right?"

Zhou Chu said, "Understood. This problem is easy to solve. Leave it to us."

After finishing his speech, Zhou Chu prepared to take action, but he ran into Jin Yanzi as soon as he stepped outside. Zhou Chu was somewhat surprised and asked, "Sister Jin, what brings you here?"

Golden Swallow said, "I've come to see my lord!"

Zhou Chu didn't say anything, but then said, "Our lord is inside."

Wu Hong, who was inside at the time, saw Zhou Chu leave and said, "My lord, I've been investigating these past few days, and there are about ten officials who have committed treason to the extreme, but none of them are very high-ranking officials. What do you think?"

Chen Jie said, "Brother Hong, you can handle this yourself. Once you've secured the evidence, you can make the arrest."

Wu Hongdao: "Yes."

Wu Hong agreed, and at that moment Jin Yanzi walked in. Wu Hong nodded and left. Chen Jie looked at Jin Yanzi and said, "What's wrong, Yanzi?"

Jin Yanzi looked at Chen Jie and said, "My lord, there is something I cannot decide on my own. I beg you to make the decision!" (End of this chapter)