Miss Wang Weina, even your cousin won't do!

"Hey, I bet you're not being honest. You think you can escape the law by not saying a word? Let me tell you, confess and you'll be treated leniently, resist and you'll be punished severely. Even if you don't say a word now, we can still find evidence. You won't even have a meritorious service record; you'll be going to jail! Do you know that causing trouble in the street is at least a criminal detention offense? You can't get away with pretending to be crazy or mentally unstable! I advise you to confess as soon as possible!"

After saying that, the young police officer tilted his head slightly, raised his eyebrows at Jiu next to him, and winked, indicating that he had finished playing the good cop and that it was Jiu's turn to play the bad cop.

But Jiu couldn't care less about any of that at that moment; she was completely bewildered by the young police officer's lecture.

Bro, I've already called you bro, isn't that enough? Do you know who you're interrogating?

He's an inspector from the Dali Temple's Censorate. This is clearly a misunderstanding. Explain it clearly, take a token statement, give the higher-ups an explanation, and that's it—the matter is over, the case is closed, and nothing more happens. But why are you interrogating him here?

Brother, you're not interrogating her, you're interrogating me! You're putting your Ninth Bureau Chief on the hot seat!

Without a second thought, Jiu stood up, grabbed the young officer, and walked out of the interrogation room, leaving Jingzhe, who was still in a daze, standing there.

He closed the door. A bright smile immediately spread across the young police officer's face.

"Ninth Bureau, do you think I'm putting on a convincing act?" He flashed a fierce expression. "Confess honestly! Don't deny it! Confess and you'll be treated leniently! Resist and you'll be punished severely!" Then he softened his tone. "I think I've done a pretty good job. A few more rounds like this should get us some information!"

Do you want a few more rounds?!

Nine stared in astonishment, mouth agape. Then the young officer scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed, and said:

"To be honest, I think I underperformed this time. It was because I was interrogating someone with Director Nine, and I got a little excited. To be honest, Director Nine is the person I admire most in the Guard Bureau. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have even thought about going to police academy and working for the Guard Bureau!"

Jiu's lips twitched, and the rebuke that was about to come out was swallowed back.

Oh well, he's a newbie.

Newcomers don't understand the intricacies of the system; they only possess the most basic sense of justice and responsibility, just like Chen. However, Chen has Wei Yanwu standing behind her, so in Longmen, her sense of justice can be implemented to the fullest extent. But what about this young police officer in front of us?

He had no background, no family connections, and no powerful backers. He was just excited because it was his first time working with the bureau chief. Jiu blamed her for doing her job, something Jiu couldn't do.

Strictly speaking, she should be the backer of all the officers in the Guard Bureau. She shouldn't condemn this behavior; on the contrary, she should support it.

But considering the potential consequences of the young officer's words—the wrath of the Dali Temple's Censorate and Wei Yanwu's displeasure—Jiu could only force a smile, pat the young officer on the shoulder, and say:

"You did a good job, you did a good job!"

"But leave the rest to me. This person is not easy to deal with. If you do it this way, it will easily cause her to rebel. The things you do in school are not the same in society. You need to learn more and apply what you've learned to other situations."

The young police officer nodded in agreement. Jiu tilted his head slightly.

"Go ahead and check the surveillance footage from the commercial street to the sixth slum area. See if you can find any video evidence. If you have evidence, the case will be much easier to handle."

"Yes, Ninth inning!"

The young police officer ran quickly towards the elevator. Watching his departing figure, Jiu sighed.

Since becoming the bureau chief, I've had to think about more and more things. I don't know where my previous focus and courage on solving cases have gone.

"Alright, once we've finished the Rattlesnake case, I'll apply for retirement from Commander Wei."

Jiu muttered to herself. Having served Wei Yanwu for so many years, how could she not understand his intentions? The position of Director of the Dragon Gate Guard Bureau was originally reserved for Chen. She was merely a tool temporarily occupying this position.

Now that the main character has returned, she might as well take this opportunity to finish the last case, then retire gracefully and pass the throne to a more capable person.

Thinking this, Jiu pushed open the door and returned to the interrogation room. There she saw Jingzhe sitting blankly in a chair, asking with a look of utter disbelief:

"Ninth Sir, do you think I'm really...?"

"No, no, it's all just a fabrication, don't take it to heart!"

Jiu quickly denied it.

My god, that kid's got talent! This battle cry even confused the inspector.

Chapter 52 Bullshit! I'm not dead!

Longmen, commercial street, top floor of the Elizabeth Hotel.

Xia Zhi glanced worriedly at the clock on the wall; this was the tenth time he had done this in the past three hours.

As darkness fell, Xiaoxue, the inspector who had also gone out on an undercover investigation to gather clues, had already returned, but Jingzhe was still nowhere to be seen. Not only was she nowhere to be seen, she hadn't even sent Xiazhi a single phone call, email, or message, completely cutting herself off from the outside world.

Where did she go?

As time went on, Xia Zhi's unease grew stronger. Although Jingzhe was a newcomer to the ranks of the inspectors, her father was a true nobleman of the Yan Kingdom, from a powerful military family. She had grown up under his tutelage, and later, through outstanding grades and performance, she passed the inspector examination exceptionally, becoming a formal official of the Dali Temple. Such a person reassured Xia Zhi. He believed Jingzhe couldn't possibly have made such a basic mistake.

But that was the reality; after a long period of no contact, even the use of the secret communication method between inspectors—carrier pigeons—remained unanswered. Xia Zhi had to consider that Jing Zhe might already be in danger.

This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous! How dare they assassinate a legitimate government official in a city of the Great Yan Dynasty? Is this some kind of rebellion?!

Xia Zhi felt he needed to reassess the danger level of the Longmen mission. He had initially thought it was just a minor incident instigated by Wei Yanwu, whose cover-up might be due to corruption or abuse of power. He hadn't even considered the possibility of Wei Yanwu colluding with external forces, because no fool would be so stupid as to invite the leader of a colluding force to his doorstep during an inspection of the Dali Temple. Wasn't that blatantly inviting him to be arrested?

But now, Xia Zhi feels that things might not be so simple.

Is it possible that Wei Yanwu invited the Victoria Royal Family to Longmen at this time not because he was stupid, but simply because he was planning to reveal his true intentions?

Bypassing the Dali Temple and reporting directly to the imperial court, they delayed inviting the Victorian royal family. They passed the buck to the Dali Temple, leaving the officials of the Censorate stranded in their hotel, seemingly indifferent while ostensibly saying "Investigate as you see fit," but actually using the time to prepare. Ultimately, their plot was unfortunately uncovered by the censor Jingzhe, who ruthlessly harmed her. Finally, using the Victorian royal family as their backer, they prevented the Dali Temple from conducting a full-scale search despite diplomatic pressure.

All the anomalies seemed to be connected. Xia Zhi couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine. This wasn't just a baseless fantasy; a qualified inspector should possess this ability to glean information from the smallest clues and deduce the ins and outs of things.

"No, we can't go on like this! We're being completely led by the nose by Wei Yanwu! Xiaoxue!"

Xia Zhi called out towards the inner room. The silver-haired, bespectacled girl with glasses, dressed in pajamas, hurriedly opened the door and saluted:

"What's the mission, Captain?"

Xia Zhi frowned, looked at Li Boli in front of her, and reprimanded him:

"Your comrades are out there, their fates unknown, yet you can still sleep soundly?"

"Hmm... I used divination, and Sister Jingzhe is not in any danger..." Xiaoxue replied, drooping her head.

How accurate are your divination skills?

"Hmm... 10%."

"Even the Director of the Imperial Observatory's 50% success rate in divination cannot gain His Majesty's trust. Are you going to determine the life or death of your colleague based on a 10% success rate?"

Xia Zhi scolded, shaking his head with a look of utter disappointment. Compared to Jingzhe, Xiaoxue's background and abilities were far more ordinary. He brought her out to broaden her horizons and familiarize her with the work, so that she wouldn't be unable to answer questions before the emperor's audience.

He was so angry he almost died.

After composing himself, Xia Zhi ordered, "Listen carefully, Xiao Xue, I need you to go to my room now, retrieve the memorial locked in my desk drawer, and hand it to the scout. Make sure it reaches the Emperor! It's a letter accusing Wei Yanwu. Although I may not be able to stop him, we must let the court prepare!"

Xiaoxue was slightly taken aback, seemingly confused by the amount of information in Xia Zhi's words, and asked somewhat timidly:

"And... what about you, Lord Xia Zhi?"

"I'm going to find Wei Yanwu."

Summer Solstice said coldly,

"This matter involves the royal family, but we haven't yet gathered any evidence on this trip. Rushing to report a member of the royal family would have extremely serious consequences. I will confront Wei Yanwu face-to-face and preserve the evidence!"

There was still half a sentence left unsaid about the summer solstice.

That is, if his judgment was wrong, the report was wrong, and Wei Yanwu did not have malicious intent, then someone has to be held responsible for this matter.

Although Xiaoxue is useless, Xia Zhi personally selected and brought her out, and she couldn't let her bear the blame. Jingzhe hasn't returned yet, and her fate is unknown. She also knew nothing about this matter, and Xia Zhi couldn't bear to make her take the blame.

Therefore, he, as the team leader, had no choice but to take the blame. The letter of complaint did not list Xia Zhi's team from the Dali Temple's Surveillance Department, but only his name. In the end, if the matter were to be investigated, he would be the one to bear the blame for "sowing discord among the royal family."

Xia Zhi had made up his mind, and he resolutely nodded to Xiao Xue:

"Listen carefully, this is the task I'm giving you, you absolutely cannot fail!"

He deliberately emphasized "I," actually taking responsibility, but Xiaoxue thought he was lecturing her and quickly nodded.

"understand!"

"I'm leaving."

Without saying goodbye, Xia Zhi pushed open the door and turned to leave. Xiao Xue paced back and forth in the living room, somewhat at a loss, before finally heading towards Xia Zhi's room.

Just then, the hotel phone rang.

Startled, Xiaoxue turned around and saw the landline phone ringing. Relieved, she ran to the phone, picked up the receiver, and said:

"Hello, this is the inspection team from the Dali Temple's Supervisory Department. May I ask who you are and what brings you here?"

"This is the Lungmen Guard Bureau. I am the director, Nine."

Jiu, on the other end of the microphone, introduced himself.

"Um, although I'm a little embarrassed, could you please send a representative to the Guard Bureau?"

Xiaoxue was taken aback. The words Xiazhi had just spoken about Jingzhe's uncertain fate flashed through her mind, and her heart leaped into her throat. She quickly asked:

"What happened? Has Miss Jingzhe been found?"

"Ah...it is indeed related to Miss Jingzhe. Um, could you please send a representative to the Guard Bureau?"

Xiaoxue's mood suddenly plummeted: "Okay...okay...what procedures are required to sign the body identification form?"

"Huh?" Jiu was slightly taken aback upon hearing this. She turned her head, glanced at Jingzhe behind her who was still somewhat confused, and then looked at the microphone in her hand. She muttered to herself, "Damn it, are all these inspectors really mentally ill?"

Wayne, whose feline ears are quite sensitive, had been eavesdropping on the conversation on the other end of the microphone. Upon hearing this, he chuckled, patted Jingzhe on the shoulder, and teased:

"Hey, Miss Jingzhe, your colleague said you're dead."

Jingzhe glared at Wayne, the culprit, and couldn't help but retort, "Bullshit! You're the one who's dead!"

Wayne wasn't annoyed and nodded at Nine: "Did you hear that, Director Nine? Miss Jingzhe said it's bullshit, she's not dead."

Nine rolled his eyes at Wayne, who was having a good time, and replied to Xiaoxue on the other end of the microphone:

"Miss Jingzhe is not dead."

"Why don't you just say you're talking nonsense?"

At that moment, outside the window of the Royal Guard building, several white doves carrying messages were pecking vigorously at the window.

Unfortunately, the glass is bulletproof.

Chapter 53 I've gone mad, and you infected me.

Longmen, the core city, Wei Yanwu's residence.

It was dusk, and past dinnertime. Wei Yanwu was in the courtyard tending to his wife, Lady Wenyue, with her bonsai.

But just as he was about to reach out, Madam Wenyue stopped him, whispering:

"Wash your hands, you just washed the dishes, what if you hurt the plants?"