Promise!

Chapter 129, Counterattack

Chen Yun was at the Shen family headquarters. When Zhuang Jin heard the news, he immediately went to find her. The moment he saw Chen Yun, he felt a surge of joy and relief, as if a flood had broken through a dam. He felt a loud bang in his ears, and his soul seemed to explode into smoke.

He had always thought that he was indifferent and reserved by nature, but now he realized that he also had such intense and passionate feelings.

The couple held hands and looked at each other, speechless for a moment.

Chen Yun was staying here, which was originally Song Lan's room. Song Lan originally wanted to make a few jokes, but when she saw this scene, it was as if she saw a scene of talented men and beautiful women reuniting on a stage. She subconsciously showed an "auntie smile" and tactfully gave up the room, and went outside to wait with Lin Hong, Bi Kai, Qian Wende and others.

After a tender moment, and upon Zhuang Jin's inquiry, Chen Yun began to recount the events of the past few days: "After my husband left... the day the news came back that the returning caravan had been attacked..."

"This is my fault!"

Looking at Chen Yun, who had become much thinner and thinner in just ten days, Zhuang Jin felt a pang of self-reproach and guilt. He hadn't immediately sent back the news of the victory at Tangye Forest for his own safety, nor had he considered the situation in the prefectural city. He remembered that before he left, he had made arrangements with various parties and established connections, such as his core team members Lin Hong, Bi Kai, and Qian Wende. He could handle minor matters, but as for those with connections capable of handling matters of the seventh rank or higher, although he didn't have many due to his background, he did have people like Liu Licheng and the Ninth Young Master…

However, I never expected that Liu Licheng would... On the other hand, the Ninth Young Master also got married... I never expected that the Shen family would be so 'makeshift' that this otherworldly version of the Jingming Tower incident would occur!
From the Shen family's perspective, they also felt wronged and aggrieved. When news of the Medicine King Gang's attack on the returning fleet spread, panic gripped the people everywhere. The Medicine King Gang then launched a counterattack, and the response was chaotic. Who could have imagined that Miao Shao and Zhao Bin would be so ruthless and impatient to plot against Zhuang Jin's family at such a time?
To lay a hand on the family members of someone who is away working is to push the boundaries of decency and undermine the foundation of the Shen family!
From Zhao Bin and Miao Shao's perspective, personal interests are not the same as collective interests. Just like in the Miao Lun case, as long as they were happy, they didn't care about the consequences at all!
The two are high-ranking members of the Shen family, and without solid evidence, there's nothing that can be done to them. As long as they keep their hands clean, they're not afraid of an investigation. Would the Enforcement Department make things difficult for a dead family member?

As for Zhuang Jin, his fate is unknown, but he is not really 'dead'?

The Medicine King Gang brought back the heads of the other seven martial artists who had been promoted last year and escorted the county's wealthy families back, as a deterrent! Not to mention, according to their understanding, each of the Medicine King Gang's attacks had one eighth-level martial artist and two or three seventh-level martial artists. From their perspective, Zhuang Jin was doomed!

Moreover, Zhuang Jin was a genius when he was in the prefectural city, which put a lot of pressure on them and made them feel quite frustrated. Now that they heard about the incident, they were naturally eager to act, just like poor people who suddenly become rich and then engage in revenge spending.

Each party has its own perspective, and only when all perspectives are considered can such a situation arise.

"It has nothing to do with my husband, and besides, I'm fine right now!"

Chen Yun shook her head slightly. Seeing that Zhuang Jin was still bothered by this, she changed the subject, saying, "I've made my husband laugh at me. I've learned a lesson from this. I know that some people are not worth treating kindly. Being too amiable will only be seen as weakness, and they will take advantage of me..."

She had always known Zhuang Jin's attitude towards outsiders: to those whose "ideological levels were different and who could not communicate," she would "keep her distance, physically isolate them, and not make contact"; to her servants, she would not show unnecessary sympathy or tolerance, but would establish a set of rules and reward or punish them according to those rules... Reality proved that Zhuang Jin was right.

“Yunniang has done a very good job. Even if I were in her shoes, I might not be able to do any better in this situation.”

"No way! I failed to protect the house properly, so I've been hiding here..."

“Home is where Yunniang is. If Yunniang protects herself, it’s the same as protecting the home. As long as people are alive, everything else is secondary… Alright, leave all this to me now. Do you remember what I said before? If there are any problems, just consider it a trial and error. I’ll take care of everything.”

Zhuang Jin told Chen Yun to rest and recuperate while he went to handle the matter: 'When faced with a complex situation, the first thing to do is to clearly identify who your friends are, who are strangers, and who are enemies.'

In this matter, his friends naturally stood by his side, such as his confidants Lin Hong, Bi Kai, Qian Wende, Xue Yandao, and Duan Tao.

"Hongzi, Kaizi, take these silver notes and use them to buy some gifts to send over first..." Zhuang Jin instructed.

This is both a way of thanking and acknowledging the efforts of these people, showing that he has seen it all and will not forget it, and also a way of announcing his return and stabilizing morale.

The bystanders in this incident were most of the departed subordinates and Liu Licheng.

Zhuang Jin thought of Liu Licheng, and then of Xing Yan who had intervened this time, and felt a complex mix of emotions: 'I never expected that Liu Licheng, who told me Xing Yan betrayed him, would stand by coldly this time, while Xing Yan, who had betrayed me before, would step in so chivalrously this time.'

He had nothing to say to Liu Licheng and the other passersby. Helping was a favor, not helping was his right, and he didn't think that not helping meant he was just asking for trouble. From now on, they would go their separate ways.

'And the final enemy, Min Shang… a mere servant, is the direct culprit, but only a pawn pushed to the forefront. Behind him are Miao Shao and Zhao Bin!'

It can be said that since Zhuang Yutang and Zhuang Yuyong, Zhuang Jin has never hated anyone so much.

"Dezi, go and arrest Min Shang!"

"okay!"

Qian Wende is capable; he had previously discovered that Min Shang was hiding in the Min family's cellar. However, when he sneaked in to capture him, he was beaten black and blue by a strange martial artist who suddenly appeared. Now that Zhuang Jin has returned, the situation is naturally different, and Min Shang will probably be abandoned as a pawn.

"As for Miao Shao and Zhao Bin, I will handle them personally!"

……

Zhuang Jin did not directly confront Miao Shao and Zhao Bin, as that would be an abuse of power, turning her from being in the right to being in the wrong, making the situation unmanageable, and leaving a very bad impression on the Shen family.

He first went to be promoted to a second-level guard, and then submitted a report on the matter in duplicate, one copy for the Enforcement Department and one copy for the General Affairs Department.

The Enforcement Division is in charge of this, needless to say. As for the General Affairs Division, the little servant Min Shang was the trigger, so the General Affairs Division also bears some responsibility for this matter.

As a rising star who had just made a great contribution, Zhuang Jin's report, which would naturally be the focus of the Shen family's publicity, would not be ignored and quickly attracted attention. — In the eyes of the heads of the Enforcement Department and the General Affairs Department who received the report, Zhuang Jin was indeed pitiful: his prescient report was ignored; his careful choice of the land route was still met with an attack, in which he killed three members of the Medicine King Gang's Seven Scriptures, but was also injured himself; after all his hard work, his wife was framed upon his return... It was simply too tragic.

Soon, the report was reported up the chain of command, reaching the desks of the two chief officials. Mu Mingxi, the chief official of the General Affairs Department, and Li Ping, the chief official of the Law Enforcement Department, were both alarmed and met to discuss the matter.

"What have Miao Shao and Zhao Bin done? They've completely broken the law!"

Zhuang Jin's report did not reveal who the mastermind was, but Miao Shao and Zhao Bin's petty tricks could not be hidden from the behemoths of the Enforcement Department and the General Affairs Department.

No wonder Mu Mingxi was furious. Zhuang Jin was risking his life on the front lines, but these two were targeting his family. The impact was too bad. If word got out, who would dare to work diligently?
In a sense, this is undermining the Shen family and destroying their foundation!

“Yes, the impact is truly terrible!” Li Ping, the head of the Enforcement Division, also nodded.

The difference in their thinking is evident from their conversation. As true high-ranking members of the Shen family, they are no longer simply looking at the case like the section chief below, only focusing on who is right and who is wrong. Instead, they are considering the underlying impact of the matter.

At this moment, Mu Mingxi wished he could slap Miao Shao and Zhao Bin to death, and said murderously, "I intend to designate these two as spies and kill them on the spot!"

"No!"

Li Ping stopped him, saying, "These two are guilty, and their crimes deserve to be punished, but we must also have evidence and make clear examples. We cannot arbitrarily accuse them of a crime and kill them without warning... Otherwise, while it may feel good, it will also destroy the foundation of my Shen family."

He paused for a moment, then said, "These are two martial artists at the seventh level, guard level, already upper echelons of my Shen family. Without detailed evidence, it is impossible to make a judgment easily; this is not in accordance with procedure."

Procedural justice!

Mu Mingxi understood this principle. After calming down, he realized that those in power should not trample on the rules because of momentary joy or anger, but he still felt inexplicably frustrated.

The reality is absurd. Miao Shao and Zhao Bin recklessly broke the rules and undermined the foundation of the Shen family. Yet, if we want to deal with such people fairly, openly, and justly, we still have to adhere to procedural justice and act in accordance with the rules.

"I'm afraid that in the end there won't be enough evidence to make it an ironclad case!" Mu Mingxi sighed.

Having reached this level, they naturally understand the ins and outs. When Miao Shao and Zhao Bin make their moves, they certainly won't leave any evidence. They'll probably just give a hint or two, hiding behind the scenes to make it easier to distance themselves. If something goes wrong, they'll just deny everything. It's the kind of situation where you clearly know it's the other party, but it's extremely difficult to get concrete evidence.

"But we must act in accordance with the rules and regulations. We can't disregard the rules, otherwise it will have a very bad impact."

"But if we follow the rules strictly, and there's insufficient evidence, allowing these two to escape justice, wouldn't that encourage others to follow suit? The impact would be even worse!"

The two judges were caught in a dilemma. On the one hand, Miao Shao and Zhao Bin had to be prosecuted and not allowed to get away with it, otherwise the consequences would be severe, it would discourage others, and others would follow suit. On the other hand, if the investigation eventually came to a conclusion, there was a high probability that the evidence would be insufficient. If they were to force a prosecution, it would violate procedural justice and damage the foundation of the Shen family.

This gave them a huge headache, and they were filled with hatred for Miao Shao and Zhao Bin, who had caused the trouble.

Ultimately, after discussion, a decision was made: to take immediate action to arrest Miao Shao and Zhao Bin, to see if they could obtain detailed evidence and assess their attitude toward admitting guilt, before deciding on the next steps.

……

In the south of the city, there is a garrison stationed in a town.

"What? Zhuang Jin is back?! He even broke through to the eighth level of the Medicine King Clan, killed three seventh-level martial artists, and made a great contribution?!" Miao Shao asked in shock.

At this moment, even though it was springtime and flowers were in bloom, he inexplicably felt a chill.

"Yes!" Zhao Bin's voice was hoarse. He couldn't believe the news, but he had no choice but to accept the fact.

"Damn it! Damn it!"

Miao Shao cursed and swore, then suddenly looked up angrily at Zhao Bin. It was this man who insisted on bringing him along; otherwise, how could he have gotten caught up in this mess?

“I know that Magistrate Miao hates me, but we’re in the same boat now. Magistrate Miao is also involved in this matter and can’t escape responsibility.”

Zhao Bin reminded them, and seeing that the other party had calmed down, he continued, "Actually, there's no need to worry too much. We're all from the Seventh Rank, high-ranking members of the Shen family. Without evidence, we can't just do whatever we want... I only hinted at and gave instructions before... We've already distanced ourselves from them. As long as they stick to their guns and don't admit anything..."

"You're making it sound so nice, even if we escape this time..." Miao Shao hadn't finished speaking.

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out outside.

A moment later, a joint enforcement team from the Enforcement Department and the General Affairs Department entered with orders and looked at the two men: "Governor Miao and Governor Zhao, come with us!"

……

(End of this chapter)