In ancient times, the powerful and wealthy seized power step by step.

The sun was blazing outside. Gu Zhao returned to the government office and was changing his clothes when his servant came to report that Lord Liu had come to visit.

With the final moments of the operation underway, Gu Zhao, though impatient to see him, still instructed his servant to invite Lord Liu to the study and serve him fine tea.

Lord Liu drank two cups of tea in his study before Gu Zhao finally arrived.

Seeing that Lord Liu was about to rise and bow, Gu Zhao waved his hand, his tone very approachable:

"Wen Huan, sit down."

It was a rare treat to receive such courtesy from Lord Gu. Lord Liu was flattered and quickly rose, cupping his hands in greeting and smiling:

"Congratulations to Lord Gu! Your wish has come true."

Gu Zhao smiled, neither confirming nor denying, and said:

"Wen Huan, what brings you here?"

Lord Liu moved closer and lowered his voice:

"Someone wants to send a congratulatory gift to Your Excellency to express their loyalty, but their boat cannot get through. I wonder if Your Excellency could make an exception and give them a chance to show their loyalty."

Upon arriving in Yangzhou, Gu Zhao set up checkpoints at all land and water routes to conduct strict inspections, seal up shops, and arrest officials involved in the case.

Without the protection of the government, Lei Dawu had salt that he could not smuggle out, and even those that he managed to smuggle out secretly had nowhere to sell, and he lost many men. With so many people under his command who had not earned any income for so long, they could not hold on any longer.

Now that Lord Liu has established connections with Gu Zhao, Lei Dawu wants to use the pretext of giving gifts to Gu Zhao to rebuild the passageway.

Upon hearing this, Gu Zhao did not refuse on the spot, but instead said:

"Wen Huan, I have been ordered to suppress the bandits. Without bloodshed, the task cannot be accomplished."

In his ability to discern the emperor's intentions, Lord Liu had reached the pinnacle; he understood immediately upon hearing the message and promptly said:

"Yes, yes, what you say is absolutely right, sir. How can there be a fight against bandits without bloodshed? It must be a grand and spectacular operation, known to all. It would be best if the heads of the bandits were hung all over the walls. That way, it would be more respectable to write a battle report to the capital. You can rest assured about this matter, sir. He is a sensible man. You have to give to receive. He will definitely handle it properly for you, sir."

Gu Zhao seemed quite pleased with Lord Liu's responsiveness, and his tone became even more amiable:

"He wants to bring a gift? What's the procedure?"

Lord Liu raised a finger, his face beaming with a fawning smile:

"This number, from now on, will be used to honor your parents for a long, long time."

Gu Zhao looked at his finger and chuckled:

"Oh? You're so considerate of me, an official who's traveled thousands of miles, and you're sending me away like this, a freeloader. You're both thoughtful and generous. It's just a little bit of stuff, why bother him to deliver it personally? Consider it a reward from me. Take it with you to your coffins and use it yourselves."

These few words, spoken so casually, were enough to terrify Lord Liu, who immediately knelt down again.

"My lord, spare my life! Twenty percent! No, thirty percent, as a tribute to you, my lord!"

Gu Zhao seemed satisfied at this point, and personally helped Lord Liu up:

"I'm just having a few words with you. We're all officials in the same court, there's no need for us to kneel like that. Please get up. Wen Huan, I've been away for quite a while now, and I'm sure the Emperor is waiting to see the results. Let's get things done properly and as soon as possible. I can't stand the sweltering heat of Jiangnan in the summer. Once we've finished our business, I should go back. In the end, the land of the two rivers still depends on you to be loyal to the Emperor."

While Lord Liu and Lord Gu were talking inside, Xiong Kun, as always, stood guard outside with his knife.

When Lord Liu and Lord Gu finished their business and came out, the two exchanged a glance and nodded as usual.

Seeing Lord Liu's beaming face, Xiong Kun thought to himself:

"Oh no, Lord Gu must be in an even worse mood now. I wonder which unlucky soul will go in and get into trouble later."

Just then, the chief interrogator in charge of questioning the second-in-command of the Zhang family arrived and asked Xiong Kun:

"Are you free now, sir? The prisoners have confessed, a lot of them."

Xiong Kun was always by Lord Gu's side. When Lord Gu was in a good mood, Xiong Kun's work was easier.

Therefore, if it were a normal matter, Xiong Kun thought it would be best to wait a while before reporting it. Lord Gu was already in a bad mood after returning from the ferry, and with Lord Liu's arrival just now, his mood had only worsened. Why go and invite a scolding at this time?

However, seeing the written confession in the presiding judge's hand, which concerned the most important matter to Lord Gu, Xiong Kun dared not make him wait on his own. He immediately went to announce the summons, and the presiding judge was summoned in on the spot.

After a while, the presiding judge came out looking dejected again:

"The adult is calling you."

Xiong Kun entered the room and saw Gu Zhao holding a stack of pens and looking at the map, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

Gu Zhao threw the stack of papers onto the table, looked at Xiong Kun with a murderous aura in his eyes, and said:

"They're both incredibly shrewd and adept at getting things done. Xiong Kun, go and keep an eye on them for me. Make sure they don't frame anyone or make baseless accusations. I need solid evidence!"

Xiong Kun was ordered to supervise the interrogation of the second manager of the Zhang family, while Gu Zhao spent the afternoon alone deploying troops in front of the map.

He thought that taking Lei Dawu's life would be easy, but to wipe them all out, he would need to plan carefully.

Halfway through the setup, it suddenly occurred to me that Zhang Jingyan couldn't possibly be without flaws. How could a wealthy family be so spotless and law-abiding?

Why are you thinking about this again?

Looking at the chaotic layout on the map, Gu Zhao realized that his heart had been stirred by her, and he could no longer remain calm.

Since he couldn't calm down, Gu Zhao simply took out the stack of written confessions and looked at them again.

The more she read, the more she realized that the whole thing was nonsense and blatant lies. If Zhang Jingyan were really that kind of person, how could someone as compassionate as her be so devoted to him and so loving as a couple?

Being in love means that what he desires but cannot have, another man can obtain at will from her.

He was so jealous he wanted to kill someone.

Black and white on white paper.

He had every reason to kill.

Gu Zhao sat at the table for a long time with the stack of written confessions in hand, until the streetlights dimmed, night fell, the words on the pen became illegible, and Xiong Kun knocked on the study door with a thin written confession.

The servant came in and lit the lamp. Xiong Kun presented the written confession. Gu Zhao took the light piece of paper, which contained only a few words.

Gu Zhao took the paper, stood up abruptly, and without saying a word, headed towards the prison.

In the lowest level of the government prison, where serious criminals were held, a person lay motionless on the ground, covered in blood, almost unrecognizable as human.

Gu Zhao walked over, stepping on the blood-soaked ground and the wounds on the man's hands from torture. Amidst the second manager's mournful cries, he calmly looked down and asked:

"You saw Zhang Jingyan write an account book, what kind of account book was it?"