Arranged marriage, love blossoms; a fiercely devoted soldier dotes on her alone.

"Slap! Slap!"

"The old man is right."

Xiao Zhan clapped and cheered.

Qin Huanhuan raised her glass and said, "Grandpa, I'd like to toast you. What you said was so true, especially the part about how the best kind of relationship between husband and wife is to work together to deal with the world, rather than shutting yourselves in and making things difficult for each other. Xiao Zhan and I will definitely stop fighting amongst ourselves and work together to deal with the outside world."

Xiao Huai'an raised his glass and said, "I hope you two will love each other for the rest of your lives, understand and tolerate each other more, resolve issues at home, and stand together against outsiders."

After saying that, he drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.

At this point, the bottle of tea had been finished.

Xiao Zhan said, "Grandpa, that's enough for today. The two of us have already drunk quite a lot, including a bottle. Your health isn't suited to drinking more."

Xiao Huai'an doesn't usually drink, but he had a few drinks today because he had something on his mind, and he was already seven or eight parts drunk.

So he said, "Alright, let's not drink anymore, Xiao Zhan. Let's go back to our room and continue our conversation."

As he spoke, Xiao Huai'an stood up and walked out of the restaurant. Perhaps because of his age, or perhaps because he had been drinking, Xiao Huai'an walked with a slight stumble.

Startled, Xiao Zhan quickly stepped forward to support Xiao Huai'an, saying, "Grandpa, please walk slowly, let me help you."

Xiao Huai'an sneered, "I'm not drunk, why would you help me? Let's go back, have some tea to sober up, and then continue our previous conversation."

Xiao Huai'an's words sent a signal that he would no longer avoid the previous questions.

Hearing the old man speak like this, Xiao Zhan was momentarily confused about what the old man was up to. Before the meal, no matter how he asked, the old man never gave him a direct answer.

Having no other choice, I had to resort to a roundabout tactic, and now I'm actually taking the initiative to continue the conversation.

It seems the old man has come to his senses after drinking.

So the two returned to the study. Xiao Zhan closed the door, brewed fresh tea, and poured it into Xiao Huai'an's cup, saying, "Grandpa, have some tea to sober up."

Xiao Huai'an drank a cup of tea, looked at Xiao Zhan, and said, "Didn't you want to know the truth about Qin Hanwen's disappearance on that rainy night?"

Xiao Zhan: "Grandpa, I suggest that whoever asks the other a question today must answer truthfully and without evasion."

Xiao Huai'an nodded and said, "As you wish, no evasion is allowed, you must answer truthfully."

Xiao Zhan playfully held up his little finger and said, "Pinky promise!"

Xiao Huai'an paused for a moment, then smiled and hooked his little finger around Xiao Zhan's little finger, saying, "No changes for a hundred years!"

Xiao Huai'an: "Didn't Li Chaobing tell you about the night Qin Hanwen had his accident before he died? I remember he was the one who handled it."

Xiao Zhan said truthfully, "He did tell me, but not everything. I want to hear it from you yourself."

"Thud!"

Xiao Huai'an lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled a cloud of smoke. Amidst the swirling smoke, he asked, "Xiao Zhan, how did you come to suspect me?"

Xiao Zhan smiled and didn't hide anything, saying the truth: "It was Uncle Yu, because Li Chaobing told me that he saw Uncle Yu and Deng Zhi at the Qin family's house on the night the Qin family had their accident."

Xiao Huai'an raised an eyebrow and said, "No, there must be other people who have told you this. You wouldn't suspect me based on Li Chaobing alone."

Xiao Zhan couldn't help but give a thumbs up and said, "Grandpa, as expected, old ginger is spicier. In the first half of your life, you were a soldier who made great contributions to the country. In the second half of your life, you built the powerful Xiao Group and contributed your share to the military industry. Your life's glory and honor are enough for me to learn and work hard until I die, but I can never reach your level."

Xiao Huai'an smiled calmly and said, "Stop flattering me. No matter how good I am, I was still forced to reveal my true colors by you, you brat. But you are a member of the Xiao family. Losing to you is not shameful for me. On the contrary, I am very happy. This is called the new wave pushing the old wave, and the old wave dying on the beach."

"Hehe! My Xiao family has someone to carry on the family line."

"Alright, I'm not going to waste time with your small talk. Let's get down to business. Qin Hanwen and Deng Zhi were competing to see who could become the number one in Beijing. To be honest, both Deng Zhi and Qin Hanwen were very talented, and their families were evenly matched at the time. Both of them were outstanding young talents in Beijing, and their personal abilities were also comparable."

Xiao Zhan raised an eyebrow and asked, "Then why did you ultimately choose Deng Zhi and abandon Qin Hanwen?"

"Why!"

Xiao Huai'an sighed and said, "Qin Hanwen is too honest and a bit arrogant, unlike Deng Zhi who is more shrewd and cunning. Besides, I fought alongside the Deng family patriarch, so our relationship is even closer."

"As you know, if you want to manage the 'Sky Arbiter System' well and keep those big shots firmly under your control, Deng Zhi is undoubtedly the best candidate. So I gave Deng Zhi and Qin Hanwen a choice: whoever could make the other withdraw in the shortest time would take over the 'Sky Arbiter System' and become the number one in Beijing. However, what I didn't expect was that Deng Zhi forced Qin Hanwen to commit suicide that very night. When I received the news, I couldn't believe it, so I sent Uncle Yu to the scene to check. This is what Li Chaobing said; he personally saw Uncle Yu at the Qin family's house."

Xiao Zhan raised an eyebrow and said, "So, with your support, Deng Zhi became the top dog in the capital and took control of the 'Sky Judge System'?"

Xiao Huai'an nodded.

Xiao Zhan: "Actually, you're the real mastermind behind it all, and Deng Zhi is just following your orders?"

Xiao Huai'an shook his head and said, "Deng Zhi doesn't listen to just me, but to the orders of three people. I'm just the executor among the three. Deng Zhi is fully responsible for external matters. Over the years, Deng Zhi has indeed not let us down and has done a very good job."

Xiao Zhan raised an eyebrow and asked, "There are three decision-makers in your group? So besides you, who are the other two?"

Xiao Huai'an didn't hide anything and revealed the names of the other two people.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhan was immediately alarmed. Both of them had been leaders in the central decision-making level, but one of them had already died of illness, and the other was the old master of the Deng family, who was about to retire.

Xiao Zhan thought for a moment and asked, "Last time when Deng Zhi and I were ambushed by Liu Chuanren in Iraq, it was Bai Zexiang who secretly helped me and tipped me off. Did you send him?"

Xiao Huai'an readily admitted, "It was indeed me who sent Bai Zexiang to help you. At the same time, we targeted the Liu family in the capital to eliminate this great scourge in one fell swoop. I have been patient for so many years, waiting for the best opportunity to bring down the Liu family."

In fact, Xiao Zhan didn't care about the fate of the Liu family.

Xiao Zhan raised an eyebrow and asked, "Was it your idea to have me replace Deng Zhi, or whose idea was it?"

"Why!"

Xiao Huai'an sighed and said, "After Deng Zhi was diagnosed with a hereditary disease, I discussed with Grandpa Deng who should take over. Grandpa Deng ultimately chose you to succeed him."

Xiao Zhan: "So you agreed."

Xiao Huai'an nodded.

Xiao Zhan continued, "In order to ensure the future interests of the Deng family, or rather, to avoid being purged after his death, Old Master Deng proposed that I marry Deng Ying, a political marriage between the Xiao and Deng families. And you actually agreed and even hinted to my mother to propose it to Deng Zhi. All the subsequent scandalous actions were carried out with your tacit approval."

Xiao Huai'an readily nodded.

Xiao Zhan: "Grandpa, I have two more questions for you."

Xiao Huai'an: "Ask away."

Xiao Zhan continued, "What's the deal with the Miki Takeo assassin group? And what did Deng Zhi use to force Qin Hanwen to commit suicide? Why did he announce to the public that Qin Hanwen was missing?"