Ke Mingxuan watched as Bian Yiqiu’s figure grew more distant, knowing that his refusal to compromise would lead to something waiting for Bian Yiqiu in court.

The police car made a turn and paused briefly in a blind spot of the parking lot’s surveillance cameras. Moments later, Ke Mingxuan stepped out from the shadows, put on his sunglasses, and calmly walked away. He got into the car already waiting by the side of the road and headed toward the He Sheng Building.

After hesitating for a moment, he found a number in his contacts and dialed it.

He set up a meeting time with the person on the other end of the line, and just as he sighed in relief after hanging up, He Xu’s call came in immediately, bringing some shocking news.

Zhou Ming was dead.

Ke Mingxuan quickly had the driver turn around, heading at full speed to the Jiu’an Group.

This was his first time at Jiu’an, and he never expected it would be under such circumstances, with Bian Yiqiu absent.

Given the recent news about the cross-holding shares between He Sheng and Jiu’an, no one at Jiu’an was unaware of who he was. Though his sudden visit came as a surprise, the well-trained receptionist quickly regained her composure and escorted him to the office of the Director of the Legal Department, He Xu.

He pushed the door open, and everyone sitting on the couch stood up. They were all familiar faces, and Ke Mingxuan couldn’t be bothered with small talk. He got straight to the point and asked, “What happened?”

He Xu replied, “I just got the news too. Old Meng went to the forensic department to confirm it, and it really was Zhou Ming.”

Ke Mingxuan turned to Old Meng. “How did he die?”

Old Meng said, “Drowning. The initial assessment from the forensic doctor is that he fell into Tian Shui River in the north of the city after getting drunk.”

Ke Mingxuan scoffed, “Tian Shui River can still drown someone?”

Although the name Tian Shui River sounded quite impressive, in reality, it was just an inconspicuous small river on the outskirts of Z City. The deepest part could barely submerge an adult man’s thighs, and the river wasn’t wide or fast-flowing. It was a very gentle river. During summer, children often played and swam in the water without any accidents. How could it possibly drown an adult?

Old Meng continued, “It probably wouldn’t drown anyone on a normal day, but there was heavy rain for a whole week before. The river swelled, and in several places, the water level rose above two meters, flooding the stone paths nearby. If someone was drunk and there was no one around, it would definitely be hard to climb out on their own if they fell in.”

Ke Mingxuan frowned, clearly deep in thought, not fully accepting the explanation. “Are you certain he died during the heavy rain from a few days ago?”

Old Meng replied, “Based on the forensic doctor’s assessment, the estimated time of death was between 10 PM and midnight, about five days ago, right when the rain was heaviest.”

Zuo Cheng, who had been silently sitting on the side, suddenly spoke up, “Why would he go to the river at that time, in such heavy rain? Did he get drunk and take the wrong path?”

Everyone turned to look at him.

Zuo Cheng, confused, asked, “…Did I say something wrong?”

“No, you’ve just pointed out the key issue.” After saying that, Ke Mingxuan looked at He Xu. “Have you found out where he was staying during this time?”

He Xu shook his head. “After that incident last year, all his properties were seized by the bank to settle his debts. His wife and children left Z City and returned to her family, and there’s been no contact with him since. He severed ties with all his family and friends—no phone, no bank cards, and he didn’t appear in public. I found out he had rented a basement in the south city, but after your car accident, that place was already empty.”

“Are there any places near where he was found that could have been inhabited?”

“Aside from the half-demolished steel plant dormitories, there are no other residential areas. But that place has long been emptied out, leaving only two crumbling, broken buildings. Who would live there?”

“Exactly because everyone believes it’s uninhabitable, that’s why hiding there would be safe.” Zhou Ming had gone to great lengths to hide himself so thoroughly, and it was impossible for him to have carelessly drowned while drunk.

This wasn’t an accident; this was murder to silence him.

Zhou Ming must have been at Wuye Mountain that night because someone had instructed him to be there. Judging from the situation at the time, it probably wasn’t Qian Ying. In other words, while it was Qian Ying who had kidnapped Bian Yiqiu, the one who truly wanted him dead was someone else.

Ke Mingxuan had a faint idea of who it might be, but without Zhou Ming, there would be no way to prove it.

He sent people to search the old buildings at the steel plant and had someone visit Zhou Ming’s wife’s family to gather information. Zhou Ming had been Bian Yiqiu’s close ally for eight years and had successfully managed Hongyuan, so he wasn’t a fool. If he had dared to cooperate with that person, he must have planned for an escape. Ke Mingxuan refused to believe that Zhou Ming would let himself die in such a mysterious way.

Zhou Ming’s death made him uneasy. That person had completely lost his mind, and he needed to get Bian Yiqiu out of prison as soon as possible.

It was already late by the time he left Jiu’an. Instead of heading to He Sheng, he went straight to the place where he had arranged to meet someone.

That night, Ke Mingxuan returned to the military district compound and told his father, “You won.”

Commander Ke seemed to have anticipated this outcome. Slowly setting down the newspaper in his hands, he looked up at his tall, handsome son, wearing a smile that suggested he was confident of success. “I’m glad you’ve finally recognized the situation.”

Ke Mingxuan’s expression remained unchanged. “I agree to the marriage, but I have a condition.”

Commander Ke took a sip from the teacup on his desk. “Go ahead.”

“Bian Yiqiu must be released immediately, with all charges dropped.”

“Son,” Commander Ke looked at him with the same gaze as if he still saw him as a naive child. “I only said that Bian Yiqiu would live if you agreed to the marriage, but I never said he would be released.”

Ke Mingxuan’s expression changed immediately. “What do you mean?”

Commander Ke shot him a cold glance. “What I mean is, if you marry, he won’t be sentenced to death, but for everything he’s done, he must face legal consequences.”

Ke Mingxuan suddenly sprang up from his chair. “Legal consequences? What kind of consequences? A life sentence, to rot in prison for the rest of his life?”

“That’s still better than just letting him die, isn’t it?”

Of course not. Ke Mingxuan silently refuted in his mind. For Bian Yiqiu, a lifetime in prison would be worse than being killed outright.

“Dad.” Ke Mingxuan gritted his teeth as he spoke, “I’ve already taken a step back, and I hope you won’t push me too far. I’ve agreed to the marriage, and I won’t go back on my word. But if Bian Yiqiu isn’t released unharmed before my wedding, I can’t guarantee I won’t do something that could harm the family.”

“How dare you!” Commander Ke slammed the table, pointing at his son’s nose as he shouted, “Who gave you the courage to threaten your own father!”

Ke Mingxuan’s eyes burned with fury, but he didn’t back down. “This isn’t a threat. I’m negotiating. I get married, he gets out of prison. And you must guarantee that all his records are destroyed, with no further actions taken against him from this point on.”

Commander Ke’s anger twisted into a cold smile. “You’re asking for too much. Do you think I’ll agree to that?”

“You don’t have to agree. At most, I’ll go out and kill someone myself. Whether it’s the death sentence or life imprisonment, I’ll go down with him.”

Commander Ke was so enraged he almost had a stroke, pointing at his son for a long time without being able to say a word. He couldn’t believe that “go out and kill someone” had just come out of his own son’s mouth. But the determination and resolve in Ke Mingxuan’s eyes told him he wasn’t joking—if he didn’t agree, his son might really do it.

For the first time, Commander Ke felt like a failure as a father. He could manage thousands of soldiers, but he couldn’t control his own son. Or rather, he had never really managed this son. His attention had always been more focused on the military than on his family.

From birth through his school years, Ke Mingxuan had grown up with a father whose frequent job transfers and long missions often kept him away for months at a time. By the time Commander Ke had achieved enough military success to reach his current position, he turned around only to realize his son had already grown up. By then, he had missed the best chance to guide him.

But that didn’t mean he would just watch his son stray further down the wrong path.

Having been a soldier his whole life, Commander Ke had the unyielding spirit of military integrity carved into his bones. He despised people like Bian Yiqiu, the gang leader, viewing them as the scum of society and parasites to the nation. He couldn’t understand or accept his son’s feelings for that man. All he knew was that if something was wrong, it had to be set right.

The father and son stood locked in a tense standoff, the silence in the study lasting for a full ten minutes. Finally, Commander Ke was forced to make a concession. “Releasing him now is impossible. After your wedding, I will have him released.”

Ke Mingxuan pressed on with his condition. “Before the wedding.”

Commander Ke stared at him. “Do you think you’ll be able to marry peacefully once he’s out?”

Ke Mingxuan countered, “Will you release him after I’m married?”

Commander Ke seethed with anger. “You don’t trust your own father?”

Ke Mingxuan sneered. “Aren’t you the same? You don’t trust your own son either.”

“You don’t even consider why I don’t trust you!” Commander Ke slammed his teacup onto the table, spilling the fine Junshan Silver Needle tea all over. “On the day of the wedding. As long as you marry obediently, I’ll make sure he’s released without a hitch.”

Ke Mingxuan knew this was his father’s bottom line. Continuing to argue could backfire, so he decided to accept the terms and nodded, replying, “Alright, on the day of the wedding.”

In order to get Bian Yiqiu released from prison as soon as possible, Ke Mingxuan pushed for the wedding to be held “the sooner, the better.” He knew the Ke and Feng families had been waiting for this day for a long time. As for the marriage partner, it was no surprise that it was the Chen family, who had visited during the Chinese New Year.

Minister Chen was Commander Ke’s old comrade-in-arms, and the two had shared a bond of life-and-death during their time in the military. Moreover, the late Mr. Chen and Mr. Feng, the head of the bureau, had been political allies, which made the relationship between their families especially close. The marriage alliance was not only a way to strengthen familial ties but also to consolidate the interests of several families. At the height of their military and political careers, both Commander Ke and Director Feng were on the verge of advancing further—Commander Ke, with his age and experience, was certain to rise to a position at one of the top four military commands or a key committee. Naturally, the Chen family saw this as an opportunity to solidify their relationship. Additionally, Director Feng’s promotion to the provincial office the following year was something Minister Chen had significant influence over.

The Ke and Feng families had always been small in number. With Ke Mingxuan already in business, there was little hope for him to return to politics. His cousin, Feng Yu, was still in high school, but given his current training, he was destined for a political path. Since Ke Mingxuan had chosen freedom in his career, it was only natural that he would have to sacrifice his marriage for the sake of the family.

After leaving the study, Ke Mingxuan didn’t want to stay at home for another moment. He went downstairs and left.

Feng Shuxian chased after him, asking why he wasn’t even staying for dinner. He didn’t look back and simply replied, “I have things to do.”

When the car reached the gate of the compound, Ke Mingxuan happened to see Lin Jiayan’s car pulling in from the outside. The two cars stopped face-to-face in the middle of the road, neither of them yielding.

Ke Mingxuan almost couldn’t remember the last time he had seen Lin Jiayan. It seemed like it was when he and Bian Yiqiu had just confirmed their relationship, and he had invited a few friends out for a meal. In order to make Lin Jiayan give up, he had said some harsh words, and since then, their interactions had dwindled. Later, one day when he returned home, he had run into Lin Jiayan at the same spot, but Lin Jiayan only walked past his car without a word. He wasn’t sure if it was Qian Ying waiting for him at the gate that time. Their last meaningful interaction was when Bian Yiqiu was kidnapped by Qian Ying, and Lin Jiayan had sent the message that led the police to Wuye Mountain. He wondered how that kid named Qian was doing now that he had been caught.

The two cars blocked the road, preventing the vehicles behind them from moving, and the drivers honked their horns twice in frustration.

Ke Mingxuan steered his car to the side and parked in an empty space. He then rolled down the window and gestured for Lin Jiayan to come over.

Lin Jiayan drove his car into the spot, parked next to him, and then opened the door, getting into the passenger seat of Ke Mingxuan’s car.

“Mingxuan ge, long time no see.”

Ke Mingxuan gave him a side glance. “You know it’s been a while? What have you been busy with lately?”

“Busy with work, what else could it be?” Lin Jiayan turned to look at him. “Has your injury healed?”

Lin Jiayan’s tone hadn’t changed much, and he didn’t seem to be in a bad state, which made Ke Mingxuan feel a little relieved.

“If I wasn’t healed, do you think I’d be driving?” Ke Mingxuan paused before asking, “How about you? Everything okay?” He had initially wanted to ask about him and Qian Ying, but when the words reached his lips, he didn’t know how to bring it up. After all, it was a pretty awkward subject.

“Yeah, everything’s fine.” Lin Jiayan turned his head to look at the windshield and casually reached over to grab a small decorative model from the dashboard, idly playing with it in his hand.

Ke Mingxuan could tell from the gesture that Lin Jiayan wasn’t being truthful. Whenever he tried to cover something up, he always had this habit of distracting himself with small things, probably without even realizing it.

He remembered what He Xu had told him once—Lin Jiayan’s relationship with Qian Ying was similar to his own with Bian Yiqiu. Of course, he didn’t think their bond was as deep as his with Bian Yiqiu, but judging by how Lin Jiayan was acting, it seemed like he had become emotionally involved. Now that Qian Ying had been arrested, with charges that surely weren’t light, it was understandable that Lin Jiayan would be feeling uneasy.

However, from Ke Mingxuan’s perspective, this was actually a good thing. Qian Ying was nothing like Bian Yiqiu—he was a real “active” member of the underworld. If Lin Jiayan had continued to get entangled with him, the Lin family would eventually get dragged into it. This way, it was better—less trouble in the future.

“That’s good to hear. That Qian guy isn’t someone worth keeping your mind on. Now that he’s locked up, you shouldn’t waste any more thoughts on him.”

Lin Jiayan probably didn’t expect him to say that. He paused for a moment before bursting into laughter.

“Mingxuan ge, what are you talking about? Me and Qian Ying, we were just messing around. It’s not like you and Bian Yiqiu. Why would I be thinking about him? You’re too funny, hahaha…”

Listening to his laughter, Ke Mingxuan couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy. When had the spoiled, reckless Lin Jiayan—who always followed him around as a child and never hid his emotions—learned to put on a forced smile in front of him?