Zhu Da walked away with a stack of official papers stamped with the seal of the Rectification Office. Liu Ying quietly asked me, “Director, who is that man? Why is he like that? He even claimed to have been in the triad for half his life—is that true? He certainly looks the part.”

“Don't ask. The four of you need to familiarize yourselves with the case file immediately. When everyone arrives, conduct the questioning as planned. Don't be intimidated by the Director of the People's Congress. Commander Zhu is right; we wouldn't fear the US President. If I can’t bring that venomous woman down, I’ll walk backward for the rest of my life.”

Liu Ying, Leng Feng, Guan Yue, and Tian Qing exchanged glances. Although they sensed their young director must possess remarkable qualities, they hadn't expected him to be this astounding—not even sparing a thought for the Director of the People's Congress. But perhaps this was a good thing; following such a leader meant future accomplishments were certain. Despite a touch of fear, they knew that if the matter went sideways, the blame wouldn't land on them, so focusing on their immediate duties was paramount.

Secretary Nie received a call from the hotel that afternoon, reporting that a China Central Television interview vehicle and eight luxury Mercedes-Benzes had arrived in P City. Such a conspicuous display was something Secretary Nie couldn't ignore; any negative ripple effect would surely draw reprimands from his uncle in Beijing.

However, Secretary Huang, sent to gather intelligence, returned with a crestfallen face, shocking Secretary Nie. He slammed his desk, exclaiming, "What is this Rectification Office! They don't even give face to the Director of the People's Congress, my uncle!"

Secretary Huang stammered, "They also said they would arrive at the Secretary's house in five minutes to arrest Ah Juan. If that’s true, they are probably already there..."

The desk phone suddenly rang insistently. Secretary Nie snatched it up. "Hello? ... What? A group of people resembling triads have arrested Ah Juan! And they have official documents from the Central Rectification Office? This is chaos, absolute chaos."

Hearing this, Secretary Huang collapsed onto the floor. It turned out they weren't bluffing; everything was real. Was the Nie family tree about to fall? Could the great tree in the capital still hold up the sky? Over the past few years, he had profited considerably by following Secretary Nie; if things truly broke, he wouldn't escape legal punishment.

Secretary Nie slammed the receiver down, defeated. "It’s true. They've come to investigate Ah Juan's case. Why didn't my uncle notify me beforehand? No, I must call and tell him."

Secretary Huang urged, "Yes, Secretary, let's first investigate the background of this Rectification Office."

The call connected quickly. Secretary Nie embellished the story when relaying it to his uncle at the People's Congress. The man on the other end replied, "This Central Rectification Office was jointly established by the State Council and the Central Military Commission. It was set up over a month ago with no activity, but who knew they would suddenly target us.

Secretary Nie asked, "Uncle, aren't you familiar with their leadership? Ah Juan has already been taken. What should I do?"

"Honestly, nobody knows who their director is. The Rectification Office is a direct subordinate agency of the State Council, answering only to the Premier and the Chairman. I've never even met this mysterious director. Everyone says it's a nominal position, likely without much real power. Now that they've shown up on your turf—as the saying goes, a fierce dragon cannot crush a local snake. What to do? I shouldn't have to teach you; figure out a way to get them back to Beijing, that should suffice, shouldn't it?"

Hanging up, Secretary Nie and Secretary Huang conferred again. They decided on a strategy of courtesy before force: hurriedly preparing large red envelopes while simultaneously summoning the city's most notorious gangsters. If the 'sugar-coated bullet' attack failed, they would send men to intimidate the officials into releasing Ah Juan.

As for delivering the red envelopes, Secretary Huang absolutely refused to go inside. Secretary Nie had no choice but to send his office director, Director Wu. Director Wu had already heard from Secretary Huang that there was a very aggressive fat man inside, who had slapped him earlier, so his legs trembled slightly as he entered the room.

Secretary Nie and Secretary Huang waited in the car outside the hotel for a short while before Director Wu emerged. He reported, "Secretary, I failed the mission. They threw the red envelope straight back out, saying that if they found out I was involved in this matter, I would be severely punished along with the others."

Secretary Nie became ruthless. He said to Secretary Huang, "They forced my hand. Ah Juan is my only daughter. What she did was indeed excessive, but it's done now, and there’s no turning back. Notify the people outside to smash their interview vehicle, then go into the hotel and beat up a few unimportant staff members. Get Ah Juan out and retreat."

Secretary Huang pulled out his phone and made a call. The three of them then sat in the car, watching every movement inside the hotel. First, several Toyota vans drove into the hotel grounds, followed by crowds of people pouring out of the vehicles. These people split into two groups: the larger group rushed into the hotel lobby, while the second group of six men, carrying iron bars with menacing intent, headed toward the interview vehicle.

As these six vans entered the outer perimeter of the hotel, they were spotted by the Super Soldiers responsible for security. Now, these six men were lunging at the news interview vehicle, and two Super Soldiers stepped forward to block the way.

"Get out of the way!" one thug shouted, brandishing his iron bar.

Unfortunately, no one heeded him. So the man gestured behind him, "Go! Hit them along with the vehicle!"

To call this a 'battle' would be an exaggeration of the opposition’s strength; it was entirely one-sided slaughter. Although no lives were actually taken, within one minute, the six men lying on the ground would be permanently crippled. Of course, if they were lucky enough to receive direct medical attention from Director Hua of Huashi Hospital, there might be hope, but these six men would not be so fortunate.

Secretary Nie, Secretary Huang, and Director Wu watched from the cars outside, shaking their heads. Secretary Nie commented, "Little Huang, what kind of people did you find? They couldn't even last a minute before being taken down. How are we supposed to rescue her?"

Secretary Huang replied, "These are all the most notorious gangsters in P City; they are famous for being vicious fighters. Secretary Nie, do you remember that case where a victim was hacked so severely that no part of his body was intact? That was them."

Director Wu couldn't bear to watch the gruesome scene. He covered his eyes and muttered, "Now they are the ones with no intact parts. Who knows what's happening inside with that group."

As they spoke, a window on the third-floor hallway suddenly flew open, and over a dozen people were tossed out like grasshoppers. They cried out briefly in mid-air, but upon hitting the ground, there was silence.

Secretary Nie was stunned. What kind of people were these, so ruthless? Throwing people from the third floor meant they were essentially crippled, if not dead. Who dared to commit such an atrocity so openly?

"What do we do? What do we do?" Secretary Huang and Director Wu anxiously asked.

Secretary Nie commanded, "What else can we do? Call for ambulances! And call Director Tong of the Municipal Public Security Bureau. Since they dare to openly injure people, we dare to send the police in to arrest them."

Secretary Huang and Director Wu immediately sprang into action. Twenty minutes later, police cars and ambulances arrived in a wail. Director Tong got out first to confer with Secretary Nie. Secretary Nie said, "Old Tong, I heard a central leader was here, so I brought Little Huang and Little Wu to visit. Who knew they were impostors? Not only did they slap Little Huang, but they also abducted my Ah Juan, and now they are committing violence in the hotel. The rest is up to you, Old Tong. You must step up at this critical moment."

Bureau Chief Tong assured him, "Secretary Nie, rest assured. Such a major incident in broad daylight is also a failure on our part as the police department. I will immediately organize forces to go in and make arrests. However, Secretary Nie, are you certain they are impostors?"

Secretary Nie demanded, "How could you doubt me, Old Tong? If they were truly sent from the center, wouldn't my uncle have notified me? If anything goes wrong with this, I will take the fall, and if I can't, my uncle, Director Nie of the People's Congress, will back me up. You can relax now."

Director Tong was aware of the situation involving Secretary Nie’s family, and the pile of half-dead men on the ground served as concrete evidence. Any further hesitation on his part might arouse Secretary Nie’s suspicion, which would seriously affect his career prospects.

Thus, under Director Tong's command, police forces poured in from various substations. Once they reached over eighty people, Director Tong decided to organize a charge.

To demonstrate his valor and dedication, Director Tong personally led the assault, moving Secretary Nie to tears of gratitude. He grasped Director Tong's hand, saying, "Old Tong, it’s a pity I'm a civil servant; otherwise, I’d charge in alongside you."

Director Tong asked, "Secretary Nie, are you sure there are no weapons inside?"

Secretary Nie replied confidently, "No, absolutely not. Secretary Huang went in and saw nothing, and there are several women present. As long as you charge in heavily armed, you should subdue them easily."

Director Tong was reassured and commanded the large contingent to storm the hotel. Director Wu remarked to Secretary Nie, "Let's see how arrogant they are now. The police aren't some gangsters; they can’t afford to be charged with assaulting officers."

The three waited outside the hotel, waiting and waiting, until dusk settled. The police who charged in made no further sound. Secretary Huang tried calling Director Tong, but the phone was off.

Secretary Nie muttered, "This is abnormal. It’s too quiet. Logically, if Director Tong and his men charged in, there might have been a shootout. Why is there complete silence?"

Director Wu agreed, "Yes, it's extremely abnormal. Could those police officers have all been eliminated?"

"That's impossible. Even if those inside are high-ranking central officials, they don't have that authority. That's seventy or eighty people!"

As the three speculated wildly, the main lobby doors of the hotel suddenly opened. Then, surrounded by the police officers, a group of people emerged from the hotel and boarded the eight luxury Mercedes-Benzes. The police officers got into their patrol cars, either escorting the motorcade or following behind, proceeding majestically onto the road.

The three sat stunned in their car until one police car peeled off from the procession and pulled up beside them. Director Tong leaned out and said to Secretary Nie, "Secretary Nie, you almost killed me. The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Public Security was here, and I led men to arrest him! Fortunately, he was magnanimous and didn't press charges. Now you should come along too; they plan to conduct the case review overnight, and everyone needs to go to the court."

Secretary Nie's heart sank; he hadn't expected a Deputy Minister to be present. "I’m not going. What does a case review have to do with me?"

Director Tong pulled out a document with a red letterhead and showed it to Secretary Nie. "We’ve been colleagues for a long time, Nie. I don't want to arrest you personally, so cooperate. This is a summons regarding your daughter's case. I believe you know what this is about."

The three examined the document under the streetlights; it was a subpoena, stamped with the seal of the Central Rectification Office.

Secretary Nie's voice dropped low. He said to Director Tong, "Old Tong, we're not outsiders. Tell me frankly, what is going on?"

Director Tong sighed, "What more can I say? Your daughter's case has been transferred to the Central Rectification Office. They now possess both human testimony and material evidence. They plan to hold a public hearing through the media tonight. You already knew the truth, yet you lied to me, claiming they were impostors. Thankfully, their leadership isn't dwelling on that minor issue, or I'd be in serious trouble."

Secretary Nie hesitated, but Director Tong urged, "Let's go, Secretary Nie. If you force me to use force, neither of us will save face."

Concerned for his daughter, Secretary Nie finally yielded, "Alright, I'll go."

The courtroom was brightly lit; instructions had been received to prepare everything for tonight’s hearing. Leng Feng was assigned the role of Chief Judge for the evening, Liu Ying was the clerk, and the others served as associate judges. I didn't want to reveal my identity, so since the Chairman had granted me four assistants, I would push them into the spotlight.

Leng Feng knew nothing about conducting a trial, and honestly, neither did I. But it didn't matter; as long as we got the facts, that was enough. As for the specific questioning methods, I instructed Leng Feng to place his mobile phone on the table while I dictated his actions via text message from the side.

Nie Juan truly was an ugly woman. First, she was obese, likely exceeding 100 kilograms, with arms almost as thick as Xiao Chuchu’s thighs. Cheng Susu’s spectacular bust was smaller than Nie Juan’s waistline, indicating how unattractive she must have been overall. Secondly, the woman’s face was inherently vulgar; even now, she wore an expression of supreme self-importance. Such a woman wouldn't just repel an old man collecting trash, let alone the man who died of a broken heart for her.

Sitting in the gallery were two clusters of people: the family of Lei Lei, and the family of the man who died for love, Lu Tao. The parents of both victims saw Nie Juan walk into the courtroom and lunged forward like mad people, only to be restrained by the police officers nearby, lest they eat Nie Juan alive.

"Shameless woman, why aren't you dead yet! Heavens, open your eyes and strike down this venomous hag with a heart like a snake and scorpion! You of the Nie family, may your entire clan die without honor! Give us back our daughter's (son's) life!"

Both sets of elderly parents were aging and shouting themselves hoarse. Xiao Chuchu, sitting next to me, was weeping, tugging at my sleeve.

"Zhao Qian, they are so pitiful. To have endured such psychological torment without redress for over a year—you should have come to help them sooner."

I replied, "I was too busy recently. Maybe in the future, you can take Taozi and tour the country reviewing cases. I believe there are plenty more like this."

Xiao Chuchu looked troubled. "I want to, but the company has so much work. Which sister should I pass it to? Why don't you find a few more wives from the university and have them help you?"

I chuckled. "That’s a fine idea. Don't regret it when the time comes, though."

"You dare!" Xiao Chuchu reached out and pinched my ear. "I was just testing you, and you revealed your true colors! I’m going back to report you!"

I quickly interjected, "Okay, stop fooling around. The hearing is about to start. I still need to go back to sleep later."