Ling Zhenfei said, "Haven't I already told you my real identity, brother?"

Long Hai replied, "Yes, you did tell me the truth, but there's a part you left out. Did you have something to do with the theft at the Imperial Palace Club?"

When Ling Zhenfei heard Long Hai say this, he knew that the investigators had already looked into him, which was how they knew his previous statements were true, so there seemed no need to hide anything anymore.

"That's right, I did it, and there was another person involved, the one who was sending you emails. However, you're too late, she was killed in Capital City a few days ago." As Ling Zhenfei mentioned this, his mood became somewhat downcast.

"You must be talking about Journalist Zhuo Yue?" Long Hai immediately mentioned Zhuo Yue's name, which indicated that an investigation had indeed taken place.

"Yes, it's Zhuo Yue. She met a terrible end, a good person with no good return," Ling Zhenfei couldn't help but feel saddened.

"Don't worry, we will definitely avenge her. Our investigative team has basically figured out the situation. It concerns some people using the Imperial Palace Club membership to threaten national and corporate officials and then plant their own people through illegitimate means, aspiring to later control the entire Binyang City. Now the situation is mostly clear."

Of course, Ling Zhenfei was already aware of all this, and he knew a lot earlier than Long Hai and the others did.

"If there's anything you want to ask me or need me to do, just tell me. I already understand the situation," Ling Zhenfei said.

Long Hai nodded and responded, "Yes, you do understand it, and so do we. Thanks to Zhuo Yue's whistleblowing, it's been quite easy to investigate the matter, and we are nearly at the point of rounding them up. But there's still one most important issue that we can't confirm."

"What is it?"

"The Mayor of Binyang, Zhou Yang!"

Upon hearing the name Zhou Yang from Long Hai's mouth, Ling Zhenfei showed no surprise at all; he had long known that Zhou Yang was not a good character and must be related to the Imperial Palace Club.

"The last time Zhuo Yue and I entered the Imperial Palace Club, I had already made arrangements with Han Lian, the captain of the city's public security bureau. We expected backup from the police, but on that day, Han Lian was detained, and not a single officer showed up. That was quite odd," Ling Zhenfei recalled.

Then, Zhou Xia spoke from the side, "Indeed, someone from above stepped in to quash the matter, and you should really thank Han Lian. She insisted on not giving you away; otherwise, you would not be as safe as you are now."

"What are your plans?" Ling Zhenfei asked, uncertain what they meant by telling him all this.

"Zhuo Yue's list includes Zhou Yang's name, but we severely lack evidence regarding this matter. So, we want you to help us obtain the evidence against Zhou Yang, and then we can close the net on them all at once."

"What do you want me to do?"

"We'd like you to pay another visit to the Imperial Palace Club."

At this, Ling Zhenfei nearly spat out his drink.

"Are you out of your mind? They would skin me alive if they could at the Imperial Palace Club; this is akin to walking into the lion's den," he protested.

Ling Zhenfei had already been to the Imperial Palace Club once, and they would not stumble over the same stone twice. The club would surely be a minefield now, and going there again would be like courting death.

"We have faith in your abilities, and this time our men will be waiting outside as backup," Long Hai said, acknowledging the difficulty of the task, almost embarrassed to bring it up.

"I can't promise you so quickly; can you let me go back and think about it?" Ling Zhenfei didn't know how to decide at that moment.

"Of course, you must realize that this matter is related to your fate, and also to Zhuo Yue's fate, isn't it?" Zhou Xia, the woman, was astute and knew to use Zhuo Yue to urge Ling Zhenfei to agree.

"Alright, I'll go back and consider it thoroughly and respond to you as soon as possible." Ling Zhenfei certainly wouldn't agree so rashly; he was no longer a child and understood the cost of impulsiveness.

After dinner, Ling Zhenfei said goodbye to Long Hai and others, and took a taxi to the home of Liu Bingying.

Liu Bingying had sent him messages, and knowing she had returned from a business trip, he went directly to her house.

Using the key to open the door, as it was very late, the lights in the living room were off, leaving just a faint light in Liu Bingying's bedroom.

Perhaps hearing the sound of the door opening, Liu Bingying emerged from the bedroom.

"You're back?" Liu Bingying's voice carried joy.

"I'm back." Ling Zhenfei spread his arms, and Liu Bingying threw herself into his embrace.

After some time, everything calmed down, and the two embraced and chatted together.

"Little brother, big sister feels like she can't live without you. These past few days on the business trip, your image was always in my mind."

"Same here, big sister's image was also in my mind." Though he said only Liu Bingying filled his thoughts, while speaking, he involuntarily thought of Zhuo Yue, his expression growing somber.

Sensing the change in Ling Zhenfei's expression, Liu Bingying asked, "What's wrong, little brother? What happened these past few days?"

Ling Zhenfei hesitated quietly, knowing he shouldn't bring up another woman in front of a woman, but he didn't want to hide anything from Liu Bingying.

"Zhuo Yue is dead."

"Zhuo Yue, are you talking about that girl who was a journalist?" Liu Bingying didn't get angry when Ling Zhenfei mentioned Zhuo Yue, feeling only pity.

That was where Ling Zhenfei's feelings for Liu Bingying differed. Although the two were now together, she truly felt like a big sister, so it was alright to talk about other girls, and Liu Bingying wouldn't be upset.

The two spoke more about Zhuo Yue, then fell into a deep sleep wrapped in each other's arms.

The next morning, after breakfast. Ling Zhenfei and Liu Bingying sent Xiao Ke to school together, then parted with an embrace, Liu Bingying going to work and Ling Zhenfei driving her car to Xishan Manor.

It was still early when he returned, and the entrance of Xishan Manor was bustling with cars coming and going, and the vehicles delivering vegetables were neatly organized.

Ling Zhenfei visited every place and found that the order inside Xishan Manor was fairly good, not chaotic at all, and very clean. Also, the number of people had increased noticeably, with many villagers becoming employees of his manor.

He had instructed long ago that as long as the work was done diligently, the salary would be the best, allowing them to earn city-level wages or even more, right at their doorsteps. Who wouldn't want such a good deal?

Seeing Ling Zhenfei, everyone greeted him, and many of them were elders to Ling Zhenfei, who always returned their greetings with great politeness. Although he was now wealthy, he couldn't forget his roots.

Thanks to the efforts of Li Ermeng and his team, two more greenhouses had begun production, but given the market demand, it was still not enough. However, such things cannot be rushed. Even if Li Ermeng and the others worked to exhaustion, it wouldn't be possible to build a greenhouse overnight.

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