Gao Zhandao respectfully said to Er Wenhuan, “Daren, please understand, Xiaoren is the business proprietor of Tong Xing She, who has always been carrying out my official duties and observing the law, engaging in waterborne transport business, earning considerable respect from colleagues of the same profession, and has been appointed the president of the waterborne transport industry association in this region. For some unknown reason today suddenly some evil people dropping by at our door, smashing everything in my shop into smithereens, also wanting to hurt people. As the victim here, Xiaoren only fight to defend ourselves. Everybody here has seen this matter with their own eyes; they can be my witness!”

He had just finished speaking, the onlookers roared their agreement at the same time; they all denounced the Weishui Meng’s side under Fu Di’s leadership for bullying intolerably, for going on the rampage and being tyrannical.

Seeing the crowd’s emotion was running high, Er Wenhuan’s countenance changed slightly. If the city broke into civil unrest and this matter reached Li Yuan’s ears, plus Li Shimin made a big fuss over it, perhaps even Li Jiancheng would not be able to cover it up.

But he has been rolling about in the official arena for many years; there was no trick in dealing with contingencies like this that he did not know. Waiting for the crowd to calm down, he shouted, “Right and wrong, crooked and straight, this officer will investigate very clearly, and will severely punish the perpetrator. You, who are the heads of the two parties, shall follow this officer back to the office to explain everything.”

The crowd burst into rowdy jeering again.

Everybody knew that Weishui Meng and Jingzhao Lian had the Crown Prince Jiancheng’s backing. If Gao Zhandao was arrested and brought back to the office just like this, it would be no different than sending a lamb into the tiger’s den; it would be strange indeed if he would come back alive.

Gao Zhandao’s countenance changed; he cast a glance toward Xu Ziling, asking direction from him.

Inwardly Xu Ziling realized this was a thorny problem. Basically, he must never let Gao Zhandao to come with Er Wenhuan to the office. But if they resisted arrest openly, could Gao Zhandao and the others continue mingling in Chang’an? He spoke to Gao Zhandao in low voice, “Witness testimony!”

Gao Zhandao came to see the truth; he spoke to Er Wenhuan, “Even if Xiaoren and Fu Di come with Daren back to the office, it will only be my word against his; it will still be difficult to decide who’s right and who’s wrong. If Daren wants to investigate this matter clearly, why not ask nearby shops on the spot …”

Er Wenhuan angrily cut him off, “How to investigate a case, must this officer receive instruction from you? Anybody who wants to be your witness can come to the office! Guards!”

The group of guards behind him responded in chorus; it was quite intimidating.

Those who originally wanted to straighten their back to bear witness immediately cowered into silence. Anybody knew that going to government official institution was never a good thing.

On Fu Di’s side, everybody revealed a pleased look; a gloating, taking-joy-in-calamity-and-delight-in-disaster expression that said ‘I want to see how you, Gao Zhandao, will end.’

‘Hold on!’

Everybody, including Er Wenhuan, was stunned. Kou Zhong’s disguised Divine Doctor Mo pushed his way from among the crowd. Giggling, he said, “Er Jiangjun, how are you? Lucky that Xiaoren was passing by that I saw everything clearly, so that I can save Er Jiangjun from wasting your spirit. Let Xiaoren come back with Er Jiangjun to be the witness.”

Immediately Er Wenhuan had a headache. This time he was able to ‘appear in time’ to help Fu Di out of hard-pressed situation, actually it was pre-arranged. Their objective was to use the combined power of the government official and the gang and society to destroy Tong Xing She in one move. Who would have thought that amidst the bullying, one Divine Doctor Mo Yixin appeared, so that it would be difficult for their counting-their-chicken-before-they-are-hatch plot to succeed?

Kou Zhong was not a commoner that he could push around; on the contrary, he was the current burn-your-hand, feel-the-heat [idiom: a mighty figure that no one dares to approach] celebrity, who had direct access to Li Yuan, and had also obtained Li Yuan’s favorable impression and trust.

Er Wenhuan hurriedly changed his face; respectfully he said, “Turns out Mo Shen Yi’s honoring us with your presence. This kind of trivial matter, how could we dare to inconvenience Mo Shen Yi?”

Gao Zhandao, Niu Fengyi and Zha Jie still failed to recognize this brave man who upheld justice as Kou Zhong. On one hand, they had not seen each other for many years, but also because at this moment, whether it was voice, bearing, and so on, Kou Zhong looked like another person altogether.

Xu Ziling cried, ‘Wonderful’ inwardly. Since their arrival in Chang’an, whenever Kou Zhong wanted to see them, it had to be in secret, under sneaky environment. But after this, Kou Zhong would be able to establish ‘relationship’ with them; outsiders would think that they had formed friendship through this matter.

Acting friendly, Kou Zhong came to Er Wenhuan’s side and said with a laugh, “Upholding law and order is not only Er Jiangjun’s responsibility, but also everybody’s responsibility. Only this way will justice be upheld. Xiaoren decided to bear witness in this matter, because this group of wicked men is too excessive!”

Er Wenhuan nearly wanted to grab his head and cry out in pain. This kind of incident involving public security inside the city was actually outside the limit of his Chang Lin Army’s authority. His original intention was to take Gao Zhandao back to Chang Lin Army headquarters, lock him up for ten days or half a month until the general situation was fixed before releasing him out.

But with Kou Zhong meddling like this, potentially Gao Zhandao could be brought to the city guards office, and then everything must be carried