In the afternoon, Miyagi Youzai interrogated Tengji Yu.

Although it had only been one night, Tengji Yu seemed to have aged ten years, utterly exhausted, with a haggard complexion and slightly chapped lips. It wasn't a lack of water or food—his status as a suspect warranted full accommodations—but he simply had no appetite.

"Minister Tengji, you've been wronged, please have some water. I serve Prime Minister Yutian."

With great respect, Miyagi Youzai invited Tengji Yu to take a seat, and then offered him a cup of warm water with both hands.

"I don't understand what you're saying." Tengji Yu gave him a bland glance and did not touch the water.

"You are truly cautious, no wonder you could become a Cabinet Minister." Miyagi Youzai exaggeratedly praised him to curry favor, for even as a prisoner, Tengji Yu held significant value.

An old Deng of this caliber was no ordinary person; as long as he was alive, he could still produce gold coins.

But these words sounded sarcastic to Tengji Yu because if he had truly been cautious, he wouldn't be sitting here now. His face flushed with anger, he barked, "Enough! Stop dragging irrelevant matters into this. No matter how many times you ask, my answer remains the same — I didn't kill anyone. Oda Hidehiko was already dead when I entered. This is a vile framing, disgraceful slander! I'm innocent!"

Seeing Tengji Yu's strong reaction, Miyagi Youzai realized he had misread the situation, inadvertently hitting a sore spot, and his expression turned awkward.

"Ah!" Miyagi Youzai bowed deeply, composed himself, and said, "You don't need to be so guarded with me; I truly serve Prime Minister Yutian. The surveillance is already turned off; Mr. Ozawa wishes to speak with you."

He then handed over his phone.

Tengji Yu lifted his eyelids and, finally somewhat convinced that Miyagi Youzai was on his side, used memory to dial Ozawa Ichiro's number.

"Hello, I'm Ozawa Ichiro."

"Mr. Ozawa!" The moment he heard Ozawa Ichiro's voice, Tengji Yu couldn't suppress the complex emotions in his heart, standing up abruptly, and said with a slight tremor in his voice, "I... I am Tengji."

Miyagi Youzai bowed again before turning to leave.

"Tengji, you've suffered, haven't you." Ozawa Ichiro paused for a moment and then spoke heavily.

"No." Tengji Yu shook his head, pursing his dry lips as he said, "This is a setup!"

"I know, and so does Yutian. He's prepared to concede to Yanchuan Shilang, withdraw from the election in exchange for your exoneration."

"Yutian..." Tengji Yu was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, tears welled in his tiger eyes, and he wanted to refuse. But in the end, lacked the courage to say it, instead confessing with remorse, "I've harmed him and the party."

"Sigh," Ozawa Ichiro sighed, initially hoping Tengji Yu would say this himself, but since he did not, he had to. "I've refused him."

"What!" Tengji Yu was so shocked he lost his voice; his mind was chaotic, overwhelmed with anger and bewilderment, emotions surging. "Why? Mr. Ozawa! Why?"

He was a staunch supporter of Ozawa Ichiro, so now he was furious, feeling betrayed.

"For the party! For the country!" Ozawa Ichiro replied firmly, then softened his tone to further explain, "The New Generation Party doesn't only have you; it's full of other members. Yutian carries the expectations of so many people; how can he abandon it all for just one person? Tengji, be a warrior and sacrifice yourself for the country and the party. Everyone will appreciate your sacrifice, and reward it to your family."

"Naturally, having you plead guilty is just a temporary measure to minimize the negative impact; we're not really giving up. We'll secretly search for evidence to prove your innocence and will strive to exonerate you, Tengji!"

Tengji Yu felt a chill throughout his body. As someone qualified to manage the situation, he often sacrificed others for the greater good. But now, it was his turn to be sacrificed for the bigger picture, and he was reluctant, exceedingly reluctant.

Yet his years of experience and rationality told him he had no other choice; one person cannot resist the collective will. His connection to the New Generation Party still held value, following the party's arrangement would yield the best result; otherwise, things would only worsen.

"I understand, Mr. Ozawa. I hope my children can inherit my mantle and continue contributing to the country's development." Tengji Yu stated his condition.

Ozawa Ichiro breathed a sigh of relief, "Regardless if Yutian wins or loses, when this matter fades, I'll ensure your children enter the National Assembly."

"Then I'll entrust my family and everything to you, Mr. Ozawa!" Tengji Yu said solemnly.

He harbored anger and resentment towards Ozawa Ichiro, Prime Minister Yutian, and the New Generation Party but felt rational enough to know that having accepted his fate, he couldn't let his emotions show.

In this way, Ozawa Ichiro and the New Generation Party would owe him a favor and, motivated by guilt, would endeavor to compensate him as much as possible, maximizing his benefits.

Indeed, observing Tengji Yu's decisive self-sacrifice, Ozawa Ichiro felt even more remorseful, "Rest assured! From now on, they are my family too, and I won't let you down, Tengji!"

After hanging up, Tengji Yu's hands tightened around the phone, his arm veins bulging, his expression unsettled, his chest heaving.

Yes, all of this was his own doing.

But wasn't it all for Hatanaka Zizi, for the party's cause? And now they just give up on me!

It truly turned out to be heartless.

As for those so-called compensations, they all seemed like nonsense to him. If he wasn't imprisoned, he could easily have obtained them with his own abilities.

"Hatanaka Zizi, Ozawa Ichiro."

Tengji Yu muttered through clenched teeth.

Then he took a deep breath, burying all emotions within, and shouted, "Someone!"

"Sir!" Miyagi Youzai, guarding outside, immediately entered and bowed respectfully.

For a moment, one might think he was the suspect.

Tengji Yu is the police officer handling the case.

Tengji Yu put down the phone and said expressionlessly, "I confess, I'm the one who killed the person."

Miyagi Youcai suddenly raised his head, staring incredulously at Tengji Yu. As a Little Karame, he certainly couldn't know the internal decisions of the Newborn Party's upper echelons, so he was very shocked at this moment.

But he quickly realized that this must be the result of an exchange between Tengji Yu and Ozawa Ichiro, and immediately bowed and said, "Yes! Please wait a moment, I'll have someone come in right away to take your statement. Do you want to eat anything?"

Miyagi Youcai was ecstatic internally. Regardless of why Tengji Yu confessed, as the person responsible for quickly solving the case that made last night's falsely accused Minister of Finance bow down and plead guilty, he would gain significant reputations.

A case that astounded the entire nation, this speed of resolution would even make Aoyama Xiu Xin envious, wouldn't it?

"Give me a steak," Tengji Yu said.

Eating more is the way to stay healthy; only by remaining healthy can he have the chance to confront Ozawa Ichiro.

..................

At the same time, Aoyama Xiu Xin returned to Police Headquarters, and as soon as he got out of the car, he instructed Yoshikai Youzai:

"Send the surveillance footage from the Takahashi couple's wedding day, the day before, and the day after to my office."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and walked towards the office building.

"Yes!" Yoshikai Youzai responded with a bow behind him.

As soon as he sat down in his office, there were knocks on the door, and Aoyama Xiu Xin called out, "Come in."

"Minister." Nakamura Shinichi pushed the door open and entered.

Aoyama Xiu Xin raised his chin slightly, "What is it?"

"There have been some findings on the three people you asked me to investigate." Nakamura Shinichi replied respectfully.

"Oh?" Aoyama Xiu Xin raised his eyebrows and immediately sat up straight, "Go ahead, what have you found?"

"Yes!" Nakamura Shinichi responded, handing over a file bag with both hands, saying, "Yoshifu Yamanaka's life is very monotone; he spends his days either lecturing or preparing lessons, not indulging in any pleasures, speaks little usually, and has a cold personality, except for showing special attention to a woman named Yoshino Yurika who often comes to attend his courses."

Based on his narration, Aoyama Xiu Xin found the corresponding details of Yoshino Yurika, 23 years old, recently graduated from college, preparing for civil service exams, and coming from a poor family, thus, not spending money to enroll in courses and faking documents to sneak into school to audit Yoshifu Yamanaka's classes.

"Yoshifu Yamanaka evidently discovered Yoshino Yurika sneaking into classes but didn't expose her. Instead, he frequently asked her questions, provided guidance and explanations, which I deduce indicates he has taken a liking to Yoshino Yurika."

"Currently, Yoshino Yurika and his relationship is probably a friendship, but she doesn't know Yoshifu Yamanaka's true identity and only considers him an ordinary lecturer."

"Come on, what a soap opera unfold." Aoyama Xiu Xin curled his lip, almost thinking he was in South Korea.

He looked at Yoshino Yurika's photo, wow, quite beautiful, as pure as lily, no wonder Yoshifu Yamanaka would be moved, this description isn't exaggerated at all since their social standing is as distinct as heaven and earth.

Since being cheated upon, Nakamura Shinichi hasn't believed in love for a long time, so hearing this, he smiled intriguingly and continued, "Next is Hatanaka Ichiro; although this person and Yoshifu Yamanaka are both sons of high-ranking officials, he fits more with my stereotype of such aristocrats. He currently works in Tokyo City Hall, seriously tackling work, cheerful and open-minded, good at socializing, has numerous friends around him, and enjoys entertainment but knows his limits, having no bad habits."

"Go on." Aoyama Xiu Xin knew the twist was coming, with Hatanaka Ichiro as a fervent admirer of the Yasukuni Shrine and born into a political family with a powerful father, how could he be so normal.

The more normal on the surface, the more abnormal underneath.

After all, do worshipers of the shrine count as normal people?

Those folks would not even be considered as good people, right?

Sure enough, Nakamura Shinichi shifted his tone, "Hatanaka Ichiro is extremely violent in private; every time he brings women home, they leave the next day with money and injuries. We've also found out several of his previous girlfriends often suffered from his beatings and torment, with the worst case leaving them disabled for life. However, due to his substantial compensation and his status, no one has dared to charge him for such minor incidents."

Minor matters, indeed, minor matters. To someone like Hatanaka Ichiro, he's just having fun with a few women, merely with a unique approach. Moreover, he never caused any deaths, already showing restraint and knowing his limits.

Having regular people as toys to amuse himself.

This is a privilege that someone higher up has.

"Our Young Master Hatanaka is quite kind-hearted, isn't he? He's willing to compensate after hitting people, and never once killed anyone." Aoyama Xiu Xin remarked.

Nakamura Shinichi's expression was strange; compared to the murderous Aoyama Xiu Xin, from another perspective, Hatanaka Ichiro indeed seemed kind-hearted.

He promptly dismissed these rebellious thoughts and began speaking of the last person, "Kiyohiro Tobita is a typical corrupt official; reviewing the cases he's in charge of, his prosecutor career serves entirely for the wealthy. Although there's no evidence, I'm certain he accepted a lot of bribes to ease the burdens of people, but because someone up high covers for him, there's never been any scandal."

"Since this person is full of flaws, let's dig for dirt on him." Aoyama Xiu Xin instructed simply, then returned his gaze to the file in hand, squinting his eyes a little, "You do this... then this... and lastly this..."

Nakamura Shinichi gasped after listening; indeed, when it comes to being the bad guy, no one beats the minister.

"What are you looking at? Did you understand?" Nakamura Shinichi's odd gaze made Aoyama Xiu Xin both angry and embarrassed.

Nakamura Shinichi quickly replied, "I understand."

"Then go ahead and do it." Aoyama Xiu Xin waved him away, picked up the phone to call Suzuki Junko, and said, "Chunzi, I need to meet your father tonight, please arrange it."

"Yes! I'll convey the message; wait for my reply."

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