"Feng Zhi Shuang has a subordinate responsible for reviewing immigrants, named Lei Lu. She rejects some special immigrant applications and then sells the information to Ju Lan Lan. Ju Lan Lan then contacts alien smugglers, allowing these people to pay for illegal immigration," Shao Wan explained. "This is already a complete chain of a dangerous criminal organization: information providers, protection, alien forces, and local thugs. They have power, money, weapons, and knowledge. In police textbooks, such organizations are called diamond structures, extremely difficult to dismantle."
Shao Wan opened a drawer, pulled out a small safe, and handed it to Jiang Ye.
"This is all the evidence for what I just said. The password is your birthday," Shao Wan said. "There are no backups."
Jiang Ye looked at him deeply.
Shao Wan's actions were both loyal and intelligent.
"I will investigate this personally. I will notify you when it's time to act," Jiang Ye said, picking up the box and standing up. "This spy organization has performed a great service. You and everyone who works under you deserve rewards. Your organization's funding is almost depleted, isn't it? I'll transfer five hundred million to you later. You handle it, and then send me an itemized statement."
Shao Wan stood up. "Yes! I'll see you out."
"No need to see me off. Our planet... the population is growing, money is increasing, and our territory is expanding. It's like the soil, sunlight, and rain have become abundant, and all sorts of wild flowers and weeds are sprouting. When the temple is small, the demonic winds are strong; when the pond is shallow, there are many turtles. Your job is very stressful!" Jiang Ye sighed. "Get busy with what you need to do, and rest when you can. There's no need to see me out."
...
Back home.
Jiang Ye went into his study and opened the safe.
The box was full of photos and documents.
Jiang Ye read them one by one, his face expressionless.
A familiar scent, a soft body sat beside him and hugged his waist.
"Honey, why do you look so unhappy? Did something happen?" Cen Ye Meng asked, looking at him with concern.
"If your most trusted and deeply loved friend secretly did something you wouldn't allow, behind your back... what would you think?" Jiang Ye asked casually.
Cen Ye Meng's expression was surprised. "Who?"
"It's basically confirmed that Ju Lan Lan is involved," Jiang Ye sighed. "Feng Zhi Shuang is still uncertain. She might be involved, or she might have been kept in the dark by her subordinates."
Cen Ye Meng's mouth hung open in shock. "Involved?! In what case?"
"There are many charges, enough to warrant execution," Jiang Ye sighed deeply. "I don't understand why she would do this. Does she lack money? Six hundred million is nothing to her. She has more money than she can spend, so why would she get involved in this kind of case?"
"Perhaps..." Cen Ye Meng hesitated.
"What?" Jiang Ye turned to look at her.
"I'd better not say. I don't understand the situation at all, and I'm not familiar with Ju Lan Lan. It's all just childish ideas I've heard. The harem must not interfere in politics," Cen Ye Meng shook her head.
"It's the space age, and you're still talking about feudal remnants. 'The harem must not interfere in politics'? You are the First Lady, you are the planet governor of Jiang Ye Star," Jiang Ye shook his head and chuckled. "Say whatever you want. Don't stop halfway. Are you a novelist?"
"I once read a biography about events on Four Rings Star three centuries ago. There was a super-rich person on Four Rings Star back then, similar to a red-top merchant, named Vogt Valis. She and the planet governor of Four Rings Star were childhood sweethearts. After they broke up, they remained good friends. She used the advantages given by the planet governor to monopolize various markets on Four Rings Star, amassing wealth and consistently holding the position of the richest person." Cen Ye Meng paused. "In the end, Vogt Valis used a huge sum of money to bribe a large number of generals, launched a rebellion, and killed the planet governor of Four Rings Star in the palace, taking his place."
"She amassed wealth to seize power?" Jiang Ye frowned.
"Vogt Valis said that so-called profitable industries were all small fry. The truly lucrative business was invading and conquering alien planets, which is why she controlled Four Rings Star. Within the next ten years, Four Rings Star underwent a militaristic transformation, expanding externally and suppressing its citizens internally. It trained seventeen million new soldiers annually and began to aggressively conquer alien planets. At its peak, it expanded its alien territory by an average of one million square kilometers per week," Cen Ye Meng said. "Vogt Valis also said that sex is one of life's pleasures, but it's insignificant compared to the thrill of territorial expansion."
Jiang Ye was silent.
If he had heard these words before, he wouldn't have taken them to heart.
But now, he suddenly couldn't see through Ju Lan Lan.
He remembered Jiang Sen Lin standing high up, painting. He was completely focused, his brush strokes creating miracles, his posture like that of God. Believers watched devoutly in the crowded studio, so quiet that one could hear their breathing. Da Feng Novel.
"Perhaps it's a good thing if my son becomes absorbed in art and doesn't wield great power in this life," Jiang Ye sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if this life is my karma."
Cen Ye Meng didn't speak, she just held him tighter.
"People are not saints. Whatever decision you make, I will support you," Cen Ye Meng said.
"I need to sleep. I'm too tired," Jiang Ye said. "This matter needs to be carefully considered."
...
Jiang Sen Lin first completed his second painting, a group portrait of Li Nan Nan's troops.
The artwork was titled "The Heroes" and caused a sensation. Over three hundred planets reported on it through television, the internet, and newspapers. More than 1,400 auction houses, art museums, galleries, and private collectors expressed interest in purchasing it. The highest bid surged to a staggering 37 billion, making it a world-famous painting almost overnight.
Jiang Ye read numerous reports about "The Heroes" online.
"After oil painting master Matthew Douglas viewed this painting, he was greatly shocked, saying he was fortunate to have been born earlier, otherwise, he would have starved to death competing with Jiang Sen Lin as a painter."
"The supreme commander of this unit, Li Nan Nan, is at the center of the painting. After carefully examining herself in the painting, she stated that the depiction of her in the painting was more real than her actual self. Standing before the painting, it wasn't like looking in a mirror, nor like seeing a twin, but like Li Gui meeting Li Kui, the Six-Eared Macaque meeting Sun Wukong, or the physical body meeting the soul. Li Nan Nan said that no work of art had ever given her such dizziness, shock, ecstasy, and fear."
"The pioneer master of the Fauvist Revival, Yosumi Yoko, fainted after viewing the painting. Upon waking, she declared that her thirty years of diligent painting were merely a joke, and she would never pick up a brush again for the rest of her life."
"Yosumi Yoko's proud disciple, Xie Heyu, also announced his retirement from painting. He said that after seeing 'The Heroes' and reviewing his own works, he was so ashamed and indignant that he wanted to jump off a building and die."
"Young painting master Steer Warner posted on social media, hoping to become Jiang Sen Lin's disciple."
"This reporter had the opportunity to observe 'The Heroes' up close. The original painting is indescribable. Each character's personality can be faintly discerned. At night, the figures are even more lifelike, almost as if possessed by gods or demons, with an undeniable spirituality. The art world has long abandoned the idea of simply painting realistically, generally considering mere realism to be a low-level photographic work. However, 'The Heroes' has transcended the realm of photography, almost capturing the soul to create the painting."
"The texture of each character's skin, the blood flow in the veins beneath, the fine down on the surface of the skin, the knuckles of the palm bones wrapped by the skin, and the dark spots about to emerge are all extremely vivid. The figures in the painting do not seem to be made of paint but are rendered as two-dimensional living beings. The studio where this painting is displayed is open for viewing 24 hours a day, with a constant stream of visitors and multiple surveillance cameras installed. Some say that without constant monitoring, the figures in the painting would have already escaped, leaving only an empty canvas."