An Jianwen and Dr. Yin got out of the police station without much trouble. After all, they were the victims here, and after Qiu Lingshan had questioned them about how they were cheated and seized, she let them go.

The problem now was that although Xiao Luozi had confessed, the stolen money could not be recovered, which left Qiu Lingshan rather frustrated. According to Xiao Luozi's confession, he belonged to the international criminal organization Red Conch, and his purpose here was twofold: to rake in wealth for Red Conch on the one hand, and to serve as an intelligence post on the other.

Red Conch happened to be stirring up trouble in Songshan City lately, so Qiu Lingshan had no doubt about Xiao Luozi's words. Red Conch was not an outfit that even the people of the Mysterious Investigation Bureau could wipe out in one sweep, let alone Qiu Lingshan, and that was none of her concern anyway, so the underground boxing arena case could only end here.

Once this case was closed, Qiu Lingshan would have to throw herself heart and soul into the tomb-raiding case. It would be a battle of wits against criminals, and she would have to give it everything she had.

After the underground boxing arena case came to an end, Xie Yufeng kept up his habit of calling every day. Qiu Lingshan was thoroughly fed up with him, yet she could do nothing about it. At times she truly wished Wei Zhao would break his legs so he could no longer come pestering her.

"Lingshan, your case is finally wrapped up, right? I read the papers. A complete victory! Congratulations, you have earned another merit!" Xie Yufeng had been keeping a close eye on Qiu Lingshan. Earlier she had pleaded the pressure of the case, and though Xie Yufeng knew there was an element of excuse in that, she had indeed been busy, so now that the case was over he meant to invite her out to dinner and see what reason she could possibly find to refuse him this time.

"That was everyone's credit," Qiu Lingshan said flatly. "Is there something you want?"

"I have booked a table at the Starlight Hotel for tonight, all ready to throw you a celebration feast. So, are you free tonight?" Xie Yufeng asked with a slight smile.

"Sorry, not tonight. Another case has come in," Qiu Lingshan said, lifting the case file in her hand. "I have to work overtime all night. Maybe some other time."

"This..." Xie Yufeng was deeply annoyed, and his expression soured at her words, but her excuse was perfectly proper and left him nothing to say. Gritting his teeth, he could only say, "Fine, I will be going then!"

Watching Xie Yufeng's retreating back, Qiu Lingshan frowned. This man kept pursuing her and remained a hidden danger. For now she could put him off, but what about in the long run? Sooner or later Xie Yufeng would lose patience, and when he did, what would happen?

When that time came, the Song family and the Yu family might well tear apart, and what would become of the Song family's future? The very thought of it put Qiu Lingshan in a foul mood.

Without this arranged marriage, with Qiu Lingshan's present "qualifications," keeping a seat for herself at the Aristocratic Family Conference would have been only natural, so she had been very happy before. But now, with the Yu family's marriage alliance, everything had changed completely.

On the surface, with the Yu family's backing the Song family would grow stronger, but the crucial problem was that Qiu Lingshan did not like Xie Yufeng at all. If she had no one she cared for, that would be one thing. For the sake of the Song family, she could have put up with it. But now that she had someone she liked, with her temperament she would die before staying with Xie Yufeng, and that was where the conflict came in.

Getting engaged was easy, breaking it off was hard. This was not merely a matter of Xie Yufeng coveting her, but a matter of family honor. Of course, if the Yu family took the initiative to call off the engagement, the Song family could only accept it. After all, the Yu family was powerful, and among the aristocratic families, whoever had the harder fist had the final say.

The situation was reversed. Now it was the Song family that was weak, and if they proposed to dissolve the engagement, there was no telling what excessive things the Yu family might do in humiliated rage.

A knock suddenly came at the office door. Qiu Lingshan sighed and said, "Come in!"

The visitor was Chen Yutian, invited by Qiu Lingshan to discuss the tomb-raiding matter.

"Lingshan, what is wrong with you? Why that worried frown?" Although Chen Yutian had given up pursuing Qiu Lingshan, he still cared for her at heart, and her every move, every smile and frown, fell under his watchful eye.

Seeing her now with a face full of sorrow, he naturally had to ask.

"Brother Yutian, you are here!" Qiu Lingshan forced a smile and said, "Who else could it be but Yu Feng of the Yu family? He just came again. He said he booked a banquet at the Starlight Hotel and wants me to go tonight, to hold a celebration feast for me..."

"He came again?" Chen Yutian frowned. "Can he not see that you do not like him?"

"He sees it. So what if he sees it?" Qiu Lingshan shook her head. "You saw it back then too, and you still persisted, did you not?"

"Well... mine was different. At least I never pestered you endlessly like he does..." Chen Yutian was suddenly embarrassed. "But he does seem a bit too relentless, does he not?"

"Who knows? I do not even know how to refuse him anymore..." Qiu Lingshan said. "The Aristocratic Family Conference is about to convene. I do not want the Song family and the Yu family to turn against each other. That would do the Song family no good at all... but..."

"How about this? I will go talk to Yu Feng. Some things are better said man to man. If he gives up on his own and backs off when he sees the difficulty, it will not affect either the Song family or the Yu family," Chen Yutian said after a moment's thought. "If Yu Feng himself proposes to dissolve the engagement, honor will be preserved as well!"

"It is no use. Yu Feng is not like you. He is the kind who will not stop until he gets what he wants. I saw a deep possessiveness in his eyes. I doubt he will give up easily," Qiu Lingshan said with a bitter smile. "There is no reasoning with a man like him!"

"No matter what, we have to try, do we not?" Chen Yutian had roughly learned from Qiu Lingshan's usual accounts what sort of man Yu Feng was, domineering and unreasonable, but seeing her so troubled, he wanted to share some of the burden.

"Forget it. I am afraid of dragging you and the Chen family into this," Qiu Lingshan waved her hand. "Your Chen family can hardly protect itself. At this Aristocratic Family Conference, merely holding your rank would already be good going..."

"Then how about I mention it to Wei Zhao and see if he has any idea?" Chen Yutian thought for a moment and asked.

"Let us talk about it later. Wei Zhao seems quite busy lately," Qiu Lingshan said. "For now I will just stall him. If that really fails, then we will tell him!"

As things stood, Qiu Lingshan and Wei Zhao could hardly be called boyfriend and girlfriend in the true sense, and Qiu Lingshan had no confidence whether Wei Zhao would involve himself in this matter, so she meant to nurture their feelings a while longer before speaking of it.

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