<h4>Chapter 585: Chapter 0587: A Few Hours</h4>


    Minister Zheng cleared his throat, his voice pulling Mu Bingtong back to reality.


    "President Mu, aren’t you going to introduce this person?" Minister Zheng said with a peculiar tone.


    Mu Bingtong’s gaze toward Minister Zheng turned indifferent, unlike the small woman’s shyness she disyed when speaking with Chu Ge earlier; now she bore a strong attitude, "What introduction? Didn’t you already know his identity just now?"


    As a minister of the industrial andmercial sector, Zheng had long been ustomed to the ttery and sycophancy of thosepanies. It was only Mu Bingtong who treated him with such cold indifference. Previously, he believed Mu Bingtong was nothing but a cold beauty high above everyone else, utterly clueless about how to interact with others, let alone the dark arts of the underworld.


    But just now, he witnessed on Mu Bingtong’s icy face an expression only a small woman would have, a coquettish charm unique to women.


    It turns out she wasn’t incapable of acting coquettish or being tender; it’s just that all her tenderness and coquettishness were reserved for another person.


    Naturally, Minister Zheng felt agitated, "President Mu, I think it’s necessary to handle this by the book."


    Finishing his words, without waiting for Mu Bingtong to ponder their implication, he turned to the people inspecting the ounts and said, "All of you, take all the ount books that need to be taken back for review, and due to rted requirements, this Chief Financial Officer needs toe with us."


    Thisst sentence was what he truly intended to say. Minister Zheng’s cold eyes looked at Chu Ge, thinking: Little punk, trying to fight me!


    Hearing that Minister Zheng wanted to take Chu Ge away, Mu Bingtong immediately stepped forward and stood in front of Chu Ge, "Minister Zheng, you have no right to take Chu Ge away."


    Minister Zheng slightly narrowed his eyes, the corners of his lips curling into a cold smirk, "No right? He’s suspected of tax evasion; how do I not have the right to take him away?"


    Chu Ge raised his hand, gently patted Mu Bingtong’s shoulder, and then pulled her back to his side. His gaze carried a touch of tenderness as he said softly, "As a man, how can I allow a woman to face difficulties alone?"


    Minister Zheng’s eyes burned with fury, as if wanting to incinerate Chu Ge, "What are you dawdling for? Take him away now!"


    Without any evidence, he was unable to forcefully take action against Chu Ge, but he also expected that Chu Ge would definitely not dare to contradict him.


    Mu Bingtong looked at Chu Ge with concern, hoping he wouldn’t go with them.


    Chu Ge shook his head slightly at her and then said to Minister Zheng with a smile, "I’ll go with you."


    Mu Bingtong closed her eyes; she believed Chu Ge would definitely notmit those illegal acts, but once taken away by Minister Zheng, even made-up usations could be pressed onto him, turning white to ck.


    If Chu Ge left with them, it would truly be a case of being unable to clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River!


    Yet Chu Ge looked at Minister Zheng with an indifferent face, making a gesture of invitation, "Minister Zheng, please."


    Seeing his fearless look, even appearingpletely transparent as if he really hadn’t done anything illegal, Minister Zheng was momentarily taken aback.


    But that was only a momentarypse, as he had never seen a Chief Financial Officer who could guarantee one hundred percent that they were clean.


    Chu Ge’s current demeanor must certainly be a fa?ade.


    Chu Ge followed behind Minister Zheng, two men intended to step forward and detain him, but before they could reach him, they were already daunted by his sharp gaze.


    "Without any evidence proving that I havemitted a crime, I can only be considered a subject for investigation, and you have no right to detain me."


    Minister Zheng coughed lightly and waved his hand dismissively, as if detaining Chu Ge wasn’t important! What mattered was taking Chu Ge back with him!


    Once back on his own turf, was there any reason to fear that Chu Ge could escape?


    Minister Zheng, leading the way, seemed to think of something and abruptly stopped. Turning around, he walked up to Mu Bingtong, with a lewd smile on his face and said, "Saving Chu Ge is simple, and as for what you should do, it need not be spelled out so straightforwardly by me. Rest assured, I will treat him well until you make up your mind."


    Mu Bingtong’s sharp gaze fell on Minister Zheng, her lips tightly pursed. In her mind, she had already construed Minister Zheng’s looking for trouble as an attempt to take advantage of the situation for his own benefit.


    All the talk of reporting was nothing but a smoke screen put up by Minister Zheng!


    However, Chu Ge didn’t see it that way. Although Minister Zheng was interested in Mu Bingtong, Chu Ge always felt that someone was truly plotting against him from behind the scenes. As for the reason and purpose, he was still in the dark.


    Nevertheless, he believed that after going back with Minister Zheng, he would understand everything.


    And so, Chu Ge followed Minister Zheng back to the ce where he worked.


    Upon his arrival, he was locked in a waiting room. The cramped space contained nothing more than a chair and a table.


    Chu Ge sat silently, the narrow beam of light from the small window on the wall fell right upon him, casting a soft velvety glow.


    There he sat, eyes closed, lost in thought.


    Unbeknownst to him, every move he made was being recorded by surveince cameras. In another room, Minister Zheng was fawning over a man sitting in front of a desk with a ttering smile, saying eagerly, "Mr. Ge, do you think I’ve done well?"


    Ge Fan sipped his tea lightly, nced at Chu Ge in the monitor, and nodded slightly, "Not bad."


    Upon hearing this, Minister Zheng’s smile widened, "Rest assured, once he’s in here, he won’t be leaving so easily without spending some time."


    Ge Fan smiled faintly, giving Minister Zheng an approving look and patted his shoulder, saying, "Well done. If you can really trap Chu Ge here, I will surely put in a few good words for you with Old Master Nangong."


    In Shanghai, everyone knew that behind the Ge Group was the Nangong Family, and the Nangong Family’s patriarch, Mr. Nangong, is a veteran heavyweight figure whomanded respect across all three circles of politics, business, and influence. Everyone would give him some face and deference.


    It was precisely this point that Minister Zheng was counting on, hoping to climb higher up thedder through Ge Fan. He had been sitting in this ministerial position for nearly twenty years, his contemporaries from his early days had all been promoted, and only he remained a mere minister, making it difficult for him to hold his head up high among his peers.


    "Then I thank you, Mr. Ge," said Minister Zheng with a grin.


    Ge Fan nodded slightly. His gaze returned to the monitor, noting the seemingly calm demeanor of Chu Ge trapped inside. He snorted coldly, regardless of whether your calm is genuine or feigned, soon enough, you won’t be having such an easy time!


    Ge Fan withdrew his attention and turned to ask Minister Zheng, "How long does the inspection usually take?"


    "Since Chu Ge has only been in office for a short time, there hasn’t been much financial activity during this period. It should only take a few hours toplete."