Original subtitles

[English subtitles are available]

[Safety]

[Han Ya, Teenager]

You should return first.

You have to return to the provincial city.

Let me take another look at my child.

Han Ya, don't worry.

[Lin Bai, Teenager]

I will definitely keep my promise.

[Chasing The Undercurrent]

[Punish those who commit crimes and make mistakes so as to discipline them]

[and execute those who violate the prohibitions so as to terrify would-be violators. -Guanzi, Ban Fa]

[Episode 22]

I just received news

that Chang Zheng and his task force

had been suspended from their investigation for now.

Now, you can return in peace.

We can

rest at ease for some time now.

Next,

I'll find a suitable candidate

to be the scapegoat for the yacht explosion case.

[Xiao Zhenbang]

Hello?

Alright.

Wait for me.

I'll be there soon.

We're in the same boat here.

No one should act recklessly.

It's either we live

or die together.

It's a simple lesson.

I'm sure you understand, right?

There's plenty of fish in this lake.

I'll leave the rest

to you.

Why did you do this?

Why?

What's the matter?

You look unsatisfied.

I thought Cao Dalong was already released?

Why did you silence him?

Why did you frame Chang Zheng for the crime?

Isn't it obvious enough?

Don't you understand?

That's why I'm asking you.

Chang Zheng didn't extract any testimony from Cao Dalong.

Why can't you guys

delay this case just like

what the Zhao family does all the time?

Why must you stir up more trouble?

Such nonsense!

How could this case be the same as the previous cases?

Cao Dalong knows about our core secret.

And Chang Zheng was onto him like a wild dog.

How could we rest at ease

if we didn't get rid of them?

I won't let you guys touch Chang Zheng.

At most, I'll quit being the deputy director here.

I did forget something.

You're no longer a boy.

And, you've been the deputy director for some time.

I cannot treat you like how I used to.

Zhenbang,

come.

Have a seat.

For the past two decades,

I've been thinking about this the most.

What should my family do

if I fall?

I hope you can be like me

and think twice before acting.

What will happen to your family

if something happens to you?

So,

it's already too late for us to turn back.

We can only follow our path until the end.

We have to disarm the landmines one by one.

I've heard about this.

Xiao Chen

from the People's Procuratorate

is handling this case.

What are you up to?

I even heard

that Xiao Chen requested it.

He volunteered to take charge of this case.

This young man likes to face challenges.

That's excellent.

Don't try to harm him.

He's still young.

He mustn't take the path we took!

I've already done everything I could.

As for Xiao Chen,

as his father, I think you should

think about his future for him.

No!

No way!

Tell Xiao Chen

to convict Chang Zheng of this crime.

We mustn't give Chang Zheng

any chance of making a comeback.

Do you understand?

Dad!

I'm begging you!

I'm begging you here!

Please let Xiao Chen off,

okay?

I'll do all the dirty deeds.

I'll do everything

you tell me to do,

okay?

You have your own tasks to do.

Xiao Chen has his own tasks to do too.

Don't be confused.

He's a part of this family too.

I'll leave now.

I'll leave this to you.

Tell me the result as soon as possible.

Dad!

Dad!

Dad!

He's your biological grandson, you know?

Pengxiang,

how did it go?

The deed was completed.

The money is at the designated location.

Shanmao called me

and said a celebrity named Kangzhuang

had already taken the money.

Excellent.

Kangzhuang told me

that he would publish the news

of Chang Zheng's bribery

within an hour

after receiving the money.

Pengzhan,

are you sure we don't need to tell Pengchao about this?

Why should we tell him?

Chang Zheng is on the edge of the cliff right now.

He'll fall with one kick.

Of course

we have to do the kicking here.

But I feel like...

Pengxiang,

think about it.

You were the one

who did all the dirty deeds.

But in the end, he's claiming all the credits.

What gives him the right to do so?

What?

Are you scared?

You think I'm scared of him?

You think I'm scared of him?

Do you think he can swallow me alive?

Jia Xiaoqiang?

[Aunt Lin Bai]

Hello?

Song.

Aunt Lin, it's me.

It's been a long time.

What's the matter?

Do you need anything?

Tell me.

Is Chang Zheng in trouble?

Song,

tell me the truth.

Don't lie to me.

Chang Zheng?

What trouble is he in?

I saw the news online.

That Officer Chang,

was it referring to Chang Zheng?

Aunt Lin,

since you already knew about it,

I won't hide it from you.

Chang Zheng will never do such a thing.

I'm sure he was framed.

I'm afraid he has found someone's weakness

by investigating Cao Dalong's case.

Aunt Lin?

[Han Ya]

Hello?

Han Ya,

Zheng is in trouble.

Bai,

don't panic.

Wait for me at home.

I'll look for you immediately.

Hello?

Bring me the public sentiment report.

Come in.

Vice-Mayor Han,

this is today's public sentiment report.

Come in.

Vice-Mayor Han,

there's a new report coming in.

It's the latest one.

[Changwu City Public Sentiment Report]

[Chang Zheng of Binxi Branch suspected of accepting bribes]

Xiao Chen, look.

Someone posted Cao Dalong's video

to the Internet.

And, someone on the Internet reported

that Chang Zheng had accepted bribes.

This incident is on Weibo's Hot Search now.

[Bribe]

Accepting bribes?

Chang Zheng will never do such a thing.

You and I

don't get to decide that.

We have to wait for

the People's Procuratorate's report.

Now,

this has caused a huge commotion online.

Everyone is criticizing

the public security bureau.

He alone

has dragged the entire system

down with him.

On one hand,

our leaders are paying great attention to this.

On the other hand,

the public is furious about this.

What should we do now?

[Four Seas Group]

Pengchao.

What's the matter?

You were the one who posted

Cao Dalong's video to the Internet, right?

You even reported Chang Zheng for accepting bribes, right?

Was it you?

Tell me the truth.

Pengchao...

I'm talking to you! Was it you or not?

It wasn't him.

It was me.

Director Xiao,

don't tell me you went insane

from being too furious?

It has already come to this.

How could you still laugh?

I'm just laughing at those

who are trying to kill Chang Zheng here.

Their plan has backfired on them.

Pengzhan,

may I know why you did it?

If we don't kick him while he's down,

he'll hunt us down

when he gets back up.

Initially, I only thought Pengxiang was the brainless one here.

I never expected you

to be brainless too.

Fine.

Tell me then.

I want to see

how a smart person like you will deal with this situation.

Initially, I had made it so that the People's Procuratorate,

PSB,

including Chang Zheng,

were helpless

toward this incident.

During the moment when Chang Zheng

and Cao Dalong spent their time in the interrogation room,

there were no witnesses or footage to support him.

Therefore, the People's Procuratorate

will never believe in his words.

No matter if Cao Dalong

died from homicide or suicide,

we have to spend some time procuring evidence.

We don't even know

if his autopsy report will yield any result

or the kind of result

they will get.

In such an ambiguous situation,

Cao Dalong's video

is the only evidence.

So, before the appearance of new evidence,

they can only deal with Chang Zheng

in two ways.

It's either they fire him

or they demote and suspend him.

No matter which is it,

it's the best-case scenario for us.

However, they tried to set him up

by framing him for accepting bribes.

They've provided this case

with a breakthrough point.

What breakthrough point?

According to Article 385 of Criminal Law

of the People's Republic of China,

state personnel who take advantage of their office

to demand money and things from other people

or if they illegally accept money

and things from other people

and give favors to the latter

are guilty of the crime of bribery.

Do you understand what's going on?

Other people.

Money and things.

Give favors to the latter.

Do you understand now?

Wait, Pengchao.

I don't understand.

If you guys

want to frame Chang Zheng for accepting bribery,

you have to find an individual who bribed him,

the exact amount of money he had taken,

the time, location,

and how he delivered

the money to Chang Zheng,

Did you leave any evidence behind?

No.

If Chang Zheng took the money,

he had to at least do something for that individual, right?

Did you guys

prepare that?

No.

That's why,

the People's Procuratorate

can tell that Chang Zheng

was framed at any given time.

Not only have we given him a chance to make a comeback,

but it has also disrupted all of my plans.

All because of you two,

who are too smart to listen to others.

I'm just not satisfied!

Why can't we do anything to Chang Zheng?

Why must Cao die from this?

Pengchao, do you know

how our subordinates view us right now?

The Zhao family

has never been this cowardly before!

Pengchao, listen.

When I burned offerings for Chao,

I swore to him

that it's either I kill Chang Zheng

or make him rot in prison

for at least a decade!

Why don't you join him in the underworld?

I don't want him to die.

I don't want him to be imprisoned either.

I just want to strip him of his skin.

Is that okay with you?

Pengchao,

I realized

that you paid great attention

to Chang Zheng.

Why is that the case?

What's his relationship with you?

Will you believe me if I say that we're brothers?

That's impossible.

Your mother never remarried

after divorcing our father.

Pengxiang,

everyone in the triad

is our brother, right?

The more brothers you have, the more paths you can take.

Understood.

Can you deal with Kangzhuang?

Yes, I can.

I'll deal with him immediately.

You better clean up your mess.

Thank you for your reminder.

I'll go and calm the public right now.

Han Ya.

How did it go?

Regarding Zheng's case,

I've inquired about it from the People's Procuratorate.

According to them,

they're still in the investigating phase

and evidence collecting phase.

They haven't come up with a conclusion yet.

However,

when Zheng was conducting his investigation,

he did break the police regulation.

That much

has been confirmed.

How could that be?

What exactly is going on?

Zheng would never do such a thing.

Han Ya, you're the vice-mayor.

You have

to speak up for him.

Lin Bai, calm down.

Listen to me.

At this moment, it's inappropriate for me

to speak up for him.

It'll affect both Zheng

and me if I do so.

It'll harm him in the end.

Don't worry.

I've sent my men

to inquire more about the case.

Moreover,

the nail on the coffin hasn't been hit yet.

The nail on the coffin?

Wouldn't it be too late by then?

Han Ya, do you know what situation we're in?

You still think that your title is more important than him?

Listen,

although Zheng calls me Mom,

you're his biological mother!

I'm sorry!

I'm sorry!

I'm sorry!

I'm sorry!

Han Ya!

Han Ya!

Lin Bai!

Han Ya!

I've heard about it.

If you think

it's too difficult for you to raise your child by yourself,

you can seek Zhao Xiaosheng's help.

He won't refuse your request.

No way!

My child doesn't belong to him.

This child doesn't belong to him!

Lin Bai, you mustn't tell anyone about this.

The child doesn't belong to Zhao Xiaosheng.

You mustn't let him know about this!

I've spent so much effort

in order to divorce Zhao Xiaosheng.

I want nothing to do with him anymore!

This child

is the stain of my life.

If he follows me around,

I will never get promoted!

I was already

the best reserve cadre there was!

But everything went down the drain!

I've lost everything!

You want me to give up on everything and start a new life?

I can't afford to do that!

I don't want a life like that!

Han Ya,

you can give birth to the child.

I'll raise him.

Listen to me.

Find a place and hide.

Pass your child to me once you give birth to him.

You can continue to pursue your dream

and lead the life you want to lead.

What about you then?

What will you tell Chang Fei?

I'll tell him nothing.

I've been staying in your house

ever since I got into Changwu's middle school.

Your parents treated me like their daughter.

They provided me with food and education.

We grew up together.

We're closer than biological sisters.

You always said what was yours was mine.

Now, I can finally say

that your child is my child.

I've already decided.

When he grows up,

I'll ask him to acknowledge you as his godmother.

We can take care of him together.

We can care for him together.

I'm sorry, Han Ya.

I didn't do it on purpose.

I should've been the one apologizing instead.

I'm serious.

I've never done my part

as Zheng's mother even once.

I know that very well.

I'm a terrible

mother.

Forget it.

Let's drop the topic.

Our current priority right now

is to figure out Zheng's case.

If he was

truly framed,

who would be the culprit?

I've called Song,

Zheng's partner.

Song said

Zheng revealed someone's weakness

when he investigated the case.

Someone?

I do not know exactly what case Zheng

was investigating.

I just know

that he has been keeping an eye on the Zhao family.

Shitou also

said that the third son of the Zhao family

was the one who lent him money a while ago.

I was wondering

if this case was related to...

It does seem like what Zhao Xiaosheng will do.

Lin Bai,

I might have

committed a huge mistake.

What's wrong?

I promised Pengchao

that as long as the Zhao family doesn't put Shitou on the spot,

I'll try to stop Zheng

from investigating the Zhao family.

What have you done then?

I gave the public safety agencies

some pressure.

I thought

it was over

once they removed Zheng from his post.

This won't do.

Where are you going?

I have to clarify my doubts.

I cannot let the Zhao family

hurt Zheng.

Tao.

Were you looking for me?

You're here?

Did you get a new car?

What do you think?

Take it for a spin.

Get in then.

Let's go.

A Ducati?

Uncle Pengchao bought this for you.

Did Pengchao really buy this for me?

Uncle Pengchao said

this is a company bike.

You can accept it without any worries.

Everyone else likes cars.

Only you like motorcycles.

That's why he bought this for you.

Everyone else?

This is one of the company's benefits.

All core members have their own vehicles.

So, all of them have one?

Yours is different from the others.

Uncle Pengchao knew you liked this brand.

That's why he imported it.

Pengchao.

Shanmao,

I thought you were busy outside.

Not at all.

I heard that you viewed a house

in Jiangshan Garden last month,

right?

Wait.

Pengchao,

listen to my explanation.

It's like this.

I come from

a village.

Lately, I've been thinking

that I should bring my parents to the city.

That's why I wanted to get a bigger house.

The keys to that villa

are

yours now.

Everything has been paid for.

Remember to complete the rest of the procedures.

Wait.

Pengchao, isn't this...

You've contributed a lot to the company.

This is a reward from the company.

Thank you, Pengchao!

Pengchao,

so,

about Pengxiang...

Don't worry.

I've spoken with him.

Pengchao,

don't worry.

I, Shanmao,

will always be loyal to the Zhao family.

-That's enough. -I!

You can bring your parents to check out the house.

Thank you, Pengchao!

I'll make a move then!

Thank you, Pengchao!

Qiu,

you've been drowning yourself in sorrow without chatting with me lately.

Master, I'm fine.

Don't you know me well enough?

I can drink with you.

But when it comes to chatting...

You're not being honest with me even when you're drinking.

What?

Are you still trying to hide secrets from me?

Let me ask you this then.

Is it

related to Pengchao?

Pengchao is someone who can achieve greatness.

I chose to follow him

because of that reason.

The company started to prosper

right after he returned to the country.

The business of Four Seas Group

is getting bigger and bigger too.

Let me guess.

Pengchao

has rewarded everyone else.

He bought them vehicles

and houses.

But you received

nothing from him.

That's why you're upset, right?

I actually

don't care about all those things.

Fine.

Let me ask you this.

Do you trust me?

Of course.

What about Pengchao?

I can even sacrifice my life for him.

Do you think I trust him?

Come.

Let's drink together.

Fill up my cup.

Are you troubled?

Chao,

you should know that I wanted

to achieve greatness with you

ever since the first day we knew each other.

Everyone has witnessed

what you had done after you returned here.

Everyone was excited

and passionate about what you did.

Working for Pengchao,

that's how you achieve success.

But now, I realized

that when it came to building an empire,

you totally forgot about me.

Tang, Heitou, Sangniu,

and Shanmao,

our brothers call them

The Four Guardians in private.

Chao, let me ask you something.

How am I inferior

to them?

Why aren't I included in your plan?

Do you still remember how we met each other?

Of course.

Back then, I was the bodyguard of the Nielsen family.

[Six months ago, a random manor in Australia]

You were their legal consultant.

We met at a celebration party.

Everyone,

please.

Raise your glasses.

Let's thank

Lawyer Zhao for his excellent work.

With his help,

we won a crucial lawsuit.

So,

good job!

Get down!

Wait a minute!

Go!

I've saved many people

as a lawyer.

However, you were the only one who saved me.

I would've died in Australia

if it weren't for you.

You know that's not what I mean.

Although I did say that I was hiring you as my chauffeur,

did you really think

that you were one of them?

That's right.

You told me before

that your family was your number one priority.

That's why Master's safety

is the most important thing.

What do you mean by this?

Everything the Four Guardians has is inside here.

Not just that, it can also provide you with a comfortable life for the rest of your life.

Chao, you know me well.

I don't want money.

I want respect.

Do you know

why I didn't give you a post in the company

and didn't let you get involved with our family affairs?

I don't.

It's because this isn't the place for you to shine.

It's Australia.

Do you think I'm satisfied

after the Four Seas Group has taken over a small city like this?

I'm not.

Australia is our base camp.

I made you stay out of our affairs deliberately

so that you could have

a clean record.

You'll know when it's your turn to shine.

Chao,

I think I...

Mom?

Chao,

let me ask you something.

Was the Zhao family trying to harm Chang Zheng

by framing him?

I've never heard about it from Father.

I only got to know about Chang Zheng's case

after reading the news online.

If so, does that Cao Dalong

know any secrets about the Zhao family?

It's been more than two decades ago.

How should I know?

Are you sure you don't know?

Mom,

didn't I promise you

that I wouldn't get involved with the affairs of the Zhao family?

I'm glad you remember that.

You must know

that I sent you overseas back then

for you to stay away from the Zhao family

and the trouble in Changwu

so that you could...

Enough already.

I got it.

I got it.

You did it for my sake.

But I don't understand something.

Chang Zheng is an ordinary cop.

Why would the vice-mayor be so concerned about him?

You're more concerned about him than me.

What nonsense are you saying?

It's not like you don't know the relationship

between Chang Zheng's mother and me.

Fine then.

I'll ask around for you.

Remember.

Do not tell anyone

about our conversation today,

especially people from the Zhao family.

Remember that?

Yeah.

Let me see you off.

No thanks.

I can see myself off.

Mom,

why can't you remember

that I'm part of the Zhao family too?

Han Ya?

Are you heading out?

I'm going to visit my relative.

Do you think you can deceive me?

Where exactly are you going?

I just wanted to pay Zhao Xiaosheng a visit.

What?

Are you out of your mind?

That's not it.

You've been doing a lot to help Zheng out.

I have to do something as well.

I just wish to make a plea.

What if he forgives him?

You must never do so.

But why?

Go inside.

But why?

Come inside.

Han Ya, what are you doing?

Put down your things.

Why are you stopping me?

Sit down.

Don't you know the kind of person

Zhao Xiaosheng is?

You knew what happened

when I divorced him back then.

He's someone

who does all sorts of atrocious things.

Even so, I have to give it a try.

My son is in trouble now.

How could I just stay at home and do nothing about it?

I know Zhao Xiaosheng is a crook

and you're not willing to see him.

If so, I'll see him myself.

I'm not afraid of him.

I can face anything for my son's sake.

You mustn't do so.

Bai,

trust me.

Leave Zheng's case to me.

I will deal with it.

I'm already dealing with it.

I cannot obey you this time.

You can help him out in your way

while I'll help him out in my way.

Even if Zhao Xiaosheng refuses my request,

there's nothing to be embarrassed about.

I can think of other solutions.

It would be great if things were as simple

as you thought they were.

What if something happens to you?

What's the worst that could happen?

You're saying as if I'm heading somewhere far away.

It's not as complicated as you think.

Bai!

I'm begging you here!

Can you please don't go?

Han Ya, what's wrong?

The Zhao family was behind this incident.

Zhao Xiaosheng was the cause of this incident.

Why can't I look for him?

He was indeed

the cause of this incident.