Seeing the doubt on Chen Cheng's face, Shen Zhiyuan smiled and said to Yan Jian, "Jian'Er, Chief Chen doesn't know about the Zhou Family matter yet. Why don't you fill him in? After all, he'll be lending a hand shortly."
"Yes." Yan Jian agreed. As he turned to Chen Cheng, a barely perceptible look of smugness appeared in his eyes. He feigned an apologetic tone, saying, "Mr. Chen, we both serve in the Lishui Sub-Department, and our precincts are right next to each other. I should have told you about this sooner.
But my cousin-in-law instructed me beforehand that this matter must be kept secret—the fewer people who know, the better. So I had no choice but to keep you in the dark. Please don't take offense, Mr. Chen."
Yan Jian had just married Miss Shen, so he had started calling Shen Qingshuang "cousin-in-law" to seem closer to her, and also to show off.
By emphasizing the secrecy of the matter, he was also subtly treating Chen Cheng as an outsider.
