The next morning, Zhang Sun-geng finished writing the report on last night's prison break and sent it over. Lin Xie signed it and had someone send it to the Procuratorate for sentencing and filing. He delayed at the river mouth until noon before heading into the city, bringing Liu Yu'er with him. Liu Yu'er had been staying outside the city for over a month. Although she could entrust others who came into the city on errands to buy things she needed, there were some private items that were inconvenient to ask others to purchase. Moreover, being cooped up in the riverside cottage all day would also become tedious after a long time. Occasionally, she needed to go into the city to change her mood.

  After entering the city, Lin Xuan had to go to the Procuratorate first to "pay respects", and at noon he would invite his colleagues to a restaurant to build relationships, letting Liu Yue'er go shopping in the East Market first. Although the city, especially near the East Market, where the wealthy and powerful lived and government offices were concentrated, was much safer than outside the city, it was still possible for thugs to appear, so Lin Xuan brought four guards with him into the city and had them escort Liu Yue'er to the East Market in a carriage. At this time, Lin Xuan was only a ninth-rank official, and after entering the city he still needed to keep a low profile, so when going to the Procuratorate he only brought Zhou Pu as his attendant.

  Last night's jailbreak has already been reported to the Procuratorate, and Lin Ge just arrived at the Procuratorate to pay respects to his superior, Procurator Xiao Xuanchuo, but was intercepted by Yang Pu, who told him to go immediately.

  "I had Yang Shi come into the city early, has Uncle Yang met with him?" Lin Xuan also wanted to get along well with Yang Pu privately, and wouldn't be cold and distant just because of their official positions. Although Yang Pu was a servant of the Gu family, he had followed Gu Wuhen through thick and thin, and even Gu Siyuan dared not show off in front of Yang Pu as if he were his master, let alone Lin Xuan who would naturally know better.

  "He's seen it, his mother kept him in the house, even delaying important matters..." Yang Pu said. He had a conversation with his son that morning, before the trial, he was clear that Yang Shi had prejudices against Lin Xie, so he was worried that Yang Shi would conflict with Lin Xie on the island and find opportunities to deal with him. However, this time when Yang Shi returned and mentioned Lin Xie, his attitude was completely different from before, and even showed a disdainful expression towards Lin Xie. Yang Pu still had some worries, Lin Xie's brilliance in this short period of time was too dazzling, making people feel uncomfortable, but Gu Wuduan trusted Lin Xie more and relied on him, and also indulged Lin Xie in using the Ji Yun Society for personal gain. Yang Pu thought to himself that maybe he was worrying unnecessarily, Lin Xie was just a scholar from a humble background, a ninth-grade civil official, how could he possibly threaten the master?

  Lin Xie didn't know what Yang Pu was thinking, and followed him to see Gu Wu Chen first. As they walked into the hall where Gu Wu Chen handled official business, he saw that his superior, Xiao Xuan Chuo, was also there. Only then did he realize that Gu Wu Chen had a proper matter to discuss with him, and he politely asked: "Two nobles have summoned me, what instructions do you have?"

  "Are the facts about the jailbreak as stated in the indictment sent by you this morning all true?" Gu Wu Chen had someone bring a chair for Lin Xie to sit in front of his desk.

  "I don't dare deceive the two of you," Lin Xie said.

  "That's good," Gu Wu Chen handed the document to Xiao Xuan Chuo, saying, "This matter will require Xiao Xian to take a trip to verify the situation clearly and then report back to Lord Jia..."

  "Mr. Gu is cautious, if it were someone else, they would have already written a special article about this virtuous deed...” Xiao Xuanchuo said.

  "It's better to be cautious." Gu Wu Chen said with a smile.

  Lin Xian heard that Gu Wu Chen wanted Xiao Xuan to personally go to the prison island to investigate last night's jailbreak, and hurriedly said: "When will Master Xiao get up, I'll follow you back?"

  "It's rare for you to come into the city, no need," Gu Wu Chen said with a smile. "Also, it saves you from having to do something on my behalf when you get back. The Xiao Xian case is over, and as long as there are written statements about the case on the island, that's enough..."

  Xiao Xuanchu left, and Gu Wuchen said: "You've handled this matter very well. Once Xiao Xian's case is verified and he returns to shut people up, the Surveillance Commissioner's office will first submit a written report to the Ministry of Justice to request credit; depending on the attitude of the Ministry of Justice, I'll write another letter to Tang Gong and Zhang Xiang to see if it can be made known to the Imperial Court..."

  "I'm afraid it's inevitable that someone will secretly criticize this as just being lenient because of personal relationships..." Lin Mou didn't expect Gu Wu Chen to attach such importance to this matter, and upon hearing him say that it might be presented to the Emperor for review, he felt somewhat apprehensive.

  "In the time of Gaozu, when the iron book was being compiled and the penal code was being established, the system of 'leniency in punishment and sympathy for prisoners' was already in place. 'Escaping from prison to seek increased punishment' is still a manifestation of virtue. This conforms to the sacred teachings of Gaozu, but it's hard to avoid criticism. However, there are those who dare to speak out clearly." Gu Wu Chen said, familiar with the pattern of official documents, as he comforted Lin Xie.

  Lin Xian sighed slightly in his heart, at this time all the news from various places were bad, perhaps such a trivial matter was needed to gloss over the peace, this matter also had great benefits for Gu Wu Chen, once this matter could be presented to the imperial court, it would be equivalent to laying the first step of the proposal to rebuild the city wall in the central government, and the Censorate would also take credit.

  Lin Xie had already made up his mind, and Lin Xie didn't have anything else to say, only saying: "It's all thanks to the governor's guidance, Xiao Qian's instructions were clear and concise, that's why we've achieved these results on Prison Island..." According to the rules, if they really wanted to take credit, it should be in the name of the Surveillance Commissioner, Deputy Surveillance Commissioner, and Surveillance Secretary, but since everything was just starting out, Lin Xie was worried that if he took too much credit, he would be transferred elsewhere and lose his position. Of course, this possibility was low, as Gu Wu Chen wouldn't let him leave Prison Island at this time.

  Gu Wudu smiled and said: "We just met yesterday, you have other things to do in the city, don't stay here with me..."

  Lin Tie didn't engage in small talk with Gu Wu Chen. The colleagues he invited to lunch were all low-ranking officials from the Procuratorate, and having Gu Wu Chen sit at the table would only make everyone feel awkward. They chatted for a while in Gu Wu Chen's house, mainly about how the Procuratorate was being squeezed by other government departments, making it difficult to get things done due to trivial matters.

  In other counties, the Censorate had great power to supervise, and when the Censorate wanted to do something, the Pacification Commission and the Provincial Military Council would cooperate. The prefectures and counties below were even more obedient. However, the situation in Jiangdong County was special. The Jiangning Prefecture and the Jiangning Garrison General's Office were originally superordinate offices equal to or even higher than the Three Commissions. Moreover, there were many high-ranking officials and nobles in the city, and some tomb guardians had great prestige and influence despite having no real power. This made the situation in Jiangning ten or a hundred times more complicated than in other counties, which was why Gu Wu Chen, with the halo of being a new noble of the Chu Party, still encountered numerous obstacles.

  It was precisely because Gu Wu Chen was a new noble of the Chu Party, and the Chu Party also had hopes of entering the central government. The local forces in Jiangning were even more wary of Gu Wu Chen, not wanting to give a strong character the opportunity to break the original balance of power. There were countless hidden obstacles. The previous case of the migrant workers' tragic incident was also seen as someone secretly setting up an obstacle for Gu Wu Chen by many officials in Jiangning. When Gu Wu Chen wanted to thoroughly investigate the case, he naturally encountered great resistance and ultimately had to let it go.

  Regardless of good or bad, the news of Lin Xie's escape from prison had already spread throughout the yamen. No matter what others thought in their hearts, Lin Xie was now a favored person under Gu Wuhen, and Gu Wuhen was a new noble of the Chu Party. Everyone expected Gu Wuhen to take over as the Provincial Governor, so at the banquet, Lin Xie only heard flattering words.

  After the banquet, Lin Xie went to the East Market to meet with Liu Yu'er. He had previously agreed with Lin Mengde to meet at the Dongyang Guild Hall, and since there was still some time before sunset, he planned to find Liu Yu'er first and then go together to the Dongyang Guild Hall.

  Although the city of Jiangning still has a market, it does not have high walls like the previous dynasty. The East Market is located in an area where wealthy and powerful officials gather, and it is actually a high-end goods market within the city of Jiangning. Ordinary people rarely come to the East Market to shop, but since it is an open market, there are inevitably some hoodlums who come here to cause trouble.

  Near East City, there were more and more pedestrians on the street, so Lin Xie and Zhou Pu led their horses while walking.

  "You see..."

  Zhou Pu stopped the horse and reminded Lin Xie to look up at a teahouse. Lin Xie looked over and saw that on the second floor of the teahouse, under the eaves, Wang Chao, the son of Wang Xueshan, the prefect of Jiangning, was leaning out more than half his body, looking east towards the Xiyingfang market.

  Lin Xuan and Zhou Pu blocked the view of pedestrians on the street, but seeing Wang Chao's appearance, they knew what had happened in Xiuyifang. Lin Xuan was worried that Liu Yu'er was still in Xiuyifang, although there were four guards with her, nothing should go wrong, so he quickened his pace towards Dongshi. As Lin Xuan passed by the teahouse, he turned back to look and saw Wang Chao also looking at him, only to see Wang Chao take a fright and retreat into the teahouse, Lin Xuan felt something was amiss.

  In front of the crowd, a group of ruffians surrounded Miss Gu and Liu Yue'er. Fortunately, four guards sent by Lin Xie to protect Liu Yue'er were present, but they could only block the ruffians from laying hands on the two women.

  Lin Xie and Zhou Pu walked over, only to hear those street rascals surrounding them, not laying a hand but spewing all sorts of filthy language:

  "Whose young lady disguised herself as a young master and came out to steal a man, it's said that all the fellow villagers of Xiūyì Fāng know about it..."

  "Now another beautiful woman has appeared, dressed as a young master, surely she's not pretending to be a phoenix?"

  "You don't know, nowadays the official households are particular about having two daughters-in-law living together. These two women are both delicate and beautiful, and they're in such a hurry to leave, I don't know which family's son will be lucky enough to get them, it's more tantalizing than the opera performances at the brothel..."

  "If you really want to find out which family's young lady this little wife is, please ask Mr. Liu Er from Xing Tian Fang to compile a play and have it performed in Jiangning City..."

  "Look at their uniforms, these four little soldiers are prison guards from Jiangdao Prison, who knows if these two beautiful women are female prisoners inside Jiangdao Prison, don't be fooled by their good looks, maybe they're being escorted to some brothel in the city to be sold..."

  "Yeah, the other day I heard that some female prisoners from Jiang Island Prison were taken to a brothel in Quyang Town to be sold. I've played with so many whores, but not with female prisoners yet. Which brothel are you guys going to? We'll definitely go and have some fun."

  Lin Tie and Zhou Pu listened for a moment, then knew that this matter was related to Wang Chao, who had been peeking out from the teahouse earlier. It was clear that they were targeting the Gu family. These street rascals were insulting people in broad daylight, but the night watchmen in the eastern market seemed to be unaware of their presence. The rascals were using verbal provocations and blocking Lin Yue'er and Gu Junxian from leaving with a human wall, and their mouths were full of filthy language that was actually aimed at Gu Junxian's identity...

  Liu Yu'er was a bit more calm, but Gu Junxian had never seen such a scene before and was both ashamed and angry, her face bright red with rage, almost to the point of tears. She was also afraid, not noticing that Lin Xuan had already arrived, but she knew that at this moment, she couldn't reveal her family's name, or else these commoners would surely fabricate unfavorable rumors about the Gu family. The other pedestrians in the east market were just watching the commotion, and some even thought that the two beautiful women being teased like this added richness to their dull lives. No one stood up to be a hero and rescue them, probably because they were also afraid of these ruffians being too much to handle.

  Wang Chao saw Lin Fu appear and shrink his head, but these city rascals didn't have anyone to inform them. Lin Fu took off his waist knife and tooth plate and held them in his hand, placing the scabbard on one of the rascals who was shouting loudly, calling him: "Brother..."

  "What's the matter?" The rascal turned back to ask, but what he got in return was a fierce slash of the knife scabbard. Before he could even cover his face, he felt a surge of great force on his calf, and Lin kicked his left knee cap with one foot, breaking it. He let out a miserable cry as he collided with two people, his face and knee cap both in extreme pain, leaving him unsure whether to cover his face or his foot.

  Lin tied up the waist knife with a scabbard, slashing and stabbing, beating the rascals in front of him until they fell to the ground. After squeezing into the inner circle, he shouted: "You scoundrels, under the bright sky, causing trouble and teasing civilians, do you really think there is no king's law in Jiangning City?" At this time, he raised his tooth card and shouted loudly, "The Procuratorate is handling the case, ordinary people retreat to avoid accidental injury." He turned his head to scold the four guards: "Can't draw a knife to kill people, can't you beat them with a scabbard and leave them disabled?"

  These rascals never thought that disaster would suddenly befall them, and before they knew it, Lin Xie was knocked to the ground from behind, and several people were in a state of chaos. Seeing that Lin Xie wore only a ninth-grade civil official's robe, they didn't take him seriously and surrounded him, wanting to beat him back.

  At Lin Xie's command, the four guards who had been holding back for a long time finally sprang into action like tigers and wolves. With their scabbarded swords in hand, they struck at the thugs with the same ferocity as Lin Xie had earlier, using the slashing techniques they had practiced for nearly two months to devastating effect. In just three or five moves, they sent the thugs fleeing in terror, crying out for their parents and wishing they had more legs to run away into the crowd and shops.

  Lin Tie was ruthless and wanted to severely beat a few people to establish his authority, so he told Zhou Pu to protect the two women while he personally wielded his sheathed sword to knock down those rascals who tried to get up and escape.

  ********

  P.S: Looking for red envelopes (with money).