Zhang Yubo and Zhao Shuhan hid in the wine building, thinking that they could observe from the second floor and see more clearly. As they climbed the stairs, before they reached the corner of the staircase, they heard a hoarse but somewhat familiar voice coming from upstairs: "This East City Prefect Chen Zhiwu has not even half the spirit of a martial artist, his patrolmen are like mice staring at a cat, really a bunch of useless trash..."

  Zhang Yubo thought to himself, "Who is this person upstairs? The voice sounds somewhat familiar?" He slowed down his pace with Zhao Shuhan, thinking of eavesdropping on others' discussions about today's events.

  "This guy is just a small time official, the ninth rank of the Golden River prison, cutting off people's hands and feet on the street. Now he dares to issue a kill order in front of the East City patrol, isn't that too arrogant? Doesn't he fear offending people?" Just then, another clear and melodious female voice came down.

  "He's not arrogant, how many people in Jiangning City can recognize the Dongyang scholar and Jinjiang prison officer? I've been a turtle hiding my head for most of my life, if it weren't for the burden of fame, I'd like to live an arrogant life." The old voice came again.

  Zhang Yubo heard this and exchanged a smile with Zhao Shuhan.

  The woman's voice also burst out laughing: "Who would compare themselves to a turtle? Just the other day, wasn't it that they were so angry they were blowing their top and glaring with rage, wanting to twist off this turtle's head? And now how come they're suddenly so well-behaved? In your eyes, human life is really worth nothing, I think this farce won't end easily. Among those people who lost limbs, aren't there some of Dongshi's local rascals?"

  Zhang Yuber also suspected that there was someone behind the scenes directing today's events, thinking that the people upstairs should have a clearer view. He and Zhao Shuhan went up to the second floor, where a white-haired, bearded old man in brocade clothes sat at a desk by the window, discussing the events below with Chen Qingqing, a famous courtesan of Xiubai Tower, who was sitting across from him. Zhang Yuber saw that it was someone he knew and went over to pay his respects along with Zhao Shuhan: "I didn't know that Duke Guo was here, Left Commandant Zhang Yuber (and Jiangning Penal Department Chief Zhao Shuhan) pays his respects..."

  Zhang Yubo, Chen Yuanliang and other Dongyang officials naturally regarded Gu Wuduan as one of their own. Chen Qingqing had never met Zhao Shuhan before, but she had heard his name and knew he was friends with Lin Xian. When she saw Zhang Yubo and Zhao Shuhan coming upstairs, she too was slightly taken aback, thinking to herself that she hadn't said anything good about him earlier, feeling a bit embarrassed.

  An old man in brocade clothes sat there with a faint smile, saying: "Lord Zhang and Master Zhao also have the leisure to come to Dongshi for a drink at this time. Why not sit down together?"

  "It's better to obey than to show respect......" Zhang Yubo and Zhao Shuhan also couldn't decline, nor did they expect to meet the hereditary Marquis of Suo Guo, Zeng Mingxin, at the wine tower.

  Although there are countless high-ranking officials and nobles in Jiangning City, there are only three families with hereditary titles that have not been downgraded. The current Marquis of Mu Guo is generous by nature but does not manage the family business well, so their estate is far smaller than that of the Yongchang Hou Mansion. However, his title is one rank higher. Zeng Mingxin was a romantic and talented young man with a reputation for being chivalrous and impulsive. After middle age, he became more subdued and even reclusive, but recently, due to the famous courtesan Chen Qingqing of Xiubai Lou, this white-haired Marquis of Mu Guo has once again become a topic of conversation among the people of Jiangning City.

  It was unexpected that Marquis Mu would invite Chen Qingqing to come to the East City for a drink, and earlier, listening to Marquis Mu's discussion, it seemed that he had no ill feelings towards Lin Xie. However, they wouldn't take Chen Qingqing's words seriously. The attendants of the Marquis Mu's residence brought over chairs, and Zhang Yubo and Zhao Shuhan sat down beside the table, still thinking about the scene outside the window, and looked out to see what was happening. In front of the Inspection Department's cavalry, a row of soldiers held guns pointing directly at the crowd, forcing the people and horses from the East City to retreat continuously to make way for them. Those seventeen or eighteen thugs who had broken their hands and feet were already tied up with ropes, forced to stand up, even those whose legs were broken had to support each other to stand up, and anyone who hesitated would be beaten by the cavalry with a stick. The horse-drawn carriage that was being protected in the middle also slowly started moving forward, Zhou Pu sat at the front of the carriage holding the reins, and Lin Xie was at the head of the carriage.

  At this time, there were still people loudly discussing in the corridor downstairs that a group of rascals had teased Lin's family and the two beautiful women who were being teased by the rascal. Zhang Yu-Bo and Zhao Shu-Han heard clearly upstairs, they both saw Liu Yue-Er before, Qian Xiao-Wu's wife Yun Niang was delicate but not a great beauty, but didn't know who the other beautiful girl with Liu Yue-Er was?

  Zhang Yubo suddenly thought of one person, and lightly kicked Zhao Shuhan under the table. He glanced at the horse carriage, and Zhao Shuhan understood his intention. He thought that if these rascals were instructed by someone to target Gu Wudong's family members, then it would be easy for Gu Wudong to be bullied like a softie if this matter was easily settled. Lin Xuan probably also had some grievances accumulated after the flow of migrants' tragic case and took this ruthless action on the street.

  "Yesterday, I just bought Zhao's 'Ti Lou Yu Shu' from Zheng Yedian, and I was thinking of having the chance to ask for advice in person. Unexpectedly, we met here..." said Mu Guo Gong Zeng Mingxin.

  "The Letter from Prison" has been printed and delivered by Zhengyedao, Lin Xie and Zhao Shuhan have put 20 copies of the book on sale at Zhengyedao Bookstore. Zhao Shuhan did not expect Marquis Mu to buy it, he came back to his senses and stood up again to pay respects to Zeng Mingxin, saying: "Your Excellency's praise is too much, my humble words are unworthy of Your Excellency's attention..."

  "Hmm, Director Zhao is truly humble. I've lived for more than half my life, do I need to flatter people?" Zeng Mingxin said with a smile, letting Zhao Shuhan sit and talk without being too formal. "I heard that Director Zhao plans to hold a lecture on the Book of Prison at Jiyunzhutang in Jinjiangkou on a chosen date. When it's confirmed, would you kindly inform me?"

  "Deng deng deng." Zhao Shuhan only knew that when Zeng Guogong was buying books in the main hall, the shopkeeper mentioned that the Jiyunzhutang was still under construction, and he didn't know when it would be completed. He just made a perfunctory response with his mouth.

  Zhao Shuhan and Zhang Yubo were worried about how to end today's affairs, so they didn't have the mood to discuss prison books with Mu Guogong in the wine tower. Lin Fu and the patrol officers of the Procuratorate were about to leave the street corner, and although the soldiers and horses of the East City Guard did not dare to intercept them, they also refused to give up, trailing behind them reluctantly. Zhao Shuhan and Zhang Yubo bid farewell to Mu Guogong and left.

  After coming down from the building, Zhang Yuber felt that he was still wearing official robes and it didn't seem quite right to go back like this. He said to Zhao Shuhan: "Let's find a tavern to drink and wait for news instead. The people have been taken to the Surveillance Commissioner's office, what waves can they stir up now?"

  Zhaoshuhan also thinks so.

  ************

  Lin Zhen finally commandeered four carts on the street and had the seventeen thugs who had broken hands and feet thrown into them like garbage, sending them to the Procuratorate.

  Madam Gu, Gu Suiyuan, Yang Shi and others had received the news and were already waiting in the other courtyard of the Provincial Inspector's office. Lin Tie sent someone to send Gu Junxian over to the other courtyard to be taken care of by Madam Gu and the others. He ordered Zhou Pu and the guards to escort Liu Yu'er back to Jiyunju, so as to avoid her running into the Gu family members and causing Madam Gu's displeasure.

  Although the great prison in the city was nearby, there was still a detention house inside the gate of the Provincial Inspector's Office, which was not large but could hold more than 100 people. Yang Pu took his men and locked up all these street rascals in the detention house, then Lin Fu went to see Gu Wu Chen first.

  Gu Wu Chen was already standing under the eaves waiting, Ma Chao who came back to report this matter stood behind Gu Wu Chen, and all the other servants in the courtyard today were dismissed.

  "Is Xunniang all right?" asked Gu Wudu, he didn't dare to go to the other courtyard to visit his daughter, for fear that someone with ulterior motives would fabricate some rumors.

  "It's nothing serious, just a bit of a shock. The lady has gone home with her husband... " Lin Xie asked again, "Where is Lord Jia?" He had passed by the side hall where Jia Pengyu was handling official business earlier, but didn't see anyone there. At noon, he clearly saw Jia Pengyu in the yamen.

  "I just went to Shangyuan County and will go to Pingjiang Prefecture again for inspection. I'm in a hurry." said Gu Wudu.

  Leaving Jiangning to inspect the lower prefectures and counties, without half a month he couldn't come back. Lin Xie thought that Jia Pengyu should know some inside information to avoid being implicated, so he simply left Jiangning and handed over the entire Provincial Inspector's Office to Gu Wudian to take charge of. He really wanted to be an official who wouldn't fall down.

  "What to do now," Lin Xuan asked, "won't the Jiangning Prefecture come looking for someone?" They could ignore the East City Patrol and forcibly take people back, but that wouldn't solve the problem. Just because the East City Patrol's Chen Zhi was a pushover didn't mean that the Jiangning Prefect Wang Xueshan would swallow his anger after finding out about this matter.

  "First get the transcript, Ma Chao, you go yourself..." Gu Wudeng said in a low voice.

  "Lin Xie, Lin Xie, you this meddling little person, where are you? Come out!" Just then, Gu Siyuan's loud shouting was heard from the corridor outside the courtyard. Lin Xie didn't know what medicine Gu Siyuan had taken wrong, and he looked at the moon gate in surprise. He saw Gu Siyuan rushing in with a fierce expression, loudly scolding him, "You this little person, having grudges with Wang Shaokun, yet framing Wang Shaokun for today's affair, and wanting to borrow a knife to kill someone, dragging my Gu family into your personal grudges, what is your intention?"

  "What conflict do I have with Wang Xueshan's son?" Lin Xuan looked at Gu Siyuan, who had rushed in and was scolding loudly.

  "You're not thinking of redeeming that little slut from Baiyuan, are you? Fan Zhimei has already promised to sell that little slut to Wang Shaokun as a concubine. What qualifications do you have to compete with Wang Shaokun for beauty? It's not fortunate that Jun Xiang is being bullied by others. Wang Shaokun and my Gu family have no grudges, and he even invited me to gather at Fanlou last night. Why would I want to harm Jun Xiang? Isn't it just you, a petty person, stirring up trouble and trying to use this matter to turn my Gu family against the Wang family?" Gu Siyuan said indignantly.

  "Slap!" Before Gu Siyuan could finish speaking, Gu Wudu slapped him in the face and sternly shouted: "Do you want to shout so loudly that everyone in the yamen knows?"

  Gu Suiyuan never expected that his father would slap him without asking for an explanation, covering his face and arguing: "It's obviously Lin Mou who is stirring up trouble, I know Wang Shaokun's character, he will not harm Jun Xiang..."

  Gu Wu Chen was so angry that he wished he could kick his son to death. How stupid would Lin Xuan have to be to lie about this? Moreover, Yang Pu and Ma Chao's eyes were not blind, the people from the East City Patrol followed them all the way to the front of the Provincial Inspector's Office before leaving. Were they just here for these street rascals? Gu Wu Chen let out a light breath, thinking: He is still his own son after all, and he blamed himself for not teaching him well during the ten years in the army. He said to Ma Chao: "Take this beast to the prison to gain some experience, don't wait until others have ruined the Gu family completely, and he still wants to befriend people and seek pleasure."

  The Haikou Liu Min tragedy had a hint of targeting Gu Wu Chen, but in the end it was just some insignificant refugees who died. Gu Wu Chen could still compromise with Jiangning Prefecture, but today's incident directly targeted his family members, how can he easily back down?

  Lin Xie stood there speechless, he didn't know how Gu Yuanyuan and Wang Chao found out about his intimate relationship with Xiao Man. Maybe it was when they visited Baiyuan before the New Year's festival and met up with Wang Chao, Yuan Jinsong and others that they noticed something, or maybe Su Mei had already told the lord of the manor about buying back Xiao Man, but he didn't expect Wang Chao to take a step ahead and buy Xiao Man as his concubine.

  *********************

  PS: Thanks for the rewards from brothers

  Especially that brother called "most loving and vulgar"

  Which sister registered an ID "most loving and vulgar" and logged on to the reward list?

  Everything is perfect now.