Zheng Xiu watched the little farce play out and chuckled to himself.

He took note of Scarface Liu’s firm stance.

’This man is someone worth getting close to. When it counts, he really comes through.’

Of course, Zheng Xiu wouldn’t have been worried even if they had brought in someone else.

This was a prison, after all, and a prison was a [Prisoner]’s domain.

His Incarnation’s abilities were now beyond imagination. He only needed to secretly activate his [Projection], and with the Incarnation’s current musculature, it could easily endure thirty strokes of the cane.

Scarface Liu raised the disciplinary cane high, then brought it down gently.

It landed on Master Zheng’s backside without even making a sound—a blow from thin air.

Eventually, the Order Officer couldn’t bear to watch any longer and simply closed his eyes.

The "punishment of thirty strokes" was thus concluded. What awaited Master Zheng now was a long imprisonment.

How long he would be held would depend on the verdicts as they came down through the various levels of the judiciary.

The three brutal murder cases remained unresolved.

Zhou Ji, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, forcefully put a hold on the proceedings, stating that the Six Gates should investigate first. He insisted the investigation must be meticulous and unhurried, leaving no room for error.

As for Zheng Xiu, another week passed in the blink of an eye.

「Late in the Eleventh Moon.」

The chill deepened, and the wind carried the biting cold of early winter.

Things had been rather strange lately.

People had been coming to the Prison Camp one after another, setting up banquets and requesting a meeting with Master Zheng.

Their official ranks ranged from low to high. From among the Six Ministries came section chiefs, department heads, Senior Clerks, and Physicians—in all, more than a dozen people came one after the other.

Never mind that Master Zheng had his mind entirely focused on the Ghostly Realm; they all insisted on meeting him above ground, in a place where he wouldn’t feel secure. Zheng Xiu refused to see any of them.

His reason was always the same: "I, Zheng Xiu, am a law-abiding man. I will do nothing that violates the laws of Daqian!"

No one who heard this believed him, yet his reasoning was perfectly sound. All the officials who came to see Zheng Xiu returned in disappointment, having been refused an audience.

As they were being rebuffed, rumors began to circulate in the Court.

Was the son of Zheng Haoran, Marquis Zhonglie, the Richest Person Zheng Xiu, truly so principled and loyal?

Although the officials of this era didn’t believe in Gods, Buddhas, or Demon Fiends, they were still superstitious about good fortune and ill omens. Like Shi Wentong before them, they were unwilling to venture deep into the prison, fearing they would be tainted by its inauspicious air. The officials looking for Master Zheng were much the same. They only needed to report back that Master Zheng had refused to see them. With their duty discharged, why would they risk their own careers and prospects?

Zheng Xiu’s peaceful days of ’grinding instances’ did not last long.

「The first day of the Twelfth Moon.」

「Dusk.」

Scarface Liu came rushing down the stairs, nearly taking a tumble.

"Master Zheng, this is bad!" Scarface Liu crouched in front of the cell, his hands gripping the bars like a Labrador whose tail had just been stepped on.

Zheng Xiu’s eyes remained closed, as if he were feigning sleep.

Scarface Liu was long accustomed to Master Zheng’s "sleepy" disposition. Wasting no words, he got straight to the point. "His Highness! His Highness has come in person! He wants to see you!"

Zheng Xiu had been in the Ghostly Realm, locked in a fierce, back-and-forth sword fight with Wang Cangyun. Hearing the voice outside, he promptly stuck his neck out to get himself killed, then opened his eyes, his interest piqued.

"Oh? Which Prince?"

"It’s the Second Prince! He’s prepared a grand banquet upstairs and is waiting for you to come out. He said there’s... something important to discuss!"

Zheng Xiu smiled, his eyes narrowing meaningfully. "So, it’s the Second Prince!"

Scarface Liu moved to unlock the cell door.

But Zheng Xiu didn’t even make a move to get up from his Grandmaster’s Chair. He simply gave his embroidered brocade robe a shake and shook his head.

"Just go tell him that I am a prisoner under watch and absolutely will not leave this cell. If he truly wishes to see me, then let His High-and-Mighty Highness... come in for a seat."

Master Zheng closed his eyes again and leaned back.

’Oh, for fuck’s sake!’

Upon hearing this, Scarface Liu’s legs nearly gave out. He cursed the injustice of the Celestial Dao, which treated all living things like dogs.

He tried every way he knew to persuade him, pleading that the Second Prince was not a man to be offended.

’He’s already making a move against me,’ Zheng Xiu thought. ’What’s the point of worrying about offending him now?’

So Master Zheng simply leaned back in his Grandmaster’s Chair and began to act shamelessly, telling Scarface Liu that if he had the guts, he could drag him out himself.

Scarface Liu unlocked the door and begged his master to come out. But Master Zheng was adamant and refused to budge. Left with no other choice, Scarface Liu finally gritted his teeth, stretched out his neck, and slammed his head against the wall. His forehead split open, and he began to bleed.

Zheng Xiu was stunned for a moment. He saw Scarface Liu give him a quick wink before closing his eyes again, feigning a deathly pallor as if he were on his last breath.

Master Zheng gave Scarface Liu a discreet thumbs-up, then shouted toward the entrance, "Help! Help! Sixth Brother accidentally hit the wall and knocked himself out cold!"

「After a bout of chaos.」

The stalemate lasted for about an hour.

"Hmph. A bunch of incompetents."

An angry voice echoed from the end of the corridor. His Highness the Second Prince descended the stairs, covering his nose and mouth, and walked straight toward Room A, where Zheng Xiu was imprisoned.

Following the Second Prince were several handsome men in brocade robes. They didn’t look like Officials; they seemed more like the Prince’s personal attendants.

Scarface Liu was merely a chief in the Prison Camp. His direct superior, wiping cold sweat from his brow, trailed after the Second Prince and ordered his men to quickly carry away the disgraceful sight that was Scarface Liu.

"Zheng Xiu, Marquis Zhonglie, pays his respects to His Highness the Second Prince."

Zheng Xiu offered a perfunctory cupping of his hands.

"How audacious!" one of the handsome sycophants beside the Second Prince barked. "You dare not kneel in His Highness’s presence?"

Zheng Xiu smiled and pointed to himself. "Do you know who I am?"

"The Richest Person in the Imperial City, the only son of General Zheng Haoran. Who doesn’t know you?"

The man’s tone was icy, clearly intended as a show of force to intimidate Zheng Xiu.

Zheng Xiu shook his head, his eyes narrowing into a smile. "You know of me, but you don’t truly know me. Are you aware that when the Holy Emperor bestowed the title of ’Marquis Zhonglie’ upon the Zheng Family, he issued a special decree? It stated that I, the Marquis, am exempt from the ritual of kneeling—even before the Holy Emperor himself—unless I am attending the imperial court. This was to honor my father’s spirit in Heaven."

This was one of the reasons Zheng Xiu had no desire to become an official.

’I don’t have to kneel outside the court, but I’d have to kneel if I attended it.’

’If I were truly a born-and-bred citizen of Daqian, it wouldn’t matter. But with the memories of two lifetimes merged, kneeling to one’s parents felt perfectly natural. Kneeling to an Emperor, however... that always felt wrong to me.’

’So what if I’m not an official? How could that possibly be better than being the Richest Person?’

Zheng Xiu thought to himself before continuing, "My father, Zheng Haoran, was a hero who defended this nation and gave his life for it. By telling me, the Marquis, to kneel, are you suggesting that my father’s contributions are worthless? Or are you suggesting that the Holy Emperor’s decree is nothing but hot air?"

The man froze, and in an instant, cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

Zheng Xiu then turned to the Second Prince, his smile unwavering. "Your Highness, it is fortunate that I know you well. I know you care for the people of Daqian and are an amiable person. Otherwise, if words like his were to spread... well, as the saying goes, ’the speaker may be careless, but the listener is not.’ I fear someone with malicious intent might start a rumor. They might say, could it be that your subordinate is plotting a rebellion? And if Your Highness’s subordinate harbors such intentions, then Your Highness... *cough, cough*. What I mean to say is, I would worry that Your Highness might be subjected to vicious slander!"

As expected of the man who ran the largest chain of textile shops in Daqian, Master Zheng could pin one outrageous accusation after another on his opponent with just a few words.

The handsome lackey’s face went ashen, his good looks vanishing. He immediately dropped to his knees and began slapping himself frantically across the face.

"Hah."

The Second Prince smiled faintly and took a few steps closer to Zheng Xiu. "Marquis Zhonglie, you jest. A lowly servant merely misspoke. Surely you wouldn’t take it to heart?"

He was beginning to find Zheng Xiu unpredictable.

’Could it be that he knows the palace’s secrets?’

’But even if his family has been passing him messages, news of my father the Emperor’s grave illness hasn’t spread. Even many Ministers are unaware. Zheng Xiu can’t predict the future, so how could he possibly know?’

’But if he doesn’t know... I haven’t openly turned against him yet. Every word from his mouth is a jab to the heart, a hidden blade.’

"All of you, leave us."

The Second Prince waved a hand, dismissing his attendants.

Now, only the Second Prince and Zheng Xiu were left in the small space.

...No, wait. There was one other person.

The Governor of Yanzhou, Jiang Gaoyi, had just woken up, still curled in his bedding, only to overhear the shocking conversation. He was so terrified he didn’t dare to breathe.

’I’m doomed!’

Jiang Gaoyi had been an official, after all. He buried his head in the straw, praying with all his might that the Second Prince wouldn’t look in his direction.

Lord Jiang wished he could be both deaf and blind at that moment.

The Second Prince truly hadn’t realized that Zheng Xiu had a neighbor in the opposite cell. After the others had left, his expression turned cold for a split second before reverting to a gentle smile. "You’ve guessed that something is wrong in the palace?"

"I’ve pieced a few things together."

Zheng Xiu nodded.