The people of the Prefecture are in for a show this time.

"Strange things happen every year, but this year is truly fresh. Guess what?"

In the tavern, a scholar was surrounded by the guests, standing on a table and eagerly speaking:

"The government officers who first set out to arrest the murderers were immediately rounded up by Lord Imperial Censor. Isn’t that bizarre?"

The onlookers immediately agreed, "This is beyond bizarre, it’s downright absurd!"

The scholar smugly continued, "Being absurd is nothing. There’s something even more absurd; the dignified Imperial Censor being mistaken for a criminal, tsk tsk tsk..."

This suggestive tsking piqued the curiosity of everyone, urging the scholar to quickly explain the reason and stop beating around the bush.

Unhurried, the scholar raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and then he spoke with a theatrical tone:

"A mysterious fire started at the posthouse fifty miles outside the city the night before yesterday, reducing the posthouse to ashes. It’s said that the posthouse manager’s body couldn’t be found, burnt to ashes."

"Then the government received a tip-off, saying someone deliberately set fire to the posthouse. They immediately headed out to the city outskirts to arrest the true culprit... Never did they expect that they’d end up capturing Lord Imperial Censor Wang Jin!"

At this point, the scholar deliberately paused for suspense, then continued:

"It happens that Lord Wang had a skilled person by his side. With his own strength, he subdued more than a dozen officers who mistakenly identified the Lord as the arsonist and strung them all together to bring them to the Prefectural Magistrate’s Office. Tsk tsk tsk, that scene, you didn’t witness it personally, but even the garrison commander was scared pale..."

The audience anxiously questioned, "Then what happened in the end? Although it’s a misunderstanding, this concerns the court’s Imperial Censor. Being falsely accused by the local officials not only renders our local officers incompetent but it’s likely the Imperial Censor won’t let it slide."

The scholar nodded heavily, with a tone of delight, "Certainly, he won’t let it slide, nor should he. These officials only know how to fleece the commoners without doing their duties!"

"Under the pleas of Lord Prefect and the garrison commander, the death penalty was avoided, but they couldn’t escape punishment. They were all dismissed from their positions, given thirty lashes, and sentenced to three years in prison."

Upon hearing this punishment, some weren’t convinced, pursing their lips. That they weren’t executed on the spot seemed too light a punishment.

The scholar observed the reactions and thought this resolution was rather good.

The illiterate commoners wouldn’t understand the cronyism of the officialdom. The leading officer was the garrison commander’s dear younger brother-in-law, and the other officers were relatives by marriage. If Lord Prefect truly executed them, it might cause chaos.

Even so, it was only due to the Imperial Censor sitting in court and leveraging the Sage’s presence that resulted in this outcome. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

....

Inside the official residence.

Wang Jin sat grim-faced at the table.

Qin Yao stood behind him, holding a plate of meat and vegetables, watching the garrison commander seated opposite Wang Jin speak in riddles. She indulged in her meal with relish.

Anyway, the usual rhetoric was that it was all a misunderstanding, the officials shouldn’t think too much, the young ones aren’t too wise and acted without sense, mistaking the lord for a criminal.

He begged not to let the young people’s ignorance make him an enemy of the garrison commander.

Wang Jin’s lips curled into a cold smile, "You must be disappointed seeing me alive, commander?"

Inwardly, the little voice replied: I’m the arsonist, but what can you do?

The garrison commander clearly startled, then waved his hand, "I wouldn’t dare, my lord jokes."

Realizing that more pleasantries wouldn’t reduce Wang Jin’s skepticism, the garrison commander changed the subject, probing:

"I heard Lord Wang brought back a lot of evidence from Kaiyang County..."

Before he could finish, there was a loud "bang," as Qin Yao seemingly accidentally dropped an empty plate.

"Oops, slipped my hand," she said sheepishly, quickly crouching down to clean up the pieces.

Wang Jin sighed helplessly, "Let the servants clean up."

Turning his head, he called the attendant over to tidy up, then concernedly asked Qin Yao if she got hurt, not waiting for her reply, urging people to get medical attention.

Qin Yao looked at her clean, unscathed hand, thinking... at least make it look real!

Since both of them had injuries, the doctor was on standby at the residence and arrived quickly.

Thus, the garrison commander was left hanging aside.

By the time Qin Yao and Wang Jin turned back, he had already left in anger.

"The entire Zijing Mansion is deeply infiltrated, and now you’re overtly hostile towards the commander. He must fear you’ll report him once you return to the Capital. Are you sure you’ll make it alive to the Capital?" Qin Yao asked skeptically while putting down her pant leg.

Her shin wound, if the doctor wasn’t quick enough, would’ve healed on its own.

Wang Jin touched the bandage on his arm, the wound inside itchy but didn’t dare scratch too hard, the itch wouldn’t go away, only making him irritable.

He suppressed his annoyance, giving Qin Yao a look, "Can you say something auspicious?"

Qin Yao: "Then, congrats on getting rich."

Wang Jin: "..."

"Seriously, when is your support arriving?" Qin Yao asked gravely.

Wang Jin replied with equal seriousness, "I don’t know."

Normally, someone should’ve contacted him in the past two days, but it had been silent.

Qin Yao frowned, speculating, "Could they have been... on the way," she gestured with a slicing motion.

Wang Jin immediately denied, "Impossible."

"Wait two more days, you stay at the residence meanwhile," Wang Jin said embarrassingly, and rather pitifully added, "I’m afraid of the dark at night, could you keep watch for me?"

"My lord, that requires extra pay," Qin Yao said matter-of-factly.

Wang Jin sighed, then dismissed the idea; he didn’t have funds for it, having already depleted the budget.

"Make sure to guard the evidence!" Before parting, Wang Jin sternly reminded.

Qin Yao couldn’t help but be curious, "What’s inside the box? Even the commander is trying to inquire, is it something deadly?"

Wang Jin nodded, "Indeed, it’s fatal."

Afraid to say it might scare her to death.

Qin Yao smirked, "Ha!"

As night fell, Qin Yao sat on the large wooden box, looking at the bustling street outside the window, thinking it’d be nice to have delivery food, at least she could treat her stomach to something tasty during this dull time.

To watch over the wooden box, Qin Yao didn’t leave the residence even a step, and as night came, she didn’t even open the door.

In terms of professionalism, Wang Jin admired her above all, so he quickly went to sleep relieved.

In the middle of the night, the sound of clapping hooves suddenly echoed from the street outside.

Uniform and somber.

The noise approached from afar, finally halting abruptly in front of the residence.

Qin Yao thought those coming to support Wang Jin might have been hindered, thus she didn’t expect anyone to arrive so soon.

Groggily, she peered down from the window.

On a tall black horse, dressed in red war attire, a female general raised her sharp gaze.

Their eyes met, and both were equally shocked.