"Don't just stand there," Wu Jinliang suddenly came to his senses and exclaimed loudly, "Chun Tian, someone is setting us up!"
A loud voice is useless. The leading armored warrior gestured with a wave of his hand, and immediately two men charged to grab Shi Chun.
Shi Chun, with a sullen face, did not resist or try to escape, knowing it was futile. The cultivation of these armored warriors all started at High Martial. He was no match for any of them. Resisting in Zhixu City would only make his end more miserable. He had no choice but to let himself be taken away, dragged down the stairs forcefully.
However, he still insisted on defending himself. He declared righteously, "We do not know this scoundrel, nor have we stolen anything from him. He is framing us, and we hope the Heavenly Generals can see the truth."
The grimy man shouted, "It was definitely them! After they bumped into me, my Blue Jade Essence vanished."
The leading armored warrior waved his hand, "Search them!"
His subordinates immediately set to work. They searched Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang in front of everyone, but found no suspicious items on them. However, when they searched Wu Jinliang's bag, they found a stone blue as the deepest waters, cold like ice.
The faces of Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang changed dramatically; they knew this was not their belonging.
The grimy man immediately shouted, "Yes, that's the Blue Jade Essence! I mined it myself, many people know it."
The onlookers immediately burst into a noisy discussion, many mocking and jeering at Shi Chun and his companion for their audacity and impending doom.
Those who knew the two dared not speak up, fearing Shi Chun's revenge for laughing too soon. After all, it was a matter of indifference to them; they were just there to watch the excitement.
In a panic, Wu Jinliang yelled out, "Chun Tian, we are being framed!"
More anger was evident in his cry.
Crying foul was useless, as the evidence before the public, both human and material, was clear. The leading armored warrior waved his hand and ordered, "Take them away!"
Yet Shi Chun turned back to look towards the entrance of the Bowan Building, searching for the figure of the mistress.
By now, without further thought, he could guess that it was the power behind Shen Youkun that had made its move, the very thing he had been worried about had finally happened.
He knew that the force behind Shen Youkun had reached into the Land of Exile. Although they were guilty of breaking the heavenly laws and acted with a thief's guilt, he had thought they would not dare to act rashly. However, he did not expect they would openly attack them within Zhixu City, not even allowing them the chance to leave the city.
At this point, looking across the entire Land of Exile, the only person who might be able to help them was the mistress of the Bowan Building whom they knew. Everyone else was a mere ant, with no qualification to even speak with the authority of Zhixu City.
However, the doorway of the hall was blocked by the crowded masses, and he could not see the mistress at all.
But he believed that, with such a commotion happening right under the mistress's nose, it was impossible that she hadn't been alerted.
He immediately shouted towards the Bowan Building, "Mistress, we haven't stolen anything! We were about to leave; why make trouble at this time? If we had stolen something, why would we dare to linger here? We would have long since fled!" Then turning to Wu Jinliang he called out, "Quickly, beg your mother!"
Wu Jinliang instantly stiffened his neck and screamed hysterically, "Mother, save me, Mother! We are innocent, save us, Mother..."
The guards escorting them were clearly not expecting such an outburst. Annoyed by their commotion, they quickly silenced them by striking their mute points, shutting them up immediately. They also kicked the two men several times in front of the crowd.
"Mother? Who is that big guy calling Mother? Could it be the mistress of Bowan Building?"
More whispers rippled through the crowd as many turned to look at Bowan Building.
This was the only method of self-preservation Shi Chun could think of in his desperation.
He still reasoned that helping Shen Youkun's backers to create trouble was ultimately a violation of the heavenly laws. Otherwise, their actions would not be so secretive, nor would they need to beat around the bush and fabricate excuses to capture them. Making a big fuss might make those pulling the strings hesitate to act rashly.
If all else failed, they would have to resort to using the Purple Shining Nebula for self-rescue. Despite the endless troubles it might bring, if it came down to a situation with no other options, they would have to adapt as necessary. He was determined not to fall here.
Full of unwillingness yet powerless to change their fate, the two men were taken away.
The crowd that had gathered for the spectacle gradually dispersed. On the entrance steps, a young man's mouth still bore the marks of ink, smeared from when he had held the pen in his lips earlier.
He stared in the direction Shi Chun and his companion were taken for a while before suddenly turning and running to the back hall. He raced up the stairs to the second-floor hall and immediately saw the person he was looking for. Lan Qiaoyan and Tan stood by the window overlooking the street, watching the scene outside slowly return to calm through the window panes.
The young man hurried to them and said, "Mistress, Chunchun and the big guy were taken away by the city guards."
Lan Qiaoyan turned around without paying heed to his words. She took out a handkerchief from her sleeve and approached him to wipe the ink marks from the corner of his mouth, then said, "I understand. Go tend to your ledgers."
The young man hesitated, wanting to speak, but eventually complied obediently with an "okay" under the mistress' smiling gaze and turned to leave.
Lan Qiaoyan also returned to the window and watched the direction Shi Chun was being taken away. The person was taken away right here, and she witnessed the whole process clearly, yet she neither needed nor had the authority to prevent the city guards from arresting someone.
"Did he really steal something?" she murmured to herself.
Tan hesitated, "Actually, what Shi Chun said makes some sense too. After struggling until today, and just when he's about to leave, he still steals something within Zhixu City? After stealing, instead of hurrying away, he lingers leisurely within the city walls. It really doesn't seem logical."
Lan Qiaoyan looked out the window, asking, "The one who holds a grudge against Shi Chun, it was Qi Yueru's son, right?"
Tan: "Yes, his name is Shen Youkun."
Lan Qiaoyan: "Is Qi Yueru still in the city?"
Tan: "She is, she hasn't left. It's said that she's still dealing with the aftermath of her son and brother's deaths."
Lan Qiaoyan pondered, "Qi Yueru had just entered the city, and her son and brother died. Shi Chun and the tall guy were about to leave but got arrested. If they were really framed by someone, the person who dares to blatantly frame others within Zhixu City means that this matter is not so simple."
Tan added, "The murder scene was personally investigated by Ba Yingshan and his men. It's said that a mine shaft contained hundreds of people buried inside, who seemed to have been poisoned to death before the burial, dying under very strange circumstances. The skeletons of some unknown thing brought back are now displayed in the palace grounds as decorations, and Du Huoguan is still here. The 'Prison Inspection Envoy' also hasn't left yet."
Lan Qiaoyan lifted her chin slightly, "Send a note to Du Huoguan. It's been a long time since I've visited him."
Tan was slightly taken aback, "Madam, do you intend to get involved in this matter? Our Bowan Building has rules: here, we do not get involved in affairs that are none of our business, especially the city's official matters."
Lan Qiaoyan smiled lightly, "How could it be none of our business? They arrested someone right at the entrance of my Bowan Building, making such a commotion that even I got dragged into it. Surely I can go and inquire what exactly happened?"
Since she had said so, Tan could only give up and, with a slight bow, left…
On a small gatehouse within the inner city, Ba Yingshan, from his elevated position, personally witnessed Shi Chun and another being taken towards the prison. Seeing that nothing out of the ordinary happened, he slowly turned around and continued his patrol on the city walls. As for the interrogation of Shi Chun and the other, he had no intention of participating, nor did he have any intention of showing himself in front of those two nobodies.
While walking halfway along the wall, suddenly one of his subordinates leapt up to report, "Lan Qiaoyan just entered the inner city, paying a visit to the Prison Inspection Envoy."
Ba Yingshan was startled, then immediately asked, "Visiting the Prison Inspection Envoy for what purpose?"
The subordinate said, "I don't know, only that she's there to present a visiting card. However, among those arrested just now, it's said that one might be Lan Qiaoyan's future son-in-law. Could she have come for that reason?"
Ba Yingshan felt both annoyed and amused, "Nonsense, if Lan Qiaoyan were willing to marry her daughter to that kind of riff-raff, I would cut off my own head."
Though he said that, he still felt a bit uneasy inside. They had just made an arrest, and right after, Lan Qiaoyan went to see Du Huoguan. Could there really be no connection? Upon further thought, he still found it unlikely, as he did not believe Lan Qiaoyan would seriously consider such lowlife trash as a son-in-law, and besides, Bowan Building usually did not meddle in these official matters.
Also, what was done was done, regret was useless now; he could only order his men to continue monitoring the situation closely.
Within a roomy, simple, and quiet hall.
In the center of the hall lay a pool, two zhang in both length and width, without water. Instead, it was filled with many irregularly shaped gemstones, appearing as a chaotic mess to the uninitiated, but to those with knowledge, it was instantly recognizable as a star chart.
Dressed in cyan, the commanding Du Huoguan strode along the edge of the pool. While examining the pool, from time to time he would take a gemstone from a tall basin next to him and, with a flick of his hand, would incorporate it into the pool, gradually perfecting the star chart within.
At the entrance, someone led Lan Qiaoyan to the door, gestured for her to enter, and then withdrew.
Lan Qiaoyan lifted her skirt to step over the threshold, walked up to Du Huoguan, and greeted him, "Lan Qiaoyan pays respects to the Prison Inspection Envoy!"
Seeing no response from him, she simply followed behind the pacing Du Huoguan, and while looking at the star chart, she clicked her tongue in admiration, "The Prison Inspection Envoy really has a good memory. Just looking at this thing gives me a headache."
Without even glancing at her, Du Huoguan shook the gemstone in his hand, "Get to the point. Save the flattery for later."
Lan Qiaoyan: "Actually, there's not much to say. I just wanted to ask the Prison Inspection Envoy what was the matter with the city guards coming to the entrance of my Bowan Building and taking away those two people."
"Arresting someone?" Du Huoguan stopped and turned around, "Arrest whom?"
He genuinely did not know, nor could he manage to keep track of every trivial detail.
Lan Qiaoyan: "They said it was a couple of thieves."
Thieves? Du Huoguan looked her up and down, not believing she would specifically come to visit him over some petty thieves, and continued pacing, focusing on the star chart in the pool. He nonchalantly responded, "I don't have so much leisure to also manage the affairs of the city guard maintaining the order of Zhixu City as per the law. For this matter, you should inquire with Ba Yingshan." He gestured over his shoulder, implying that she may take her leave.
Lan Qiaoyan had already come; how could she leave so easily? Pretending not to understand his reaction, she kept following and chattered, "This incident just happened recently. Those two were right at the entrance of the Bowan Building when someone suddenly appeared with the city guards to arrest them and accused them of theft. Later, on searching them in public, they indeed found stolen goods on one of them.
The thing is, this matter isn't worth mentioning, but it's strange—both had completed their terms and were due to leave Life Prison today for the outside world. Logically, they would not have wanted to stir up trouble at such a critical time. Even stranger, having decided to leave, they knew they had stolen goods and yet didn't think to leave quickly. Instead, they moved slowly within the city, seemingly fearless of any mishap. Of course, when they were arrested, they cried foul, claiming they'd been framed."