Chapter 692: The Night Is Still Young
Chapter 692: Chapter 692: The Night Is Still Young
Prince Qi frowned.
Didn’t these officials say something was lost before? How did it turn into writing anti-poetry?
Princess Fuyun asked, "This person is quite bold, writing anti-poetry at the garden party. What exactly did he write?"
Prince Qi immediately interrupted her words: "The matter of anti-poetry, how can one speak so freely about it."
Princess Fuyun was startled and fell silent.
Wang Zichuan, whose hands were bound, glared with rage. Who was the villain accusing him of writing anti-poetry?
Brother Ximen froze as well, the rapidly changing situation left him uncertain. Were these clerks here to search for stolen goods, or to arrest Wang Zichuan?
If it was to arrest Wang Zichuan, what was the reason behind it?
Wang Zichuan hadn’t drunk much, so how could he have written any anti-poetry on the poetry wall?
No matter what, the leader of Black Wind Village absolutely must not be imprisoned.
Seeing everyone bound in ropes, one after another, like a procession of ducks being driven along, Brother Ximen gritted his teeth, thinking it’s better to survive first and worry later. All previous schemes were better off discarded...
He was about to take action against the Ninth Princess when he met Wang Zichuan’s gaze.
He could only suppress his thoughts, standing by as a spectator.
Wang Zichuan explained bitterly to the clerks and government officials: "I befriended these businessmen on the way here and came to enjoy the park with them. I have not done anything like writing anti-poetry, and they can’t read more than a few words. It was a whim to follow me and admire the great scholars and poets, unexpectedly getting implicated in such a matter.
If one person is responsible, let him be the only one arrested. Officer, you should only arrest me."
Several people nearby also shouted, "Injustice."
The clerk head sneered, "Tainting with anti-poetry, what kind of good people can this be? We’re not making baseless claims, once the evidence is presented, you’ll naturally comply."
Wang Zichuan protested, "I only wrote a landscape poem, where is the anti-intention? Even if you arrest me, you must do so under the right charge."
The scholars watching exclaimed, "Exactly, exactly, if you’re arresting someone, it must be for a clear reason. What kind of poem did Scholar Wang write to be considered anti-poetry? Let us hear it for judgment."
Marquis Gu stood vigilantly in the pavilion, guarding against any eventuality.
This plan may lack openness and honesty, but it indeed saved a lot of trouble.
The saying goes, catch the thief, catch the ringleader first.
Now that the head of Black Wind Village is captured, even if the scattered bandits in the city act as planned, the casualties won’t be as severe.
Downstairs, the clerk sneered, "Do you scholars know what you’re talking about? Since it’s anti-poetry, how could it spread widely? To follow us to the government office, the upright officials presiding over the cases have honor and reputation, could they wrongly judge? If he hasn’t written it, why wouldn’t he dare follow us back to the office?"
The scholars were speechless.
Lin Ziqi complained to Wu Junren: "What bad luck, having this matter interrupt us. Do you know who reported it? If we had seen it, wouldn’t we have had some credit?"
Wu Junren agreed: "Brother Ziqi speaks rightly, to write anti-poetry here, below the Emperor’s feet, is reckless."
The clerk laid a heavy blow on the ringleader of the bandits with the sheath, shouting, "Let’s go."
As Wang Zichuan left, he turned back and sighed, "It’s a pity I can’t listen to the young master recite poetry."
Hearing this, the scholars sighed, feeling this person was innocent.
The remaining government officials randomly searched to cover up, then returned to report to Prince Qi and Marquis Gu: "No stolen goods found, perhaps the thieves have fled elsewhere."
Neither Prince Qi nor Marquis Gu would blame them.
It was Brother Ximen who felt relieved upon hearing this.
Since the officers weren’t targeting him, he planned to find some useful people to infiltrate the Capital Governor Mansion to gather information, and bribe them with silver taels to secure release.
Only... Brother Ximen must endure a few days of suffering in prison.
Glancing at the Ninth Princess beside him, Brother Ximen thought to signal Wang Zichuan to prevent him from acting.
By this time, he had forgotten the usually hot-tempered Yuan Da, focusing instead on pleasing the Ninth Princess to save Wang Zichuan and his companions, never contemplating why Yuan Da, who would usually leap out shouting, remained silent.
Because Empress Lin wanted to be a virtuous empress, the Ninth Princess only dared minor flirtations with men, never indulging excessively to become a subject of gossip, never before meeting such a person, wanting right then to unite as one.
Prince Qi ground his teeth, drawing breaths sharply.
After the clerks left, Marquis Gu received news from Feiyun Pavilion, reading it while sneering: "Initially I felt some reluctance, but in this case, let the brothers gather in prison, Mid-Autumn night should be a reunion."
Mr. Songshan craned his neck to ask, "What happened?"
Marquis Gu waved the paper: "These people intended to raid our Dingbei Marquis Mansion, caught in the act."
Mr. Songshan queried, "They’re firmly determined to defect to King Jin?"
Marquis Gu lowered his eyelids, hiding the intense killing intent in his eyes, snorted coldly: "What a pity!"
Mr. Songshan assumed Marquis Gu spoke of their thwarted ambitions.
Qin Yuan understood, fearing King Jin’s party wouldn’t fare well.
Qin Siyuan looked worried: "Is the mansion alright?"
Marquis Gu replied: "Naturally, this gang scoped outside before entering the alley today, then were spotted by veteran soldiers. Once inside, they were inescapably trapped, unable to execute their plans."
Qin Siyuan sighed in relief: "These bandits are audacious, unfamiliar with the Capital, yet boldly disrupting the mansion."
Marquis Gu explained: "You wouldn’t know, bandits are rampant in the Capital. I’ve heard from my cousin, previously Imperial Censor Li’s home was robbed, reported to the Capital Governor Mansion, yet they couldn’t catch the thief; the thief even showed off martial arts at Imperial Censor Li’s home, saying no one in the city could catch him, questioning why Imperial Censor Li didn’t heed advice not to report the theft. Under great pressure, Imperial Censor Li had the thief leave.
Black Wind Village bandits wreak havoc for decades, indifferent to courtiers, they might’ve even wanted to take advantage of chaos to sneak into the Imperial Palace."
Qin Siyuan, never having heard this, was shocked.
Mr. Songshan laughed seeing his reaction: "There’ve always been such people throughout history, now called flying bandits, highwaymen, previously known as warriors. Even Emperor Wu of Han’s grandson, Han Xuan Di, once lived as a wandering warrior for food? Many noble families supported these warriors to assassinate political enemies."
Qin Siyuan seemed deep in thought.
Mr. Songshan added: "Since this matter was raised, this thief obviously won’t linger in the Capital."
Marquis Gu nodded: "Afterward, no news of this person emerged, presumably he departed the Capital to cause trouble elsewhere. These people adhere to their own codes in the world."
Only then did Qin Yuan ask: "Besides them, have others visited?"
Marquis Gu smiled: "The night is still young, why rush?"
Qin Yuan also smiled.