My younger sister insisted on marrying me and made me the Marquis' wife.

Chapter 691 Anti-Poetry
Princess Fuyun sighed inwardly.

I have no idea what these people are doing here; they've completely ruined my fun.

The Ninth Princess, standing to the side, gloated: "Could it be that the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion has gotten into some serious trouble?"

Brother Ximen hurriedly asked, "Why does the princess say that?"

The Ninth Princess drawled, "You're from out of town, so of course you don't know. This Ranxiang Residence is the property of the Marquis of Dingbei. The people of the Jingzhao Prefecture might not know, but how could the people of the Five Cities Garrison not know? Who would dare to mess with the powerful?"

Brother Ximen breathed a sigh of relief.

Princess Fuyun glared at the Ninth Princess with resentment.

Upstairs, Lord Gu appeared, shielding Qin Yuan behind him, and asked the clerk who had arrived below, "What brings you all here?"

The clerk hurriedly stopped, cupped his hands, and said, "This humble official was unaware that Your Excellency was here, and has been very rude. I am also here on official business, so please forgive me if I have offended you."

Shen Changle quickly squeezed through and said with a smile, "Sir, you may not know, but Ranxiangju is a property of the Marquis of Dingbei. Today, the Marquis's Mansion has invited Mr. Songshan and Young Master Nantang to give lectures. His Highness Prince Qi and the two princesses are also here, and the surrounding area is full of scholars and noble ladies who have come to admire our reputation."

The clerk's arrogance diminished further: "...We've come here to..."

Shen Changle winked and whispered, "No need to rush. I know about this. I've also arranged for people to keep an eye on the person you're looking for. It was Sixth Master of the manor who noticed this and sent someone to report it."

The clerk breathed a sigh of relief, the grim look on his face fading, replaced by a warm smile: "I see, then..."

Shen Changle laughed and said, "They look like they've been through the bloodshed in the martial world. We should be careful not to disturb them. If we implicate Prince Qi and the others, we can't afford to lose our lives."

The clerk nodded: "Indeed! Since you were already on guard, just say it."

Shen Changle said, "Sir, why don't you go and pay your respects to Prince Qi first, and tell him that someone has stolen valuables and you've come to arrest them. We've arranged for people to guard the perimeter, and we'll point out the culprit to you. You can then lead your men to catch them."

The clerk immediately replied, "A good plan."

So the clerk led his men towards the Prince of Qi. Upon seeing the Prince of Qi and the two princesses, he first performed the kneeling ceremony, and then repeated what Shen Changle had taught him.

King Qi then said, "Since that's the case, hurry up. Most of the people here are scholars and noble ladies. Don't disturb them."

The head clerk immediately said, "This subordinate will go search immediately. That thing is bulky and easy to find; it won't take long."

King Qi nodded and said nothing more.

The Ninth Princess sneered, "A group of refined scholars here have actually caused such a mess, making the area in front of Ranxiang Residence filthy."

The clerk didn't know what to say, and sweat kept pouring down his forehead.

King Qi laughed and said, "There are only one or two thieves, but there are many people here, so it's not easy to find them. Also, since we are here, the owners of the lost items can't easily come out and be searched. There's nothing we can do, so they reported it to the authorities."

The Ninth Princess snorted and didn't say anything more sarcastic.

The clerk then took his leave and loudly announced to the crowd, "The government is conducting a case here. Someone has reported that something important has been lost. We are here to search for it. Do not move. Just stay where you are."

There was a chorus of complaints all around.

Wang Zichuan frowned: "Something doesn't seem right."

The person next to him was a little nervous: "Brother, how can we let them search us?"

They all had knives and tinderboxes hidden on them. What good would a body search do?
Wang Zichuan kept his eyes fixed on the search activities of the clerk and others, and whispered, "No rush."

"Shall we start now?" Wang Zichuan shook his head: "Take it easy, I don't think they've searched very thoroughly."

Those around them, regaining their composure, asked in surprise, "What exactly is missing?"

Wang Zichuan frowned.

Someone nearby said, "Oh no, could it be that the officials' search is a ruse, and they really came to arrest us?"

Wang Zichuan immediately looked in the direction of the Ninth Princess and the others, just in time to meet the gaze of Brother Ximen.

Brother Ximen gently turned his head, then raised his hand to his ear, his little and middle fingers slightly raised.

Wang Zichuan then said, "There should be nothing wrong. They wouldn't dare to deceive the royal family. Perhaps it really is a search. Those things are hard to hide, so the search is very casual, and they don't even search the women."

The people around him finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The clerk and his men checked quickly and soon arrived at their location.

Wang Zichuan smiled and said, "Sir, we are all from out of town to see the lanterns and have some fun. We are leaving the capital tomorrow. How could we steal anything? I wonder who lost something important? We are so sorry to trouble you officials on such a festive occasion."

The clerk stared at him intently and sneered, "No one else talks this much, only you. Are you feeling guilty?"

"You!" The men around him were furious.

Wang Zichuan quickly snorted, reminding them not to act impulsively. He then lowered his posture even further, and said with a fawning smile, "What are you saying, sir? I am a scholar. How could I do such petty things and ruin my future?"

The clerk beckoned to several soldiers behind him and said, "Come and keep an eye on these men. They're in cahoots, and they don't look like they're up to any good."

A large space suddenly appeared around Wang Zichuan and the others.

The soldiers didn't approach; they simply drew their swords and pointed them at the group, being extremely cautious.

Wang Zichuan said with a wry smile, "Sir, please search us. We are all from out of town to see the lantern festival. Today is the Empress Dowager's birthday. Who would be so foolish as to steal something?"

The soldiers didn't answer, and then the yamen runners surrounded them.

The official said, "You say you're from out of town to see the lanterns, but that's just talk. Show me your travel permit."

Wang Zichuan inwardly cursed himself for being too talkative and arousing the suspicion of the clerk. He quickly winked at the people around him: "Let's hurry up and get the official's travel permit, don't delay."

The group abandoned their desire to fight to the death and hurriedly took out their travel permits from their pockets, handing them to the clerk.

The clerk unfolded the document, checked each person's appearance, and asked their names before saying, "It's alright, it's alright. We've come looking for you few. Don't think that just because you're from out of town, others won't know what terrible things you've done. On the occasion of the Empress Dowager's birthday, you few didn't even bother to watch the lanterns, but instead wrote rebellious poems on someone else's poetry wall."

"What?" Wang Zichuan was taken aback.

"Why bother telling him all this? It's just that this Wang Zichuan wrote a rebellious poem, and someone saw it and reported it to the authorities." The head constable standing to the side pointed at him and sneered, "Do you think there are so many scholars strolling in the garden today that you don't even know who wrote the rebellious poem? The capital is a place of excellence, full of talented people. How can it be like your little place? Today, there are soldiers from the Wucheng Military Command and the patrol camp everywhere. Even if you fart, you won't be able to hide."

“A seditious poem?” Wang Zichuan immediately cried out in distress: “I’m innocent, Your Honor! Where is there any seditious poem?”

"Whether you're innocent or not, come with us to the yamen first. A few days in jail will make you behave."

The clerk gave the order.

All of them were tied up and lying on the ground.