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

Chapter 692 The Night Is Still Long

King Qi frowned.

Didn't these officials say they lost something? How did it turn into them writing a seditious poem?
Princess Fuyun asked, "This person is so bold, actually writing a rebellious poem at the garden party. I wonder what he wrote?"

King Qi immediately stopped her from saying anything more: "How can you casually comment on a matter like rebellious poetry?"

Princess Fuyun was startled and immediately fell silent.

With his hands bound, Wang Zichuan's eyes were bloodshot with rage. Who was the villain who falsely accused him of writing a seditious poem?

Brother Ximen was also stunned. The rapidly changing situation left him unsure whether these officials were there to search for stolen goods or to arrest Wang Zichuan.
If the goal is to capture Wang Zichuan, then what is the purpose?
Why would Wang Zichuan write anti-poems on the poetry wall if he wasn't drunk?
Regardless, the leader of Black Wind Stronghold must not be imprisoned.

Seeing everyone bound by ropes and herded like a flock of ducks, Brother Ximen gritted his teeth. As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn. All his previous plans should be scrapped...

He was about to make a move against the Ninth Princess when he met Wang Zichuan's gaze.

I had no choice but to suppress my thoughts and stand by and watch.

Wang Zichuan explained to the officials and the others with great difficulty: "I got along well with these businessmen on the way and came along for sightseeing. I did not write any rebellious poems. They don't even know a few words. They just came along on a whim to see the great scholars and famous people. I never expected to be implicated like this."

"I'll take responsibility for my own actions; if the officials want to arrest someone, they can arrest me alone."

Several people nearby also shouted, "Injustice!"

The clerk and the head constable both sneered, "If someone is associated with seditious poetry, what kind of good person could they be? We won't make things up. Once the evidence is presented, you'll be convinced."

Wang Zichuan retorted, "What I wrote was merely a poem about appreciating the scenery. Where is there any rebellious intent? Even if you want to arrest me, you should at least have a proper pretext."

The scholars watching all said, "That's right, that's right. Even if you arrest someone, you have to do it with a legitimate reason. What poem did this scholar Wang write that was considered a seditious poem? Let us hear it so we can make a judgment."

Lord Gu stood on the upper floor, keeping watch in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

Although this plan is not aboveboard, it certainly saves a lot of trouble.

As the saying goes, to catch a thief, you must first catch the king.

With the leaders of Black Wind Stronghold captured, even if the bandits scattered throughout the city acted as agreed, the casualties were not as great.

Downstairs, the clerk sneered, "Do you scholars even know what you're talking about? If it's a seditious poem, how can it be circulated everywhere? He's coming with us to the government office. The upright magistrate who's judging the case has official titles. How could he possibly make a wrong judgment? If he didn't write it, why doesn't he dare to come back to the yamen with us?"

The scholars had nothing to say.

Lin Ziqi complained to Wu Juren, "What bad luck! This has interrupted everything. I wonder who reported it? If we had seen it, we would have gained some credit too."

Wu, the scholar, also said, "Brother Ziqi is absolutely right. What are you doing coming here to write seditious poems? You dare to act so presumptuously even under the emperor's nose."

The clerk drew the sword from the leader of the bandits and shouted, "Let's go."

As Wang Zichuan was leaving, he turned back and sighed, "It's a pity I can't hear you recite poetry, young master."

The scholars sighed upon hearing this, feeling even more that the man was innocent.

To cover up their crime, the remaining constables conducted a hasty search before turning back to Prince Qi and Lord Gu to report: "No stolen goods were found; the thieves may have already fled elsewhere."

Prince Qi and Lord Gu naturally wouldn't blame them. Brother Ximen, however, breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the news.

Since the officials weren't after my elder brother, we should find some useful people to infiltrate the Prefect's office to gather information, bribe them, and they'll surely be released.

However... it will be a pity for my elder brother and the others to suffer in prison for a few days.

Looking at the Ninth Princess beside him, Brother Ximen also wanted to come over and signal to Wang Zichuan with his eyes to stop him from doing so.

At this moment, he had long forgotten about the usually irritable and easily angered Yuan Da, and was only thinking about how to please the Ninth Princess in order to rescue Wang Zichuan and the others. He did not think at all about why Yuan Da, who would have rushed out to fight and kill in the past, was silent.

Because Empress Lin wanted to be a virtuous empress, the Ninth Princess only dared to play around with men, not daring to be too presumptuous and give others cause for gossip. She had never met such a pleasing person before, and at that moment she wished she could become one with him.

King Qi's teeth ached so badly that he gasped for breath repeatedly.

After the clerk and the others left, Lord Gu also received a message from Feiyun Pavilion. After reading it, he sneered, "Originally, I was a little reluctant, but since that's the case, let the brothers gather in the prison. They should be reunited on Mid-Autumn Festival."

Mr. Matsuyama craned his neck and asked, "What?"

Lord Gu waved the note in his hand: "These people actually tried to attack my Dingbei Marquis's residence, but they were caught red-handed."

Mr. Songshan asked in surprise, "Are they determined to join the Prince of Jin?"

Lord Gu lowered his eyes, concealing the intense killing intent within them, and coldly snorted, "What a pity!"

Mr. Songshan thought that this group of people were captured before they could fulfill their ambitions.

Qin Yuan knew, however, that the Prince of Jin and his group would likely not fare well.

Qin Siyuan asked with a worried expression, "Is everything alright at the manor?"

Lord Gu said, “Of course it’s alright. These thieves came to scout the area outside the manor the day before yesterday. They were spotted by the veteran soldiers as soon as they entered the alley today. Once they entered the manor, it was like entering a trap. They can’t use any tricks.”

Qin Siyuan breathed a sigh of relief: "These scoundrels are really rampant. They are not familiar with the capital, yet they dare to cause trouble at the Marquis's residence as soon as they arrive."

Lord Gu said, “You don’t know this. Bandits in the capital have always been rampant. I heard from my cousin that when Imperial Censor Li’s family reported something missing, the Prefectural Magistrate’s Office couldn’t catch the thief. Not only that, the thief even went to Imperial Censor Li’s house and showed off his martial arts skills, saying that no one in the capital could catch him. He even asked Imperial Censor Li why he didn’t listen to his instructions, since he had left a message forbidding anyone from reporting the crime. Imperial Censor Li bowed deeply and made repeated assurances before finally sending the thief away.”

The bandits of Black Wind Stronghold have been causing trouble for decades and have long since lost all fear of the court officials. They might even be planning to take advantage of the chaos to visit the palace.

Qin Siyuan had never heard of this before and stared in shock.

Seeing this, Mr. Songshan laughed and said, "There have been such people in every dynasty. Nowadays they are called thieves or highway robbers, but in the past they were called wandering knights. Even Emperor Xuan of Han, the grandson of Emperor Wu of Han, once worked as a wandering knight to make a living. At that time, many famous families supported these wandering knights to assassinate their political enemies."

Qin Siyuan seemed to be deep in thought.

Mr. Songshan added, "Now that this matter has been brought to light, it's clear that this thief will not remain in the capital."

Lord Gu nodded: "I haven't heard from that person since then. I suppose he left the capital to cause trouble elsewhere. These people care about their reputation in the martial arts world, and they have their own ways of doing things."

Qin Yuan then asked, "Besides them, has anyone else visited?"

Lord Gu laughed and said, "The night is still long, what's the rush?"

Qin Yuan smiled too.