Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

In the back courtyard of the Wucheng Military Command's office, Zhao Siye and Shang Jingming sat on either side.

Shang Jingming calmly poured tea, the aroma of which was delicate and pleasant. Sunlight streamed through the window onto the tea table, a stark contrast to the gloomy and decadent atmosphere of the prison.

Zhao Siye's probing gaze swept over Shang Jingming's face for a moment, then he cut to the chase and said, "Commander Shang, you brought me back to the Five Cities Military Command today with official documents in hand and in a forceful manner. Surely you didn't come here to invite this old man for tea, did you?"

Shang Jingming placed the teacup in front of Zhao Siye: "Sir, you are a man of both virtue and talent, whom I have always admired. I have offended you in the past. This cup of tea is my apology to you. I hope you will forgive me."

Shang Jingming had previously been tough and tight-lipped, almost inhumanely taking him and Pei Lian to the Five Cities Military Command, but now his attitude had completely reversed, which was truly puzzling.

Zhao Siye did not take the cup of tea. His brows furrowed even deeper as he looked at the young man before him: "If Commander Shang is trying to appease me and lower my guard so that I will say something that can be used as testimony, then you have indeed wasted your time."

"No matter who is making false accusations or what their motives are, I am upright and honest, completely innocent, and have nothing to do with this case. It would be a waste of time to get involved with me."

"What makes you say that, sir?" Shang Jingming took the official document out from his sleeve, unfolded it again, and laid it out in front of Zhao Siye.

Zhao Siye glanced at the document and said, "I have already seen this official document. It does indeed bear the official seals and signatures of the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review. Commander Shang is acting in accordance with the rules, which is perfectly reasonable. However, this matter is truly unrelated to me. I am not making excuses or trying to evade responsibility. If you feel that I am not cooperating enough, you can arrest and detain me. There is no need to beat around the bush with me. The innocent will be proven innocent, and the truth will be judged fairly."

When Zhao Siye spoke these words, he sat upright like a pine tree. Although he had been brought here hastily, he was not flustered at all. His eyes, which had seen the world, were calm and open. This was the confidence given by his clear conscience, as well as the composure of someone who had sailed through countless storms and weathered many hardships.

"Sir, you have misunderstood me." Shang Jingming pointed at the official document and exchanged a meaningful look with Zhao Siye: "Please take a closer look at the contents of this document."

Zhao Siye had no idea what he was up to, and glanced at the official document again out of the corner of his eye.

Shang Jingming pointed to the words "Assist in investigation and questioning, cooperate with the handling" on the official document and said confidently, "I asked you to come and help, but I never said that you are my criminal. This official document only asks you to cooperate. It does not say that you are a suspect and that you are to be arrested and detained."

"To be honest, His Majesty sent me to investigate the case of selling exam questions. But after examining it, I discovered that there were several different versions of the fake questions, each written in different handwriting."

"I am a martial artist. Although I have read a few books, it is really difficult for me to distinguish whether these handwritings and these fake questions are from the hand of one person or whether several groups of scoundrels are making huge profits behind the scenes."

"I've heard that Mr. Zhao's calligraphy is superb, and he was once the Director of Studies at the Imperial Academy. He has a keen insight into the style and handwriting characteristics of the imperial examination questions. So I specially went to the Ministry of Justice to request an official document to invite you here. I want you to help me categorize these fake questions and figure out how many groups of people are involved, which ones are just following the trend and which ones are acting independently."

Zhao Siye was filled with grief and indignation, and this remark left him speechless, unable to catch his breath.

After a few seconds of silence, the old man slammed his fist on the table and rose to his feet, furious: "Help? Is this how you ask for help? You brought troops to surround my residence so completely that not even a fly could get out, and you even brought official documents from the Ministry of Justice, demanding that I come with you in front of all the servants. You didn't even spare my disciple; he was taken away along with him. Anyone who sees this wouldn't call for his arrest!"

He had always held the mindset of "taking in but not giving out," hoping to leave behind a clean reputation in the world.

We cannot let his lifelong reputation be ruined in an instant, nor can we let Pei Lian's future be completely destroyed because of him.

At worst, I'll just die to prove my innocence.

Who would have thought that this bastard surnamed Shang would actually ask him for help?

Is this how you ask for help?

Are you just messing with him?

Zhao Siye was so angry his hands were trembling. He pointed at Shang Jingming, his white beard shaking with each smirk of his lips: "You, you, you, you, you..."

His Majesty repeatedly emphasized that Zhao Siye must not be angered to the point of harm.

Upon seeing this, Shang Jingming immediately stood up, took two steps forward, pushed the tea forward, and patted the old man's back to calm him down: "Mr. Zhao, please calm down, please calm down..."

Zhao Siye pointed forcefully at the words "Assist in investigation and questioning, cooperate with handling" on the official document, his face flushed. "Is this how it's written, asking me to assist in the investigation and help identify the handwriting?"

A hint of embarrassment flashed in Shang Jingming's eyes, but he nodded decisively. "Assist me with questioning and help me deal with those scoundrels who sell exam questions. Zhao Siye, I'm a martial artist. Aren't you making things difficult for me with this kind of pedantic stuff? That's enough..."

"Huh?" Zhao Siye exclaimed incredulously, then retorted angrily, "Does this old man have the word 'idiot' written on his face? Do you think I'd believe anything you say?"

Shang Jingming remained silent.

Zhao Siye slammed his hand on the table, spitting almost onto Shang Jingming's face: "Ministry of Justice documents are strictly formatted and carefully worded. Even if you're a military man and illiterate, the clerks of the Ministry of Justice aren't just sitting around doing nothing, are they? These documents are to be kept on file for future reference and presented to the Emperor. How can you treat them so carelessly?"

...

The second update from yesterday is here; today's chapter should be around 1 PM.

We're still 600 words short of updating with love! Keep it up, everyone! Whether there will be a double update tomorrow depends on you guys. *kiss*