Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

Faced with the clerk's complaints, Xie Wumian smiled apologetically and said, "This is that boy's second uncle. Hearing that he was imprisoned, he was worried and insisted on coming to visit. His second uncle has no children, and this is his only relative in the capital. He has always treated him like his own son. Who would have thought... sigh..."

Xie Wumian sighed and stuffed a silver note into his hand: "Please do me a favor and let them see their family, so they can have peace of mind."

Now that things had come to this, Constable Chai stuffed the silver notes into his pocket, remembering the jailer's earlier hint that the higher-ups would turn a blind eye, and warned, "It'll only be a quarter of an hour at most. Make your point quickly, and don't drag me into this too."

"Thank you, thank you." Xie Wumian picked up the "lacquer box" that had delivered the midnight snack, exchanged a glance with the cook next to him who was dressed in coarse linen clothes, and thanked the firewood bailiff repeatedly.

Just as Constable Chai was about to open the door, he took a closer look at the tall and handsome "Second Uncle" beside him, then glanced at Xie Wumian, and frowned: "Aside from your clothes, what about you two looks like cooks?"

Xie Wumian touched his own face, then pointed to the face of the man in coarse clothes next to him: "Doesn't it look like it? We even smeared soot on ourselves before we went out!"

The constable shook his head and returned to their side, pointing and whispering about the man in coarse clothes: "Especially him!"

The constable reached out and pressed down on the man in coarse clothes, saying, "Lower your head a little."

After saying that, he slapped the man in coarse clothes on the back again: "Don't straighten your back so much."

"You're here to visit someone in prison through connections, not to inspect the place. Why do you look more dignified than I am, the one in charge?"

Seeing this, Xie Wumian quickly stepped in front of the man in coarse clothes to prevent Chai from making any further physical advances. "Isn't this your first time and you're inexperienced?"

He lowered his voice, leaned close to the constable's ear, and gestured for him to look at the man in coarse clothes: "The second uncle of the third-ranked scholar, a scholar, has an outstanding temperament, but he's just as smart. I guarantee he won't give himself away."

The constable took a look and saw that he had listened to the advice; his head was lowered a little and his back wasn't as straight, but to say that he looked much like the person in the picture was only barely acceptable.

Some people, even when dressed in dragon robes, don't look like princes; others, even when dressed in plain clothes and with their faces smeared, don't look like cooks.

Fortunately, the authorities turn a blind eye to prison visits, so as long as things are kept in order and not too outrageous, it's about right.

This is the only way things can be for the time being.

The constable instructed them, "I'll take you inside in a bit. Keep your heads down, don't look up, and don't say anything out of line, understand?"

Xie Wumian agreed: "I know, I know, I will definitely not let anyone notice anything amiss and cause you trouble, Officer."

Although Ge Yiren did not agree, he remained mostly silent and cooperative throughout, which reassured Chai, so he didn't say anything more.

After Xie Wumian turned around, he secretly bowed to the man in coarse clothes to express his apology and gratitude.

Those inside push, those outside pull.

The gates of the prison of the Five Cities Military Command suddenly opened with the combined efforts of both sides.

The torchlight shone on Chai's face, and the sight of the heavily armed soldiers in the passageway, along with the imposing figure of their leader, terrified Chai, causing his expression to change drastically.

He had clearly confirmed with the jailer that there would be no interrogation tonight. Why was Lord Shang here? Was he lying in wait, deliberately waiting to arrest them?

The jailer clearly hinted at it...

He had no grudge against the jailer, and they even drank together often, so why would he harm him?

With a heavy heart, Chai, the constable, hurriedly bowed and scraped forward, his voice a little tense: "Commander."

If even Chai, the constable, was so nervous, one can only imagine how anxious Xie Wumian, who was instrumental in making this happen, must have been.

To avoid becoming an embarrassment, he lowered his head even further, making it look like a commoner suddenly seeing an official and being too timid to look up.

This Commander Shang had met him before.

Xie Wumian never expected that her planned visit would be so thwarted right from the start.

Was it a trap, or just bad luck?

His mouth tasted bitter, and he glanced at the man in coarse clothes beside him out of the corner of his eye, fearing that he might storm off.

When Xie Wumian noticed that the man in coarse clothes remained calm and was not angry about the series of events, but instead, like him, kept his head down and stood in a blind spot, using the firewood constable in front of him for cover, Xie Wumian breathed a slight sigh of relief, and a sense of respect and gratitude welled up within him.

Back then, during the discussions at Mangshan, although the frankness and open-mindedness of the teacher and several other old gentlemen contributed to Mr. Jiang's great reputation and his transcendent status among scholars, now that the teacher is in prison, and it involves such a big case as selling exam questions, everyone is minding their own business and no one cares about the frost on other people's roofs.

In the two days since the teacher went to prison, he has visited many people and encountered countless obstacles.

Hearing about this, it would be good enough if he didn't distance himself from it to avoid getting involved, but Mr. Jiang happened to have received that favor from his teacher back then.

He originally only wanted Mr. Jiang to ask Lord Shen to plead for his teacher before His Majesty.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Jiang was willing to set aside his status as a great scholar, disguise himself as a cook, and accompany him through this filthy prison, just to see his junior brother and learn about his teacher's current situation.

He showed no displeasure at being patted on the back, pressed on the head, or pointed at by the constables; nor did he feel that bowing to a military man like the commander of the Five Cities Garrison had compromised his integrity. He remained calm and composed throughout, his expression serene. This composure and magnanimity filled Xie Wumian with both shame and respect, stirring his emotions.

He made a mistake in handling the matter.

If things go wrong in this situation, not only will he have to go in to accompany his junior brother and teacher, but Mr. Jiang may also be implicated innocently.

Just as Xie Wumian was feeling uneasy about this unexpected encounter.

The two people opposite him weren't much better off.

In order to keep the play going and let Xie Wumian see his "tortured" junior brother, Qin Ji deliberately left a little earlier to avoid running into him in the prison and causing trouble. But who knew that he would still run into him anyway.

Let them crash. At worst, we can just have Shang Jingming pretend to be blind. After all, a commander of the Five Cities Garrison might not even bother to pay attention to a cook.

Unexpectedly, Qin Ji glanced at the "cook" one more time.

Upon seeing this, Qin Ji spun 180 degrees around one foot, pulled his hood down a considerable distance, and strode into an empty cell next door, not forgetting to close the bars, leaving behind only a somber figure in a cloak, standing with his hands behind his back facing the skylight.

You're such a gentleman!

Instead of sleeping in the middle of the night, he sneaked into the prison to visit someone.

You'd better go blind along with Shang Jingming!

Qin Ji felt guilty and shouted loudly in his heart.

Shang Jingming: "..."

...

The second update from yesterday is here!