Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

Mr. Jiang's gaze was calm, yet it seemed to see right through people's hearts.

Pei Lian's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. He shifted his gaze uncomfortably, avoiding answering Jiang Jibai's question. Instead, he looked at his senior brother: "Shang Jingming is meticulous, relentlessly pressing me about whether I know anything about this matter. He even said that the middleman has confessed, the candidates who bought the exam questions have been detained and interrogated separately, and even our teacher is now... in a precarious situation. He wants to force me to submit and pry some useful confession out of me. But our teacher is truly wrongfully imprisoned, and I am also an innocent victim. What can I possibly confess? As for the other details, what evidence he has, and who is framing him, he hasn't revealed a single word."

Xie Wumian's eyes flashed with anger upon hearing this: "If there were truly solid evidence, he should have calmly presented it to the Emperor, waited for the imperial edict, stripped you of your official rank, and then legitimately tortured you. Why be so secretive? Why rush to interrogate you overnight, using such dirty methods on you, giving you drugs, and arranging for the jailers to fetch a doctor at any time? Isn't it all because he's afraid something might happen to you, and he can't bear the consequences if things get out of hand?"

Pei Lian remained silent.

Xie Wumian was extremely worried: "I just don't know how my teacher is doing. Shang Jingming is so unruly, resorting to any means to make this case look good and curry favor with His Majesty. My teacher is already old, how can he withstand this..." His voice was hoarse, and he was already choking up.

Seeing his senior brother so anxious, Pei Lian felt sorry for him.

But he couldn't disobey the imperial decree, and with the promise of reconciliation between his senior brother and teacher hanging on, his lips felt glued shut, and he couldn't open them at all.

Instead, Jiang Jibai spoke up to comfort him, saying, "Since Shang Jingming was able to give Pei Lian medicine and also ordered the jailers to look after him, he must have some concerns. He's not a lawless person. Old Master Zhao's life should be safe."

"Teacher, you have always been upright and honest, and your temperament is... how could you have ever suffered such slander? Even if your life is not in danger, I am afraid..." Xie Wumian's voice paused, and the rest of the words got stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single word.

Jiang Jibai knew perfectly well the unspoken meaning in his words, but with so many doubts surrounding the matter, he could not hastily make any judgments.

Today, he originally went to Songjian Academy to resign from his post as headmaster Yu Tingyuan. While the two were talking, Xie Wumian came in a hurry. After asking him in detail, he learned that Zhao Siye had been wrongfully imprisoned and Xie Wumian had nowhere to turn for help.

Xie Wumian saw him as a lifeline and told him frankly that Zhao Siye had been taken away by the commander of the Five Cities Military Command. He also explained that he originally wanted to visit his eldest disciple Shen Jiangliu today, but unfortunately Jiangliu was not at home. So he thought of coming to Songjian Academy to see Headmaster Yu. Unexpectedly, he also met him at Songjian Academy by chance.

Jiang Jibai had received a favor from Zhao Siye, so he naturally couldn't sit idly by.

If we want to rescue Zhao Siye, the right thing to do is to find out the truth and present the grievances to the Emperor.

Logically speaking, it shouldn't have been Xie Wumian who disguised himself as a cook to visit Pei Lian and gather information. Even in his desperation, Xie Wumian wouldn't have made such an impolite request.

Jiang Jibai himself suggested that they go together.

Because the person Xie Wumian mentioned who took Zhao Siye away was Shang Jingming.

Although Shang Jingming's position was not high, he was a rising star in the court who was favored by the emperor and was very popular. He also frequented the residence of his junior disciple and had a close relationship with him. He even seemed to have a connection with the senior disciple, and they had even spent New Year's Eve together.

Shen Jiangliu grew up by his side, so how could he have any distant kinship with Shang Jingming?

On the contrary, the junior disciple had a special status. Shang Jingming's entry into officialdom was recommended by the junior disciple, and he implicitly showed a lot of respect for the junior disciple.

Zhao Siye was wrongfully imprisoned and detained by the Five Cities Military Command. Jiang Jibai wondered if his young disciple would be implicated.

He was worried and didn't want to hear other people's corroborating opinions, so he went there himself to find out the truth.

Jiang Jibai looked at Xie Wumian, who was speechless, and raised his hand to support his shoulder: "Zhao Siye is of noble character and would never do such a disgraceful thing as selling fake exam questions. He has done me a favor, and I will do my best to rescue him and not let an upright man suffer injustice."

He looked into Xie Wumian's eyes and said slowly but firmly, "There should be justice in this world."

The short sentence struck Xie Wumian deeply.

These past two days, he has been trying to stabilize the situation in the mansion and running around trying to rescue people, but he knows the bitterness of human relationships.

It is easy to add flowers to brocade, but difficult to provide charcoal in the snow.

Jiang Jibai was a renowned Confucian scholar who could have easily avoided getting involved in this unpredictable mess, yet he made such a solemn promise.

A gentleman's promise is worth more than a thousand pieces of gold.

A surge of heat welled up in Xie Wumian's chest.

He rose solemnly and bowed deeply: "Sir, your righteousness is boundless. If you can save my master and junior brother, I, Xie Wumian, am willing to serve you like a cow or a horse for the rest of my life and even give my life to repay you."

Pei Lian was also deeply moved. He got up from the wooden bed and bowed down with his senior brother: "Sir, you are a true gentleman. I will never forget your kindness today."

Jiang Jibai helped the two of them up, saying, "It was just my duty, I don't deserve your thanks."

He released Pei Lian's hand and looked at him intently: "You haven't answered my previous question. Besides Commander Shang of the Five Cities Garrison, who else interrogated you?"

Unexpectedly, this question had not been bypassed. Pei Lian's throat tightened when asked, and his heart pounded like a drum in his ears.

He was unsure whether Mr. Jiang had actually encountered His Majesty.

If he were to witness it and insist that he didn't, Mr. Jiang would definitely become suspicious.

If he didn't actually see it, but claimed he did, he wouldn't be able to explain himself to His Majesty.

Just as he was caught in a dilemma, Pei Lian's eyes flashed, and he suddenly thought of something. He opened his mouth and said, "There is only Shang Jingming, the commander of the Five Cities Garrison, and no one else."

At the corner, Qin Ji leaned against the wall with his eyes downcast, seemingly lost in thought.

A moment later, he walked away.

As the constable watched him disappear into the passageway, he thought to himself: Strange, this nobleman followed him here to eavesdrop for a while, but why did he leave without saying a word?

Seeing Pei Lian's shifty eyes and his reluctance to meet his gaze, Jiang Jibai recalled the familiar figure he had glimpsed upon entering the prison and the words of the constable.

Now it seems that whether the young disciple was involved has been answered.

He didn't want to speculate whether his junior disciple was behind this, so he simply assumed that he was acting under orders.

If imprisoning Zhao Siye was the will of the young emperor in the palace who held absolute power, then rescuing Zhao Siye and changing the emperor's mind would be extremely difficult.

If the junior disciple were to bring up the matter, he would make it even more difficult for him to complete his task.

Jiang Jibai didn't show these difficulties on his face, which only made the two juniors worry. He glanced at Pei Lian's disheveled appearance and said, "The matter of rescuing your teacher still needs to be considered carefully. You were interrogated tonight and you are soaking wet. If you stay curled up like this all night, you may fall ill. Let your senior brother help you clean up and change into clean clothes. This will not only help you take care of yourself but also put his mind at ease."

...

Update is here! Still 600 words short, thanks to my hard work. Single update tomorrow!

I'll try to update earlier tomorrow~ Love you all~