Too many female prisoners, a special forces soldier transmigrates and marries wildly.

As dawn broke, the passageway deep within the state prison was still brightly lit by the cold glint of torches and weapons.

The bloodstains from last night have been washed away, but the faint smell of blood and the chilling atmosphere in the air linger for a long time.

Lin Feng didn't sleep all night, sitting cross-legged to regulate his breathing, while remaining vigilant for any disturbances from the outside world.

The wound on his neck had stopped bleeding and scabbed over, but it still stung, a constant reminder of his brush with death the night before.

The two assassins were ruthless and coordinated perfectly, clearly highly trained assassins. Had he not been prepared, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

The opponent's madness and recklessness sank Lin Feng's heart to the bottom. They dared to storm the prefectural prison and kill even the imperial envoy's personal guards—this was no longer just framing; it was blatant provocation and a show of force! They wanted to tell Feng Zhen, and Lin Feng in general, that within Qingzhou territory, they could act with impunity and do whatever they pleased!

How will Feng Zhen respond? Will he be furious and investigate thoroughly? Or will he be intimidated by the other party's madness and choose to compromise?

Footsteps sounded again. This time, it wasn't a jailer, but Captain Yang himself, followed by two fully armored guards. Captain Yang's face was even more grave than the night before, his eyes bloodshot, clearly indicating that he too hadn't slept all night.

"Master Lin," Captain Yang said, opening the prison door in a hoarse voice, "the Imperial Envoy requests your presence in the second hall for questioning."

His tone was even more polite than yesterday, even using the word "please." Lin Feng's heart stirred slightly. He stood up, brushed the grass clippings off his clothes, and calmly said, "Thank you for your trouble, Captain Yang."

Under the "escort" of Captain Yang and his personal guards, Lin Feng once again passed through the long passageway and arrived at the second hall.

This time, only Feng Zhen was in the hall. He was still wearing his scarlet official robe, but without his black gauze hat. His face was ashen, and his eyes were sunken, clearly indicating that he had not slept well the night before.

There were no yamen runners below the hall, only four bodyguards standing solemnly with their hands on their swords, exuding a murderous aura.

The atmosphere was even more somber than yesterday, like the stillness before a storm.

"Lin San greets Your Excellency the Imperial Envoy." Lin Feng stepped forward and bowed.

Feng Zhen did not immediately tell him to get up, but stared at him with his bloodshot eyes, as if trying to see through him.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice hoarse and cold: "Lin San, do you know who assassinated you last night?"

"My lord, the assassins are well-trained, fearless, and carry poison in their mouths; they must be trained assassins," Lin Feng replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"Death squad..." Feng Zhen chewed on the two words, his eyes flashing even colder. "Very well, very well indeed! Right under my nose, in the state prison, they assassinated the prisoner I was interrogating! They poisoned Qin Wu, the suspect I was trying to arrest, in public! And now, they've sent someone to infiltrate the prison and assassinate you! They treat the laws of the court and me, the imperial envoy, as nothing!"

He slammed his hand on the table, making the teacup jump: "Zhou Wenyuan!"

"Your humble servant is here!" Zhou Wenyuan, who had been waiting outside the hall, scrambled in and knelt down with a thud, his face ashen.

"How has the inspection of those sixteen boxes in the Prince Qi's residence gone?!" Feng Zhen demanded sternly.

"Reporting to...Reporting to Your Excellency," Zhou Wenyuan's voice trembled, "This humble official...This humble official led men to the Qi Prince's residence yesterday. The steward of the residence said...that the batch of 'mountain goods and furs' was accidentally destroyed by fire in the warehouse the night before last...This humble official inspected the fire scene and confirmed...it was indeed a fire. Among the wreckage of the boxes, there were only some charred furs and mountain goods, and nothing...nothing unusual was found..."

"Fire? Burning?" Feng Zhen laughed angrily. "Fire! Burning! The timing is just perfect! I ordered an inspection just a moment ago, and you went right after, and 'accidentally' caused a fire? Zhou Wenyuan, do you take me for a three-year-old?!"

"This humble official wouldn't dare! This humble official would never dare!" Zhou Wenyuan kowtowed repeatedly. "That's what the steward of the Prince Qi's residence said, and the fire marks are indeed like that... This humble official... this humble official has no choice!"

"No choice?" Feng Zhen stood up, walked up to Zhou Wenyuan, looked down at him, and said in a cold voice.

"And what about Qin Wu? I sent Commandant Yang to 'invite' him for questioning, but before he even entered the prefectural government gates, he was already in the prison under your guard, and suddenly he 'died'?! Or was he poisoned with the exact same poison as Huang San and Liu Neng before! Zhou Wenyuan, is this how you, the Prefect of Qingzhou, guard prisoners for the court?!"

"Your Honor, please understand! I'm innocent!" Zhou Wenyuan cried, tears streaming down his face. "Qin Wu's sudden death was completely unexpected! The prison is heavily guarded; I have no idea where the poison came from! It must be... it must be Lin San's accomplice who killed him to cover it up!"

"You bastard!" Feng Zhen kicked Zhou Wenyuan in the shoulder, sending him sprawling to the ground. "Even now, you still dare to make false accusations! Were the assassins in the prison last night also Lin San's accomplices? Were they also there to kill Lin San and silence him?!"

Zhou Wenyuan was kicked so hard he couldn't speak, and could only lie on the ground trembling.

Feng Zhen stopped looking at him and turned to Lin Feng, his gaze complex: "Lin San, yesterday in court, you testified against Qin Wu of the Canal Gang and questioned the 'mountain goods' of the Qi Prince's Mansion. I still thought you were trying to implicate him. Now it seems that what you said is probably true! Qin Wu was silenced, the 'mountain goods' of the Qi Prince's Mansion were burned, and last night, assassins broke into the prison to kill you! All of these things point to a mastermind behind the scenes, trying to kill you and cover up an unspeakable secret!"

He paced back to his desk and said in a deep voice, "Yesterday you said that the leader of the Di Rong 'Shadow Hawk' gang, 'Falcon,' was lurking in the city, his target either the Prince of Qi or myself. Zhou Wenyuan's steward, Zhou An, might know his whereabouts. Is there any evidence?"

Lin Feng's heart skipped a beat. Feng Zhen had indeed received the message he had sent through Hou Qi! Moreover, the fact that he chose to ask this question in front of Zhou Wenyuan at this moment made his intentions clear—it was both a warning to Zhou Wenyuan and a statement to Lin Feng, or rather, to the "information source" behind him: he wanted to investigate, and he wanted to start with Zhou An!

"Reporting to Your Excellency," Lin Feng took a deep breath. Now that Feng Zhen had made it clear, he would no longer hide it.

"When I was investigating the Di Rong assassins, I saw Zhou An having a private conversation with a man dressed as a Di Rong outside the 'Wealthy Gambling House.' After further investigation, I learned that the Di Rong man was a member of the 'Shadow Hawk.' Before his death, Liu Neng also revealed that besides Qin Wu, there was another person who coerced him, suspected to be a government official, and who had connections with the Di Rong. I dare to speculate that Zhou An, as the steward of Prefect Zhou, may know the inside story, or even... be involved."

"You're spouting nonsense!" Zhou Wenyuan suddenly raised his head and shouted hoarsely, "Lin San! You failed to frame me, and now you're framing someone in my household! Zhou An has always been honest and upright; how could he collude with Di Rong spies? My lord! This is Lin San's scheme to sow discord; you must not believe it!"

"Duty-bound?" Feng Zhen sneered. "Prefect Zhou, you keep saying Zhou An is duty-bound, then I ask you, where is Zhou An now?"

"He...he took leave to go back to his hometown to visit relatives..." Zhou Wenyuan's eyes flickered.

"Visiting relatives?" Feng Zhen stared at him. "When did you take leave? Where did you go? Do you have any proof?"

"Yes... I asked for leave the day before yesterday, saying there was an emergency back home, and I granted it. I went to... to Zhoujia'ao, seventy miles west of the city..." Zhou Wenyuan's forehead was covered in cold sweat.

"You took leave the day before yesterday? What a coincidence?" A cold glint flashed in Feng Zhen's eyes. "Captain Yang!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

"Take your men immediately and head to Zhoujia'ao to arrest Zhou An! See him alive or dead! If he resists, kill him without mercy!"

"Yes, sir!" Captain Yang clasped his hands in acceptance of the order, turned around, and strode away.

"My lord! This is unacceptable!" Zhou Wenyuan exclaimed urgently. "Zhou An is a senior official in my office, always loyal and devoted. How could he be a spy? This must be a frame-up by Lin San! Please, my lord, investigate thoroughly!"

"Framed?" Feng Zhen said coldly. "Whether it's a frame-up or not, we'll know once we capture Zhou An and conduct a trial! Prefect Zhou, as the Prefect of Qingzhou, an official appointed by the imperial court, you should know the strictness of the national law! If Zhou An is indeed a spy from the Di tribes, you will be guilty of failing to properly supervise him and misjudging him! If you dare to harbor or obstruct him again, don't blame me for treating you as an accomplice!"

Zhou Wenyuan's face turned ashen, and he slumped to the ground, unable to utter another word.