Chapter 5: Imprisonment

"State Duke!"

The wife of the Zhenguo Duke saw her husband emerge from the Fan Mansion with a livid face and immediately stepped down from the carriage, hurrying over. "How is it? Does the Inspector Fan still refuse to save him? Whatever he wants, we will give it to him!"

The Zhenguo Duke looked at his wife, his expression very strange. "It is not that Inspector Fan refuses to save him, but that he cannot."

"What? Inspector Fan has successfully reattached severed arms for people before; why can't he do it for Weiran?" the Zhenguo Duke's wife demanded angrily, clearly believing he just didn't want to save him.

"Look for yourself!"

The Zhenguo Duke held their son's severed arm out before his wife. The Zhenguo Duke's wife looked down and saw that the wound, which had been bright red this morning, was already faintly turning black, as if something were surging within it.

"How could it be like this? Wasn't the medicine already applied?"

"Inspector Fan said that the one who tied the bell must be the one to untie it."

The Zhenguo Duke's wife's face turned pale.

The Zhenguo Duke did not notice his wife's anomaly and sighed, saying, "Speaking of which, we have truly failed the child Cheng Xi. Weiran's life was saved by her mother in the first place, and yet this unfilial son did such a shameless thing..."

"State Duke!" The State Duke's wife interrupted her husband; they were outside, and some things could not be said.

The Zhenguo Duke got into the carriage with a dark face. The State Duke's wife followed immediately, only to hear her husband say, "You and I are going to the Cheng Fu now to find Cheng Xi and beg her to show mercy and spare Weiran. We are the ones who failed her; no matter what Cheng Xi wants us to do, you are not allowed to object."

The Zhenguo Duke's wife stiffened all over.

The Zhenguo Duke and his wife had been married for many years; seeing his wife's expression, he had a bad premonition. "What did you do again?"

Hearing this, the Zhenguo Duke's wife felt guilty and, for a moment, did not dare to speak.

"Speak! Do you still want to save your son or not?"

The Zhenguo Duke's wife was filled with regret. She took a deep breath before saying, "I had someone go to the Dali Temple to accuse Cheng Xi of intentional injury and have her thrown into prison."

"You... how could you do such a thing?" The Zhenguo Duke could hardly believe his ears.

"Why couldn't I do this? She cut off Weiran's arm and made him suffer so much; shouldn't I seek justice for my son?"

"It was your son who wronged that young lady first; this is his own doing!" The Zhenguo Duke said with a dark face. "It is because of your indulgence that he acts so recklessly!"

"What did I do wrong? That Cheng Xi is nothing but a waste; if Weiran really married her, wouldn't it become a joke?"

"A joke? I think you are the joke now! You call her a waste at every turn, and now this 'waste' has truly turned your son into a waste!"

The Zhenguo Duke's wife's expression stiffened slightly, her face changing repeatedly. "Is there really no other way? Can we beg the Dean of Qinghe Academy to step in and save Weiran?"

"Dean Jiang is traveling everywhere, and his whereabouts are a mystery. Even if we knew where he was, given what you have done, Dean Jiang might not be willing to help!"

"To the Dali Temple!" the Zhenguo Duke ordered the coachman.

"Yes, State Duke."

The carriage turned around and headed toward the Dali Temple. The Zhenguo Duke's wife felt like she couldn't breathe just thinking about having to lower her head and beg Cheng Xi.

It was all Cheng Fenglan's fault. If she hadn't told her that she could definitely heal her son's arm, she wouldn't have thought to curry favor with her and turn around to punish Cheng Xi.

She had thought Cheng Xi was truly just a waste...

"Tongtian Division is conducting an investigation, bystanders move aside!"

The Zhenguo Duke's carriage was intercepted. Hearing the name of the Tongtian Division, the coachman was too scared to even move.

The Tianshuo Huangchao had been established for a thousand years, and the Tongtian Division had been passed down through generations; every generation of the Chief was from the imperial family.

Only in this current dynasty was the Tongtian Division managed by Li Zhi'an, the son of the Regent.

Three years ago, a Demon dragon wreaked havoc on the world, causing countless casualties. The Chief of the Tongtian Division died tragically under the dragon's claws. Li Zhi'an was entrusted with the task in a moment of crisis and slew the Demon dragon beneath the Tongtian Ta, becoming famous in one battle and successfully taking the position of Chief of the Tongtian Division.

The Emperor was young, and the Regent already held absolute power. Now that his son also controlled the Tongtian Division, people often whispered in private that the dynasty would likely change its surname sooner or later.

The Zhenguo Duke was anxious to save his son and suppressed his anger as he stepped forward to ask, "I wonder which official is on duty for the Tongtian Division today?"

The Tongtian Division Guard turned his head and, seeing it was the Zhenguo Duke, said with a solemn expression, "State Duke, our Chief is personally leading the team tonight."

The Zhenguo Duke's expression stiffened slightly. Before he could speak, he saw a figure walking over with long strides and stopping in front of him.

Looking up, the man had a majestic bearing, refined yet stern. His black official robes carried a hint of murderous aura that made one's heart tremble.

Before the Zhenguo Duke could speak, a flash of a blade crossed and was already pressed against his neck.

The sharp edge of the blade slid across his neck, and fresh blood seeped out.

The Zhenguo Duke's face was extremely ugly. "Li Zhi'an, don't go too far!"

Li Zhi'an pressed the blade down, and the Zhenguo Duke felt a sharp pain in his neck.

The Zhenguo Duke's wife was terrified. Li Zhi'an was a madman—a demon who killed without blinking, who didn't care about blood or consequences!

"Chief Li, please show mercy! My husband and I have no intention of offending you; we truly have an urgent matter, which is why we bumped into your division's investigation," the Zhenguo Duke's wife said hurriedly.

"What matter?"

"The daughter of Assistant Minister Cheng cut off my son's arm. I am on my way to the Dali Temple to beg her to show mercy and spare my son's life."

Seeing the Chief's confused expression, someone beside Li Zhi'an stepped forward and whispered, "Chief, the heir of the Zhenguo Duke's mansion is betrothed to the eldest daughter of Assistant Minister Cheng."

Li Zhi'an's dark eyes looked at the Zhenguo Duke. "Since your two families are betrothed, why did the Eldest Miss Cheng cut off your son's arm? And why has a lady like the Eldest Miss Cheng ended up in the Dali Temple?"

Li Zhi'an's every word was like a knife; the faces of the Zhenguo Duke and his wife were extremely ugly.

How could such family shame be told to an outsider?

A sneer suddenly sounded overhead, and the blade at the Zhenguo Duke's neck moved away.

"The Four-Eyed Demon Fox imprisoned in the Tongtian Ta has escaped. The Tongtian Division has been ordered to recapture it. It is hard not to be suspicious that you two happened to pass by at such a critical moment."

The Zhenguo Duke's expression changed slightly. "Is it the Four-Eyed Demon Fox that killed over a hundred people in Jindu last year?"

Jiang Boyu, a Division Official of the Tongtian Division, nodded with a grave expression. "It is indeed. State Duke, have you seen it?"

The Zhenguo Duke cursed his bad luck inwardly and looked at Jiang Boyu. "Official Jiang, as an imperial official, if I had seen such a Demon, I would certainly not have let it escape. It is just that we have only just arrived here and truly have not seen it."

Fortunately, he hadn't seen it; if he had, he would likely be on his way to the Nine Netherworlds.

Hearing this, Jiang Boyu couldn't help but frown. They had followed the scent of the Four-Eyed Demon Fox all the way here, but the glowing Demon-Seeking Pearl had suddenly lost its luster, and they had lost the trail of the Four-Eyed Demon Fox, which was why they were searching house by house.

The appearance of the Zhenguo Duke and his wife here was truly too coincidental.

"Take them back to the Tongtian Division!"

"Li Zhi'an, I am a Duke of the State; how dare you detain me without proof or evidence?" the Duke of the State raged.

Li Zhi'an turned a deaf ear, "Go to Dali Temple and bring Eldest Miss Cheng to the Tongtian Division for questioning."

"Yes!" the Tongtian Division Guard acknowledged the order and left.

Upon hearing that she was to be taken to a place like the Tongtian Division, the wife of the Duke of the State rolled her eyes back and fainted from fright.