Chapter 378

"Reason?"

The blue-robed minor official clasped his fists and said coldly: "The Bo Geng Marquis's heir was attacked; you three have the greatest suspicion!"

Heng Xian said: "Just now, at least three hundred vehicles entered the city, and there are over a thousand pedestrians and small stall vendors. On what basis do you say we have the greatest suspicion?"

The blue-robed minor official sneered: "There are indeed many vehicles entering the city, but the one closest to the Bo Geng Marquis's carriage and that had an altercation with them is only your carriage!"

Heng Xian was about to say more, but Deng Wu interjected: "We are students of the Statecraft Academy; how can you arbitrarily block us?"

Their righteous and stern demeanor shows the Statecraft Academy holds high status.

Indeed!

The blue-robed minor official's face bore a hint of apology, yet he still said coldly: "The Statecraft Academy nurtures the poor and officials' children, recommending talent for the country, admirable, but the Zhou laws are impartial; anyone before the Great Zhou law is treated equally. Please alight and follow me to the Dàlǐ Sì."

"Seize them, let none go, torture them severely!"

From the gate direction came another urgent sound of horse hooves; the three Bo Geng Marquis's heirs, faces bloody, rode their horned horses, leading a group of guards, galloping wildly over.

There were already many onlookers; as the three shouted, nearby carriages stopped and pedestrians halted.

The area around the city gate street was completely surrounded, impenetrable.

"What audacity, daring to attack this marquis!"

The three Bo Geng Marquis's heirs had arrived; at this moment his face was streaming with blood, eyes wide, he angrily looked at Heng Xian and the others, shouting: "Seize them! Regardless of whether they are from the Statecraft Academy, arrest them all!"

The blue-robed minor official lightly coughed: "Bo Geng Marquis's heir, calm your anger; the Dàlǐ Sì has its own procedures and will grant you justice!"

"What nonsense justice!" the Bo Geng Marquis's heir fumed, "They attacked me, they wanted to kill me, yet you stand there not arresting them, Song Wei, your position as Director of the Dàlǐ Sì is only thanks to my father's connections; dare you not obey me?"

The blue-robed minor official's face flushed then paled, he waved his hand heavily: "Seize them!"

A group of blue-robed constables dismounted, drew their swords, and charged toward Heng Xian's carriage.

Han Yu and Deng Wu trembled like sifted chaff; they were merely ordinary students of the Statecraft Academy, and if those four words "Statecraft Academy" were useless, then there was truly nothing they could do.

Han Yu's eyes turned red, he said: "Sir, you have shown us kindness and share our carriage; while there are many people, think of a way to escape—we will take the blame for this crime!"

"Indeed, sir, I will take the blame!" Deng Wu solemnly gritted his teeth.

"You can't take the blame!" Heng Xian gave a faint smile, looked at the charging constables, and suddenly shouted: "Stop!"

"Oh!" The constables, hearing his shout, obediently halted, looking at each other, bewildered.

Heng Xian looked at the blue-robed minor official: "Are you an official of the Dàlǐ Sì, or a lackey of the Bo Geng Marquis's heir?"

"You... nonsense, I am certainly an official of the Dàlǐ Sì!" The blue-robed minor official seemed to have been struck in his weak point, his face instantly paling.

The Bo Geng Marquis's heir flew into a rage, pointing at Heng Xian's nose and shouting: "You sharp-tongued wretch, I see it was you who attacked me!"

The blue-robed minor official also took a deep breath: "You indeed have suspicion; we must arrest you!"

Saying that, he jumped off his horse, Cang Lang drew a long sword, preparing to act personally.

"Pap—"

Not far away, a round of applause suddenly sounded.

Only see three young men and women stepping down from a luxurious carriage; the leading handsome youth spoke loudly: "I seem to see the Bo Geng Marquis's heir treating the Dàlǐ Sì officials as his slaves, wantonly bullying and framing the Statecraft Academy's students!"

"Hubbub—"

Everyone looked over.

That blue-robed minor official obediently halted.

Han Yu excitedly said: "Sir, we're saved! It's our Statecraft Academy's senior brother Song An and his companions; his father is the current Imperial Censor-in-Chief!"

"Song An, quit putting on that big hat; old man's affairs don't need your meddling!"

The Bo Geng Marquis's heir covered his face and roared in anger.

"Oh? Old man does things??" Song An exclaimed exaggeratedly, "The Dàlǐ Sì making arrests—has it become the heir's doing? Indeed, they treat the Great Zhou's vital national implement as a private plaything!"

"You..." The Bo Geng Marquis's heir, clearly unable to match him, stammered, not knowing how to rebut.

The Dàlǐ Sì's blue-robed minor official and a group of constables looked left and right, suddenly unsure whether to arrest or not.

"Young Master Song, what imposing presence! I clearly see it's the son of the Imperial Censor-in-Chief obstructing the Dàlǐ Sì's impartial law enforcement!"

Then, from another carriage ahead, four young men and women disembarked; the leader was a woman dressed as a man, a Xibei merchant, shaking a folding fan, full of heroic spirit.

"Senior sister!" the Bo Geng Marquis's heir and his companions, upon seeing her, felt they had found their mainstay and hurried to greet her.

Deng Wu and Han Yu's just‑shown joy vanished: "Done! It's Zuh Han of the Imperial Academy; her father is the Jianwu Marquis, serving as Deputy Commander of the Left Might Guard, leading ten thousand troops, notorious for arrogance and lawlessness!"

Heng Xian was greatly interested: "Watch the show, watch the show!"

"Pa—"

Zuh Han struck the Bo Geng Marquis's heir's head with her fan: "How did you end up in such a sorry state?"

The Bo Geng Marquis's heir, feeling utterly wronged, turned and pointed at Heng Xian's trio's carriage: "There's an expert in that carriage; I saw a small sword slash across my face, then the carriage scattered, and our faces were disfigured!"

"I saw it!"

Zuh Han used her fan to part him, stepped forward with the others, glanced at Song An preparing to rebut, and smiled: "Young Master Song, stop making excuses; even if you claim it reaches the heavens, the people in that carriage definitely attacked the Bo Geng Marquis's heir and company—we were all there and saw it clearly!"

Song An exhaled: "Did you truly see that sword qi fly out from their carriage? Has our Statecraft Academy sunk so low as to be bullied?"

Zuh Han hesitated slightly; she indeed hadn't seen clearly who emitted that lightning‑fast sword qi, but based on speculation, eight or nine out of ten it came from the carriage beside them bearing the Statecraft Academy token.

After a moment of silence, she said: "For now it's not certain, but if it was the Statecraft Academy's students, we just need to have them go to the Dàlǐ Sì to assist the investigation!"

"If they go to the Dàlǐ Sì, will they even come out alive?" Song An sneered, pointing at Heng Xian's trio's carriage: "Inside sit Han Yu and Deng Wu—do you think they could emit that sword qi?"

Zuh Han snorted: "They couldn't emit it, but someone else in their carriage might!"

"Exactly!" the Bo Geng Marquis's heir snapped: "That fellow who just argued with the Dàlǐ Sì officials looks unfamiliar, and he isn't wearing the Statecraft Academy student uniform—he very well could be the culprit!"

Song An coldly rebuked: "Han Yu, Deng Wu, get down!"

"Well…"

Inside the carriage, Han Yu and Deng Wu hesitated, looking toward Heng Xian.

Heng Xian waved his hand indifferently: "Get down!"

"And what about you?" Han Yu said worriedly.

"They can't catch me, don't worry!" Heng Xian said calmly.

Seeing his sincere confidence, Han Yu and his companion had no choice but to grit their teeth, get off the carriage, and walk toward Song An.

Zhu Han lightly flicked her folding fan a few times and asked, "Now the people inside the carriage have nothing to do with Lord Song and the State Altar Academy, right?"

Song An stopped Han Yu and his companion, who were about to plead, pulling them behind him: "Unrelated! Do as you wish!"

"Fine! I suspect the people inside the carriage are spies sent by the enemy state of Great Qin, to assassinate the heir of the Marquis of Great Zhou. Officials of the Ministry of Justice, seize them; if they resist, kill them without mercy!"

Zhu Han said coldly.

"Seize them!" the blue-robed official in the ministry sighed, "The divine battle is finally over."

"Yes!"

A group of yamen runners charged toward the carriage amidst the surrounding crowd, whose eyes were filled with schadenfreude.

Then, at that moment, from afar came the thunderous sound of hooves like thunder, and a squad of black-armored horned horse tiger cavalry came galloping wildly.

Mixed in among them was a young eunuch, who angrily shouted: "Impudent! All of you, retreat for my lord!"

(End of chapter)