Ji Yunshu’s eyes deepened as she silently stepped forward and pulled Wei Yi up from the ground.

“Wei Yi, tell me, what’s going on here?”

Wei Yi moved to stand behind Ji Yunshu, reaching out to point at the snowflake congee on the ground.

“Shu’er, I accidentally bumped into this older sister and knocked over her congee, but I didn’t do it on purpose. Really, I didn’t do it on purpose.”

As he spoke, he became somewhat anxious!

“You did it on purpose!”

Zhang Xinlan’s face was full of anger.

With a glance, she saw Wen Lingyang who had followed Ji Yunshu out. She ran over and grabbed his arm.

She began complaining first, saying aggrievedly, “Lingyang, I spent an entire day making snowflake congee for you, and now it’s all been knocked over by that fool. It’s all that fool’s fault—he walks without watching where he’s going. You have to help me.”

Wen Lingyang’s face darkened, and he immediately pulled his arm back, reproaching her instead.

He said, “He just said he didn’t do it on purpose. Why are you still making things difficult for him?”

“I’m not making things difficult for him. That fool clearly bumped into me on purpose. It was him…”

“Xinlan.” Wen Lingyang rebuked her with a shout. “Don’t be rude.”

Zhang Xinlan felt extremely wronged and glared fiercely at Wei Yi. Then she angrily walked over and scolded, “Where did you come from, you fool? Clumsy and careless, walking without eyes. You have to compensate me for my snowflake congee.”

“Shut up!”

Ji Yunshu suddenly spoke with cold severity.

This was the first time she had been so angry in all this time.

Zhang Xinlan’s body suddenly shuddered, her round eyes rolling straight to Ji Yunshu.

“You… who are you?”

Somewhat trembling—clearly frightened by her imposing manner.

Ji Yunshu’s eyes tightened, maintaining a cold expression. “Listen well. Wei Yi is not a fool, and you have no right to insult him like that. As for a bowl of snowflake congee, if you want compensation, you’ll get it—one ladle of water, one grain of rice, even the time spent. Figure out the amount clearly, make a list for me, and I won’t shortchange you by a single coin.”

Uh!

Zhang Xinlan choked!

For a moment, she couldn’t speak.

Her throat felt as if she had swallowed a fly.

After stammering for a while, she explained, “I’m not concerned about the silver. It’s just that this bowl of snowflake congee was something I made for Lingyang.”

“Consider that I’ve already drunk it. Don’t make a fuss anymore.” Wen Lingyang spoke up, pulling her. “Go home quickly. This is a yamen—you can’t make a scene here.”

“Lingyang, you…”

Just as she was about to cry aggrievedly, she heard a rough voice shouting from afar.

“Mr. Ji.”

Looking toward the sound, they saw Constable Zhang running over hurriedly, covered in sweat.

He said to Ji Yunshu, “Mr. Ji, His Highness said…”

Before he could finish speaking—

“Big brother.”

Zhang Xinlan sniffled and moved to his side.

Constable Zhang turned his head and only then noticed his sister was also present. For a moment, he actually swallowed back into his throat the words he had been about to tell Ji Yunshu.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to find Lingyang. I spent an entire day making snowflake congee for him and someone knocked it over. Big brother, you have to help me. That fool knocked it over, and he keeps saying he didn’t do it on purpose. Does saying he didn’t do it on purpose make it okay?” She pointed at Wei Yi, then pointed at Ji Yunshu. “And this person—I don’t know where they came from—just scolded me.”

“Nonsense!”

Constable Zhang slapped down her outstretched hand and sternly rebuked her, “These two are Prince Rong’s people. What are you babbling about here?”

Ah?

Zhang Xinlan looked completely bewildered, taking a step back with both feet, her eyes wide as she stared.

She sized up Ji Yunshu from top to bottom and suddenly felt that she had been rather blind and dismissive just now.

Her body shrank, her head lowered—she desperately wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

She was simply too ashamed to show her face!

Constable Zhang also remembered the urgent matter and quickly said to Ji Yunshu, “Mr. Ji, His Highness wants you to come over. He said someone named Zhao Huai has arrived.”

She nodded, set aside the previous matter, and quickly took Wei Yi to the front courtyard.

As Constable Zhang followed, he didn’t forget to turn back and scold his sister. “Look at you! It’s just a bowl of snowflake congee—acting as if your life depended on it. If you offend Mr. Ji, you’ll have offended His Highness. Even your big brother will suffer for it. Can’t you control that mouth of yours? Always causing me trouble. Really!”

He waved his hand forcefully and left!

“Big brother.”

Zhang Xinlan’s eyes brimmed with tears.

After Constable Zhang left, Wen Lingyang also went over.

Only she and the spilled bowl of snowflake congee on the ground remained.

In the main hall!

Zhao Huai stood in the center of the courtroom like a top supervisor coming for an inspection.

His gaze looked straight ahead, his robust chest muscles seemingly about to burst the seams of his outer garment. He stood ramrod straight with a proud bearing, looking like “don’t anyone mess with me.”

Before him stood Jingrong.

The proud air about Jingrong was in no way inferior to Zhao Huai’s—in fact, it carried several threads of coldness.

It made one shiver all over!

One wore fine brocade, the other wore rough tiger skin.

One was noble and cold, the other crude and wild.

One had a slender build, the other was as massive as a giant.

They clearly formed two extremes!

Between the two, a dark fire seemed to gather and burn in the surroundings, ready to explode at any moment.

Neither Fang Mingsan nor the constables dared approach, afraid of suffering misfortune themselves!

When Ji Yunshu entered, she happened to witness this scene.

Fortunately, it was precisely her arrival that broke the deadlock.

When Zhao Huai saw Ji Yunshu, his previous hostility completely restrained itself. His originally sharp eyes also became gentle, carrying a flavor of complete submission and obedience.

Ji Yunshu looked at his severed arm—it must have healed by now.

Luckily, it was his left hand. If it had been his right hand, he probably couldn’t even hold a blade anymore.

Ji Yunshu stepped forward and said, “Head boss, this time we have a matter to request of you. Please set aside previous unpleasantness and don’t conceal anything.”

Zhao Huai maintained a stern face as he pulled out that drawing, spread it flat, and said with a lazy tone, “This tattoo is called the Moon Mark. It’s the symbol of the Liu Gang.”

Moon Mark?

Liu Gang?

No one had heard of it!

Zhao Huai continued to explain, “This gang was a major gang in the north with rules and organization. But for some unknown reason, it suddenly disbanded twenty years ago. As for this Moon Mark, not everyone in the Liu Gang could get it tattooed—only a few of the bosses could have it.”

“Do you know who they were?”

“The Liu Gang had seven bosses. The eldest was called Tou Hu, the second was called Di Hu, and the rest had all sorts of messy names. Besides, so many years have passed—who knows whether they’re alive or dead.”

Seven brothers?

Are we acting out a gourd baby story?

“Those seven brothers started from nothing and built up the Liu Gang in just half a year. Even the commanders at the northern border couldn’t do anything about them. It’s just a pity—they suddenly disbanded.”

Zhao Huai spoke with regret.

In his heart, he also felt sorry for his own Gaoshan Fortress.

His words drew sighs from everyone in the hall.

If what he said was correct, then Li Mingzhou, Master Chang, and the other two deceased were four of the seven brothers from back then.

But what was strange was that according to what Ji Yunshu had learned, the three deceased didn’t know each other, and Li Mingzhou also said he didn’t know those people.

This was truly suspicious.

Even more coincidentally, why were the three who died precisely three out of the seven people?