"Lord of the city, the people on this arena seem a bit different lately."

Song Zhuxin was idly sticking her spear in her hand when she heard her personal maid's words and seemed to become somewhat interested.

"Oh? How are they different?"

This maid was named Mingxue. She was chosen by Song Zhuxin's father when she was young. She not only served Song Zhuxin's daily life but also protected her safety. She was also her childhood playmate.

Mingxue had been learning martial arts since childhood and was also Song Zhuxin's sparring partner, so she could naturally tell the difference in skill level and style.

She hesitated for a moment, then answered somewhat uncertainly:

"The people who have recently stepped into the arena are much more skilled in martial arts. Not only that, but judging from the way they fight, they are clearly experts who have seen blood before."

"Is that so?"

Song Zhuxin became interested and continued to ask:

"You mean, there's something wrong with these people? What do you see?"

"I have indeed noticed something. Their auras are very similar, as if they come from the same source. I'm worried that their motives are impure. Should we arrest one of them and interrogate them?"

Upon hearing this, Song Zhuxin paused slightly in the act of wiping her gun, and after a moment of contemplation, frowned and said:

"No rush, come with me and let's take a look first."

From the moment the arena was set up, Song Zhuxin never showed her face except on the first day of the competition; she always instructed her subordinates to convey her messages.

She came over without wanting to be discovered, so she and Mingxue disguised themselves and blended into the crowd of onlookers.

She didn't look for long before she understood what Mingxue meant.

The person in the ring could have easily defeated the opponent, but every time that happened, they would make a slight, inconspicuous mistake. One mistake would be considered a mistake, but if it happened too often, it would be abnormal and would clearly be a way to stall for time.

But what is the purpose of these people delaying?

Song Zhuxin felt that she couldn't understand it, and just then, Mingxue next to her suddenly exclaimed "Eek!"

He then tugged at her sleeve, gesturing for her to look in a certain direction, and asked in a low voice:

"Master, why does that person look so familiar? I feel like I've seen him somewhere before."

Upon hearing the sound, Song Zhuxin looked over and saw a young man dressed in blue standing upright on one side of the arena, his eyes fixed on the changes taking place on the stage.

However, Song Zhuxin did not recognize that person and had no impression of him.

Then Mingxue exclaimed in surprise:

“I remember now, I saw that person when I was in Jiangbei. He was from the Jiangbei military camp.”

As soon as Mingxue finished speaking, the battle on the stage was over. The young man whom Mingxue recognized as a member of the Jiangbei Army remained motionless under their gazes until he was sure no one else would go on stage before he jumped onto the arena.

Upon seeing this scene, Song Zhuxin exchanged a glance with Mingxue, who looked astonished, and then slowly withdrew from the crowd.

Upon returning to the city lord's mansion, Song Zhuxin immediately asked urgently:

"Mingxue, are you sure you didn't see it wrong?"

Upon hearing this, Mingxue nodded firmly.

"I'm sure that when I went to find you in Jiangbei that day, I was in a hurry and accidentally bumped into someone."

The man was wearing full armor. Although we only met once, I'm certain it was the same person from before.

Song Zhuxin naturally believed Mingxue. Mingxue's memory was exceptionally good; if she said it was true, then it must be true.

Having received this answer, Song Zhuxin fell into a long silence, while Mingxue, unable to contain herself any longer, said indignantly:

"What do these people from Jiangbei mean by this? Aren't they deliberately causing trouble?"

"This is outrageous! Do they think we, Qi Liancheng, have no one to rely on? I'll go teach them a lesson right now!"

Mingxue rolled up her sleeves, ready to fight Su, but Song Zhuxin stopped her.

"Don't rush."

Song Zhuxin's expression was enigmatic. She stared at the spear in her hand for a moment before speaking:

"Don't alert them. Keep an eye on things and see if they're doing anything else besides stalling for time."

Although Mingxue didn't understand what Song Zhuxin was thinking, she dared not disobey him.

"Yes, Master!"

The final result was obvious. For several days, those hiding in the crowd did the same thing as before: when someone went on stage, they remained still, and when no one went on stage, they immediately filled in, making sure that no final winner would emerge from the arena.

Yuexue was furious; she jumped up and down in the house, cursing:

"Shameless! Absolutely shameless! I'm so angry! Master, say something! Even if that person is now on the throne, we can't let them bully us like this without saying a word!"

Upon hearing this, Song Zhuxin smiled and glanced at Yuexue, saying meaningfully:

"Do you think that person would have the time to do something so pointless?"

Mingxue was so angry that she lost her mind. But after hearing what Song Zhuxin said, she finally calmed down and realized that something was wrong.

Shen Muzhi has no grudge against her master, so there's no reason for her to stop her master from finding a husband. This matter doesn't seem so simple... Could it be...?

Mingxue thought of a possibility, and her eyebrows immediately furrowed:

"Could it be that blind Prince Wei is behind this? What does this guy mean? It's one thing that he's blind and can't see how good you are, but now that you're setting up a stage to find a son-in-law, he's causing trouble. He's really hateful."

Seeing that Mingxue was quite angry, Song Zhuxin quickly pushed a cup of tea towards her, gesturing for her to sit down and calm down.

After thinking for a moment, he said:

"Don't lose your composure. Wei Wuxiu won't do anything that harms others without benefiting himself. Just wait and see."

After hearing this, Mingxue gradually calmed down and also realized that something was strange about the matter:

"Master, if that's the case, what exactly is his purpose in doing this?"

Although a thought kept popping into Song Zhuxin's mind, she didn't dare to think about it, worried that she would be presumptuous and get hurt again.

She thought for a moment before saying:

"Let's leave it at that for now. Whatever he does won't affect me."

The longer the martial arts contest to find a husband lasts, the more spectators will come to Qingliancheng. This will only benefit us; free thugs are a must-have.

If Song Zhuxin hadn't mentioned it, Mingxue would have almost forgotten that Song Zhuxin's purpose in organizing this martial arts contest to find a husband wasn't actually to get married, but rather to boost Qi Liancheng's economy.

The reason for using a martial arts contest to select a husband was that Song Zhuxin was, after all, a woman, and a beautiful, wealthy, and powerful one at that.

Given these conditions, and considering they're well past the age for marriage proposals, it's hard for anyone not to have designs on them. However, those people's intentions are impure, which Song Zhuxin finds very distasteful and even disgusting.