Yin Jin'an stopped his movements, put down the tools in his hands, and answered while wiping his sweat, "What does Lord Luo want with me?"

"Young Master Xiang's accent doesn't sound like a local's." Prefect Luo was somewhat displeased when he heard him refer to himself as "I," and asked, "Where does Young Master Xiang reside?"

"No house, no home, no father, no mother, an orphan!" Yin Jinan answered crisply.

"So, Young Master Xiang is a wandering knight-errant?"

"no."

"So what do you do?"

"Does this have anything to do with Prefect Luo?"

"There is indeed some connection. I suspect that you are in cahoots with Madman Chu."

Prefect Luo summoned the innkeeper and said, "Innkeeper, tell everyone about his connection with Madman Chu."

The innkeeper bowed and scraped, saying, "Young Master Xiang and Madman Chu came to stay at the same time, and both had conflicts with Madam Ma and Young Master Ma. When General Guo Wei was about to kill Madman Chu, Young Master Xiang saved him..."

After the innkeeper finished speaking, some guests who loved watching the drama stood up and said that the innkeeper was right.

Wang Can hurriedly defended Yin Jin'an: "Lord Luo, this does not prove that they have any vested interests or collusion. In addition, there are many people staying at the inn, and all of them present are."

Madam Ma and Miss Ma called Xiang Gongzi's nephew a little beggar and the madman Chu an old beggar, which caused the conflict between the two sides.

As for Young Master Xiang stopping Guo Wei from killing Madman Chu, it was because Young Master Xiang was practicing his martial arts in the courtyard when he witnessed them killing indiscriminately. He prevented the bloodshed, which was a righteous act.

His rebuttal was entirely reasonable.

The innkeeper was speechless, but forced himself to say, "What the magistrate said is the truth."

Prefect Luo wouldn't listen to reason. He couldn't catch the madman Chu, and with his eldest son and daughter dead, someone had to bear the brunt of the anger.

Yin Jin'an said coldly, "Prefect Luo has probably been deceived by the Ma family."

Yesterday, the madman Chu was first called a beggar by Miss Ma for no reason, and then he was also called disrespectful and shameless. Later, the madman Chu developed large blisters all over his body. Despite the freezing weather, Young Master Ma stripped off all his clothes and stepped on the blisters one by one to pop them.

The governor asked, "If I were in your shoes, would I retaliate after I recover from the poison, if I had suffered such an insult?"

He said he had absolutely no connection with Madman Chu, and the two had never met before yesterday.

I have no intention of defending the madman Chu, but justice will prevail and the Ma family did indeed bully others first.

Prefect Luo laughed loudly: "You say you have nothing to do with Madman Chu, yet you defend him at every turn and still try to argue that it has nothing to do with him?"

"If Lord Luo doesn't believe me, there's nothing I can do. However, there were quite a few people present at the time, so Lord Luo can inquire about them."

"Benna, tell me who saw it. Get the witnesses to come forward and testify."

Why should I point it out?

"If you don't point it out, how will I know you're not trying to exonerate the madman Chu?"

"Heh~ Lord Luo, you say I'm colluding with Madman Chu, then produce some evidence!"

"You audacious scoundrel, how dare you be so arrogant in front of me! Seize him!" Prefect Luo waved his hand, ordering Military Supervisor Li Zhen to immediately arrest Yin Jin'an.

"Lord Luo, please calm down!" Wang Can exclaimed anxiously. "You mustn't, Lord Luo..."

"Wang Can, are you in cahoots with them too? No wonder he's so arrogant, it turns out you're backing him up."

Prefect Luo's mind is now filled with thoughts of his children's deaths; he would rather kill a thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free.

While the argument was going on, a commotion suddenly broke out outside.

Several fast horses galloped up, and before the messenger could even stop, he tumbled off, shouting anxiously, "My lord, something terrible has happened! My lord... the Uyghurs! The Uyghurs have invaded!"

Prefect Luo and Li Zhen were both taken aback: "The border troops have broken through?"

"Seven days after the execution of the entire Gu family, the Uyghurs marched north, and General Wu Aiguo could not withstand them... Nanyu County and Dan County have already fallen, and they are now heading towards the city of Ganzhou Prefecture."

With their stronghold about to be destroyed, Prefect Luo immediately told Li Zhen, "Quickly consolidate your power and come with me immediately."

Yin Jin'an originally thought he was just leaving, but she respected his prioritization of the bigger picture.

Unexpectedly, he stopped just as he reached the outer door of the inn, turned to Li Zhen and said, "Kill him and his nephew immediately!"

Wang Can was terrified and knelt down, pleading, "My lord, you mustn't!"