The group consisted entirely of men, ranging in age from their twenties to their sixties, all dressed in fine silks and satins, suggesting a certain social standing.

As soon as these people reached the entrance of Baibaozhai, they shouted at the craftsmen, "Stop work! Stop work! Stop construction!"

The craftsmen paused for a moment, then looked at Xiao Qingyin with questioning eyes.

Xiao Qingyin waved her hand: "Ignore them, continue."

The craftsmen turned away and continued working.

Standing at the front of the group of people, the skinny man with a mustache immediately puffed out his cheeks and glared.

"Our chamber of commerce does not agree to you opening a pharmacy here. Make them stop operating immediately!"

Chamber of Commerce?

What a piece of junk.

Xiao Qingyin didn't even blink, and said with a half-smile, "The laws of the Great Xi Dynasty only say that you have to register with the government office to open a shop, but they don't say that you have to get approval from the Chamber of Commerce. What exactly is your Chamber of Commerce? Is it another dynasty?"

A huge hat was put on him, and the man with the mustache almost lost his balance.

Dr. Gou is right. This woman is no pushover. There's no precedent for women to open shops in public on North-South Street. We can't let this woman break the rules.

He steadied himself and glanced at Xiao Qingyin with disdain.

"Don't think that you can frame someone just because you have a few words. Our Chamber of Commerce is a joint organization of merchants from North and South Streets. It was established to promote the commercial prosperity of North and South Streets."

You're a woman with an extremely tarnished reputation, opening a pharmacy here—who knows if you're selling medicine or prostitution?

Our North-South Street has always been orderly, upright, and upholds the principles of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, while acquiring wealth from all directions in a fair and just manner.

We will absolutely not allow such a morally corrupt and disruptive element to appear here.

"If you want to open a shop, go to the red-light district. There are plenty of people there who will buy your 'medicine'."

As soon as the words fell, the people behind shouted in unison, "Get the black sheep out of North-South Street!"

Xiao Qingyin crossed her arms and smiled: "So you're a Street Fighter. You make it sound so high-sounding, it's hilarious."

Yun Shu spat and slammed her spear heavily against the ground.

"A bunch of grown men ganging up on a weak woman, have they no shame? If you've got the guts, let's fight! Whoever wins gets to decide!"

The man with the mustache looked at her with disdain: "What kind of girl wields knives and spears? I'd rather not get my hands dirty fighting you."

"They're probably afraid of losing face."

Yun Shu was already seething with anger and nowhere to vent it, and now that a punching bag had been delivered right to her door, it was no wonder she couldn't hold back.

He immediately raised his spear and swept it towards the mustache.

He had never seen anything like this before. He couldn't dodge in time and was knocked to the ground by Yun Shu, falling flat on his face.

"Tsk tsk, someone like you dares to call yourself a man? I can't even look at you without getting my eyes dirty."

The man with the mustache was trembling with anger. After getting up from the ground, he took out a teacup from his pocket and threw it hard on the ground.

Smash it!

A group of shirtless men emerged from nearby shops, each wielding an axe, and charged straight through the path cleared by the chamber of commerce members.

Yun Shu narrowed her eyes, about to swing her spear, when a row of arrows fell from the sky, piercing the ground in front of the men. The arrowheads were neatly embedded in the stone bricks, leaving only the gleaming shafts and fletchings.

The men stopped abruptly and looked up in alarm.

On the roof of the Baibaozhai, a row of black-armored guards stood, the one in the middle wearing a bronze mask, holding a long sword, and looking at them indifferently.

The men's knees buckled, and they all knelt down.

"Sir, spare my life!"

The members of the chamber of commerce nearly fainted and knelt down, trembling.

The man with the mustache cursed Gou Shengtian to death in his heart.

Didn't they say that after the scandalous affair at the bandit stronghold was exposed, the King of Hell wouldn't want this woman anymore? Why are they still protecting her so fiercely?

He really ruined my life!

Yi Shuihan led the black-armored guards down from the roof, walked up to the man with the mustache, and tapped his neck with the back of his knife.

"I'm very curious, why do you say my fiancée has such a tarnished reputation? How is she immoral?"

The man with the mustache trembled violently, his lips shaking as he said, "Please forgive me, sir. I shouldn't have believed the rumors and caused trouble for Miss Xiao. I will apologize to Miss Xiao right away."

He raised his head, looked at Xiao Qingyin, and slapped himself while saying, "I'm foul-mouthed and spoke wildly. I deserve to die..."

"That mouth of yours is really foul, daring to insult even my people," Yi Shuihan said coolly. "Why don't you just cut it off?"

The man with the mustache turned deathly pale instantly, and a puddle of water seeped from inside his clothes, flowing down his back.

He was so scared he peed himself.

The onlookers wanted to laugh but dared not, and secretly glanced at Yi Shuihan.

Yi Shuihan moved up the steps and looked down at the people kneeling on the ground and the onlookers.

He said in a deep voice, "Recently, someone has been deliberately spreading rumors about my fiancée, trying to smear her and maliciously slander her."

This officer would like to clarify that my fiancée did indeed visit the Maple Ridge bandit stronghold.

The crowd immediately stirred.

"What? She was really kidnapped by bandits? And the rape allegations are also true?"

"My God, after the bounty came out, I thought she was innocent."

"The heir of the Marquis of Yong'an just said that? Doesn't he care at all?"

...

After they had finished their discussion, Yi Shuihan continued, "However, it was I who took her there; she was not kidnapped by bandits."

The entire audience was stunned; the silence was so profound you could hear people gasping for breath.

What kind of crazy move is this? Taking his fiancée to a bandit stronghold?!

The thoughts of the Living Yama are truly too... too bizarre.

"I went to Fengling Post Road to pick her up, but I noticed something was wrong with the gate tower. After investigating, I found that the guards had long been replaced by bandits, so I immediately ordered the bandits to be wiped out."

Because I was worried about Miss Xiao returning to the capital alone, I decided to take her with me and we went to the bandit stronghold together.

I see!

The onlookers immediately looked at Xiao Qingyin with pity.

Miss Xiao is so pitiful to have such a devilish fiancé.

Being forced to participate in the bandit suppression and witness life-or-death battles must have left him with extremely traumatic memories, and he must have had many nightmares after returning to the capital.

Xiao Qingyin was enveloped in a deep sense of pity, and felt both amused and exasperated.

Unexpectedly, Yi Shuihan, who seems so cold and aloof, would actually spout nonsense with such a straight face.

"This captain doesn't know who is targeting this captain and Miss Xiao by spreading such rumors, but this captain can confirm—"

Yi Shuihan paused for a moment, then glanced lightly at the mustache.

"Anyone who dares to spread rumors, slander, or insult Miss Xiao will not be spared by this captain!"

The man with the mustache suddenly blacked out and fainted.

The other members of the chamber of commerce and the group of shirtless men wept bitterly, kowtowing and begging for mercy.

Yi Shuihan's heart was as hard as iron: "Send them all to the Jingzhao Prefecture."

The black-armored guards escorted the man away expressionlessly.

Yi Shuihan glanced at the onlookers, and although he didn't say anything more, everyone understood what he meant.

—This is what happens when you cause trouble. You all better watch out.