"No need to kneel."

"……yes."

Shen Mengyin looked embarrassed, but because her head was lowered so low, no one could see it.

Furthermore, when Master Jingming saw that the situation was deviating from his original plan, he panicked and could no longer maintain his domineering demeanor. He hurriedly tried to defend himself.

"Ignorance is no excuse! I didn't know it was deer bone!"

"Besides, this whisk was passed down from my master's generation. His Majesty hadn't issued any new laws back then, so how can it be considered valid?"

Shen Qiyin, however, acted as if it were none of her business. She gracefully adjusted the hairpin in her hair and said, "Daoist, don't talk to me about this. I'm not the official in charge of judging cases. You can tell me your grievances when we get to the Jingzhao Prefecture."

"Can……"

"However, I must remind you, Taoist priest, there is a saying: 'One may be spared the death penalty, but cannot escape punishment.'"

“Even if these deer bones were not originally yours, you are indeed using them now, and that cannot be denied.”

Master Jingming felt wronged!

Just when he was in despair, a sudden inspiration struck him, and he looked expectantly at Shen Qiyin and said, "I have a secret to tell you, Miss!"

“You took the money, and today you came to my residence to play tricks and deliberately slander me.”

"How...how did you know?!"

"Because I have a brain."

Madam Shen originally intended to ask the same question that Daoist Jingming had asked, but after hearing Shen Qiyin's extremely insulting words, she pursed her lips and swallowed back the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

Master Jingming wasn't bothered about how he had been exposed; all he wanted right now was to save his life.

So he quickly said, "I can tell you who's behind this, Miss!"

"As long as you don't report me to the authorities and spare my life, I will tell you everything I know!"

Just as Madam Shen was about to agree, Shen Qiyin stepped forward and said, "Do you think I'm stupid? If I report this to the authorities, you'll get a beating, and you'll confess to everything, won't you?"

Madam Shen pursed her lips, feeling that she had also been scolded.

Master Jingming was now completely out of options.

He figured that whether he stuck his neck out or not, he'd still get killed, so he might as well take a gamble and maybe he could find a way to survive.

Enraged, he grabbed Shen Qiyin and pulled her in front of him, pulling out a dagger from who-knows-where and holding it to her neck.

"Quickly prepare a fast horse for me, quick!"

"Otherwise, I'll just stab her to death!"