"This humble official pays his respects to the Ninth Prince and Ninth Princess," Xiong Yingxiang said respectfully as he stepped forward to greet Shang Xiye and Ji Fengyao.

Anyone could see the anxiety in his heart from his cautious and timid demeanor.

One word: cowardly.

However, under these circumstances, anyone who dared to approach these two was still considered a real man.

"Hmm," the Ninth Prince inside the carriage responded lazily.

"What official are you, and what are you doing here? Isn't it too late to send someone off to war?" Ji Fengyao said, then flicked her whip again.

She was petite and beautiful, and her voice wasn't particularly harsh, but the sound of the whip cutting through the air really startled Xiong Yingxiang.

"Your humble servant, the Prefect of the Capital, has received a report from a mysterious person that there is a murder case in this area..." Xiong Yingxiang said, but then he bit off the rest of his sentence and suddenly realized what he meant.

He's been tricked! Someone's deliberately messing with him!

"A murder case? Oh, that's none of my business. I haven't even had a murder case yet." Ji Fengyao smiled slyly, her voice sweet and melodious. "But Lord Xiong can wait here for a while. Perhaps someone will die soon."

Everyone was greatly surprised upon hearing this.

What? This bandit actually intends to kill someone in the street?!

Xiong Yingxiang: "..."

A bandit has threatened to kill someone right in front of me. What should I do? I need help urgently!

After speaking, Ji Fengyao kicked the man with the pointed mouth and monkey cheeks who was lying on the ground pretending to be dead: "Do you have any words or last words you want to say? If not, I will whip you ten more times, and you will really be sleeping in a coffin."

As she spoke, she turned and pointed with her riding crop at the slightly plump woman next to her, who was trembling with fear and chattering, wrapped in a blue cloth: "After dealing with him, you'll be next; I think you should know why."

The man with the pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks got anxious.

As he and the girl had agreed, the Prefect of the Capital would surely save their lives.

But now Xiong Yingxiang looks anxious, yet he dares not speak out, like a big quail!

If getting a beating could earn two hundred taels of silver, then it would be worth it.

But if it means losing my life, I wouldn't do it even for two thousand taels!

"Princess Ninth Prince, spare me! I'll tell you everything!" The man with the pointed mouth and monkey-like face finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"This humble woman confesses, begging the Ninth Princess for mercy," the slightly plump woman wrapped in a blue cloth also knelt down and cried.

The onlookers: "???"

What are you saying? Could it be that these bandits weren't just randomly beating people, but there's something else going on?

Ji Fengyao glanced at Xiong Yingxiang, who was equally bewildered: "Lord Xiong, did you not bring your advisor with you when you went out to handle the case?"

"I brought it, I brought it!" Xiong Yingxiang realized and quickly waved to the clerk behind him who was carrying a cloth bag.

Soldiers immediately brought tables and chairs from a nearby teahouse.

After the clerk's writing materials were laid out, Ji Fengyao and Xiong Yingxiang sat down. Then she turned to the man and woman on the ground who were about to give their instructions and said, "Alright, you can speak now. But before you do, I must remind you that since I was able to find you, it means I know the whole story. Don't waste the last chance I'm giving you."

"Yes, yes, I understand!"

"This humble woman will certainly speak frankly and without reservation!"

The man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks and the woman wrapped in a blue cloth kowtowed repeatedly, like pounding onions.

Seeing that things were not going well, Chen Ziying, who was not far away, quickly whispered to Zhang Wanyun beside her, "Wanyun, take advantage of the crowd and leave quickly."