"If you never reported it to the authorities, how did your wife end up in the Heavenly Prison, condemned to death?"
Sun Bu’er said helplessly, "After I beat her, most of my anger had faded. Later, I thought it over. If I'd been in her shoes, I probably wouldn't have had any choice either. Faced with a Martial Arts Expert who could leap across rooftops, how could she dare resist instead of swallowing her anger?"
"In the end, it was my own greed. I coveted that person's beauty and invited a wolf into my home, bringing this disaster down on us.
"When farming folk like us run into something like this, all we can do is accept our bad luck, swallow our broken teeth, and keep quiet. How would we dare tell anyone?"
"Then how did your wife end up here?"
Shame showed on Sun Bu’er’s face. "That happened later. Although I knew it wasn't my wife's fault, what happened still ate away at me."
"One day, I drank too much. I punched and kicked her, cursing her at the top of my lungs, calling her shameless and accusing her of betraying her duties as a wife.
"I was a little too loud. Some officers happened to be collecting taxes in the village that day and overheard me. Without another word, they tied my wife up and took her away."
As he spoke, Sun Bu’er began crying again. "I'm useless. I'm no man. I was angry with her, but I knew it wasn't her fault."
"My lord, even one day as husband and wife brings a hundred days of devotion. I only hit her and cursed her to vent my anger and make myself feel better. I truly never wanted her to die!"
Song Xuan turned toward Clerk Ye, who was listening intently outside the cell. "Were the officers who arrested Sun Liu your men?"
Clerk Ye shook his head. "They were Assistant Prefect Li's men."
Song Xuan nodded and asked Sun Bu’er, "Didn't you explain your wife's circumstances to the people at the government office?"
"I did!"
Sun Bu’er said bitterly, "The officials sent word that if I didn't want my wife convicted of adultery, I had to hand over a hundred taels of silver!"
"A hundred taels! Where was I supposed to get that much silver? I had no choice but to sell our fields and belongings and borrow from friends and relatives. But before I could scrape together enough, the officers sent word again, saying my wife's crime had already been decided: adultery!
"It was settled for good. No one could change it!
"They even threatened me. No matter who asked, I had to say it was adultery. If I said a single wrong word, not only would I die, but all my friends and relatives would die too!
"My lord, you're from the Black Robe Guard. This humble commoner knows you aren't afraid of those officials at the prefectural office. Please, save my wife!"
Song Xuan remained silent, pondering for a moment.
If the couple had not lied, the case was now clear.
Simply put, Sun Bu’er had married a beautiful wife renowned throughout the surrounding villages, and that had attracted a Flower Thief.
This Flower Thief apparently had some peculiar tastes. Rather than simply using force, he preferred dressing as a woman, becoming a cross-dressing beauty. With a tragic life story and a pretty face, he had stirred Sun Bu’er’s greed and moved openly into the man's home.
After that, he had used threats to rape the man's wife.
The matter was not complicated. It was a Flower Thief case involving someone from the martial world.
What was strange, however, was that the case file contained not a single mention of the Flower Thief. Every piece of information about him had been deleted.
Just as Clerk Ye had said, the case was not complicated.
The people were!
Lu Xiaoliu walked over to Song Xuan and said quietly, "Brother Xuan, according to Sun Bu’er, the officers under Assistant Prefect Li arrested Sun Liu. At first, they were probably just seizing the opportunity to extort money. They were simply after wealth."
"But then, in an extremely short time, they convicted Sun Liu of adultery and made it an ironclad case. That wasn't about money anymore. They wanted to erase all information about the Flower Thief.
"Clearly, this Flower Thief isn't merely someone from the martial world who knows martial arts. His background must be quite extraordinary, and he very likely has powerful government connections.
"Some people higher up don't want word spreading that a Flower Thief raped a commoner's wife here."
At this point, he pursed his lips in a smile. "But it looks like they still failed to keep it under wraps. Some people want to clamp the lid down, while others want to pry it open. Otherwise, a case that should have been reviewed by the Ministry of Justice wouldn't have landed in the hands of our Black Robe Guard."
Song Xuan nodded slightly. "Your analysis is very thorough. So our current situation isn't entirely safe."
Lu Xiaoliu looked incredulous. "Brother Xuan, surely you don't think the person behind this would kill us Black Robe Guards to silence us? Has he gone mad? Isn't he afraid the Black Robe Guard would slaughter his entire household afterward?
"The Ministry of Justice still has to follow the evidence when handling cases. But if someone kills one of our Black Robe Guards, those killing stars in the Enforcement Office won't care about evidence. Anyone under suspicion gets executed first and reported afterward!"
Song Xuan chuckled. "Don't be nervous. It's only a possibility. But to be safe, we should make some preparations.
"There should be a Black Robe Guard outpost in Huai'an Commandery, right?"
"There is!"
Lu Xiaoliu said quietly, "But those are Enforcement Office people. If we try to mobilize them, they probably won't give us the time of day!"
"Then tell them you're from the Imperial Capital, and that Zhao Dezhu, director of the Imperial Capital's Inspection Office, is your father. If anything happens to you, your father definitely won't let them off!
"You're an old hand at getting by in the Imperial Capital. Don't tell me you don't know how to borrow a tiger's skin and wave it as your own banner!"
Lu Xiaoliu hesitated. "Brother Xuan, will that really work? If Old Zhao finds out, won't he give me hell?"
"You aren't after power or fame, and your post as a Third-Rank Black Robe Guard was inherited through your ancestors' favor. No one can take it away.
"You're an old slacker who spends his days coasting. Why would you be afraid of Old Zhao giving you hell?
"Besides, before we left the Imperial Capital, Uncle Zhao told us to use his name if anything came up. Even if the sky fell, he could hold it up!"
"Now that you put it that way, I feel much more confident!"
With that, he flicked his sleeves and strode out of the cell with his head held high, beckoning to Monkey. "Skinny Monkey, come out with me. We have something to take care of!"
Monkey glanced at Song Xuan. Seeing that their boss had no objections, he immediately trotted eagerly after Lu Xiaoliu and left the Heavenly Prison.
Only after the two had gone far away did Song Qian approach Song Xuan and ask quietly, "Brother, what were you and Xiaoliu whispering about just now?"
"I sent him to call in reinforcements!"
"Huh? You could've left something like that to me!"
"No!"
Song Xuan shook his head. "You aren't as smooth as Xiaoliu when dealing with people. Besides, stay by my side. You're not allowed to wander off. If anything happened to you, how would I explain it to Mom and Dad?"
"You still treat me like a child?"
Song Qian pouted unhappily, but she knew she could not change her brother's decision. After a couple of disgruntled huffs, she dropped the subject.
"My lord..."
After waiting a long while without Song Xuan saying anything, Sun Bu’er asked anxiously, "My lord, do you think my wife can still be saved?"
Song Xuan wore a kindly smile.
"As long as you haven't lied, she can be saved!"
"But if you've fabricated any of this, I won't need to wait for the Ministry of Justice's written order. I can send you both off to have tea with the King of Hell that very day!"
Before you continue