The low-key prince summons trainees from the Imperial Household Department at the start of the game.

The next morning, as dawn broke.

The bluestone pavement of Liuye Lane gleamed after being washed by the night rain, and a damp coolness lingered in the air.

In the backyard of the Wudang Boxing School, Yu Daiyan sat in his wheelchair, flipping through a yellowed boxing manual in the morning light.

His fingers lightly traced the pages of the book, occasionally pausing to jot down a few words on the paper beside him.

Last night's battle allowed Yu Lianzhou to discover several details in his Tai Chi swordsmanship that could be improved in actual combat.

He had to get all of this sorted out before his senior brother got up.

Suddenly there was a knock on the courtyard gate.

The knocking was neither hurried nor slow, three times, a pause, then three more times, the rhythm steady, unlike the casual knocking of neighbors visiting each other.

Yu Daiyan closed the boxing manual and placed it on his lap. He pushed his wheelchair to the door and peeked out through the crack in the door.

Standing outside the door was a middle-aged man in a dark blue casual robe. He had a thin face, slightly graying temples, and faint dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept all night.

Behind him followed a clerk in a gray cloth gown, who was holding a lacquered tray covered with a red cloth.

"Prefect Zheng Ke of Runzhou requests an audience with Master Song." The middle-aged man's voice was not loud, but it carried an air of official authority that was neither humble nor arrogant.

Yu Daiyan was slightly taken aback, then pushed open the courtyard gate and called out to the backyard, "Senior Brother, the Prefect has arrived."

When Song Yuanqiao came out of the main room, the buttons on his clothes were not all fastened, obviously he had just come out of the quiet room.

He walked quickly to the courtyard gate and bowed to Zheng Ke.

Zheng Ke, however, raised his hand to stop him first, straightened his clothes, and returned the greeting with a proper bow, bending his waist more deeply than when officials usually bowed to each other.

"Master Song, I have come to apologize today."

His voice was not loud, but every word was clear: "Last night, your esteemed residence captured the river bandit Liu Heng, and the evidence was recovered. This official should bring this scoundrel to justice to uphold the law and reassure the people."

"However, in the middle of the night, the Governor-General's Office sent someone with a warrant to the Prefectural Office, saying that Liu Heng was involved in the Jiangning arms smuggling case and needed to be transferred to the Governor-General's Office for interrogation."

"Although I have negotiated repeatedly, the Governor-General's order is as firm as a mountain, and I have no right to resist it."

"Liu Heng is already on his way to Jiangning. I have failed to bring him to justice, and I am ashamed before your esteemed institution and the people of Runzhou."

The courtyard was quiet for a moment.

Yu Lianzhou strode out of the main room, his face even colder than usual.

Zhang Songxi put down the teapot in his hand with a furrowed brow, while Yin Liting's hand unconsciously rested on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

Only Song Yuanqiao remained calm, taking the lacquered tray of reward silver handed to him by Fang Shiye with both hands, placing it on the stone table, and saying in a calm tone: "Lord Zheng, please sit down."

Zheng Ke sat down on the stone bench, took the teacup from Song Yuanqiao but did not drink it, only held it in his hands.

The teacup was warm, but he felt a chill in his fingertips.

"Master Song, I know you must be cursing this prefect in your hearts, saying that he is opportunistic, sycophantic, and that he arrests people and then releases them. What kind of official is he?"

"I dare not argue, but there are some things I have been thinking about all night in the signing room, and I still need to make them clear to you in person."

He looked up at Song Yuanqiao, his gaze calm yet carrying a weariness that seemed to weigh him down. "Liu Heng's life is no longer in the hands of the Runzhou government or the Jiangning government."

"His life was on the Grand Canal, which was the lifeline of the imperial court's grain transport. Every year, millions of bushels of grain were transported from Jiangnan to the capital to feed the civil and military officials and soldiers."

"When the canal is running smoothly, the court is stable; when the canal is blocked, the whole country is shaken."

"And those who controlled the canal transport were the canal guilds, and behind the canal guilds stood the imperial court."

"Liu Heng is just a nail on this big ship. Nails can be replaced when they rust, but the ship cannot sink."

"I am but a minor prefect. I cannot touch this ship, nor do I dare let it know that I have offended it."

Fang, the clerk, stood behind Zheng Ke, head bowed, saying nothing.

He knew what the prefect was talking about.

Liu Heng was arrested yesterday evening, and the official document arrived in the middle of the night, the timing was even more precise than that of the night watchman at the prefectural government office.

This is hardly a coincidence.

It was clear that someone was watching the prefectural government office's every move.

Zheng Ke continued speaking, his voice gradually changing from bitter to somber.

He dared not gloss over the truth; he knew perfectly well how many undercurrents flowed beneath the glamorous surface of Runzhou City.

Do you know how much silver Liu Heng pays to his superiors every year? Do you know how many shops in Runzhou City are doing legitimate business on the surface but secretly helping Liu Heng sell stolen goods?

He knew all of this, but without concrete evidence, he couldn't take any action.

Last night, the Wudang Boxing School, in the name of the martial arts world, apprehended Liu Heng. This should have been a legitimate reason for their arrest, but even with the evidence on their hands, they still couldn't touch Liu Heng or the group of people behind him.

He joked that he had carried this burden for five years, and that his spine was almost broken from carrying it.

Yu Lianzhou suddenly spoke, his voice as cold as the river wind in December: "Lord Zheng, who exactly is behind Liu Heng?"

Zheng Ke remained silent for a long time, his fingers slowly tracing the rim of the teacup. Then he raised his eyes and looked directly at Yu Lianzhou. His lips moved, but he only managed to utter a few words: "Vice Master Yu, I cannot say."

Yu Lianzhou and Zheng Ke looked at each other for a while, then nodded slightly and stopped asking questions.

He had already gleaned the answer from Zheng Ke's silence.

It's not that I don't know, it's that I dare not say.

There are very few names in the entire Jiangnan region that would make the Prefect of Runzhou hesitate to utter them.

Yin Liting looked at Song Yuanqiao and saw that his senior brother's expression was normal. He was just holding his teacup and listening quietly, so he swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

Song Yuanqiao gently placed the teacup on the stone table, his voice calm and steady: "Lord Zheng did not sleep all night and came to our door early this morning to tell us the truth, which shows that you do not regard the Wudang Martial Arts School as an outsider."

"The lord just said that Liu Heng's life is on the canal, and the lord cannot touch this boat."

"I understand what you mean. I am a man of the martial world and do not understand the rules of the court, but I know the weight of your official hat, sir."

"If Your Excellency forcibly executes Liu Heng, what will the people behind him do? They will impeach Your Excellency, remove you from office, and replace you with their own people."

"At that time, the people of Runzhou will not only lose a prefect who stands up for the people, but will also gain a puppet who works for them."

"So, Your Excellency's visit today is not to shirk responsibility, but to protect a local official who can still speak up for the people of Runzhou. On behalf of the people of Runzhou, I thank Your Excellency for this painstaking effort."

He stood up and bowed to Zheng Ke.

Zheng Ke hurriedly stood up to return the greeting, his eyes slightly reddening.

He didn't expect that the old boxer would not only not blame him, but would also speak out all the bitterness in his heart on his behalf.

After serving as prefect for five years, he felt for the first time that someone in Runzhou City could understand him.

After a long silence, Zhang Songxi suddenly spoke, his voice calm and unhurried: "Lord Zheng, the Wudang Martial Arts School captured Liu Heng for the sake of the people of Runzhou."

"The magistrate released Liu Heng for the sake of the people of Runzhou. Since we are all working towards the same goal, the Wudang Martial Arts School and the Runzhou Prefecture Government will be on the same side from now on."

"What adults can't do, Wudang Martial Arts School will do; what adults can't offend, Wudang Martial Arts School will deal with."

"But there is one condition: if the Wudang Boxing School arrests anyone again, the magistrate does not need to release them personally; let the higher-ups come and take them away."

"Every time they come, their network of connections is exposed; ten times, the network will be riddled with holes."

Zheng Ke stared blankly at Zhang Songxi, opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

Zhang Songxi smiled slightly and added that the Wudang Boxing School was located in Liuye Lane and couldn't be moved. They would help with anything that happened in Runzhou in the future.

Yin Liting interrupted from behind, asking if he would still give the reward money. Everyone in the courtyard was taken aback at first, then they all laughed.

Zheng Ke also laughed, his eyes crinkling with wrinkles, and repeatedly said that the reward would be given as promised, as capturing the bandits was a meritorious deed and the reward was rightfully due to the Wudang martial arts school.

Song Yuanqiao ordered Yin Liting to fetch the Tai Chi massage ointment from the medicine box.

He handed the ointment to Zheng Ke, saying that it was a Tai Chi massage ointment passed down from the Wudang family, which was specially used to treat headaches. He asked the gentleman to give it to his mother and to send someone to let him know if it was effective.

He had his third junior brother visit the old lady regularly to give her massages.

Zheng Ke accepted the ointment, his hands trembling slightly, and thanked him repeatedly.

He said his mother had suffered from headaches for many years, and if it really worked, it would save his mother half her life.

Zhang Songxi saw Zheng Ke and Master Fang out and walked for a while in Willow Leaf Alley.

Fang Shiye lagged behind, and when he reached Zhang Songxi's side, he suddenly slowed down.

Lowering his voice, he asked Zhang, the boxer, if what he said in the courtyard earlier, "Let the people above come and take him away," meant that they knew someone would come to take Liu Heng away.

Zhang Songxi paused slightly and glanced at Master Fang.

He laughed and said that they were just following the rules of the underworld. They arrested people and handed them over to the government. How the government dealt with them was their business. They just happened to guess correctly.

Looking at the smile on his face, Master Fang suddenly realized that he had seen a lot of people in Runzhou over the years.

But I've never seen any martial arts expert say such a thing.

He didn't ask any more questions and quickly followed Zheng Ke, the two of them walking out of Willow Leaf Alley one after the other.

Zhang Songxi watched their figures disappear at the alley entrance, then turned and went back to the boxing gym.

Song Yuanqiao was standing under the ginkgo tree, his hands behind his back, gazing at the rising sun on the horizon.

Yin Liting and Yu Lianzhou sat facing each other at the stone table, discussing the gains and losses of last night's battle over tea.

"Senior Brother, how much longer do you think Liu Heng can live?" Zhang Songxi walked to the tree.

Song Yuanqiao was silent for a moment, then turned to look at his fellow disciples: "That depends on whether the people behind Liu Heng think he's still useful."

"If he is useful, he can live a few more days; if he is useless, the Jiangning prison will be his final resting place."

"But these things are not our concern. We just need to put the Wudang Boxing School sign back on and solidify this stronghold."

"Once things settle down in Runzhou, Songxi, take a few of your apprentices to visit the various prefectures and see if those closed branch schools can be reopened."

Zhang Songxi nodded, took out the hand-drawn map of Runzhou from his sleeve, and spread it out again on the stone table.

Pointing to the locations of the several branch venues already marked along the canal, I began planning the next steps with a few fellow students.