In a small courtyard on the street, Lu Ying nervously sat waiting in the entryway.

　　At that moment, Qi Xiang arrived with a kettle, pouring two cups of hot tea. He handed one to Lu Ying and kept the other for himself.

　　"Aren't you from Master Hao's place? Why are you with the officials from Beici County and working as a kitchen maid in his house?"

　　She had already prepared her excuse: "What do you think, Castellan Qi?"

　　"How should I know... or is it really you?"

　　"Let me ask you something first. Did anyone else see you bring me here?"

　　"Definitely not, absolutely not."

　　"Good. I have to go back soon. After I leave, let's go our separate ways and pretend we never met. If someone from the Tribunal becomes suspicious and Master Hao asks about you, I'll deny everything."

　　Qi Xiang's mind raced. "Ah... are you an undercover agent in the Tribunal? I'm impressed, very impressed. You're so stealthy, and Master Hao is brilliant, as are your methods."

　　"Is there anything else? If not, I'm leaving," Lu Ying said as she stood up to go.

　　Qi Xiang hurriedly stopped her. "Wait, wait. I need to ask you... What's your surname?"

　　"Lu."

　　"Miss Lu, what have you found out?"

　　Lu Ying thought to herself, I just live in the residence. What could I know?

　　"Nothing much. There are two shifts, four policemen, and ten prefecture soldiers in each."

　　"Anything else?"

　　"That's it."

　　"That's it?"

　　"How long have I been there?"

　　"Right, right... I'm getting ahead of myself. Also, did Ji Yanshi leave? Do you know where he went?"

　　"Well, he's the son of the Right National Master. Would he tell me? Actually, I have a question for you. What happened on the street today?"

　　"We were just trying to embarrass Zhou Ge and smear He Muxian's name. Qing said we could use any method we wanted on them. No matter what we do, it's not too much."

　　"As the leader of a bandit gang, is this the best you can do? Can't you do something more worthwhile?" Lu Ying said as she left.

　　Qi Xiang thought to himself, the last time I saw her, she was too scared to speak. Now she's even scolding me. It all depends on who you're with. With the right people, even a mouse dares to squeak at a cat.

　　"Yes, yes... Miss Lu, you're right. We'll chat again next time."

　　Lu Ying smoothed her chest and took a deep breath as she left the courtyard. She looked back once and saw the address: No. 29, Qi Zi Street.

　　At first, she walked slowly on the main street, but as she got closer to the Trial Office, she walked faster and faster until she was running back to the residence.

　　As she approached, Huang Qin led a group out looking for her. Seeing her return, he was overjoyed.

　　"Miss Lu, where have you been?"

　　"I... I need to see the Inquisitor first."

　　The two of them arrived at the side room, where Zhou Ge was waiting anxiously. When he saw them, he was also relieved.

　　"So fast?"

　　"She came back on her own, sir," Huang Qin replied.

　　Lu Ying didn't hold anything back. She explained in detail how she was summoned by Qi Xiang, where she went in the alleyway courtyard, who she met, and what they discussed.

　　Finally, she said, "Sir, I revealed information about the Tribunal. I'm guilty."

　　Zhou Ge inquisitord her words to be trustworthy. There were many ways to become an undercover agent in the Tribunal, and regardless of the method, there was no need to involve her own father.

　　He told Lu Ying that if she encountered a similar situation in the future, she was allowed to act flexibly, meaning it was okay to reveal more information since it was all public knowledge anyway. Then he dismissed her to rest.

　　Knowing Qi Xiang's intentions, Zhou Ge asked Huang Qin to deal with the captured thieves and personally went to the Prefect's Mansion.

　　The two places were very close, and he arrived soon. Almost everyone in the mansion knew him, so after greeting them, he found the butler He Chong and asked him to take him to the Old Archives Room for research.

　　It would have been fine if he hadn't looked into it, but upon examination, there were indeed records. There were four cases related to the courtyard on Qi Zi Street, Number 29, three of which involved hiding fugitives, and the remaining one involved concealing stolen goods.

　　Zhou Ge sighed. It seemed that the courtyard had a fateful connection with thieves.

　　He carefully read the case files. The three incidents were unimportant and were all old cases from the local area. One case was marked as originating from Changshe Ridge in Yue Region. Later, a policeman from Beici County named Sun Dafeng was imprisoned for accidentally injuring someone.

　　Zhou Ge pondered. The people who came were from Shuanghuan Mountain, so they probably had nothing to do with Changshe Ridge. It seemed unlikely that he would find information about the three bandit leaders based on their locations.

　　At this moment, someone entered the room and lit the oil lamp in the distance.

　　"Zhou, what are you busy with?"

　　He immediately recognized the voice as He Muxian's. "It's Miss He. I'm just looking through some old case files."

　　She took the case file and read it for a while. "I heard about what happened in the afternoon. That courtyard is indeed conveniently located, facing the bustling market in the front and the backstreets in the rear. It's no wonder people like it."

　　"So it's just a coincidence?"

　　"Not entirely."

　　"There's more to it?"

　　"It's hard to say. However, one thing is certain. Sun Dafeng has nothing to do with Shuanghuan Mountain. There's no need to investigate further."

　　"I see. Miss He is always so insightful. Zhou is impressed."

　　"You flatter me. By the way, Ji is going to be away for a while, right?"

　　"Yes, he said it would be seven or eight days."

　　"He's the son of the Right National Master, so we can't afford to let anything happen to him. We'll have to trouble Shen again."

　　"We're all friends. It's no trouble at all."

　　"That's true. Zhou is so understanding. I'm impressed. Please, continue with your work."

　　With no fruitful investigation, the two parted ways. One returned to continue handling official business, while the other returned to the Tribunal.

　　Smoke was rising from the kitchen.

　　As they waited for dinner, Huang Qin arrived.

　　"Inquisitor Zhou, the trial is over."

　　"So fast?"

　　"These thieves don't have much backbone. Beating one of them in public was enough to make the others confess." He handed over the case file.

　　Zhou Ge unfolded the case file. Among the four individuals, three were locals from Beici County, and one was from Changshe Ridge in Yue Region.

　　"This Hou Xiaobao..."

　　"Yes, sir. He's the one who shouted on the street that you were an official from the He family and that no one could touch you even if you committed a crime."

　　"Bring him in for a look."

　　"The others?"

　　"Just bring one."

　　"Do you want to hold a formal trial, sir?"

　　"No need for that. Just a few casual questions."

　　Not long after, Hou Xiaobao was brought to the courtroom, where two torches were lit, brightening the surroundings.

　　Zhou Ge dismissed everyone except Huang Qin and then began questioning.

　　At first, Hou Xiaobao thought he would be questioned and beaten again, scaring him into babbling nonsense. It was only when things became clear that he realized they just wanteded him to talk about Changshe Ridge.

　　Recalling his hometown, Hou Xiaobao felt a little sad. Changshe Ridge belonged to Red Feather Mountain. On one side was Changshe Ridge, and on the other was Red Feather Town. With over five hundred households, it was a rare and valuable place in Yue Region.

　　The town's leader, Hou Guang, had laws and principles, reasoning and empathy, and no one dared to disobey him. At that time, Hou Xiaobao worked as a house slave for the Hou family, and his food and shelter were taken care of.

　　About ten years ago, a group of powerful people secretly murdered Hou Guang, and since then, Red Feather town is no longer the past, the local residents walk, flee.

　　Hou Xiaobao very love home, Hou home defeat, back to long snake ridge life. There is land on the ridge and water below, so it can be self-sufficient. As to who occupied the Red Feather town and the Red Feather Mountain, and what they did, he did not care at all.

　　About two or three years ago, the new Red Feather Town was greatly expanded, and the surrounding area was cleaned up, and a woman took the lead in dispersing all retail investors, so that he became homeless and eventually ended up in Beici County.

　　Zhou Ge listened very carefully: "Do you know Sun Dafeng?"

　　"There are thousands of people in this town, how can you know them all? Leave me alone, my Lord. I have told you all I know."

　　"Who was the woman who drove you away?"

　　"How should I know? But... I remember someone called her the Holy Monarch, yes, she and the Fangding Mountain thieves, can draw dispel weapons talismans; It's also a little different... She paints with her left hand."

　　Zhou Ge heart move, is it her?

　　"So it is. Go down." 'he said casually.