The firelight reflected on the night sky.

Alarm signals from the yamen sounded intermittently, and teams of yamen constables with sabers occasionally passed through the street entrances of the market district. The street wardens had taken to the streets, carrying iron gongs to maintain order in prominent places. Though it was not late, the number of pedestrians on the streets had noticeably decreased.

In Silver Bridge Ward, there were few people strolling. The street wardens passed back and forth twice, casting suspicious glances at Long and Sun, who were rumored to have connections to the martial world, possibly even being "lecherous thieves." Ning Ji refrained from wandering around, crossing his arms, staring defiantly at the street warden, ready to shout "What are you looking at?" if they came by again, and then give the warden a beating.

Since arriving in Fuzhou, he had been law-abiding, a model citizen, but the local dogs were too impudent, daring to suspect him every now and then. How could the dignified Martial Arts Alliance Leader endure this kind of... well, upon closer reflection, even though he had suffered such grievances before, he couldn't keep suffering them.

He was quite displeased.

The crowd was unaware of the cause of tonight's upheaval. Some, thinking that Little Long and Little Sun had wide connections, couldn't help but approach them to inquire about any recent major events in the "jianghu." Ning Ji was also curious and wanted to summon Chen Hua, the local snake of the Gui Tai Alliance, for questioning, but after some inquiries, he learned that the alliance had sent out a message instructing its members to stay at home tonight and avoid trouble. Therefore, Chen Hua might not be out.

Later, sounds of fighting echoed from the distance, and watchmen and yamen runners scurried about. The street wardens banged their gongs and shouted in the streets, "Order from the yamen! Curfew tonight! After zi hour, the common people are strictly forbidden from lingering in the streets, or else..." The crowd was even more alarmed.

In fact, since the early Wu Dynasty, curfews in major cities had been largely abolished. Although laws stated that such a system existed, it was rarely enforced. Even those that maintained curfews were often small border towns or places with poor治安. After the Humiliation of Jingping, the situation in the world became tense, and some places occasionally imposed night bans, but cities like Lin'an remained mostly in a state of singing and dancing.

Fuzhou's curfews had only been implemented a few times in recent years, often sparking a round of considerable resistance.

At xu hour and a quarter, several young girls ran panting to the market district. The one leading was Pink Butterfly, a close maidservant of a courtesan in Golden Bridge Ward. She ran to the stall, her face excited: "Young Master Long, Young Master Long, bad news! There's a curfew tonight..."

"You little Pink Butterfly, do you know what happened?" Ning Ji jumped out from the side.

"Of course I know! I heard that the bandits who recently entered the city have gone mad. This afternoon, they assassinated several officials in the street... Right, Young Master Long, tonight will definitely be uneasy. My lady is worried and asked me to come and ask, can you stay at the brothel tonight?"

Ning Ji and Qu Longjun exchanged glances. They had naturally witnessed the scene of the assassinations this afternoon. Qu Longjun asked, "Do you know why they suddenly went mad? Did something else big happen?"

"This... I, I don't know. Why don't you come to the brothel? My lady knows many people, she definitely knows..."

"Why do you want me to go to your brothel?"

"Well... firstly, it's not safe outside. If Young Master Long stays outside, what if people mistake you for a bandit? My lady knows many people. If you stay at the brothel, no one will dare to touch you. Secondly, Young Master Long, you are a martial arts expert, a heroic knight-errant. The ladies in the brothel all admire you. If you go to the brothel, you can protect everyone. My lady said that if you come tonight, we will pay you a fee, hiring you as a bodyguard."

Qu Longjun laughed: "In other words, your lady can handle the officials, and I can handle the underworld people. If I go, we won't have to fear anyone."

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes..." Pink Butterfly nodded repeatedly, "And tonight there's a curfew, some places will be fighting. We can watch from the brothel, drinking and having fun. It will be so exciting."

"Stop drooling!" Ning Ji waved his hand aside, "You don't know any information, yet you dare to say you're from a brothel. What use are you?"

"We're not a brothel, only talented scholars and beautiful ladies go to our place... Young Master Long, look at him, he's cursing people." Pink Butterfly stamped her feet, tearfully seeking help from Qu Longjun.

"Isn't that just a brothel then?"

"It's... it's a courtesan house. Young Master Long, look at him..."

"Same difference!"

Qu Longjun just smiled. Seeing that she didn't get any sympathy, Pink Butterfly put her hands on her hips, her face hardened, and rushed over to argue with Ning Ji.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah, you little dog who only knows how to bark, if you dare to go to our brothel, I'll tell the sisters to beat you to death--"

"Hahahaha, beat me to death? I don't think you've ever been beaten before. Look at how weak you are, who can withstand my fist the size of a casserole..."

"Then you have the guts to go--"

"...Pink Butterfly, do you really think I'm a fool?"

"You don't have the guts, nyah, nyah, nyah..."

"Damn..."

In front of Silver Bridge Ward, the two childish people argued with their hands on their hips, almost jumping and spitting at each other's faces. In the distance, the fighting spread in the streets, and a searchlight even extended towards Nine

Immortal Mountain to the south of the city...

……

Imperial City.

Jun Wu stood on the high watchtower, his gaze serious as he watched the commotion that appeared in the city.

After a while, Zuo Wenhuai came up to report: "According to the confessions of several criminals this afternoon, there are bandits gathering at the Hu Family Inn and the Three Xiao Lane. We have already notified the Ministry of Justice to send people. In addition, one of them confessed that a bandit who participated in the assassination this afternoon should have escaped towards the Zhidu Pu in the east of the city, but the interrogation was hasty, and we fear he may be giving false information..."

The details of these matters did not originally need to be passed on to the emperor, but Jun Wu was always interested, so he had to make a trip every so often. Fortunately, he rarely issued any micro-management orders.

"Zhidu Pu... not important." He stood by the ramparts and looked at the eastern horizon of the city, then retracted his gaze, "...Let's strike quickly."

At this time, the several teams led by Tie Tianying had already left the city, the cavalry extended to sweep through the area, and the transmission of military orders centered on Fuzhou, reaching every pass within a fifty-mile radius...

……

Inside the city.

Feeling all the commotion in the night, watching the flickering firelight, Huang Shengyuan's heart trembled and his thoughts were chaotic.

In the blink of an eye, blades had been drawn...

In the spacious courtyard, one could vaguely see many people, some standing under the eaves, some standing in the shadows of the rocks, mostly green forest people, and some guards he had brought with him, but no one was talking, as if everyone was feeling everything in the night.

"Damn it, bad luck..."

He spat and turned towards the more interior courtyard at the end of the Langyuan.

There were more guards and bodyguards here, but there were also several masters of high status who were already here. One of them was playing Go by himself in front of a stone bench in the courtyard, and the other two were drinking tea in the house. Huang Shengyuan walked into the room, and one of them added a teacup and poured tea for him.

Huang Shengyuan respectfully accepted it.

His status in the Huang family was quite high, and he participated in many matters, but after all, he was only a collateral relative. In terms of status alone, he was not equal to these two people. However, in the current situation, there were not many people he could trust. Being called over to drink tea was actually an elevation of his status.

-- Provided that nothing went wrong this time.

While drinking tea, he said a few meaningless words.

After a while, the person who was playing chess outside also came in, lifted the hem of his robe, sat down at the table, and whispered: "They're here."

Someone was led in from outside, a Jianghu person who looked unfamiliar.

"Where is your lady?" the person at the tea table asked.

"My lady said that the situation is tense, so she won't come over casually, so as not to implicate you, lords."

Huang Shengyuan wanted to curse, but then turned his gaze to the others. The other three were expressionless, but a hint of anger could be seen in their eyes.

The situation is tense? Isn't that what you caused?

Everyone was silent for a moment.

The person in charge picked up the teacup: "Well, in that case... your lady is noble, we can't really ask her to do anything."

The person outside bowed: "Lords, don't be angry. My lady also asked me to bring a message... She said that killing officials and rebelling are things that will be done sooner or later. Sooner or later, it's all the same... It can't be that you lords have never thought about today's situation, right?"

With a bang, the person in charge slammed the teacup on the table.

"That's not something a little bitch can launch without even saying hello--"

Huang Shengyuan nodded slightly and wanted to stand up and scold. The figure outside the door was still bowing. After this loud scolding, it was quiet for a long time. Just when everyone thought that person had disappeared, his voice slowly rang out.

"After saying hello, you still have to discuss, and after a round of discussion, someone will question, hesitating... Lords, let my lady make the decision on this matter... Okay?"

The voice was lazy and strange, vaguely the tone of that black-skinned girl asking for a beating. Everyone looked and gritted their teeth. For a moment, they were speechless...

The people had already launched the revolt, what else could they do...

……

There were even fewer pedestrians on the night market.

After arguing with Pink Butterfly, Ning Ji and Qu Longjun each found someone to inquire about information. After a while, Yu Hezhang and Meng Biao appeared at the street entrance. Ning Ji then pulled them over and asked: "What good things have you bastards done again?"

Yu Hezhang said with a wry smile: "It wasn't us bastards who did it." Then, he provided Ning and Qu with important information about what happened at the Princess's mansion at noon. Qu Longjun seemed to remember something and arranged for the three of them to go to a nearby newspaper office to buy a lot of old newspapers.

Tonight was not peaceful. Yu Hezhang came in a hurry, naturally wanting to show the sincerity of recruiting the two lecherous thieves. According to him, he had already told his leader about the situation of the two, and the leader also wanted to get to know them. Who knew that the city had exploded since the afternoon, and it was probably difficult to say what would happen next.

After moving the newspapers back, he asked Ning Ji and the other two with concern: "The situation in the city is like this now, I'm afraid it won't be stable for a while. If you two heroes have any trouble, you can ask us to settle it. My people above have face in both the black and white worlds."

Qu Longjun glanced at him with disgust: "Looking at how weak you are, how much face can you have... Don't bother. We are all fellow Jianghu people. If we meet in the future, don't be enemies. But when it comes to doing big things, who are you? This little girl named Chen Shuangran has some courage, is your boss her? Call her over to chat?"

Seeing the two's eyes, she rolled her eyes: "Tch, I knew it wasn't..."

Yu Hezhang frowned and was a little speechless. Here, the boy named "Long Aotian" flipped through the newspapers in his hand, and the tone in his mouth eased a little: "Tonight's curfew, Feiyun Escort Agency also has a section of road to travel, for your own good, leave quickly. Of course, if you really commit a big crime, say a word, I can save you once."

The two quickly cupped their hands: "Then... for the time being, there isn't. Actually... we were really... quite surprised by what happened today."

"Then you don't look like good people either. Go back, don't implicate us brothers here..." She frowned and said coldly, then said, "By the way, what I said is true, we have nothing to talk about. In the future, if there is nothing big, you are not allowed to come here to bother me again, otherwise... I'll kill you!"

Her subsequent gaze had been practiced for a long time. The two looked at it and were shocked. Ning Ji then pushed the two of them away, saying on the way: "What my elder brother said just now is true, don't take it as a joke. This person... is gentle with girls, but with men... he'll cut you off, and I can't save you at that time..." While speaking, he drew his finger across his neck, "...I've been beaten a lot since I was a child."

"But... that..." Yu Hezhang was a little embarrassed.

"I don't have any prejudice against you. It looks pretty lively, and if you give enough, I can help you. "He smiled gently," If something really happens in the future, stand far away. When I see you, I'll naturally come over and chat with you. Okay, go back... By the way, are you going to attack Tie Tianying recently?"

"This... temporarily... not yet..."

"Alright, go, I shouldn't have asked with you looking so cowardly..."

He saw off the two in contempt.

Joining the underworld was not simple. If you took the initiative to ask, or followed the fixed process, you would have to submit a certificate of loyalty and be tested a few times. Ning Ji was too lazy to do this. After discussing with Qu Longjun, the only way to make a name for himself was to use the assassination of Tie Tianying, which might be the best entry point.

The night was restless, the air was stuffy, and the distant sound of unrest continued. Zuo Xingzhou's life and death were unknown, but these things were difficult to resolve in a hurry. After learning that their upline in yesterday's probing was likely Pu Xingui, Ning Ji's first reaction was to directly grab them and strip them to the bone to find out something, but considering that it was after all a matter of rebellion, the connection between the upline and downline must not be that simple. Once he acted rashly, the relationship that he had managed to build up might be gone. After discussing with Qu Longjun, he suppressed this impulse.

Just now, when he put his arms around the two's necks and left, his arms were a little stiff, and he kept thinking in his heart that he could strangle the two directly as long as he used force...

On the way back, he took a deep breath. When he reached the grocery stall, Qu Longjun flipped through some old newspapers by the oil lamp and explained to Ning Ji what happened at noon.

"In fact, the Southeast Dynasty's Enju imperial examination was held once at the end of last year and the beginning of this year..."

According to the records in the newspaper and Qu Longjun's previous understanding, last year, after the little emperor used himself as bait and drastically moved the rebellious families in the southeast, in order to appease the parties, under the memorial of several veteran ministers, there was once an Enju examination in the Martial Preparation Academy. But in fact, the places for this Enju examination were taken away by the adults in the court and several of the most prestigious families. Originally, it was an action to unite the parties, but in practice, the effect was not ideal.

"...What the great Confucians in the court and the great clans of Fujian actually sought was not the few places in the Enju imperial examination. Even if they wanted power, they didn't just want the little bit of things that the young people in their families would do after self-study, and were then arranged. It was even considered by some great clans to be a slow-down tactic in which the emperor was stingy and unwilling to give out substantive things, even if he slaughtered a few families...Later, although the Enju imperial examination was held, the court felt that the effect was not good. In March and April, there were still scholars writing articles in the newspapers, saying that these people in the Enju imperial examination were not satisfied, and when they were forming parties and whoring... that they were saying bad things about the court..."

"...Generally speaking, such things are not bad, but once the court's strategy is blocked, it is impossible to take it out again in the short term... But the timing at noon today was very good. Most of those who came to Fuzhou City this time were small and medium-sized local gentry and wealthy merchants. Although their families were rich, they might also have land, but in reality, they still had to look at the faces of the various great clans. Some wealthy merchants accumulated money for a lifetime, but in reality, they didn't necessarily have a high status. Here... if the officials take out the Enju examination again, the reaction for them might be... not bad."

Qu Longjun analyzed the events in a low voice.

On this day,

at noon, the Princess's mansion held a banquet to entertain the many local gentry and wealthy merchants who had come to Fuzhou. The emperor suddenly appeared at the banquet and gave a very persuasive speech, which moved a group of people.

And whether it was arranged in advance, or someone really followed up afterwards, the statement of some small and medium-sized local gentry and wealthy merchants still brought great pressure to all parties with ulterior motives.

If according to the original arrangement, the emperor would only take three concubines, and the wishes of many people would definitely be frustrated. Some people even took advantage of this opportunity to bring a large number of people into the city, preparing to make trouble. The leader had already released rumors in private, and even wooed the parties and brewed momentum. From the perspective of the situation, it was extremely natural for those who hoped to fail to participate in the disturbance - or at least not to cause trouble here.

The advantage is on my side...

Who knew that after a banquet, whether the drawn cake was good enough, or the emperor's words were persuasive enough, more than half of the participants were won over. Even the most determined troublemakers would probably start to suspect each other. Even if some confidentiality work had been done, this atmosphere had been brewing for so long, and those with intentions had already colluded in private. Who knew what news the people who defected could reveal?

In one banquet, the side trying to rebel was in great chaos, but the next response was really fierce. The banquet ended at weishi, and the transmission of the news still took some time, but before dusk, assassins appeared in the city, killing several people on the way home from the various yamen offices. This was the executor among the rebels, who made a sharp decision as soon as they learned the news.

After killing people, the many green forest assassins quickly fled according to plan, leaving the city at the first time. On the imperial court's side, even though they were shocked by the speed and ruthlessness of this counterattack, they also reacted as quickly as possible. What was being searched for in the city was not the assassins, but all the suspected rebels that the Ministry of Justice had collected during this period - perhaps even including some people who were really supplied at noon.

At the same time that the Ministry of Justice took action and caused a huge commotion, Tie Tianying had already led a large number of elite constables out of the city, cooperating with the city defense army, and spread the entire net to all the mountain roads and passes around Fuzhou, hoping to intercept the first batch of perpetrators in the shortest possible time.

Both sides have done their best.

And since it wasn't Pu Xingui's "bastards" who did the work, then combining the information from all sides, who was it, then? The answer was obvious.

"This Chen Shuangran... has something in her..."

In front of the grocery stall, the two sat around the newspaper in the lamplight. After listening to Qu Longjun's analysis of the ins and outs, Ning Ji rubbed his chin and nodded in admiration.

In the past month or two, what he felt in Fuzhou was a gentle and prosperous world. The little imperial court at least maintained great control over the city of Fuzhou. Many conspiracies were only like undercurrents under the water, flowing gently. Even if he could understand that the matter of rebellion would inevitably lead to bloodshed, it was extremely remarkable courage and decisiveness for the weaker side to launch such a sharp and fierce response as soon as they sensed danger.

In the many confrontational training sessions conducted by the Huaxia Army, this kind of enemy who could be so decisive was troublesome.

--He often encountered them.

Therefore, he had a lot to say.