"Move! Move! Move!"

The carriage had just entered Linzi when there was a cacophony of chaos.

Crowds bustled on the streets of Linzi, filled with cursing, chatting, hawking, the clatter of wheels and neighing of horses... In this world of sound, there was order amidst the chaos, until it was disrupted by the recklessly charging carriage.

The calm spring waters were ruffled, causing frowns.

Jiang Wang didn’t speak, focusing on tidying the Inner Mansion. Although the secret treasures were already obtained, he could still gain a deeper understanding of himself through the "cleaning" of the Inner Mansion’s rooms.

Exploring oneself, exploring the world, cultivation never ends.

The carriage driver from the Bao family’s carriage business was well-trained and obediently steered the carriage to the side of the road, allowing the arrogant newcomer to pass.

"Whose carriage is this, with no manners at all, not afraid of hurting the pedestrians?"

"Oh yeah? You going to stop it? That’s the carriage from the Queen’s family!"

"Alas, let’s just go, who can afford to provoke them?"

The murmurs of the crowd did not escape Jiang Wang’s ears.

The Queen’s family?

Relatives of the current Queen of Daqi?

He faintly remembered, the Jubao Business Association had an honorary deacon named Cao Xing, who belonged to the Queen’s Brother He Fu. Once the Jubao Business Association faced trouble, Cao Xing withdrew quickly, directly signaling the downfall of the association.

After that, the Queen’s family almost disappeared, too low-profile to be any lower. Why have they suddenly become bold again?

Jiang Wang felt displeased but didn’t plan to do anything.

Firstly, although their attitude was somewhat brash, it was just their loud calls that were unruly; they hadn’t dared to actually run into any of the commoners. The coachman clearly had some cultivation, controlling the horses steadily, clearly knowing where the line was. It was probably just to satisfy the arrogance of the young master inside the carriage—by that token, he really was nothing but a waste.

Jiang Wang knew many of Qi Country’s young nobles, extravagant spenders, decisive in killing, those who lingered amongst the flowers... all kinds, but he had never seen anyone so useless, who took pleasure from swaggering around in front of the common folk.

Secondly, he had merely stepped aside, not a significant hardship. Moreover, his nameplate was not hanging above the carriage, so no one knew that he, Jiang Qingyang, was sitting inside.

The carriage driver pulled the carriage back onto the main road and muttered softly in complaint: "Don’t know what the Beiyaduwei is doing, not bothering to intervene with reckless driving in the marketplace, only able to take care of ordinary folk."

In name, the Green Plaque was also affiliated with the Beiyar.

"Maybe no one saw it. If they did, they would surely take care of it," Jiang Wang said with some embarrassment, speaking through the curtain. "That reminds me, is the Bao family’s carriage afraid of the Queen’s family too? Even giving way to them."

This carriage had been rented by someone from the Lord of Heavenly Mansion City’s house, and the driver didn’t know who was in the carriage.

He had just muttered his complaint without thinking someone inside would overhear him with such keen ears.

Cursing himself inwardly for speaking out of turn, he held the reins steady and responded: "You jest, sir. Our carriage business opens its doors to do business, who could we possibly take offense with? Besides, our Dong family may have originated from a noble family, too noble to speak of, yet we servants don’t have the right to pull rank. Moreover, you are seated inside! How could we involve a guest over a mere fleeting temper?"

Jiang Wang nodded silently in agreement. There was good reason why the Bao family’s carriage business was so successful.

They struck up a sporadic conversation.

At the end of the street they had passed, suddenly there came a loud command: "Stop the carriage!"

The voice rang out with righteous indignation: "Who are you to drive so recklessly, creating disturbance? Do you have no regard for the law?!"

The driver retorted angrily: "This is a carriage from the Queen’s family!"

"No family name matters here! Get down!"

The voice sounded very familiar, and Jiang Wang recognized it—it was the son of Zheng Shi, the Beiyar Commander, named Zheng Shangming.

However, he had interacted with Zheng Shangming several times and had never seen this side of him.

Jiang Wang’s interest was piqued, and as the carriage driver instinctively slowed down, he smiled and said, "Let’s stop and watch the excitement."

"Alright!" The driver’s voice, tinged with suppressed excitement.

Punishing evil, promoting good, upholding justice were plots everyone enjoyed watching, such storylines never fading with time.

Jiang Wang didn’t lean out to look, just listened to catch the gist. While maintaining a low profile, he also trained his "Dream Order" vocal abilities.

A voice lacking breath but full of arrogance said: "Zheng Shangming! You want to make things difficult for me?!"

It must have been the young master from inside the carriage who came out.

And then, Zheng Shangming’s voice returned without hesitation, "It’s not that Zheng feels any animosity towards you, it’s you, He Zhen, who is defying Qi’s laws! The ’Dream Order’ states, ’Those departing must give way to those arriving.’ Those leaving the city must yield to those entering, so why did you crack your whip and loudly demand that those entering yield to you? The ’Dream Order’ further states, ’Driving a carriage through a busy market requires one to proceed slowly and steadily, and not speed!’ Did your carriage slow down at all? Not only did it not slow down, but you also dared to rush through recklessly! By taking you down today, even your uncle, the Queen’s brother, shall have nothing to say!"

The more he spoke, the more impassioned he became, "Come on! Confiscate this carriage, and arrest everyone on it! Bring them all back to the Beiyar Bureau!"

He Zhen was indeed the son of He Fu, the Queen’s brother, and also a cousin to the current Crown Prince, Jiang Wuhua.

But he bellowed, "I’d like to see who dares!"

Immediately following was a loud bang.

Zheng Shangming must have taken action himself, and in just a moment, he had subdued the opposition.

"I, Zheng Shangming, act according to the law, why shouldn’t I dare!"

He Zhen’s mouth must have been sealed, as he was unable to speak.

The carriage driver who had earlier shouted for others to clear the way and later resisted arrogantly, now adopted a much humbler tone, "Our master really does have urgent matters to attend to, which is why he was in such a hurry to leave the city... Though the carriage was rushed, we did not harm a single person along the way. Master Zheng, please, could you possibly show leniency..."

Zheng Shangming gave no quarter, ignoring the man completely, and said, "According to Qi’s laws, those who resist arrest can be killed!"

And thus, there were no more retorts.

The carriage was seized, and the people were tied up.

"Good!"

It wasn’t clear who started it, but a chorus of cheers suddenly erupted on the street.

"Lord Zheng did well!"

"The Beiyar Bureau is mighty!"

"Dear fellow villagers, your praise is misplaced! Shang Ming is merely doing his duty in accordance with the law. It’s everyone adhering to the rules and living peacefully that truly strengthens our great Qi," Zheng Shangming proclaimed in a clear, resonant voice, "Alright! Please disperse! Watch your step, do not trample anyone."

"Let’s go," said Jiang Wang in a soft voice amidst the bustling scene.

Without delay, the carriage driver pulled the reins, ready to leave.

But from the other end of the street came an approaching sound—like the sweeping wind piercing through the air.

Before Jiang Wang could make sense of it, Zheng Shangming’s voice rose from outside the carriage, "Are you all unharmed? It is the responsibility of the Imperial City Inspection Mansion if someone drives a carriage so disrespectfully."

His tone was now caring and gentle, a stark contrast to the sternness he had shown towards He Zhen.

In such circumstances, it would be extremely rude for Jiang Wang not to show himself.

Thus, despite being preoccupied with securing a spot at the Yellow River Gathering, he still lifted the curtain to greet him, "Brother Zheng!"

With a genuine smile, he said, "Your performance today was unforgettable indeed!"

...

...

PS:

The ’Dream Order’ stone inscription unearthed from the Southern Song period states: ’The lowly should yield to the noble, the young to the old, the light to the heavy, the departing to the arriving.’ These were essentially the traffic rules of that era.

Our Qi is different, haha, we’ve made adjustments and additions~

...

...

I will have to pause on the debt repayment process for these three evenings.

During the New Year, there have been too many social obligations to handle, simply impossible to write from dawn until dusk. After all, I’m among the finer young folks in a radius of ten miles—greeting guests is part of the facade~ A few words here, a few there, and before you know it, time’s up. I wrote until almost the middle of the night yesterday and was too exhausted...

But normal updates will continue.

Asking for monthly votes~

Love you all~