"You almost killed me, what else is there to say?" With officials blocking his way, Wang Jing couldn't hit Mu Zhengnan, and his anger intensified, roaring loudly.
"Wang Jing, what nonsense are you talking about? When have I ever harmed you?" Mu Zhengnan hid behind the officials, not daring to show his face.
"Stop pretending! That night at the Taiyuan Inn, you drugged our drinks, knocked out the five of us, and stole the cannon." Wang Jing glared fiercely at Mu Zhengnan, his anger blazing. Thinking of how he had nearly caused their execution, he wished he could tear Mu Zhengnan to pieces.
“Wang Jing, you can eat whatever you want, but you can’t say whatever you want. You drank the wine voluntarily; I didn’t force you. Besides, you were perfectly sober after drinking; you weren’t drugged at all.” Mu Zhengnan retorted without any politeness. Wang Jing was in a mad state, and he was somewhat afraid, still hiding behind the officers.
"You're lying!" Wang Jing roared, seizing the opportunity to punch Mu Zhengnan in the arm. Mu Zhengnan staggered, involuntarily releasing the officer's shoulder, his entire body exposed to Wang Jing. Wang Jing grabbed his arm, and a barrage of fists rained down on him without mercy.
"You stole the cannon, you betrayed our brothers, I'll kill you..."
Mu Zhengnan, a frail scholar, could only parry the blows, utterly powerless to retaliate. The heavy punches felt like relentless boulders crashing down on him, causing him to grimace in pain. He roared with all his might, "Wang Jing, are you an idiot? If I really stole the cannon, I would have fled long ago. Why would I have come all the way to the capital to be arrested by you…"
Wang Jing's fist, which was halfway through its swing, suddenly stopped. Yes, after stealing the cannon, most people would go as far as they could, why would they come to the capital and walk right into a trap? "Did I wrong you?"
"Of course I'm innocent!" Mu Zhengnan pushed Wang Jing away forcefully, rubbing his injured chest and arm, occasionally gasping for breath. This brainless brute was surprisingly strong.
Shen Lixue looked at Mu Zhengnan. If he wasn't at the post station or resisted arrest, he must have something to hide and was very likely to have stolen the cannon. But he willingly followed the officials to the Ministry of Justice, which made it hard to tell what was really going on with him.
"Is Young Master Mu a businessman?" Dongfang Xun looked at Mu Zhengnan indifferently. He was dressed in a well-tailored brocade robe, with a handsome face, slightly tired eyes, and a somewhat haggard complexion. He was surrounded by a faint scholarly air, and he did not look like a businessman at all.
"Not entirely." Mu Zhengnan smiled slightly, neither humble nor arrogant: "I am honored that Princess Qin thinks highly of me. I have become the steward at the post station, in charge of Princess Qin and Crown Prince Qin's food and clothing. Yesterday, I passed through Taiyuan and went to buy the most beautiful silk brocade clothes for Princess Qin."
Dongfang Xun's gaze was indifferent: "Young Master Mu did not steal the cannon."
Mu Zhengnan frowned and said seriously, "I am just a commoner. I have never seen a cannon before, let alone know how to use it. What would I need that thing for?"
"Is Young Master Mu inviting the guards for drinks merely out of kinship with his fellow countrymen?" Dongfang Xun inquired.
"Yes." Mu Zhengnan nodded: "When I heard that they had other things to do, I offered each of them a drink. Even the worst drinker can't get drunk after just one drink. I left only after seeing that they were all very clear-headed after drinking."
Qin Ruoyan clearly disliked Mu Zhengnan and demoted him to feed the horses, so how could she possibly promote him to be the steward of the post station?
His every move was very natural, without the slightest abnormality. If she didn't know his personality well, Shen Lixue would have given up her suspicions about him: "Young Master Mu, this brocade robe you are wearing is also made of silk, right? It's worth a thousand taels of silver. As the steward, your monthly salary is not much. How come you wear the same material as your master?"
Mu Zhengnan looked in the direction of the sound and saw Shen Lixue. Her beautiful face was fair with a rosy glow, and her jet-black hair was loosely tied up, making her look elegant and noble. The scarlet pearl flowers and swaying leaf-shaped earrings complemented each other perfectly, making her even more stunning and otherworldly. A hint of amazement flashed in his eyes. In the few months he had not seen her, she had become even more beautiful and charming.
The temperature around him seemed to drop slightly. Mu Zhengnan was startled. He glanced at Dongfang Heng out of the corner of his eye and quickly lowered his head: "This humble subject brought back a silk brocade robe. The princess was pleased and rewarded this humble subject with one."
Silk brocade garment!
Wang Jing frowned, then his eyes suddenly lit up: "When I was drunk, I closed my eyes and opened them again, and I saw a corner of a dark purple silk garment..." The corner of the garment disappeared in an instant, so he didn't pay attention to it.
The other four guards' eyes narrowed, and they pointed at Mu Zhengnan as if they suddenly realized something, saying, "That day, he was wearing dark purple clothes. The fabric was very nice, and we took a few more glances at it."
When Wang Jing returned to the room where the cannon was, Mu Zhengnan had clearly left. He opened his eyes and saw the dark purple robes, indicating that Mu Zhengnan had later been to their room...
Mu Zhengnan's eyes narrowed instantly, then returned to normal. He said dismissively, "People who drink alcohol are prone to blurred vision."
Wang Jing looked at Mu Zhengnan and sneered, "After opening my eyes, I was perfectly lucid and there was no way I could have imagined it."
Mu Zhengnan frowned: "Dark purple is the most popular color this year, and many people in the capital wear it. Even if you did see the hem of the garment, that person might not be me."
“It’s the middle of the night, the guests are all resting, who would come into our room to wander around?” Wang Jing pressed on relentlessly. The thief who stole the cannon was right in front of him, and the chance to prove his innocence was right in front of him. In this life-or-death emergency, he would not let his guard down.
“Wang Jing, I know that the cannon was lost. You have committed dereliction of duty and will be punished. You will lose your positions and be demoted to commoners. You are upright men. If you do something wrong, you should be punished. How can you try to get away with it by falsely accusing me?”
Mu Zhengnan shouted indignantly, as if he had been wronged and suffered a great injustice. His heart was churning with turbulent waves. The drug in the wine was cleverly added. After drinking it, no matter how much time passed, people would feel as if they had only closed their eyes for a moment.
Losing the cannon was a dereliction of duty, at most he would lose his official position. No matter how sad Wang Jing was, he would not suspect him. But now, why is he like a mad dog, clinging to him and refusing to let go?
Mu Zhengnan was unaware that Dongfang Xun had issued a kill order to the guards. In order to survive, Wang Jing and the guards were trying their best to recall every unusual thing that happened in Taiyuan that night. Grasping the clues was like grasping a lifeline, so they would not let go easily.
"You didn't steal the cannon, so what were you doing in our room in the middle of the night?" Wang Jing looked coldly at Mu Zhengnan, thinking he could get away with it, but it wouldn't be that easy.
"I already said, I didn't go to your room, and that hem of clothing isn't mine." Looking at the suspicious gazes of Wang Jing and the guards, Mu Zhengnan sighed helplessly: "If you don't believe me, then tell me, what would a commoner like me need a cannon for?"
The guards were all intoxicated and no one saw what he did. As long as he remained silent, no one would know.
“You must have your reasons for stealing the cannon; how could I possibly guess?” Wang Jing couldn’t find a reason for Mu Zhengnan to steal the cannon, but he clearly saw the dark purple hem of Mu Zhengnan’s clothes, so the cannon was definitely stolen by Mu Zhengnan.
Mu Zhengnan's face was gloomy. Wang Jing was being unreasonable, trying to pin the missing cannon on him. Although the cannon's disappearance was indeed related to him, he could not admit it. He suppressed his anger and muttered impatiently, "It's like a scholar encountering a soldier; you can't reason with him."
Wang Jing's arrogant gaze suddenly sharpened. Mu Zhengnan was indirectly insulting him, calling him a mere warrior with a bad temper, no talent, and a penchant for nagging. Mu Zhengnan was a refined scholar, and there was no reasoning with a blockhead like him.
A surge of anger welled up within him: "Your Highness, I am absolutely certain that Mu Zhengnan stole the cannon." Did Mu Zhengnan dare call him unreasonable? He would show Mu Zhengnan what unreasonable was like.
"Wang Jing, don't make false accusations." Mu Zhengnan was shocked and glared at Wang Jing, his anger rising. He couldn't understand why Wang Jing, who had been so ambiguous just moments before, had suddenly changed his mind and confirmed his guilt.
Dongfang Xun was slightly taken aback, but quickly regained his composure: "Guard Wang, are you sure it was Young Master Mu who stole the cannon?"
"It's absolutely true. I swear on my life that Mu Zhengnan stole the cannon. I told the Emperor the same thing." Taking advantage of his hometown ties, he tricked him into drinking wine laced with something, and the cannon went missing. He suffered, and his four friends were implicated. Mu Zhengnan didn't even offer a word of apology, and instead called him an unreasonable brute. Why should he still be polite to Mu Zhengnan? He'd rather die than let him take him down with him.
“Your Highness, he’s lying. He just said he only saw the corner of my clothes, so he can’t be sure I stole the cannon.” Mu Zhengnan hurriedly explained, a fine layer of sweat beading on his forehead.
He felt that his plan had been executed perfectly and flawlessly, and that Wang Jing would not suspect him. That's why he returned to the capital so openly. If he had known that Wang Jing was so unreasonable, he would have gone to another place to avoid trouble and would never have returned to the capital.
“You made Guard Wang drunk, so his mind was hazy. When he opened his eyes, his head wasn’t very clear. He probably really saw your face but didn’t remember it for a moment. Now that he’s figured it out, he changed his story, so there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Mu Zhengnan was a frail scholar, but Dongfang Xun's impression of him was that he was cunning and treacherous. Every word he spoke was a mix of truth and falsehood, making it difficult for people to distinguish between them.
Wang Jing was a martial artist, straightforward and honest, and full of righteousness. He spoke his mind and said what he meant. He said he saw Mu Zhengnan's clothes, so it was very likely that Mu Zhengnan really had been to the room.
As the heir of the Holy King's Mansion, Dongfang Xun would not favor either side without concrete evidence: "Young Master Mu has repeatedly cried out that he is innocent, and Guard Wang has not been able to produce any more concrete evidence. It is difficult to distinguish the truth from the falsehood..."
Mu Zhengnan's lips curled into a mocking smile. Either he stole the cannon, or he didn't. The words of the Holy Prince's heir were as good as saying nothing.
Wang Jing's gaze sharpened. His words were contradictory, and the prince had actually believed some of them. It seemed he genuinely wanted to save the guards: "Mu Zhengnan, if you want cannons, come out and fight us openly. Sneaking around, drugging them, and switching them out—what kind of hero are you? You're just a despicable thief..."