The King of Qin leisurely sipped his tea and said, "I, the King, was ordered to march north, passing through Songyang Prefecture, where I heard that Lord Chang was also present. Lord Chang, as you inspect the northern prefectures, counties, and districts on behalf of the Emperor, what have you discovered?"

Lord Chang hurriedly replied, "All is peaceful, no signs of unrest."

King of Qin sneered, "Yet I heard that recently Songyang has been capturing rebels?"

Lord Chang gasped, glancing at Magistrate Li, seemingly suspecting that it was Magistrate Li who leaked the information. He smiled, "In recent years, Songyang Prefecture has had troublemakers colluding with bandits, causing harm to the people. I have ordered Magistrate Li to set up a dragnet to capture them."

King of Qin chuckled, "Such troublemakers exist. What is his name?"

Lord Chang, now somewhat uneasy, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, "This criminal is insignificant. I fear his vile reputation might tarnish Your Highness's ears. I suddenly remembered an urgent matter, the cheating case in Yao County's township exam has been resolved..."

"Do not digress,"

King of Qin interrupted Lord Chang, twirling the thumb ring on his finger, casting a deliberate glance at Zhou Xuezheng, "I heard that Lord Zhou has a gentle and well-mannered daughter. I have been wanting to meet her. Bring them in."

Shortly after, several guards brought in Zhou Yan and Cui Anren.

Zhou Yan squirmed and cursed incessantly. When she saw her father, tears streamed down her face, "Father, who are these people? Bandits? They came to our house, beat our servants, captured me, gagged me, threw me into a carriage, and brought me here without explanation!"

Zhou Xuezheng signaled urgently, "This is His Royal Highness, the King of Qin. Kneel down and kowtow!"

Zhou Yan was taken aback. She was adept at handling situations and quickly knelt down to kowtow.

King of Qin paid no attention to her, instead scrutinizing Cui Anren, "Are you Cui, the scholar?"

Cui Anren knelt with a thud, "This student Cui Anren pays respects to Your Highness, wishing Your Highness good health."

King of Qin sneered, "On my journey here, I heard an interesting tale. Your fiancée, named Ji something, the daughter of a wealthy merchant in Huaiyang, deeply resents foreign occupation of our country. She voluntarily became a nun to pray for the people in the occupied areas and donated thirty thousand taels of silver. Where is she? Why isn't she here?"

Cui Anren clearly had no idea what was happening, anxiously looking to Zhou Xuezheng and Lord Chang for help.