Jing Shu gave the child two candies. "You explained it perfectly. Even a child knows the unit was seized. With evidence this solid, Officer, should you not address the housing issue first."
Director Zhang snapped, furious. "You cannot trust what children say. What do they know."
A fresh wave of boos rolled through the onlookers. Even the bystanders could not stomach that.
Jing Shu drew out a long "oh~" "Just now you said children understand reason and always tell the truth. Now you say children cannot be trusted. In this matter, only the children can testify for either side. So should we believe the children or not. Or do we believe them when it helps you and ignore them when it hurts you. Selective truth."
Shi Jiujiu, who had been watching for a long while, felt it was time to stand up for his goddess. Shi Jiujiu stepped forward. "Right. For fairness, either everything the children say counts, or nothing counts. You cannot pick which sentence is true just because you say so."
Director Zhang fell silent. He quietly held up two fingers toward the wavering officer. The senior officer gritted his teeth.
"I already said the property issue is too complicated. Each side insists it is right. We cannot rule a unit seized based on a few children. If your owner is truly a SWAT officer on a secret mission, we will talk when he appears. I am here for assault. Take those two away."
Others stepped in to grab Jing Shu and Wu You'ai. Jing Shu gave a slight shake of her head, then shouted, "Shrouded in horsehide is a hero's end, but do not break your hearts at the Yang Pass. The hero comes home, and you have occupied his house. Do you want to chill a hero's heart. Does the state really let you do whatever you want."
Shi Jiujiu held up a phone and streamed the whole scene. The live room exploded with outrage. Shi Jiujiu tucked the phone away and rushed in.
"You are just covering for your own. This is as obvious as lice on a bald head. They seized someone's home, and you ignore that but fuss about a scuffle."
"We are taking them back for questioning. We will get to the bottom of it," the officer said, swallowing his irritation under so many watching eyes.
"If you are investigating, take everyone who is on the floor in too. Why only these two. Are you not going to ask why the rest occupied someone else's home. This is perfunctory."
The officer finally snapped. "This person is obstructing law enforcement and insulting an officer. Ten days of labor reform. If anyone else objects, they go to labor reform as well."
Those about to argue clamped their mouths shut. Labor reform. My god. Had they seen the ones changing bulbs, cleaning, chained at the ankles. Those people were like slaves, working from dawn to dark.
With that, they grabbed Shi Jiujiu as well.
"You cannot do this. Do you know who you are taking. This woman was the one who piloted the shark submarine at Ai Jia and saved over a thousand people in the flood. She is standing up for justice," Shi Jiujiu shouted.
At the words shark submarine, some in the crowd remembered.
"It is her."
"I saw that video. Incredible."
The hubbub swelled again. The senior officer narrowed his eyes. What a coincidence. This was the woman whose deed had shielded Li Yuetian from disaster. Without her, Li Yuetian would already be down.
As a subordinate of the second-in-command, he had eaten humble pie in the Second Unit for a long time. Maybe this was a chance.
He called Captain Hu. "Yes, the woman who earned Li Yuetian his merit. The crowd is heated. I worry an arrest will cause trouble."
"Got it. Bring her in," came the answer.
Backed from above, the officer did not hesitate. The woman had stumbled into the power struggle between the top two. "Arrest them. A prince who breaks the law is punished like a commoner. If she hit them, she bears it."
Ignoring the mutter of the crowd, they hauled all three away. This was not before the apocalypse. They did not tiptoe around public opinion. These people struggled to eat. What could they possibly stir up.
Director Zhang's face bloomed like an old chrysanthemum. "Back to your business. If there is more trouble, I will assign you to the parking garage."
The onlookers scattered in a rush. No waves rose.
Director Zhang soothed the beaten men. "Do not worry. I will see justice done," he promised, then hurried off. There had been a snag, but things still followed his plan.
Where was he going. To knock on the villa door. This time Director Zhang did not believe that with the man's daughter in custody he could not pry out those nine hundred plus virtual coins.
Jing Shu, Wu You'ai, and Shi Jiujiu were taken to the mall in front of the Banana Community. Because procedures were a mess, they were crudely handcuffed in a cluttered area that looked like a warehouse zone, and their phones were confiscated.
"Stay put," the senior officer said, and left. He was not worried about escape. Unless they tore up half a wall, and even if they ran, the Big Data network could hunt them nationwide.
He had completed the task Director Zhang handed over. What Captain Hu would do with the woman was not his concern. To topple Li Yuetian, they had to erase her merit and best of all saddle her with a serious charge.
In the dark, Jing Shu took stock. It was a large sealed warehouse jammed with odds and ends, likely supplies salvaged from the flooded Second Unit.
Aside from the main door and two guards, there were no windows or exits. A good place to store materials. Her eyes brightened as she studied every object in the dimness. Of all places to be cuffed, a warehouse. How embarrassing, given her habits.
"What is this place. Why chain us in a dump like this," Shi Jiujiu called, his voice echoing.
"Because we cannot be seen," Wu You'ai said, settling into a comfortable position on the floor.
"Why?"
Jing Shu answered, "The first floor is the cafeteria, lots of foot traffic. The second floor is their station. If we crossed paths with anyone loyal to Li Yuetian it would complicate things. If I am right, the third floor stores weapons. That leaves here."
She took out a phone. "What is your Dou Eagle handle. Log in."
Shi Jiujiu stared. "Did they not confiscate our phones."
"I have two," Jing Shu said.
===
"Shrouded in horsehide is a hero's end, but do not break your hearts at the Yang Pass." That line is Jing Shu using two classical allusions to shame the officials and sway the crowd.
"Shrouded in horsehide is a hero's end" (马革裹尸, mǎ gé guǒ shī) echoes an old saying (often linked to the Han general Ma Yuan) that a soldier's honorable death is on the battlefield, buried in horsehide. It signals ultimate sacrifice for the country.
The story is like this: Ma Yuan declared that he would fight for his country until death and, if he fell, his body should be wrapped in horsehide (the skin of his warhorse) instead of a coffin. This meant he expected to die on the battlefield.
"Do not break your hearts at the Yang Pass" alludes to Yang Pass in the far west, famous for farewell songs so sad they "break the heart." Here it means: do not turn a hero's return into a scene of grief and humiliation.
The origin of that was from Wang Wei's (王维) Tang dynasty poem Seeing Yuan'er Off to Anxi (送元二使安西).
Famous lines: "劝君更尽一杯酒,西出阳关无故人." (Quàn jūn gèng jǐn yībēi jiǔ, xī chū yáng guān wúgù rén.)
"I urge you to drink another cup of wine, for once you pass west of the Yang Pass, there will be no old friends."
It have meaning: A farewell sentiment full of sorrow. To "not break your hearts at the Yang Pass" is telling someone not to weep too bitterly at parting.
Put together, plus the lines that follow, she is basically saying:
"Soldiers risk dying for the nation. Now the hero finally comes home and you have seized his house. Are you trying to crush a hero's spirit. Will the state really let you bully people like this."
It is a moral and patriotic appeal, designed to embarrass the corrupt Director Zhang side and win public support on the spot.
-
"a prince who breaks the law is punished like a commoner" also another classical allusion.
The phrase "王子犯法,与庶民同罪" (wángzǐ fànfǎ, yǔ shùmín tóng zuì) literally means:
"If a prince breaks the law, he is punished the same as a commoner."
It originates from Chinese legal and Confucian traditions, emphasizing equality before the law—at least in principle. The idea is that even nobles or members of the royal family should not be above justice.
The implication is:
Status doesn't exempt you from responsibility. Even if she's important, if she attacked someone, she must face the consequences.