Chapter 110: Harassment

Chapter 110: Harassment

The Military Commandery of the Five Cities in the capital is responsible for patrols, theft, fire bans, and other public security matters. The Imperial Academy is located in East City, which falls under the jurisdiction of the East City Military Commandery.

Xin You could sense a strong malice in the tone of the leading officer and remained calm on her face: "May I ask, sir, what offense has our Bookstore committed? Why must we remove *Painted Skin*?"

A person following behind the leading officer shouted, "Don't shout carelessly; this is our Deputy Commander Han!"

"Commander Han," Xin You politely corrected her address.

Deputy Commander Han did not soften his attitude due to Xin You's politeness and said with a stern face, "Your Bookstore spread harmful books, causing panic in the capital. Everywhere, there are people setting fires and burning books. In just two days, over ten fires have broken out, and last night's fire even resulted in casualties. To restore peace in the capital, these harmful books must be confiscated. I hope Miss Kou will cooperate."

Hearing this, Xin You raised an eyebrow.

She had only mentioned that she was the owner of the Bookstore, but the other party addressed her as Miss Kou, indicating they knew about her deeds. Regardless of Miss Kou being the niece of the Undersecretary of the Imperial Horse Department, the incident where she saved the Princess Royale's daughter had happened not long ago. The fact that the other party came aggressively without any consideration suggested that their intentions were not simply about maintaining public order.

People influenced by rumors burned books, causing fires. Whether the Bookstore would get into trouble entirely depended on how the Military Commandery viewed it. If they deemed it unrelated, the Bookstore would be innocent; if they insisted it was related, they could find fault. The Military Commandery's disregard for Miss Kou's connections indicated that their actions were not merely enforcing the law but rather pointed to deeper issues.

The commotion caused by the Military Commandery had already attracted many onlookers, and Xin You heard their excited discussions.

"Did you hear that? *Painted Skin* is a harmful book!"

"It's terrifying! Yesterday, I told my son to burn the book, but he refused."

"What are you waiting for, Miss Kou? Quickly clear out those harmful books. If we have to do it ourselves, something might get damaged." Deputy Commander Han coldly urged.

Xin You met Deputy Commander Han's icy gaze and raised her voice slightly: "*Painted Skin* is just an ordinary ghost story. If there's anything extraordinary about it, perhaps it's its popularity—almost everyone who enjoys stories owns a copy. With thousands of copies sold, if ghosts truly emerged from the book to harm people as rumored, wouldn't they have acted much sooner?"

The onlookers nodded subconsciously.

That makes sense. The female ghost in *Painted Skin* is so powerful that even a Taoist's whisk couldn't stop her. If she really came out to harm people, wouldn't she have done more than just one heart?

Deputy Commander Han sneered, "Miss Kou sure knows how to talk!"

"I am just speaking from the heart."

"No matter what, *Painted Skin* has caused these troubles, and the books must be confiscated." Deputy Commander Han stared intently at the composed girl, "Are you going to resist the authorities?"

"I dare not. I understand Commander Han's concerns, but there's no need to clear out the books."

Deputy Commander Han raised an eyebrow, waiting to see how the girl would evade the situation.

Xin You smiled, "Because *Painted Skin* is so popular, it has been sold out."

"Sold out?" Deputy Commander Han was taken aback, never expecting such an outcome.

Liu Zhou, emboldened, interjected, "We don't have a single copy of *Painted Skin* left in our Bookstore."

When he once worried about running out of books, he never imagined feeling so relieved when saying they had none left!

Someone in the crowd spoke up, "That's true. Yesterday, my friends and I went to buy *Painted Skin*, but it was sold out. I ended up buying a poetry collection instead and fell asleep reading it."

Deputy Commander Han regained his composure, looking at the smiling girl, feeling a strange frustration.

How convenient that it sold out just now?

"Check it out," Deputy Commander Han instructed his subordinates.

Several subordinates quickly entered the Bookstore and conducted a thorough inspection, emerging empty-handed. One of them reported, "Sir, we didn't find *Painted Skin* on the shelves."

Deputy Commander Han stared intensely at Xin You, "Isn't your Printing House right behind your Bookstore?"

Xin You understood his implication and calmly replied, "The craftsmen have been working tirelessly, so they took a break a few days ago. There are no printed copies of *Painted Skin* in the Printing House."

"All sold out and printing stopped? Isn't that too convenient?"

Xin You smiled, "Indeed. While making money is important, overworking people isn't good."

"Go check!" Deputy Commander Han, unconvinced, gestured to his subordinates.

Manager Hu worried that these officers might deliberately cause damage, glanced anxiously at Xin You, saw her nod, and hurriedly said, "I'll show you around, sirs."

Several officers rushed into the Printing House, rummaging through papers laid out on tables.

The craftsmen were at a loss, not daring to make a sound.

Manager Hu felt both pain and relief seeing the disarrayed papers.

Fortunately, they hadn't printed extra copies considering sales. Even if these papers were ruined, the losses were minimal. Had they been piled high with *Painted Skin*—Manager Hu shuddered, unable to imagine the consequences.

After a destructive inspection, the officers returned to report.

"Sir, the Printing House is not printing *Painted Skin*."

Upon hearing this, Deputy Commander Han looked grimly at Xin You.

Xin You's eyes flickered, and a sudden image appeared before her.

Craftsmen carrying large boxes stumbled, and the boxes containing the printing blocks crashed onto Deputy Commander Han.

"Even if there are no printed books, surely you still have the printing blocks for *Painted Skin*?" Deputy Commander Han asked coldly.

Xin You snapped back to reality and did not deny it, "Of course we do."

The other party seemed intent on leaving no stone unturned, having failed to find printed books, now targeting the printing blocks.

"These printing blocks are a hazard. Have your craftsmen bring them out and destroy them publicly today!"

"That's too much!" Liu Zhou couldn't help shouting.

The shopkeeper Hu was also livid with anger.

Those printing blocks were the heart and soul of the Bookstore, crafted stroke by stroke by skilled artisans. These corrupt officials were truly going too far.

Deputy Commander Han glanced at Liu Zhou and coldly asked Xin You, "Is Miss Kou unwilling to cooperate?"

The young girl, who had been smiling politely all along, finally lost her composure: "Anyone who runs a bookshop knows that printing blocks are the foundation of their business. Commander Han, you want to destroy the foundation of my bookshop based on mere rumors and expect me to smile and comply?"

"Then Miss Kou is choosing to oppose our Military Commandery?"

Xin You sneered, "This humble citizen would never dare. If Commander Han insists, then have your men take out the printing blocks and destroy them yourselves. I cannot bring myself to destroy the foundation of my own business with my own hands!"

The loss of the printing blocks for *Painted Skin* can still be endured. If she hadn't seen that scene, she wouldn't have minded cooperating to get these hounds to leave quickly. But with Deputy Commander Han being hit so hard by those heavy boxes and not knowing the consequences, she couldn't let the craftsmen get into trouble.

Let Deputy Commander Han's subordinates handle it instead.