Chapter 210: I’ll Be Leaving First!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The wind was blowing, and clouds were gathering. Occasionally, there was muffled thunder in the sky. The streets and alleys were gray, and the sidewalks were full of pedestrians returning home quickly.
Ye Jingtang rode Third Lady’s black horse and sped past West Center Street. On the side of the horse was hanging the Black Qilin Spear wrapped in black cloth.
The bird, who had just woken up, curled up at the base of Ye Jingtang’s legs listlessly with its chin resting on his thigh. It was looking at the street and sounded like it was humming: It’s going to rain. Tangtang is going to get married…
?
Ye Jingtang felt that this was what the bird meant, so he covered the bird’s eyes with his hand, causing it to shake its head.
Yesterday, he had received accurate information that the rebels wanted to rob the Marquis of Yun Ning Estate and that the dissolving oil had been poured. The Black Office had been patrolling overnight and secretly setting up defenses. The current situation was still unclear, but the capital was as quiet as usual. It seemed that the thunder had yet to explode.
In order to make it easier to command, Dumdum had stayed in the Imperial City yesterday. Ye Jingtang rode his horse at full speed to the vicinity of the imperial guards’ encampment in the west of the city. When he didn’t see Dumdum’s carriage, he took his waist token and flew up the palace wall to the corner tower in the northwest.
The corner tower itself was an important protective facility of the palace. There were secret guards stationed inside all year round, and chief constables of the Black Office changed shifts here to assist with the defense. The last time he saw Dumdum taking a bath, he had even come a few times.
When Ye Jingtang arrived outside the tower, he saw She Long and Shang Jianli standing by the city wall, surveying the area with monoculars. A group of palace maids in colorful clothes were standing at the entrance of the corner tower, and there was a carved carriage beside them. A conversation between two women came from the window.
“Did he really marry more than ten women?”
“I’ve checked the history books. There were more than a dozen officially wedded wives and concubines, but I’m afraid there were even more without a status…”
“How can that be~? The book is so romantic. I thought he was a modest gentleman…”
“How can a modest gentleman do something like enter the palace to steal the empress dowager? Novels can’t be taken seriously…”
When Ye Jingtang heard the gentle and charming voice, he knew that it was the empress dowager and the Prince of Jing inside. He tidied up his clothes slightly, went to the door, and cupped his hands. “Greetings, Your Mahesty, Your Highness.”
In the room, the empress dowager, who was wearing a gorgeous phoenix dress, was standing with her hands folded at her waist. She looked pitiful and a little unhappy. Seeing Ye Jingtang arrive, she nodded. Because it was an official occasion, she didn’t say anything and looked elsewhere.
Dongfang Liren was wearing a python robe and a jade belt. She was standing in front of the window, facing the city with her hands behind her back, looking full of energy. When she heard the voice, her eyes lit up, and she turned around. “How was your rest?”
Ye Jingtang hadn’t moved while Heroine Luo served him. He had rested very happily and smiled. “Very good. Did anything happen last night?”
Dongfang Liren walked out the door and picked up the bird that wanted to enter the room to ask the empress dowager for food. She brought Ye Jingtang to the corner of the turret facing the city and looked at the Marquis of Yun Ning Estate in the distance. “The guards patrolled all night yesterday. But there’s no movement for the time being. The tunnel of the Longevity Palace was dug out for more than 100 feet, but the rebels stuffed some poison along the way and injured a few people. It’s impossible to dig it out for a while.”
So, now we can only wait for the dissolving oil to take effect?”
“We have already secretly mobilized people to help guard this place. However, in order to prevent the rebels from setting up traps and killing the prime minister, the important ministers of the Six Ministries, and the heirs of the vassal princes in the capital, currently, we can only get everyone to be on standby in the Black Office. If anything happens, we’ll rush over to help immediately.”
Ye Jingtang nodded slightly. Seeing that nothing happened for the time being, he didn’t say anything else. After sending Dumdum back to the corner tower, he carried the bird and patrolled outside the Imperial City, waiting for any movements below…
Meanwhile, thunder rumbled in the sky, and heavy rain poured down on the streets.
In a residential area one kilometer away from Jasper Pavilion, in a mansion under renovation…
The bamboo fence on the wall blocked the mansion under renovation. People dressed as workers and artisans gradually entered the mansion in the rain.
In the main hall of the mansion, the miscellaneous items had already been cleared away, and more than 30 people were standing with solemn expressions. The white-robed old man in the middle was the former Fist Chief, Liu Qiansheng. Beside him was the Prince of Wu’s heir, Nangong Shaofeng.
Beside them were ‘Heavenly South Hero’ Xiao Yuan, ‘Ya Province Spearman’ Hao Yuanzhou, and others. A portion of them were top experts hired by the Prince of Wu Estate from Jianghu for heavy benefits. The rest were loyalists cultivated by the Prince of Wu Estate and secret guards who had been exiled ten years ago.
After a year of planning, success or failure all depended on today’s battle. Even Liu Qiansheng, who had roamed Jianghu for 80 years, had a hint of graveness in his eyes.
After all, as long as they made a move today, they would face the minions of the Imperial Court in the entire Yun’an City.
The Seven Fiends of the Black Office, the Six Gates, the secret guards of the Imperial Palace, the imperial guards, and even righteous common people, every juncture was a natural chasm. Even if they had prepared meticulously in advance, it was hard to predict whether they would survive this battle.
However, there was an old saying in Jianghu: Fortune comes from danger.
Most of the people present were vagabonds who couldn’t gain a foothold in the Imperial Court and Jianghu. They hid all day and could rarely see the light of day. But as long as they succeeded today, not only would they attain glory and wealth, but they might even acquire the meritorious service of helping to rescue an emperor. No matter how great the risk, it was worth trying.
Cao Aning was once a junior commander of the secret guards. Because he knew the terrain of the capital and even the officialdom very well, he was the main executor of this plan. At this moment, he was standing in front of everyone with a bowl of wine in his hand and said loudly, “It’s hard to say if Fan Yu will survive being imprisoned. Xu Bailin served the country loyally last night. His Majesty will know of his contributions, and the Prince of Wu will also remember them. If this matter succeeds, the two of them will definitely be conferred the noble titles. Everyone will be the same!
“If you can leave Yun’an alive, His Majesty will bestow upon you hereditary titles. If you die and have a descendant, the titles will be bestowed upon your descendants. If you don’t have any descendants, you will be conferred titles posthumously. Your memorial tablets will be enshrined in the Hall of Heroes, and you will enjoy the incense offerings of Great Wei forever!”
Then Cao Aning poured half a bowl of wine onto the floor to pay homage to his dead brothers.
Splash-
The thirty-odd people present raised their wine bowls and did the same.
Cao Aning looked at the people getting ready and continued, “I, Cao Aning, come from humble birth and grew up in the palace. My master, Eunuch Cao, taught me since 1 was a child that when I should live, I must grit my teeth and endure humiliation. When I should die, I am duty-bound! Today, my comrades and I will use our lives as bait to lure the empress’s minions away from you. We will surely die. I only hope that you can succeed in this battle and not let us down.”
Standing in the middle of the crowd, Nangong Shaofeng, who was the military advisor, cupped his hands. “Sir Cao, don’t worry. As long as we can free Cao Qiansui and occupy the main forces of the Imperial Court, we have a ninety percent chance of taking His Majesty away.”
Liu Qiansheng, standing with his hands behind his back, nodded. “Imperial Preceptor Lu Taiqing, Imperial Teacher Daoist Xuanji, Ox-Head, and Horse-Face are not in the capital. The troublesome people in the capital are only the mysterious expert in the palace, Diting, Ksitigarbha, and the junior called Ye Jingtang. As long as Cao Qiansui can hold back these four people, Yun’an City will be unmanned. Little Friend Cao, you can go without worry.”
Hearing this, Cao Aning drank the wine in his bowl in one gulp, cupped his hands, and said in a deep voice, “I’ll be leaving first. I’ll drink and chat with everyone in the netherworld a hundred years later.”
Sir Cao, please leave first. We might be right behind you.”
After the crowd finished their bowls of wine, cupped their hands, and bade farewell, Nangong Shaofeng left the mansion quietly with more than twenty experts.
The five people who stayed behind were all the secret guards who had escaped from the capital ten years ago. They walked to the entrance of the tunnel without saying a word and jumped in.
Cao Aning stood at the door and watched as all the people gathered by the Prince of Wu left. His tragic gaze slowly retracted. After some thought, he didn’t jump into the tunnel. Instead, he took out a letter and silently left the mansion…
Rustle, rustle, rustle..
Unknowingly, it was already afternoon. A misty rain covered the city, and it was still as quiet as usual.
In the streets and alleys in the west of the city, Ye Jingtang was holding an oil-paper umbrella while slowly walking in the rain and leading his horse. On his shoulder was the extremely bored bird.
When handling cases, the constables of the Black Office always worked in pairs. But Ye Jingtang hadn’t officially entered the office. Dumdum didn’t arrange for any constable to be his partner. It was quite boring to patrol the streets like this.
However, as long as dissolving oil was used, something would definitely happen. The later the time was, the closer it was to the outbreak of the storm.
Ye Jingtang had never relaxed his vigilance. He was constantly paying attention to the streets and alleys. After wandering around for half a day, he didn’t find any rebels. Instead, a Black Office constable ran over from the street.
Ye Jingtang thought that there was an abnormal movement elsewhere and quickly walked forward. “Does Her Highness have any orders?”
The constable stopped in front of him and said anxiously, “There’s urgent news. Her Highness wants you to go over quickly.”
Hearing this, Ye Jingtang didn’t hesitate. He mounted his horse and galloped to the corner tower that served as the temporary commander’s residence.
In the afternoon, the empress dowager had already left. On the city wall outside the tower, it was full of experts. Shang Jianli and She Long were inside the watchtower. Even the secret guard, Yang Lan, and others were among them. They were gathered around a table and discussing seriously.
“Wasn’t Liu Qiansheng beaten to death by Jiang Zhahu?”
“That old far Xiao Yuan has been wanted for more than ten years but hasn’t been found. He actually dares to appear in the capital…”
“The Prince of Wu has put in a lot of effort…”
Ye Jingtang arrived behind She Long and saw two pieces of paper on the table.
The first was a list of names. Ther was the former Fist Chief, Liu Qiansheng, the Prince of Wu Estate’s ‘Young Teacher’ Nangong Shaofeng, ‘Ya Province Spearman’ Hao Yuanzhou, and others. There were even the names of a few officials.
On the other piece of paper was a map of the streets near the Marquis of Yun Ning Estate. All kinds of circular arrows pointed out in detail the temporary hiding places of more than twenty Jianghu martial artists, as well as the direction of attack, the rescued hostages, and the retreat route. It even marked the roadblocks set up in advance between the Marquis of Yun Ning Estate and the Kaiyuan Gate in the west of the city…
After Ye Jingtang looked at it, his eyes were slightly shocked. “Which sir is so powerful?”
Dongfang Liren was standing in front of the table and carefully examining the battle plan. “Just now, an unidentified informant sent these two pieces of paper to a patrolling constable. With such detailed information, there’s a high chance that there’s a mole among the rebels’ upper echelons. Shang Jianli, immediately send people to mobilize the imperial guards to replace the city defense forces in the west and detain all the city gate officials. Inform Meng Jiao to get all the people in the Black Office to standby in the west of the city. Order the Six Gates and the Firefighting Office to send people over to assist in defense…”
Ye Jingtang saw that Dumdum was directly transferring the main forces of the city defense and asked, “Is the information accurate?”
Shang Jianli indicated a few red circles on the battle plan. “I just went to the few places I pointed out. There are indeed experts hiding in the houses and waiting for orders. On the roofs of the retreat route, 1 found snow moth scale, Soft Bone Fragrance needles, fierce fire oil, and other traps to stop pursuers. The setup is interconnected, and the investment is huge. If the top experts, including the former Fist Chief, are all abandoned pawns of the Prince of Wu used for diversion, then the main force will probably be two of the Eight Chiefs joining forces to attack the Imperial City.”
Ye Jingtang looked at the Imperial City behind the wall.
Dongfang Liren said, “I’ve already asked the empress dowager and Her Majesty to move to the West Palace. According to the intelligence, we will quickly eliminate the rebels and the hidden dangers in the west of the city. If there are any abnormal movements in the palace, immediately withdraw to defend the palace. Don’t worry about the abnormal movements elsewhere in the capital. I’ll arrange for others to deal with them.”
“Yes, Your Highness..”
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