Chapter 77 Chapter 77 Accident

The Great Zhou enjoyed peace for a long time, and the capital city of Shangjing was prosperous and wealthy. There were hundreds of brothels of various sizes in Waizili on both sides of the Bian River. The large ones could accommodate thousands of people, while the small ones were even more exquisite and extravagant, and were frequented by high-ranking officials and dignitaries.

As night falls, these small courtyards scattered nearby raise colorful flags and embroidered banners, hang charming red gauze gardenia lanterns on the eaves of the four corners, and sing and dance all night long.

At this moment, everyone was half drunk and their eyes and ears were hot, but the charming and beautiful atmosphere in the yard was shattered by the cold and stern soldiers who suddenly broke in.

Rows of armored and sharp-armed imperial guards rushed in fiercely, their iron armor clanking and making loud exclamations all around. The courtyard, which had been bustling with music and singing just a moment ago, was suddenly in chaos.

"Get out of the way! The authorities are investigating the case!"

"Anyone who stands in the way will die! Anyone else, get out of the way!"

Li Baoji cursed angrily, tugged at his clothes nonchalantly, and strode out of the front courtyard corridor.

Torches outside the courtyard were like dragons, illuminating the surrounding area as bright as day. Hundreds of soldiers in bright armor had surrounded the front yard, making it impossible to get out.

The man in the lead was wearing a suit of silver armor with fine scales and a long sword hanging from his waist. The flickering light of the fire fell on his well-defined face, outlining a pair of cold and sharp eyebrows.

It turned out to be this person named Lu.

Li Baoji's expression changed slightly.

Lu Chen stood at the bottom of the stairs, his eyes fixed on the hideous bloodstain on his neck for a moment. A layer of cold sweat suddenly broke out on his back. The shock and anger in his heart were simply beyond words. He unconsciously tightened his grip on the hilt of the knife, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged.

The wound was still bleeding, and the blood had not yet clotted. It was obvious that the cut had been made not long ago, no more than a cup of tea.

It's self-evident how this injury came about.

He hardly dared to think about her current situation, nor did he even need to think about it.

If the beast hadn't deliberately forced her, why would she have to fight to the death to defend herself?

This wasn't something she should have done!

Lu Chen slowly raised his eyes and met Li Baoji's gaze. His voice became completely cold, almost unable to conceal the murderous intent in his voice. "The Imperial Guards will pursue the spies. All idlers must retreat."

When Li Baoji thought that his good thing had not yet been accomplished and the troublemaker had come first, he suddenly felt a little anxious.

After all, that woman is an official's wife. If she is found here, it will be difficult to deal with her.

"This prince has never seen any spies. If you want to investigate, look elsewhere."

Lu Chen's eyes were calm, and he sneered, "This matter is not up to the Second Prince. Now that I have received the tip-off, it is my duty to thoroughly investigate this place today. The Xiqiang marriage proposal was not easy to come by. I hope the Second Prince—" He paused for a moment, his voice suddenly sinking, "Don't force me to resort to violence."

Hearing the threat in Lu Chen's words, Li Baoji's eyes turned sinister for a moment, and he asked with a cold smile, "If you disturb my interest, can you bear it?"

Lu Chen looked at him expressionlessly, as if he were looking at a dead man. "If the spies interfere with the defense of the Great Zhou, I'm afraid the Second Prince will not be able to bear the consequences."

Li Baoji narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard this and sneered: "You are threatening——"

Before he could finish his words, Lu Chen had already taken half a step forward, his eyes as cold as a knife.

“Clang——”

Seeing his action, the imperial guards on both sides suddenly drew their swords. Dozens of long swords were unsheathed at the same time, with the shining blades pointing directly at Li Baoji.

Facing the pale moonlight in the sky, the sharp steel knife emitted a dazzling cold light, like lightning, casting circles of cold halos around his neck.

The yard suddenly became quiet for a moment.

Li Baoji licked his back teeth, raised his head, and looked at Lu Chen sinisterly.

After all, he is a brave warrior who has fought on the battlefield and has blood on his hands. He is different from those dandy boys who have become soft-hearted after living in a wealthy family. If you really fight him, he may not end up in an easy situation.

Although he wanted to disgust Xie Yunzhou to death, it was not worth delaying the marriage for this. For the time being, it would be better to send her away first. There was no rush to succeed anyway. Even if it really didn't work out, the worst that could happen was to find a secluded place and kill the woman with a knife, which would still vent his hatred.

Having made up his mind, Li Baoji put one hand behind his back and made a gesture.

In the shadow of the corridor corner, a Qiang guard immediately retreated quietly.

Lu Chen caught a glimpse of the secret movement over there, but pretended not to notice.

The reason why he was able to suppress his shock, anger and hatred tonight and hold back his murderous intent from taking action was because he was waiting for this moment.

As soon as he received the news, he led his men to search without stopping for a moment, and finally found a clue, but found out that Li Baoji had booked the entire row of private rooms and courtyards for a large sum of money.

This row of brothels and courtyards were built by the water, with water pavilions as dense as a honeycomb. The tributaries of the Bian River crisscrossed each other, and underground canals connected the back doors of each courtyard. People could be sent away quietly in a small boat.

Her safety was at stake at the moment. If she was a minute late, she would be in greater danger of being bullied. Now it was too late to move the boats to close the river.

If we searched every water pavilion one by one, we would probably not be able to find any trace of her until the middle of the night. This would alert the thieves, and who knows where they would send her in secret, or even kill her in the chaos to silence her.

At that time, everything can be attributed to a misunderstanding. Since the marriage is a major issue, even if it is brought to the court, the most that can be done is an apology.

This concerns her life, and he cannot afford to gamble even a little bit.

The only option was to make a big noise first to lure Li Baoji out, force this thief to reveal his weakness, and then let Xie Yunzhou follow and rescue him.

Lu Chen calmly withdrew his gaze and raised his chin slightly.

Xie Yunzhou was hiding on a nearby roof with his men. Seeing this, he immediately followed quietly.

Seeing that the guards in the dark had retreated to the backyard, Li Baoji took a half step forward, deliberately delaying time, and gave Lu Chen a provocative smile, "General, you are so anxious, someone who didn't know would think you had lost your wife and was searching all over the city for her."

Lu Chen suddenly smiled and said calmly, "Second Prince, you probably don't know this, but the last person who plotted against my wife, I personally threw him into the Bian River to feed the fish and shrimp." As he spoke, his dark eyes stared at Li Baoji, as quiet as a cold pond. "If anyone dares to bully my wife, I will cut them into pieces to vent my hatred."

Inside the house, Zhe Rou didn't know what happened in the front yard. She only heard shouting and footsteps in a mess, as if there was a big conflict.

Seeing that the guards were lax at the moment, Zhe Rou made up her mind and fled without hesitation during the chaos. However, before she could reach the door, two Qiang soldiers rushed back and blocked her way.

Two Qiang guards grabbed her slender arms tightly with their big hands like iron clamps, covered her mouth and nose, and dragged her roughly towards the back door.

Zhe Rou was horrified.

It was early spring in March, a time of chilly weather. She was about to come out of the house. Her clothes, which had been soaked with cold sweat, stuck to her back. When the night wind blew, the biting chill immediately penetrated into her bones.

The noise in the front yard...could it be Lu Chen?

Lu Chen was a cautious and thoughtful person by nature. If he came to rescue someone, he would never just use brute force to break in. He must have a backup plan. She couldn't just let the Qiang bandits take them away quietly like this!

Zhe Rou was held hostage by two Qiang men and dragged down the stone steps. While stumbling, he kicked over a flower pot with force.

With a "bang", the sound of porcelain breaking was particularly harsh in the night.

Xie Yunzhou chased to the shadows of the backyard and just heard the sound. He immediately identified the location and drew his bow and arrow.

The next moment, a sharp arrow came rushing over with a whistling sound, and suddenly pierced through the throat of the Qiang guard beside her!

Zhe Rou felt a heat on her cheek, and warm blood splashed all over her face. She heard the "ho ho" sound of Qiang Wei in her ears, and the force that was clamping her right arm suddenly loosened.

Zhe Rou froze for a moment, instinctively opened her eyes wide, and looked back. In the moonlight, she vaguely saw the familiar pair of handsome eyes.

It’s Mingqi.

Someone came to rescue her.

Zhe Rou's eyes were moist for a moment, and she wanted to call him, but she couldn't make a sound.

Xie Yunzhou spotted her immediately, and after successfully shooting an arrow, he leaped up and quickly chased after her, "Nineth Lady! Don't be afraid!"

Seeing that the situation was not good, the remaining Qiang guard responded quickly. He pulled out a dagger from his waist and threw it hard. Taking advantage of the gap when Xie Yunzhou dodged sideways, he lifted Zhe Rou onto his shoulder, ran away, turned the gate, and disappeared in a flash.

Xie Yunzhou chased after him relentlessly, but he didn't expect that this Qiang Liao was so skilled. Although he was carrying a person on his shoulders, his feet hardly stopped for a moment. He jumped over the low wall and jumped directly onto a small black-covered boat that had been parked on the river. He drew his sword and cut the rope, and suddenly pushed the long pole. The boat went down the river like an arrow, and disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Fortunately, Lu Chen had sent boats to block the river channel at the back door in advance. However, this row of courtyards along the water stretched for several miles, and it was difficult to know for sure which gate the Qiang Liao would use to send people away. The boats that were ambushed in advance were a little far away.

Chen Sui was guarding the boat with a few guards. Hearing the noise, they rowed hurriedly over. Xie Yunzhou jumped onto the boat and led his men to chase after the black-covered boat.

Under the moonlight, two small boats were sailing one after the other. Seeing that he could not catch up in a short while, Xie Yunzhou became anxious. He grabbed the longbow and shot three arrows at once in the moonlight.

In the dark night, the Qiang man saw a cold light breaking through the air. He hurriedly raised his sword to block it, but he didn't expect that two more arrows would follow, breaking through the air, hitting his heart and penetrating the bones.

The Qiang man roared in pain and suddenly pulled out a bloody arrow. The murderous light in his eyes was still there as he fell backward unwillingly.

With a dull "bang", the corpse hit the boat, causing it to shake violently several times and splashing water.

The shackles behind him finally disappeared, and all the strength in Zhe Rou's body seemed to be drained away in an instant. His legs softened, and he slid down the awning to sit down, breathing rapidly. Cold sweat soaked his clothes and stuck to his back.

Xie Yunzhou looked at her with burning concern.

Across the shimmering water, the moment their eyes met, Zhe Rou felt a sour heat in her nose, and her lips trembled unconsciously, "Ming Qi..."

Xie Yunzhou's tense heartstrings suddenly relaxed, and he belatedly felt his hands and feet go limp. He had to use his longbow to steady himself. His clear, smiling voice pierced the river breeze: "Nineth Lady!"

Everyone on the boat breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at each other.

After a short rest, seeing Xie Yunzhou's boat about to catch up, Zhe Rou managed to calm herself down, holding onto the awning with one hand, and was about to stand up to meet him, but her ankle suddenly tightened.

The Qiang man who should have died suddenly jumped up like a zombie, grabbed her ankle with his big iron hand, held it tightly, and dragged her over the side of the boat with a tremendous force!

This incident happened so suddenly that Zhe Rou had no time to react or struggle, and even before she could scream, she was tightly grasped by the Qiang man and fell heavily into the icy Bian River, and was instantly swallowed by the river.

With a loud "splash", countless water splashed.

“…Nine Lady!”

The danger suddenly occurred in a flash. Xie Yunzhou's face suddenly changed. Without thinking, he jumped into the river, but Chen Sui held him tightly from behind, "Young Prince, don't do that! Send the guards who can swim to rescue them!"

It was March now, and the spring ice had just melted. The river water was bone-chillingly cold, with some ice still visible. Not to mention that this place was right below the Rainbow Bridge, where the water was at its steepest and most rapid, and there were many hidden stakes under the water. If an ordinary person fell into the water, he would be in imminent danger of death.[1]

Chen Sui's arms tightened like iron hoops, cold sweat soaking his back. If anything happened to Xie Yunzhou, he would be blamed for it!

"Get out of here!" Xie Yunzhou shouted, broke free from the shackles, jumped into the river, and swam desperately towards the direction where she fell into the water.

When Lu Chen heard the sound of fighting in the backyard, he immediately grabbed Li Baoji and threw him to the imperial guards. He chased her all the way here, but happened to see her being dragged into the water. He only had time to see the corner of her clothes fluttering and sinking into the cold river water.

His eyes were broken and his soul was scattered.

“妱妱——!”