Returning to Beijing
At the Yangzhou post station, a light rain was falling at night.
Xu Zhiyuan and Liu Rushuang sat facing each other, with a map of Yangzhou spread out on the table.
"So, you were sent by the imperial court to investigate the case?" Liu Rushuang popped a peanut into her mouth. "No wonder someone wants to kill you."
Xu Zhiyuan looked up: "Why did you come to my rescue, young lady?"
She shrugged. "I hate backstabbing the most. Besides—" She suddenly leaned closer, her smile sly, "You're so good-looking, it would be a shame if you died."
Xu Zhiyuan: "..."
The guards were so trying not to laugh that their faces turned pale.
Liu Rushuang clapped her hands and stood up: "Alright, since someone wants to kill you, I'll reluctantly protect you for a while."
Xu Zhiyuan raised an eyebrow: "How will you protect me, young lady?"
She drew her longsword, its cold gleam reflecting in her eyes: "Of course, we'll fight our way through!"
***
The next day, at the gates of Yangzhou.
Xu Zhiyuan sealed the seized evidence in a box and ordered his trusted confidant to send it to the capital by fast horse.
Liu Rushuang leaned against the wall, sword in hand: "Where to go next? Continue investigating the case, or march back to the capital?"
Xu Zhiyuan mounted his horse, a slight smile playing on his lips: "If you're not afraid of trouble, why don't you come with me to meet the Second Prince's men?"
Liu Rushuang laughed loudly and leaped onto another horse: "Just what I wanted!"
The two riders rode off in a cloud of dust, leaving only swirling dust on the official road.
**
Three days later, at the Yangzhou Grand Canal Transport Office.
Xu Zhiyuan and Liu Rushuang stood side by side in front of the hall, with more than ten guards behind them.
The transport commissioner, Zheng Min, looked terrified, sweat beading on his forehead: "Lord Xu, the accounts are all here, there's absolutely no problem..."
Liu Rushuang suddenly chuckled softly, flicking a copper coin from her fingertip, which struck a spot on the beam with a "ding."
"Splash!"
A stack of secret notes fell to the ground with a thud, landing right at Zheng Min's feet!
"The accounts Lord Zheng mentioned, could they be these?" Liu Rushuang raised an eyebrow, sword in hand. "Hidden on the beams, are they to keep out rats or people?"
Xu Zhiyuan bent down to pick up the account book, his eyes suddenly turning cold: "Last year, the grain transport deficit was 30,000 shi, all of which were reported as 'sunken ships' losses... Lord Zheng, did all these sunken ships sink into your granary?"
Zheng Min knelt down with a thud: "Your Excellency, please investigate! This is all... all..."
Before he could finish speaking, a hail of arrows suddenly rained down outside the window!
"Watch out!" Liu Rushuang spun around and swung her sword, deflecting several crossbow bolts and shoving Xu Zhiyuan behind a pillar. "There's an ambush!"
In the midst of the chaotic battle, Liu Rushuang's red robes fluttered, and her sword flashed like a bolt of lightning.
Even while fighting the enemy, she had the leisure to joke: "Lord Xu, are all officials this enthusiastic towards their enemies?"
Xu Zhiyuan stabbed the attacker in the throat with a backhand stroke, and said helplessly, "Miss Liu, you should concentrate."
"Don't worry!" she laughed, leaping onto the crossbeam and piercing the roof tiles with the tip of her sword.
"Boom!"
Sunlight streamed down, illuminating the archer's panicked face in the shadows.
With a flick of her wrist, Liu Rushuang unleashed a barrage of darts from her sleeve, followed by a chorus of screams.
Once the dust had settled, she landed lightly, her temples slightly disheveled, but her eyes shone with an astonishing brightness: "How was it? Was I a competent bodyguard?"
Xu Zhiyuan silently handed over a handkerchief: "Wipe the blood off."
That night, inside the inn courtyard.
Liu Rushuang slapped open the clay seal of the wine jar and took a big gulp: "You officials, scheming against each other all day long, are not as carefree as us Jianghu people!"
Xu Zhiyuan gazed at her elegant profile under the moonlight and suddenly asked, "Why isn't Miss Liu leaving?"
She chuckled as she turned the wine jar: "Because you're an interesting person—you're clearly a civil official, but your swordsmanship is quite good; you're clearly afraid of trouble, but you insist on going into deadly situations."
Furthermore because...
She had never seen anyone like him, with a burning pride hidden beneath his cool and aloof brows.
*
The following day, Xu Zhiyuan received a secret letter from the capital:
"The Second Prince colluded with merchants from the Li Kingdom to smuggle prohibited iron out of the country."
Liu Rushuang leaned over for a look, then slammed her hand on the table and stood up: "Fine! Treason and collusion with the enemy? This young lady is determined to handle this matter!"
She grabbed Xu Zhiyuan's sleeve: "I know where their cargo ship is hidden. It's the largest pleasure boat in Yangzhou, 'Drunken Spring Breeze,' with hidden compartments underneath!"
Xu Zhiyuan frowned: "How did you know?"
Liu Rushuang blinked: "I beat up a few thugs last night, and they told me about it while crying."
"..."
*
That night, the Qinhuai River was brightly lit, just like daytime.
Inside the "Drunken Spring Breeze" flower boat, the sounds of silk and bamboo instruments filled the air, and dancers swayed gracefully.
Xu Zhiyuan boarded the ship disguised as a wealthy businessman, while Liu Rushuang dressed as a dancer, her face veiled in red gauze, with a dagger hidden in her sleeve.
In a private room on the second floor, Zheng Min was having a secret conversation with a Li merchant: "This batch of ironware will depart at midnight tonight, Your Highness. What are your orders..."
Suddenly, a red figure flashed in through the window!
Liu Rushuang's sword flashed like lightning, aimed straight at the Li merchant's throat: "What are your orders? Tell me."
Xu Zhiyuan pushed open the door and entered, displaying his imperial censor's token: "Lord Zheng, come with me."
Zheng's face turned ashen, and suddenly he bit open the poison sac!
Liu Rushuang swiftly pressed his acupoint, but it was too late—blood gushed from the corner of his lips, and he died.
The Li Kingdom merchant took the opportunity to jump out of the window and escape. Liu Rushuang wanted to chase after him, but Xu Zhiyuan stopped her: "No need, leaving him alive will only cause trouble."
She raised an eyebrow: "You knew he would silence you?"
Xu Zhiyuan took out a secret letter from his sleeve: "Because the real evidence is already on its way to the capital."
...
The Yangzhou wharf was shrouded in morning mist.
Xu Zhiyuan loaded the last box of evidence onto the official ship, turned around and cupped his hands to Liu Rushuang: "Thank you for your help this time, young lady."
Liu Rushuang waved her hand: "What are you thanking me for? I'm doing this for justice, not for you!"
After a moment of silence, she suddenly asked, "Hey, after we get back to the capital, can I still come to you for a drink?"
Xu Zhiyuan smiled slightly: "As long as you don't use my study as a training ground anymore."
The two smiled at each other, and the morning glow dyed the river surface red.
...
As the official boat sailed to a narrow section of the canal, reeds grew densely on both banks.
Liu Rushuang stood at the bow of the boat, sword in hand, and suddenly frowned: "It's too quiet."
Xu Zhiyuan stepped out of the cabin, his gaze sweeping across the water: "There isn't even the sound of water birds; there is definitely an ambush."
Before the words were even finished, several rockets shot out from the reeds!
"Enemy attack!" the guards shouted urgently, forming a battle formation.
Liu Rushuang, clad in red, flashed onto the roof of the cabin, her sword sweeping away the arrows: "There's someone underwater!"
More than ten black-clad assassins burst out of the water, their blades flashing as they cleaved the official boat!
Xu Zhiyuan drew his sword to meet the enemy, his sword strikes as sharp as twinkling stars, precisely piercing the enemy's throat.
"Leave them alive!" he shouted.
Liu Rushuang sneered, "They can't be kept. They'll be spitting blood between their teeth!"
As expected, the wounded soldiers committed suicide by biting poison, leaving only one man whose jaw was dislocated by Liu Rushuang, who then tied him up like a dumpling and threw him onto the deck.
...
Three days later, outside Yongding Gate in the capital.
The Fifth Prince, Chu Huaijin, led his personal guards to welcome Xu Zhiyuan. Seeing Xu Zhiyuan disembark safely, he breathed a sigh of relief: "It is truly fortunate that Minister Xu has returned safely."
His gaze shifted to Liu Rushuang, who stood to the side in a dashing red dress, and he paused slightly, asking, "And who is this?"
Liu Rushuang clasped her hands in greeting: "Liu Rushuang, a wandering swordsman, saw injustice on the road and decided to hitch a ride."
Chu Huaijin chuckled and whispered to Xu Zhiyuan, "Your Excellency has made quite a stir in Yangzhou this time. I'm afraid my Second Brother will be getting restless."
Suddenly, a troop of imperial guards rushed in, and the commander-in-chief brandished a golden order: "By order of the Second Prince, Xu Zhiyuan is suspected of colluding with bandits and is to be immediately escorted to the Dali Temple for trial!"
Liu Rushuang's sword was already three inches out of its sheath, but Xu Zhiyuan pressed down on her wrist.
He calmly took out his imperial censor's token: "I am here by imperial decree to investigate this case. If you have any questions, you may speak frankly before the Emperor."
The commander of the Imperial Guards, his face ashen, was locked in a stalemate when he suddenly heard a cold, sharp voice—
"I'd like to see who dares to touch anyone from the Xiao family!"
Xiao Zhouyan, clad in black armor, led his iron cavalry, which swept in and instantly surrounded the Imperial Guards.
***
In the Zichen Palace, the Second Prince Chu Chengjing sternly accused: "Xu Zhiyuan condoned the indiscriminate killing of officials by bandits from the martial arts world, and there are many suspicious points surrounding Zheng Min's death!"
Xu Zhiyuan knelt and reported: "I have written testimonies from hundreds of thousands of people in Yangzhou as proof that Zheng Min colluded with mountain bandits to smuggle prohibited iron. The evidence is conclusive!"
He presented the blood-written letter and account books, and the emperor's expression grew increasingly grim as he read them.
Liu Rushuang suddenly burst into the golden hall, throwing down a token: "I, Liu Rushuang, am willing to testify that the Second Prince's assassins ambushed and killed government officials along the way!"
The token was engraved with the secret emblem of the Second Prince's residence, and the bloodstains were still wet.
Chu Chengjing's expression changed drastically: "You vixen, you're slandering me!"
Liu Rushuang sneered: "Do you want me to resurrect the dead people you sent to confront them?"
The emperor smashed a teacup: "Enough! Chengjing is confined to his residence and is not to leave without an imperial edict!"
***
Night, Xiao Mansion study.
Xiao Zhouyan pushed the secret letter in front of Xu Zhiyuan: "Although the Second Prince has been punished, Consort Li's collusion with Yan Zhan has deepened."
Liu Rushuang mumbled through a piece of apple, "So that damned regent is the mastermind behind it all?"
Xu Zhiyuan frowned: "The Li delegation is still in Beijing. Yan Zhan must have other tricks up his sleeve."
A soft cooing of a pigeon suddenly sounded outside the window. Xiao Zhouyan took down the pigeon's leg tube, unfolded the note, and his gaze suddenly sharpened—
"Three days from now, His Majesty will be assassinated in the Western Hunting Grounds."
Signed: Xue.
It's the Third Princess, Chu Xue Zhao!
Liu Rushuang clenched the apple core: "Hey, are all you officials this thrilling?"
Xu Zhiyuan and Xiao Zhouyan exchanged a glance and stood up at the same time.
"Miss Liu," Xu Zhiyuan suddenly spoke, "what follows is likely to be even more dangerous..."
Liu Rushuang drew her sword and slammed it on the table: "Enough with the chit-chat! What I love most is danger!"
Moonlight streamed through the window, elongating the shadows of the three figures, like the slow unfolding of a new game of chess—
At the end of the chessboard lies a bloody battle on the dragon throne.
***
Three days later, the flags and banners covered the sun in the Xiyuan hunting grounds.
Emperor Chu Huaiyuan, clad in golden armor and riding a white horse, drew his bow and shot down a deer, to which his ministers roared "Long live the Emperor!" The Second Prince, Chu Chengjing, followed closely behind, his smile gentle, as if the previous day's confinement incident had never occurred.
Consort Li, dressed in crimson riding attire, rode alongside the emperor, her gaze occasionally sweeping over the seats of the Li Kingdom delegation—Yan Zhan was raising his cup with a faint smile, but his eyes were filled with frost.
Xu Zhiyuan and Xiao Zhouyan rode side by side, followed by Liu Rushuang, who was dressed in a dashing red dress.
"Seventeen people are hiding in the woods in the northeast corner, and there's a crossbow reflecting light on the southwest slope." Liu Rushuang lowered her voice, "The emperor's life is probably in danger today."
Xiao Zhouyan gripped the reins tightly: "Proceed according to plan."
...
In the afternoon, during the hunt, the emperor rode his horse deep into the forest, and his personal guards were gradually scattered by the herd of beasts.
Suddenly, a sound of air being torn apart came from the sky—
"Protect the Emperor!" Xiao Zhouyan drew his longsword and deflected a poisoned crossbow bolt!
Dozens of black-clad assassins charged out from the forest, their blades aimed straight at the emperor!
"Your Majesty, be careful!" Shen Rou cried out and rushed towards the emperor, but was grazed on the shoulder by a stray arrow, and blood instantly stained her riding clothes.
Xu Zhiyuan and Liu Rushuang attacked simultaneously, their swords flashing like a net, forcing back the three assassins. In the midst of the melee, Xu Zhiyuan suddenly saw a flash of cold light from the Second Prince's sleeve—
"clang!"
Liu Rushuang's dart knocked the short blade from the Second Prince's hand: "Your Highness, you've dropped your dagger!"
Chu Chengjing's expression changed drastically.
In the chaos, an arrow silently pierced the emperor's back—
In a flash, Shen Rou shielded the enemy with her own body!
An arrow pierced her chest, blood splattering her imperial robes. The emperor, catching her, stumbled and fell to the ground: "My beloved consort!"
Yan Zhan suddenly leaped out from the delegation's seats, his long sword pointing directly at the assassin: "Protect the Emperor! The Li Kingdom delegation is willing to assist the Great Zhou in capturing the thief!"
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