Chapter 204 World Nine (I)
It was night. The sky was almost completely shrouded in a thick black. The wind blew and the rain fell, and the slender willow branches were swept up by the wind and rain, rising high in the air. It was raining heavily tonight, so before midnight, the streets were deserted.
Suddenly, a procession emerged from the somewhat deserted road. They wore oil-oiled capes, their scarlet brocade robes faintly visible beneath the silken cloth. All of them were tall, with slender arms and narrow waists. Their faces were tense, and their steps were dull as they advanced.
It was the Jinyiwei, a group of guards affiliated with the Northern Pacification Division. They obeyed no official orders, working solely for the emperor. The emperor praised the Jinyiwei for their loyalty. However, because they were ruthless and merciless, both court officials and the common people in the capital secretly referred to them as the emperor's running dogs.
The person at the head of the team was Jinyiwei commander Lu Yuanhui.
His icy eyes and eyebrows instilled fear in anyone who saw them. A few flashes of white light suddenly appeared in the pitch-black night, making Lu Yuanhui look even more ghostly. Scattered raindrops drifted down Lu Yuanhui's long brows, but his expression remained unchanged. His pupils, darker than the night itself, made him look like a slayer from the depths of hell.
The Jinyiwei stopped in front of a house. Someone in the team stepped forward and knocked on the door. An impatient voice came from inside: "My master doesn't see guests. Please come back another day."
Lu Yuanhui raised his palm slightly and said slowly: "Jinyiwei routine inspection."
His voice was slightly cold, like the drizzle in the night, which looked inconspicuous, but when it fell on the body, it caused a biting chill.
The doorman, who had been looking impatient, turned pale upon hearing this.
The doorman's legs were trembling, but he didn't dare to reach out to open the door. He hurried to look for the master.
Despite being treated so coldly, Lu Yuanhui remained calm. He retreated to the side, and the Jinyiwei behind him forced the door open.
Everyone in the house had already fallen into a deep sleep by this time, and even most of the candles were extinguished.
The Jinyiwei filed in, and soon the courtyard was filled with wailing, crying, and cursing.
When Lord Sun was brought before Lu Yuanhui, he was still wearing his white pajamas. He looked flustered, completely lacking the composure he had in the court.
"Commander Lu, why have you come here uninvited?"
Lu Yuanhui spoke again, his voice was ordinary and his words were smooth, without any ups and downs.
"In compliance with His Majesty's order, I have come to execute the Sun clan."
Upon hearing this, the composure that Lord Sun had just managed to maintain immediately disappeared.
He opened his mouth and was about to defend himself. He was a senior official in the court and the emperor could not treat him like this. He wanted to meet the emperor in person!
The flash of a knife suddenly appeared, Lord Sun opened his lips slightly, his eyes wide open, and he raised his hand, trying to stop the bleeding from his neck.
But in the end, he was powerless and finally fell heavily to the ground, his eyes still staring in the direction of Lu Yuanhui.
It can be said that he died with his eyes open.
Lu Yuanhui raised his foot and walked past Lord Sun's body.
The red blood mixed with the rain water and became muddy, flowing under the pair of soap-colored boots on Lu Yuanhui's feet.
Lu Yuanhui didn't need to say anything. With just a glance, the Jinyiwei beside him took his orders and raised the embroidered spring swords at their waists.
A female member of the Sun family crawled pitifully to Lu Yuanhui's feet, raised her beautiful face, and said in a mournful manner: "Commander-in-Chief, please spare my life."
That pleading look, as if she would immediately offer whatever Lu Yuan wanted. Whether it was the Sun family's wealth, beauties, or her...
But Lu Yuanhui just lowered his eyes and raised his foot coldly, leaving only the woman's sobbing voice behind him.
After a while, the rain gradually stopped.
After a Jinyiwei counted the number of people, they reported back to Lu Yuan: "There are a total of 146 people in the Sun family. All of them have been executed."
From the elderly and the weak to babies in swaddling clothes, no one was breathing.
Lord Sun colluded with foreign races and intended to commit treason. According to the law, his entire clan should be exterminated.
However, the emperor did not want the court to be in turmoil because of this incident, so he handed over the matter of dealing with the Sun family to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
From today onwards, the reputation of the Jinyiwei for being cold-blooded and ruthless will probably become more and more well-known.
Lu Yuanhui said in a deep voice: "Go back."
The Embroidered Uniform Guards hurriedly left the Sun Mansion and met the people who were leaving their homes late at night.
As soon as he saw the silent Sun Mansion and smelled the fishy odor on the Jinyiwei, he immediately understood what had happened.
The man stumbled away, fearing that he would be killed by the Jinyiwei.
Lu Yuanhui's brows turned slightly cold, and he left with the Jinyiwei behind him.
Lu Mansion.
It was clearly past three o'clock in the morning, but Zhang Qingping was still leaning on the railing, looking leisurely at the quiet mansion gate, hoping that someone would push the door open.
But she waited for a long time and still there was no movement at all.
The maid Zhiyi felt sorry for her young lady. She draped her fur-edged cloak over Zhang Qingping's shoulders and gently comforted her, "Madam, don't wait any longer. Commander Lu has never returned home since you married the master."
Besides, if Mr. Lu saw this, he would definitely be unhappy."
Zhang Qingping's eyes flashed with disgust, and she warned Zhiyi, "Don't call me Madam. The person I was supposed to marry was Lu Yuanhui... If not..."
If it weren't for her family's disdain for Lu Yuanhui's horrific appearance with blood on his hands, they would have sought out the prominent Lu family in Beijing under the pretext of doing good for her.
Upon hearing that Mr. Lu had lost his wife, he used threats and inducements, and even threatened Zhang Qingping's mother's life.
If she did not marry Mr. Lu as his second wife, her biological mother would have hanged herself at home.
Zhang Qingping was helpless and could only nod. Her mother held her hand and spoke gently, "Qingping, I won't harm you. Lu Yuanhui has countless lives on his hands and committed countless sins. If you marry him and get into trouble with his enemies in the future, you won't be able to save your life."
Although Mr. Lu is older, he has a refined temperament and is a good match for you.
Don't you like music, chess, calligraphy and painting? When you come to the Lu family, do you want to see any calligraphy works?"
Zhang Qingping's eyes were filled with hatred as she let go of her mother's hand. "Since I have agreed to this marriage, there is no need for me to say anything more, mother."
But when Zhang Qingping married Master Lu, she discovered that Lu Yuanhui was actually his son. How absurd was this? Originally, Zhang Qingping was supposed to be Lu Yuanhui's wife, but now—she was his stepmother. How could Zhang Qingping accept such a wrong marriage? Even when she returned home three days later, Zhang Qingping couldn't help but question her mother.
Seeing her like this, Zhang's mother still couldn't let go of Lu Yuanhui. Living like this with Master Lu in the future would not be a happy life.
Zhang's mother hardened her heart and tried to break Zhang Qingping's last shred of fantasy: "I know you resent your mother. But Qingping, you admire Lu Yuanhui, but does he have the same feelings for you?"
Before Zhang Qingping could admit it, Zhang's mother continued, "Lu Yuan returned to being the commander of the Jinyiwei, with countless subordinates.
If he truly loves you, he wouldn't watch you marry his father.
Qingping, even if Lu Yuan treats you with affection, it is only a faint affection, not as deep and lasting as you imagine."
Zhang Qingping's eyes were red and she was rarely angry.
She didn't believe anything Zhang's mother said. It was obvious that she and Lu Yuanhui were in love with each other.
Zhang Qingping first met Lu Yuanhui at a daughter's banquet.
Lu Yuan turned around and put on the Feiyu suit bestowed by the emperor, with an embroidered spring sword on his waist.
He said calmly that he wanted to arrest the criminal, and after saying this simple sentence, he did not explain any further.
The Jinyiwei's swift and decisive actions scared many noble ladies at her daughter's banquet, and Zhang Qingping was naturally afraid of them as well.
But when the murderer put the knife to Zhang Qingping's neck in order to save his life, he shouted that if the Jinyiwei did not let him go, he would take Zhang Qingping with him to die.
But how could someone as ruthless as Lu Yuanhui be threatened by such words?
Lu Yuanhui picked up the crossbow, and in just a moment, the crossbow arrow pierced the criminal's neck.
Zhang Qingping collapsed to the ground in fear. When she raised her eyes, she could only see Lu Yuan's receding back.
After that, they met again. Zhang Qingping suppressed the fear in her heart and approached Lu Yuanhui.
She saw another side of Lu Yuanhui that no one else knew.
Zhang Qingping originally thought that she and Lu Yuanhui would become husband and wife and live together till old age, but all of this was ruined by this wrong marriage.
At the Lu Mansion, when Zhang Qingping saw Lu Yuanhui, she wanted to run towards him in front of everyone.
But Master Lu grabbed Zhang Qingping's wrist and said coldly, "Madam, please be careful and don't lose face."
Zhang Qingping hesitated for only a moment, and then she could no longer see Lu Yuanhui.
She intended to inquire in the mansion, but heard that Lu Yuanhui stayed at the Northern Pacification Office all day and had no time to come back.
Zhiyi, having received Mother Zhang's instructions, naturally tried to persuade her again. But when she saw a figure, she quickly leaned over and gently tugged at Zhang Qingping's sleeve, "Madam, it's the Master..."
When Zhang Qingping saw Mr. Lu, she frowned and turned away without paying attention to Zhiyi's dissuasion.
Zhiyi hurriedly explained: "Madam is in a bad mood, not because of the master..."
Mr. Lu said gently, "It's late at night. Please persuade Madam to rest early and don't hurt her body."
Zhiyi nodded quickly and stood up to chase after Zhang Qingping, thinking to herself: Mr. Lu has a gentle temperament, much better than that vicious Lu Yuanhui, why can't the young lady see clearly.
In addition, even if Lu Yuanhui is a good person in every way, if the young lady becomes Lu Yuanhui's stepmother, there will be no possibility for the two of them. The young lady should just live a good life instead of making things difficult for herself.
Northern Pacification Office.
Lu Yuanhui untied the oil cape soaked with rain, revealing a scarlet flying fish robe with dark patterns floating on the waist.
The embroidered pattern of a dragon head and a fish body looked a bit strange when worn by Lu Yuanhui, coupled with his cold expression.
The Jinyiwei maintained by the emperor are all carefully selected. They must be tall and handsome, and they must be loyal to His Majesty.
To ensure their loyalty, orphans made up the majority of these Jinyiwei.
They have no father or mother, and if they want to live a good life, they can only obey the emperor and enjoy power and majesty.
Wei Mao was one of them. He had a poor life and no relatives to rely on in the world, so he developed an introverted personality.
Wei Mao doesn't like to talk and is mostly silent, but he is one of Lu Yuanhui's best subordinates and obeys Lu Yuanhui's orders very well.
Lu Yuanhui was not a heartless man, and he had some affection for Wei Mao.
Therefore, when Lu Yuanhui heard everyone mention Wei Mao, his ears twitched slightly.
"Where did Wei Mao go? Why didn't he return to the Northern Pacification Office?"
"He had just been married, and as soon as he finished his errands, he hurried home."
"Get married? Which girl is it?"
"She was the daughter of a street vendor. Wei Mao had helped her drive away some bad guys, and that's how they got to know each other.
Wei Mao loves his wife very much. These past few days, I often see him lost in thought while holding a handkerchief. On the handkerchief are embroidered the words "Bao Shan" (precious fan), which might be his wife's name.
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