Chapter 1229 Melee
Upon hearing this, both of their eyes lit up.
Yuwen Ye asked, "Who's leading this?"
Mu Xian said, "It was Su Changjing, the commander of the Right Valiant Guard, who led a group of people to the palace to report on their duties and express their gratitude. On their way out, they encountered Shang Shoufei, the general of the Left Thousand Bull Guard—" He paused here, glancing cautiously at Shang Ruyi. Seeing that Shang Ruyi frowned slightly but did not show any other reaction, he continued boldly, "I don't know what they said, but they ended up fighting."
Yuwen Ye asked, "Was a knife used?"
"Not yet. But when the news started coming in, it hadn't stopped."
"oh."
Yuwen Ye and Shang Ruyi exchanged a glance. Neither of them seemed surprised by the news. Shang Ruyi's bright eyes flickered slightly, as if she were looking forward to it.
Yuwen Ye took the handkerchief offered by Chang Wan and wiped his mouth, then stood up: "I'll go take a look."
On the other side, Shang Ruyi also stood up. She instinctively wanted to go with him, but as soon as she stood up, she immediately felt a weight on her legs. Looking down, she saw that, as expected, it was that chubby boy who rushed up and hugged her.
Little Yuan raised his chubby little face, rubbing his legs while muttering in a childish voice, "Mommy...don't go..."
Forget about being soft-hearted, Shang Ruyi's legs went weak at this.
She immediately reached out to protect her son's back while gently rubbing his face. Yuwen Ye also turned around and glanced at him, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said, "You stay home with him, I'll be right back."
Shang Ruyi wanted to go with them, but her legs were held by a pair of small hands. Helpless, she could only whisper, "You know, Su Changjing..."
Yuwen Ye nodded to her and then hurriedly left.
Watching his figure disappear outside the dining hall, leaving only a fleeting, warm breeze, Shang Ruyi sighed softly. Then, she looked down at her son, who was clinging to her like a vine, and squatted down to pinch his cheek in annoyance: "If it weren't for you, how much important work could your mother do?"
She was soft-hearted after all and couldn't bring herself to hit him hard. Xiao Yuangan's mouth was twisted to one side by her pinching, but he still giggled happily.
Shang Ruyi said, "Why don't you call me 'Dad'?"
"Giggle, giggle giggle."
"You little burden!"
"Giggle giggle..."
"snort!"
Although Shang Ruyi was angry, she had no choice but to reach out and pick him up.
Meanwhile, in front of Yong'an Gate on the other side, there was a scene of devastation. Dozens of people lay or sat on both sides of the passageway inside and outside the palace gate, their faces covered with wounds and their hands stained with blood, all of which showed the intensity of the battle that had just taken place.
But the melee is not over yet.
Right in front of the palace gates, the two groups of men were still facing off, with several men speaking with northern accents shouting the loudest—
"What are you Qianniu Guards? You're nothing but good-for-nothings who eat and drink in Chang'an. We've all been through thick and thin, why would we be afraid of you?"
"You, you dare to insult our Thousand Bull Guards!"
"So what if I curse you?"
"That's right, a bunch of useless trash who can't even lift a knife, yet they dare to act tough in front of us men!"
"Come on, chop these barbarians to pieces!"
The one who let out that final roar was none other than Shang Shoufei, whose eyes were already bloodshot in the crowd. His chin was bruised and there was blood at the corner of his mouth, clearly indicating that he had been beaten in the melee. Upon hearing his order, the several Thousand Bull Guards behind him, who had long been unable to restrain themselves, naturally rolled up their sleeves and charged forward.
Standing opposite them were naturally the Right Valiant Guards.
These men were burly and their fierce aura was even more intimidating than the swords they carried. After all, they had just come from the bloody battlefield of Hulao Pass not long ago, so they would certainly not suffer any losses in a fight.
But just as the other side charged forward, these people retreated almost simultaneously.
As they retreated, they shouted, "Watch out! Protect the General!"
And the one they were protecting was none other than Su Changjing, the Right Valiant Guard General.
Compared to the Qianniu Guard who was just scolded by his subordinates as "profiting from others' misfortunes," he was the one who had never been on the battlefield. Just because he was the Left Valiant Guard General and the son-in-law of Yu Dingxing, the Duke of Wushan, he was directly promoted to Right Valiant Guard Commander. Moreover, he had only been in office for a short time when he received such a huge advantage and took over such a large group of people from Shen Tu Tai.
He was thrilled, but also cautious, thanks to Yu Dingxing's reminder.
These people were all brought back by Yuwen Ye from Hebei and other places. They were strangers, in an unfamiliar place, and suddenly assigned to his command. It was inevitable that their morale would be low. That day at the Yu residence, after the Crown Princess left, Yu Dingxing reminded him more than once that appeasement was the priority.
“You’ve just started leading troops and don’t know the ways of the army yet. But as the saying goes, fortune and misfortune are intertwined. Giving you so many men will bring more trouble than this. If you don’t lead them well, things will get really messy.”
Those words still ring in my ears.
Su Changjing did just that. He spent almost all his time in the military camp these past few days, eating and sleeping with these people, just wanting to get along with them as soon as possible and make them truly one of his own.
Unexpectedly, when they led a group of these people to the palace to report on their duties and express their gratitude, they encountered the Thousand Bull Guards. Even more unexpectedly, Shang Shoufei, who was clearly in the same camp as the Crown Prince, would provoke them.
Normally, Su Changjing might have swallowed his anger and discussed the details with Yu Dingxing later, but today, he couldn't bear it.
On the way back from the Yu residence that day, Yu Mingzhu complained to him with red eyes, and he learned that she had just been ridiculed by the Crown Princess Yu Mingyue at home. Although they were all the Crown Prince's people and should follow the Crown Prince and Crown Princess's lead, Su Changjing had vaguely known some old stories about their family since the day he married Yu Mingzhu, and also knew about the discord between the two Yu sisters.
He could tolerate it if it was for official business, but when his wife was mistreated, Su Changjing was furious.
Today, he suddenly encountered Shang Shoufei—this person was originally the Princess Consort of Qin's own brother, but he had become a disciple of the Crown Prince. Originally, the two had no grudges and did not even have much contact. However, after being provoked by him, Su Changjing immediately realized that the Crown Princess was probably behind it all.
Unable to bear it any longer, he stepped forward to confront the Thousand Bull Guards when his men were being insulted. The exchange of insults escalated into a physical fight, resulting in numerous injuries on both sides, a scene that completely exceeded his expectations.
Su Changjing was both angry and somewhat panicked, especially when he heard the people around him shouting to protect him and saw the other party rushing towards him like wolves and tigers. He subconsciously raised his arm to block in front of him.
But the Thousand Bull Guards were already burning with rage and didn't care about anything else. Several of them rushed forward and started punching him. In the chaos, Su Changjing felt a blackout before his eyes and was hit in the face. Then he was hit several more times, making him see stars.
In the chaos, he sensed something was wrong and shouted, "Stop!"
But at this point, who would listen to him? The two sides were already locked in a fierce battle. Even those who had fought before and were exhausted and collapsed on the ground jumped up again. Seeing that the situation was not good, someone drew a knife from his waist.
Just as another chaotic battle seemed imminent, a deep, resonant voice suddenly rang out—
"Stop it, all of you!"
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