Chapter 71 All Beauties Grieve (2) They were all sitting on horseback, behind them...
Flames roared into the sky from the Red Sleeve Pavilion, as if the heavens had been set ablaze. The intense flames illuminated half the sky, engulfing everything in a crimson glow. The flames danced wildly, like angry dragons, while thick smoke billowed all around, blotting out the sun. The seven-story, four-pillar Red Sleeve Pavilion collapsed in the inferno.
The blazing fire made the faces of the onlookers flush red. The fire-armored soldiers of the Five Cities Garrison brought dozens of water-carrying carts to fight the fire, but the fire was too big, and their little bit of water was just a drop in the ocean.
The patrolling Imperial Guards also arrived. Their leader, Mu Long, frowned as he looked at the towering flames and asked the soldiers behind him, "The Red Sleeve Pavilion has always had excellent fire prevention measures. Why is there no shouting? Wait a minute! Where are the Embroidered Uniform Guard spies stationed here? They should have reported it as soon as the fire started!"
His brow furrowed sharply as he looked at his still-stunned follower, and struck him heavily on the head with the hilt of his sword, saying, "Those women have probably run away! Go and inform Wei Shengxian!"
The Northern Garrison Command was Emperor Chongming's most trusted henchmen. As early as when the Red Sleeve Pavilion was engulfed in flames, Wei Shengxian led his men to pursue it personally, and dispatched some soldiers from the Military Affairs Division to assist. Many of the courtesans in the Red Sleeve Pavilion could not ride horses, so even with the advantage of speed, they were still slow. It was easy for the Imperial Dragon Camp to infiltrate the capital, and they could hide their tracks under the cover of night, but it was difficult to open the gates of the capital at night.
However, they had captured fifty-eight court officials. With these officials in hand, Wei Shengxian could not easily make a move.
Zheng Biao, the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was a master at tracing clues. The capital was bustling at night, and he scouted ahead, discovering that they had split into eight groups to avoid attracting attention, but their final meeting point must be at the city gate.
The galloping horses kicked up the crimson robes of the Imperial Guards embroidered with flying fish, and they rode wildly toward the city gate.
Feng Bingzhu arrived at the city gate once again. The difference was that last time she was outside the city, but this time she was going to break down the city gate.
Behind Feng Bingzhu were a group of female soldiers dressed as commoners who had been rescued by Empress Xiaoxian during the previous female calamity incident. Eight years of day and night military training had greatly improved their combat physical fitness and skills. In addition to them, there was also an elite force of the Imperial Dragon Camp that had already been through many battles.
The soldiers guarding the city looked down at them warily and said, "So many people have gathered here..."
Before he could finish speaking, Feng Bingzhu shot an arrow through his head.
"Rebellion! Traitors! Traitors! Assemble!" The soldiers guarding the city realized the situation was dire and hurriedly shouted.
The capital city of the Great Huang Kingdom was heavily guarded after the night Empress Xiaoxian died. When the guards on the city wall saw that they were numerous and powerful, they immediately sent out a signal to call for reinforcements from all sides of the capital. However, with the Red Sleeve Pavilion ablaze, this flash bomb was not easily noticed.
"Don't be impulsive! All of you, step back!" Yu Yanhan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was so frightened that his voice trembled. He swallowed carefully and said, "They all have officials appointed by the court in their hands. You, you must not act rashly!"
Yang Yuan, the head of the city gate guards on duty tonight, raised his arm and waved it behind him, signaling the soldiers who were rushing in with swords to retreat.
Feng Bingzhu said coldly, "Open the city gates immediately."
Yang Yuan narrowed her eyes, and before she could even hesitate for a second, a sharp sound of a blade slicing through flesh rang out clearly. Blood splattered onto Feng Bingzhu's face, and an official fell lifeless to the ground. She casually sheathed her blade and said again in a calm voice, "Open the city gates immediately."
Most of the officials, with a sharp blade to their necks, trembled and said:
"Open the gate! Open the city gate!"
"We are officials appointed by the imperial court. If something happens to you greenhorns, can you take responsibility?"
"You damn green recruits, get them moving!"
"......"
"Drive faster!"
They were all afraid of death. Feng Bingzhu acted swiftly, killing one person for every minute of delay. In the few breaths that Yang Yuan, the head of the guards on the city wall, hesitated, she had already killed eight people.
One official was so frightened that he wet his pants, and Ren Pingsheng cursed, "Disgusting!"
The seven women, who were described as "wielding swords at their waists to slay ordinary men," laughed heartily. They each gripped the ropes binding their captives tightly, saying, "This is the power they wield!"
The officials had never suffered such humiliation, but the threat of death loomed over them. The highest-ranking official among them was Yue Yuda, the Minister of Revenue. Seeing that Feng Bingzhu was about to kill him, he shouted at Yang Yuan, "Fuck your mother! Open the door for them!"
Lin Wanzhou was both scared and excited. She hid behind Ren Pingsheng and looked at Feng Bingzhu's blood-covered, cold and ruthless appearance, and felt a sense of longing.
Seeing that more than a dozen officials had already fallen to the ground, and that his superior had not yet arrived, Yang Yuan knew that if he delayed any longer, he might also be implicated and suffer the consequences. So he said coldly, "Open the door for them!"
As the city gates roared open, reinforcements from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Military Command galloped in. Feng Bingzhu felt a chill run down her spine, as if she had returned to the full moon night when Empress Xiaoxian died.
The Imperial Guards moved too quickly. Under such circumstances, everyone knew that they had to leave someone behind to cover their retreat and buy time for them to conceal their whereabouts.
The iron hooves of the Imperial Guards pounded on the cold, hard ground. Behind them followed a large contingent of armored soldiers, clad in armor and wielding spears and swords, forming a dense square formation as impenetrable as a wall of bronze and iron, their eyes fixed intently on them.
Among the officials captured today, Yue Yuda, the Minister of Revenue, held the highest rank. As one of the six ministers, he felt humiliated to be coerced into this situation by a group of women. However, in this life-or-death situation, face was of no importance. With a cold, sharp blade against his neck, his voice trembled slightly as he shouted to Wei Shengxian, "Wei Shengxian, don't act rashly! Let them take the hostages out of the city first, then we can capture them! All the land under heaven belongs to the emperor!"
The city gate was wide open, and the Imperial Dragon Camp's support troops waited outside the city gate with their warhorses. Feng Bingzhu instructed the courtesans of the Red Sleeve Pavilion to mount the horses with the help of the soldiers, and to have soldiers who could ride horses ride with them to ensure that they would not fall off.
Ren Pingsheng was originally a female official. After Empress Xiaoxian died, she volunteered to leave the palace and became the owner of Hongxiu Pavilion. She watched as batches of girls or women were implicated and demoted to prostitutes because their families were convicted. In order to establish her reputation, she abandoned her gentle nature and was jokingly called "Oil-splashed Chili" by the people of the capital.
She watched them endure year after year in the Red Sleeve Pavilion, and now they all sit on horseback, with freedom behind them.
Ren Pingsheng absolutely refused to allow Wan Niang's fall from the thirteenth floor to happen again before her eyes. She looked at Wei Shengxian, who was sitting high on his horse, tightened the dagger against Yue Yuda's neck, and said, "Let them leave. Do not set up checkpoints to block them along the way. Otherwise, the remaining dozen or so officials will be killed immediately!"
The officials Feng Bingzhu killed earlier were not of high rank; it was merely to intimidate them. The rest...
These dozen or so officials all held high positions in the court, and even Wei Shengxian had to be wary of them.
Wei Shengxian's pale, gloomy face showed only a red lip. Hearing this, he raised his eyelids slightly and said, "Boss Ren, you really have some guts! You've quietly set up such a big stage, but if I let your coerced officials leave, who knows if you'll turn on them halfway through?! We do business fairly. You have to leave some of your hostages to watch over ours before I can let them leave the city!"
Ren Pingsheng knew she had to get them out of the city before Emperor Chongming's decree arrived, otherwise complications and haggling would easily arise and waste time. She shouted to Wei Shengxian, "I'll leave hostages here. They can take half of them. Once we get there, we'll release them. If any pursuers dare to come, then none of us will survive!"
Wei Shengxian narrowed his eyes, raised an eyebrow and said mockingly, "At least half of the hostages should be kept. Boss Ren, can you manage to keep an eye on them all yourself?"
The seven women, each with a sword at their waist ready to slay ordinary men, exchanged glances and said in unison, "Who says only Boss Ren is staying to guard the hostages? The seven of us will stay too! We'll leave you eight hostages! That's fair!"
They all knew what staying to coerce the hostages meant—it would greatly increase their own danger.
Ren Pingsheng glared at them and said, "No!"
“Alright,” Wei Shengxian said slowly, his gaze sweeping over them like a hawk's, and he smiled with interest, “Then the eight of you stay here, and the rest of you can leave the city!”
Feng Bingzhu looked at Ren Pingsheng. This was the first time the two had met. Their eyes met, and neither of them spoke. They simply nodded politely to each other in farewell, revealing a sense of mutual appreciation.
Feng Bingzhu led his men to lift up the remaining officials who were bound hand and foot. The soldiers threw them onto the horses, and then, with a command, they sped away into the night, raising a cloud of dust.
Amidst the swirling dust, the courtesans on horseback turned to look at Boss Ren and his seven wives, who had cared for them for many years. The eight of them stood amidst the armored guards of the capital, protecting them as they carved out a path to freedom.
Ren Pingsheng and his seven wives stood in front of the city wall, holding hostages. The situation had reached a stalemate. About three incense sticks later, the imperial decree arrived by fast horse. This time, the messenger was Sheng Honghai, the emperor's chief advisor, who would never again deliver a false imperial decree.
The courtesan from Hongxiu Pavilion escaped. After the Embroidered Uniform Guard discovered this, they sent someone to report to Emperor Chongming at the Taiji Hall. Upon hearing the news, Emperor Chongming gazed at the towering flames and pondered for a long time before issuing an edict in vermilion ink: "The fate of the nation and the lives of hundreds of millions of people do not depend on a few officials! Immediately dispatch troops to hunt down the culprit and kill her. Do not fail the trust placed in you by the state!"
As soon as Sheng Honghai finished speaking, all the officials present were dumbfounded. The emperor's heart could be so ruthless! The incident at Hongxiu Pavilion would surely shock the entire Dahuang tomorrow. To stabilize the people's hearts, Emperor Chongming would definitely arrest the serious criminal overnight! As long as the dynasty does not change, there will always be replacements for the official positions... so they became pawns.
At the same time, a member of the Imperial Guard rode up at full speed, shouting, "Commander, the Imperial Prison has fallen!"
The fire that burned in the Red Sleeve Pavilion for most of the night was completely consumed as the high-rise building collapsed. The last spark was extinguished by the Fire Armor Army, and everything returned to darkness.
......
Feng Tan carefully made his way forward in the darkness. The air was damp and the light from his tinderbox was faint. When he reached the depths of the passage, he encountered an iron gate.
Practice makes perfect. Feng Tan took out her sniper rifle and repeated the operation. The chains fell off, and she pushed open the heavy iron door. In the dim light, Feng Youming slowly opened his eyes. His voice, which had not been uttered for a long time, was dry and hoarse. He softly called out, "Is that Yongle?"
Author's note: I'll try to release tomorrow's update in the early hours of the morning, so there won't be any updates tomorrow night!
The secret will be revealed around the day after tomorrow, don't wait, babies, go to sleep first!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
