Chapter 517 - 282: Lu Huanqiao??? Lu Zhishen???
"Yanshan Vanguard Deputy Commander Wang Ping."
"Yanshan Left Guard Deputy Commander Zhang Deyi."
"Yanshan Right Guard Deputy Commander Li Xiao."
The soldiers of the Three Yanshan Guards followed their three generals, shouting in unison, "We greet the second son of the King of Yan!"
Hearing this, Gu Gaoxu flipped open the carriage curtain, leaped down, and hurried to help the Deputy Commanders of the Three Yanshan Guards to their feet. "Generals, thank you for the rescue!"
Fifth Brother Liu followed closely behind Gu Gaoxu, quietly slipping off the carriage to stand behind him.
"Commandery Prince, you’re too kind. This is merely our duty," the three generals replied in one voice.
Gu Gaoxu understood. ’The first thing they shouted was "second son of the King of Yan," not "Commandery Prince." They’re doing this for my father’s sake.’
Gu Gaoxu’s respect for his father grew. To think he had dispatched all three Deputy Commanders of the Three Yanshan Guards.
These were the second-in-commands!
’Just how important am I to my father!’
’Could it be... "The Crown Prince is often ill; you should strive to do your best"?’
"Generals, please, rise," Gu Gaoxu said, pulling them up.
The three Deputy Commanders stood up in perfect unison.
Yanshan Vanguard Deputy Commander Wang Ping turned and pointed to the bound Assistant General of the Government Army Guard, Lan Tai, and his cavalrymen. "We have already captured the traitors!"
Yanshan Right Guard Deputy Commander Li Xiao immediately clapped his hands. A group of soldiers emerged from the woods lining the official road, shoving dozens of people forward.
Gu Gaoxu asked in confusion, "And these are?"
Yanshan Right Guard Deputy Commander Li Xiao explained, "Before we set our ambush, these plain-clothed rebels were hiding here with ill intent. We have apprehended them all!"
Gu Gaoxu stroked his chin, muttering to himself, "Lan Tai must have been waiting for these rebels. He mistook the Lu Mansion’s guards for his reinforcements, and that’s why he made his move!"
In high spirits, Gu Gaoxu declared, "Good, excellent! We’ll escort them all to the Imperial City and hand them over to the Emperor for judgment!"
’Dad, since you gave me the authority to command the Three Yanshan Guards, I’m going to make a real show of it,’ Gu Gaoxu thought. ’Let’s see who dares to mess with me now!’
At that moment, Gu Gaoxu’s ego was so inflated that if a stray dog had passed by, he would have probably walked over and slapped it a few times.
However, things did not go as he wished.
Yanshan Right Guard Deputy Commander Li Xiao cupped his hands and said, "Commandery Prince, I’m afraid we cannot accompany you to the Imperial Capital. Marching here has already taken us beyond our jurisdiction, and we cannot possibly linger."
Yanshan Left Guard Deputy Commander Zhang Deyi chimed in, "Indeed. Now that the crisis has passed, we must return to our barracks in Yandu."
Hearing the two old generals’ words, Gu Gaoxu’s heart sank. He turned to look at Yanshan Vanguard Deputy Commander Wang Ping.
The moment his eyes met Gu Gaoxu’s, the old general immediately cupped his hands. "We take our leave!"
"Me?" Gu Gaoxu was at a loss for words. He had no soldiers at his disposal now.
Having three Jinyi Guards from the Court escort seventy or eighty men to the Imperial Capital just wasn’t realistic!
If those seventy or eighty bound soldiers and rebels were to suddenly cause trouble again, they could crush the three Jinyi Guards just by sitting on them!
Gu Gaoxu gave up. These weren’t his troops to command in the first place, so there was no use in trying to force them to stay.
Gu Gaoxu said politely, "May your journey be safe, Generals!"
"May your journey be smooth, Commandery Prince!" With that, the three Deputy Commanders turned and led their soldiers away in an orderly fashion.
They left behind Lan Tai and his host of soldiers and rebels.
Gu Gaoxu turned and gave Fifth Brother Liu a lecherous stare, squeezing the man’s arm as he praised him, "Not bad, this build is rock solid!"
Gu Gaoxu circled Fifth Brother Liu. "You’re prime material for a soldier. How about working for me?"
Fifth Brother Liu said respectfully, "You jest, Commandery Prince. Are you hoping we will escort you to the Imperial Capital?"
Fifth Brother Liu was straightforward and blunt, not one for beating around the bush.
To put it plainly, he was all brawn and no brains.
Hearing this, Gu Gaoxu nodded his head vigorously and quickly replied, "Yes, yes!"
Fifth Brother Liu continued, "Commandery Prince. The boss has given his instructions. If you require our escort to the Imperial City, you must pay an escort fee."
Gu Gaoxu pointed at himself. "An escort fee? Am I the cargo?"
"That’s right!" Fifth Brother Liu said directly.
"Fine, fine, fine. Brother Lu, in front of a Fourth Grade official of the Court and a Prince Consort, you dare to charge me an escort fee..." Fuming, Gu Gaoxu paced back and forth, muttering curses under his breath.
Helpless, Gu Gaoxu had no choice but to agree. "How many silver taels?"
Fifth Brother Liu held up one finger.
Gu Gaoxu looked at the finger. "One tael? Ten taels? One hundred taels? One thousand taels?"
Fifth Brother Liu kept shaking his head.
"Ten thousand taels?" Gu Gaoxu’s tone was much sharper this time. This was blatant price gouging.
Fifth Brother Liu still shook his head. "My boss said one golden melon seed."
"You scared me. I thought you were going to say ten or twenty thousand." Gu Gaoxu pulled a golden melon seed from his robes and handed it to Fifth Brother Liu.
Fifth Brother Liu extended his right hand and pointed at the crowd in the distance, counting, "Five, ten, fifteen..."
"Commandery Prince, that will be a total of seventy-six golden melon seeds. Oh, wait, adding Doctor Li, that makes a total of seventy-seven golden melon seeds," Fifth Brother Liu said deadpan.
Hearing this, Gu Gaoxu cursed, "I’m going to report him to the Inspectorate! It’s New Year’s Eve, and he’s extorting me!"
Gu Gaoxu thought for a moment, then said to the three Jinyi Guards, "Men!"
The three Jinyi Guards stepped forward. "Commandery Prince, what are your orders?"
The Jinyi Guard answered directly to the Court; they were the Emperor’s Personal Guard, and no one else had the authority to command them.
This time, however, their orders came from Jinyiwei Commander Mao Xiang himself: ensure Gu Gaoxu reached the Imperial Capital safely and, as long as his requests weren’t excessive, they were to be fulfilled.
Gu Gaoxu pointed to the bound men in the distance. "Go! Leave a few, including that one named Lan, and cut down the rest!"
’He wants us to kill the prisoners!’
The three Jinyi Guards exchanged glances, thinking that the King of Yan’s second son was a ruthless one, ordering them to do such a thing just to save a bit of silver.
Seeing that Gu Gaoxu was about to kill the prisoners, Fifth Brother Zhang, following his boss’s instructions, pulled a letter from his robes and presented it to Gu Gaoxu.
Gu Gaoxu took the letter from Fifth Brother Zhang. It was from Lu Yuan.
After reading the letter, Gu Gaoxu waved his hand dismissively and, without any further complaint, pulled out two handfuls of golden melon seeds and shoved them into Fifth Brother Zhang’s hands.
It was exactly seventy-seven golden melon seeds, no more, no less.
Gu Gaoxu felt inside his robes. He didn’t have a single golden melon seed left. ’Brother Lu really calculated this down to the very last one!’
Fifth Brother Zhang accepted the golden melon seeds and waved to someone in the distance.
Dozens of small carts drove over neatly from a fork in the road.
Each wheel was wrapped with anti-skid chains, allowing them to travel steadily in the snow without slipping.
Fifth Brother Zhang opened the door to the front passenger seat. "Commandery Prince, please, get in!"
Gu Gaoxu, who had been heartbroken over the golden melon seeds just a moment ago, now beamed with delight. He ran his hand over the cart’s body and said, "Now *this* is what I call money well spent!"
Under the escort of the Lu Mansion Guards, the entire convoy set off for the Imperial City in a grand procession...
The next morning, the sound of firecrackers erupted outside the Lu Mansion gate.
Gu Ziye and Song Meiqin groggily climbed off the warm heated bed.
"Aunt Song, why am I here?" Gu Ziye had drunk too much the previous night and woke up to find herself naked in Aunt Song’s room.
Song Meiqin clutched her head, trying hard to remember. "I can’t recall clearly either. I just remember I ended up passed out on the dinner table."
"We didn’t...?" Gu Ziye gestured between their two naked upper bodies, unsure how to finish the sentence.
"Yue’Er, don’t let your imagination run wild. No one in the Lu Mansion would dare lay a hand on us," Song Meiqin said, pressing a hand to her sore spot.
Gu Ziye took the clothes hanging on the rack, handing Aunt Song’s garments to her. "It’s the first day of the new year, and it’s getting late. Aunt Song, we should get up."
Only Song Meiqin and Gu Ziye had been unable to hold their liquor, drinking until they were dead to the world last night.
Song Meiqin and Gu Ziye dressed and hurried to the main hall, where everyone else had already gathered.
People exchanged New Year’s greetings with one another.
The wet nurses stood to one side, each holding or leading one of Lu Yuan’s children by the hand.
Lu Yuan had prepared several large red envelopes to give to the children. He said:
"Lu Ruyan, this is yours. Take it and buy some nice treats!"
"Lu Huanqiao, call me ’Daddy,’ and this red envelope is yours~"
"Lu Zhishen, my good son! When you learn to talk, I’ll give you an even bigger one!"
Hearing Lu Yuan’s words, everyone looked on in astonishment.
"Lu Huanqiao? Lu Zhishen?"