Chapter 449 - 248: You Wretched Thing
"Brother Lu, Brother Lu..."
A familiar voice called out from the crowd.
The sudden sound cut through the silence of the venue, seeming a little jarring.
A stir went through the crowd as everyone craned their necks in unison to see who had shouted.
Everyone was curious. Who could be so bold as to cause a clamor during such a solemn ceremony?
Following their collective gaze, it was easy to find the source of the voice.
Lu Yuan looked over and saw it was none other than Gu Gaoxu, the second son of King Yan, hollering at him. Standing beside him was the Crown Prince of Yan, Gu Gaochi.
Gu Gaoxu was the same as ever, not having changed a bit.
Gu Gaochi looked a bit thinner, but his complexion was ruddy and full of life. He was clearly in much better health than before—a result of the Healing Pill Lu Yuan had given him.
Lu Yuan was quite surprised by the arrival of Gu Gaoxu, King Yan’s second son.
Besides, the guy knew everything about him and Gu Ziye. ’Wouldn’t it be a little awkward to meet him after the ceremony?’
Lu Yuan put a hand to his forehead and shook his head, thinking, ’Why is he here too? He’s still so flippant in his words and actions, with no regard for the occasion. Is he not afraid the Emperor will spank him again?’
But since the man had called his name, Lu Yuan couldn’t just pretend not to see or hear him.
Lu Yuan gave him a wave.
On Gu Gaoxu’s other side stood the son of another Vassal King, clenching his jaw. This was Gu Zhaolian, the sixth son of King Lu.
The Emperor had commanded the Crown Princes of the various Vassal States to attend Princess Yue Ning’s wedding. Technically, neither Gu Gaoxu nor Gu Zhaolian, not being Crown Princes themselves, should have been on the guest list.
But Gu Gaoxu was a personal friend of Lu Yuan, so King Yan, Gu Di, had turned a blind eye and let him accompany his older brother, Gu Gaochi.
As for Gu Zhaolian, he had shamelessly pestered his father, King Lu, into letting him come.
King Lu was an honest man and couldn’t withstand his sixth son’s incessant pleading, so he allowed Gu Zhaolian to come along with the Crown Prince of Lu.
This sixth son of King Lu was born of a concubine and held a personal grudge against Lu Yuan.
A year ago, when Lu Yuan was traveling with Su Liyan and her mother through King Lu’s domain, a group of Spirit Binders had insulted the two women. With his young master’s tacit approval, one of Lu Yuan’s trusted subordinates shot and killed them.
The man who died was Gu Zhaolian’s brother-in-law. Afterward, Gu Zhaolian’s new wife raised a huge fuss over the incident and even hired bandits along the road to assassinate Lu Yuan, but her attempts ended in failure.
Later, unable to avenge her younger brother, Gu Zhaolian’s wife fell into a deep depression and recently passed away from illness.
This caused Gu Zhaolian, who had originally wanted to let the matter rest, to place all the blame on Lu Yuan’s shoulders, and he now hated him to the bone.
At that moment, Lu Yuan was focused on greeting Gu Gaoxu and didn’t recognize Gu Zhaolian, the sixth son of King Lu, standing to the side. The two had never met before.
This was likely not the only person Lu Yuan had offended. In the grand scheme of things, Gu Zhaolian, the sixth son of King Lu, was far less significant than his other enemies.
On the other side of Fengtian Hall stood Marquis Yongchang, leading his many adopted sons.
Marquis Yongchang had brought dozens of them this time, each one looking heroic and imposing.
Marquis Yongchang, Lan Yu, also bore a grudge against Lu Yuan for disrupting his plans.
Not only that, but the old Daoists of the Celestial Dynasty Palace were also aware that Lu Yuan possessed their Palace Guardian Sword, and their feelings on the matter were complicated.
The young man before them had earned the admiration of Emperor Gu Yuanzhang himself, so the Celestial Dynasty Palace couldn’t just openly take the sword back by force.
After all, the Celestial Dynasty Palace was still under the Court’s jurisdiction. If the Emperor became displeased, he could dispatch the army to encircle and destroy the thousand-year-old Daoist temple.
Of course, a man like Lu Yuan, making his way in the world, couldn’t only make enemies.
Parts of the Jinyi Guard’s leadership, King Yan’s family, Le Shen Temple, Guyang Temple, and other factions were all on excellent terms with Lu Yuan.
This was especially true for King Yan, Gu Di. Lu Yuan was one of his honored Guests—the kind a ruler like King Yan would condescend to recruit personally.
Lu Yuan felt as if he were in the center of a giant vortex; one wrong move and he could be torn to pieces.
Lu Yuan didn’t rely on any single faction. More than anything, he trusted his own men and his guns.
Most importantly, how Lu Yuan would handle all these matters in the future would undoubtedly depend on Yue’Er’s father—the reigning Emperor, Gu Yuanzhang.
As long as the Emperor willed it, all these other factions were insignificant before the Royal Family.
Under the watchful eyes of all, Lu Yuan and Gu Ziye went through the ceremony just as they had rehearsed the day before.
After tonight, Gu Ziye would be Lu Yuan’s woman.
If things went smoothly, Gu Ziye, a complete novice, would get to experience what it was like with an old pro like Lu Yuan, and maybe even feel the "gushing explosion."
While Lu Yuan was in the Imperial Capital, a group of brazen bandits launched a surprise attack on Su Liyan’s post house in broad daylight.
The bandits didn’t approach the post house directly, instead taking a commanding position on a distant hillside.
They unleashed a volley of flaming arrows, setting the post house ablaze in a roaring fire.
By the time the trusted subordinates and Mansion Guards stationed around the post house charged out, the bandits were already long gone.
The guards in the suburbs of the Imperial Capital were stretched thin that day, which was why the bandits dared to brazenly attack the post house where Su Liyan was staying.
The bandits had no intention of robbing or killing anyone. Their goal was purely to cause trouble—or perhaps, to give someone a show of force.
The intention couldn’t have been clearer: they were targeting Lu Yuan and his people.
Su Liyan and her mother stood outside the post house, watching the flames consume it. They stopped the trusted subordinates and Mansion Guards who were about to give chase.
"Putting out the fire is more important!" Su Liyan shouted.
The subordinates and guards had no choice but to halt their pursuit and, along with some passersby, began to fight the fire.
The fire at the post house was immense, belching thick smoke. Fanned by the wind, it stung everyone’s eyes, making it hard to keep them open.
There was no running water or water pump here; the few vats of water on hand were not nearly enough to extinguish the blaze.
The post house was a lost cause.
The Shopkeeper of the post house rushed inside, rummaged frantically under the counter, and then ran back out, clutching a large wooden chest.
A wooden ceiling beam, burnt through, was about to crash down on the Shopkeeper’s head. If it hit, not even the gods could save him.
Quick as a flash, Su Liyan’s mother shot out her palm, and a powerful gust of air shattered the beam in two.
Beside her, Su Liyan used her Floating Skill to fling the Shopkeeper to safety.
The Shopkeeper, seeing that his saviors were from the Half-demon Race, was deeply moved.
He fell to his knees with a THUD before Su Liyan and her mother, kowtowing several times. "Thank you for saving my life, benefactors!"
Su Liyan helped him up. "There’s no need to thank us, Shopkeeper. Go help with the fire."
"Right!" The Shopkeeper got to his feet and went back to fighting the flames.
Su Liyan turned to her mother. "Mother, Brother Lu went to the Imperial Capital today to marry Yue’Er. Do you think he’ll be alright?"
Whenever something happened, Su Liyan’s first thought was always of her man. Her own safety was never as important as his.
With what had happened at the post house today, she was worried someone might try to harm him.
Su Liyan’s mother comforted her. "He’ll be fine. What could happen inside the Imperial Capital?"
"You’re right. As long as he’s safe and sound, that’s all that matters."
The arsonist bandits didn’t linger. After setting the fire, they fled. But they hadn’t gotten far before a group of plain-clothed passersby blocked their path.
The bandit leader, mounted on his horse, pointed at them and cursed, "Get the hell out of my way, or I’ll cut you down where you stand!"
The passersby showed no fear. Not only did they not move, they began to advance on him.
Realizing something was wrong, the bandit leader yelled, "Brothers, grab your weapons! It’s the Jinyi Guard!"
The Jinyi Guard, disguised as passersby, showed no mercy. Drawing Soft Swords from their waists, they charged forward.
Many of the bandits were cut down before they could even draw their sabers.
In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the Jinyi Guard had arrested nearly all the bandits, with only a few having been killed in the process.
The Jinyi Guard trussed up the bandits securely.
One of the Jinyi Guard wiped his Soft Sword clean and said, "Our Lord is truly prescient. He had us wait here, and we really did catch a big fish."
Another guard replied, "Isn’t that the truth? The outskirts of the Imperial City haven’t been safe lately. I heard that last time, Lord Wang of the East Guard Thousand Households was beaten with a cane for dereliction of duty."
The bound bandit leader interrupted them. "Hey, can you two stop chatting amongst yourselves?"
The interrupted Jinyi Guard delivered a heavy blow to the bandit’s head. "Shut up! You worthless piece of trash."