Chapter 455: Inviting the Prey into the Trap

When Zhu Youxiao arrived at the bridal chamber, it had long since been prepared.

Bumbutai sat quietly at the edge of the bed, a red bridal veil covering her head, dressed in bright red wedding attire.

Though there were no ceremonies like bowing to heaven and earth, everything was carried out according to procedure.

Zhu Youxiao looked around but did not step inside. It was not yet time for him to enter the bridal chamber; there were still matters to attend to.

After inspecting the bridal chamber and finding no major problems, Zhu Youxiao turned and left.

Soon, night fell, and the entire inn grew lively.

Wine and dishes were continuously brought out for the wedding feast, and all the congratulatory gifts were carried in.

Agutai walked with his head lowered through the inn's corridor. He hadn't expected it to be so easy to slip in.

Indeed, the Wang family's strength was not to be underestimated—by taking advantage of the opportunity to deliver food and wine here, the Wang family had arranged for their people to get in.

Agutai didn't know the specifics of how it was arranged, but he was inside now.

He had just exchanged a few words with the inn's waiter and had roughly learned what was happening here.

After obtaining this information, Agutai's heart was deeply shaken.

The person staying here was not the eldest son of the Duke of Ying, but the Emperor of the Great Ming!

The Emperor of the Great Ming had actually come here—none of the people before had known, and now he himself had learned this news!

What shocked Agutai even more was the alliance between the Great Ming and the Khorchin. He hadn't believed it originally, but today this place was so lively—besides the alliance ceremony, they were also holding the ceremony of Bumbutai marrying the Great Ming Emperor.

Of course, this was only a rough ceremony. It was said that a grand formal wedding would be held later; this was merely to provide some acknowledgment for now.

After learning all this, Agutai's expression grew even uglier. A thought formed in his mind: he absolutely could not die here! This information was far too important—he had to get it out!

But before that, Agutai still needed to find Irgen Gioro first. He had to see that person, to ask about the specific circumstances.

Agutai turned around a corridor and crept toward a row of rooms not far away.

In fact, Agutai had already found out through inquiries that the people captured some days ago were all locked up here.

Of course, Agutai hadn't asked directly, but had learned indirectly from what the waiter said—the waiter had to deliver a great deal of food here every day.

Agutai judged with certainty that those people were being held here.

Watching Agutai's departing figure, Zhang Chun hugged his shoulders and said: "Quite foolish. He actually thinks he can really sneak in and gather intelligence? How stupid must this man be."

The personal guard disguised as a waiter stood beside Zhang Chun, a smile on his face as he said: "Perhaps I played the part convincingly."

Zhang Chun shot his subordinate an exasperated glare and said: "Look at yourself—convincingly? The calluses on your hands are in the wrong places; those are clearly the hands of someone who grips a blade. Does a waiter's hand look like yours?"

"And that posture of yours—where does that look like an inn waiter? The smile on your face isn't the least bit warm; it's far too fake! Your disguise infiltration was substandard. Go back and retrain."

Zhang Chun glared at him and said with irritation: "Lucky we ran into a fool. If it had been a sharp-witted person, you might well have been recognized. Botch this assignment and we'll all be in deep trouble."

The subordinate smiled but dared not argue back. Would he really have to retrain when they returned?

His face was full of bitter expression—he hadn't earned any merit, and instead had been criticized by his superior. His luck was truly terrible.

Zhang Chun paid no mind to what his subordinate was thinking and continued asking: "Have the Wang family been watched?"

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard's men are watching them; they won't let us interfere." The subordinate said with some helplessness: "You instructed us, sir, not to come into conflict with the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so our men can only watch from the perimeter."

"That's fine." Zhang Chun waved his hand and said: "It's better that we don't compete with the Embroidered Uniform Guard, especially in this place."

"Remember, our duty is to protect His Majesty. If it weren't because this matter is happening around His Majesty, we wouldn't be involved either. No need to worry about the Embroidered Uniform Guard—if they make any mistakes, just come and tell me directly."

The subordinate nodded and said: "Then there's no problem. We've already got the Wang family's people under watch. The moment they came to make contact, we knew. We took them in and hid them away—no news or wind will leak out."

The subordinate continued: "After this matter is over, our people will come out."

"Good!" Zhang Chun nodded and said: "Fan Yongdou must not die; the others don't matter. Have someone keep an eye on them—if they try to kill Fan Yongdou, expose them."

"I'll go right away." The subordinate nodded.

At this moment, Agutai was continuing to move forward cautiously.

His heart was pounding. He had never imagined he could accomplish such a thing. And now he actually had.

The further he went, the more nervous Agutai became—yet also the more excited.

Soon, he reached the west side of the row of houses.

Glancing at the two men standing guard at the entrance, Agutai circled around to the back of the building.

Sure enough, no one was guarding back here. However, since the back was a wall, there was no way to enter the room from here. If he wanted to get in, he would have to climb onto the roof.

But this didn't stump Agutai—his physical skills were quite good.

After stepping back, he took a quick running start, suddenly kicked off the wall, and hooked his hands onto the roof edge.

Because the roof was tiled, Agutai dared not use force, afraid of making any sound.

He gently hooked the top of the wall, slowly bringing his feet up, until his body was even bent like a hook.

Then, with a sudden burst of strength from his legs, his body shot straight up onto the roof.

The moment he landed on the roof, Agutai pressed his hands down on what was beneath his feet. Though it made some slight noise, it didn't carry far.

He moved forward cautiously, and seeing that the two men standing guard ahead seemed not to have noticed, Agutai finally breathed a sigh of relief.

With that step past, the rest became much simpler.

Zhang Chun, not far away, lowered the telescope in his hand and said: "This man's skills are not bad. No wonder he can move so freely in this place. It's clear this man was trained specifically for killing—no wonder he was so foolish before. That's understandable."

Zhang Chun knew about such matters. Whether it was them or others, everyone had a division of labor in their work.

But the requirements for personal guards like them were extremely strict—every skill area had to be mastered. The man who had come was clearly an assassin, a death-sworn agent, with strong operational ability but weaker in other aspects.

Agutai moved along the rooftop, keeping as close to the surface as possible so as not to be discovered.

Soon, he reached the ceiling of one room. There was a ventilation window there, and through it he could see the situation inside.

After peering inside, Agutai's eyes went wide.

Inside was Irgen Gioro himself!

Zhang Chun, not far away, looked at his subordinate and said: "Did you arrange this too? Of that whole row of rooms, only that one has a ventilation window, and you locked that fellow called Irgen Gioro in there. Are you afraid he won't discover it?"

Hearing this, the subordinate was also helpless and said directly: "Sir, there was no other way! That row of rooms is the most suitable place to hold these people, and we couldn't lock Irgen Gioro up separately—putting him in another room wouldn't have been appropriate either."

"If it weren't for that air vent, this fellow couldn't have gotten in directly at all. He would have had to fight his way past our guards at the front — that would have been too dangerous. If he put on an act, the people around him could easily be killed by him; if he didn't, he couldn't get in, so this was the only way. As long as he finds that skylight, he can find Irgen Gioro."

Glaring at his subordinate, Zhang Chun helplessly shook his head.

These people really were careless in handling matters.

Agutai, however, hadn't thought of any of this. At this moment he was beside himself with excitement, tying one end of a rope to the skylight and tossing the other end down.

The sound of the rope hitting the ground naturally startled Irgen Gioro. He looked up and, sure enough, saw Agutai.

Irgen Gioro immediately jumped to his feet, excitement written across his face, his heart pounding wildly: "They're here, they're here! My people have come! There's hope!"

At the thought, Irgen Gioro was overjoyed.

After sliding down the rope, Agutai looked at Irgen Gioro and said excitedly, "I've come to rescue you!"

Irgen Gioro looked at Agutai and nodded excitedly, patting him on the shoulder and saying, "Good, good, good. How many of our people are still outside now?"

"Not many left — just over a dozen." Agutai said hurriedly, "This time I went to find Wang Dengku and asked him to help, and that's the only way I could get in. Now come with me — he's already promised us he'll let us leave here safely."

"That man can't be trusted." Irgen Gioro shook his head and said, "And I can't leave either."

Agutai looked at Irgen Gioro anxiously and said, "Staying here just means waiting to die. Why not come with me? I'm confident I can get you out."

"It's not that I can't get out — there's something I need to tell you." Irgen Gioro said with a grave expression, "There's a piece of news you need to deliver. The Great Ming Emperor has come here, and those Khorchin people have already formed an alliance with the Great Ming Emperor."

"I know about that." Agutai said, "When I first came in, they were in the middle of holding a wedding. If I hadn't taken advantage of that opportunity, I couldn't have gotten in either."

"Wukeshan is marrying his sister Bumbutai to the Great Ming Emperor, and they're to be wed tonight. They're preparing for it outside right now."

"Is that so?" Irgen Gioro said with some indignation, "They certainly moved fast! Then I definitely can't leave!"