Chapter 355

They are all skilled hands!

He saw clearly that Su Qiao was a prized asset in the eyes of Your Majesty, or rather, in the eyes of the Liezulie Sect of the Zhu family.

Otherwise, have you ever seen a minister speak to Your Majesty so recklessly without having his head chopped off?

Forget about "punishment does not reach the Physician"; if the Emperor truly wants someone dead, they will die no matter what!

Several were even beaten to death by court flogging during the Jiajing reign!

There was also one more point that left him no choice but to take it seriously.

Do not forget that, according to Zhu Youjian's instructions, Wang Chengen had also communicated with Su Qiao regarding the matter of going to sea.

Do not look down on him just because he is a Eunuch; though disabled, his will is unyielding.

He still dreams of sailing to the Western Oceans like Zheng He, completing his mission with high spirits, and in return, receiving a noble title to bring glory to his ancestors.

This Su Qiao is the hope of all the Eunuchs!

If Su Qiao meets with disaster, who else could take his place?

No one else would do!

Therefore, regarding Su Qiao's safety, Wang Chengen valued it more than anyone else.

As he was leaving, he even grabbed Su Qiao's sleeve and said specifically to him: "Mr. Su, in the future, for matters like this, you should just summon us immediately. Your Majesty places great importance on Mr. Su's safety; your safety is the most important!"

"Thank you, I understand."

209, mechanism triggered!

The three men Wang Chengen arranged for Su Qiao were all Company Commanders of the Fifth Rank, Junior Grade.

Their official rank seemed neither high nor low; in the capital, they were not considered high officials at all, merely marginal figures.

Su Qiao did not treat them as any great officials, viewing them at most as three palace guards.

Their communication was quite equal, with no arrogant attitude of acting like a Master.

The three guards were all around thirty years of age.

Two were tall and one short, their faces weathered by wind and frost.

They were assigned specifically to protect Su Qiao because they had established many merits within the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

They knew a thing or two and possessed strong capabilities.

At the beginning, before they had even met Su Qiao, all three felt some resistance to this protection mission.

Protecting a person and having to obey that person's orders.

Isn't that just being a servant?

As members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, do not think their rank is small; yet with this uniform on, no one dares to provoke them.

Even high-ranking officials, upon seeing them, first felt a third of their courage wither in fear.

Isn't being a bodyguard for someone far more free and comfortable?

However, the orders pressed down from above were something they dared not refuse.

Early in the morning, they arrived early at Su Qiao's residence and waited.

Under the service of Liu Rushi, Su Qiao finished washing and dressed, then met the three of them in the courtyard.

The three were named Ma Kui, Zhao Xifang, and Sun Youxu respectively.

Their appearances were quite ordinary, yet they possessed a sharp, cutting aura.

Su Qiao smiled and said to them: "Asking you to protect me might be a slight to the three of you, but rest assured, here with me, your promotion will definitely not be delayed; my safety is temporarily entrusted to you."

"Mr. Su, you humble us; we three brothers will henceforth obey your orders! Protecting you is also our duty!"

"Indeed, if danger arises, unless we three brothers lie down dead, no one will ever be able to harm you."

Ma Kui, considered the leader of the three, was even more Steady and prudent.

Su Qiao smiled, "Good, thank you!"

Words spoken beautifully on the surface; whether they are true, and what the situation will be later, remains to be seen.

Suqiaobu Society would not take them at face value upon their first meeting.

"You came so early; have you eaten? If not, would you like to eat together?"

Su Qiao invited the three with a smile.

Ma Kui and the other two hurriedly shook their heads, saying: "No need, thank you, Mr. Su; we have all eaten before coming."

"In that case, alright, then you wait a moment."

"Mr. Su, please be at ease!"

The first place Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangsheng went south to was Jiangzhe.

Whether it was good luck or not, upon arriving in Jiangzhe, they immediately encountered an attack by Japanese pirates.

Both Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangsheng were highly capable men, also famous generals of the late Ming period.

Although the garrison military preparations had fallen into disrepair, leaving only the old, weak, sick, and disabled.

Yet the escort they brought, along with the young and strong temporarily recruited, were quite effective.

The three or four hundred Japanese pirates did not escape in large numbers; basically, all were killed.

There were also several captives, who were interrogated strictly.

They were not hard bones to break themselves; not long after the interrogation began, Sun Chuanting and the others obtained the information they wanted.

It was the same as what Su Qiao had warned them, verifying some rumors.

The reason Japanese pirates could always attack coastal areas with weak defenses was because of traitors inside leaking information.

And these traitors were all members of smuggling families!

Once the information was confirmed, Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangsheng acted with lightning speed, fearing these people might escape.

Immediately order the surrounding and arrest.

By the time these traitors reacted, it was already too late to escape.

The rest became much easier: confiscate estates where due, interrogate where due, and the guard posts also began reconstruction and retraining.

To their slight surprise, traces of opium were even discovered during the search.

At this very moment, Zhu Youjian happened to transmit a new imperial edict.

Its content concerned opium, ordering a thorough investigation into the source of this extremely harmful devil flower.

Moreover, this substance must not be allowed to circulate wildly among the common people.

Upon learning of opium's dangers, Sun Chuanting, Lu Xiangsheng, and a host of other officials felt a layer of cold sweat appear on their backs.

Subsequently, the several arrested families suffered greatly.

They faced even more severe interrogations.

……

It had been more than half a month since Su Qiao last saw Xu Chunming.

During this period, he had not encountered this person again.

Previously, Zhu Youjian had also ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to investigate secretly, but they had only found a single lead.

Afterwards, the intermediary went missing, and the lead was cut off.

With no developments for over half a month, Su Qiao also relaxed somewhat.

That late night.

Su Qiao was sleeping soundly, and Su Fu was plunged into darkness.

Several figures suddenly appeared outside the courtyard wall.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard secretly watching for help quickly spotted the group's tracks.

Each wore dark, tight-fitting clothes and masked half their face.

Making them look like masked bandits.

More than a dozen Embroidered Uniform Guard members quietly roused one another, hiding not far from the mansion opposite Su Fu.

Each rubbed their fists and arms, extremely excited.

Truly, they had been stationed for over half a month, doing nothing but tailing and secretly protecting, with no other missions.

Far too dull and boring!

Now this wave of "thieves" had appeared.

Regardless of who they were, at least they now had a chance to earn merit.

Before they came, they had been warned many times.