Chapter 439

However, with a delicate body as warm and soft as fragrant jade nestled in his arms, Su Qiao's heart pounded relentlessly.

Similarly, Suyun, a woman who naturally carried an air of cold arrogance, now kept her eyes tightly shut, feigning sleep.

Yet her cheeks had turned burning hot and her beautiful eyes remained closed; were it not for her long eyelashes fluttering incessantly, Su Qiao would have believed it.

The first to emerge glanced warily toward the bed.

Seeing no movement from the bed, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief and called out to summon the others remaining in the tunnel.

At this moment, Su Qiao also squeezed Suyun's hand, giving her a signal.

293, the army has arrived!

Initially, Suyun was somewhat dazed due to her shyness.

Then, upon opening her eyes and seeing the look Su Qiao gave her, she immediately understood.

She pretended to have just heard the noise and was getting up, turning her head to look toward the center of the room.

"You..."

"Shut up! The family head said this counts as a merit for you; just pretend you know nothing. If you ruin things, you know the consequences!"

Seeing Suyun "awaken," the masked man who had entered first glared with a vicious look and threatened her in a low voice.

Suyun immediately feigned extreme fear, covering her mouth and shrinking into the quilt, trembling uncontrollably.

The masked man detected nothing amiss, and the others emerged from the tunnel.

One of them was dressed and styled exactly like Su Qiao.

His face bore no difference whatsoever from Su Qiao's.

He was clearly a decoy intended for Su Qiao.

At this moment, the masked men prepared to approach the bed, stuff the "unconscious" Su Qiao into a sack, and carry him away.

After all, he had detected nothing amiss and still believed Suyun had drugged Su Qiao as agreed.

However, just as they moved, Su Qiao suddenly sat up.

"Seize them! Beware of the poison fangs in their mouths!"

Su Qiao let out a cold snort and issued the order.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard, hidden in the shadows, immediately sprang into action, deploying fishing nets and crossbow bolts all at once.

The masked men and the rest were completely stunned by the sudden turn of events, 707, and could not react for a moment.

In the blink of an eye, these seven or eight people were all captured and unable to break free.

Just as they sought to bite through the poison sacs in their teeth, the crowd, having received Su Qiao's warning beforehand, rushed forward and pinched their jaws shut.

They then quickly extracted the poison sacs from their mouths.

At this moment, the leader of the masked men finally realized what was happening.

He turned his head and glared angrily at Suyun, saying, "You dare betray us?"

Suyun's previously trembling demeanor vanished instantly, replaced by a look of sternness and contempt.

"Enough. Remove their masks and see who they are."

Aside from being quite interested in the person wearing the human-skin mask disguised as himself, Su Qiao's attention focused on the masked leader who had just spoken.

After tearing off the mask, Su Qiao found him somewhat familiar but could not recall who he was.

"My lord, he is Lu San, a servant of the Lu family head; Lu Hong entrusts many matters to him."

Suyun reminded Su Qiao at this moment.

Su Qiao suddenly understood; he had been wondering why this person seemed familiar.

It appeared he must have seen him at a banquet previously.

"Suyun, you are simply asking for death; the family head will certainly not spare you!"

"Heh, there is no need for you to worry about that. If my death can bring the entire Lu family to ruin, then this humble woman will have fulfilled her lifelong wish!"

The moment these words left Suyun's lips, Lu San was utterly bewildered.

Isn't she just a little widow? Why does she suddenly feel so off?

Su Qiao turned to Sun Youxu and ordered, "Go send the signal; let not a single one of them escape!"

"Yes!"

Whoosh—Bang!

Taking advantage of this brief interval, Su Qiao walked over to his decoy.

As for this decoy, how to put it? His appearance and attire were exactly the same as Su Qiao's.

However, his aura was completely different.

Especially after being captured by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, his entire body trembled with fear, so much so that he nearly wet himself; Su Qiao even felt ashamed on his behalf.

"Peel the human-skin mask off his face!"

Su Qiao let out a cold snort and said.

"Yes!"

An Embroidered Uniform Guard nearby immediately rushed forward and tore the mask from his face.

Immediately revealed was the face of a very ordinary young man.

"Speak. Who are you, and how did Lu Hong make you dress up like me?"

Su Qiao saw that the young man before him was terrified, making him the easiest to interrogate.

So he questioned him directly.

"My lord, my lord, this humble one was forced; my lord, please do not kill me..."

The young man was terrified, or rather, terrified by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Besides, he knew exactly who he was supposed to impersonate; he was already timid by nature, and now that the real person had caught him, it was a miracle he hadn't collapsed from fright on the spot.

Yet even so, he was on the verge of tears.

"Answer my question: were you forced or did you do this willingly? I, this official, will judge."

"Yes! This humble one is called Li Si..."

Li Si knew very little—indeed, almost nothing. He had been discovered by the Lu family because his height and build resembled Su Qiao's, and he spoke with a Jingcheng accent; immediately after, he was captured and forced to wear a human-skin mask to impersonate Su Qiao.

After all, it was impossible to wear a human-skin mask all three hundred and sixty-five days of the year.

The adhesive on the face lasted only about a month; afterward, it needed to be replaced or maintained.

Therefore, using someone whose appearance and build closely matched Su Qiao's would leave very few flaws.

It was no small feat for Lu Hong and the others to have found someone like Li Si.

At that moment, a clamor rose outside the manor.

There were the sounds of hooves and neighing horses; it was the garrison troops from near Fuzhou Prefecture.

More than two thousand men in total, completely surrounding the entire estate.

Several family heads hiding with Lu Hong, along with Lu Hong himself, were alarmed.

They were still waiting for Su Qiao to be brought over so they could execute their "deceiving the heavens to cross the sea" stratagem!

Who knew why this army had arrived?

"Something is wrong. Has there been no news from that side yet? Why are troops mobilizing here? Could they be here to escort Su Qiao?"

Sun Yaoqing, the head of the Sun family, suddenly sprang up from his chair.

His movements were so agile that he didn't look like a fat man at all; his eyes, nearly squeezed shut by his fat, now widened.

Lu Hong's face turned grim under the questioning.

But he himself did not know the specifics either; his heart was pounding just as hard.

"For now, let us wait and see..."

"Immediately surround the entire estate! Let no one escape! Draw the bows, spear soldiers, advance!"

Just then, the voice of the commanding general outside giving orders shattered everyone's illusions.

"Wait and see? See what the hell!"

The head of the Wang family and the head of the Qian family both slumped lifelessly into their chairs.

"It's over, it's over, everything is over! We have surely all been exposed!"

Bang!

At that moment, Lu Hong slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and said, "We still have a chance! Do not forget that Su Qiao is still inside the estate! Although he is accompanied by dozens of Embroidered Uniform Guard, we have many people in the estate as well. Before the imperial troops charge in, we must quickly capture him. As long as he is in our hands, we will have a bargaining chip for our lives!"