Chapter 7: Rescuing

Have the Embroidered Uniform Guard broken in?

Prince Fu asked, his expression agitated.

After all, he was still a youth; though he had stood firm a moment ago, the arrival of enemies at his door still left him shaken.

My Lord, the voice sounds like it belongs to the young master of the Zhenyuan Marquis House.

He refused your invitation earlier and led his retainers to hold their ground downstairs—yet somehow, he’s managed to hold out this long.

The eunuch’s reply left Prince Fu deeply disappointed.

The Zhenyuan Marquis House has few men; from the sounds alone, the fighting downstairs is still fierce, and even if reinforcements joined now, they could not immediately turn the tide.

But they had come to save his life—he could hardly say anything to spoil the moment.

The clash grew closer; a guard collapsed at the doorway, blood streaming into the room.

Seeing this, Prince Fu abandoned all pretense of dignity and let the eunuch push him under the table.

Before he could steady his nerves, a severed head rolled straight to his feet.

Locking eyes with the dead man’s unblinking stare, Prince Fu let out a shriek.

In his panic, his head slammed into the table, leaving him thoroughly disheveled.

Whether by accident or design, the middle-aged eunuch, as he stepped forward to inspect, also bumped into the table and fell flat on his face.

With the eunuch’s misfortune as contrast, Prince Fu’s sour mood suddenly lifted a little.

With fresh reinforcements arriving, the gray-clad attackers, caught between two fronts, instantly lost morale and were swiftly driven to the left corridor.

Once he confirmed Prince Fu was safe, Li Mu no longer rushed forward; instead, he led his men in a slow, deliberate engagement with the enemy.

Training retainers was hard; the glory of saving the prince was already secured—no need to risk lives.

When the Embroidered Uniform Guard outside finally broke in, they would handle the cleanup.

Fundamentally, this was about demonstrating loyalty; ability came second.

The sons of noble families only needed to show modest competence to advance steadily; if they showed too much ability, they invited disaster.

…

My Lord, you may come out now.

I glanced at the door just now—the enemy has been pushed to the east; the guards and the Marquis House men are joining forces to surround them.

It looks like they’ll annihilate the enemy soon!

Hearing the eunuch’s words, Prince Fu’s face lit up.

Having brushed against death’s door, he now understood how precious life truly was.

Though dangerous, today’s performance was worth it.

Before long, word would spread through the capital that he, calm under pressure, had commanded his men to slay barbarian spies.

When it reached His Imperial Brother’s ears, rewards were certain.

Of course, he didn’t care for minor rewards—but the title of Virtuous Prince held great appeal.

A man must have some ambition.

…

Where is Prince Fu?

A rough voice rang out, signaling the battle’s end.

Under Sergeant Zhou’s lead, a large force of Embroidered Uniform Guards surged in, just in time to see Prince Fu crawling out from under the table.

The room froze instantly; the atmosphere was deeply awkward.

What are you all standing there for? Go capture those barbarian spies!

The middle-aged eunuch stepped in to defuse the tension.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards quickly withdrew from the room and joined the assault on the gray-clad attackers.

With more reinforcements, the battle ended swiftly—but the carnage was brutal.

Of the twelve Prince's Mansion guards, seven were dead, three severely wounded; only two remained standing.

Li Mu’s five retainers were all bloodied.

But the blood was from the enemy downstairs; though they looked badly hurt, none had suffered serious wounds.

The only casualty among the Marquis House side was Fubao, who had foolishly gotten slashed and now bore the sole injury.

After tallying the casualties, Sergeant Zhou, who had commanded the battle, felt his heart sink.

The Zhenyuan Marquis House was manageable—they hadn’t lost a man; dealing with the higher-ups would just be a matter of negotiation.

But the Prince's Mansion side was a nightmare: the guards were all registered imperial officials, some with ranks higher than his own.

Seven dead at once meant an immediate report to the court.

Your Highness, regarding today’s incident…

Before Sergeant Zhou could finish, Prince Fu cut him off:

No excuses—send for imperial physicians immediately to treat the wounded!

As a prince of Dayu, Ji Zhao shun never bullied the innocent nor seized property by force—he was the very model of a princely lord.

Even going out for tea and music could draw such calamity.

The fault couldn’t lie with this good prince—it must be the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s doing.

If those bastards hadn’t driven the enemy into the teahouse, none of this would have happened; his guards wouldn’t have died.

They nearly got him killed; if they think they can sweep this under the rug, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard himself must come to apologize.

A mere sergeant? Ji Zhao shun didn’t even regard him as worth noticing.

Acting Commander Li Mu of the Hanzhong Garrison, at your service, Your Highness!

Li Mu stepped forward and bowed deeply.

No wonder you’re from a noble house—you haven’t disgraced your ancestors!

Prince Fu gave a slight nod.

His starkly different attitude made his stance clear.

He did not continue to flatter him, for Dayu law forbade princes from associating with military officers.

Your Highness, I have no further business here—I’ll take my leave.

Saying this, Li Mu turned and walked away without mentioning a word of what had just occurred.

Sergeant Zhou, who had been about to speak and detain him, bit back his words.

Today’s events were filled with too many coincidences and unresolved mysteries; by Embroidered Uniform Guard protocol, everyone present must be interrogated.

But the Zhenyuan Marquis House was no pushover, and Li Mu had just saved Prince Fu’s life.

Taking him in now would mean offending two titans at once.

After all, the raid had been a last-minute order from above; the fire spreading to the teahouse was an accident—no human planning could be suspected.

An acting military officer carrying a few capable retainers was perfectly reasonable.

Even if a few corpses downstairs bore wounds that looked like street thug tactics, that was merely a minor detail.

…

Zhenyuan Marquis House.

Madam, great trouble—Young Master Mu has returned!

The maid’s truncated words left the Marquis Lady utterly bewildered; she immediately scolded her.

Xiao Cui, what nonsense are you spouting!

If Mu returns, how is that bad?

Such talk couldn’t be tolerated—if it spread, people would think she governed her household poorly.

Madam, Young Master Mu and his men are covered in blood—they look terrifying.

Fubao was carried back on someone’s back; he seems badly injured.

Xiao Cui’s explanation stunned the Marquis Lady.

Though noble youths brawling wasn’t unusual, Li Mu’s actions today contradicted what her husband had described.

Send for a physician to treat Fubao’s wounds, and ask what happened.

Instruct all servants not to spread rumors—wait until the Marquis returns before drawing any conclusions!

After all, she had seen great affairs before; the Marquis Lady refused to jump to conclusions.

…

(End of Chapter)