Chapter 307: Qingbang

Jiakangcheng!

On the main road of the city.

A bustling crowd blocked the road.

People who had been laughing and chatting.

As the maid unfurled the document, the crowd fell silent.

A letter from Mount Zhongnan!

It bore the seal "Shenzhou."

"Yuwen Liqian indeed accepted Prince Yan's invitation to visit Mount Zhongnan!"

Their final destination on this journey was Mount Zhongnan to meet Prince Yan, Lu Chen.

As soon as she finished speaking, her voice, though soft, rang with authority!

In the brief silence that followed, several figures stepped forward from the crowd.

The crowd was no longer noisy or chattering.

The maid couldn't help but wonder: these commoners, who normally dared to block even the prefect's carriage and ignored the authority of the city gate's five captains, why were they so silent now?

Why did they suddenly fall silent all at once!

Suddenly!

The crowd erupted into an unprecedented uproar.

"Did you hear? It's a guest from Mount Zhongnan!"

"It's Prince Yan's guest!"

"The Young Protector's honored guest."

For all these years, the northern lands still had many who called him the Young Protector.

Even that old man Li, lounging lazily by the corner, smoking his pipe, dropped his tobacco pipe involuntarily.

He hurriedly wiped his hands on his robe, his eyes gleaming with unprecedented awe, and called out to Yuwen Liqian with nervousness:

"Miss, are you going to Mount Zhongnan? To meet Prince Yan?"

At these words!

All eyes turned sharply toward the group before the carriage.

The noble-looking woman, and her beautiful green-clad maid.

The maid frowned slightly, her displeasure plain on her face; she corrected sternly:

"Don't call her 'miss'—she's the Princess of Han!"

Yuwen Liqian nodded: "We come from Han. We have Prince Yan's letter as proof!"

"Master Su can also vouch for us!"

Su Beihai's face turned awkward; after all, this was originally a secret order from Prince Yan's mansion—now exposed, it made him look incompetent.

Su Beihai pulled a letter from his sleeve but did not open it; the lacquer seal of Prince Yan's mansion was still intact.

With this, no one dared to dispute it!

The crowd burst into genuine excitement.

A vigorous middle-aged man stepped forward!

He was tall and broad, wearing a coarse hemp coat from the docks, his chest slightly open to reveal a vivid tiger-head tattoo; his features were dignified, his nose hooked, his face rugged, and his gaze carried an aura of silent authority.

Anyone would say: what a true hero.

"I am Lu San. I did not know you were Prince Yan's honored guest—my apologies."

As he stepped forward, he clenched his fist and crossed his arms; behind him, the entire crowd imitated him, bowing low.

All were members of the Qingbang!

Yuwen Liqian silently praised: Lu San carried himself with an air far beyond that of an ordinary commoner.

Su Beihai's face showed helplessness as he explained:

"This Lu San is the head of the Qingbang—a man who has gathered four thousand toughs in Jiakangcheng, ruling both the legal and illegal worlds, known as the River Dragon. Everyone in the city knows him."

Over these past few years, he'd given Su Beihai no end of trouble!

Yuwen Liqian nodded: to challenge a city prefect within the city itself.

His power was considerable.

The maid, though she had already tucked away the document, still bore a trace of lingering anger; she glared at Lu San and muttered:

"So it was him pulling strings behind the scenes? Such an odd name."

Hearing this, Su Beihai looked at Lu San: "Lu San isn't his real name—he changed it himself. Supposedly, he deeply reveres Prince Yan and the Young Protector, and since Prince Yan also bears the surname Lu, he adopted the name Lu San."

Lu Chen is the eldest, Lu Yu the second, and he is the third!

"Within the Qingbang, they even worship portraits of the Young Protector."

At these words,

Yuwen Liqian was slightly surprised; she had heard that northern commoners often hung portraits of the Young Protector in their home halls.

She hadn't expected even these outlaw gangs to do the same.

News spread rapidly through every corner; upon hearing they were guests from Mount Zhongnan, the crowd's enthusiasm ignited instantly—word passed from one to ten, from ten to a hundred, and in moments, the entire street and both sides of the rooftops were packed with people craning their necks.

The road was lined on both sides with people.

On the carriage, the maid stood at the edge of the step; everywhere her gaze fell, the crowd was dense and unbroken. She turned anxiously to Yuwen Liqian:

"Princess, this is bad—the crowd ahead is growing thicker."

Yuwen Liqian frowned slightly.

But Su Beihai's face showed no worry—he looked confident and reassured her:

"Princess, do not fret. They know you are a guest of Mount Zhongnan—your passage will be unimpeded."

"No one in the north dares block a carriage bound for Mount Zhongnan!"

But the maid did not believe it!

Her face betrayed doubt; after all, among the common folk, the authority of local clerks often felt more immediate and powerful than that of the distant emperor.

The county magistrate is closer than the emperor!

In Han's countryside, the emperor's name meant less than that of a minor local official.

How much less, then, a prince dwelling far away on Mount Zhongnan who rarely involved himself in governance?

At that moment, shouts rose from the crowd; someone cried out loudly:

"Princess, could you please deliver a message to Prince Yan for us?"

That cry opened the floodgates; those around began echoing it.

"Yes, Princess, please deliver a message to Prince Yan for us!"

Yuwen Liqian looked up at the roaring crowd.

The people were already beginning to part of their own accord.

Lu San stepped forward with a smile:

"Princess, please tell the Young Protector!"

"The entire Qingbang, and all the people of this city, are praying for him."

Watching the impassable crowd slowly split apart on either side,

Old Li pulled the silver he had just received from his chest and placed it on the carriage:

"Old man Li was disrespectful just now!"

"I have wronged the Young Protector!"

He raised his hand and slapped his own face hard several times, blood seeping from his lips.

Su Beihai beside him said: "Enough, enough, go on, go on!"

Others nearby also urged him:

Old Li chuckled: "I won't die from it. Old Li also asks the Princess to deliver a message to the Young Protector!"

Yuwen Liqian looked at the crowd; since she had mentioned Mount Zhongnan,

Their reverence for this Prince Yan came from the heart.

Old Li smiled warmly: "Please tell the Young Protector, thanks to his blessings."

"My son had another child this year—I'm a grandfather now."

The maid's expression turned strange.

A nearby official explained:

"Old Li was a veteran of the Shan Camp of the old Lu Army—a refugee from the northern lands who followed Prince Yan in the Battle of the Yellow River, and was later settled in Jiakangcheng by Prince Yan's mansion."

Yuwen Liqian understood.

As she watched the old man's smile when he said, "I'm a grandfather now," she felt momentarily confused.

How many years has Lu Chen cultivated the Dao?

Nearly twenty-six years—how could he be so beloved by the people?

Seeing the growing crowd, the dock laborers nearby heard the news—they were guests from Mount Zhongnan.

They hurried over!

The road ahead cleared automatically; sedan chairs lowered slightly to make way.

As the crowd gathered, the path ahead naturally opened into a wide corridor for them.

Merchants, drawn by the sudden spectacle, abandoned their shops, dropping their work to gather around.

The vendors abandoned their stalls and came rushing over.

(End of Chapter)