Chapter 322: Taking the Prince of Fu to the Capital

Jinling City, the Prince of Fu's residence.

The Prince of Fu was the wealthiest man in the realm, the most famous of all the feudal princes. Though the old Prince of Fu, Zhu Changxun, had died at the hands of Li Zicheng's bandit army, the newly built Prince of Fu's residence in Jinling City was by no means small in scale.

At a glance, the exterior of the Prince of Fu's residence was already decorated in lavish splendor. It was said that within there were no small number of imperial gardens, with rockeries and ponds in full abundance—truly the very height of worldly extravagance.

This day was as calm as any other. Seven or eight guards in blue armor stood before the gate, watching the various passersby on the street, their faces full of arrogance.

After all, they were the personal guards of the prestigious Prince of Fu's residence.

By virtue of their position, even the guests who came daily to call on the prince had to be utterly deferential, and the gratuities they gave were not on the same level as those received by the shabby officers and soldiers who guarded ordinary gates.

The guards were staring intently at every person passing on the street, and several of them even let their gazes linger on the women. But before long, the expressions of the passersby turned panicked, and quite a few commoners began gathering around the tavern across from the residence, pointing and gesturing toward the guards' side.

The guard captain at the gate was puzzled, so he stepped down from the steps and grabbed a woman to question her.

The woman who had been seized looked terrified, struggling ceaselessly without uttering a single word. Just as the guard captain was about to fly into a rage, a man ran over and knocked his hand off the woman, then turned and walked away.

After a few steps, the man shielded the woman behind him, turned his head, and said, "Your good days are over!" Having said this, he pulled the woman along and ducked straight into the crowd outside the tavern to watch the show.

The guard captain was even more puzzled at these words, but anger was already rising in his heart. He gripped the hilt of his saber and strode toward the tavern, intending to scare these ungrateful ruffians—the prestigious Prince of Fu's residence could hardly be allowed to turn into a vegetable market.

He had not gone more than a few steps when he saw these ruffians looking into the distance, each wearing a delighted expression. The guard captain turned to look and immediately knitted his brows.

From the end of the street, several dozen fast horses were charging over at speed. Those at the front all wore flying-fish robes with embroidered spring sabers at their waists—the standard kit of the Embroidered Uniform Guard through and through. Recalling the fearsome reputation of the depots and guards these days, even the guard captain felt a measure of dread.

Had he been a clansman of the princely household, he naturally would not have feared these depot and guard agents. But he was only a guard—no one would quarrel with the depots and guards on his behalf. Once you provoked them, they could even dig up the misdeeds of eighteen generations of your ancestors.

In truth, not all members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard were equipped with embroidered spring sabers and flying-fish robes. Those granted such an honor were all men of extremely high standing within the Guard. The flying-fish robe was exclusive to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but the embroidered spring saber was not.

Certain men of very high standing within the Eastern Depot were almost all equipped with embroidered spring sabers in addition to their regulation paired swords—this being precisely the symbol of a lictor's status within the depot.

The guard captain, who understood all this, saw that the newcomers were considerable in number and naturally realized that this batch of Embroidered Uniform Guard agents was not to be trifled with. Better to avoid trouble than to court it. Forced to yield, he retreated a few steps and resumed his position on the residence steps, intending to make way for these guardsmen.

Yet these Embroidered Uniform Guard agents called out "Whoa!" a few times, reined in their mounts, and slowly came to a halt before the Prince of Fu's residence gate. The man at their head wore the official robe of a Guard Commander—none other than Li Ruolian, the current seal-holding Guard Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Li Ruolian waved his hand to signal the men behind him to dismount, then strode forward in large steps, produced an imperial summons, and announced in a loud voice: "By His Majesty's personal summons, the Prince of Fu is 'invited' to the capital for an audience!"

At hearing this news, the residence guards' minds went "Boom!" By all convention, a feudal prince would hardly be summoned to the capital unless something major was afoot. Could it be that some disorder had broken out in the capital? It could hardly be a simple matter of sharing a meal and idle chat.

"When the Embroidered Uniform Guard comes knocking, one can't help but be a little tense. Pray forgive me, Commander." He took the imperial summons from Li Ruolian's hand, verified it was genuine, returned it, and said with an ingratiating smile: "Though it is the Embroidered Uniform Guard at our door, my master the prince has said that he is receiving no visitors today. Please, gentlemen, turn back—don't make things difficult for everyone."

"Visitor?" Li Ruolian gave a few cold laughs at this, then said harshly: "You must understand—we are the Son of Heaven's own personal army. We are neither hosts, nor are we any kind of 'visitor'! This officer has come bearing the imperial summons to escort His Highness the Prince of Fu to the capital. Whether he receives us or not, he is coming with us!"

Seeing that the newcomers meant trouble and were great in number, the guard captain—nothing more than a gatekeeper—naturally dared not break with the Embroidered Uniform Guard, especially when the other party included a Guard Commander. He could only offer apologetic smiles and hurried inside to report.

Before long, the guard captain came running back, a large handprint visible on his face. With a bitter expression he said: "Commander, please don't make things difficult for this humble one. The prince says he won't see you. Best come back another day when the prince is in better spirits."

"When the Embroidered Uniform Guard comes to take someone, he will see us whether he likes it or not!" Li Ruolian drew his gleaming embroidered spring saber, shoved the guard captain aside, and led his men in kicking open the great gate, filing through in a stream.

"Li Ruolian, you have some nerve! You dare to force your way into this prince's residence!" The corpulent Zhu Yousong sat bolt upright in the main hall of the residence and, without a word of explanation, launched into a torrent of abuse at Li Ruolian and his men.

In truth, when Zhu Yousong heard that Li Ruolian had come calling, he was extremely nervous at heart. After all, the Embroidered Uniform Guard never came knocking without good reason. Zhu Youjian's summoning him to the capital surely could not be as simple as sharing a meal.

Under this tension, what Zhu Yousong displayed was precisely this appearance of being strong outside but weak within.

"Your subject, Seal-Holding Guard Commander Li Ruolian, pays respects to His Highness the Prince of Fu." After performing the most basic courtesies to the full, Li Ruolian again produced the imperial summons and said with perfect politeness: "His Majesty invites the Prince of Fu to discuss matters of state. Please, Your Highness, come with us to the capital at once!"

"How dare you!" Zhu Yousong, however, showed not the slightest appreciation. On the pretext of verifying its authenticity, he ordered someone to fetch the imperial summons, and once it was in his hands, tore it to shreds on the spot. Snorting, he said: "Imperial summons? What imperial summons?"

"It's not that this prince is ungrateful—it's simply that the residence has a great many people, and this prince cannot be away!"

"Heh heh, Your Highness the Prince of Fu, surely you haven't forgotten—as early as the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, the current emperor already permitted us, the Son of Heaven's personal army, to take people without bearing an imperial summons, and imperial relatives are no exception!"

"So even if you tear up the summons in public today, what is coming for you cannot be escaped!"

Li Ruolian was unperturbed by this, sheathing his embroidered spring saber. Just as Zhu Yousong breathed a sigh of relief, thinking Li Ruolian had been intimidated and was about to back down, he saw him and the other guardsmen in flying-fish robes produce heavy iron chains from behind their waists, and heard him announce in a loud voice:

"By His Majesty's decree—if the Prince of Fu refuses to comply, he is to be chained and taken to the capital!"

"Li Ruolian! You are nothing but a commoner by birth, and you dare to lay hands on this prince?! How many heads do you have to spare?!" Zhu Yousong was greatly alarmed. Hearing Li Ruolian's words, the residence guards also pressed forward one after another to protect him, their gazes hostile.

Seeing these guards step forward, large numbers of Embroidered Uniform Guard agents drew their sabers in unison and closed in. Li Ruolian showed not a trace of fear, holding his iron chain as he said coldly:

"Commissioner-in-Chief Zhou of the Shenwu Army is waiting right outside. We wouldn't dare lay a hand on the Prince of Fu—but if any of you dare make so much as one overstepping move, I fear not a single soul in your entire households, young or old, of your whole clans will be left alive! Think very carefully!"

The guards exchanged helpless glances with one another, then hung their heads and set down their weapons, not daring in the least to fight the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

And indeed—though serving at the prince's residence brought them face and glory, in the end they were still just earning a living. How could they afford to provoke these Embroidered Uniform Guard agents?

Seeing the situation before him, Zhu Yousong finally began to panic. He jumped down from his chair and tried to flee.

Li Ruolian gave a cold snort, thinking to himself, "Where do you think you're running?" Seizing the right moment, he dashed through the crowd in one stride, locked the chains onto Zhu Yousong, and ignoring his shouting and screaming, dragged him straight out of the residence.

"Li Ruolian! You dare to chain this prince! Don't you forget—you are nothing but a dog of my Zhu family! Even that Zhu Youjian wouldn't dare do anything to this prince! Once this prince reaches the capital, I will have your entire clan executed to the ninth generation!!"

Though Zhu Yousong was fat, it was really just blubber. Held fast by the burly Li Ruolian, no matter how he struggled he could not break free, and could only submit to his fate while cursing without cease, his words growing uglier and uglier.

"Good!"

"Well caught—should have been caught long ago!"

"The Prince of Fu really has been arrested! The depots and guards have truly done a great deed for the people!"

The crowd of onlookers had by now grown quite large, nearly filling the entire street. Seeing the wicked Prince of Fu being chained and dragged out of his residence by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they clapped and cheered one and all. Some elders with white hair trembled all over with excitement, asking again and again in disbelief that this could truly be real.