TIGR Chapter 102

The Imperial Guard’s Revenge

Chapter 102 Living Alone

In the Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion, a heavy curtain was lifted, and even before the visitor was seen, a hearty laughter rang out: “Marquis, I hope you’re well! I’ve come to pay my New Year greetings.”

Fu Tingzhou immediately stood up after hearing the voice and went to the door to greet him: “Uncle Xu, you should have sent word that you were coming. Please, have a seat.”

Xu Rong had once been Fu Yue’s deputy general, and he was of the same generation as Fu Chang. Fu Tingzhou treated his grandfather’s old subordinate with great respect. He helped Xu Rong to a seat and ordered the steward to bring the best tea. Once the tea was brewed and all unrelated personnel had left the study, Xu Rong finally spoke: “I’m getting older, and my legs are becoming more inconvenient. I want to move around, but I find it hard. I heard that the Marquis was attacked at the Lu Mansion yesterday. When my son told me about it, I was quite shocked, so I hurried over to pay my respects. Marquis, you weren’t injured, were you?”

Yesterday, Lu Heng’s grand wedding was the talk of the entire capital, but Xu Rong’s status wasn’t high enough to attend. Similarly, news of the unprovoked attack on the Lu Mansion also spread quickly among those in the know.

Fu Tingzhou shook his head: “Uncle Xu, you’re too kind. I’m fine. Those assassins were nothing more than a disorganized mob, and they posed no real threat. Fortunately, there were no casualties among the guests, but Lu Heng did get hit by an arrow.”

Many high-ranking officials attended Lu Heng’s wedding and were caught in the attack, but fortunately, no one was injured. It was an unexpected stroke of luck. If anyone had been hurt at the Lu Mansion, it would have been even more embarrassing for Lu Heng as the host.

Although Lu Heng and Xu Rong belonged to different factions in the military and had never been close, Xu Rong couldn’t just ignore the situation. He feigned concern and asked: “Was Commander Lu injured? Was it serious?”

Fu Tingzhou hoped that arrow had killed Lu Heng, but unfortunately, it had only grazed his shoulder. He shook his head and said: “It’s just a shoulder wound, nothing fatal.”

Xu Rong replied with a low sound and, realizing that discussing this topic further could be awkward, he dropped it. Instead, Xu Rong said: “I heard the city gates were locked down today. There are many more Imperial Guard patrols, and everyone entering and leaving is being thoroughly checked. Could this be related to yesterday’s incident?”

Fu Tingzhou hadn’t left the house yet, so he was just hearing about this. Glancing outside at the sky, he noted that it was only around noon. Lu Heng had already reported to the emperor and secured control of the city gates? Fu Tingzhou couldn’t help but sigh: “The emperor truly trusts him. It seems those people from yesterday had another agenda, indeed.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Rong quickly asked more. Xu Rong came today not only to pay his New Year greetings but to gather information. With such a sudden large-scale attack in the city, everyone had friends and family involved, who would dare stay uninvolved?

Fu Tingzhou understood this and briefly recounted what happened the day before. They all grew up in military families and been around weapons since childhood. Lu Heng could recognize where the assassin was from, and the others could more or less do the same.

Fu Tingzhou continued: “I fought with a few of the assassins yesterday. Based on their skills and the types of weapons they used, they seem to be from Japan.”

“Japan?” Xu Rong was astonished and asked, “Aren’t the Japanese based along the coast? What are they doing all the way in the capital?”

These matters involved state affairs, so Fu Tingzhou shook his head and chose not to elaborate further. Given the indiscriminate attacks by Japanese assassins yesterday, combined with the emperor’s decision to lock down the city, Fu Tingzhou concluded that a war against Japan was imminent, and the emperor would soon take decisive action against the pirates.

The pirates had been troubling the coastal areas for quite some time. Initially, they engaged in theft and would flee after each raid, so the court deemed it unworthy pursuing them over such minor losses. However, as time passed, their audacity grew. They began colluding with local thugs to smuggle goods, commit robberies, and cause chaos.

With the emperor’s land reform initiatives extending to the south, maintaining order was essential for implementing central directives, which meant putting an end to the pirates. A confrontation between the court and the pirates was unavoidable, this attack had merely accelerated the timeline.

Seeing that Fu Tingzhou was unwilling to say more, Xu Rong could roughly guess what he was avoiding. While he didn’t fully understand the intricacies of court struggles, he knew the principle of an eye for an eye. With the Japanese coming to the capital so brazenly, how could the court sit idly by and let the pirates strike at them without retaliation?

The emperor would send someone to deal with the pirates, but what concerned them more was who would be chosen for the task.

The court could be broadly divided into different factions, government and military, northern and southern, nobles and the scholars. These three classifications actually all indicated the same thing. Government officials were mostly from southern scholarly families, while the military was in the hands of generals, most of whom came from northern noble families. Furthermore, these lines were hereditary across generations. This led to many of the noblemen and officials in the capital understanding how to fight against the Mongols, even though very few knew about naval warfare.

Xu Rong tried to ask: “Marquis, the Japanese pirates are causing trouble, and they should have been dealt with long ago. Who do you think is suitable for dealing with them?”

Fu Tingzhou thought for a moment and slowly shook his head: “I know very little about naval forces. The emperor is wise and will certainly find a capable individual.”

Having just returned from the front lines, the emperor wouldn’t have him be involved in actual power so soon. There were factions within the military as well, and to maintain balance, the emperor probably wouldn’t give more power to the Wuding Marquis faction.

Deep down, Fu Tingzhou looked down on the Japanese pirates. They were just a bunch of petty thieves, what could they achieve? This expedition was clearly just another way to give credit to one of the emperor’s favorites.

Xu Rong nodded, understanding that this war had little to do with them. Since there were no benefits to gain, he stopped paying attention and instead recalled some gossip.

In a joking tone, he said to Fu Tingzhou: “Marquis, I heard that Commander Lu was interrogating people all night in South Fusi. Even on the night of his wedding, he gave it up. He really is dedicated.”

Fu Tingzhou forced a smile, but inwardly furrowed his brow, sensing something was off. Although Lu Heng was dedicated to his work, it was unlike him to mix public and private matters, especially by torturing prisoners on his wedding night.

Fu Tingzhou’s eyes flickered with realization as he gained a rough idea of what happened.

After seeing Xu Rong off, he walked over to the bookshelf and silently opened a hidden compartment. He had seen the contents countless times, but this time, as soon as he opened it, his expression darkened.

The wooden box inside was wide open, and its contents were gone.

Fu Tingzhou narrowed his eyes, his expression turning frighteningly cold. There was no doubt — this was Lu Heng’s doing. Lu Heng had taken the items inside and restored the mechanism to its original state. Fu Tingzhou hadn’t realized anything was wrong when he opened it just moments ago.

This was blatant provocation. Lu Heng was telling him that he could silently take Wang Yanqing’s household registration and letters, just as easily as he could take Fu Tingzhou’s life.

Fu Tingzhou stood silently in front of the bookshelf for a moment, then quietly closed the hidden compartment and restored the mechanism. Even if Lu Heng was threatening him, it didn’t matter. Fu Tingzhou was certain that Lu Heng wouldn’t dare to kill him.

If Lu Heng truly acted, he would be crossing one of the emperor’s bottom lines. Given Lu Heng’s many enemies, losing the emperor’s trust would spell trouble for him.

Fu Tingzhou called for the housekeeper and calmly instructed: “Go fetch Fei Cui’s contract.”

·

Wang Yanqing had prepared to go to bed early the previous day, but despite lying in bed for a long time, she couldn’t fall asleep. It wasn’t until dawn that she finally dozed off for a bit.

The sound of birds chirping outside woke her up. She sat up, pressing her forehead. Despite lying down for so long, she felt no sense of relaxation, only exhaustion.

Ever since she lost her memory, she rarely had trouble sleeping. Perhaps it was the naivety of youth. She had forgotten her past and thought of herself as a carefree girl cherished by her adoptive brother, simply eating and sleeping every day without a care in the world. But now that her memories had returned, her sleep had worsened again.

Suddenly, an image of Lu Heng flashed in her mind, and she paused for a moment. Then she firmly pushed those thoughts away as she collected herself and got out of bed.

She changed her clothes, but still felt lethargic, even lacking the energy to eat breakfast. Wang Yanqing had lived in this residence for three days. The maids and servants were aware of her identity. When she unexpectedly returned last night, it was as if everyone had lost their memory. No one asked her anything and they quietly catered to her preferences.

The breakfast spread was entirely to her liking. As she slowly scooped her porridge, she overheard two maids whispering outside the screen: “Did you hear? The city gates are closed, and you need to show documents to come and go.”

“Really? Why are they suddenly inspecting so strictly?”

“I don’t know, but it seems they’re looking for the assassins from yesterday. Thankfully, there’s still some grain in the residence, so even if merchants can’t come in, we can hold out for a while.”

The room was quiet, and their whispers reached Wang Yanqing’s ears. She lowered her gaze, blowing on her porridge. It seemed that Lu Heng hadn’t completely fabricated everything, passage out of the capital was indeed restricted.

Wang Yanqing sipped her porridge slowly, ready to hear the maids “accidentally” disclose more information. However, the maids behaved themselves, serving her quietly without uttering a single unnecessary word. Wang Yanqing was a bit surprised. Lu Heng hadn’t arranged for anyone either to paint him as a victim or clear his name?

After finishing breakfast, the maids quietly cleared the dishes. Fei Cui walked alongside Wang Yanqing. They had once been inseparable, but now, even in the same room, there was an unspoken distance between them.

Fei Cui noticed that Wang Yanqing treated her differently than before. Even though Wang Yanqing remained warm and friendly, they could no longer share everything.

The two years that Lu Heng had stolen her away had changed many things. Fei Cui felt that Wang Yanqing was different, though she couldn’t quite pinpoint how. Previously, Wang Yanqing had always been focused on Fu Tingzhou. When he wasn’t around, she would read the books he read and delve into subjects he found interesting. Now, while she still sought out books in her leisure time, her interests had clearly shifted.

Fei cui couldn’t tell if it was due to another man’s influence or if it was of Wang Yanqing’s own choice.

Neither of them mentioned the events of the wedding day.

Around noon, a guard came in to report that a man in plain clothes had left a box at the guardhouse. Wang Yanqing took the wooden box, opened it, and found a stack of old, yellowed papers inside.

It was the Wang family household registration along with letters from Wang Cong, written during his early years on the battlefield.

Wang Yanqing carefully examined the household registration, confirming it was the original document she had brought from Datong. She closed the box and asked: “Where’s the person who delivered this?”

The guard stood outside the screen. His head lowered as he replied: “They have already left.”

“What did they look like?”

The guard struggled to describe the man for a while, and Wang Yanqing realized it was likely someone close to Lu Heng. But this was even more puzzling, Lu Heng had obtained her household registration and didn’t use it to negotiate at all. He simply sent someone to drop it off and left?

She had expected him to use it as an excuse to come and talk, maybe even to chat aimlessly, but he had given it to her so easily.

Wang Yanqing initially thought about having Fei Cui keep the box safe, but as the words reached the tip of her tongue, she suddenly changed her mind. Never mind, such important items should be kept under her own watch. Fei Cui was from the Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion, and the other maids were loyal to Lu Heng, none of them could be trusted.

In this household, the only one who truly stood by her side was herself.

Holding the wooden box, Wang Yanqing asked: “Did he only leave this box?”

“There was a message too,” the guard lowered his head further and said, “He asked the lady to rest assured and take care of her health. Master Lu will capture the assassins as quickly as possible and won’t allow any thieves to disturb you.”

Wang Yanqing nodded, feeling surprisingly calm inside. Setting everything else aside, Lu Heng’s competence was indeed impeccable. She fully trusted that he would deal with the Japanese assassins. As for the safety of this residence… she never worried about it.

Having slept poorly the night before, she had little appetite throughout the day. At lunch, she barely touched her food, and by evening, she only had a bowl of porridge before going to bed. Wang Yanqing had been particularly concerned that she might wake up in the middle of the night to find Lu Heng or that he might send someone to remind her to eat properly. Fortunately, when she awoke the next day, none of her worries had come true.

She couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of relief. Lu Heng hadn’t continuously monitored her life — though whether or not he was watching, she didn’t want to think too deeply about. At least he hadn’t jumped out to interfere. The people in the house also didn’t subtly try to instill the idea that Lu Heng treated her exceptionally well and that she should return to his side soon.

Lu Heng was so well-behaved that he seemed like a true gentleman. He had respected her wishes and stayed outside her door without encroaching on her life. Because of this, Wang Yanqing could rest quietly in the residence and recuperate. Otherwise, if any of the things she had feared happened, she would have packed her things and left the capital immediately.

After breakfast, Fei Cui asked: “Miss, you’ve seemed down these past few days. Would you like to go out for a walk?”

The other maids in the room cast furtive glances at her. They referred to Wang Yanqing as “Madam,” while Fei Cui called her “Miss,” clearly indicating their differing loyalties. Wang Yanqing shook her head and said: “There are still spies roaming outside. Given the speed of the Imperial Guards, they should be closing in on them within the next couple of days. It’s better if we don’t go out and add to the trouble.”

The Japanese aimed to target high-ranking officials in the court to create turmoil in the central government. However, officials and nobles were all keen on preserving their own lives, with strict security measures in place and guards never leaving their sides. When one person was to encounter trouble, the others would become alert. So, if the Japanese wanted to assassinate them one by one, the possibility of success would be very low.

That’s why they had set their sights on Lu Heng’s wedding banquet. Originally, if Lu Heng hadn’t married, Fu Tingzhou’s wedding in the second month would have been their target. But Lu Heng held his wedding in the first month, which was of a higher status and closer in time. This gathered many distinguished guests who were unarmed, making it a prime opportunity for the Japanese pirates.

Their plan was to first kill Lu Heng, the host. If he died, the Lu Mansion would lose its head, leading to chaos, which would make it easier for the pirates to commit their crimes. They also intended to take Wang Yanqing hostage, indicating that they had done their homework beforehand.

In such a situation, it was best for Wang Yanqing to avoid taking any risks by going out. If they recognized her, wouldn’t that just be offering herself up as a hostage?

Wang Yanqing preferred to stay indoors, reading and soaking up the sun. Whenever she felt tired, she would go to sleep. She was like a patient who had just bumped her head. The doctor had specifically advised her not to exert herself and focus on calming her mind.

Just as she woke up from her afternoon nap, she suddenly heard the gatekeeper relaying a message that there was a visitor.

It was Fu Tingzhou.

|| Author’s Note:

Lu Heng: I feel miserable, but I can’t say anything, so I must pretend to be a workaholic.

Prev TOC Next