Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 134

Chapter 134 Where Is He
It was raining all the time, and the atmosphere wasn’t very harmonious. Although the people from the East Factory had already retreated, the people from the Royal Guards were still eyeing the surroundings covetously. The crossbowmen were now aiming at Lu Zhen and the others.

After a confrontation, Mo Cang finally didn’t have the courage to gamble his life on this one, so he could only hatefully throw down a sentence and wait and see. Then, he left with his subordinates and left Lu Zhen and the others to the Royal Guards.

After seeing everyone leave, Yang Zhen slowly walked into the courtyard. After carefully examining Lu Zhen, he said, “County Magistrate Lu, please come with us now.” Although his tone was cold, his attitude was much better than those of the East Factory.

Lin Lie was still standing in front of Lu Zhen, his hand holding the saber as hard as a rock. Although he didn’t say anything, his resolute gaze revealed his intentions. He definitely wouldn’t let Lu Zhen be taken away easily.

Yang Zhen looked at him calmly for a while, then suddenly laughed, “You are a loyal guard master, but do you really think you can block our men? Even those Dongchang Fanzi don’t dare to clash head-on with us. Do you want to try our crossbow arrows?”

Following his words, the brocade guards took another step forward, assuming the posture of attacking at any moment. Seeing this, Lu Zhen unconsciously sighed. Actually, the situation was not much better than before. The Royal Guards and Dongchang were actually the same existences, and judging from their attitudes, they were even tougher than everyone else in Dongchang.

After taking a deep breath, Lu Zhen raised his hand again and patted Lin Lie’s shoulder, “Brother Lin, you have to protect me for the past few days so that I can be safe. This time, things are too big. I don’t want to implicate you …”

“My lord, Lin Lie said that he would sell this life to you as early as last year. As long as I’m alive, I won’t let them touch you!” However, Lin Lie did not intend to move aside. He stared fixedly at Yang Zhen and the others in front of him, and the strength in his hands became even tighter.

“You … why bother?” Lu Zhen sighed and tried to persuade him again. However, at this moment, a strange change occurred.

Yang Zhen, who was originally still some distance away from them, flashed and stuck to Lu Zhen after a moment of blindness. Lin Lie also let out a furious roar. The saber in his hand let out a sharp howl and slashed straight at the other party’s throat.

Although his movements weren’t slow, the Baihu of the Royal Guards in front of him reacted even faster. With a single turn of his body, this deadly saber flashed past him. At the same time, he flipped his hand and the Embroidered Spring Saber on his waist suddenly rose up. He even swung out its sheath and hit the steel saber’s ridge. This strike was extremely powerful, and it struck where Lin Lie’s saber attack was the weakest. With a proper sound, the saber was sent flying far away.

Lin Lie’s expression immediately changed, because he discovered that he had already revealed himself in the middle of the sect. He quickly retreated, wanting to open up a distance between him and the other party. However, with a single step, he remembered the fact that Lu Zhen and the others were still behind him. Once they retreated, they would be exposed to the enemy’s attack, which made him immediately stop.

But in this way, his entire body was completely messed up, and the wide open middle door became the most fatal flaw. Yang Zhen didn’t hesitate at all as he rushed straight in. The Embroidered Spring Saber in his hand twitched again and slammed into Lin Lie’s left neck.

Lin Lie let out a muffled snort and finally took a wrong step to the side. Then, his body collapsed softly. If this saber hadn’t been wrapped in a scabbard, it would have cut off his entire head. However, it was this moment that struck the carotid artery. Even someone as skilled in martial arts as Lin Lie could not withstand it and was knocked unconscious.

This sudden change caused Lu Zhen’s face to be filled with fear. He subconsciously took two steps back and stopped the two women. Although Lin Lie was reluctant to retreat because he wanted to protect himself, giving the other party a chance to quickly knock him down, he could knock him unconscious with just one face-to-face attack. This Brocade Guard Baihu in front of him was indeed a middle-ranked expert.

Even the subordinates behind him couldn’t help but cry out loudly when they saw Yang Zhen knock down Lin Lie in the blink of an eye. On the other hand, he wasn’t the slightest bit happy about this. He continued to look icy cold as he stared at Lu Zhen, “County Magistrate Lu, can you come with us now?”

With a bitter smile, Lu Zhen said, “If you want to take advantage of me, then why ask me what I mean? I’ll go with you. However, I hope that you can let them go. One person does the same thing, and the other does the same thing. I…”

Before he could finish speaking, Yang Zhen shook his head, “I’m sorry, County Magistrate Lu. The order I received was to take all of you away, so they have to follow us.” As he spoke, he waved his hand and gave his subordinates the order to take the person.

Lu Zhen was stunned and turned to look at the two women behind him. His tone was filled with self-blame and helplessness.

On the other hand, Chu Yunrong calmed down and looked back at Lu Zhen. “We won’t blame you, because I know that you made the right choice.”

Before Lu Zhen could say anything else, the brocade guards had already arrived in front of him. They did not rashly tie people up with ropes. Instead, they made an invitation gesture outside the courtyard. “County magistrate Lu, it’s getting late. Let’s go now.”

“Let’s go.” Lu Zhen knew that there was no way to avoid this prison disaster, so he straightened his chest and walked forward. The others surrounded them, and two of them dragged Lin Lie, who was still unconscious on the ground, and followed behind Yang Zhen.

When he arrived outside the courtyard, there was already a carriage. Seeing this, Lu Zhen was slightly stunned. In his opinion, the other party should have prepared a prison car for him, but why was his attitude so good? But very quickly, he turned his attention to the other side. His face was pale and his body was covered in mud. He looked at Zhu Chang, who was in a sorry state, and his body was still trembling.

Ever since the arrival of the Brocade Guards, the deputy leader of the Azure Bamboo Gang had shrunk to the side. He did not dare to move, nor did he dare to leave. He watched in horror what was happening in front of him. Evidently, he regretted it to death. He shouldn’t have accepted this deal. This kind of matter in the Imperial Court also involved the Dongchang and Brocade Guards. It wasn’t something a small gang like him could participate in.

At this moment, he only had one thought in his heart, and that was to save his life and the situation that the Green Bamboo Gang had created with great difficulty. However, it was clear that all of this was beyond his control.

Seeing his appearance, Lu Zhen had already guessed his thoughts, so he couldn’t help but ask, “Yang Baihu, can we not pursue their crimes?” Even he didn’t have the confidence to say this. After all, regardless of whether it was now or a few hundred years later, the Royal Guards’ vicious and unreasonable evaluation had always been there.

‘”Don’t worry, he didn’t provoke our Brocade Guards this time. I naturally won’t make things difficult for them. However, it’s not up to me to decide what kind of attitude Dongchang will have in the future,” Yang Zhen nodded his head after glancing at Zhu Chang.

“Thank you!” Lu Zhen nodded to him sincerely. Sure enough, this person was much easier to talk to than the person from the East Factory. Afterwards, he turned around and hugged Zhu Chang, “This time, the matter has indeed implicated your Green Bamboo Gang. I am deeply sorry. As long as I, Lu Zhen, can still come out, I will definitely compensate you at that time.”

Hearing that, Zhu Chang opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn’t say anything. He just revealed an ugly smile that was even worse than crying. To be honest, after so many years in the capital, none of the people who were taken away by the Royal Guards were able to come out safely. Therefore, there was no need to say anything else, because in his eyes, Lu Zhen was already a dead man.

Although Lu Zhen could see the other party’s thoughts, he didn’t say anything. Finally, he took a deep look at him and came to the carriage very consciously. He helped the two girls in before he got in.

Yang Zhen and the others did not delay any longer. They mounted their horses and protected the carriage as they headed forward. Seeing this scene, Zhu Chang’s face revealed a strange expression. No matter how he looked at it, it didn’t seem like he was escorting a criminal, but rather, it was as if these embroidered guards were protecting the other party and leaving.

“That’s impossible” But very quickly, he dispelled this strange thought. After staying for a while, he remembered his own situation and hurriedly left. Obviously, he was going to discuss the matter of self-protection with his sect master …

@ @ @ @

The rain continued to hit the roof of the car, making rustling sounds, but the car was completely quiet. Lu Zhen and the others’ faces were filled with sadness, and they didn’t even have the slightest intention of speaking.

After a while, Cuimei timidly said, “Master, madam, what … what will they do to us?” In terms of experience, she was naturally the one with the least amount of experience, and she was also the one who was most afraid.

Lu Zhen smiled at her comfortably, “Don’t worry, everything will be fine. At least it would be much better to fall into their hands than to fall into the hands of Dongchang.”

“Why is this?” Chu Yunrong couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Is it because of their attitude just now?”

“No, because they are the Royal Guards. Although they are also under the control of the palace, they are still a level away. Furthermore, just now, from the incompatible battle between the two sides, it is obvious that they are not in the same group.” Lu Zhen had calmed down slightly and had a clearer judgment of the situation.

Chu Yunrong thought about it carefully and felt that this was indeed the case. She couldn’t help but glance at the man in front of her. Didn’t he always stay in the Northern Lands? Why was he so clear about the matters of the Beijing Imperial Court? How many secrets did this man hide?

As the three of them whispered, the car suddenly stopped. The curtain was quickly lifted. A royal guard poked his head in and said, “Come out. We’re at the place.”

Lu Zhen got out of the carriage first and landed in front of him. He was stunned, “Where is this?” Although he wasn’t familiar with the capital and the Brocade Guards’ Governor General’s yamen, he could still tell that this wasn’t the Governor’s yamen, or even any yamen, but the side courtyard of a certain mansion …