Protect our Daxia!
With Lu Ying's command, her subordinates followed without hesitation. Having a superior who would argue fiercely and even risk her life for her subordinates, they steeled their hearts and fought desperately, fully aware that their opponents were formidable and outnumbered them.
Since they had only come to capture a lecher, Lu Ying had brought few people—just seven. Seven against over seventy, all of them skilled fighters, made for an extremely difficult situation.
Fortunately, the area around Ethereal Peak was narrow. When the seventy-plus men rushed forward, there wasn't even enough space to stand. In reality, only about a dozen could engage Lu Ying and her team at a time, and they began to take turns in a war of attrition.
Lu Ying and her team fought desperately to protect Wang Daxia, but the guards of Lu Jingfei and Prince Jing held back, none daring to strike a fatal blow against the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Because Lu Ying, as their superior, remained at the forefront, refusing to retreat even a step and steadfastly shielding her subordinates. If arrows were to be loosed, Lu Ying would serve as a human "shield"—they would have to take her down first to hit Wang Daxia behind her.
Killing Wang Daxia or any other Embroidered Uniform Guard might not matter, but who could bear the responsibility if Lu Ying were killed?
Not even Lu Jingfei or Prince Jing could shoulder that burden!
Lu Ying also knew that, by sheer force, they were bound to lose. So she deliberately resorted to cunning, leading her team to retreat while fighting to a narrow passage between two massive rocks. There, she stood her ground like a lone warrior holding off ten thousand enemies, leaving the guards pursuing Wang Daxia with no recourse.
As the stalemate dragged on, Prince Jing grew anxious. If Wang Daxia weren't killed, the scandal of peeping at the palace maids might leak out. He pulled Eunuch Wei aside and whispered, "He must be killed. Do not let him escape. This is an order. Otherwise, you'll be sent to the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum in Nanjing to join the Purified Army."
"Purified Army" was a euphemism for toilet cleaning. Among the worst fates for eunuchs demoted from the palace to the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum in Nanjing, this ranked first, followed by vegetable farming and incense burning.
Eunuch Wei still harbored hopes that when Prince Jing ascended the throne, he would become the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, Supervising Eunuch, the head of all eunuchs.
Wealth and honor are found in danger. Eunuch Wei threw caution to the wind. He sought out the Prince of Jin's guards who hadn't yet taken their turn and whispered a few words to them.
The guards were startled: "Are we really to use that? It's too risky. What if Commander Lu is accidentally injured—"
Eunuch Wei used a branch to sketch the complex terrain of Ethereal Peak on the ground. "Commander Lu is guarding the front of the crevice, making a direct assault impossible. But Wang Daxia is at the very back. Tie ropes around your waists, swing down from the cliff, and ambush them from behind. Wang Daxia will be the first to fall. Even if other Embroidered Uniform Guards are accidentally injured, it doesn't matter. Aside from Commander Lu, their lives are worthless. This is Prince Jin's order. Go now and carry it out."
The guards obeyed, picked up their crossbows, and five of them secured ropes to pine trees on the mountain, swinging down like apes.
Wang Daxia, seeing his superior and brothers risking their lives for him, was deeply moved. He knew this disaster was of his own making. They wouldn't kill Lu Ying, but Wang Daxia couldn't let his brothers perish for his sake alone. Once Lu Ying was exhausted and restrained, the guards would swarm in, and all five brothers would die.
Wu Xiaoqi's father, Masked Wu, had died unjustly in the moat during the Dragon Boat Festival. Wu Xiaoqi and his elderly grandmother relied on each other for survival—how could they let the grandson die too?Wang Daxia made a quick decision and said to Wu Xiaoqi behind him, "Commander Lu is struggling to hold the line alone. There's a small path below—I'll sneak down, find a hiding spot, then toss my hat and waist token downward to create the illusion that I've fled down the mountain. Once you clear the way, let them chase after me. After they've all left, I'll emerge from hiding and regroup with you."
Wu Xiaoqi nodded. "Go quickly and hide. We'll buy as much time as we can."
Wang Daxia crouched low, instantly shrinking from the height of a warrior to that of a dwarf. Pressing close to the rocks, he moved in a crouched walk, concealing his form as he "rolled" downhill.
Just as Wang Daxia threw his black hat downward and kicked loose several stones to fake his descent, five guards suddenly emerged ahead, encircling him.
They were Prince Jing's guards, sent to ambush the rear.
Wang Daxia had just removed his hat, revealing his face, and was now isolated—a perfect opportunity for the guards, like a pillow offered to a drowsy head! A prime chance to earn merit!
The guards raised their crossbows and fired at Wang Daxia.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several sharp arrows shot toward him. Wang Daxia hastily hid behind a rock. With the escape route blocked below and facing five opponents armed with crossbows, he stood little chance of breaking through. Instead, he zigzagged uphill like a snake.
Arrows pursued him relentlessly, but fortunately, the mountain was strewn with rocks and trees. Wang Daxia moved in a serpentine pattern, his figure flitting like a ghost, and none of the arrows struck him.
Wu Xiaoqi, who had been monitoring Wang Daxia's movements, saw him being pursued by five guards and immediately alerted, "Commander Lu! They're closing in from below, shooting arrows at Wang Daxia—how treacherous!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Ying turned immediately to rescue Wang Daxia.
Fearing he would implicate his comrades, Wang Daxia plunged deeper into the dense forest. Suddenly, he tripped over a tree root, and a guard instantly aimed a gleaming blue-tipped arrow at him.
Noticing the unusual color of the arrowhead, Lu Ying knew it was poisoned—even a non-fatal hit would be lethal. She snatched up a stone and hurled it fiercely at the archer!
The stone struck the guard's arm, causing the arrow to veer off course and embed itself in the tree root, mere paper's width from Wang Daxia's leg.
Wang Daxia also saw the blue arrowhead and realized it was toxic, breaking into a cold sweat. As another guard fired, he had no time to stand. Instead, he pushed up with his hands and kicked out his legs, leaping backward like a frog.
The arrow struck the tip of his boot.
Just as the guards prepared to shoot again, Lu Ying and the others arrived. Each engaged a guard in combat, knocking the crossbows to the ground.
But more guards surged forward, soon outnumbering them nearly ten to one. Lu Ying and her five comrades were overwhelmed and subdued. Lu Ying roared, "Whoever dares kill him, I will kill you! I swear in my father's name! If you kill him, you'll get neither riches nor promotions—nothing!"
By invoking her father Lu Bing, Lu Ying made the guards hesitate. Seizing the opportunity, Wang Daxia scrambled to his feet and fled into the woods."How imposing Commander Lu is." Prince Jing approached, having just stripped a guard of his trousers and shoes to wear himself, though his face remained filthy. Picking up a crossbow from the ground, he declared to the guards, "I swear by my father's name—whoever slays this traitor shall be appointed chief guard of the Jin Prince's residence, rewarded with a thousand taels of silver, and granted lifelong prosperity!"
Who holds greater authority—the Emperor or Lu Bing?
The Emperor, of course!
Hearing this, the guards rallied, snatching up their crossbows to resume the pursuit of Wang Daxia.
Wang Daxia resembled a bear that had stolen honey from a hive, now fleeing a swarm of vengeful wasps. He plunged into the dense forest, where thick foliage and tangled vines draped the trees. Grabbing a vine, he scaled a trunk and swung through the canopy like an ape, leaping from branch to branch.
Meanwhile, Lu Ying and her five companions were forced to the ground, still hurling curses. Prince Jing ordered their mouths gagged—an eye for an eye—yet dared not silence Lu Ying.
Though the prince spared her, Lu Ying showed no such restraint. "My father has been ill for mere days, and already you dare bully me and assault the Embroidered Uniform Guard? How mighty the imperial descendant, Prince Jing, appears!"
"Pity my aged, ailing father, rendered feeble by sickness—and now you trample and mistreat me. When my father risked his life for the Great Ming and His Majesty, charging into flames to rescue the sovereign, you, Prince Jing, had not even been born."
Lu Ying cast a scornful gaze at the prince. "Without my father carrying the Emperor from that inferno, would you even exist today? If you dare treat me thus now, what humiliation might you inflict upon my father tomorrow?"
Prince Jing retorted angrily, "I have always respected Commander Lu! Do not slander me! Had you not been negligent, obstinately opposing me, shielding your subordinate's crimes, and framing me, would I have been forced to restrain you? You brought this upon yourself—I have not harmed you!"
Seeing no recourse, Lu Ying laid all cards on the table. "Does Your Highness believe killing Wang Daxia will silence the truth? That it will conceal your scandal of peeping at the palace maids? Hah! You are naively optimistic. So long as I breathe, I will expose your disgrace to all!"
Veins bulged on Prince Jing's forehead. "You wouldn't dare!"
"What is there to fear? Every action I've taken proves my courage!" Lu Ying shot back. "Unless you kill me as well, the consequences will be endless!"
"You—" The prince reached for his sword, but a hand restrained his hilt—that of Consort Lu Jingfei.
She shook her head at him. "Do not escalate this."
Lu Ying was Lu Bing's beloved daughter, and Lu Bing was not one to be trifled with.
Lu Ying declared, "Noble Consort, if you wish this scandal buried, there is only one path: revoke the kill order for Wang Daxia. Let us both retreat, sit down, and negotiate a resolution. This is a grave misunderstanding. Whether we dispel it or let it fester into greater calamity rests in your hands.""Mother, this won't do." Prince Jing said, "The matter has already caused an uproar. The only way is to kill Wang Daxia. After all, Lu Ying is just a woman, and I haven't laid a finger on her. I can visit her later to apologize and offer amends. Commander Lu wouldn't dare do anything to me anyway. It's just the death of a nobody—this affair will gradually fade away."
Lu Jingfei shared the same sentiment. Lu Ying was a woman, already eighteen—considered "advanced in age"—and once women married, had children, and returned to domestic life, they wouldn't remain as passionate and daring as they were now, bold enough to oppose a favored consort and a prince. Eventually, she would have to submit.
Thus, Lu Jingfei ignored Lu Ying's proposal for reconciliation.
Seeing that Lu Jingfei paid no heed to her peace offer, Lu Ying closed her eyes. The imperial bodyguards restraining her thought she had exhausted her tricks and ceased struggling, so they let their guard down, easing the pressure holding her.
Seizing the opportunity, Lu Ying stomped hard on the left guard's foot and headbutted the right guard's skull. Both men cried out in pain, involuntarily releasing her arms.
Lu Ying broke free and rushed to rescue her companion, while the pursuing guards closed in relentlessly. Just then, Lu Ying spotted a pair of long pheasant tail feathers atop the hill ahead, their plumes shimmering with iridescent colors in the sunset—truly magnificent!
Perhaps due to the psychological compensation for their castration—having lost one small "tail," they sought to adorn themselves with artificial ones—many high-ranking eunuchs in the palace favored wearing long pheasant tail feathers on their hats. This ornament, originally from opera stages, had become popular in the Ming court. On stage, even Sun Wukong, who wreaked havoc in Heaven, sported such long pheasant tail feathers.
They replaced one missing tail with two long, splendid, swaying pheasant plumes to compensate for their physical deficiency.
During Wang Daxia's years as a eunuch, the pheasant feathers on his hats and crowns were always the tallest, most luxuriant, and dazzling. From afar, even before seeing the man, one could spot those two distinctive plumes and know Depot Director Wang had arrived.
Now, Huang Jin, the Supervising Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, shared the same fondness for adorning himself with pheasant feathers. As the highest-ranking eunuch, his tail feathers were the longest in the Forbidden City—so lofty they seemed to pierce the clouds!
Thus, though backlit and unable to clearly see the newcomer's face, Lu Ying guessed from those exaggerated plumes that it must be Huang Jin.
Lu Ying shouted toward the hill, "Old Sir! Help! They're trying to kill me!"
Huang Jin, fearing to disturb the Jiajing Emperor who had just obtained his "Drunken Beauty," personally descended the hill to investigate. There, halfway up the slope, he saw Lu Ying running toward him, crying for help, with a group of guards in hot pursuit.
Huang Jin was shocked: How dare anyone attempt to murder Lu Bing's treasured daughter in broad daylight!
He immediately ordered the imperial bodyguards to assist Lu Ying. Separated by a cliff, they couldn't reach her directly yet. Fortunately, the Jiajing Emperor's elite guards were equipped with the latest flintlock muskets developed by Wang Gong Factory. They swiftly formed a triple-volley formation: the front row knelt, aimed at the guards chasing Lu Ying, and pulled the triggers.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunshots echoed through the valley...
Author's Note: The great clash continues~
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