Chapter 200: I Won Again

Ruiyan, the young Lord you often praised at home is right before you. Why don’t you come and pay your respects?

As soon as Yu Bowen finished speaking, a woman in a lotus-colored dress stepped out from behind him. She glided forward, cast a shimmering glance, then immediately lowered her head like a startled fawn, her eyelashes fluttering.

As she bowed and curtsied, a faint blush appeared on her cheeks at just the right moment.

She looked every bit the young noble lady, with a heart full of budding affection, yet restrained by proper etiquette.

Young Miss Ruiyan greets the young Lord.

Greetings, Young Miss Yu.

Ding Suian returned the salute with cupped hands.

Jiang Yuan, standing quietly behind him while holding a silver needle, took in everything.

As a woman herself, she saw right through the true intentions behind Yu Ruiyan’s feigned shyness and coy hesitation.

If this were in the past, or if it were something else, Jiang Yuan would likely have lowered her eyes immediately and retreated further, not bothering to compete with this cousin.

But this time, she did not intend to back down.

Just as Yu Ruiyan was about to speak again, Jiang Yuan suddenly interjected: “Elder Brother, don’t move around. Let me finish these last few stitches.”

Yu Ruiyan was startled. She glanced behind Ding Suian and only then noticed Jiang Yuan standing there.

Jiang Yuan, who had always been meek and submissive whenever she saw her, seemed to have been deliberately waiting for her to look over this time.

As their gazes met, Jiang Yuan’s eyes reflected the flickering lamplight, like stars falling into a cold pool. After a moment of eye contact, she withdrew her gaze, carefully sewed the last two stitches, leaned in close to Ding Suian’s back, and bit off the thread.

Her voice was soft and light, “Elder Brother, all done.”

“Mhm, thank you for your trouble, Waner.”

“You are too kind, Elder Brother.”

After saying this, she exchanged another brief glance with Yu Ruiyan, curtsied, turned around, and gracefully left.

“Seal the gates! Seal the gates! No one is allowed to enter or leave!”

Clatter, clatter, clatter.

Knights galloped along the long street, their stern shouts drifting through the night.

The commotion that had erupted at the hour of the Rat had mostly subsided after just an hour.

By the peak of the hour of the Rat, there were still two pockets of resistance in Central Heaven.

One was located on Suimian Street.

The commander of the Prince Anpings Estate guards and two hundred guards were tightly blocked at both ends of Suimian Street by the Vermilion Bird Army’s A-Camp and the West Yamen’s Black Cavalry.

However, by this time, the Prince Anpings Estate guards were at the end of their rope.

Shi Hunan leaned on his notched long saber, his battle robe soaked in blood, which dripped onto the ground through the gaps in his armor.

The remaining fifty or sixty guards were all wounded, standing back-to-back. Dozens of paces ahead, the warhorses of the Vermilion Bird Army’s Elite Cavalry snorted, pawing the ground excitedly.

The sound of hooves striking the bluestone pavement created a chaotic clatter.

It was like a death knell.

With just these few people, they could not withstand another charge from the cavalry.

Shi Hunan looked at the Elite Cavalry, who might launch their final charge at any moment, then looked back at his brothers bathing in blood, a miserable smile squeezing onto his rough face.

He suddenly shouted to the front: “Inspector Sun! The events of tonight were unknown to the Prince Anpings Estate guards; they were all deceived by me! I only hope the Inspector will spare their lives!”

After speaking, Shi Hunan knelt toward the direction of Prince Anpings Estate and muttered, “Your Highness, this subordinate has done his best!”

As soon as he finished speaking, he abruptly turned his blade and drew it across his neck without hesitation.

A stream of blood sprayed out.

“Sir!”

“Commander Shi!”

His subordinates were too slow to react, and Shi Hunan’s tall body had already slumped to the ground.

Even in death, he faced the direction of Prince Anpings Estate.

The remaining fifty or sixty guards showed grief, but since their commander was dead, they silently exchanged glances, dropped their weapons, and knelt to beg for mercy.

Ahead, Sun Tiewu sighed with emotion, looking at Shi Hunan’s corpse, and remarked: “Prince Anping, because of you, another brave warrior of our Great Wu has been destroyed!”

Li Baicheng, although he hated the rebellious officials, seeing these fifty-plus men surrender and being fellow soldiers, couldn’t help but feel some sympathy and asked for instructions: “Inspector Sun, should we take the rest into custody for now?”

“Custody?”

Sun Tiewu glanced at him with a strange look, then raised his hand to wave. The Black Cavalry behind him slowly moved forward, and only then did he say: “His Highness has ordered: rebels and traitors need not be interrogated; execute them on the street.”

Li Baicheng: “…”

A few moments later, the Black Cavalry’s speed increased.

The kneeling guards of the Estate finally realized what was happening.

“They don’t intend to let us go! Fight!”

“Spare my life! I performed meritorious service at Liang River!”

“Run!”

But once the spirit is gone, it is hard to muster it back up in such a short time.

From the moment Shi Hunan committed suicide, the last bit of bloodlust in the Estate guards had faded away.

Some picked up their swords again, intending to fight to the death.

Some just kept kneeling and kowtowing for mercy.

Some turned to run.

More than a hundred Black Cavalry charged into the remnants, like autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.

Princess Xingguos Residence, Wangqiu Hall.

Since half an hour ago, Zhao Yan, Ruan Ruan, and even Lin Hansu had lost the mood to play cards.

Only Princess Xingguo remained in high spirits.

At the peak of the hour of the Rat, the sounds of fighting outside grew quieter. Another eunuch from the Princesss Residence, Eunuch Cao, bowed and entered: “Your Highness, the rebels have been suppressed. How should Prince Anping be dealt with?”

Princess Xingguo stared at the cards in her hand, lifted her left hand slightly to signal Eunuch Cao to wait a moment, then played a set of three-with-one and asked Zhao Yan and Ruan Ruan, “Do you want it?”

“No.”

“Can’t beat it.”

“A pair of nines. Haha, I won again.”

Only after finishing the round did she look around at the three people beside her, as if discussing a trivial matter: “I’m going to meet my good nephew. Do you want to come along?”

“We are willing to follow Your Highness.”

“Yes, I’m going!”

Zhao Yan, who had long wanted to watch the excitement, immediately jumped off the couch. But this time, she had learned her lesson. After getting off, she didn’t rush to put on her shoes and run off, but instead crouched down to neatly arrange Princess Xingguo’s embroidered shoes, then looked up and flattered: “Your Highness, please put on your shoes.”

“…Hahaha, this girl…”

Princess Xingguo moved to the side of the couch and asked before putting on her shoes: “It might be a bit bloody outside. Are you afraid?”

“I’m not afraid!”

“This concubine is not afraid.”

The little fox went without saying, and even Lin Hansu, when she was at the Prince of Lanyangs Estate, hadn’t she personally ordered the beating to death of Madam Wu’s old servants?

A little bit of blood, what was there to fear?

“What about Ruan Ruan?”

“Your Highness, I’m not afraid either!”

Since Zhao Yan and the Princess Consort (Sister) weren’t afraid, Ruan Ruan couldn’t say she was afraid even if she was. She puffed out her chest: “Your Highness may not know, but last year when I followed Brother Yuanxi to subdue demons in Lanyang, one night…” Once Ruan Ruan relaxed, she was a chatterbox.

She started from the rat infestation attacking the Estate at night, to leading her Senior Sisters to electrocute the rats, then to participating in the siege of the rat demon disguised as Sect Master Hao, and finally to accidentally contracting a plague, with Brother Yuanxi staying by her side to take care of her without leaving…

She rambled on for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Even Lin Hansu was worried that Her Highness would lose patience, but unexpectedly, the latter just sat by the couch, listening with a gentle expression and a faint smile.

“Good… Ruan Ruan is also a heroine… worthy of being a descendant of my Princesss Residence…”

At the third quarter of the hour of the Rat.

Princess Xingguo walked out of Wangqiu Hall first, followed by Lin Hansu, Zhao Yan, and Ruan Ruan.

It didn’t look like a scene of suppressing a rebellion at all; it looked more like an elder taking three Juniors out for a stroll.

In the first courtyard of the Princesss Residence.

It wasn’t piled with corpses as imagined, but only a few dozen bodies lay scattered about.

Chen Duan stood in the middle of the field with his golden armor stained with blood, maintaining the demeanor of a noble, just coldly looking at Lu Zihong, who stood in confrontation with him.

Lin Hansu analyzed the situation immediately: Lu Zihong must have defected on the spot, and those dozens of corpses must have been Chen Duan’s personal guards.

Moreover, the fighting took place in the front courtyard of the Princesss Residence, clearly intending to lure the enemy deep and close the door to beat the dog.

Just then, an armored general with his back to them perhaps heard footsteps, turned to look, and immediately clasped his fists in salute: “Commander Ding of the Winged Tiger Army’s C-Camp, greets Your Highness!”

“Thank you for your hard work, Commander Ding.”

Princess Xingguo’s expression was calm, with nothing unusual.

“…”

But Lin Hansu was truly startled.

She had heard about the deeds of her future father-in-law countless times from Young Master.

But at this moment, Old Ding was covered in the blood of battle, his expression cold and stern, his every move full of decisiveness and efficiency.

It really didn’t match the timid and cautious Head Ding from before.