Chapter Eighty-Seven: Fates Beyond Reckoning

The maid still stood frozen when Lu Yanyan lifted Lin Rui into her arms and dragged her toward the back gate.

“Hurry and move! If you stay here, do you mean to drag the entire Lu family down with you?”

Dong Nuan handed the long sword over to her, then looked at her injured arm with concern.

Following Dong Nuan’s gaze, Lu Yanyan glanced at the wound and felt a flicker of guilt, though her words were sharp. “Ridiculous. You expect a cripple like you to protect me?”

At that, she gave a faint start, then closed her left hand around the hilt and drew the sword.

For two straight days, the Imperial Guard had surrounded the Prince of War’s residence and the Duke of Lu’s estate, and the capital was in turmoil.

The maid, Dong Nuan, and Lu Yanyan’s mother and son slipped out through the back gate of the Duke of Lu’s estate—

Only to find themselves encircled by dense ranks of Imperial Guards, with nowhere left to go.

At the start of the third month, the crabapple blossoms by the back gate of the Duke of Lu’s estate were in full bloom. She felt a pang of regret; she had never yet visited the Clear Voice Court in the Prince of War’s residence to see the crabapple trees planted by Feng Jinye himself.

Gripping the long sword tightly, she looked ahead. The general leading the Imperial Guards seemed vaguely familiar. Dong Nuan said softly, “That’s Qu Kun, commander of the Imperial Guard.”

She nodded, making no attempt to hide herself, her presence suddenly formidable.

“Why does the Princess Consort of the Prince of War not put down the weapon in her hand? Even if the entire Duke of Lu’s estate were to fall beside you, you still could not kill your way through so many Imperial Guards!” Qu Kun said.

She gave a reckless smile and replied leisurely, “So Commander Qu here has led the Imperial Guard not to defend the household, nor to protect the nation, but to come one by one and feed my sword?”

Lu Yanyan watched as she moved to shield the mother and son and Dong Nuan behind her, and for a moment she was stunned. Then she turned and handed Lin Rui to Dong Nuan.

The Imperial Guards, hearing her words, hesitated for a heartbeat.

“Why waste breath, Princess Consort? You will not escape today,” Qu Kun said dismissively.

She knew full well that the odds of surviving this day were slim to none.

Dong Nuan had only just learned the news before the Imperial Guards came to block them in; it was obvious the other side had come fully prepared, aiming to catch them off guard.

She paused, then sneered. “I hear that before Lady Luo Shuqing married, she chose her husband again and again. Who would have thought that the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Dingyuan would be so blind as to choose a useless man like you?”

After a long moment, she finally remembered that the young general before her was Luo Shuqing’s husband. Those words had in fact been spoken by Luo Shuqing herself when she came to the Prince of War’s residence to discuss the marriage.

“You!” Enraged by her taunt, Qu Kun drew his sword and leapt from horseback, lunging straight at her.

She gave Lu Yanyan a look. Lu Yanyan moved with astonishing speed; two throwing darts flew at once, one severing Qu Kun’s wrist and sending his sword clattering to the ground, the other piercing his right shoulder.

She stepped forward and set the long sword across Qu Kun’s throat.

Lu Yanyan seized him by the collar and hauled him upright. “So you really are a useless man!”

“Clear a path,” she said, the sword tip pressing into Qu Kun’s throat.

He ignored her and turned his head away.

She gave a cold laugh and said mildly, “My sword does not have eyes...”

With a sharp hiss, the blade plunged into Qu Kun’s arm and ruined his right hand.

The onlookers drew a sharp breath.

Her gaze darkened. She spoke again, still calm. “Next is the left hand.”

Qu Kun’s face went livid. “Back off!”

She smiled with savage ease. “Too late. I said the left hand, so the left hand it is.”

Again came that biting hiss, the sound of steel tearing into flesh. In the space of only a few breaths, Qu Kun had lost both arms.

Qu Kun’s face stiffened; he nearly collapsed to the ground, only for Lu Yanyan to yank him upright again. “Stand straight!”

“Back off! Back off!” Qu Kun was so frightened he nearly lost his wits, shouting in panic.

She knew time was short. The moment they broke through the encirclement, she wasted no hesitation in knocking Qu Kun unconscious and abandoning him by the roadside, then sprinted desperately toward the east side of the city.

“Why are we going this way? Isn’t Feng Jinye’s military camp in the western outskirts?” Lu Yanyan asked.

“You can think of it, so why couldn’t they?” she said.

The west side held Feng Jinye’s camp. The north side lay closest to the estate, and there would be no escape there. Only the east side remained; Feng Jinye knew that Yun Ming had fallen victim to the Concubine Mi, so he would surely have his hidden guards searching the east for her trail.

“Dong’er, light the signal bamboo as soon as we reach the city gate!” she ordered.

Dong Nuan answered, and Lu Yanyan frowned. Wouldn’t lighting the signal bamboo expose their position at once?

Seeing through her thoughts, she said calmly, “At the east gate it will be a direct clash. Pray there are hidden guards from the Prince of War’s residence waiting outside the east gate to save us!”

Lu Yanyan was dumbfounded. Was she mad?

She paid Lu Yanyan no mind and instead looked at Dong Nuan, who was carrying Lin Rui. “If you are captured, say he is Feng Jinye’s son...”

“Your Highness!” Dong Nuan gasped.

Lin Rui rolled his eyes toward her, his small mind catching only one phrase: he is Feng Jinye’s son...

Many years later, Lin Rui would finally understand that with those words, she had given him the last chance to survive.

Lu Yanyan asked in astonishment, “We have to meet them head-on? Can’t we disguise ourselves?”

She shook her head. “With such a commotion today, the emperor must have been fully prepared. The city gates will certainly be shut.”

Lu Yanyan stared at her in disbelief. “You really have gone mad. There are only three of us. How could we possibly open the gate?”

“Mad, yes. But this is the only choice. Once the emperor figures out which way we are headed and sends the Imperial Guards to surround us, we will have no path left to live.”

No sooner had she spoken than she stopped running and pulled the others into a corner.

Man’s plans can never outmatch Heaven’s.

The east gate was already packed with Imperial Guards, and in the vicinity of the gate more ranks were fanning out to search for people.

She swept her gaze over the scene, then seized Dong Nuan’s sleeve in shock. “It’s Banqiu!”

This battle had not yet begun, and it was already a total defeat.

Beneath the city wall, a figure was surrounded by two rows of Imperial Guards, four blades pressed to the neck. It was Banqiu.

Dong Nuan knew she would surely throw herself into danger for Banqiu, and in sudden alarm she set Lin Rui down, pulled the hairpin from her hair, and lit the signal bamboo.

At a glance from her, Lu Yanyan, who had once been an assassin, immediately understood the unspoken bond between assassin and hidden guard. A throwing dart appeared in her hand, and in an instant she sent it flying toward Banqiu.

She was startled, and Dong Nuan quickly covered her mouth. “My lady, that isn’t Banqiu. Banqiu would rather die than allow himself to be captured and used to threaten you!”

Tears burst from her eyes.

The hostage died in an instant, vanishing without a trace, and the Imperial Guards fell into chaos at once.

“If we fight head-on, I can hold them for half an hour,” Lu Yanyan said.

“Dong Nuan, protect Rui’er!” she ordered as she sensed the guards closing in.

She stood up with sudden severity, a throwing knife appearing in her left hand at once. Lu Yanyan was astonished that she could not only wield a sword with her left hand, but even throw a knife with it as well.

What Lu Yanyan did not know was that both her swordsmanship and her knife work had been taught by Feng Jinye. He had once said this, so that she would come seeking him every day to practice swordplay: “Only when both hands can do it can you say you’ve learned.”

“I do not understand why Grandfather insisted that you leave with me,” she asked the question that had been troubling her.

Lu Yanyan was stunned. She had not expected that even now, at such a time, she would be thinking of this.

She said miserably, “Perhaps today I shall die here. May I not at least be allowed to die with understanding?”

Lu Yanyan paused. “Isn’t it obvious? I am one of the Moon Shadow Pavilion. If I am caught in the Lu family’s house, wouldn’t that drag the entire Lu family down with me?”

“So that is it. It was I who was confused.” She did not believe it was so simple, and had not expected Lu Yanyan to hide the truth from her even in such a situation.

“Use your wrist with force, cut horizontally. One dart can take out a whole row. Let’s see how much you understand.” Lu Yanyan said, “Ten paces left.”

The Imperial Guards drew closer step by step, like the footsteps of death inching nearer.

She closed her eyes, and in her mind surfaced the sight of Feng Jinye smiling at her the first time they met.

Outside the east gate, Feng Jinye’s heart suddenly lurched with unease, filled with foreboding.

Only three steps remained. A battle with almost no hope of survival was about to begin.

Then, all at once, the Imperial Guards halted and ran toward the gate as a loud voice rang out: “City defender Lu Liyuan of the border pass, by imperial command, has come to escort the Prince of War, Feng Jinye, back to the capital. Open the city gates!”

Lu Yanyan and she both let out a sudden breath of relief.

Lu Yanyan asked, “What do we do now?”

“No matter what happens, once the gates open, we’ll charge straight out,” she said.

To remain inside the city was certain death.

“But if we rush out and Lu Liyuan acts on a hot head and saves us, what happens to the Lu family?” Lu Yanyan asked, unexpectedly sharp for once.

The group was once again thrown into a dilemma.

From the city wall came the deep voice of the defending general: “By decree of His Majesty, Feng Jinye has plotted against the crown prince, and the evidence is conclusive. General Lu is to execute him on the spot!”

At this, she could not help cursing aloud. “Your heart’s gone to gutter oil, and when I look at you I can only think of four words: crippled but stubborn!”

Then inspiration struck her. “Dong Nuan, how long to reach Late Snow Hall at the fastest?”

“At least half an hour!”

“Good, then we’ll bet on that half hour. Go!”

She leaned close to Dong Nuan’s ear and gave her a few quick instructions.

May the Duke of Lu delay the emperor for as many incense sticks as possible.

Lu Yanyan had no idea what scheme she was hatching.

But before the half hour was up, a procession of palace attendants had already made its way slowly toward the east gate. The leading eunuch shrilled, “An imperial edict!”

The defending general at the east gate frowned deeply. Though the bright yellow edict before him glared with authority, he still knelt. “By imperial command, Feng Jinye has plotted against the crown prince, and the evidence is conclusive. He is hereby granted a cup of poisoned wine.”

Once the edict had been read, a plump eunuch came forward carrying the wine. The eunuch proclaiming the decree shouted, “Open the gate and present the poisoned wine!”

The general guarding the gate still felt doubtful. “May I inspect the edict, sir?”

The eunuch at the front frowned, clearly displeased. Holding the imperial edict in one hand, he let the golden silk banner drop, then thrust his fist and the edict together toward the general’s face.