Chapter 157: Killing Trap
Time flowed like water, and in the blink of an eye, it was the first day of the ninth month.
This day was the day of Grand Court, also the time for Lu Yun to keep his appointment for the competition. Father and son both got up early to wash up. The house was brightly lit, but the atmosphere was unusually solemn. Elder Sister Lu Ying’s face no longer had a smile; she silently prepared the outfits for Father and her younger brother to go out.
Once the two were dressed and had finished breakfast, Lu Xin went out to prepare for court. Lu Yun, as usual, helped him carry the official hat and saw Lu Xin off to the doorway outside.
Standing at the doorway, Lu Xin deeply looked at Lu Yun once and said softly to him, “Don’t worry about things at home. Just focus on the competition with peace of mind.” Saying this, Lu Xin took the official hat from Lu Yun’s hand, smiled and said, “Don’t embarrass your father.”
“Father, rest assured. Your son won’t embarrass you.” Lu Yun respectfully said this and kept watching as Lu Xin walked away from Congshan Ward. Then he turned and returned home. Lu Yun and that Xie Bo had agreed on the chen hour for the competition. The Lu Clan would send a carriage at the mao hour to take him out of the city, so Lu Yun just waited at home.
Meanwhile, Lu Xin left Congshan Ward and arrived in front of Luo River Bridge. By then, there were already early-rising commoners making a living on the bridge, pushing large carts full of vegetables, fish and meat to deliver to the dignitaries and nobles north of the Luo River. Right behind Lu Xin at that moment was a flat cart loaded with over a dozen baskets of fruit. It seemed to be pushed by two men, a father and son—one pulling in front, the other pushing from behind—struggling to push the large cart up the arch bridge.
Lu Xin was already accustomed to this. He walked across Luo River Bridge on his own and happened to run into Lu Wei and others passing by in a carriage. Seeing Lu Xin, Lu Wei had the coachman stop and called out to him to get on the carriage: “You’re a grandmaster of our Lu Clan, yet you walk alone every day. Don’t you find it too humble?”
“I’m not some important figure. Putting on airs would only make people laugh.” Lu Xin smiled indifferently, got on Lu Wei’s carriage, and asked, “Don’t you have to accompany the Clan Leader today?”
“Someone else is on duty today…” The carriage gradually drove away, and Lu Wei’s voice faded with it.
That father and son delivering fruit also pushed their large cart across Luo River Bridge at this time. The two exchanged a glance, and the old man pushing the cart handed the cart handle to his son, then turned around and headed back south of the Luo River.
。
At the mao hour, the Lu Clan’s carriage arrived right on time at Lu Xiang’s doorway. Coming with the carriage were four Lu Clan guards leading horses—clearly sent by the Lu Clan leadership to protect Lu Yun, and of course, to show off his changed status in front of the Xie Clan.
This time it was Elder Sister Lu Ying and Lu Xiang seeing Lu Yun off. She draped a silver-white brocade hooded cape that she had personally sewn over Lu Yun’s shoulders, then carefully smoothed out the wrinkles with her hands before stepping back two steps to carefully look him over. Then, propping her chin with her fingers, she said seriously, “You should match it with a precious sword and wear a hero’s headscarf on your head to really look like a knight-errant!”
“Elder Sister, isn’t this too pretentious?” Lu Yun felt a bit embarrassed and wanted to take off the cape, but Elder Sister Lu Ying naturally stopped him.
“This way you look imposing, so the other side won’t dare underestimate you.” Elder Sister Lu Ying’s little face was full of seriousness as she said this.
“What does this have to do with anything…” Lu Yun grew even more helpless.
“Just think of it as the autumn wind being too chilly, so Elder Sister added a piece of clothing for you!” Elder Sister Lu Ying rolled her eyes at him in annoyance. “If you dare take it off, see how I deal with you!”
“…” Lu Yun could only nod resignedly.
“Also, absolutely don’t get hurt.” Elder Sister Lu Ying smiled as she watched Lu Yun get on the carriage, waved her hand at him and said, “If you can’t win, don’t force it!”
Lu Xiang had originally wanted to instruct Lu Yun to achieve victory right from the start, but after hearing Elder Sister Lu Ying’s words, his mouth twitched twice, and he swallowed his words.
Watching Lu Yun’s carriage depart, the smile on Elder Sister Lu Ying’s face gradually faded, replaced by thick worry. With a sobbing tone, she asked Lu Xiang, “Grandfather, Younger Brother will be alright, won’t he?”
“Of course not,” Lu Xiang stroked his beard proudly and said, “Don’t you see whose grandson he is?” Though he said this, as he turned to enter the courtyard, he tripped over his own feet and nearly fell over the threshold he had crossed countless times.
Elder Sister Lu Ying hurriedly supported Lu Xiang and then noticed Grandfather’s arm trembling nonstop…
On the street outside the door, seeing Lu Yun’s carriage drive away from Congshan Ward, a peddler wandering the streets immediately shouldered his load and hurried off…
Once out of Congshan Ward, the peddler nodded to a woman leading a horse. The woman immediately mounted and galloped toward the east of the city.
After the time it takes to eat a meal, the woman had already left the city and traveled several more li before leaving the official road and turning onto a fairly flat and wide mountain path. Because this mountain path led to Ten Mile Slope, full of red leaves—a favorite excursion spot for the great aristocratic families—Jingzhao Prefecture had spent money and manpower to widen the originally narrow and bumpy trail for the nobles’ carriages to pass.
The woman galloped several li along the mountain path before reining in her horse and nimbly dismounting. She whipped the horse’s rump with the horsewhip, and the horse neighed as it ran up the hillside, vanishing without a trace in an instant. The woman then leaped up the opposite hillside. The hillside was a maple forest with trees forming a woods and red leaves like blood; several shadowy figures were faintly visible.
At this time, that old man who had pushed the cart also entered the Maple Forest right behind the woman. The two ignored each other completely and quickly went deep into the woods.
Deep in the Maple Forest surrounded by red clouds, seven or eight men and women dressed differently and of ordinary appearance stood with hands down beside two men wearing bamboo hats. The two men were one tall and one short—or more precisely, one of normal height and one dwarf.
The woman and the cart-pushing old man knelt before the two and reported one after the other:
“Lu Xin and Lu Wei and others went to Grand Court together in a carriage at the end of the yin hour.”
“Lu Yun left Congshan Ward by carriage at the mao hour, followed by four guards on horseback. He should be at the city gate by now.”
“Very good.” The dwarf nodded and said in a deep voice, “Proceed according to plan!”
Everyone acknowledged together and followed the bamboo hat man of normal height as they quickly left the Maple Forest. They crouched hidden on the hillside, silently watching the distant mountain path.
。
Lu Yun’s carriage passed through the city, with White Ape Society people staking out along the way. To ensure no mistakes in this operation, the Capital City White Ape Society had sent all its elites and would absolutely not allow another incident that would tarnish their reputation.
As the carriage passed through the bustling market, its speed naturally slowed. With the guards’ help, the coachman loudly urged pedestrians to make way, fearing delay to the young master in the carriage keeping his appointment. In the end, it was only after exiting the city gate that the road ahead opened up. Seeing the sun already high, the coachman hurriedly waved his horsewhip to drive the horses faster.
The four Lu Clan guards also spurred their horses to follow closely on both sides.
At this point, tailing and staking out would be too easily noticed by the other side, but the White Ape Society crowd was not worried, because they had informants along the way and there would be no slip-ups!
After traveling several li, they arrived at the mountain path leading to Ten Mile Slope. Only then did the coachman slow down, letting the carriage travel as steadily as possible on the gradually rising mountain path.
On the hillside, the group of assassins who had been waiting respectfully for a long time finally saw that carriage bearing the silver-gray Lu Clan Emblem approaching slowly along the mountain path, escorted by four riders.
The bamboo hat man nodded, and the cart-pushing old man shakily pushed a manure cart from the opposite side of the mountain path toward Lu Yun’s carriage.
Several assassins dressed as pedestrians, as if unable to stand the smell of the manure cart, left the mountain path and covered their noses at the upwind spot on the hillside to avoid it.
Seeing the manure cart full of yellow sludge coming head-on, the coachman couldn’t help but frown deeply. He wanted to speed through to get away from the pungent stench. But the old man seemed to lack strength and pushed the manure cart crookedly. Fearing a collision, the coachman changed his mind and stopped the carriage. The four guards also spurred their horses aside to let it pass first.
