Chapter 74: Doomsday
In this beautiful and enchanting Summer Palace, there was a serene leisure completely different from the busy clamor of Luojing City. Even the Imperial Guards and palace servants were influenced by this atmosphere, much more relaxed than in Ziwei Palace. Lu Yun could also move freely in the Outer Palace, and as long as he did not approach those few palace courtyards, no one would come to stop him.
After spending two days, Lu Yun had the layout of the entire Summer Palace Outer Palace clearly in mind. He had a strong intuition that at some point in the future, he would charge into these layered palace gardens and face the Emperor, who resided high above, in battle. So he wanted to use this rare opportunity to understand every blade of grass and tree here as much as possible.
In addition, he had a strong interest in the First Prince who lived in Yaoguang Hall in the Outer Palace. In Lu Yun’s revenge plan, befriending the First Prince was a crucial step. Unfortunately, that First Prince stayed deeply secluded in the Capital City and never interacted with outsiders, so he had no chance to meet him. This time, being in the same place with this person, it would really be too regrettable if he did not take the opportunity to meet him once.
Every day, Lu Yun would be on the Flower Viewing Platform from where he could overlook Yaoguang Hall, reading a book on one side while observing every move in that palace garden. He discovered that the Initial Emperor’s eldest son would go to the Inner Palace to pay respects once in the morning and once in the evening every day, and spend the rest of the time confined to Yaoguang Hall without stepping out. Occasionally, he could be seen pacing back and forth in the courtyard in front of the hall, sometimes standing there in a daze for half a day…
But Lu Yun still had no opportunity to contact the First Prince. Yaoguang Hall was a place he could not approach… This Summer Palace was not something the Lu Clan could compare to. Even with Earth Rank strength, Lu Yun still found it difficult to avoid the omnipresent eyes, so he could only hide his martial arts well and use the most stupid method to approach the First Prince.
The only opportunity seemed to be when the First Prince went to pay respects to the Initial Emperor. But during the morning and evening rituals, there was always a large crowd of people surrounding him, making it impossible to get close. Creating some accident to appear before the First Prince would seem too deliberate… From previous intelligence and these two days of observation, he already knew very well that this First Prince was extremely repressed and vigilant, and would be very wary of anyone who suddenly appeared before him.
If life were only like the first meeting, this first impression was really too crucial. Without a good method, Lu Yun would rather continue waiting…
Just like that, he waited another two days, but Lu Yun was still at a loss. He stood on the Flower Viewing Platform, looking at the peonies around him that had already passed their flowering period, thinking that today was the day the Lu Clan was celebrating for his father, and those disaster victims were about to erupt, yet he was trapped in this Summer Palace, unable to see either the Emperor or the First Prince, and his mood could not help but feel a bit down.
At this moment, he suddenly saw a familiar figure passing by on the corridor under the platform. Lu Yun immediately went down the high platform and blocked in front of that person.
That person was dressed in eunuch attire and was suddenly blocked, truly startled. When he saw it was Lu Yun, he patted his chest and called out: “You scared us to death!”
“Eunuch Hu, I finally met you.” Lu Yun said with a slightly heavy tone. This fellow had taken their family’s gold but did not do anything at all.
“Aiya, Young Master Lu. Why are you running around blindly? What if His Majesty summons you, where would old Ma find you?” Eunuch Hu instead complained about Lu Yun.
“Eunuch Ma knows I read here every day, no problem.” Lu Yun said indifferently: “Besides, His Majesty has probably already forgotten about me…”
“Hehe…” Eunuch Hu heard the resentment in Lu Yun’s tone. It was natural and right for the Emperor to forget Lu Yun, but for him to also forget was a bit unjustifiable. He dry laughed twice and said: “Don’t worry, His Majesty is staying in the Summer Palace the whole month, maybe he’ll summon you tomorrow.”
Seeing Lu Yun unmoved, Eunuch Hu had to add: “Moreover, we will find an opportunity to remind His Majesty, so just wait patiently.”
“As long as Eunuch hasn’t forgotten, that’s good.” Only then did Lu Yun step aside to let him pass.
“Wait for the news.” Eunuch Hu then quickly walked far away from him. After walking far, Eunuch Hu suddenly spat and muttered softly: “You want to see the Emperor, I want to see him too, but can I? ” He was just a Sixth Rank Mid-Palace Greeter, how could he have the qualification to get close to the Emperor?
Little did he know, though Lu Yun was far away, he heard his words clearly. Only then did he realize this person was completely unreliable. But who else could he rely on? Lu Yun actually felt a trace of helplessness…
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While Lu Yun was trapped in the Summer Palace, in Qing Feng Garden in the south of Luojing City, Steward Zhang was preparing to send Lu Feng off on his journey.
Actually, several days ago, Steward Zhang had already arranged everything and prepared to send Lu Feng on his way. Who knew this young master refused to leave no matter what and insisted on delaying a few more days. Steward Zhang originally thought Lu Feng was reluctant to leave the Capital City and wanted to stay put. Who knew that after just two days, this young master changed his mind and said he could set off.
Moreover, he was in a hurry to leave, clamoring to depart before dawn. Fortunately, Steward Zhang had long prepared the luggage, so they were not caught off guard. He immediately called up the guards assigned to Lu Feng, and the group hurried away from Qing Feng Garden with carriages and horses.
Steward Zhang sent Lu Feng twenty li out, then had to turn back. Before parting, he earnestly instructed with worry: “Qin Prefecture has the young master’s uncle to look after him, so the young master won’t be wronged. But the young master must absolutely not expose his identity, otherwise it will bring trouble to the Master and put the young master in danger.”
“From now on, I am Feng Lu,” Lu Feng, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, waved his hand impatiently and said: “You can rest assured!” Then he grabbed Steward Zhang’s shoulder and gritted his teeth: “Tell my father to quickly take out Lu Xin, so I can come back early!”
“Young master, rest assured.” Steward Zhang nodded, rubbing his sore shoulder, watching Lu Feng and his group leave, before heading back to the Capital City.
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After parting with Steward Zhang, Lu Feng urged his subordinates to hurry desperately, covering sixty or seventy li in one morning.
At this time, the scorching sun hung high in the sky. Not to mention people, even the horses were overheated, listless, and sticking out their tongues. The guards could not help complaining, and Hu San was so hot he could not stand it. After much persuasion, he convinced Lu Feng to rest in the grove by the roadside to relieve the heat.
Hearing Lu Feng say to rest, the guards felt as if granted a general amnesty, rolling down from their horses and hiding under the tree shade, gulping water to quench their thirst. Hu San fetched a hut stool, chose a breezy and shady spot, served Lu Feng to sit down, handed over the water bag, and softly advised: “Young master, put your mind at ease. Right now, Lu Xin is tied up in the Capital City, and even his son is staying in the Summer Palace. No one will catch up.”
“Mm…” Lu Feng nodded, tilting his neck to gulp down a bout of water, his mood finally calming down a lot. Ever since White Ape Society sent news that the assassination of Lu Xin’s family failed, and two assassins were unaccounted for, he had been scared out of his wits. Although White Ape Society guaranteed they would find another opportunity to complete the commission, in Lu Feng’s view, Lu Xin most likely already knew about it!
Those two missing assassins were most likely captured by Lu Xin!
The thought of an Earth Rank Grandmaster who could seek revenge on him at any time made Lu Feng feel utterly terrible… White Ape Society knew he was hiding in Qing Feng Garden. If Lu Xin learned of his whereabouts from those two assassins’ mouths, he definitely would not let him go! So before, Lu Feng had not dared to step out of Qing Feng Garden at all. Today, taking advantage of the Lu Clan holding a banquet to celebrate for Lu Xin, he dared to flee in panic…
“Right now the banquet has just started, Lu Xin is the protagonist today and definitely can’t leave.” Seeing the young master calm down, Hu San smiled again: “By the time he can get away, we’ll be over a hundred li away. Where can he find us? Besides, we’re probably just scaring ourselves. Lu Xin might not even know we’ve been staying in Qing Feng Garden all along.”
“Not afraid of ten thousand, but afraid of the one in ten thousand. This young master has only this one life and can’t afford carelessness.” Lu Feng sighed, a surge of vicious thoughts rising in his heart as he said: “Lu Xin! When my dad takes you out, this young master will rush back to the Capital City first thing and kill your whole family!”
“You have no chance!” Suddenly, a hoarse voice exploded out of nowhere. Lu Feng and the others jumped up in horror, only to see a black shadow drifting down from the tree!
“Protect the young master!” The guards were all carefully selected by Steward Zhang to protect their own young master, with three Black Rank among them. Seeing an assassin, they immediately drew their weapons and blocked in front of Lu Feng!
Only to see that uninvited guest’s twin long sabers flashing with cold light in his hands, whistling toward them!
Several Yellow Rank guards hurriedly raised their weapons to block, but the moment they clashed, they were all cleaved in half, man and weapon together!
Amid the splashing blood, that black-clad, black-clothed masked twin-saber wielder grinned ferociously at Lu Feng: “Give up your life!”
