Chapter 926 - 928 Midnight Breakout_1
Du Zhongshu was stunned for a moment, but quickly came to his senses. Given the current situation of the Du Family, they posed no threat whatsoever to Bai Ruozhu. Did she need to lie to him?
He opened his mouth but eventually left with a toothpaste shop’s fury.
Zuo Hongyun, who had taken over the Toothpaste Shop, naturally knew about the issues between Bai Ruozhu and the Du Family. Somewhat worried, he asked, "Master, could the Du Family be plotting something underhand?"
If this were the past, Bai Ruozhu might have said no, but now she couldn’t make such a guarantee. Du Zhongshu, in pursuit of the Family’s revival, had even sacrificed the integrity of doing honest business, skimping on the toothpaste ingredients. What else wouldn’t he do?
"I’ll have people keep an eye on them. You should also be more vigilant in the shop, and report back to me immediately if there’s any situation," Bai Ruozhu instructed before leaving. She informed Cui Fan, arranging for a few people to covertly monitor the Du Family’s movements.
On her way back, Bai Ruozhu saw some soldiers disguised as civilians. She recognized those faces from Jiangnan, and it seemed like more soldiers in disguise had infiltrated the city.
Bai Ruozhu discreetly shared her observations with her second brother. Bai Zepei, frowning, said in a low voice, "I’m afraid a storm of bloodshed is coming. Recently, tell everyone in the family not to leave home unnecessarily."
In the following two days, everything seemed calm, yet this calm was like the quiet before the storm, making Bai Ruozhu even more nervous. Lin Zhenghui and Jiang Yichun didn’t send any messages; one had gone to the south, and the other to the northwest Xuantian Mountain, but there was no news from either.
That night, Bai Ruozhu went to bed early, unaware that a violent fight had broken out in the Tu Family’s part of the city.
Tu Lie had gone to the main camp in the northwest, and Lady Tu’s cousin was about to give birth, so she went to help out. Only Tu Ying, Tu Bai, and some servants and guards remained at home. Suddenly, assailants descended out of nowhere, targeting Tu Ying and Tu Bai. In no time, they clashed with the Tu Family, striking with murderous intent and immediately killing anyone who blocked their way. In the blink of an eye, as Tu Ying and Tu Bai realized something was wrong, nearly half of the guards were dead.
"Brother, something’s wrong. Those people are after us. Let’s get ready; we might have to figure out how to escape," Tu Ying rushed into her brother’s room and woke the sleeping Tu Bai.
Tu Bai, hearing the fighting now, said excitedly, "Where can we run to? We might as well go out there and fight them!"
Tu Ying’s eyes reddened, and her voice choked up as she said, "What are you talking about at a time like this? Don’t be reckless. Nearly half of the guards are already dead; if we fight, it’s a dead end for us!"
Suddenly, a voice came from outside, "Young Master Tu and Miss Tu, surrender peacefully. Our master only wishes to have you as guests for a few days. If you cooperate, there will be no need for these guards to die."
Tu Bai glared, "It must be Prince Duan’s men, looking to capture us to threaten Father."
At this moment, the steward rushed in, anxious, "Young Master, Miss, we can’t hold them off any longer. You both should run now, don’t worry about us."
"No, they will kill you!" Tu Bai said urgently.
The steward, in his urgency, shoved Tu Bai and said, "If you escape, they may give chase and spare the guards. I’ll seek help; we must find a way to prevent them from catching you."
After saying this, the old steward turned and left. Tu Ying followed, asking, "Who are you going to ask for help?"
But the old steward did not answer, fearing that the young master and miss would not agree if he did.
Tu Ying and Tu Bai exchanged glances and dared not delay any longer. Cautiously, they made their way out of the room, bypassing the fighting crowd, and jumped outside the house.
Behind them, cries of agony continued to echo. Tu Ying and Tu Bai felt their faces wet with tears. Those guards had often trained with them, and despite being in a master-servant relationship, they were like friends; now, watching them die one by one, the siblings were heartbroken, wishing they could rush back to save them.
But they couldn’t be caught, for once they were, their parents would surely bow to Duke End for their sake, and then the Tu Family would be finished, and even Beiyu City would be plunged into great risk.
Even though they understood the reasoning, neither of them could get over the emotional hurdle. As they fled, tears streamed down their faces...
Bai Ruozhu was awakened from her sleep by Jianqi calling out from outside the door, startling her. She hurriedly asked, "Has something major happened in the city?"
Jianqi quickly explained from outside the Room, "No, it’s the Tu Family’s steward who has come asking for help. He says that Duke End’s men are trying to capture the Tu siblings and have killed many of the Tu Family’s guards."
Bai Ruozhu sprang out of bed in an instant, fully alert. She hurriedly put on her robe and went out, asking, "How are Tu Ying and her siblings?"
"They should have escaped, but there are many pursuers. There might be other forces chasing them as well. We need to go and provide support," Jianqi said.
Bai Ruozhu instructed Nanny to watch over Little Dengdeng and then quickly ordered Jianqi, "Follow me with some men to intercept them. They won’t come to ask for my help on their own. They must be heading towards the City Gate, intending to go to the Northwestern Main Camp when the gates open at dawn."
"Master, perhaps you shouldn’t go," Jianqi said with some concern.
"It doesn’t matter, I have a way to protect myself." Bai Ruozhu didn’t elaborate and continued, "Send someone to the Meng Residence and the Northwestern Main Camp to ask for help. We must not let Duke End’s men capture them!"
Jianqi went off to make arrangements. Bai Ruozhu took her horse and left with Muyu, leaving Chenfeng to continue guarding the Bai Family Yard.
Everyone galloped towards the City Gate, but they couldn’t find any trace of the Tu siblings along the way. It was not yet dawn, and the City Gate was still tightly shut. Bai Ruozhu led her people around and even softly called out Tu Ying’s name, but still found no sign of the pair.
Bai Ruozhu’s heart sank. Could they have already been captured?
Just then, a dark guard rode up at a gallop, "Master, there are sounds of fighting from the West Street."
Bai Ruozhu’s eyes lit up, "Quick, let’s check it out!"
Her horsemanship was mediocre, so the dark guards reached the scene ahead of her. From a distance, she could see a group of people surrounded and occasionally heard the shrill cries of a woman. It was indeed the Tu siblings!
The dark guards charged and quickly helped the Tu siblings turn the tide, but more pursuers soon arrived, and it was clear that Bai Ruozhu’s side was outnumbered. She urgently pulled Tu Ying onto her horse, while Jianqi took Tu Bai with him and they broke through the encirclement.
"Master, should we go to the Meng Residence?" Jianqi asked.
Bai Ruozhu’s face darkened, "No, the reinforcements from the Meng Residence have not yet arrived. I fear..."
Bai Ruozhu didn’t dare to continue the thought. Perhaps by tomorrow morning, the sky over Beiyu City would have changed. Otherwise, Duke End would not have made his move tonight.
Early in the morning, Mouka took his son to the flower, bird, and pet market for a stroll, and both took a liking to a dog. As a result, they spent the whole morning haggling and, after much persuasion and haggling, brought the dog home. Alright, now Mouka had another little BB to take care of...