Chapter 104 - 103: The Feast at Hongmen (First Update)
The hall fell suddenly silent,
All the Imperial Censors were stunned. After a while, one of them bellowed, "Wu Yang, you..."
"Pfft—"
Just then, a Feathered Arrow shot out from the shadows and lodged directly in that Imperial Censor’s mouth.
At the same moment,
A large number of martial experts burst into the hall from inside and out, attacking the Imperial Censors directly.
In an instant, the sounds of fierce combat and anguished wails resounded.
Wu Yang gently patted the maid who was already scared out of her wits, then strolled leisurely out the main door.
At this moment, the clouds parted and the mist dispersed,
A faint ray of sunlight cast down onto the human world, a rainbow arched high above.
Wu Yang stood quietly with his hands behind his back,
Behind him, fighting raged in the main hall, while slaughter broke out simultaneously in several courtyards.
However, it did not last long. Soon, the entire Prefecture Government fell quiet.
People came from several courtyards to report in.
Second Master Wu walked up to Wu Yang’s side and said softly, "Brother, not a single one left. Five Imperial Censors, sixty-three guards—all taken care of."
Wu Yang nodded, saying, "Seal off the news well."
"I know." Second Master Wu nodded in response.
Wu Yang glanced back at the corpses in the hall and snorted coldly, "The Great Xia Court is full of such parasites—it’s rotten to the core!"
Second Master Wu frowned and said, "Brother, this sudden action—will it affect our plan?"
"It doesn’t matter now." Wu Yang shook his head. "That rain only delayed us a bit; the plan has long since begun. We let these Imperial Censors come just to lull Gu Zhan and a few other schemers. Now that the plan is set in motion, it’s time to lay all our cards on the table. Ah, Gu Zhan is a promising young man; I truly hope he knows which way the wind blows."
Second Master Wu nodded, then suddenly asked, "Brother, now that the Imperial Censors are handled, do we still need to keep Yang Yuzhi alive?"
"No need to keep him," Wu Yang said. "He was just for dealing with those Imperial Censors. Originally, I wanted to take Linjiang City smoothly, but who knew these Imperial Censors had a death wish? Looks like we’ll have to spill some blood. Since that’s the case, there’s no need to keep Yang Yuzhi around—take care of him as soon as possible."
"Yes, sir." Second Master Wu clasped his hands and turned away.
...
Night fell,
In the dungeon, Yang Yuzhi looked at the white silk cloth and the medicine bottle on the table and smiled faintly.
He stood up and straightened his clothes, neatly arranged the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone on the table, then slowly picked up the poison and drank it all in one go.
Soon after,
A group of jailers carried a coffin out of the dungeon. By the city’s mass grave, a new grave appeared.
Deep into the night, eerie winds howled about the mass grave.
Everywhere were white burial flags and broken coffins. Even more, after days of unrelenting rain, not a few dried bones had been washed up in the mud.
By the latter half of the night,
Several shadowy figures appeared at the mass grave, bearing shovels and mattocks. They stopped before Yang Yuzhi’s fresh grave; leading them was Yuan Xing, Yang Yuzhi’s steward, missing for many days.
"Dig," Yuan Xing ordered softly.
The group dug quickly,
Soon, they unearthed the freshly buried coffin.
Yuan Xing took a deep breath and slowly pushed open the coffin lid.
Under the dim torchlight, blood streamed from Yang Yuzhi’s seven orifices, his lips cyanotic, but his expression was peaceful.
"My lord... you’ve suffered so much!"
Yuan Xing’s throat tightened. He knelt beside the coffin.
The night wind blew, chilling and sharp, and the torch suddenly went out.
In that instant,
Yang Yuzhi’s eyes snapped open within the coffin.
...
At dusk,
A squad of constables arrived at the Prefecture Government, delivering an invitation to Gu Zhan.
In the records office,
Rong Yichu sat opposite Gu Zhan, cupping his hands in salute. "Congratulations, my lord, on your promotion to Thousand Households. In less than two years, you’ve risen from Small Banner to Thousand Households. Across all of Yunzhou, that is rare indeed. Your future is boundless!"
Gu Zhan smiled faintly, saying, "I haven’t received the official appointment yet—nothing is certain."
Rong Yichu also smiled and said, "Now in Linjiang County, who else but you, my lord? Tomorrow at noon, during this banquet, the appointment document will certainly be passed to you."
Gu Zhan smiled slightly, putting the invitation on the table.
The invitation was sent by the Prefecture Government, inviting him to attend the Imperial Censorate’s welcoming banquet tomorrow at noon. Of course, the real purpose was to confer the official appointment from the Imperial Censorate and hear his report.
Yunzhou Shuntian Prefecture is the state mansion, governing dozens of counties across Yunzhou. Normally, the administration relies mainly on the various Imperial Censors’ inspections—this includes, but is not limited to, the Prefecture Government’s Embroidered Uniform Guard. Other local agencies are likewise supervised by the Imperial Censorate.
In fact, this authority once belonged to the Embroidered Uniform Guard: supervising officials across the land and inspecting the empire. Yet, over the past decades, the Guard has fallen into ruin; power seized from all sides, leaving them with only local authority, forced to snatch even small scraps of order from the Inspection Bureau under the Prefecture Government—all while supervised by the Imperial Censorate. Their former glory is long gone.
However, this is the way of things, and has nothing to do with Gu Zhan.
Though the Embroidered Uniform Guard is now in decline, it still wields significant influence at the county level, remaining one of the dominant powers. As for the dirty business at headquarters, he doesn’t need to be concerned.
"Yichu, when I leave tomorrow, I’ll need you to manage the affairs of the Hundred Households Office," Gu Zhan said.
Rong Yichu gave a slight, calm smile. "My lord, no need for such words—this is only what your humble student should do. Still, my lord, Linjiang City is far from peaceful these days. Tomorrow you should bring more guards.
Though your cultivation is profound, it’s easy to dodge an open spear but hard to guard against a hidden arrow. With your high position now, many eyes are on you—you must beware of some desperate scoundrels making a reckless move."
Gu Zhan nodded slightly.
He was well aware of this. Along his road, who knows how many enemies he’s made—some he’s never even heard of. Just in the past days, several have tried to assassinate him.
...
The next morning,
Gu Zhan had just finished breakfast when he left the Hundred Households Office.
A team of thirty or forty Personal Guards protected the carriage as it moved slowly toward the Prefecture Government.
The journey was indeed smooth, and they soon reached their destination.
Today, the Prefecture Government, though its operations had resumed after the recent upheaval, still felt strangely cold and deserted.
Gu Zhan led his men straight into a hall.
By then, many people were already present. Numerous officials of the Prefecture Government had gathered here.
After sitting down, Gu Zhan looked around, his gaze landing in puzzlement on Wu Yang at the seat of honor. "Lord Wu, isn’t today’s banquet for the Imperial Censorate? Why aren’t the Imperial Censors present?"
Wu Yang smiled faintly, saying, "Lord Gu, you misunderstand. This banquet is being held especially for you."
Gu Zhan’s brows furrowed; a sense of foreboding surged in his heart,
In this world, accounts always come due,
He had always been the one laying the trap at the Hongmen Banquet,
Today, perhaps the Hongmen Banquet has been laid for him instead!