AUBTN -Chapter 25 Late-Night Appeal

No sooner had Prince Ning left than half the sky over the capital was bathed in red.

“Flooding! Drunken Immortal Pavilion is flooding!”

The night watchman’s gong rang deafeningly, shattering the silence of the night.

The Drunken Immortal Pavilion was the biggest money pit in the capital—and also the East Depot’s largest intelligence outpost outside the palace.

When the news reached the inner courtyard of the East Depot, Shen Jue was about to rise, but Su Hewan gripped his wrist tightly.

“Commander, you can’t go.”

Her voice was calm.

Shen Jue waved her hand away and struggled to stand. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead as the pain from his wound made him groan, “If something happens on East Depot territory and I don’t show up, by tomorrow the entire capital will spread word that the East Depot is leaderless. That old fox Prince Ning will be waiting to seize on my mistake.”

If he didn’t appear, Prince Ning could take over the Drunken Immortal Pavilion with perfect legitimacy—or even use it as an excuse to interfere in East Depot affairs.

And it would also confirm rumors of his severe injury!

A single move hitting three targets at once!

“This is a trap!”

Su Hewan slammed the embroidered python-patterned cloak onto the table.

“Prince Ning sent poison soup as a test, and immediately after, the Drunken Immortal Pavilion catches fire. Does the world have coincidences like this? He’s forcing you to show up! With your current condition, the moment you use your inner power, the poison will hit your heart. By then, you wouldn’t need Prince Ning to move—you’d collapse on your own!”

【This old fox just won’t leave! He’s trying to kill Shen Jue!】

Listening to her inner roar, Shen Jue’s restless heart strangely calmed a little.

He looked up at her, eyes heavy, and asked, “Then what do you suggest we do?”

Su Hewan took a deep breath, a glint of sharp determination flashing in her eyes.

“Thirty-six strategies—Golden Cicada Shedding its Shell.”

She turned toward the shadowy guard in the corner, whose build resembled Shen Jue’s about seventy percent.

“Give him the cloak, put the hood on. When the fire rages like this, no one can see the face clearly. As long as the posture is right and the aura convincing, if he stands on high ground and commands confidently, he will be the commander!”

“No, it’s not that simple. Prince Ning’s spies will surely try to get close in the chaos,” Shen Jue objected.

“I’ll handle that,” Su Hewan said, a determined smile on her lips.

“I have outside support.”

Meanwhile, at the Northern Watch Office…

Just as Lu Yan was about to rest, the door to his room was slammed open with a bang.

“Master Lu! Help! Master Lu!”

Yu Qing came barreling in, hair disheveled, clearly running all the way.

Lu Yan’s eyelids twitched, and his hand instinctively went for his embroidered spring knife.

Seeing that it was Yu Qing, his face darkened like a burnt pan. “What are you doing barging into my room in the middle of the night? Get out.”

“I have urgent business!” Yu Qing ignored his dismissal.

Lu Yan could only get up and quickly throw on his coat.

“What business is so urgent that you’d break into a man’s bedroom at this hour?”

Before Yu Qing could answer, a Jinyiwei guard outside shouted, “Master, I have urgent news to report!”

Lu Yan froze mid-tie—looks like tonight’s sleep was impossible.

“Come in.”

The guard immediately entered and lowered his voice. “Commander, we just received word that the Drunken Immortal Pavilion is in trouble. The brothers are asking whether we should go check it out!”

Yu Qing’s eyes lit up. “Yes, yes! That’s exactly what I came to report!”

Lu Yan shot her a glance without a word, then turned to his subordinates. “Drunken Immortal Pavilion? Shen Jue’s territory?”

“That’s right!”

“I understand. I’ll go on standby first!” Lu Yan waved, and his subordinates immediately withdrew.

Lu Yan looked at Yu Qing, puzzled. “What do you mean? You want to help Shen Jue?”

Seeing this, Yu Qing hurriedly continued, “No! I’m doing it for Wanwan. If that damned eunuch gets hurt, Wanwan will definitely be implicated. If Wanwan dies, I won’t live either! I’ll hang myself at the gate of your Beizhen Surveillance Bureau and haunt you as a ghost! So you have to help me!”

Lu Yan’s head ached from her yelling. He forced himself to suppress the urge to throw her out and said coldly, “The Dongchang’s fire has nothing to do with the Jinyiwei. If Shen Jue dies, it’s for the good of the people.”

“How can you be so cold-blooded, heartless, and unreasonable!”

Yu Qing suddenly lifted her head, tears streaming freely.

“Lord Lu,” she sobbed, smearing her snot and tears all over his clothes.

Then she plopped to the ground, clutching his leg and wailing, “Think about that night in the underground palace—we were practically comrades in life and death, right? That old thief Prince Ning is watching Shen Jue now. When Shen Jue falls, won’t the next target be you? Your lips are gone, the teeth will feel the cold, my lord!”

Lu Yan looked at her. She wasn’t wrong!

Since Prince Ning had already moved against Shen Jue, suspicion would certainly turn toward him next.

He took a deep breath, feeling the leg she was clinging to weigh a thousand pounds.

“Get up.”

“I won’t get up unless you promise! I’m staying on your leg!” Yu Qing pouted stubbornly.

“I promise!” Lu Yan ground his teeth.

Yu Qing immediately fell silent. Wiping her tears, not a trace of the previous despair remained—her expression changed faster than flipping a page.

【Done! Wanwan, your sister didn’t embarrass you!】

She quickly got up and gave Lu Yan a thumbs-up. “Lord Lu, truly wise and mighty! A real man!”

Lu Yan snorted coldly, grabbed the embroidered spring blade from the table, and strode out.

“Give the order: the Zuixian Pavilion is on fire. There may be rebels taking advantage of the chaos. The Jinyiwei must immediately go to seal the area and maintain order!”

Outside Zuixian Pavilion, flames shot high into the sky.

Several spies planted by Prince Ning were mingling with the crowd of rescuers, eyes darting toward the core area.

If they could get close enough to see Shen Jue’s face and confirm whether he was truly gravely injured, Prince Ning’s plan would succeed.

Just as they were about to break through the Dongchang’s defenses, a sharp, synchronized sound of drawing swords rang out.

A squad of Jinyiwei, clad in Flying Fish uniforms and armed with embroidered spring blades, stood like a wall of bronze and iron, blocking their path.

Lu Yan sat on horseback, towering over them. The firelight reflected off his face, hard and cold as iron.

“Jinyiwei on duty! Bystanders, step back ten zhang! Anyone who disobeys will be executed without mercy!”

“Lord Lu!” The spies panicked.

“We are—”

“Doesn’t matter who you are,” Lu Yan interrupted coldly, a glint of cold steel flashing from his blade.

“I answer only to the emperor’s orders, not personal ties. Anyone who crosses this line is obstructing official duty.”

Terrified, the spies’ legs went weak. They could only watch helplessly as the blockade held firm.

At that moment, on the second-floor terrace of Zuixian Pavilion, untouched by the flames, a tall figure in a black python-patterned cloak emerged.

He wore a hood, his face obscured, but the sinister aura around him, coupled with the distinctive Yanling Dao, could only belong to one person besides the Dongchang Overseer Shen Jue.

From the high vantage, Shen Jue waved casually:

“Rescue the people first, then extinguish the fire. Anyone looting during the chaos will be executed!”

At his command, the Dongchang guards’ morale soared.

The spies watching from afar felt their hearts sink.

This doesn’t look like someone gravely wounded! He’s full of energy!