AUBTN -Chapter 30 Lu Yan Is Arrested

Shen Jue casually brushed at a speck of dust that didn’t actually exist on his fingers, a mocking smile hanging at the corner of his lips. “Lord Lu, at tomorrow’s morning court, how about you and I present this grand gift together to His Majesty?”

Lu Yan sheathed his embroidered spring saber. The usually hard lines of his face softened slightly for once as he gave a faint nod. “As it should be. Tonight, the capital is far from peaceful. The two of you should return fir—”

Before he could finish, a burst of hurried, chaotic hoofbeats shattered the curtain of rain, charging straight toward Renxin Hall.

“Report—! Something terrible has happened!”

A Jinyiwei captain, drenched from head to toe, tumbled off his horse and rushed into the main hall, stumbling as he ran.

His voice was distorted with extreme panic. “Commander! Something’s happened! Minister Zhang of the Ministry of Revenue… Lord Zhang… he was assassinated in his own residence!”

Another thunderclap exploded in the sky, making the window frames tremble.

Lu Yan’s pupils suddenly contracted. “What did you say? How could Lord Zhang have been assassinated?”

“It was a single fatal strike! And… it’s said something was left behind at the scene.”

“What was it?” Lu Yan felt a foreboding sense of dread.

The captain replied anxiously, “A Jinyiwei thousand-household command token. My lord, you must leave now. Prince Ning will be here soon to arrest you!”

“This is also Prince Ning’s trap.” Su Hewan sucked in a sharp breath, her face turning pale instantly.

“Lord Zhang was famous in court for being unyielding. He had been relentlessly pursuing the deficit in the Ministry of Revenue’s accounts. Killing him not only removes a thorn in their side, but also frames the Jinyiwei… It’s killing two birds with one stone!”

“What a vicious scheme.” Shen Jue narrowed his phoenix eyes, murderous intent surging in their depths.

“With Lord Zhang dead, there’s no one left to testify. That waist token is ironclad evidence. Lu Yan, you’re in serious trouble this time.”

Before Lu Yan could respond, the outside of the hall was already surrounded by countless torches.

The commander of the Jinyiwei, clad in armor and holding a bright yellow imperial edict, strode into the hall. Behind him followed several hundred crossbowmen, their cold arrowheads aimed directly at everyone inside.

“The imperial edict has arrived—”

The commander’s face was expressionless, his voice cold as frost.

“Lu Yan, Commander of the Jinyiwei, has ordered his subordinates to assassinate a court official, a crime of the gravest nature! His Majesty is furious. By imperial decree, Lu Yan is stripped of all his posts and is to be immediately thrown into the Heavenly Prison to await judgment! The Jinyiwei will temporarily be managed by… Prince Ning, who will oversee the capital’s defenses!”

“Bullshit!” Several of Lu Yan’s trusted men behind him drew their blades and shouted in anger.

“This is a frame-up!”

“Stand down!”

Lu Yan barked sharply, stopping his subordinates.

He stared at the imperial edict. The veins on the back of the hand gripping his embroidered spring saber bulged, his knuckles turning pale.

Looking at the commander of the Jinyiwei, he spoke each word with firm clarity:
“This subject accepts the decree. But Lord Zhang’s death is full of suspicious points. I did not do it, and I will not confess to it.”

At a moment like this, if the Jinyiwei resisted arrest, it would be equivalent to confirming the charge of rebellion.

That was exactly what Prince Ning was waiting for—the moment he drew his blade.

Lu Yan slowly removed the embroidered spring saber from his waist. His gaze passed over the crowd and landed on Shen Jue and Su Hewan.

Their eyes met in midair.

Lu Yan’s gaze was deep and complicated, but in the end it became only the slightest nod—

The evidence is in your hands. Protect it.

Su Hewan understood his look and said softly, “I’ll take good care of Qingqing.”

Lu Yan gave a faint nod.

“Take him away!”

His figure was pushed out into the rainy night, disappearing into the vast darkness.

Inside the side hall of the Shangyi Bureau, candlelight flickered dimly.

Yu Qing was curled up under the blankets, dreaming a beautiful dream. In it, she had latched onto Lu Yan—the thick golden thigh of opportunity—and was strutting sideways through the palace. Even the Empress Dowager had to peel grapes for her.

“Bang!”

The door was violently slammed open, cold wind and rain rushing in with it.

“Get up! All of you, get up!” The stewardess’s shrill voice screeched like fingernails scraping across a chalkboard, making everyone’s ears ache. “By order of Prince Ning, the entire city is under martial law! Everyone in the Shangyi Bureau is to be investigated—if anyone is found to be Lu Yan’s accomplice, arrest them immediately!”

Yu Qing groggily sat up and rubbed her sleepy eyes. “Auntie, what’s going on? It’s the middle of the night…”

A young palace maid beside her turned deathly pale and whispered in a trembling voice, “You still don’t know? News just came—Commander Lu of the Jinyiwei killed the Minister of Revenue! His Majesty has already thrown him into prison! Now Prince Ning has taken control of all the city’s defenses. I heard the Jinyiwei has already been taken over by Prince Ning’s people, and they’re carrying out a massive purge!”

“W–What?”

Yu Qing felt as if struck by lightning and froze where she sat.

In panic, she felt inside her robe for the signal firework she hadn’t yet returned.

This thing had suddenly become a scalding hot potato.

Originally, it was a protective charm Lu Yan had given her—once she lit it, the Jinyiwei would come to rescue her.

But now the Jinyiwei were leaderless, and Prince Ning’s men had taken control of everything.

If someone discovered she was carrying an Imperial Guard signal flare, wouldn’t that basically be carving the words “I’m an undercover agent” onto her forehead?!

“Qing’er, why are you spacing out? Hurry and get dressed!” the palace maid sharing her room pushed her.

Yu Qing forced out a smile uglier than crying. “Ah… coming, coming.”

She hurriedly threw on her clothes, her heart pounding wildly.

【It’s over. Everything’s over.】

【Am I going to spend the rest of my life washing clothes here?!】

Even worse, her earlier improvised acting had been a little too enthusiastic. If Lu Yan truly lost power and Prince Ning began settling old scores, tracing the trail back to her…

Just thinking about Prince Ning’s sinister gaze made Yu Qing shiver.

In a side hall of the Shangyi Bureau, Yu Qing gripped the signal flare tightly in her hand, her palm slick with cold sweat.

The footsteps outside were getting closer and closer.

“Search! Search carefully! Don’t let even a fly escape!” the stewardess shouted sharply through the rainy night.

Just as the sound of the door being smashed open was about to ring out—

A far more domineering shout suddenly came from the courtyard outside.

“Eastern Depot investigation! Unrelated personnel—get out of the way!”

The voice was shrill and piercing. Immediately after, bang! With a deafening crash, the wooden door—already trembling—was kicked completely off its hinges.

Yu Qing was so frightened she almost fainted. She had just been about to secretly toss the signal flare away when she saw a group of Eastern Depot agents in brown uniforms, short blades at their waists, rush in like wolves and tigers.

The leader, an officer, swept his sharp gaze across the room before finally locking onto Yu Qing, who had shrunk into a corner.

“Who is Yu Qing?”

Yu Qing’s teeth chattered. Before she could even unleash her acting skills and pretend to be unconscious, the officer waved his hand.

“Take her away!”

“Hey! Wait! I’m innocent! I’m a perfectly law-abiding citizen!” Yu Qing wailed as she struggled, while mentally writing her will for the eight-hundredth time.

Wait a minute… these are Shen Jue’s people. If I fall into his hands, maybe there’s still hope!

“Hold it!” The stewardess finally gathered her courage and blocked the doorway.

“Sir, this is a place Prince Ning ordered to be searched—”

“Smack!”

A loud slap sent the stewardess spinning twice on the spot.

The officer sneered coldly.

“When the Eastern Depot arrests someone, do we need to report to Prince Ning? This woman is involved in the case of the assassination attempt on Director Shen. She is an important witness. By order of the Director, she is to be taken for immediate interrogation! Anyone who dares to interfere will be treated as opposing the Eastern Depot—and charged with treason!”

“T–Treason?”

The palace maids were so terrified they all dropped to their knees.