FBC – Chapter 99 Rescue

“Damn it!”

“Did she turn into a butterfly and fly away or something?”

A group of people muttered under their breath, but the moment Lu Laosan glared at them, they all fell silent.

A gatekeeper came running in a hurry. “Third Master, the Inspection Bureau and the Black Armored Army have already passed the street in front and are heading this way.”

Lu Laosan’s face darkened. He shouted harshly, “Find her, now! A living person doesn’t just disappear. Search every nook and cranny thoroughly!”

The guests watching the performance had been disturbed. Some began to grumble with dissatisfaction.

The troupe leader grew anxious and rushed over to tug at Lu Laosan’s men. “You’re disrupting my stage! If you wreck my show, you’ll have to pay for it!”

Lu Laosan swung his arm and grabbed the troupe leader by the collar, snarling, “I’m looking for someone. If that person’s hiding in your troupe, you can forget about ever performing again!”

“You… you wouldn’t dare! This is Bianjing City—we follow the law here!”

The troupe leader didn’t know where they came from, but they had all been living together in the same entertainment district, frequently crossing paths. These men looked fierce but had never harmed anyone. The troupe leader and his people lived in the outer courtyard and performed there too. Their paths rarely crossed, so he hadn’t paid them much mind.

“The law? You can go talk to the King of Hell about the law after I chop your head off! Get out of my way!”

Lu Laosan shoved the man aside roughly and waved his hand. “It’s over. Everyone disperse. The show’s canceled.”

“Canceled? Then refund the tickets!”

“Yeah! We only saw half the performance—what kind of nonsense is this!”

The audience began to shout in dissatisfaction.

Underneath the stage, Gu Hua was terrified. If the performance was canceled, they would definitely start searching the stage.

She quickly lifted a corner of the curtain. If the guests really left, maybe she could use the chaos to slip away with them through the door?

Mu Junyan urged his horse forward, anxious and burning with worry.

Bianjing was a massive city with at least fifty different districts, teeming with people coming and going. Searching for one person here was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

He didn’t know what those thugs wanted, and Gu Hua was physically weak to begin with—not to mention her usual slow and gentle temperament. If they kept pushing her like this, what if she couldn’t take it…

Mu Junyan didn’t dare to follow that thought any further.

He hadn’t realized it before. He had thought she was just being clingy for her own gain, and he had accepted it with a kind of detached pleasure.

But now that he might lose her, he realized she wasn’t someone he could take or leave so easily.

At this moment, his heart was in a panic, aching with dread.

That face—wanting to speak yet holding back—kept appearing in front of his eyes. Mu Junyan felt like there was a gaping hole in his chest, hollow and cold.

He spurred his horse on, galloping faster. His men closely followed.

They had started tracking from the place where the carriage from the Duke’s estate had been destroyed. Upon investigation, they discovered that Gu Wanru had lied.

She had pointed them in the opposite direction, which caused the Inspection Bureau to miss the target.

Mu Junyan and his men had followed the traces until they reached the bustling commercial district, where the trail became much harder to follow.

Where the trail vanished, just ahead was the liveliest and most prosperous area—countless alleys and side streets, chaotic with people. Even if the entire Inspection Bureau was deployed, they might not be able to finish searching within a whole day and night.

Chiyu and the others found some dried performance paint on the ground—commonly used by street performers—along with a fallen red triangular flag and a piece of black clothing.

Someone had disguised themselves and blended into the crowd.

Mu Junyan frowned.

Gazing at the brightly lit street ahead, he thought for a moment and said, “Focus on checking brothels and theaters where outsiders tend to gather. Ask around to see if anyone saw people carrying a box or chest leaving the area.”

“Yes, sir,” Chiyan responded and quickly led the others to investigate.

The Inspection Bureau and the Black Armored Guards also began conducting focused searches of the various entertainment districts.

Before long, Chiyan brought someone over, saying they had seen a few street performers carrying two large black boxes leaving from this area, heading west of the city.

Large wooden boxes could easily hide people—or weapons.

A troupe of performers traveling the streets at this hour wouldn’t draw much attention.

What a clever plan!

Mu Junyan’s expression was grim as he silently calculated the time.

They hadn’t yet left the city.

Since they hadn’t made it out, they wouldn’t dare kill and silence anyone within Bianjing so rashly.

Mu Junyan immediately divided his men into several groups. Most of the Inspection Bureau stayed behind to continue searching the nearby theaters and troupes, while the Black Armored Guards split up and headed straight for the city’s west side.

He gave strict orders that any findings were to be immediately reported through the beacon towers.

He himself also rushed toward the western part of the city.

In the latter half of the autumn night, the wind suddenly picked up, and the temperature dropped sharply.

Nearly two hours had already passed, and Mu Junyan was growing increasingly anxious, unsure whether Gu Hua had suffered any harm.

There were as many as thirty to forty theaters and entertainment districts scattered throughout the east and west parts of the city—it would take tremendous effort to search them all thoroughly.

The crescent moon in the sky was beginning to fade, and dawn was breaking over the horizon.

Early risers were already out and about, and the disturbances of the previous night had become widely known among the entertainment districts.

Still, no signal had come from the beacon towers. Mu Junyan’s expression grew darker and darker.

A deputy from the Inspection Bureau pointed ahead to a large courtyard. “Lord Duke, that’s the Xinghua Troupe House. Most of the performers there are from out of town, and the audience is usually made up of lower-class folk.”

Mu Junyan didn’t respond. He simply snapped his whip and charged ahead.

That night, no one in the Yichun Courtyard or the Duke Yong’s residence could sleep peacefully.

Even the palace was in turmoil.

The Emperor was roused from the bed of his favored concubine and glared at the kneeling high-ranking eunuch and the young attendant Xiaoguozhi. When he heard that Mu Junyan’s men were accusing them of colluding with external officials to smuggle military supplies—and had even helped criminals capture the young madam—his fury was boundless. He immediately ordered them thrown into the Inner Prison for harsh interrogation.

At any other time, such a “minor” matter wouldn’t have concerned him.

But now the southern border was in crisis, and he was in the midst of strategizing with Mu Junyan.

Although the pro-peace faction was making a lot of noise at court, the Emperor had to keep Mu Junyan steady—what if a fight was inevitable?

And now, some fool actually dared to lay hands on Mu Junyan’s daughter-in-law? Wasn’t this just adding fuel to the fire?

Gu Wanru and Mu An were each locked inside their own courtyards, forbidden to see anyone.

When Yaoyao heard the commotion outside and tried to go take a look, she was shocked to find the Black Armored Guards present. She didn’t dare move a muscle.

Gu Wanru, furious, smashed things and yelled at the old maid assigned by Zhou Chunyu to watch her. “I’ve already come back! Why am I still locked up?!”

The old maid replied kindly, “Orders from the Duke. Who would dare disobey? Besides, Young Madam, you’ve been through a fright. You need proper rest.”

Gu Wanru pointed at the maid’s nose and screamed, “Rest?! Is locking me up your idea of letting me rest? By tomorrow, the entire capital will know a woman of the Duke’s household was kidnapped. Keeping me locked up like this—do you want people to think it was me who was kidnapped?!

The daughter-in-law of the Guogong family, kidnapped and disgraced—do you all want to ruin me?! Has Father lost all shame for the sake of that pretty little slut? He protects her while ignoring his daughter-in-law’s reputation! Fine, let’s rip off the masks and see who ends up more disgraced—me or the Duke family!”

The old maid could no longer bear it and frowned. “Young Madam, please mind your words.”

“Mind my ass!” Gu Wanru had gone completely mad, abandoning all pretense.

That little slut should’ve just died, yet Father-in-law insisted on protecting her.

If—if she was rescued, then the fact that Gu Wanru had framed Gu Hua would be exposed.

Gu Wanru was terrified, furious, and frantic.

All the effort she and her mother had poured in, all their schemes—would be destroyed in one fell swoop.

“Gag her and tie her up.”

A cold command echoed from outside.

“Who dares?! I’m the young madam!” Gu Wanru shrieked hysterically.

But as the door opened, an imposing figure stood there—Old Madam, her face like ice.

Two sturdy maids stepped forward and tied Gu Wanru to the bed, gagged her, and covered her with a quilt.

Old Madam held a dragon-headed cane, approaching step by step. “If you had even a bit of sense, you could still remain Mu An’s wife. But if you really want to tear things apart with the Duke family, be my guest. However, until Hua girl returns, you’ll keep your mouth shut.”

Gu Wanru stared blankly at the clearly lucid Old Madam standing before her.

She was… sane?

No, had she ever actually been senile?

Old Madam ignored whatever was going through her mind and turned to leave.

“Old Madam,” Yi Niang said in a low voice as she helped her, “the Young Madam cannot keep secrets.”

“From this day forth, the old woman’s dementia is cured.”

Old Madam stood tall, her eyes dark and sharp. She struck the ground with her cane.

With a loud crack, the stone tiles beneath split into several cracks.