TGCFNM -Chapter 526 Very Satisfied

Bai Su went to scout again. Once she confirmed that the men in black were receiving orders and preparing to act, she waved for Chu Ling and the others to quietly move closer.

Following Bai Su’s instructions, Chu Ling searched for concealed spots along the way, inching forward step by step. When they were close enough, she raised her hand to signal everyone to stop, and then each person hid themselves in the grass.

Wan Sanjin held the tube nervously and lowered his voice. “Su He… how exactly do we blow this?”

“Just blow however you want. The smoke drifts randomly anyway, but make sure it goes far enough,” Su He said. He gestured for everyone to watch him, then aimed in the direction Chu Ling indicated and blew hard.

Immediately, commotion erupted at the hideout on the other side, and the noise quickly grew louder.

Chu Ling waved her hand forward. “Move together!”

As soon as her words fell, Wan Sanjin and the others sprang into action.

Bai Su kept watch for Chu Ling’s group. Whenever something seemed wrong, she signaled them to change positions.

With Bai Su’s help as an external lookout, Chu Ling and the others managed to avoid probing arrows and hidden weapons almost every time, steadily continuing to blow the poisoned incense without moving from their positions.

When all thirty sticks of incense had been used up, Chu Ling was the first to rush toward the hideout Bai Su had pointed out. Pulling out the silver needles at her waist, she immediately began attacking.

Bai Su stood behind her, informing her of the positions of nearby enemies so Chu Ling could fight without any worries.

Wan Sanjin, Su He, and the others quickly followed.

Wan Sanjin snatched a large blade from someone who had fainted, brandishing it as he charged forward. Su He stayed nearby, occasionally firing hidden weapons or scattering poison powder to assist.

Xiao Hua wore a pair of gauntlets—one punch, one enemy down.

Zhang Dong guarded Xiao Hua’s side. The horsewhip in his hand kept everyone else from getting close, leaving them only able to watch as Xiao Hua alone carved a bloody path through the crowd.

At that moment, a pigeon flapped its wings and flew over from not far away. It seemed to hit something and suddenly dropped straight to the ground.

The leader of the men in black reddened his eyes and reached out to grab it.

Xiao Hua snorted. Seizing that brief instant, she punched the man square in the cheek, sending him flying.

Zhang Dong immediately picked up the pigeon and stuffed it into his chest.

Wan Sanjin charged forward desperately. But the man in black on the opposite side suddenly grew fearful, abruptly pulling back and even stepping backward nervously. Wan Sanjin seized the opportunity and ended his life with a single slash.

By this point, the situation had stabilized. All five of them were still unharmed.

Taking advantage of the moment, Su He found several sticks of incense that had gone out. After relighting them completely, he threw them out again.

As the smoke drifted with the wind, more and more of the men in black grew weak, gradually collapsing onto the ground, unable to move.

On Chu Ling’s side, she had finally used up all her silver needles. When she stopped, she noticed that bodies had fallen all around her.

“Is it finished?” Wan Sanjin asked, holding the large blade while guarding Su He as they retreated to Chu Ling’s side.

At the same time, Xiao Hua and Zhang Dong also regrouped.

Zhang Dong took out the pigeon, discovered a secret letter tied to its leg, and handed it to Chu Ling.

After reading it, Chu Ling immediately felt her blood surge.

“This assassination was indeed man-made. They even wanted to kill Lord Lu and make the incident escalate.”

Wan Sanjin took it and glanced at it, clenching the slip of paper tightly.

“Can this be used as evidence?”

Chu Ling shook her head. “No. Because its origin is unknown.”

“My lord, what should we do now?” Zhang Dong asked. “If we leave the bodies of these men in black here, something will happen.”

Chu Ling looked at Su He. “How much corpse-dissolving liquid do we have left?”

Su He shook his head. “Definitely not enough. At most, we can use it on ten bodies.”

Chu Ling felt a headache coming on. If Fu Qingyu filed a complaint, someone would surely search the area. Once they found the bodies, they could still shift the blame onto them—then all their effort would have been wasted.

“Sir, did you forget? Su He said we could hang the poison powder on the trees. That way, no matter who comes in, they’ll collapse. Then we can quietly bring people over at night to clean up these bodies,” Wan Sanjin said.

Chu Ling’s eyes lit up. “That makes sense.”

“Then let’s go. We’ll start releasing the poison along the same route we used to enter. It also follows the direction of the wind, so it’ll slowly spread out,” Su He said.

As he spoke, he had everyone take out the poison packets they carried with them. Then, based on the properties and strength of each poison, he instructed them to use them at intervals so the effect would be optimal.

After Su He redistributed the poison packets, the group immediately began their work.

Meanwhile, Fu Qingyu returned injured, which caused the Emperor to fly into a rage. Inside and outside the imperial tent, people knelt in droves.

“Men! Go capture them all! Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, you must drag them out for me! I want to see who dared to harm my imperial grandson!”

Lu Shi stepped forward and said respectfully, “Your Majesty should keep some people by your side. Your safety cannot suffer even the slightest mishap. Presumably, Young Master Fu, in his filial devotion, would not wish for Your Majesty to send away even those who guard your side.”

The Emperor frowned but ultimately agreed, dispatching everyone else.

After Fu Qingyu expressed his gratitude with deep emotion, Grand Tutor Fu personally supported him as they went to find the imperial physician for treatment. The officials whom Fu Qingyu had protected could hardly conceal their worry, so with the Emperor’s tacit approval, they hurried after him.

The Emperor narrowed his eyes as he watched them, his expression unchanged.

Lu Shi lowered his gaze, quietly standing by the Emperor’s side. Other people and other matters had nothing to do with him.

“Lu Shi,” the Emperor called.

“Your servant is here,” Lu Shi replied.

“It seems your juniors have also gone into the forest,” the Emperor said, looking at him.

Lu Shi nodded, but there was not a trace of worry on his face. “Those juniors of mine are practically monkeys. As long as monkeys have trees, they can run around anywhere. So I’m not worried at all.”

The Emperor couldn’t help laughing. “Monkeys, eh? For the steady and composed Lord Lu to use the word ‘monkeys,’ those youngsters must have truly troubled you. I heard that along the way you even forced them to recite essays.”

At the mention of that, Lu Shi revealed a bitter expression. “Your Majesty, I didn’t want to either. But when they see trees, all they do is shout about how tall and green they are, then pick leaves and whistle with them. When they see flowers, they just exclaim how beautiful they are and wonder if they’re worth money. And when they see long vines, they want to yank them down to play with like ropes… Your servant is truly exhausted.”

Hearing this, the Emperor burst out laughing. “Those children still have the innocence of youth. But fortunately their dispositions are good. With more guidance, they may yet become capable of standing on their own. In the future, in the court, they may even do their best to assist the new emperor.”

The moment the Emperor said this, whether those serving nearby or the officials waiting outside, everyone’s expression changed.

Was the Emperor planning to appoint a crown prince?

Lu Shi remained neither humble nor overbearing, his expression serious. “The new emperor has nothing to do with this old minister. My teaching of those juniors is only to make their conduct more proper, so that they do not fail the trust Your Majesty has placed in them.”

Lu Shi’s voice was stiff and blunt—anyone could tell his mood was far from pleasant.

Yet the Emperor was in an excellent mood. Shaking his head with a smile, he said, “I wonder whether the new emperor will be able to tolerate your stubborn temper.”

“No need to tolerate it. This old minister will simply retire and return to my hometown,” Lu Shi said. With that, he cupped his hands in salute and withdrew.

Eunuch Zhang called out to him, but the Emperor raised a hand to stop him.

“With a new emperor comes a new set of ministers. He sees things clearly—but he really is stubborn.”

“Lord Lu is upright and incorruptible. He doesn’t understand all those twists and schemes—he only knows how to serve Your Majesty well. But when people grow old, they do become rather stubborn,” Eunuch Zhang added from the side.

The Emperor gave a soft “mm.”

In his heart, he was extremely satisfied.