Chapter 130 Part 1

The sky was shrouded in thick gloom, and the wind was bitterly cold. The first snowfall that the people of Chang’an had been longing for was still nowhere in sight, but the weather alone was enough to make pedestrians on the streets hunch their shoulders and stomp their feet, wishing they could wrap themselves in every winter garment they owned to fend off the chill.

At a dock along the canal in the West Market, Gu Twelve led several dozen sturdy men, busily unloading the newly arrived shipment of timber from a dozen boats and stacking it into the warehouse.

Guo Guo’er was also here today.

The Luwu Division where he worked was originally a temporary government office set up for the emperor’s longevity celebration. But now that the longevity celebration was cancelled and Pei Xiaoyuan had other matters to attend to, this government office became existed in name only. Li Hui seldom came out in recent days, as it was not convenient for him to continue looking for Pei Xiaoyuan to learn at this time. Without his company, Guo Guo’er returned here.

Everyone carried an unspoken frustration within them, and they threw themselves into the work to vent it out. They carried massive logs from deep in the mountains—thicker than a man’s waist—with effortless strides. Before long, each of them was drenched in sweat. Some, following Gu Twelve’s example, stripped off their shirts entirely, working bare-chested.

Gu Twelve paused to take a sip of water and noticed that Guo Guo’er was also sweating heavily. Yet, unlike the others, he refused to remove his outer garments. Calling him over to rest, Gu Twelve was met with a shake of the head—”I’m not tired.” Seeing no use in pressing further, he turned to the group and shouted, “Put your backs into it! The sooner we finish, the sooner I’ll treat everyone to drinks tonight!”

Everyone knew that he had been involve with a widow for quite some time, though he kept it tightly under wraps, and no one knew exactly who she was. Upon hearing his offer, they thanked him loudly. Some of them even dared to joke, asking him when he would finally become a groom and whether the food he was treating was a wedding banquet. Gu Twelve glared and threw the remaining water in the bowl at the person who was making fun of him. The man failed to dodge in time and ended up with a face and head drenched, looking utterly miserable. Laughter burst out all around, instantly lightening the mood.

“Aren’t you and the young master from Prince Ning Mansion often together? Is there any news about Master Pei and the court recently?” Gu Twelve thought of the scene when he went to look for Pei Xiaoyuan yesterday. He was still a little worried in his heart, so he asked Guo Guo’er in a low voice.

Guo Guo’er shook her head in silence, and Gu Twelve had no choice but to give up. Suddenly, there was a commotion ahead, and a team of fully armed men and horses wearing imperial guard symbols were galloping along the river bank towards this side, all of them looked ferocious, and it seemed that they were carrying out a mission.

Pedestrians and merchants on the street were afraid of being bumped into and had nowhere to complain, so they dodged one after another. The originally bustling and orderly street suddenly became chaotic.

Gu Twelve recognized the leader, named Jiang Zhao, who was the deputy of Lu Jingchen, the general of the Imperial Guard of Northern Court. Needless to say, Lu Jingchen’s background was almost the same as Han Kerang. Jiang Zhao usually relied on his status to be arrogant and looked down on others.

Gu Twelve was somewhat dissatisfied when he saw this situation, but he also knew that this was an extraordinary period and the other party was indeed powerful and could not be stopped by a small figure like him. So he pretended not to see it and was about to turn around and continue his own business, but he did not expect Jiang Zhao to stop his horse, look over on this side, and then raise his arm. The team of dozens of imperial guards immediately dismounted and rushed towards this side, surrounding him in an instant.

“Are you Gu Twelve?” Jiang Zhao rode up to him, took a look and asked.

Gu Twelve nodded his head.

“Catch him!” Jiang Zhao said coldly. Several imperial guards in the front rushed forward with chains.

Gu Twelve was not one to surrender easily. With swift punches and kicks, he swiftly took down the men who had closed in on him.

“Why are you arresting me? Do you have an official warrant?”

After Gu Twelve knocked them down, he raised his voice and asked.

Jiang Zhao was startled, and seeing Gu Twelve showed no fear, he became even more furious. He snorted coldly, “Does General Lu need a warrant to take you in? Don’t you know what crimes you’ve committed? Stop resisting and surrender at once!”

At this time, a large group of people under Gu Twelve saw this, and put down what they were doing. They drew out their swords, spears and sticks that they had just put away because of work, and all surrounded Gu Twelve and stood behind him. Some people saw that the situation was not good and went to call their brothers who were still elsewhere. Soon, more and more people came from all directions, and some were rowing boats. At least a hundred people gathered and surrounded the dock.

A hundred people versus dozens of people, the momentum of both sides suddenly reversed.

Jiang Zhao came to arrest people today, so how could he take these coolies seriously? He just didn’t expect that the other side could gather so many people at once. If the person really resisted arrest and a fight broke out, he might not be able to gain the upper hand. If he was allowed to escape, that would be even worse.

He regretted underestimating the enemy and not bringing more people with him. His face became more and more stern. “Oh? So you plan to openly defy the court? Very well! Since we’re all here today, I might as well clean up this den of thugs wreaking havoc in the city. You’ll all be arrested and brought to justice—it’ll be a service to the people!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the merchants and residents who had gathered nearby to watch the excitement all looked indignant and talked in low voices, and a chaotic buzzing sound was heard around the dock.

“Who are you calling thugs? Every one of us has our name registered under the Jinwu Guard!” A hot-tempered man among Gu Twelve’s group could no longer hold back and retorted indignantly.

Jiang Zhao sneered: “Times have changed! Do you still think throwing around the name of the Luwu Division will scare anyone? Your dear Chief—he’s like a clay idol crossing a river now, barely able to save himself. You’d best worry about your own fate instead!”

The men who followed Gu Twelve held Pei Xiaoyuan in the highest regard, and hearing such disrespectful words instantly enraged them. With a roar of indignation, they surged forward, shouting curses at Jiang Zhao. Unwilling to lose face in front of the crowd, Jiang Zhao hastily barked out an order, signaling his men to form ranks in front of his horse. “General Lu’s orders—anyone who dares resist arrest will be executed on the spot!”

“Bow up!”

At his command, the dozens of imperial guards he brought with him immediately formed a battle formation in front of him, with archers at the front. They quickly drew their bows and aimed their sharp arrows at the people opposite them, ready to shoot.

Everyone was silent for a while, and they stopped moving. Several of Gu Twelve’s confidants, all of whom were outlaws, exchanged glances, walked behind Gu Twelve and whispered, “As long as the green hills remain, there will be no shortage of firewood to burn. None of us have families tying us down—we can go anywhere! In a moment, we’ll all charge at them, catch them off guard, and you take the chance to escape. We’ll slip away through the alleys and scatter to different places. We’ll regroup later!”

If he had encountered a similar situation in the past, Gu Twelve would have followed this plan without hesitation—he was well-versed in such escapes. But this time, he hesitated.

He had a vague idea why the other person wanted to take him away. This wasn’t like before—fleeing might not resolve anything, and it could drag even more people into trouble.

Just as he was hesitating, Jiang Zhao’s eyes flashed with malice, drew out his sword and raised it above his head, raising it high above his head while shouting, “Gu Twelve! If you don’t surrender now, don’t blame me for ordering the arrows to be shot! I’ll count to three!”

“One!”

“Two!”

“Three—”

“Stop!”

Just as the surrounding residents opened their eyes wide in horror, the archers were ready to fire, and the people behind Gu Twelve were changing colors, accompanied by the noise of horses’ hooves stepping on the stone pavement of the dock, someone shouted loudly.

Then, another group of people came from the other end of the long street. The noise they made immediately attracted everyone’s attention. Jiang Zhao also turned his head and saw that the other party was the Jinwu Guard. The person leading the horse was wearing armor and had a majestic face. It turned out to be the Jinwu General, Han Kerang.

Jiang Zhao held a high position in the Imperial Guards, and the Imperial Guards belonged to the Northern Court, and had nothing to do with the Jinwu Guards. However, Han Kerang was a third-rank general, and he was superior to him after all. Although he was somewhat reluctant and hesitated, he still dismounted, clasped his fists towards Han Kerang, and saluted.

“This subordinate merely carrying out official duties here and did not expect General Han to arrive. If we are blocking the General’s way, this subordinate will make way for you.”

After he finished speaking, he ordered his men to withdraw to the side of the street to let the Jinwu Guards pass.

However, Han Kerang remained motionless atop his horse, sitting firm and unwavering. His gaze swept over Gu Twelve and his tense men before he pointed and said, “This man is registered under the Luwu Division—only half a member of the Jinwu Guards, but still considered my subordinate. If he has committed a crime, I will deal with him myself. You may leave. No need to interfere.”

Jiang Zhao was stunned, and forced a smile on his face. He stepped forward and saluted again, and then said, “This subordinate is here on the orders of General Lu. This person is involved in an important case. If this subordinate could not apprehend him, then how can this subordinate explain it when he goes back? Please give some convenience, General, and don’t embarrass this subordinate.”

Han Kerang smiled and said, “Isn’t this your boss’s business? I’ll explain to him later.” After he finished speaking, he saw that Jiang Zhao still refused to leave, his face suddenly turned cold, and he said coldly, “Why, do you want me to make a note for you?”

Han Kerang was a very important figure by the emperor’s side. Seeing that he had turned hostile, Jiang Zhao dared not continue to disobey orders. He had no choice but to give up, saying that he dared not, and made a gesture to withdraw. All the archers of the imperial guards obeyed his orders, and he led his men away in dismay.

As the imperial guards retreated, the tense atmosphere on the dock suddenly relaxed. Seeing this, many residents cheered and thanked Han Kerang. Gu Twelve also breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that no matter what, it was better for him to fall into Han Kerang’s hands than anywhere else.

He calmed himself, strode to Han Kerang’s horse, kowtowed to him and thanked him, then took the initiative to stretch out his hands to be tied, saying: “I alone am responsible for my actions—this has nothing to do with anyone else! If General wishes to bind me, then so be it! I will follow you.”

Even as he spoke, he had already made up his mind. No matter what happened, even if he were brought before the emperor, he would insist that he had committed the murder out of greed for money and knew nothing else. He also felt relieved that he had ignored the widow’s coaxing last night, ensuring that their relationship remained undisclosed—otherwise, she would have been implicated as well.

Han Kerang merely furrowed his brows slightly, said nothing, turned his horse around, and, without a second glance at the dumbfounded Gu Twelve, led his men away.

Guo Guo’er was sandwiched in the crowd, taking everything in, and gradually showing a bit of worry. When everyone was laughing out of relief, he slowly backed away, squeezed out of the crowd, turned around and left in a hurry.

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