Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 119 A Decision Made in Panic
Jia Chuan frowned as he looked at the man. This man was Wu Bing's personal bodyguard, named Gu Jiang, who was in his early twenties. In Jia Chuan's opinion, he might be decent in terms of fighting skills, but his life experience was lacking...

“You know what happened over there,” Jia Chuan said seriously, not in a question.

Gu Jiang immediately looked nervous and hurriedly said, "I'm just guessing, I'll go check it out right now."

"Stop right there! You know that!"

Gu Jiang waved his hands repeatedly, saying in a panic, "I don't know."

“Chen Mo did come once in the afternoon, but that was after he had come once in the morning. He knew I would worry about the situation there, so he would definitely come early to reassure me. Later, when it snowed, he would sleep in and come over in the morning.”

In his nervousness, the man subconsciously glanced at Liu Mian.

Liu Mian put down his chopsticks and said, "I told you to make things clear to him beforehand, but you insisted on keeping it from him. Once he gets involved, he's a monkey. Do you think you can hide it from him?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Chuan felt a sense of foreboding. He anxiously asked, "Could it be that they're using Duoduo as bait to get into the manor?"

Liu Mian spread his hands, looked at Gu Jiang, and said, "See, you don't even need to say anything..."

Jia Chuanteng stood up abruptly, his face contorted with anger. He pointed at Gu Jiang, but dared not point at Liu Mian. Without uttering a word, he turned and left the room.

Gu Jiang quickly caught up, explaining as he ran, "Don't worry, they've discussed this very carefully. If Miss Gao and Miss Dong are taken to the Prince's manor, they'll snatch them back before they enter. Since there's been no news, they've taken them out of the city to the estate. Our people are with us all along the way. If they don't go to the estate and go somewhere else, we can snatch them back at any time. If they do go to the estate, we'll coordinate an attack from the inside tonight..."

Jia Chuan had already run down to the underground level. There were originally more than 30 people there, but now only five remained.

Gu Jiang quickly said, "Look, we really have enough manpower, you can rest assured."

Jia Chuan turned and ran back to the ground, completely ignoring Gu Jiang.

Running back to the dining hall, Jia Chuan, panting, asked Liu Mian, "How many Imperial Guards did you bring? Let me borrow them for a bit."

Liu Mian frowned and said, "Wu Bing talked to me about this last night, and I think it's feasible..."

"Feasible? If it really is feasible, why didn't he tell me?" Jia Chuan's anger had reached its peak.

"He said that since you have feelings for a woman, you would never agree to let her take such a dangerous risk..."

"He knew this was risky! The Prince of Han has long coveted these people around me. If he weren't unsure of their abilities, he would have already turned their place upside down. If he had captured them, the first thing he would have done was take them to the Prince's mansion to force me to show myself. Why would he go to the manor? The Prince of Han knows better than anyone that I have my eye on the manor. Why would he send people there?"

Jia Chuan was so angry that his voice was distorted, and of course, his mind went blank.

Liu Mian could see it clearly, and he didn't mind Jia Chuan's rudeness. He quickly comforted him, "Don't be anxious. The Wu soldiers know what they're doing."

"How can I not be anxious? Why has the manor been so quiet these past few days? Wu Bing thought it was quiet because they knew they needed to wait and neither side would make a move, so he could launch a sudden attack and catch the Prince's Mansion off guard. How could he not have imagined that the Prince's Mansion would turn the tables on him? This is Le'an! I dared to cause trouble in the city because I knew the Prince's Mansion wouldn't dare to mobilize troops, but what about outside the city? What use are those few dozen men that Wu Bing brought!"

Liu Mian hurriedly said, "Wu Bing has thought of that, so they are planning for a quick victory."

"Can we hurry? Does Wu Bing have the final say on this? Give me the Imperial Guards you brought with you."

"Wouldn't it be more troublesome if you went? The King of Han is waiting for you!"

"If I don't go, none of them will survive!" Jia Chuan's face was contorted with rage.

Liu Mian was stunned, and Hou Tai was even more flustered and didn't know what to do. Without the emperor's decree, it was best for him and Liu Mian to pretend that they knew nothing. Regardless of merits or demerits, they could explain themselves in the future. But if they had directly participated...

This was the same as what Liu Mian thought. Although Chen Mo and Gao Yuntian were also members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they were no longer under his jurisdiction. He was not responsible for what they did. This was a scheme against a prince, or a prince whom the emperor considered a thorn in his side. There was no better way than to force the prince to rebel and then punish him. If he was too lenient, it would be useless; if he was too severe, how would he be any different from Jianwen?
The Emperor allowed Jia Chuan to cause trouble because Jia Chuan was just Jia Chuan; no matter what he did, there was always room for maneuver. But the Embroidered Uniform Guard was different; they represented the Emperor.

Seeing Liu Mian's increasingly resolute expression, Jia Chuan knew that those people's lives were insignificant to Liu Mian. Giving Liu Mian time to weigh the pros and cons, he would definitely not let him take the Jinyiwei men away.

At this moment, Jia Chuan's mind returned somewhat, and he quickly said:
"I know what's hidden in the manor—a person who can help the King of Han seize the throne! No matter how many troops the King of Han mobilizes, as long as I can expose this person, the King of Han will have to rebel even if he's not prepared!"

Liu Mian became interested and hurriedly asked, "Who has such ability?"

“I don’t know who it is yet, but this person is extremely important to the Prince of Han. Those few Jianghu people are guarding him. Wu Bing doesn’t know about this. I only got the information from that manor keeper last night. If I don’t go, they are ants in the Prince of Han’s eyes, whom he can crush at any time, or he can grab a few to force me to submit. The reason Wu Bing thinks he can finish this quickly is because he saw that the Prince of Han has been completely outmaneuvered by me recently, especially since I said that the Prince of Han has no good generals by his side… He has waited for years for the task entrusted to him by the late emperor, which may all vanish after you leave the day after tomorrow. Even if someone can complete it in the future, it won’t be done under his leadership. I understand that he can’t accept this, but a plan made under this mindset is very likely to overlook the most fatal factor…”

Jia Chuan was speaking quickly when he suddenly stopped. He realized that it was useless to talk to Liu Mian about this now, and besides, he didn't have time to think about what the most fatal factor was.

But in that brief pause, a possibility flashed through his mind.

If the Prince of Han knew that he had captured people and sent them to the manor, then he was using Gao Yunduo and Dong Yuanyuan as bait to lure him out of the city. After receiving the news, he should have appeared near the manor, or disguised himself and left the city. At this moment, his residence must be under close surveillance. This is the main reason why Wu Bing and his men dared to take the risk. The experts of the Prince of Han's mansion were all watching Jia Chuan, and Wu Bing felt that this gave them time.

Previously, Jia Chuan had planned to lead his men out of the city through the secret passage and then send a message to Wu Bing. Regardless of how many people were around, they were to attack the manor immediately before nightfall and rescue Gao Yunduo and Dong Yuanyuan. However, Jia Chuan dared not think whether he could defeat the old masters guarding the manor. He did not know where Wu Bing's confidence came from.

Now, after muttering a few words, he had another bold idea. If he could take advantage of the time difference before the King of Han realized that he had left the city, he could storm the manor and capture the person that the King of Han valued. Well... that would be a bit difficult, but it would be good if he could be exposed. This person was of great importance to the King of Han. Perhaps only in this way could he truly save the life of the person around him and complete the Emperor's mission at the same time.

Seeing that Jia Chuan suddenly stopped talking, Liu Mian urged him, "What aspect did Wu Bing fail to consider?"

Seeing that Liu Mian was wavering, Jia Chuan quickly sorted out his thoughts and shared his ideas.

This was the only method Jia Chuan could think of for the time being. He knew it wasn't perfect, but he didn't have time to think it through carefully. Wu Bing had made mistakes in everything else, but his swift and decisive action was still somewhat usable. The Prince of Han had also suddenly learned that his men had captured Gao Yunduo and Dong Yuanyuan, and similarly hadn't had time to think much about it. Currently, there were still people in the palace and the estate. The best way he could think of to kill Jia Chuan was to prolong the transportation route, because he didn't know if the sudden capture was genuine or a scheme by Jia Chuan. Based on Jia Chuan's understanding of the Prince of Han, he gambled that the Prince of Han thought his men had seized the opportunity. Liu Mian agreed with this point.

Seeing Liu Mian nod subconsciously, Jia Chuan quickly sorted out his thoughts and said:
"The King of Han has never considered me an opponent. He wouldn't think I could come up with such an idea. Oh dear, what should I say?" Jia Chuan paced around in a panic.

Hou Tai said, "You mean to say that the King of Han thinks too highly of himself, and in his eyes you are a slippery eel, not because you are impossible to catch, but because you are too cunning, so you would use your own people as bait? You can't think of such a thing."

"Yes, that's the idea. Also, the King of Han knows I'm keeping an eye on the estate, but he also knows I can't do anything about it, otherwise he wouldn't have brought out all those disciples from the estate..."

Liu Mian waved his hand and said, "No matter what the current situation is, how can I let you take away the Embroidered Uniform Guards without the Emperor's decree?"

"Before you came, did the Emperor say he would ensure my safety?"

Liu Mian thought for a moment and nodded.

"Or do you not know what happened? No, even if you do know what happened, I'm determined to go out. Can you just watch me go alone?"

Liu Mian's eyes lit up.

In his panic, Jia Chuan finally found the key to capturing Liu Mian. He pressed his advantage, saying, "Your men were there to protect me. Neither of you knew what had happened, and it was all settled. Gu Jiang! After leaving the city, do you have a way to contact Wu Bing?"

Gu Jiang nodded hurriedly.

"Old Liu, we can't delay any longer, or we'll be exposed," Jia Chuan said urgently.

Liu Mian looked at Jia Chuan and asked, "Are you planning to use the tunnel in the house to leave the city?"

"Of course!"

"In that case, this tunnel is probably... no longer usable."

Jia Chuan paused for a moment, then took a deep breath and said with a bitter smile, "If I can survive this time, the mission will be accomplished, and this place will be no longer needed. If I can't come back alive... what does it matter to me whether it's usable or not?"

……

When Jia Chuan first thought about Wu Bing secretly sending Gao Yunduo and Dong Yuanyuan into danger, his mind was in turmoil. All he could think about was getting to the manor as soon as possible, even if they were going to die, they would die together!

But as he persuaded Liu Mian, his mind gradually calmed down. He realized that Wu Bing and the others hadn't been unaware of the situation. It was precisely because they had considered all aspects that they hadn't told him. Wu Bing's basis for the quick victory was that the people from the Prince's Mansion would definitely keep a close eye on Jia Chuan. As long as Jia Chuan didn't move, the people from the manor in the Prince's Mansion wouldn't make a move either.

This was indeed what Wu Bing and his team had thought of. They had considered three possibilities in advance: one was to take Gao Yunduo and Dong Yuanyuan to the Prince's Mansion, another was to take them to another place, and they were prepared to rescue the two of them at any time. The third possibility was to send them to the manor.

In other words, Wu Bing and his men thought that the Prince's Mansion would take this opportunity to wipe out Jia Chuan and his gang.

As Jia Chuan walked through the tunnel, he realized something: Zhu Gaoxu wouldn't think this was a meticulously planned scheme, much less a counter-plan. He would only think that Jia Chuan's men, taking advantage of the quiet of the past few days, assumed that with high-ranking officials from the capital present, the Prince's Mansion wouldn't do anything, and thus became bolder, allowing them to seize the opportunity.

The people in the Prince's residence would quickly report the matter, and Zhu Gaoxu would respond quickly, deciding whether to bring it back to the Prince's residence or send it elsewhere.

Clearly, Zhu Gaoxu had fallen into the trap. Judging from Gu Jiang's words, if there was no movement by this time, he must have left the city.

But Wu Bing and his men were too optimistic. They thought that by taking advantage of the manor's vulnerability, they could work together from the inside and outside, not only having a reason to force their way into the manor, but also taking the opportunity to expose the secrets of the manor. However, they underestimated Zhu Gaoxu's feelings for Jia Chuan.

The so-called inside-outside cooperation was based on the idea that Gao Yunduo and Dong Yuanyuan could escape smoothly after being taken to the manor. Was this Gao Yunduo's confidence or Wu Bing's underestimation of the enemy?

This trip is a one-way trip for them, as they don't know what the secret of the manor is. Even if Gao Yunduo and Dong Yuanyuan escape, it will take them a lot of time to find it. The manor isn't just a few rooms; it's not something you can easily get by capturing someone and interrogating them. The key isn't where it is, but... can they defeat the old guy guarding the secret? Not to mention the people who will arrive later. If Wu Bing and his group can't leave before dark, they won't have a chance to leave again.

Zhu Gaoxu would not allow Wu Bing and his men to run rampant in the manor just because he had not seen Jia Chuan.

……

Jia Chuan knew that now was not the time to complain about anyone. He led a dozen or so Imperial Guards under Liu Mian and followed Gu Jiang and his six men out of the city through the tunnel.

Besides Liu Mian and Hou Tai, a few servants who came to serve them, and the person locked in the basement, there was no one else in the house.

Jia Chuan even had a fleeting thought: what if Zhu Gaoxu, in a fit of rage, didn't even spare Liu Mian, Hou Tai, and Gu Zuo? If that were the case, whether the person on the estate was revealed or not would be irrelevant.

Jia Chuan also thought of Old Zheng, Shunzi, and Yu Yan. He wondered what Wu Bing would do to them. If they stayed at their residence, they might already be at the Prince's Mansion by now. So, he made a trip there... Jia Chuan felt that Wu Bing and his men wouldn't be so brainless.

Along the way, Jia Chuan thought about many things, but he didn't dare to think about the possibility of fighting his master.

After exiting the tunnel, Gu Jiang and his group began to contact Wu Bing.

The tunnel exit is a farmhouse, where someone is stationed year-round. Jia Chuan and his men are waiting anxiously here, as time is of the essence!

Fortunately, Wu Bing arrived in a hurry not long afterward.

(End of this chapter)