Top Scholar

Chapter 389 The Imperial Son

"Alright, Mr. Su, please go ahead with your business." Some timid guests, whose legs were already trembling with fear, felt as if they had been granted a pardon upon hearing this, and hurriedly got up and left without even bothering to say a polite word.

But the vast majority of guests remained still. Most of them were related to the Su family and wanted to see if there was anything they could do to help. Even if they couldn't offer any real assistance, just showing their support would be good.

Of course, there were also those who were just there to watch the show, whispering amongst themselves, their eyes brimming with barely concealed excitement. The Su family's fortunes were too good, their rise too rapid; countless people were envious and jealous, hoping they would suffer a major setback.

~~
In the backyard, large red lanterns hang high, unaffected by the front yard for the time being.

All three bridal chambers were brightly lit with red candles, and brocade curtains hung low. Large red "囍" (double happiness) characters were pasted on the walls, and various fruits were scattered on the beds. The three brides sat gracefully on the edge of the beds, their phoenix coronet and wedding gowns highlighting their beautiful features and charming appearance. The women of the Su family chatted and laughed, their voices constantly emanating from the three bridal chambers.

In Su Tai's bridal chamber, She Yunluo, with her veil lifted, was boasting to her aunt, while a group of aunts listened with great interest, cracking melon seeds and occasionally chiming in.
"real or fake?"

"So powerful?"

"Oh, would I lie to you? My swordsmanship is so advanced that even a martial arts master can't stop it!"

The maidservant A-Cai lifted the curtain and came in, whispering a few words quickly into She Yunluo's ear.

Upon hearing this, She Yunluo's eyes suddenly turned fierce. She ripped off her bright red veil and pulled out a gleaming sword from under her red skirt. She rushed out of the bridal chamber in three quick steps!

The eldest aunt and the others were so frightened that they all trembled. Why was there a sword in the bridal chamber? Was she going to spar with Xia Ge'er before going to bed?
"Where are you going?!" Fortunately, the other two brides also received the news and came to find her, blocking She Yunluo's way.

"I'm going to save my man!" She Yunlu's pretty face turned cold.

"Don't do anything reckless! You're a daughter-in-law of the Su family now, not a little chieftain!" Zhu Yin and Huang E grabbed her arms on either side.

"The Imperial Guards are here. If you touch them, you'll be throwing the sky out of the house!"

“Yes, Yunluo, the situation is unclear right now. If you make a scene now, wouldn’t that just give them a handle to use against you?” her two sisters-in-law advised.

“That’s right.” Su Lu also came to the backyard and said to She Yunlu in a deep voice, “Second Sister-in-law, now is not the time to make a scene!”

"So we'll just let them deal with your second brother?" She Yunluo was still unwilling.

"There's nothing we can do. They're the Embroidered Uniform Guard; the more we do, the more mistakes we make," Su Lu said softly. "Their choice to come at this critical juncture is clearly premeditated. Putting ourselves in their shoes, they simply want to make us panic—panic leads to mistakes, which could expose weaknesses and create an opening!"

"So at this time, we should do less and say less, observe quietly, and wait for them to make their move before responding." He lowered his voice and said, "If they have the ability, let them investigate. Don't even think about getting a breakthrough from us."

“Yes, Yunluo, when it comes to important matters, we have to listen to the men.” Zhu Yin held She Yunluo’s hand tightly.

"We absolutely must not act on our own initiative, or we'll only throw ourselves into chaos." Huang E grasped her other hand, finally calming her down.

Su Lu gave Zhu Yin and Huang E a look, signaling them to keep a close eye on She Yunluo, before hurriedly turning back to the front yard.

He encountered the old clan chief and Su Youpeng in the corridor.

"Hongzhi," the old clan chief asked in a low voice, "What happened?"

Su Lu couldn't hide it from them, but he couldn't tell them everything either, so he whispered, "It might be related to the fact that we saved Mr. Yangming back then. He was someone Liu Jin wanted to kill."

The old clan chief and the others all knew that he had rescued Wang Yangming and brought him back to Erlangtan...

"Huh?" The old clan chief was startled, never expecting to have offended the number one villain in the world—the 'Standing Emperor' Liu Jin.

But he calmed down the next moment, grabbed Su Lu's hand and whispered, "I came to tell you that the tribesmen are ready and can take down those hawks and hounds at any time!"

"..." Su Lu was both moved and helpless. We mountain people are really wild, we even dare to mess with the Embroidered Uniform Guard!

“Clan leader, there are definitely still Qian Ning’s accomplices outside. If we fight each other today, we’ll attract the army to quell the rebellion tomorrow.” Su Lu said softly, “In short, we must not fight them unless absolutely necessary.”

He lowered his voice and said, "It's not too late to take action when there's absolutely no other choice."

“Alright, we’ll wait for your signal.” The old clan chief nodded, without uttering a single complaint from beginning to end.

The Su family members are not the kind of snobs who only want to enjoy the good times but can't bear to suffer the bad.

~~
The people waited anxiously, and the entire county fell silent...

A full hour passed, and the red candles in the courtyard burned out one by one, the light growing dimmer and dimmer, while the west gate remained tightly shut, creating a suffocating atmosphere.

Steward Tian quickly led his men to replace the candles one by one, making the place bright again for the top scholar.

Suddenly, with a creak, the west gate finally opened, and a member of the Imperial Guard stepped out. His gaze swept over the crowd, and he asked in a deep voice, "Which one of you is Su Jieyuan?"

“Yes, that’s me,” Su Lu replied.

"Our lord invites you in." The Imperial Guard stepped aside to invite him.

"Huh?" The guests stirred, not expecting that Wu Jieyuan hadn't come out, but that they were going to call Jieyuan Lang in again.

"The top scholar can't go in!" Many people became anxious and spoke up one after another: "A wise man doesn't stand under a dangerous wall. Those people are capable of anything!" "That's right. If you want to question the top scholar, show him your travel permit first! If you don't have a travel permit, don't pay any attention to them!" Yan Song also reminded Su Lu.

The Imperial Guard frowned and remained silent, only looking at Su Lu.

Xiao Tixue pulled Su Lu back and said in a deep voice to the Imperial Guard, "Scholar Su is a representative of Sichuan scholars. He cannot be questioned without cause, as it would damage the reputation of Sichuan scholars!"

"The Grandmaster is right, we cannot send a message to our top scholar without cause!" The group of classmates stood up and surrounded Su Lu.

At this moment, Liu, the Chief Secretary of the Prince of Shu's residence, hesitated for a moment, then stood up and clasped his hands in a fist and said to the Imperial Guard, "This is your superior, I am the Chief Secretary of the Prince of Shu's residence. The top scholar is a good friend of my Prince of Shu. Please do not make things difficult for him."

"Anyone who dares to make things difficult for Jie Yuanlang is an enemy of all of Luzhou!" A hot-tempered gentryman shouted from the crowd.

"Thank you all for your support, but I have a clear conscience." Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Su Lu hurriedly said loudly, "If Lord Qian has any questions, just let him ask."

"It's good that the top scholar knows what's good for him." The Imperial Guard sneered, taking out a rectangular yellow document from his sleeve. It was too dark to see clearly, but you could make out a few vermilion seals on it.

"My Northern Garrison is naturally handling an imperial case—the imperial warrant is here, summoning Su Jieyuan. Let's see who dares to obstruct me! State your names!" He should only be an ordinary Jinyiwei officer, yet he regarded all the officials, Jinshi and Juren, and even the chief secretary of the Prince's mansion as mere weeds, demonstrating the arrogance and domineering nature of the Imperial Guard.

"Thank you for your help, sir. I'll be right back." Su Lu thanked everyone again, then patted Zhu Zihe and Lin Zhihong, who were blocking his way, on the shoulders, signaling them to make way.

"Senior Brother..." Everyone's eyes were filled with worry.

Su Lu smiled and said, "Don't act rashly when you encounter problems. You should use the knowledge of our sect to analyze and solve them."

He smiled at Su Youcai, who was worried sick, and said, "Father, don't worry, my second brother will be fine."

Having said that, he walked alone into the west courtyard, and the gate slammed shut behind him.

Watching his youngest son go inside, Su Youcai slumped into a chair, overwhelmed by fear and unable to breathe...

"Sit up straight, don't embarrass yourself!" the old man snapped. "You're the father of two top scholars, you have to hold your head high!"

"Sigh!" Su Youcai nodded, gritted his teeth, and sat up straight.

~~
In the west courtyard.

The Imperial Guard led Su Lu to the door of a brightly lit room.

After announcing this, he pushed open the door and said, "Come in."

Su Lu straightened his clothes and walked into the house with his head held high.

But he didn't see his second brother. He only saw a figure in a flying fish robe, casting a long black shadow in the candlelight that enveloped him completely.

If this had happened yesterday, Su Lu might have panicked upon first encountering this situation. But after a day and a night of reflection, he had figured everything out and knew how to deal with each scenario.

For a top student, this means transforming into a relentless test-taking machine...

Su Lu was not intimidated by the other party. He took off the black gauze hat with flowers in it, placed it steadily on the table, and waited quietly for the other party to speak.

After the Imperial Guard closed the door and left, the man shouted:
"Su Lu, do you know your crime?!"

After saying that, he turned around and his gaze shot towards Su Lu like an arrow!

That man was Qian Ning, and he used the intimidating tactic of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Many cowards would be immediately intimidated, making subsequent interrogations much easier...

To his disappointment, Su Lu remained unmoved, his face expressionless as he asked, "Why do you say that, Commander Qian?"

“Let me correct you,” Qian Ning shook his head and said in a deep voice, “I am no longer surnamed Qian, nor am I a centurion.”

"Oh, sir, you've confused me." Su Lu looked curious. He could understand being promoted, but he hadn't expected that he could change his surname.

"Thanks to His Majesty's favor, I have been adopted as a prince, granted the imperial surname, and promoted to Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!" Qian Ning said proudly, bowing to the north.

"So Qian Baihu has evolved into Zhu Qianhu, congratulations." Su Lu clasped his hands in a fist salute and asked in confusion, "But since you've already become His Highness, why do you still need to go through the trouble of doing this kind of official business?"

"To fulfill my filial duty to my father, I must not shy away from hardship." Qian Ning coughed as he spoke, his expression changing as he said, "I'm telling you all this only so you can recognize your situation. Once you're in my hands, no one can save you! Your mentors and classmates are all useless now!"

"Lord Commander, please tell me what crime I have committed first." Su Lu still looked puzzled and said, "It's really necessary for you to investigate this personally."

"Don't play dumb with me!" Qian Ning slammed his hand on the table and said sternly, "When I summoned your second brother before, you should have known perfectly well that the case of you impersonating the chieftain, intercepting and killing the imperial envoy, and rescuing Wang Shouren has been exposed!"

The candlelight on the table flickered violently, as if the sky were falling and the earth were splitting open!

P.S.: Read the next chapter tomorrow morning...

(End of this chapter)