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Finest Servant Chapter 332
🕑 Added 2023-07-31 10:40:21 +0000 UTCChapter 332 What Are We To Do?
The two exchanged glances, unable to speak. Assassins? The biggest assassin was already here, so who could be approaching from outside? Lin Wanrong clasped her petite hand and asked, "Sister, you came to save me, did you bring others as well?"
An Biru shot him a glare and retorted, "What are you saying? My White Lotus sect has already been eradicated by you. Where else could I find people to rescue you? Should I go beg for help from Prince Cheng? Prince Cheng..." Her expression changed abruptly, realization dawned, she exclaimed, "Could it be Prince Cheng?"
Lin Wanrong shook his head, signaling his confusion. The capital was teeming with factions, including not only Prince Cheng, but also the Turks and Koreans, all of whom had a reason to assassinate the Emperor.
Outside, shouts and clanging of swords echoed, interspersed with screams of the wounded and the occasional thud of a body hitting the ground. The conflict was fierce. Ironically, this left fewer guards at the entrance of the heavenly prison.
"We must hurry!" An Biru decided, regardless of who was outside. She covered her face with a veil, and the two of them dashed towards the entrance.
The new wave of assassins was strikingly forceful. Most of the guards that had been defending the heavenly prison had been drawn away to confront them. A determined glint flashed in An Biru's eyes as her sword moved like a striking serpent, swiftly dispatching several guards. Lin Wanrong followed closely behind, a pistol in one hand and the bee needle in the other. Every move was a matter of life and death.
As they broke free from the prison, they looked into the courtyard, taken aback. A countless number of palace guards were encircling a hundred assassins dressed in black. A dragon chair was situated in the distance with the Emperor sitting emotionless, closely guarded by hundreds of his men.
On the contrary, the black-clad figures, their bodies marred with wounds and arrows, did not falter but seemed to fight even more fiercely. With every strike of their swords, they slew more than a dozen guards, leaving gruesome scenes behind. In the blink of an eye, they had opened a large breach in the guard's defense line.
"Death warriors!" An Biru exclaimed.
"Dead bodies? What dead bodies?" Lin Wanrong asked, puzzled.
An Biru shot him a look full of mixed emotions and corrected, "Not dead bodies, death warriors! These people have been given stimulants, cultivated over a long period to have exponentially increased potential while losing all sense of self-preservation. No wonder we escaped so easily. With these hundred death warriors, who are each a match for thousands of palace experts, who would bother with us?"
Damn, it turned out they were hopped up on stimulants and some kind of drug, no wonder they were so violent. The guards protecting the Emperor saw the onslaught of the black-clad warriors and immediately began shouting, "Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!"
A guard who seemed to be in charge fell to his knees, "Your Majesty, the assassins are extremely tough death warriors who have lost all senses. This place is in peril. Please, Your Majesty, move to the Palace of Heavenly Purity immediately."
The Emperor, furious, slammed his hand on the dragon chair and stood up, "Insolence! This is the foot of the Emperor, within the heavenly prison, how could I retreat? I want to see who dares to assassinate me! Gao Ping, Gao Ping—"
Eunuch Gao rushed forward, his voice trembling, "Your servant is here!"
"Send an order, for each guard who falls in battle tonight, their family will be compensated a thousand taels, and they will be exempt from taxes forever!" the Emperor commanded loudly.
"By your command!" Eunuch Gao promptly accepted the imperial decree and left in a hurry.
The guards had already fought fiercely, their eyes bloodshot. Upon hearing the Emperor's generous rewards, their excitement heightened even further, everyone battling fiercely, engaging in a fierce fight with over a hundred enemy warriors. The guards formed human walls before the Emperor, with more rushing to join their ranks intermittently. For a moment, the courtyard was filled with chaotic scenes of flesh and blood flying and continuous screams of pain.
Lin Wanrong was stunned by the spectacle. Wasn't it just that he, Lord Lin, had been thrown into the dungeon? Was such a grand scene necessary? There was the rescue by Sister An, the presence of the Emperor, piles of dead warriors, and rivers of blood.
In the face of such a golden opportunity, how could An Biru miss it? She took Lin Wanrong's hand and whispered, "We should leave quickly—" She was about to flee towards the outer wall when she saw Lin Wanrong's furrowed brows, he didn't move an inch.
"What's wrong?" An Biru turned around anxiously and asked.
"Sister An, you should leave first." Lin Wanrong sighed lightly, pointing at the Emperor, "I can't leave yet."
"Why?" An Biru didn't understand.
Although there were many guards around the Emperor, they were crowded together. The real fighting force was only over a hundred. The number of black-clad warriors was only one-tenth of theirs, yet they were fiercely brave. Despite having lost half of their number, they were slowly approaching the Emperor. Eunuch Gao was already scared pale, but the Emperor, with his tiger-like eyes, appeared even more majestic, showing not a trace of fear.
"Because, he is my father-in-law!" Lin Wanrong confessed with a helpless bitter smile.
"You, you already know?" An Biru was taken aback, but then saw Lin Wanrong darting into the crowd.
One of the black-clad warriors shattered a guard's neck with a punch and was about to step toward the Emperor. The Emperor had a cold smile on his lips and a flicker in his eyes but showed no signs of concern, as if he had something to rely on.
Seeing that there was no one around the Emperor, the warrior was about to approach. Lin Wanrong was extremely anxious. ‘Damn it, Qingxuan's father, you must not die!’
In his anxiety, he moved like lightning. In a flash, he stood before the Emperor, his bee needle and musket both firing at once. With a loud bang, the warrior was hit by the musket just as he was about to reach Lin Wanrong. He was sent flying back, a large hole in his chest, horrifying to behold.
Lin Wanrong panted heavily, his heart pounding in fright. Sweat dripped down his forehead. Had the musket fired a moment later, he would have been the one to sacrifice his life protecting the Emperor. He wondered whether this old Emperor would give him a posthumous reward of a thousand taels.
The Emperor swept his tiger-like eyes across and noticed that the man shielding him was none other than Lin Wanrong who had just escaped from the prison. A chuckle escaped from his lips, and he slowly said, "Lin San, why didn't you seize this opportunity to escape, and instead risked your life to save me?"
"Do you think I wanted to save you? If it weren't for the fact that we have some connections, I wouldn't bother with you!" Lin Wanrong retorted unhappily.
Hearing this, the Emperor burst out laughing and grasped Lin Wanrong's hand. "I know you have grievances, but you can't blame me for this. Who told you to collude with the Holy Mother of the White Lotus? Look at how you treat her with affection and loyalty, and she reciprocates. Perhaps there's something more between you two. Haha, that's interesting. Lin San, I promise you, if you take the Holy Mother of the White Lotus into your house, I will no longer pursue her crimes."
"This... is quite a challenge," Lin Wanrong furrowed his brows, "Old man, you don't know, my relationship with her apprentice—"
"Say no more. Be careful or I might change my mind, then you'll have only regrets," the Emperor's affable expression shifted to a stern tone. Indeed, the heart of an Emperor was difficult to fathom. Lin Wanrong shook his head with a wry smile.
From afar, An Biru noticed Lin Wanrong chatting amiably with the Emperor. She remembered Lin Wanrong's words before he rushed into the crowd, "He is my father-in-law," and a sourness arose in her heart. Indeed, they were father and son-in-law, they could squabble as they wished. What was her role in all of this?
The Emperor gripped Lin Wanrong's arm and noticed his face and hands smudged with gunpowder after firing the musket. He nodded and laughed, "With that firearm in your hand, why didn't you fire at me when I ordered you beheaded?"
‘You think I didn't want to? If it weren't for your relationship with Qingxuan, even if there were ten of you, I would still take you down.’ Lin Wanrong didn't respond, merely offering a bitter smile. The Emperor chuckled lightly and sighed, "You, this child..." His words halted abruptly, his gaze returning to its usual calm depth as if the earlier statement hadn't come from him.
The elite imperial guards finally arrived, the rocket launcher unit unleashed a volley, incinerating the hundred death warriors in a fiery blast.
Lin Wanrong noticed An Biru looking at the fire in a daze. He walked over to her and gently asked, "Sister, do you still stand by what you said earlier?"
"What words?" An Biru playfully brushed a lock of hair from her face, a beautiful smile gracing her features.
"You said once you saved me, we'd return to the Miao Village and live like immortals." Lin Wanrong chuckled, "How did you forget something you just said?"
"Such wishful thinking," An Biru lightly tapped his forehead, her flirtatious demeanor returning, "I was only joking with you. There have been at least a thousand, if not eight hundred men who've heard that from me. Only you took it seriously." She finished speaking, glanced deeply at him, avoiding his gaze, and with a tip of her toes, disappeared like a faintly flying wild goose.
Stunned, Lin Wanrong mused that of the words An Biru spoke, eight out of ten were likely false, but which two were the truth?
"Lin Wanrong, did you remember my words?" The Emperor sauntered to his side, looking at An Biru's retreating figure with a smile, "If you want to save her, you must do as I said. I will not let an enemy live in this world."
"Old man, might as well send me back to the imperial prison," Lin Wanrong said with a worried look and a bitter smile, "To marry An Biru, it's even harder than getting me out of the imperial prison!"
"Rubbish! How dare you negotiate with me?" The Emperor huffed, "Have you grown fond of the imperial prison? So it's settled then! Gao Ping, arrange for our return to the palace—"
"Hey, old man, what about me? What should I do? I don't want to go back to the imperial prison." Lin Wanrong called out urgently.
The Emperor's carriage had already departed. Lin Wanrong could only shake his head in resignation. Eunuch Gao quietly approached him, looked at him with a flash of fear on his face, and reported, "Master Lin, His Majesty orders, having worked hard all day, you are allowed to rest in the palace tonight—"
Rest in the palace? Lin Wanrong jumped up at once. The inner palace was the Emperor's home, who would dare to stay there if they weren't of royal blood? What on earth was the old man up to?
