Arrows flew through the air, slicing through it with sharp, piercing shrieks.
Bao Zihui and the others parried with their swords, not retreating an inch.
Seeing that the first volley of arrows had failed, the attackers immediately changed tactics and closed in for hand-to-hand combat.
These assassins were not death-defying warriors. Facing a fully armed guard force several times their number, even though they prided themselves on their superior skills and boldness, charging twenty-some men into a hundred-plus guards still carried the risk of being slaughtered.
At that moment, the steward arrived with another wave of reinforcements. "Men! Seize them!" the steward commanded, his voice hoarse with strain.
More guards poured in, forming battle formations, splitting and surrounding the assassins.
Amidst the chaotic fight, the black-clad leader, seeing the situation was hopeless, took a deep look at the bride who had been escorted to the core of the protection. A complex, indescribable emotion flashed in his eyes.
"Yin Qi, now!"
Suddenly, one of the guards who had been swearing to protect the bride with his life turned traitor on the spot. He grabbed the bride's arm and tried to leap away with her.
Yue Fuguang, watching from the top of the wall, clicked her tongue repeatedly. "Is this some kind of 'Infernal Affairs' play?"
The Crown Prince beside her heard this and was slightly puzzled. The path to the Avici Hell? These assassins were indeed seeking death.
But that guard was clearly a mole planted by the You Tan organization within the Bao family. If the Bao family had one, did other families have them too? And was Bao Zihui's family the only one with a mole?
No one knew, which made them even more worried.
While they were worrying about the mole, over there, the bride whose arm was grabbed by the traitorous guard acted like a solid gold weight when the guard tried to leap. She remained utterly still and yanked the guard back down.
Before the guard could steady himself, the hand that was still holding the bride was suddenly twisted in an extremely bizarre manner and wrenched behind his back.
The face of the black-clad leader, hidden behind his mask, instantly turned deathly pale. The bride did not know martial arts—this was clearly written in the information provided by their client.
Who was under that bridal veil then?
Looking again at this force of over a hundred men, it was obvious the Bao family had been prepared, laying a net just waiting for them to jump in!
Thinking this, cold sweat instantly broke out all over his body. He fought while searching for an escape route.
Finally, he spotted one and immediately let out a sharp whistle.
"Retreat!"
The remaining assassins, hearing the order, immediately threw several smoke pellets. With a poof, acrid white smoke instantly billowed out, obscuring vision.
Yue Fuguang said in a voice neither too loud nor too soft, "Your Highness, that person's information was indeed correct."
The Crown Prince's expression was inscrutable, but he immediately replied in the same tone, "The information he provides would naturally not be wrong."
Their ambiguous, cryptic words, however, deepened the suspicion in the heart of the black-clad leader who hadn't yet fled far.
Was there a mole within the organization, or did someone want to use this mission to get rid of him?
Suspects flashed through his mind one by one. Facing obstacles, his strikes became increasingly ruthless!
He had to get back and find out exactly who in the organization wanted him dead!
By the time the smoke was dispersed by palm winds, more than half of the twenty-some black-clad men had vanished like ghosts.
Those left behind were the slower ones who had been entangled by the guards.
Over a dozen people were quickly subdued and taken away, including the turncoat guard.
Faced with the scene of disarray, the guests who had been watching the spectacle, and several injured guards lying on the ground, Yue Fuguang was brought down to ground level by the Crown Prince.
She asked, "Your Highness, aren't you going to check these people's mouths? What if they have poison capsules and decide to commit suicide?"
The Crown Prince smiled and said, "Where did the Junior Mentor hear such things? Assassins are not death warriors; they generally don't carry poison capsules.
If these people really wanted to die, they had plenty of chances just now to turn their blades on themselves. Choosing not to means they still aren't willing to die."
As long as they were unwilling to die, there was a possibility of prying their mouths open.
Inside the bridal chamber, red silks were torn, cups and plates littered the floor. Yue Fuguang didn't enter, only glanced from the doorway to see the 'bride' still wearing the veil suddenly lift it off herself.
It revealed a face without any makeup. "Isn't that the bride's own personal maid?"
The Crown Prince led her away as he explained, "The bride's maid is also her guard; they all have martial skills."
So she was like Cuizhu by her side. In the original timeline, the bride was kidnapped, and this maid was most likely killed while protecting her mistress.
Over there, Bao Zihui rushed into the adjacent room the moment he could, found the bride who had been hiding, and tightly grasped her hand, asking urgently, "Yue, are you alright?"
His chest rose and fell slightly, a tear marred the sleeve of his wedding robe, and his hair was somewhat disheveled, but his eyes remained sharp, scanning the surroundings vigilantly, afraid another traitorous guard might appear.
The bride, still shaken, her face pale, firmly squeezed his hand in return and shook her head. "Thanks to the help of our noble benefactor, Yue is fine. Brother Hui, are you hurt?"
At this moment, their hearts were filled with immense gratitude towards Yue Fuguang. If not for her advance warning, given the number of attackers today, the newlywed couple might truly have been forced apart.
The red silks under the corridor still fluttered lightly in the wind, and the dragon-and-phoenix wedding candles burned fiercely, slowly dripping wax.
Seeing that his grandson and granddaughter-in-law were safe, Old Master Bao hurried to the front to attend to the guests.
By the time Yue Fuguang left the Bao residence, she had received enough words of gratitude from the Bao family masters to fill several large baskets.
When she got up the next day for her late breakfast, she heard from Cuizhu that the Bao family had come to visit in the morning, and her warehouse now held another pile of fine gifts.
"Miss, the Bao family is so strange. Coming to express thanks isn't some shameful thing, so why visit when the sky is just barely light?
They didn't use the main gate but insisted on using the side gate at the back of the estate. That's the most remote spot; even people in our own household rarely use it."
Cuiyu eagerly recounted the strange events of the morning to her.
Yue Fuguang smiled knowingly. "You know about it, that's enough. Don't gossip about it. The Bao family has their reasons for doing this."
Cuiyu said brightly, "I'm only saying this in our own courtyard. Outside this yard, I wouldn't reveal a single word no matter who asks."
As Yue Fuguang drank her congee, she thought to herself, she just wondered if her bit of sowing discord from last night would take effect.
In the following days, the New Year atmosphere grew stronger each day. The Yu estate was everywhere adorned with festive decorations, and Madam Zhang became increasingly busy.
Most amusingly, several new games quietly became popular in the noble circles of the capital at this time. There were games for young masters and ladies, and also ones for madams and wives.
The most popular was the card game suitable for both men and women, named Mahjong.
Although many didn't understand why the game was called Mahjong, it didn't stop most people from being unable to put it down once they started playing.
Mahjong first spread from the Yu estate, then quickly circulated among high-ranking officials and noble families. Even His Majesty had an exquisite white jade Mahjong set specially sent into the palace by Yu Chongshan, with the 'One of Bamboo' tile carved particularly vividly.
True to his reputation for good management and business acumen, Yu Chongshan took advantage of the New Year gift-giving season to include Mahjong sets made of different materials like bamboo, wood, or bone in the gifts sent to various families.
He even thoughtfully attached a set of instructions on how to play. Since then, the masters, after leaving their offices, no longer sought out their concubines' chambers. What fun was fondling a concubine's hand compared to the thrill of handling Mahjong tiles?
The head wives naturally were delighted to see this positive development.
