(6) A Confession to Fourth Sister

"The lot of us, ganging up against one man—hardly a fair fight? And what would you call abducting two defenseless women, if not ganging up on the weak and bullying the helpless yourself? We're simply giving you a taste of your own medicine—how dare you complain about that?" Tian Xu shot back with a cold snort.

"This whole affair has nothing to do with me. Don't try pinning the blame on me." Yu Shurong ground his teeth, his voice bitter with resentment.

"Since Young Master Yu happens to be standing right here, don't bother trying to distance yourself from all this now. Had it not been for the fact that you took someone of mine, I wouldn't have bothered concerning myself with whatever it is you get up to. My only purpose here was to rescue her—everything else can be left to Magistrate Cao. I imagine the Wannian County office's men are likely already halfway to Yun Xiang Garden as we speak."

Tian Xu had received word from Chang'an, delivered while the caravan was stopped at the Fengtian relay station, that Guo Huilian had been abducted. Furious, Tian Xu found himself joined by Yue Heng, who couldn't sit still for even a moment longer; the two of them hastily wolfed down a few mouthfuls of hot food and immediately set out, determined to travel day and night without rest to reach Chang'an as quickly as possible. According to the message, hidden guards stationed at Anguo Temple had witnessed Guo Huilian's abduction and had followed the carriage all the way to Yun Xiang Garden, relaying word back to both the Four Seas Inn and Mochou Hall; wave after wave of hidden guards, receiving their orders in turn, had immediately set out for Yun Xiang Garden to attempt a rescue. Since Yueyue Manor had always conducted its affairs in Chang'an with the utmost discretion, and would never risk exposing itself by taking a life unless absolutely no other option remained, its men had held back during the engagement, reluctant to strike with lethal force, and with the opposing side proving unexpectedly strong and evenly matched, the standoff had dragged on without resolution for days. Tian Xu now deeply regretted ever having let Guo Huilian return to Chang'an in the first place; his own self-reproach crashed over his usually steady, composed heart like a tidal wave—Guo Huilian's safety mattered more to him than anything else in this world, and even if rescuing her meant exposing Yueyue Manor's presence in the capital for all to see, he was prepared to accept that cost without hesitation. Entrusting the caravan to Han Jin and the four Yue-disciples, he had brought only Yueying along, following Yue Heng the entire way to Chang'an.

"Young Master, you're wounded... are you all right? Guanguan will help you back home..." No sooner had Tian Xu finished speaking than a woman, perhaps twenty years old, unlocked and opened the courtyard's rear gate and stepped inside. Seeing Yu Shurong doubled over, hand pressed to his chest, a trace of blood still visible at the corner of his mouth, restrained by Yueying, her eyes filled with visible heartache as she rushed toward him, tears already welling in the corners of her eyes.

"What are you doing here? This has nothing to do with you." Yu Shurong clearly wasn't having any of it, his face darkening as he wrenched his hand away from her.

"The young master truly has nothing to do with any of this—please, don't blame an innocent man..." Though Guanguan's hand had been shaken off, she remained perfectly calm and composed, turning instead to explain herself to Tian Xu.

"There's no need to explain yourself to me. Save that explanation for Magistrate Cao instead." Tian Xu's brow furrowed, his own expression turning equally grim. He gently stroked Guo Huilian's head to comfort her, then said to her, "Come back with me."

Guo Huilian froze for a moment, uncertain exactly what he meant by "come back with me"—but before she had time to think it over any further, Tian Xu had already scooped his arm around her waist and leapt straight up over the wall, clearing it in a single bound, landing steadily beside the waiting horses on the other side.

"Yueying, take Lady Cao out through the hidden passage, and don't return until you've delivered her safely into the hands of the county office." Tian Xu, gathering his energy into his voice, issued the order to Yueying.

"Understood." Yueying accepted the order and bowed respectfully, inviting Lady Liu to follow him. Lady Liu, recognizing him as a man from Yueyue Manor and thus trusting fully in her own safety, said simply, "Thank you for your trouble," before hurrying to follow Yueying out through the hidden passage.

After watching Yueying lead Lady Liu away, Yue Heng glanced over at Yu Shurong and the masked men in black, all lying badly wounded on the ground, and, judging that none of them remained capable of pursuing Lady Liu any further, likewise vaulted over the wall and rode off alongside Tian Xu, heading back toward the Four Seas Inn.

It didn't take Yue Heng long at all to catch up with Tian Xu and Guo Huilian—a single horse, after all, carrying two riders, could only move so quickly. The rushing cool wind helped ease the rising warmth in Guo Huilian's cheeks somewhat, though sitting so close beside Tian Xu, even back in the Snow-Watching Pavilion, had never felt quite like this—today there was almost no distance between them at all. Her back was pressed nearly flush against Tian Xu's solid chest, his left arm wrapped securely around her waist, his right hand holding the reins; this sudden, intimate closeness left her cheeks burning, too flustered to even lift her head. She had no idea what had come over Tian Xu today—though he governed the manor with real skill and authority as its Manor Lord, he had never once shown her that same commanding, authoritative side of himself before; toward her, he had always been gentle and courteous without exception. And yet today, he seemed to have taken on some undeniable, decisive air of authority toward her, one that brooked no argument—she hadn't even managed to get a single word out before finding herself thoroughly "taken hostage" by Tian Xu himself, her mind going suddenly, completely blank, utterly at a loss for what to do. With his skill in the martial arts and his considerable strength, how could she possibly hope to resist him? All she could do was let Tian Xu carry her along like this, galloping through the streets of Chang'an with such unabashed intimacy.

Watching the two of them together from a distance, Yue Heng could tell at once that this boy had finally come to his senses—likely spurred on, in no small part, by the jolt of seeing Yu Shurong in the picture, which left a distinctly sour taste in his own heart as well. As Guo Huilian's adoptive father, he himself could hardly resist the urge to chop off Yu Shurong's hands entirely, so it went without saying how Tian Xu must feel about the man—he was certainly a thorn in the boy's side by now, if not something even sharper. Guo Huilian had spent three years at Yueyue Manor; though one might not call her a treasured, cosseted young lady in the grandest sense, she had certainly been doted on and cherished the whole time—and no sooner had she returned to Chang'an than disaster struck, entangling her, of all things, with a man like Yu Shurong. No wonder the boy was practically boiling over with rage. In all his three years as Manor Lord, he had never once so much as raised his voice at the little girl, so how could he possibly stand by and tolerate Yu Shurong pressing a blade to her throat, holding her hostage like that? Judging by how things stood now, that boy looked well on his way toward genuinely regretting ever having sent her back to Chang'an in the first place—as the saying went, it was never too late to mend the fence after the sheep had already gotten out, and it truly was high time to bring her back to Yueyue Manor for good.

Cao Jibin himself had rushed to lead his men to Yun Xiang Garden this time, and he, too, was thoroughly furious. With Madam Wu still locked away in the county jail, and Yun Xiang Garden not even back in operation yet, how had they still had the audacity to commit another crime right under his nose? As the old saying went, the most dangerous place was often the safest—Yun Xiang Garden had certainly proven that principle true in the most reckless way imaginable, and to make matters worse, they had gone after his own wife and family members this time, an open, brazen act of defiance against him as Magistrate.

When Tian Xu sent someone to inform the authorities of the hostages' location, not realizing that Yu Shurong was involved in the matter at all, the county office's men had rushed straight to Yun Xiang Garden without a moment's hesitation, arriving just as Yueying was escorting Lady Liu out through the front gate. Cao Jibin first offered his heartfelt thanks to Yueying and to Yueyue Manor for their assistance, and Yueying explained to him that Guo Fourth Sister had already been taken back to the Four Seas Inn by the Manor Lord himself before he took his leave from Magistrate Cao. Lady Liu, who had forced herself to remain composed through these past several harrowing days, finally let her tears well up the moment she caught sight of her own husband. Cao Jibin spent a good while comforting her before instructing his subordinates to escort Lady Liu safely home first, then turned to direct his archers to seize Ah Da at once. Ah Da initially protested his innocence, insisting he'd known nothing about any of it, but after taking two solid kicks from the county sheriff, he grew considerably more forthcoming, admitting that the same heavily bearded man in Hu-style dress from before had brought a group of masked men in black to threaten him, demanding he clear out the hidden courtyard for their use; they had promised him good food and drink in return, along with a generous reward besides—and warned that if he refused, his life would be as good as forfeit. The county sheriff and his archers, already familiar with the layout by now, swiftly made their way from Lanqui Court toward the hidden courtyard, only to find the ground there strewn with fallen masked men in black; Yu Shurong himself had already slipped back to Zhuya Residence together with Guanguan through the rear gate, as though he had never set foot in the hidden courtyard at all.

To everyone's shock, the moment the masked men in black saw the county office's forces charging in, and realizing there was no escape left for them, they swallowed poison one after another and died on the spot, leaving the chief constable seething with fury, cursing loudly. Following this latest crime, Yun Xiang Garden was permanently shut down and sealed off for good—from that day forward, Pingkang Ward would know Yun Xiang Garden no more.

Guo Huilian, her hand held firmly by Tian Xu, had only just returned to the Four Seas Inn when she found the courtyard blanketed with a sea of kneeling figures. Having failed in their duty to protect her, forcing the Manor Lord and Lord Yue to rush back to Chang'an under cover of stars and moonlight to intervene personally, the hidden guards' martial arts instructor, Zhu Muhui, now led every single hidden guard in all of Chang'an in kneeling on the ground, offering themselves up for punishment. Guo Huilian was genuinely startled by the sight; she had known, of course, that Yueyue Manor kept hidden guards stationed throughout Chang'an, but she had never realized just how considerable their numbers truly were, filling the small courtyard behind the Four Seas Inn entirely—she, too, found herself stunned into silence for a long moment. Tian Xu puffed out his cheeks in frustration, genuinely furious now, snapping angrily, "Seeing the hairpin was supposed to be as good as seeing the Manor Lord himself—and this is how you handle things when the Manor Lord himself is taken?" Paying no mind at all to Guo Huilian's visibly embarrassed expression, he took hold of her hand and strode purposefully toward the main hall of the smaller building, where, from a distance, he caught sight of a familiar figure he hadn't seen in many years, bowed low to the ground.

"Xiaoba has failed the Manor Lord. I beg the Manor Lord's punishment."

"Uncle Xiaoba, what are you doing? This is far too much—Xu'er can hardly bear it. Please, get up at once." Recognizing Uncle Xiaoba, Tian Xu's anger immediately softened, and he quickly bent down to help him to his feet, but Xiaoba remained unmoved, refusing to rise.

"The Manor Lord's rebuke is entirely deserved. It was our own failure in carrying out our duty. Since Chang'an's hidden guards fall under my own oversight, it is only right that I lead the way in accepting punishment for it."

Tian Xu was about to say something further when Yue Heng, arriving just behind him, cut him off. "A failure in duty deserves punishment—rewards and penalties must be applied fairly and without exception, and you can't simply look the other way just because it's Xiaoba. He understands that principle perfectly well—it's you who seems not to." Yue Heng paused, then continued, "It's only that our Yueyue Manor has always conducted its affairs in the shadows, discreet and low-key, never seeking out trouble, never resorting to lethal force unless there was truly no other choice left—and that very rule has left the hidden guards with their hands tied, restricted at every turn. The other side wasn't made up of ordinary men either—skilled fighters, every one of them, formidable in number—which is precisely why the effort to rescue Yaya ultimately fell short. That isn't entirely the hidden guards' fault. Some punishment is certainly warranted, but there's no need to be excessively harsh about it—use your own judgment in handling this."

"Father's teaching is well taken. Xu'er understands." Hearing this, Tian Xu bowed respectfully to Yue Heng in acknowledgment, then turned to address everyone present. "Uncle Xiaoba will receive twenty strokes of the cane, Instructor Zhu fifteen, and everyone else ten. Once Yueying returns, he will carry out the punishment personally at the training grounds."

No sooner had Tian Xu finished speaking than a loud, unified voice rose up from below: "Thank you, Manor Lord, Lord Yue, for your leniency." The sheer scale of it left Guo Huilian so startled she instinctively ducked behind Yue Heng, only her wide, bewildered eyes peeking out from behind him.

Amid the crowd's unified cry, Tian Xu once again bent down and reached out to help Xiaoba to his feet. Uncle Xiaoba had spent these past years living an elusive, nearly invisible existence; he had once been the person closest to Tian Xu's own father, having served at his side for many years, and the bond between them had been much like the one between Tian Xu and Yueying now—master and servant in name, yet closer, in truth, to brothers. In that moment of dire crisis, Tian Xu's father had made the decision to have Xiaoba and Yue Heng escort his wife—and the unborn child she carried, Tian Xu himself—away to safety; Xiaoba had fought against the order with everything in him, refusing outright, wanting only to live or die alongside his master, but in the end, he had no choice but to obey and leave his master's side—and that very command turned out to be the very last order Tian Xu's father would ever give Xiaoba in his life. Xiaoba had lived every day since consumed by self-reproach, and once both Tian Xu's father and mother perished, one after the other, Xiaoba felt all the more keenly that he had failed even in the one final task his master had entrusted to him, his guilt deepening with each passing year; he had very nearly taken his own life to follow his master in death, and it was only through Tian Xu's own desperate pleading that he had relented—Tian Xu had begged Uncle Xiaoba to have mercy on him, a boy who had already lost both his parents and could not bear to lose any more family besides, and only then had Xiaoba reluctantly agreed to go on living. And yet ever since Tian Xu turned fifteen, Uncle Xiaoba seemed to have taken to deliberately avoiding him, never once returning to Yueyue Manor; even when Tian Xu himself came to Chang'an, he could never manage to see Uncle Xiaoba face to face, any messages between them relayed instead through Zhu Muhui. His longing for Uncle Xiaoba only grew deeper with each passing day, weighing on his heart—Uncle Xiaoba, like his own adoptive father, had once stood closest of all to his father's side, and he had come to revere Uncle Xiaoba with the same deep respect he held for a father figure of his own—and yet he could never quite understand why Uncle Xiaoba seemed so intent on avoiding him.