Chapter 141
The secret passage wasn’t exactly a perfectly hidden place; its entrance could definitely be found.
But to prevent them from finding the exit too quickly, Lu Hanzhi had to buy as much time as possible.
The exit led not far outside the residence, where a carriage from the court was waiting. It would temporarily carry Yuwen Jue and the others back to the villa in the southern suburbs.
As long as the two children remained safe, Lu Hanzhi could fight freely, tearing into Yuwen Jing without restraint.
There happened to be a small training arena there. Lu Hanzhi was about to step forward when Shadow Guard No. 1 stopped him: “You’re pregnant. You can’t fight him.”
Across from him, Yuwen Jing sneered. “Lu Hanzhi, aren’t you being a bit arrogant? You think a pregnant Xiao Langjun like you can defeat me?”
Lu Hanzhi smiled. “Whether I can win or not, shouldn’t that be determined after we fight? Life or death aside, even if Fourth Prince kills me, you haven’t lost anything, have you?”
Yuwen Jing, impressed, sheathed his crescent sword and said, “Fine. I’ll fight you unarmed.”
Lu Hanzhi said, “No need for that. Fourth Prince, give it your all.”
Yuwen Jing laughed wildly. “Good. This is the first time I’ve seen someone practically begging for death.”
Lu Hanzhi gave Shadow Guard No. 1 a meaningful glance. Though Shadow Guard No. 1 was tasked with protecting Lu Hanzhi, at this moment, he couldn’t make sense of the scheming thoughts running through this slippery mind.
Better to let him fight; if necessary, he could intervene when Yuwen Jing struck.
So Shadow Guard No. 1 stepped aside, letting Lu Hanzhi onto the training ground.
Lu Hanzhi was dressed all in white, including his hairband. He smiled at Yuwen Jing and discreetly reached behind his back.
Yuwen Jing casually twirled his crescent sword in his hand. The next second, he lunged at Lu Hanzhi.
The cold edge of the crescent sword gleamed with a deadly chill. The tip, coated with poison, aimed directly at Lu Hanzhi’s chest.
At the same moment, Lu Hanzhi’s hidden hand shot back, pulling out a Browning pistol and squeezing the trigger.
Bang! The rearward force was absorbed and nullified by the system.
Aiming like he had during surgery for the laboring mother, a perfect shot hit exactly where intended: a headshot.
Simultaneously, a whistling throwing knife cut through the air, striking Yuwen Jing in the back—also a fatal blow.
Shadow Guard No. 1, seeing Yuwen Jing’s move, drew his long sword, perfectly intercepting him.
If heaven decides to destroy you, it will try every possible way.
This foolish Yuwen Jing had finally met his end.
After firing, Lu Hanzhi saw Yuwen Min approaching, holding a heavy sword.
His emotions were overwhelming, but upon seeing Yuwen Min, his heart completely relaxed.
Poor Yuwen Jing never even realized how he had died.
Yuwen Min’s heart surged with emotion, almost uncontrollable. He rushed forward, scooped Lu Hanzhi into his arms, his eyes red, his body trembling.
Lu Hanzhi was startled, not understanding why he was like this.
He was fine, wasn’t he? He had just killed Yuwen Jing.
Lu Hanzhi couldn’t help but silently pat himself on the back. Hey, I’m impressive.
But Yuwen Min pressed a fierce kiss on him, almost suffocating him.
He had never kissed him so recklessly before. The passionate breath on his face made him shrink back.
He wanted to pull away but couldn’t overpower him, so he had no choice but to endure the long kiss and embrace.
Luckily, Yuwen Min had some restraint; otherwise, the pregnancy might have suffered.
He was just about three months along, still delicate.
Yet, he forgot: the one who had been so eager to fight Yuwen Jing moments ago was now pretending to be fragile.
After some effort, Yuwen Min finally let him go. Lu Xuzhi also arrived.
Lu Xuzhi looked around anxiously. “Where are your second sister-in-law and your little nephew?”
Lu Hanzhi smacked his own forehead. “So busy enjoying ourselves, I forgot second sister-in-law! Brother, come with me.”
He grabbed Lu Xuzhi and led him to the kitchen in the backyard, only to find Yuwen Jing’s soldiers had not discovered the secret passage entrance.
Yuwen Jing was a fool, and so were his men—they probably thought the vegetable cellar itself was the secret passage.
Lu Hanzhi had dug a vegetable cellar in the rear courtyard, stocked with ice blocks to preserve vegetables and fruits.
He twitched his lips at the sight of the cellar, now turned upside down by the intruders. Such a waste of ice blocks.
Lu Xuzhi went down the secret passage and knocked on the locked door. No response came.
He called, “Ah Jue, it’s me.”
“Xu Lang*?” A surprised voice answered from inside.
Note: it’s an endearment term for couple. I’ve decided to use pinyin instead of translating it.
The secret passage door opened. This door had been specially designed by Lu Hanzhi.
He had instructed: if no one broke the entrance, wait inside and leave when things were safe.
If the entrance was broken, they could lock it behind them, one iron gate after another. Dozens of locks would slow down any pursuers.
By the time they smashed through, Yuwen Jue would have already fled far with the children.
Lu Hanzhi had been buying time specifically to allow Yuwen Jue to escape.
Yuwen Jing’s foolishness had worked against him. Without all this fuss, he might have survived.
But who could predict?
The emperor appeared merciful but was ruthless toward rebels.
When Yuwen Min had rebelled before, the emperor personally led the troops to crush him.
Yuwen Jing had rebelled; the path ahead was likely death.
One by one, the infants were carried from the secret passage. Lu Hanzhi watched them and said, “See? These are our future and hope. They want to destroy our future and hope. Can we allow that?”
Lu Xuzhi stepped forward and slapped him. “Why didn’t you run? Have you lost your mind?”
Yuwen Min shielded his wife behind him and said, “Second Brother, don’t be angry. Although Hanzhi is indeed foolish, considering he’s pregnant, it’s better not to hit him.”
Lu Xuzhi didn’t know what to say. He just tapped Yuwen Min on the forehead and let it go.
Yuwen Jue stepped forward to check on Lu Hanzhi. “Han’er, how are you? Are you hurt?”
Lu Hanzhi said, “Sigh, the King of Hell didn’t collect me this time, so second sister-in-law, rest assured.”
Yuwen Jue frowned. “Don’t joke about that.”
Lu Hanzhi was nervous too. He understood that in this era, the strong preyed on the weak; if you didn’t kill, you could be killed.
But he had never killed anyone before, and he never believed he had the right to decide life and death.
Yet the situation had been truly critical, and Lu Hanzhi had no choice but to fire.
Behind him were Ah Chan, Ah Shu, Ah Meng, and the unborn Ah Zhu—so many little lives he had to protect.
Lu Hanzhi, overwhelmed by maternal instinct, was moved to tears. Killing Yuwen Jing, in his heart, no longer left a shadow over him.
The servants and grooms in the residence began tidying the chaos, while the guards collected the corpses.
After this ordeal, Lu Hanzhi was truly shaken to the core; his mind had matured significantly.
He finally understood why Yuwen Min had grown increasingly bloodthirsty later on.
Killing made people reckless, but fortunately, Lu Hanzhi was born warm and pure, full of sunlight. He hoped his life could soften the stone that was Yuwen Min’s heart.
Judging by how tightly Yuwen Min had just held him, it was probably feeling a bit warmer now.
Lu Hanzhi sighed and told Xiao Liuzi to hold Ah Chan and stay out of the front courtyard; the scene there was too horrific for the children’s mental well-being.
Xiao Liuzi obediently carried Ah Chan to Ah Shu’s yard, and Ah Shu followed along.
Finally, Lu Hanzhi had a chance to ask about serious matters. “How’s the palace? You all ran back safely; does that mean things have calmed down there?”
Yuwen Min replied, “Yuwen Mingji is dead. Half of his army was killed, the rest surrendered. We can’t stay long; we need to return to the palace. Yuwen Mingji’s faction has either fled or died, so you’re safe for now. But remain vigilant—the residence still needs protection. I’ve ordered Shadow Guard No. 1 to call in the palace guards; tonight, three thousand troops will secure the area around the residence. You can rest easy.”
Lu Hanzhi’s eyes softened with affection. “Wang Ye, you’re so good.”
Yuwen Min’s throat tightened. His earlier loss of composure had stemmed from fear that Lu Hanzhi might die due to his miscalculation. If that happened, all his schemes in life would have been for nothing.
He had originally only wanted to protect his brother and mother, yet his bonds had grown.
Not only was there Wang Fei, but also two children.
His heart was no longer like before, hard as an iceberg; it was melting into a pool of spring water, about to bloom into a garden.
Lu Xuzhi quietly reminded Yuwen Min, then leaned down to kiss Ah Meng on the forehead. “We should enter the palace first. You all rest early.”
Yuwen Min nodded and helped Lu Hanzhi escort the two wives out of the residence.
When Lu Hanzhi turned to check on Ah Chan, he saw that Ah Chan and Xiao Liuzi had already curled up together and fallen asleep.
He silently exhaled in relief. Ah Chan was finally not clinging only to him.
Coincidentally, it was almost the beginning of summer, and soon it would be Ah Chan’s birthday.
He planned to throw a proper birthday celebration for Ah Chan, complete with a traditional “Zhuazhou” ritual.
Note: a ritual where they put many toys and trinkets in front of the child to see which one he pick. It supposedly determined the child’s future career or talent.
Yuwen Jue, exhausted, leaned against a couch holding Ah Meng and quickly fell asleep.
Lu Hanzhi gently placed Ah Meng in the crib, pulled a blanket over him, yawned, and went to bed himself.
Yuwen Min and Lu Xuzhi returned to Zi Chen Palace, where the interior was in disarray, and palace staff were tidying up.
Seeing Yuwen Min and Lu Xuzhi arrive, the expressions of the palace staff were slightly peculiar.
Yuwen Min wanted to ask what had happened, but the staff were evasive.
He had traveled thousands of miles to defend the emperor and performed great deeds, yet these people avoided him instead of showing gratitude.
Soon, they discovered the reason.
In the front hall, the emperor rested on the dragon throne, napping lightly, with the crown prince standing by his side.
The crown prince’s right hand was bandaged, apparently injured.
Yuwen Min and Lu Xuzhi immediately understood. The crown prince had arrived at exactly the right moment—whether by coincidence or to change the tide of events, they couldn’t tell.
Both knelt before the emperor, who opened his eyes, sat upright, and smiled kindly at them. “You’re back? Ah Min and the accompanying troops performed brilliantly. I’ve been waiting for you.”
Yuwen Min didn’t know the crown prince’s intentions, nor the emperor’s thoughts at that moment. He could only kneel and say, “It was our duty, Your Majesty.”
The emperor waved them up. “Rise. No need to kneel. I am pleased with all three of you. Those who protected me shall be rewarded.”
He continued, “Especially Ah Min. Your plan was excellent, breaking Yuwen Mingji’s scheme. The crown prince also risked his life to save me. You are all my good sons.”
Both Yuwen Min and Lu Xuzhi exchanged subtle, somewhat puzzled glances.
Your favorite BL chaos wouldn’t be possible without coffee… lots of coffee….
Support Ciacia’s translation temple on Kofi—and if the cliffhanger demons are haunting you, join the Han’er Tier to purge them with advanced chapter access (up to 5!) before the masses even blink.
