lcionline Chapter 500 Sharing the same room
Chapter 500 Sharing the same room
Hearing the other party's mocking tone, which resembled a cat toying with a mouse, Chang Kun gritted his teeth and said, "There's nothing more to say. It's just a pity that despite all my scheming, I still couldn't take your life. If I had known this day would come, I should have eliminated you at any cost back in Suzhou."
Liu Ye nodded and said, "I didn't have many people around me at the time, and Suzhou is close to Nanjing. If you give it your all, it is indeed the best opportunity. But time cannot be turned back, and it's too late to regret it. Hurry up and choose a way to die. I'm in a hurry. I've been up all night and haven't slept yet."
The more casually the other party spoke, the closer Chang Kun felt to death. He comforted himself, saying, "You wouldn't dare. I'm someone the Embroidered Uniform Guard wants to arrest. The order came from His Majesty. If you try to snatch someone from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, you're going against His Majesty..."
Liu Ye chuckled, "I've offended your master in many ways, so why have I been promoted all the way up, and now I'm even a noble title?"
He glanced around. "There's not even a white cloth to be found here. It would be too beneath a dignified eunuch to hang himself with his belt. How about this, I'll decide, let him be cremated."
Chang Kun trembled all over; the thought of being burned to death was simply too terrifying. Even when he staged his self-immolation in his own mansion, he was choked to death by the thick smoke in the tunnels, unable to imagine how horrific the real scene would be. He shouted fiercely, "If you continue to be so ruthless, I will haunt you even as a ghost!"
Amid Chang Kun's stern scream, Liu Ye led his men out of the room and ordered, "Men, nail the door shut, set it on fire, but be careful not to let the fire spread. It wouldn't be good if the entire garrison burned down, after all, the Jinyiwei in Nanjing haven't offended me."
The fire raged, and the crackling sound of burning wood gradually drowned out the piercing screams from inside the room. At Liu Ye's signal, the guards found wooden buckets and other containers, filled them with water, and surrounded the burning room to extinguish the spreading flames and prevent them from spreading to the entire Qianhu Yamen (military headquarters).
The Nanjing Imperial Guards watched helplessly as their own headquarters burned down, not daring to utter a sound, not even a shadow of them in sight. Meanwhile, Ge Bu, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards in Beijing, who had been bound hand and foot, somehow managed to break free. He rushed into the crowd, glanced at the flames, and, trembling, pointed at Liu Ye, saying, "The people the Imperial Guards were taking away, and you dared to kill them right in front of us..."
Liu Ye glanced at him and kindly "reminded" him: "Deputy Commander Ge, it was clearly a prisoner who committed suicide out of fear of punishment. I'm here with men to put out the fire. You should be careful not to slip and fall into the fire, lest you die in the line of duty."
Ge Bu glanced at Liu Ye and the soldiers around him with their indifferent eyes, completely lacking the fear and trepidation that ordinary people would feel when facing the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He couldn't help but shudder—if he continued to criticize them, would these people really be so deranged as to throw him into the fire to create a scene of "dying in the line of duty"?
Compared to his life, whether he could successfully complete the mission and the reputation of the Embroidered Uniform Guard seemed less important. Ge Bu awkwardly withdrew his hand and silently retreated to the side of the crowd.
After the room where Chang Kun was imprisoned was burned to ashes, the Qionghai Army calmly withdrew from the Qianhu Yamen. Apart from the mess on the ground, it seemed that nothing had happened.
At the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), peace was finally restored to Taiping Gate. The gates of the powerful and wealthy families remained tightly shut, seemingly unaware of the two fires that had broken out nearby. In truth, they all understood that even the most illustrious status was no match for a cold steel blade. The people who had caused such a ruckus at Taiping Gate tonight were not to be trifled with—an army that dared to fight the Shenji Battalion at Hongwu Gate and had even dared to conduct a city-wide manhunt for the former garrison eunuch. What wouldn't they dare to do? No one was willing to risk their life and fortune for unrelated people and matters.
Back at the military camp, Liu Ye's only thought was to get a good night's sleep.
Tonight was supposed to be a glamorous dinner party, with a beautiful female boss and young, pretty girls as company, but the old eunuch completely ruined it: an assassin emerged from the water, the girls who were drinking with him turned into killers, one trap after another, and he almost died from a hairpin. He spent the entire night trying to capture Chang Kun and eliminate the threat, but thankfully, his efforts paid off, and he finally took down his rival.
Just as he was about to go back to his room to sleep, Shimazu Chiyo followed him in. This strange behavior puzzled Liu Ye. Usually, apart from acting as his bodyguard when they went out, Shimazu Chiyo always slept in a room by herself and was a loner.
Seeing his puzzled look, Shimazu Chiyo explained, "A lot happened tonight. My master was almost harmed in the brothel. I will never allow such a thing to happen again. At least during my stay in Nanjing, I will stay in the same room as my master and protect him at all times."
Same room?
Liu Ye, who was originally drowsy, immediately perked up. Could this be a sign that something unspeakable is about to happen?
When traveling without female companions, Liu Ye had considered this possibility. After all, Shimazu Chiyo was beautiful and had a fit physique due to her years of martial arts training, which gave her a unique charm compared to the frail women commonly seen in this era.
However, he didn't dare to force himself on her before she made a clear statement. What if this stubborn girl suddenly decided to use a knife-drawing technique on him, breaking his arm or leg? It wouldn't be worth risking his life. Besides, he had several concubines at home and wasn't lacking in women.
He asked tentatively, "If we share a room, do you know how to groom and dress yourself, the skills of serving others?"
Chiyo Shimazu's handsome face remained expressionless as she answered curtly, "Chiyo only knows how to kill, not how to do these things. I'm very sorry." She said "very sorry," but showed not a trace of remorse.
Liu Ye sighed, "I guess I can't sleep with the old man either?"
Chiyo Shimazu blinked, seemingly trying to figure out the meaning of "sleeping together," then shook her head: "When protecting my master, Chiyo sleeps fully clothed; it's the minimum requirement for a bodyguard."
"Okay, I understand." Liu Ye hadn't held out much hope anyway, so he gave up on the idea. When he saw the bandage wrapped around the other person's left hand, he asked with concern, "Have you applied any medicine to the wound?"
Chiyo Shimazu replied nonchalantly, "It's just a hairpin. It would be dangerous if it pierced my neck, but it's only a minor injury if it pierces my hand. The injuries I sustained while practicing swordsmanship were much more serious than this."
"That won't do. We must apply medicine, otherwise the wound will get infected and become terrible." Liu Ye is a modern person and knows the consequences of not treating wounds in time. Finding a reliable bodyguard is not easy, and Shimazu Chiyo has already proven her worth. Even if the two of them will only have a purely master-servant relationship in the future, Liu Ye doesn't want her to get into trouble due to negligence.
He took out the wound medicine, took her left hand without any room for argument, removed the cloth strips from the wrapping, and applied the medicine to her wound.
Shimazu Chiyo looked at her master in surprise, never expecting that a dignified count would personally administer medicine to a lowly subordinate!