As soon as Lu Chen finished speaking, Chu Yuqin, standing beside him, turned to him with a look of concern and asked, "Chen'er, what's wrong now?"
Lu Chen's voice was steady but grim. "The master of the Blood Moon Tower has arrived in Yancheng personally. He wants Qingci to lure me into the Baihua Tower. If I'm accompanied by the so-called mysterious expert, the Blood Moon Tower will come directly to the palace and slaughter everyone inside. If I'm alone, they'll strike at the Baihua Tower and kill me there, using my corpse to bait out the mysterious expert."
Chu Yuqin's brows tightened, and she let out a cold snort. "The Blood Moon Tower grows bolder by the day. They dare attempt to assassinate a vassal king again and again!"
She paused and looked at Lu Chen intently. "Chen'er, what do you plan to do?"
Lu Chen's expression didn't change, but his tone was laced with killing intent. "It's time to settle things with the Blood Moon Tower once and for all. If they want my life, that's one thing—but if they dare touch my wives or children, then they're all going to hell."
He wasn't shouting. His voice was low and calm—but beneath the surface, a storm of fury brewed. The system had already determined that his women were his greatest weakness, and anyone who tried to use that against him… would not live to regret it.
"Wiping out the Blood Moon Tower is only the beginning," Lu Chen added. "There's someone behind them pulling the strings. If we remove Blood Moon, another assassin organization will replace them. It's time the real enemy understood what it means to provoke me."
Hearing this, Chu Yuqin immediately understood—Lu Chen intended to strike at a certain prince in the capital.
Naturally, Chu Yuqin didn't try to dissuade him. That prince had already sent assassins after Lu Chen multiple times; this matter had long since crossed the line.
Still, she gently reminded, "Chen'er, the northern barbarians are heading south. If you want to act in the capital, you must ensure your men are discreet. If your father discovers it, he may refuse to dispatch reinforcements."
Lu Chen nodded. "Don't worry, Aunt Chu. I know where the lines are drawn."
He turned to the maid waiting outside the study. "Xiaoxue, summon Commander Qin."
"Yes, Your Majesty," the maid answered and quickly departed.
Once she left, Lu Chen turned back to Chu Yuqin with a smile. "Aunt Chu, I'll need you to visit Baihua Tower later."
She immediately caught on. Lu Chen planned to deceive the Blood Moon Tower into thinking that both she and the 'mysterious expert' had accompanied him to the Baihua Tower—so that the assassins would assume the palace was unguarded and make their move.
Chu Yuqin nodded. "Understood. Chen'er, be careful."
Even though she knew Lu Chen was no longer the same as before, she couldn't help but worry. After all, she had watched him grow up with her own eyes.
…
With the Jinyiwei now under his command, the palace's operations had become far more efficient. Not long after receiving the summons, Qin Yushan arrived and immediately organized an ambush throughout the palace grounds.
If the assassins from the Blood Moon Tower dared to show up, they would not leave alive.
Though the Blood Moon Tower boasted a grandmaster among their ranks, Qin Yushan himself was also a grandmaster—and not just any grandmaster. For him, dispatching a lesser grandmaster wasn't much of a challenge.
To make the illusion more convincing, Lu Chen had someone deliver a message to the Mu family mansion, asking Mu Changtian to come to the palace under the pretext of receiving an important task.
When Mu Changtian received the message, he was overjoyed.
Receiving a task so soon after arriving in Beijun meant that the Northern King held him in high regard. His greatest fear was being sidelined—because a general ignored by the ruler was as useless as a broken spear.
It was time to prove his worth.
Following Lu Chen's instructions, Mu Changtian donned the attire of a chivalrous wanderer. He dressed in a flowing robe, wore a wide bamboo hat, and kept his face hidden, giving him a mysterious, almost otherworldly aura.
Striding into the palace, eager to receive what he believed to be an important military mission, Mu Changtian was met by Lu Chen's calm command.
"Father-in-law, I need you to head to Baihua Tower. Pretend to be the mysterious expert said to be residing in the palace. Your appearance will draw the attention of the Blood Moon Tower's assassins and make them believe the mysterious expert has left the palace. That way, they'll launch their attack on the palace itself."
Mu Changtian blinked. That was the important mission?
He had expected to be entrusted with military affairs—strategies, battles, command. But now, he was being asked to act as bait?
Though slightly disappointed, Mu Changtian didn't hesitate. "Understood, Your Majesty."
Still, his curiosity couldn't be contained. "My Lord, how many assassins are we dealing with? Shouldn't I stay and help?"
He wanted to fight. He was a grandmaster, after all. And a grandmaster could shift the tide of battle.
Lu Chen's lips curved slightly. "Not many. We'll handle them swiftly. Your assistance won't be necessary for now."
Seeing that Lu Chen wasn't interested in including him in the fight, Mu Changtian refrained from pushing further. He followed Lu Chen's orders and left for Baihua Tower with a disguised prince impersonator.
On the way, he turned to Chu Yuqin and asked with a trace of suspicion, "Madam Chu, do you know how many assassins the Blood Moon Tower sent this time?"
"I'm not sure," she replied. "But I heard their master came in person."
Mu Changtian was momentarily stunned.
The master of the Blood Moon Tower had personally come to Yancheng, and yet the King of the North acted as if it were just another day?
Still, Mu Changtian calmed his thoughts. Lu Chen had gathered an impressive number of powerful experts by his side. The Blood Moon Tower's leader might be a grandmaster, but he was far from being the only one in Beijun. If anything, launching an attack on the Northern Prince's Palace was nothing short of suicide.
There will be plenty of chances to prove my loyalty, Mu Changtian thought to himself. I don't need to rush. Sooner or later, the Northern King will assign me to train the cavalry—now that would be a real task.
Before long, their carriage arrived at the gates of Baihua Tower.
In the upper floors of the tower, Zhou Hanwen observed the approaching figures—Chu Yuqin and a man in a bamboo hat—and smiled faintly.
"Miss Wang, it appears you were right. These two never stray far from the Northern Prince."
Wang Qingci stood beside him, her voice soft but firm. "Master Zhou, I'll delay them as long as I can. May your journey be swift and safe."
Zhou Hanwen gave a small nod. Without wasting another word, he turned and led the Blood Moon Tower assassins toward the Northern Palace.
By now, the sun had dipped below the horizon. The sky was painted with streaks of crimson and gold, casting a fiery glow across the earth. The dying light bathed their figures in bronze as they moved silently through the streets.
When they reached the Northern Prince's Palace, the entire estate appeared eerily quiet. Not a soul stirred.
Zhou Hanwen's instincts screamed. Something was off.
The very next moment, a volley of arrows rained down on them from all sides.
They had walked into a trap.
Yet Zhou Hanwen didn't panic. As a grandmaster, ordinary arrows posed little threat to him. He had even sensed earlier that the man in the bamboo hat at Baihua Tower was also a grandmaster.
In his eyes, the mysterious expert and Chu Yuqin had both left the palace. Even if some guards remained behind, they couldn't possibly stop him from massacring the place.
He waved his hand, his voice ice-cold. "Kill everyone in the Northern Palace. Leave no survivors!"
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