Chapter Twenty-Six: Little Fish and Flowerless Jade

Seeing Zhu Yu’s demeanor, the madam hesitated, torn between reluctance and fear, and ended up stammering. Zhu Yu, noticing her hesitation, pulled two silver ingots from his robe and tossed them to her. The madam had just resolved to hold her ground, but at the sight of the silver flying her way, her resolve instantly crumbled. She spoke up at once, “First room on the left, second floor. Go quickly! That little girl is quite stubborn—maybe he hasn’t succeeded yet.”

Hearing this, Zhu Yu wasted no time and dashed upstairs. Sure enough, as soon as he reached the second floor, faint cries for help drifted from the left. He ran toward the sound, which grew louder as he approached the first room on the left. The door was tightly shut. Zhu Yu readied himself to kick it open, but Rain Huatian, who had followed him closely, gave a soft wave of his hand, and the door swung open by itself.

Zhu Yu shot Rain Huatian a look of approval before hurrying inside. The room was dim, and on the bed lay a middle-aged man, his hair already flecked with gray, pressing down on the girl Zhu Yu had seen earlier that day, clearly with ill intent.

The girl beneath him struggled desperately, neither noticing that the door had been opened nor that others had entered. Taking in the situation at a glance, Zhu Yu grabbed a decorative vase by the door, strode to the bed, and brought it down hard on the man’s head.

With a single blow, the man collapsed, unconscious, his body falling limply atop the girl. Her panicked cries pierced Zhu Yu’s ears painfully. He quickly shoved the man aside, only to find the girl’s body fully exposed. Flustered, he hurriedly removed his own outer robe and draped it over her.

It was only then that the girl seemed to come back to herself. Her large eyes gradually regained their light, tears still clinging to her lashes as she stared dazedly at Zhu Yu, her cries finally ceasing.

“It’s alright. Don’t cry,” Zhu Yu soothed gently, seeing her beautiful face streaked with tears.

The girl said nothing, clutching his robe tightly around herself. Unbeknownst to her, this only served to reveal her graceful figure even more clearly before Zhu Yu, the sight more alluring than before when she’d been uncovered.

Observing her actions, Zhu Yu thought to himself, She really isn’t too bright. He pointed meaningfully at her body; the girl glanced down and finally realized, her cheeks flushing crimson as she loosened the robe a little.

No wonder Zhu Yu had called her a fool earlier. Even in this situation, gazing at Zhu Yu’s handsome face, she was thinking, “His robe smells so good. It makes me feel safe.”

If Zhu Yu had known her thoughts, he would have scoffed, It’s the tribute incense—of course it smells good.

It wasn’t that Zhu Yu was some paragon of virtue for remaining unfazed by her nudity. It was just that, tempered by his past life and his current experience in the harem, he had learned perfect self-control.

Just as an awkward silence hung between them, with neither knowing what to say, someone suddenly crashed through the window, heading straight for the girl on the bed!

The figure moved like lightning—a blur of white darting toward the girl. Fortunately, Zhu Yu and the girl were not alone in the room.

Rain Huatian, who had been standing by and watching Zhu Yu play the hero, thought to himself, “Who else has the honor of rescuing a beauty alongside His Majesty? One day those two eunuchs from the East Chamber will be kneeling at my feet!”

He hadn’t finished his daydream when someone burst in through the window, making straight for the emperor!

The sudden turn of events made Rain Huatian’s heart clench; he didn’t even have time to break into a cold sweat before he dashed forward to intercept the intruder.

In the blink of an eye, the two were already trading blows, fists and feet flying.

They separated, facing each other. Rain Huatian, shocked, immediately positioned himself protectively in front of Zhu Yu and said in a cold voice, “Who are you, daring to commit such a heinous crime? You’re so young, yet already a genius—your future could have been limitless. Why throw it all away here seeking death?”

By this time, Zhu Yu could see the intruder clearly in the moonlight—a figure dressed in white, strikingly handsome. After a moment’s thought, the only word Zhu Yu could use to describe him was “exceptional.”

The young man merely raised an eyebrow at Rain Huatian’s words, remaining silent, and stepped forward to strike again.

Rain Huatian stood ready. From their brief exchange, he judged the young man to be a newly minted grandmaster, but his skills were formidable—how had he trained to such heights at so young an age?

As the tension sharpened between Rain Huatian and the young man, ready to erupt into another round of combat, a new twist occurred.

Another man entered from outside, his features bearing a striking resemblance—perhaps seven or eight tenths—to the youth in white.

Seeing this, Rain Huatian’s heart sank. If both men were as skilled, he might still be able to contend with them, but the emperor would be left unprotected. If…

A cold sweat broke out across his body as he cursed inwardly at the useless guards below—where were those worthless dogs? Why hadn’t they come to protect His Majesty?

But thoughts were just that—thoughts.

At this point, the newcomer finally spoke.

“If you haven’t read many books, don’t misuse fancy words. From your speech, anyone listening would think we’re here to assassinate the emperor, not rescue someone.”

He spoke as he approached Rain Huatian.

At these words, the young man in white warned, “Careful, this man is a grandmaster—I’m not confident I can beat him.”

Surprised, the newcomer thought, Since when has he ever admitted uncertainty in a fight? This could be troublesome.

Just as another clash seemed imminent, Zhu Yu spoke first, pointing at the still-unconscious middle-aged man. “You’re here to rescue her? So are we. Isn’t this all just a misunderstanding?”

The unconscious man on the bed and the girl curled in the corner, wrapped in Zhu Yu’s robe, became the center of everyone’s attention.

The young man in white’s mouth twitched slightly. Bowing his head, he said, “Sorry, this was a misunderstanding,” and turned to leave.

“Wait, hold on!” Zhu Yu stopped him, thinking, Such talent—so young and able to spar with Rain Huatian without losing ground. This is someone worth recruiting.

But now was not the time. First, he needed to settle the matter of the girl.

Zhu Yu found the madam and paid to redeem the girl, settling the cost of the broken window as well. Afterwards, he joined the young man in white and his companion outside, chatting as they walked.

Throughout the conversation, Zhu Yu felt his heart grow heavy, as though he were stepping into another whirlpool.

Introductions were exchanged. To Zhu Yu’s astonishment, the young man in white was Hua Wuque, and the other was Xiao Yu’er.

If that was merely surprising, what came next utterly floored him.

When it came time for the girl to introduce herself, she looked shyly at Zhu Yu and said her name was Jiang Yuyan.

Just a while ago in the palace, he had been plotting how to kill her—now here he was, having risked his life to rescue her from the palace.

After these introductions, Zhu Yu lost all interest in further conversation or recruitment, but as they walked on, Jiang Yuyan clung to his side, keeping pace with Rain Huatian.

This made Zhu Yu uneasy. He feared Jiang Yuyan might suddenly draw a dagger and stab him, and thought, This isn’t right—shouldn’t you be following Hua Wuque around instead?