Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Fire at the Bridal Chambers

Translator’s Note: Found another typo, Zhao Qiuming’s son is Zhao Beicheng rather than Zuocheng. Previous chapters and glossary have been duly updated.

Chapter 16: Fire at the Bridal Chambers

The newly appointed General-in-Chief Zhao Beicheng was currently standing behind Zhao Qiuming. When he saw Yu Xiaoxiao smack his father to the ground with one strike, he lost his temper. “Your Royal Highness, you–are you going to thrash a minister of the imperial court?”

Yu Xiaoxiao watched Zhao Qiuming stand up from the ground before smacking him down again. “So what if I do?” she retorted.

This time, she’d slapped Zhao Qiuming on the face. By the time he crashed to the ground, his nose was bleeding. Zhao Beicheng forgot all about Yu Xiaoxiao’s status as a princess in that instant and raised his fist to fight her. Many of the female guests screamed in horror when they witnessed the scene.

Gu Xingnuo quickly rushed in front of Yu Xiaoxiao to block the punch.

“Is your Gu Clan planning to revolt?” another imperial guard commander cried when he saw Gu Xingnuo preparing to fight back. “Someone come, take the Gu Clan into custody!”

Yu Xiaoxiao’s figure flashed, leaving a blur before everyone’s eyes. By the time they saw her again, she was already in front of the second commander. Before he could react, she punched him in the mouth. He crashed to the ground as half of his teeth fell out. Then Yu Xiaoxiao lifted her foot and kicked him over the wall too.

Three commanders had come along on the raid this time. The last one left wanted to retreat the sight of his compatriot flying away, but didn’t have the guts when he thought of Consort Zhao.

“Charge!” he braced himself and cried.

It was the duty of soldiers to obey orders, so the imperial guards rushed forward. The two shadow guards in charge of defending Yu Xiaoxiao appeared by her side and started to fight them off. The military officials who’d come for the wedding banquet couldn’t just stand by, so they joined in the fray. Somehow, it’d turned into an all out brawl.

There were only 200 or so people against 1,000 imperial guards. 800 more were standing on guard outside. As more of them dashed in to join the fight, Yu Xiaoxiao’s side kicked them out until the fighting spilled into the streets. Countless spectators flocked to watch the chaos–even more than the crowd that had gathered to see the princess get married.

“Bandits!” one of the military officers yelled at the crowd of enemies.

Meanwhile, someone stuffed a saber into Yu Xiaoxiao’s hands. On the other side, Zhao Beicheng was in the middle of smashing a wolf’s teeth club at Gu Xingnuo’s head with a vicious snarl. “Die!”

Yu Xiaoxiao swung her blade towards Gu Beicheng. It smashed against the wolf teeth’s club and shattered it into pieces. Both Zhao Beicheng and Gu Ningnuo were stunned. Can a normal human do that?

“Are you that Zhao so-and-so’s son?” Yu Xiaoxiao demanded as she rested the saber over her shoulders.

Zhao Beicheng only felt that a tragic end awaited him if he admitted his identity now. Thus, he shook his head. Gu Ningnuo was stunned again, this time by Zhao Beicheng’s shamelessness. For the sake of avoiding a beating, that man’s willing to disown his own father?

Meanwhile, Zhao Qiuming ran out of the Gu Clan’s rooms and saw the two factions fighting in the courtyard. Still sporting a nosebleed, he cried, “Gu Chen, you’re rebelling!”

Zhao Beicheng saw Yu Xiaoxiao turn towards his father. He didn’t want to see him die and tried to yell at his father to flee. There was a wild beast loose! Unfortunately, he’d hardly opened his mouth when Yu Xiaoxiao’s kick sent him flying away.

Once that was done, Yu Xiaoxiao strode towards Zhao Qiuming with the saber over her shoulders. Anyone who got in her way was promptly knocked down. The streets were already a mess of brawling bodies. Unusually enough, the fight-loving Gu Xingyan was still standing in front of his third brother’s bridal chambers. Inside the room, a red mahogany chest had been opened to reveal the bright yellow dragon robes hidden within. The three witnesses to the scene were all staring blankly at the sight.

Wang momo sucked in multiple breaths before she trembled and said, “T-this is, this is the d-dragon robes?”

The Gu brothers nodded.

Wang momo paced around in a circle. “What do we do now?” She was the one who carried the box here. What happened if the thousand imperial guards came searching over here?

“Let’s burn it,” Gu Xinglang said.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“They’re trying to frame us!” Gu Xingyan cried. “We should take this to His Majesty!”

Wang momo ignored them both and took out a bamboo lighter from her pockets. She lit a flame and then tossed it into the box. Relying on Xiaozong for justice? Wang momo pursed her lips. You might as well count on a male pig to bear piglets!

The red mahogany box was resting on a wooden table, which was covered in am embroidered cloth that stretched all the way to the ground. Once it caught on fire, the cloth ate the sparks and burst into flames. The three adults stared at the dragon robes and didn’t even notice when the table began to burn too.

Gu Xun and Gu Jin exchanged glances before the latter bit his thumb and said childishly, “Second Uncle, there’s fire on the table.”

By the time Gu Xingyan noticed, more sparks had jumped to the window lattice and licked their way up to the roof beams.

—

“The back courtyard’s on fire!” a witness from the front gates shouted in alarm upon spotting black smoke in the distance.

Yu Xiaoxiao glanced towards the direction of the flames with her left foot firmly pressed against Zhao Qiuming’s chest. “You even had someone set my new house on fire?!” she exclaimed.