Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2677 Still Vigorous in Old Age 61.0
With some time still to go to the Marquis's residence for the banquet, everyone bid farewell to Shen Haolin and Shen Cha. They planned to go back and tidy up a bit, change into their banquet attire, and at least Eagle Leopard, Eagle Falcon, and Bai Meng would take off their soft armor.

Chu Han discussed it with Master Jiang and Xia Chen. There was still more than an hour before the banquet started, so he planned to go back to the teahouse with the two of them to make some arrangements and also to meet his subordinates.

However, before he could get up, Shen Cha stopped him.

Master Jiang and Xia Chen exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised. They knew Shen Cha was not an impolite person, so their abrupt decision to keep her here suggested that she had something to say.

"Little Tea?" Fourth Master Jiang was about to step in to smooth things over. "Is there something else you haven't finished saying?"

"Reporting to Grand Uncle, Fourth Grandfather, there is indeed something I need to discuss." Shen Cha stood up, bowed to Chu Han, and said, "There were quite a few people in the flower hall earlier, so it wasn't very convenient. Please, Grand Uncle, wait a moment. My men just arrested a few young men in black. They claim to be your guards. I think we can't just take their word for it, so I humbly request that you identify them." She looked at Chu Han, "What do you think, Grand Uncle?"

"You say they're my guards?" Chu Han frowned. "I did bring guards with me, but I don't know if they're the ones you've captured." He thought for a moment, "Bring them in, let me see them."

"Xiao Lin!" Shen Cha winked at Mei Lin, "Bring them in!"

"Yes!"

Merlin responded and left the flower hall, heading to the west wing where he usually kept watch at night. The people that Shadow Thirteen had just captured were all locked up there.

She whispered a few words to Ying Shisan, and together they led those people out the door, shoving and pushing them into the flower hall.

Chu Han looked at the men who were bound hand and foot and gagged, and sighed helplessly. He wondered what these kids had done to deserve being tied up like this.

"Grand Uncle?" Shen Cha glanced at Chu Han's expression and knew that these people were indeed his guards, but what these lads had done was probably not clear to Grand Uncle.

“They are my guards.” Chu Han looked coldly at the people kneeling on the ground. “They shouldn’t be here. I told them to wait outside the mansion.”

"Thirteen!"

Shen Cha beckoned to Ying Shisan, signaling him to bow to Chu Han, Master Jiang, and Xia Chen.

"Commander Thirteen of the Shadow Camp greets the young master of the Jing Prince's Mansion, and greets Fourth Master and Prince!" Shadow Thirteen bowed to Chu Han and Fourth Master Jiang.

"No need for formalities!"

When Xia Chen first arrived in Xijing City, he met Ying Shisan and knew that he was one of Shen Cha's most powerful shadows and should be working for Song Jue now.

Chu Han had never met Ying Shisan, but upon hearing that he was a captain in the Shadow Camp, he knew that he was Shen Cha's confidant. He looked him up and down and couldn't help but sigh. It was said that the Shadow Camp gathered young talents, and it was indeed true. Every one of them he had met was a handsome and talented young man.

"Thank you, Young Master Xie Chu!"

"Thirteen?" Fourth Master Jiang was taken aback when he saw him. "Wasn't he by His Majesty's side?"

"Fourth Master, Biao has just returned from the capital. His Majesty already has reliable brothers to take over."

Shen Cha saw that Master Jiang was looking at her and nodded slightly.

“Xiao Yi took a few brothers and led Mianbai and the others to the capital. For the next three months, Xiao Yi will be by His Majesty's side.” She smiled. “Meizhu is also with His Majesty, so there won't be any problems. Fourth Grandfather, don't worry.” “Xiao Yi? That troublemaker from the escort agency?”

Master Jiang was deeply impressed by Dai Yi. It was rare for the Shen family army to have such a troublemaker in recent years. His teahouse staff were all curious about what this troublemaker looked like, so they went to the recruit camp in batches to see him. Their evaluation was very consistent: Dai Yi was good at his job, but he was not a good person. He was too impetuous and needed more training.

Master Jiang was really uneasy about letting such a person go like that.

"Is he really capable?"

“Yes, that’s fine.” Ying Shisan nodded to Master Jiang. “Before Wanyan Xi came to the border with the Grand Commander, Xiao Yi was always with him in the capital.”

"It's always him?"

"Yes!" Ying Shisan nodded. "His Majesty visited Wanyan Xi several times and spoke highly of Xiao Yi. This time, His Majesty also personally appointed Xiao Yi to stand in for me for half a year. He will return after the six-month period."

"Six months?" Master Jiang was taken aback, counted on his fingers, and said, "These six months..." He looked at Shen Cha, "You sent people over for the election, right?"

"Fourth Grandfather is wise, that's how it is." Shen Cha briefly explained her thoughts, "If anyone tries to take advantage of the situation, they probably won't escape the eyes of these two. They come from humble backgrounds and are better at judging people than we are. With them in charge, we can be more secure. Besides, Mianbai was specifically requested by the Empress Dowager to return. After all, he is Consort Hui's only brother and has suffered such a disgrace. They should be exonerated and compensated."

"That's true. Although there are hidden reasons, we are ultimately the ones who have wronged the siblings. Letting Mianbai have a comfortable and stable life in his later years is our way of making amends."

"What Fourth Grandfather said is true, and the Empress Dowager meant the same thing."

Master Jiang sighed, looked at the people on the ground, then at Chu Han, and shrugged helplessly.

"What's going on here?" He looked at Shen Cha. "Since they are Uncle Wang's guards, why don't we release them for now?"

“That won’t do.” It wasn’t Shen Cha who refused Master Jiang, but Ying Shisan. After giving Master Jiang an apologetic look, he looked directly at Chu Han and said, “Although Young Master Chu said that these people are your guards, they can’t be released. You also said that they were kept in the manor by you, but the place where they were captured is inside the manor, and it’s a very important place in the manor, the study of the Duke and the eldest son.”

"A study? Are you sure?"

“I’m absolutely certain, after all, I wasn’t the only one arresting them.” Shadow Thirteen looked at the men coldly, then continued, “At that time, I had just returned to the manor, preparing to see the Duke and the Boss, but as soon as I entered, I discovered these men quietly climbing over the wall. The Shadow brothers guarding the gate were already preparing to arrest them, but I wanted to see what they were up to, which is why I stopped them.” He kicked the black-clad man closest to him. “Is that what happened?”

The guard who was kicked dared not lie in front of his master. Although he could not speak, he nodded instead of answering.

"You guys..." Chu Han was annoyed by this nod, and he waved his hand at Ying Shisan, "You continue."

"Yes!" Shadow Thirteen responded, then continued, "They wandered around the manor aimlessly, looking at this courtyard and that courtyard, but they still had some sense of propriety, not going to the backyard, just loitering in the front. Finally, they came to the study. This time, they not only looked from the outside, but also prepared to push open the door and go in. Biao Xia saw that this wouldn't do, so he immediately ordered the Shadow Brothers to knock them unconscious, tie them up, and gag them."

After saying that, he squatted down and took the cloth out of the mouth of the guard he had just kicked.

"Tell Young Master Chu, was there anything I said incorrect?"

"Master! Master!" the guard cried out to Chu Han, "We were wrong, please spare our lives!"