White-Robed Chief

Chu Li and Lu Yurong made their way to the main gate slowly.

“Are any of them from the Holy Church of Light?” Lu Yurong asked Chu Li.

Her beautiful and elegant face was very close to his, and he could smell the cool fragrance of hers drifting over to him. However, Chu Li was not affected, knowing full well that she would not make a move on him. “There’s one.”

“Are you sure?” exclaimed Lu Yurong.

Chu Li said, “A maid, but this maid is very interesting.”

“Interesting?” Lu Yurong frowned at him and said unpleasantly. “What’s interesting about the Holy Church of Light?”

Chu Li shook his head and said, “She didn’t enter the imperial residence to kill… I feel that now’s not the time to alarm her. More importantly, there’s an assassin in the Imperial Residence of King Jing. Catching him will be the more urgent matter.”

“An assassin?” said Lu Yurong. “Are they not from the Holy Church of Light?”

“They’re not from the Holy Church of Light,” Chu Li confirmed, “but he’s an assassin. He’s lurking closely, ready to attack at any moment. He’ll make his move soon.”

“Who is it?” Lu Yurong asked hastily.

Chu Li said, “I’ll draw you a portrait later. You’ll only need to identify him based on the portrait.”

“Is there anyone else?” said Lu Yurong.

Chu Li flashed a quick smile. “The Imperial Residence of King Jing is being guarded strictly at the moment. It seems you have overseen this issue personally…. There’s only the two of them.”

Lu Yurong scoffed, “Good! At least my efforts have not gone to waste!”

Although she was not part of the imperial residence, King Jing and Consort Lu trusted her very much. Her position was high enough, and her authority was widespread. Every time she came here, she would comb through the imperial residence to get rid of suspicious people. She would run the risk of being mistaken than letting them go.

“Alright, I suppose this is far enough. I shall go back now,” Chu Li said.

“I shall go with you to retrieve the portrait.”

“Alright,” Chu Li said with a smile. “Aren’t you afraid that people will talk?”

“I’m actually curious to see who’ll dare to gossip about us!” Lu Yurong responded lightly.

Chu Li chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re just taking the opportunity to see what’s going on in the Imperial Residence of King An, am I right?”

Lu Yurong scoffed, “Aren’t you curious too?”

They burst into laughter at that.

After returning to the Imperial Residence of King An, Chu Li brought her straight to his courtyard.

Lu Yurong came in and appraised Chu Li’s courtyard. She then entered the gazebo.

Chu Li grounded the inkstone by himself and picked up a brush. He painted a portrait in one breath.

“This is him?” Lu Yurong picked up the portrait and frowned.

The man in the portrait had a charming face and was glowing with vigor.

“His appearance’s outstanding, and he’s also a scholar. He must be His Royal Highness’s advisor, right?” Chu Li laughed and said. “I can tell with one look that he’s wise beyond his years.”

“He has been with uncle-in-law for a long time.” Lu Yurong looked at him. “If he really wanted to kill uncle-in-law, there would have been plenty of chances to do so already.”

“That might not be the case,” Chu Li said, smiling. “He might not have the confidence to kill him in the past, so he stayed put. He might have cultivated a certain technique now that had increased his confidence. If you don’t act now, he will.”

“How can you tell?” asked Lu Yurong.

Chu Li smiled but did not answer.

Lu Yurong made a noise of disbelief, knowing that this secret was not something he would reveal to her. It was possible that it was Chu Li’s greatest secret.

“What about the other one?” asked Lu Yurong.

Chu Li shook his head. “The other one is not an urgent issue.”

“That’s the disciple of the Holy Church of Light!” Lu Yurong said angrily. “You’re putting the cart before the horse!”

“I believe that since you’ve managed to catch this one, you’ll be able to catch the other. It’ll be interesting.” Chu Li laughed.

Lu Yurong said coldly, “If something were to happen to uncle-in-law, the Public House won’t be able to escape from facing the consequences!”

She knew what Chu Li’s weakness was. It was The Yi Public House.

Chu Li said, “Don’t worry.”

“Alright, I’ll capture this Tian Shi in two days,” said Lu Yurong.

“You’ll investigate the matter thoroughly before acting, yes?” asked Chu Li.

Lu Yurong gave him a sidelong glance but did not refute.

Tian Shi was no ordinary man. He was uncle-in-law’s advisor and had contributed a great deal in his role. He was not the kind of person she could just simply capture. She would have to investigate thoroughly before doing anything else.

“Given how clever he is, he’ll be able to notice right away if you had any motives against him,” Chu Li said. “As for what to do with him, I believe you’ll have your own ideas about it.”

Lu Yurong certainly hoped so.

——

In the evening, King Jing returned to the residence with the glow of the sun setting on his shoulders.

He had a sturdy physique, handsome features, and a pair of thick eyebrows and piercing eyes. His manner was calm and unwavering, and he looked to be around forty years of age.

He had changed into a loose silk robe before entering the backyard.

Consort Lu was sitting in a gazebo, reading. Leng Ying and Lu Yurong were leaning on the railing feeding the fishes, and Leng Feng was in a faraway parterre practicing his swordsmanship.

Consort Lu put down the scroll and smiled warmly.

Lu Yurong curtsied. “Uncle-in-law.”

King Jing waved and sat across Consort Lu. “Head Chief Chu came by today?”

“Yes,” Consort Lu said. “His reputation doesn’t do him any justice. He’s truly an outstanding man.”

“Oh?” King Jing chuckled. “He must be pretty good anyhow to be able to catch the princess’s eyes.”

“He seems to have extensive knowledge about everything and the opinions he gives are always insightful and profound.” Consort Lu shook her head and smiled. “He might just be more outstanding than Yurong.”

“He’s a genius then,” King Jing said. “Third older brother is quite fortunate.”

Lu Yurong started to laugh.

King Jing smiled. “What’re you laughing about, Yurong?”

Lu Yurong said, “Uncle-in-law, you’re mistaken. King An might have the best luck, but he doesn’t have the tolerance to handle Chu Li!”

“Oh?” King Jing’s expression perked up in interest. “Didn’t he just help third older brother achieving his contributions not long ago?”

Lu Yurong regaled King Jing with the tale where Chu Li killed ten Grandmasters.

King Jing’s eyebrows twitched. He lowered his voice to say, “This Chu Li can be described as an expert in scheming. He wants to root out everything that’s threatening the Public House in one go and cut off third older brother’s pillars of support. Such a precise and ruthless move!”

Lu Yurong smiled. “As expected of uncle-in-law’s wisdom. Normally, people will only think that Chu Li lets his emotions govern his actions and failed to take notice of his true intentions… That’s exactly how he executes his plans—steadfastly, ruthlessly, and precisely. He’ll never do anything unnecessary. When he does something, he’ll definitely make his intentions clear.”

“This Chu Li is indeed quite capable,” King Jing said. “Can you bring him here?”

“It’s not impossible,” Lu Yurong muttered.

King Jing leaned forward and asked immediately, “Is it really possible?”

Lu Yurong said, “King An definitely cannot handle him, but since Xiao Shi is the Princess, Chu Li won’t propose to leave himself. The two men cannot live when the other is alive, and the one who’ll be forced to leave eventually will definitely be Chu Li. In that case, if he still wishes to protect Xiao Shi, he can seek asylum here with uncle-in-law. This might be posed as a threat to King An… Prince Bao’s an obstacle we have to overcome, though. We’ll have to snatch him from under Prince Bao’s nose.”

“As far as I know, third older brother’s very ambitious. It’s just that he’s very good at concealing his intentions. Will he really allow Chu Li to come here to help me?” King Jing’s lips tugged into a smile. “Chu Li must know how it is in the Imperial Residence of King An. Apparently, his prestige there is quite high as well.”

“It all depends on the kind of tricks uncle-in-law pulls.” Lu Yurong laughed lightly. “The important thing is to help Chu Li at the right moment by bringing him here. Since he wishes to guard the Public House, it’s very likely that he might come here to seek asylum!”

“Hm, you have a point there.” King Jing nodded. “This must be planned properly. I’ll leave it to you, Yurong.”

“Yes,” responded Lu Yurong.

Consort Lu glanced over at the parterre where Leng Feng was cultivating. She sighed and shook her head.

“Did this boy do something to anger you again?” laughed King Jing.

Consort Lu said, “His heart is so narrow to the point he found it difficult to tolerate anyone else. That boy really disappoints me. I made him go welcome Chu Li personally when he visited earlier today in hopes that they would make amends, but he brought Chu Li in by the side gate instead!”

The smile on King Jing’s face fell.

Consort Lu said, “With such a narrow heart, how can he master his abilities well?”

However, talented people were usually prideful and arrogant. They will not be respectful or docile, and others would have to possess a high tolerance level in order to find these people bearable to work with. If they could not pardon their behavior, then they would not be able to utilize their capabilities the way they wanted to.