freenovelworld Chapter 133 The Fates of Several Members of the Chu Family
Chapter 133 The Fates of Several Members of the Chu Family
Chu Ang is becoming increasingly insane; he won't stop until he has brought the Chu family to their deaths.
Chu Ruohan had limited manpower, and Song Ruyan wasn't around, so she could only ask Gu Junze to lend her shadow guards for help.
On one hand, he was secretly searching for Chu Ang's whereabouts, and on the other hand, he wanted to infiltrate the Dali Temple to replace the Eastern Pearl.
But where could she find a pearl that was similar to a Dongzhu pearl, large and round, in such a short time?
It is simply harder than reaching the sky.
These beads are often found only after pearl divers risk their lives, diving into the deep sea hundreds of times and enduring countless hardships.
It is not only rare, but also almost impossible to find on the market; even with money, it is very difficult to buy...
Chu Ruohan was frowning over this matter when the soft sound of wheels breaking the silence of the night broke the silence.
Chu Ruohan subconsciously turned her head and saw Gu Junze pushing a wheelchair toward her in the dim candlelight.
Gu Junze didn't speak. He slowly reached out and took out an exquisite brocade box from his pocket.
The brocade box is carved with exquisite patterns, making it clear at a glance that it is a priceless treasure.
"What is this?" Chu Ruohan frowned slightly, looking at Gu Junze with a puzzled expression.
Upon opening the brocade box, a round and full pearl appeared before Chu Ruohan's eyes.
Pearls emit a soft glow, like the most dazzling stars in the night sky.
A hint of surprise flashed in Chu Ruohan's eyes.
She took the pearl and examined it carefully. Although it was not a real pearl, its size, shape, color, and texture were 90% similar to those of a real pearl, making it almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
Chu Ruohan looked up. "Where did you get these pearls?"
"My mother's belongings."
It turned out to belong to the eldest princess. Her things are naturally of the highest quality.
But won't it arouse the emperor's suspicion?
There was no time to worry about anything else right now; unwittingly, Princess Anyang had helped her once again…
The night was deep, like a huge black silk ribbon, completely enveloping the entire capital city.
The high walls of Dali Temple looked particularly eerie in the night, and the guards on the walls patrolled back and forth like sculptures.
One of the shadow guards, like a ghost in the dark, easily bypassed the layers of guards and silently sneaked into the secret room where the Eastern Pearl was stored.
Three more people were waiting outside the high wall to provide backup.
He quickly replaced the real Dongzhu with the real one, then hid it close to his body and quietly left the secret room by the same route.
The entire process was so smooth and silent that it seemed as if it had never happened.
Meanwhile, Chu Ruohan waited anxiously inside the Hongmeng Academy.
She paced back and forth in the room, each step feeling like she was stepping on her own heartbeat, her eyes frequently glancing out the window.
Gu Junze sat quietly to the side, his gaze always following Chu Ruohan's figure.
Finally, he couldn't help but speak up: "Han'er, there's no need to worry too much. You've seen the strength of the Shadow Guards. Although the Dali Temple is heavily guarded, it's nothing but a formality to them."
Chu Ruohan nodded. The Shadow Guards were so fearsome that even enemy countries trembled at their mere mention of their name.
I heard that back then, the eldest princess led her shadow guards to confront an enemy army of 100,000 for half a month and made great achievements.
They penetrated deep into enemy territory as if it were empty, routing the enemy army and leaving them in disarray.
Not only was no one injured, but the army of 100,000 also came to a halt, without occupying an inch of territory.
Just as the two were talking, a slight strange noise suddenly came from outside the window.
Chu Ruohan and Gu Junze instantly became alert, their eyes simultaneously turning to the window.
A dark figure flashed by like a ghost, and then the door was gently pushed open. A shadow guard knelt on one knee and said respectfully, "Master, the mission is complete."
As he spoke, he presented the pearl with both hands.
Chu Ruohan reached out and took the pearl. When her fingertips touched the smooth surface of the pearl, her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.
She breathed a sigh of relief, but soon her gaze turned serious again, because she knew all too well that this pearl was now like a hot potato.
Therefore, this pearl must be disposed of as soon as possible to destroy all traces and completely eliminate any potential dangers.
Gu Junze looked at the shadow guard and said gently, "Thank you for your hard work."
The shadow guard nodded slightly, then vanished into the night in a flash, and the door closed silently once more.
Without the slightest hesitation, Chu Ruohan immediately ordered someone to fetch the tools.
She personally supervised the servants as they placed the pearls on a specially made stone mill. As the mill slowly turned, the pearls emitted a soft friction sound.
This priceless treasure gradually turned into fine powder...
Two more days passed, and there was still no trace of Chu Ang. It was as if he had vanished into thin air.
The Dali Temple has not yet started the trial of the Chu family's case.
Chu Ruohan couldn't wait any longer. The autumn imperial examination was only seven days away, and if this matter wasn't resolved quickly, it would delay Chu Chenyu's registration for the examination.
In her previous life, her younger brother lost his life for her. In this life, Chu Ruohan wants to help him fulfill this dream.
But the emperor won't see her, and now she can't even enter the palace gates.
Chu Ruohan planned to beat the Dengwen Drum and file a complaint with the emperor.
Our dynasty's laws clearly stipulate that as long as the Dengwen Drum is struck, the emperor must summon the person who struck the drum.
This was a privilege granted by the founding emperor of the Jin state to ordinary people so that they could have the opportunity to appeal to the emperor when they suffered injustice.
Although it was a thorny and dangerous road, Chu Ruohan had no other choice at this point, and she decided to take a gamble.
Gu Junze disagreed, saying that the Dengwen Drum was not something anyone could just strike.
"Our ancestors established a rule that anyone who went to the capital to petition the emperor was considered to be disrespecting imperial authority. To be qualified to strike the petition drum, one had to pass three tests. Only after passing all three tests was one qualified to strike the petition drum."
Gu Junze took a deep breath and said in a heavy tone, "Beating with a board, rolling on a bed of nails, walking through a fiery hell. Which one isn't deadly?"
"The royal family wants the people to know that imperial power is supreme, and that it is harder for ordinary people to see the emperor's face than to climb mountains of knives or plunge into seas of fire."
Chu Ruohan's face turned deathly pale, and her hands unconsciously clenched into fists, her knuckles turning white.
She never imagined that it would be so difficult to appeal to the emperor by beating the drum of petition.
Gu Junze continued, "In our dynasty's more than two hundred years of history, only two people have attempted to pass the three trials, and both were men. One died on a board of nails, his body riddled with nails and covered in blood; the other died in a sea of fire, his face burned beyond recognition..."
Hearing this, Chu Ruohan felt a chill run down her spine.
Having finally been given a second chance at life, she naturally didn't want to lose her life so easily.
But how could she back down when it came to the lives of her parents and dozens of other members of the Chu family?
Ying Qing, who had been silent all along, suddenly stepped forward and said, "I'll go."
The young mistress is frail, and he, a man skilled in martial arts, is the most suitable person to go.
These days, he has been worried about Chu Yueshu, wondering how she is doing in prison. He's sure she's not used to it; the little girl is terrified of the dark, and she might cry...