Palace Fighting Naive Concubines’ Ascent to Power
Chapter 592: Close the City Gates

Chapter 592: Chapter 592: Close the City Gates

This elder had been appearing and disappearing mysteriously these past few days, frequently materializing before him, behaving oddly and leaving him both amused and helpless. Since that was the case, he would repay the old man in his own coin to see just what he was up to.

If his guess was correct, this elder was one of his Examination Markers, which would explain why the man left every time he approached without a word of conversation, an act meant to avoid the appearance of bias.

And as for deliberately dropping a rare manuscript for him to pick up, that spoke for itself; it seemed a deliberate ploy to catch his attention, and given the value of such a rare item, it was an overture of goodwill.

This elder, with free access to the Imperial Academy, seemed to have a special relationship with Minister Qin, and appearing to be of venerable age, there were not many in the court so old; probably, it was that person...

He expected the outcome would be clear very soon.

Lian Musu decided to think no more of the matter and looked southward with a sigh in his heart. Although he knew he shouldn’t be impatient, being confined in the Imperial Academy and only getting news of his family through Wu Sheng’s infrequent visits was unsettling.

He wondered how his parents and two younger brothers were faring, and how his little sister in the Imperial Palace was doing...

...

By nightfall, at the Fourth Quarter of Xu Time, the South City Gate.

At the founding of the dynasty, Capital City used drum beats as signals: the city gates opened at Mao Hour and closed at Shen Hour, initiating the curfew as soldiers patrolled the streets to guard against petty criminals. In important border towns, gates opened later and closed earlier.

Gradually, as the political situation stabilized, in bustling places like the Capital and Luoyang, the timing of the gates’ opening and closing became more lenient and the curfew less stringent.

A few years after His Majesty ascended the throne, with a constant stream of people coming and going and the markets flourishing, the gates opened even earlier—at the end of the Yin Hour before dawn—and closed at the Fifth Quarter of Xu Time as the sun set behind the western hills. On universally celebrated days such as the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Longevity Event, they closed even later.

Of course, the important border towns continued the tradition of opening late, closing early, and upholding a strict curfew.

At this moment, with the Fifth Quarter approaching, the city defense officers sounded the drums to close the gates, urging the commoners seeking to enter or leave to quicken their pace and pass through swiftly.

Every civilian hurried towards the gate; if they were late, they would have to spend the night in an inn outside the city.

Not far outside the city were inns, clinics, and eateries that catered to the merchants who failed to return to the city in time. Though these places charged more than those within the city, it did not matter to officials and the wealthy; however, the average citizens were reluctant to spend the extra coin.

Among these civilians were a few individuals in dark grey, aged robes with wide-brimmed hats, hastening with the crowd toward the city gate. If one got close enough, they could catch a faint scent of blood from them.

The wounds they hid under their robes slowly oozed blood, which bled into the dark fabric and formed unobtrusive dark stains.

These individuals were Guo Shun and his companions, who were fleeing.

Before entering the city, they had changed into ordinary attire to blend in with the common folk.

He had taken the Dead Soldiers to Ma Xiapo Station, where their scheme was exposed, and their attempt to assassinate the He family father and son failed. One of the Men in Black was especially skilled, overwhelming them completely.

He knew they had met their match and that there was no hope of silence through murder, and so he made the decisive call to retreat.

They had set out with more than a dozen men, but only three remained upon their return, including him—a most grievous loss.

At this moment, he was anxious and desperate, racing back to the city, hoping to get ahead of those men. He aimed to enter the city as quickly as possible to report the matter to the young master and help his young master escape this place of trouble.

These men in black had exceptional skills; every move was a killing blow. Three of them could form an array that could attack and defend. In his life, he had never seen such well-trained individuals. Riding the fastest horses, they must have been sent out by some great power they dared not provoke—perhaps someone even the Xue Family could not catch up with.

Now that they had made a deadly enemy on both sides, and with the He family father and son in their hands, once they returned to the city, they would be able to trace it back to the Guo family within a single night, and then the Guo family would be in danger.

Therefore, he had to hurry back to inform the young master, take people and leave to hide. If the Xue Family’s plot succeeded in the future, there might still be a chance for survival.

As he was about to enter the city gate, Guo Shun tensed up, but he did not show any signs of it. He was betting that those men in black, cleaning up the mess at Ma Xiapo Station, would not return as quickly as he did.

At that moment, the soldiers guarding the city gate came out and dispersed towards them.

Guo Shun and his companions immediately stiffened, their hands on their waists and their pace slowing down.

One of the soldiers on the city wall immediately shouted loudly, "What are you dawdling for? The city gate is about to close. Hurry up! Are you entering the city or not?"

This soldier shouted at them and, passing by, immediately yelled at other commoners rushing from a distance.

It was a routine matter for the soldiers guarding the city gate. At the last moment of closing, they would come out, urging the commoners near the gate to move quickly. Once the last group had passed through, they would turn around and close the gate directly.

Guo Shun breathed a sigh of relief inwardly, having passed through the city gate without any mishaps. After walking a few dozen steps, he looked back towards the city gate just as a voice came from the wall:

"Close the city gate!"

With the last thud of the drum, the booming sound of the gate closing echoed, and the city gate slowly shut.

Guo Shun breathed a sigh of relief. Once they were far away from the city gate, in a safe place, he and the other two dead soldiers started to run quickly.

In order not to attract attention, they had abandoned their horses before entering the city. Now, in a rush, with no time to find horses, they had to move swiftly on foot.

The Guo family was wealthy, and their residence was in a prime location to the northeast of the Imperial Palace, an area for a mere merchant to live among officials and nobles.

A house in this area wasn’t something ordinary people could acquire—it was close to the Imperial Palace and surrounded by noble families, high-ranking nobles, and imperial relatives. It was a symbol of illustrious status, a residence money alone could not buy.

It was said that the Guo family’s house used to be the Marquis of Zhenyuan’s Mansion. After the Marquis was executed and his family’s property seized by Emperor Taizhong, the mansion lay deserted, overgrown with weeds. During the reign of the Late Emperor, it was bestowed upon Xue Ping.

Finding the mansion inauspicious, Xue Ping transferred it to the Guo family in exchange for great benefits. The Guo family renovated and rebuilt it, forming the new Guo residence.

Coming in from the South City Gate, it was a considerable distance to the Guo residence. Not minding the fatigue and injuries on their bodies, Guo Shun and his companions hurried as fast as they could, not reaching the Guo residence until nearly the Hai Hour.

He looked around cautiously. Seeing no abnormalities, he hurried through the side door with the remaining two dead soldiers.

Meanwhile, shortly after they entered the city, a group of men in black riding tall horses arrived outside the city gate. Leading them was a fat man with a happy smile, mounted on an exceptionally tall and strong horse.

Behind the fat man, on the two horses, were cages tied to the sides, each containing two individuals with lifeless eyes and listless spirits, a father and son covered in vomit.