The moment the masked men in red landed on their feet, they drew weapons from their sleeves and charged toward the wedding hall.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
More than a dozen household servants suddenly rushed out from either side of the wedding hall to meet them.
For a time, the clash of weapons rang out without pause.
Yue Ling asked Gu Xiaojia, “Was that last line some kind of signal?”
Gu Xiaojia stood frozen like a wooden chicken. Only after Yue Ling slapped him twice did he come back to himself and shout, “Assassins!”
Old Tao said leisurely from the side, “Don’t worry. I’ve already stationed quite a few skilled jianghu fighters throughout the Gu residence. These people may have gotten in, but they won’t be getting out.”
Gu Xiaojia scratched frantically at his ears. “Then what do we do now?”
“Continue,” Gu She said calmly.
Gu Xiaojia stared. “Huh?”
Gu She gazed steadily at Tao Mo, as though none of the turmoil outside could alter what occupied his thoughts at that moment.
Yue Ling said with a smile, “Quite right. It’s rare enough to find someone willing to settle for your young master. Whatever you do, don’t let him get away.”
The sounds of fighting outside had turned Gu Xiaojia’s mind to mush. It took him considerable effort to gather his scattered thoughts. Forcing down his anxiety and worry, he called loudly, “Second bow, to the parents!”
Gu She and Tao Mo turned together and slowly bowed.
The two spirit tablets stood high in the hall, like the eyes of two kindly elders silently watching over them.
“Hus… husbands, bow to each other!” Gu Xiaojia’s mind finally began working again.
Gu She and Tao Mo turned until they stood facing one another.
Tao Mo raised his eyes for a single glance and found that he could no longer look away.
For once, faint ripples moved through Gu She’s perpetually cool and distant eyes, like a spring pool stirred by the wind, unable to return to stillness.
Seeing the two of them staring at each other as though they had turned to stone, Gu Xiaojia could not help shouting again, “Husbands, bow to each other!”
Gu She suddenly smiled and was the first to lower his head.
Tao Mo came back to himself as though waking from a dream and hurriedly bowed as well.
They were standing so close that when they bent forward, Tao Mo clearly felt Gu She’s hair brush across his forehead, sending a tingling sensation all the way into his heart.
Suddenly, a throwing dart shot into the hall in a streak of silver!
Old Tao’s figure flashed. In the next instant, he was already standing in front of Tao Mo and Gu She, effortlessly catching the dart in his hand. Seeing Tao Mo stare at him in alarm, Old Tao said calmly, “Leave everything outside to me.”
Now that the situation was under control, Gu Xiaojia finally relaxed and called, “The ceremony is complete!”
Tao Mo looked at the flashing blades outside, then at the tall, striking figure before him, and everything seemed even more unreal, dreamlike and illusory. He breathed very carefully, afraid that if he moved too much, he might startle himself awake.
Gu She took his hand and began walking out.
Old Tao was startled. “Where are you going?”
Gu She replied without the slightest embarrassment, “To the bridal chamber.”
Both Gu Xiaojia and Adviser Jin looked momentarily stunned. They had accepted the idea of Gu She and Tao Mo marrying, but apparently neither of them had ever followed that thought all the way to something as practical as entering the bridal chamber.
Yue Ling, on the other hand, smiled ambiguously. “It’s rare to see Brother Gu in such a hurry.”
“I only marry once,” Gu She said.
The hand Tao Mo had clasped around Gu She’s slowly grew damp with sweat. Nervousness, emotion, and excitement twisted together inside his chest like strands of hemp wound tightly into a knot, impossible to separate.
Yue Ling laughed. “I never expected Brother Gu to be such a devoted lover.”
Old Tao directed the Demon Sect members disguised as servants of the Gu residence to drive the assassins outward, clearing a path so Gu She and Tao Mo could retire to the bridal chamber.
Yue Ling shook his head. “Gu Xianzhi truly is Gu Xianzhi. Even his wedding has to be this spectacular. Who do you think sent these assassins?”
Gu She turned his head and glanced at him. “If Brother Yue has so much time on his hands, why not keep guessing?”
Putting love before friendship—this was exactly what it looked like!
Yue Ling rubbed his mustache irritably as he watched Gu She and Tao Mo disappear from view together under Old Tao’s protection.
The sounds of blades gradually receded into the distance.
Now and then, one or two assassins who had slipped through the others charged toward them, only to be stopped by Old Tao one after another.
Their surroundings gradually grew quiet.
Only then did Tao Mo become aware that his own heartbeat was thundering in his ears. He finally came back to himself. “But… the assassins are still here.”
Behind him, Old Tao said, “Young Master, don’t worry. I can handle them.”
“We still don’t know who sent them or what they intend to do. Ah, and there are still guests attending the Cinnabar Banquet in front. If someone gets hurt by mistake, wouldn’t that be our fault?”
“Don’t worry. I stationed people in front as well.”
The more Tao Mo thought about it, the more uneasy he became. At last, he turned around and tried to go back, only for Gu She to catch hold of him.
Tao Mo looked at him in confusion.
Gu She said, “The robes you and I are wearing are the same style.”
Tao Mo stopped abruptly. Only then did he realize that their wedding robes were indeed extremely similar. The only difference was that Gu She’s were larger and his own smaller.
“This…” If the two of them walked outside dressed like this, even a fool would be able to guess what they had been doing.
Gu She said to Gu Xiaojia, “Bring me a cloak.”
Gu Xiaojia hurried off at once. A short while later, he returned carrying a pale azure cloak.
Gu She draped it over himself. “Let’s go.”
Tao Mo said, “Or perhaps I could go take a look while you stay here?”
Gu She lowered his gaze to him.
Tao Mo felt an invisible pressure slowly descend upon him.
Gu She paused, then repeated, “Let’s go.”
This time, Tao Mo did not dare raise another objection. He obediently let Gu She lead him toward the front.
The front of the residence was indeed in complete chaos.
From time to time came the crash of tables and chairs and the startled cries of guests.
Against those noises, the sounds of fighting almost seemed restrained and orderly.
“Lord Tao!” Someone with sharp eyes spotted Tao Mo and shouted.
At a time like this, the people everyone most wanted to see were undoubtedly officials and constables.
Tao Mo did not disappoint them. He immediately rushed forward.
Fortunately, Old Tao, who was standing in front, stopped him. Otherwise, Tao Mo might very well have charged straight into the fighting.
“Stop!” Tao Mo shouted.
The fighting continued.
Tao Mo shouted again, “In broad daylight, who dares commit violence with weapons?!”
The two sentences were certainly delivered with great authority. Unfortunately, no one paid him the slightest attention.
Old Tao consoled him. “These are vicious men who have long since stopped caring whether they live or die. They aren’t the sort who can be reasoned into repentance.”
Tao Mo continued his one-man performance. “Who ordered you here? Where did you come from? Why have you come to the wed—”
“Ahem! Ahem!” Old Tao coughed heavily twice.
“The wed… wed…” Tao Mo could not think of any way to finish.
Gu She leisurely supplied, “To the west wing to make trouble.”
Tao Mo shot him a grateful look, then continued, “Do you know that killing another person is a serious crime?!”
The masked men in red fought the household servants even more fiercely.
Under the servants’ protection, most of the guests successfully escaped from the Gu residence. Only two groups remained stubbornly inside the hall, reluctant to leave.
The first was Master One-Hammer and his wife.
The second was Lin Zhengyong.
Gu She swept his gaze across them and acted as though he had seen nothing.
Old Tao frowned and said to Gu She, “I’m going to trap them like turtles in a jar.”
Gu She said to the gatekeeper, who was nervously peering in from the doorway, “Close the gates.”
Master One-Hammer, Madam One-Hammer, and Lin Zhengyong all moved closer to them.
“You three still aren’t leaving?” Gu She asked, dismissing them without ceremony.
Lin Zhengyong smiled. “I have spent decades navigating officialdom and have seen more than enough killing and violence. A small matter like this isn’t enough to frighten me away.”
Master One-Hammer laughed. “Indeed. Who knows how many wronged spirits have died because of Master Lin over the years? How could a few mere mortals frighten him?”
Madam One-Hammer, however, looked at Gu She with concern. “Where did you manage to provoke people like these?” She knew Gu She ordinarily kept a low profile and was also Chancellor Gu’s beloved son. Logically speaking, no one should dare attack him this openly.
“Perhaps it was because of me,” Tao Mo murmured.
He spoke so softly that no one else might have heard, but Gu She was standing right beside him and naturally caught every word. Without saying anything, he gently drew an arm around Tao Mo’s shoulders.
Tao Mo suddenly realized that Master One-Hammer, Madam One-Hammer, and Lin Zhengyong were all standing there. Startled, he immediately shifted to the side.
Master One-Hammer noticed and a faint trace of amusement flashed through his eyes.
Old Tao suddenly shouted, “Close the net!”
The servants who had appeared to be fighting independently and without order suddenly pulled ropes from their sleeves and formed a coordinated formation, trapping the masked men in red at the center.
As though sensing what was about to happen, the assassins’ swordplay abruptly became fiercer.
One of them made a feint and, even at the cost of taking a blade to his left shoulder, forced his way out of the formation and charged toward Tao Mo and Gu She.
But there was still an impassable mountain standing in front of Tao Mo and Gu She.
Old Tao gave a cold snort. His left hand drew a circle, catching the assassin’s sword within the motion and preventing him from pulling it free. His right hand curled into a claw, seized the man’s sword hand, and twisted savagely. With a sharp crack of bone, the assassin cried out in pain and his sword dropped weakly to the ground.
Before the assassin could retreat, Old Tao caught him by the front of his clothes with a backhanded grip and threw him straight back into the formation.
By then, all the momentum had gone out of the masked men in red. Like fish trapped in a net, they could do nothing but struggle desperately.
A burst of hurried footsteps came from the direction of the main gate.
A moment later, Cui Jiong rushed inside in a panic with a group of constables.
Just as the household servants finished closing the net, Cui Jiong arrived in time to reap the ready-made result.
“Your Excellency!” Cui Jiong looked anxiously at Tao Mo. “Are you unharmed?”
Tao Mo waved a hand.
Gu She suddenly said, “You arrived remarkably quickly.”
From the time the guests escaped to the time someone could have reached the yamen for help, at least the time it took an incense stick to burn should have passed. Yet Cui Jiong had appeared in less than half that time.
Cui Jiong said, “This subordinate had something to report to Your Excellency and happened to encounter Master Sun on the road.”
Tao Mo asked, “What did you wish to report?”
Cui Jiong replied, “The Wu couple attempted to flee. This subordinate has already apprehended them.”
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