Chapter 309: Chapter 179: Take Good Care of and Reward Your Big Bro

Lu Yuan and his group rode their motorcycles toward the Provincial City.

Su Liyan asked, "Dear, once you’ve reported on your official business, can we go straight home?"

"Yes. Do you miss Bengbeng?" Lu Yuan replied.

"I do. Bengbeng is still so little." What mother doesn’t miss her child?

A son a thousand miles from home makes a mother worry; a mother a thousand miles from home yearns for her son.

Su Liyan watched the group of trusted retainers following them, swords at their waists and rifles and mortars on their backs.

No matter how you looked at it, this formation didn’t seem like a subordinate going to report to his superior. It looked more like they were staging a rebellion.

Although, the rifles and mortars were wrapped in burlap.

But the guards at the Provincial City’s gates would still inspect everyone one by one.

The Court permitted private citizens to carry blades and swords, but strictly prohibited firearms, cannons, and armor.

And Lu Yuan and his men were all wearing armor.

Su Liyan reminded him, "Lu Yuan, we left in a hurry and brought so many firearms and weapons. This doesn’t look like we’re going to report on official business, does it?"

The official records for Taiping City were with Su Changliang, so Lu Yuan didn’t need to bring them.

They had left in a rush this time to rescue Gu Gaoxu, bringing only weapons, equipment, and other tools. They hadn’t even packed rations, and had to find food along the way.

Su Liyan’s reminder was a good one. The rules of social etiquette were the same in any era.

"We really should prepare some gifts for the Lord Governor," Lu Yuan said.

Lu Yuan glanced back at his retainers. Only three had been lightly injured during the rescue of Gu Gaoxu, and they had already returned to Taiping City with the main force.

Thirteen men were still with him now.

Lu Yuan and his group were now about to enter Qilu Province.

Seeing a Post House not far ahead, Lu Yuan decided they would stop early for the day.

The motorcycles were fast enough to ensure Lu Yuan would arrive long before Su Changliang.

Lu Yuan called out, "Tonight, we’ll rest at the Post House ahead. Everyone, come find me after dinner."

"Yes, Young Master!" his retainers replied.

After the meal, Lu Yuan gathered them in his room and ordered, "There shouldn’t be any danger on the way to the Provincial City now. Everyone, put away the armor I distributed earlier."

Upon hearing this, the retainers immediately began taking off their outer clothes to remove their armor.

Su Liyan watched as the men started disrobing and taking off their armor, completely unconcerned by her presence.

They still wore undergarments beneath the armor, so it wasn’t as if they were baring their brawny chests in front of the Young Madam.

Even so, Su Liyan blushed furiously, ran into an adjacent room, drew the curtain, and didn’t make another sound.

Armor was a fine thing, priceless even, but it was also a deadly liability.

If the Court’s Jinyi Guard discovered a commoner privately hoarding armor, it was an offense punishable by beheading.

When Lu Yuan told his retainers to remove their armor, they did so without a word of protest. After all, he was the one who had given it to them in the first place.

Now that the mission was complete, it was only natural for the Young Master to take it back.

Lu Yuan smiled as he watched his wife run off.

’I’d completely forgotten my wife was still here.’

These rough men had only been focused on Lu Yuan’s orders, paying no mind to the Young Madam’s feelings.

Women of this era were very particular about maintaining propriety between the sexes.

Lu Yuan continued, "This armor is yours; I gave it to you, and I certainly won’t be taking it back. However, we’re about to enter the Provincial City, so we can’t carry it with us anymore."

Only then did the retainers realize: the Provincial City was not Taiping City.

The Zhao Mansion was the unrivaled power in Taiping City, but that influence meant nothing in the Provincial City.

They had to be more discreet when the situation called for it.

They were caught off guard by Lu Yuan’s generosity.

Lu Yuan often handed out monetary rewards, but all his previous bonuses combined weren’t worth a single suit of this armor.

The armor made by Long Snake was a treasure you couldn’t put a price on. A man could serve as a Mansion Guard his entire life and never earn enough to afford something like this.

Yet Lu Yuan had given out eighty suits of armor in one go to the former Mansion Guards of the Zhao Mansion—his current retainers.

This act had cemented their absolute loyalty to Lu Yuan.

And Lu Yuan treated them with genuine care, trying not to let them fall into unnecessary danger.

After making arrangements, Lu Yuan decided that five retainers would take the armor, rifles, and mortars back to Taiping City.

The remaining eight retainers would accompany Lu Yuan and his wife to the Provincial City, traveling light.

He also told his men to keep an eye out for any good gifts along the way.

Something to give the Lord Governor. As long as it was of high quality, his retainers were to buy it. Lu Yuan was not short on cash.

...

"Reporting to Your Highness, we have searched the entire mountain pass but have not found the body of the Ancient Poison Scorpion." Several burly soldiers stood in the center of a military tent.

Seated before them was King Jin, Gu Gang. Listening to his subordinate’s report, he said fiercely, "How could that be? It was a massive creature. How could you possibly not find it?"

The lead soldier continued, "It is the truth, Your Highness. We’ve turned the entire mountain pass and its surroundings inside out, and still found nothing. Could it be that one of the other Princes had it taken away?"

King Jin thought for a moment. ’My fourth brother, King Yan, has never been interested in such things. My seventeenth brother, Prince Ning, is the youngest and lacks worldly experience. How would either of them know the wondrous uses of the Ancient Poison Scorpion? That leaves my seventh brother, King Qi, as the most likely one to have hidden its body.’ 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The time for the Vassal Kings’ armies to depart for their respective fiefdoms was fast approaching.

King Jin had no reason to linger here, especially since this was still King Yan’s territory.

If not for the Emperor’s decree, it would have been absolutely forbidden for King Jin and the others to lead their armies into another Vassal King’s fiefdom.

After dismissing the subordinate who had come to report, King Jin stood up and decided to go sound out his seventh brother, King Qi.

King Jin would never have imagined that such a massive thing had actually been taken away by Lu Yuan.