Chapter 60: We're His Highness's Guards

After Niu Youdao finished speaking, he and Yuan Gang looked at each other. Yuan Gang said nothing. He turned and left. Niu Youdao watched him go and clicked his tongue.

"That demon isn't going to get beaten again, is he?"

In the small courtyard, the monks had apparently not abandoned their Buddhist hearts. They still kept to Nanshan Temple's old habits: some read scriptures, some swept the ground, and the courtyard itself required no one else to clean it. They kept the place spotless on their own. The moment Yuan Gang arrived, the monks reacted like startled birds. Whatever they had been doing, they immediately put it down and stared at him.

Other frightening people at least showed moods that could be read. Yuan Gang's face revealed neither joy nor anger. There was no reasoning with him at all. When he wanted to strike, he simply struck, without warning.

That made him especially terrifying.

For several days now, they had watched Yuan Gang beat Yuan Fang viciously every single day. Every time Yuan Gang came, it meant the abbot was getting beaten. And now he had come again.

Wasn't twice a day enough?

Hadn't Yuan Fang already been beaten twice today? Why was he back yet again? Yuan Fang came out after hearing the commotion. Greeting him felt wrong. Refusing to greet him felt even worse. He was thinking exactly the same thing as the others. Hadn't today's two beatings already happened? He was terrified, but he still forced himself to approach with a shameless smile, bowing and scraping.

"Master Yuan, what are your instructions?"

His manner badly damaged the dignity of a grand abbot, though with his face bruised and swollen as it was, dignity was already in short supply.

He had originally followed Niu Youdao's example and called Yuan Gang "Monkey."

After carelessly letting the word slip twice and receiving two especially brutal beatings for it, he had changed his form of address.

"Come inside."

Yuan Gang dropped the words as he brushed past him and walked straight into an empty room. It was the same room where he had given Yuan Fang the first beating.

Yuan Fang's heart pounded.

He did not dare go in. Unfortunately, he had already suffered enough from Yuan Gang's habit of becoming violent the instant he was displeased. Those fists and feet were too hard and too heavy. Yuan Fang did not dare stall. He gritted his teeth and hurried inside.

Bang!

The door shut.

The monks in the courtyard looked at one another, then stared toward the room and pricked up their ears. One of them even began turning the prayer beads in his hand, praying for the abbot.

Everyone was worried.

Even a demon could hardly withstand being beaten like this day after day.

Perhaps their prayers worked.

The room remained surprisingly quiet. None of the sounds they feared appeared. Then Yuan Fang's astonished voice came from inside.

"Master Yuan, I don't do that kind of thing."

"What did you say? I didn't hear you clearly. Say it again."

"Well... Master Yuan, I really don't have anything like that. Bang! Ah..."

The monks' hair stood on end. The familiar sound of a savage beating erupted again, mixed with Yuan Fang's screams.

"Master Yuan, don't use the knife! Don't use the knife! You'll kill me!"

"Are you human?"

"Master Yuan, I have it! I have it!"

"You didn't lie to me?"

"I swear to Heaven, I have it! I absolutely have it! If even half a word is false, you can chop me apart!"

"Can you handle the job properly?"

"Leave it to me! Master Yuan can just wait for good news. If there is even the slightest mistake, I'll bring you my own head!"

The room seemed to become calm and harmonious again.

Low murmurs followed from inside.

Not long afterward, the door creaked open. Yuan Gang walked out as though nothing had happened and strode away. Only after his figure had completely disappeared from the small courtyard did the monks rush toward the room. Yuan Fang was sitting in a corner wiping blood from his nose, looking miserable and aggrieved.

The monks crowded inside.

Ruhu, Chief Seat of the Eastern Courtyard, and Ruming, Chief Seat of the Western Courtyard, worked together to pull him to his feet and help him into a chair.

Ruming said painfully, "Abbot, you've suffered on our behalf!"

"It's nothing."

Yuan Fang wiped away another streak of blood and looked at the glaring red smear on his hand.

His face twitched.

"That monkey has gone too far! A wise man doesn't fight when the odds are against him. I'll remember this debt for now. Sooner or later I'll peel off his skin and pull out his tendons..."

A sudden clatter came from outside. Yuan Fang sprang upright as though someone had stabbed him in the backside, his face instantly full of terror.

The monks also jumped.

They thought Yuan Gang had come back. Then a weak voice sounded from outside.

"The broom wasn't put away properly. It fell over!"

"Whew..."

Everyone let out a breath.

Yuan Fang pressed his palms together.

"Amitabha. Demonic thoughts arose in my heart and drew the Buddha's reproach. Sinful, sinful!"

"Amitabha!"

The monks all pressed their palms together and recited the Buddha's name with him.

Yuan Fang lowered his hands.

His eyes rolled across the faces before him.

Then he beckoned everyone closer and, while wiping the blood from his nose, whispered, "There's something important we need to handle quickly. Otherwise that plague-ridden monkey will come looking for trouble again. This time he made a vicious threat..."

Gongs and drums rang all along the streets of the commandery capital. Shang Chaozong rode a tall horse draped in red, dressed in brilliant wedding finery. Personal guards to his left and right carried money pouches and continuously tossed exchanged copper coins into the crowds lining the road, earning cheers and congratulations all the way. The Commandery Governor's residence was bustling beyond measure.

Guests filled the estate.

Everyone fortunate enough to be admitted was someone of standing in Guangyi Commandery. Ordinary wealthy households might present lavish gifts, but that did not mean they could enter the residence itself. Large stretches of open-air banquet tables outside had been prepared for them. Heavy troops had been deployed throughout the surrounding area.

On the rising and falling rooflines of the Commandery Governor's residence, figures stood watch, their vigilant gazes covering both the inside and outside of the estate. The bridegroom arrived surrounded by escorts and troops.

"Congratulations, Your Highness!"

The cries came from old and young, men and women, one after another. Shang Chaozong dismounted and repeatedly cupped his hands toward the guests on both sides who could only drink the wedding wine outside. Whether he knew them or not, he smiled and thanked them all the way in. Now that the moment had actually arrived, his nervousness vanished instead. The bearing bred into him from birth as an imperial noble was not something ordinary people could imitate.

Once inside the residence, someone led Shang Chaozong to Feng Ruonan's private quarters. This was the first time he had ever seen Feng Ruonan. Strictly speaking, he still did not see her face. A red bridal veil covered it.

But Shang Chaozong could clearly sense the size of the body hidden beneath the phoenix coronet and red wedding robes.

When she was led out holding one end of the red silk knot binding bride and groom together, Shang Chaozong could not help comparing their heights. Feng Ruonan actually seemed a little taller than he was. Perhaps it was only because of the phoenix coronet.

Still, Shang Chaozong himself was broad and tall, considered a large man even among men. A woman who could rival his height was truly something extraordinary. Yet none of that really mattered. He had already prepared himself mentally for what marrying Feng Ruonan meant. This was a sacrifice he had to make.

The real thing weighing on his heart was what Lan Ruoting had quietly urged him to do on the way here... The newlyweds entered the main hall. The wedding-bow ceremony itself was straightforward enough. Feng Lingbo and Peng Yulan sat in the places of honor.

Watching the daughter she had finally managed to marry off, Peng Yulan felt joy and sorrow mixed together. Tears of emotion repeatedly escaped her eyes, and she kept wiping them away. Once the ceremony was complete, everyone lined the route to see the couple off.

Outside the Commandery Governor's residence, Feng Ruonan entered the bridal sedan while Shang Chaozong mounted his horse. The procession then returned to the garden estate where he was staying.

The guests at the Commandery Governor's residence began drinking and celebrating in earnest, while the hosts moved among them entertaining everyone. The returning wedding procession now contained quite a few additional people. The number of cultivators had clearly increased.

Throughout the journey they maintained a high state of alert, constantly watching the surrounding crowds who continued shouting congratulations from both sides of the road. The garden estate serving temporarily as the groom's household had also prepared food and wine.

Shang Chaozong had no relatives or old friends in this place. The guests there were primarily the personal guards who had accompanied him. The rear courtyard of the main compound had been arranged as the newlyweds' bridal chamber. Two maidservants approached carrying trays of wine, tea, and cups. Before they reached the bridal chamber door, several figures suddenly appeared and startled them. The man in front was an old fellow with a white beard and a somewhat fierce-looking face.

More precisely, his face was bruised and swollen.

It was Yuan Fang.

Several Nanshan Temple disciples stood with him and blocked the two women.

Yuan Fang demanded, "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

The two maidservants came from a great household and remained composed. They were not easily frightened.

One answered, "The newlyweds will be here soon. We're preparing the wedding wine and tea for the bridal chamber. Who are you?"

The two women had already entered and left this courtyard several times and had never seen these men in felt hats.

Yuan Fang replied solemnly, "We're His Highness's guards. We're responsible for checking the security of this courtyard."

The two maidservants exchanged a glance and did not seem suspicious. This place was tightly guarded. Without permission, outsiders would find it nearly impossible to enter.

"We need to inspect these."

Yuan Fang pointed at the wine, tea, and vessels on the trays in their hands.

One maid shook her head. "There's no need. These things have already been thoroughly inspected. There won't be any problem."

Yuan Fang said with perfect seriousness, "The inspections carried out by the Commandery Governor's residence are their business. Is there some reason His Highness's side cannot inspect them again?"

The two maidservants did not know how to answer that. Yuan Fang gave them no opportunity to argue. He waved one hand, and several monks surged forward and simply took the trays from them.

"You..."

The two women were plainly unhappy with such rough behavior. Before they could rebuke anyone, Yuan Fang spoke again and drew their attention back to him.

"Now I'm beginning to doubt your identities as well. Can the two of you prove you're from the Commandery Governor's residence?"

The two maidservants turned toward him. The question seemed both irritating and ridiculous.

One of them said, "Old sir, do we really need to prove that? If we weren't from the Commandery Governor's residence, could we possibly have appeared here?"

Yuan Fang asked, "What are your names? I need to verify them."

"Wenxin. Wenli."

The two women were displeased, but they answered. Behind them, one monk gave Yuan Fang a faint nod and a meaningful look.

He said, "There shouldn't be any problem."

Yuan Fang waved a hand. "Give their things back. Someone go ask whether these two were indeed assigned here."

The trays were returned.

One monk jogged out of the courtyard.

While the two sides remained in an awkward standoff, Wenli looked Yuan Fang up and down and could not resist asking, "Old sir, what happened to your face? Did someone beat you?"

"Uh..."

Yuan Fang touched his own face. It hurt the moment his fingers made contact, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

He lowered his hand and answered with complete seriousness, "I fell."

Inside, he was cursing someone.

Wenli clicked her tongue. "You fell badly enough to end up like that? That must have been quite a fall."

Yuan Fang said, "I was galloping on horseback. The horse stumbled, so I fell rather hard..."

Then he abruptly came to his senses. Why was he explaining himself to these women?

He glared. "Why are you asking so many questions?"

Wenli giggled. "We're accompanying our young mistress as part of her dowry. You're one of His Highness's men. We'll probably be seeing each other often from now on."

Her meaning was obvious.

They might as well become acquainted now. That made Yuan Fang feel somewhat guilty. He had appeared here at this particular moment and would prefer the women not remember him too clearly afterward. Just then, the monk who had run out returned quickly and nodded to Yuan Fang.

"These two names are indeed on the assignment."

"Go on, then!"

Yuan Fang waved his hand.

Without another word, he led the Nanshan Temple disciples away with swaggering steps. Wenxin and Wenli turned back to their work. Once they had left the courtyard, Yuan Fang waved the monks accompanying him away. Then he went by himself to the place where Yuan Gang was staying...

[End of Chapter 60]