Volume One: The Youngest Among Three Hundred Chapter Thirteen: Black Robe Alley

“Hey, where’s Father? Why isn’t he here?” Su Dingfeng put away his iron sword and glanced around.

Qin Fulu pouted, then pointed at Chen Chang’an, who was hugging the camphor tree with his legs clamped so tightly it seemed he might snap the trunk. “Ask him—he knows!”

Su Dingfeng folded his arms, eyes fixed on the shivering, scrawny backside before him. Half a year ago, he’d received a letter from home saying that his third sister was going to marry a blind man. He’d been vehemently opposed, itching to draw his sword and rush down the mountain.

A daughter of the Su family, marrying a blind fool? Outrageous.

Unfortunately, he’d been under house arrest for a mistake at the time and couldn’t come. Now, seeing the man in person, he could barely suppress the urge to behead him on the spot.

“You—turn around. Let me see you!” Su Dingfeng tapped Chen Chang’an’s backside with his sword’s scabbard. The latter spread his arms and slid down the camphor tree, turning to face them.

The swordsman in white, Su Dingfeng, curled his lip in disgust. “He really is blind. Third Sister, your taste is appalling.”

Second sister Su Wanqing concurred, “Exactly, Eldest Brother. Third Sister insisted, and none of us could talk her out of it. Hurry, use your flying sword to finish him off.”

Finish off what, you idiots? Chen Chang’an clenched up, cursing inwardly: If I hadn’t risked my life to find Princess Changning, Zhu Jiawen would be a eunuch by now—he’d have to rely on cucumbers for the rest of his days.

As he muttered, Su Wanqiu walked over to help him up, her tone firm: “I like him, that’s all. You all keep saying Chen Chang’an is a useless blind man, but don’t forget, it’s because of him that the Su family was spared this time.”

“What? He…” Su Dingfeng, agitated, jabbed the sword scabbard at Chen Chang’an’s right side.

Thank heavens I shifted to the left, Chen Chang’an thought, his face scrunching as if in pain.

Su Wanqiu nodded. “Yes, Eldest Brother, it was Chen Chang’an who found Princess Changning and saved the Su family from disaster.”

Although she was curious how a blind man like Chen Chang’an had managed it, her priority now was to defend her contracted husband in front of her family.

The three on the other side were momentarily speechless. Su Wanqing, after a long, tense silence, finally protested, “Who’s to say it was really him? Maybe someone made a mistake upstairs. I still think it was Young Master Yuan who helped us. How could a blind man find anyone?”

Just then, a figure burst in—Su Qingtang, disheveled and dusty in his hemp robe, hair tousled, eyes brimming with tears.

“Husband, you’re back!” Qin Fulu’s face bloomed with delight as she rushed to greet him.

“Father!” cried Su Wanqing and Su Wanqiu in voices like silver bells.

Su Dingfeng sheathed his sword smartly, lifted his chin, and gazed up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, awaiting his father’s embrace.

But Su Qingtang ignored them all and swept Chen Chang’an into a bear hug, his voice quavering with emotion. “Ah, my virtuous son-in-law… I heard from Lord Li—because you found Princess Changning, our Su family was spared!”

“Fortunate indeed, truly fortunate for the Su family!”

“Ah, well… yes, yes, it was me. No need to get too worked up!” Chen Chang’an forced a smile. This old man had said something entirely different at the execution platform—how hypocritical.

Su Qingtang gave him a big thumbs-up. “Good, very good, what an excellent son-in-law!”

The four women behind him finally accepted that it was indeed Chen Chang’an—the bumbling, blind fool who was often bullied even by the servants—who had found Princess Changning.

Unbelievable!

Watching Su Qingtang shower Chen Chang’an with praise, Su Wanqing rolled her eyes charmingly. “Father, never mind him for now—why are you… talking with a lisp?”

“Oh, I…!” Su Qingtang turned, speech slurred. “I’m not sure, but when I woke up, my two gold teeth were gone!”

Chen Chang’an beat his chest in outrage. “It must have been those corrupt officials in the prison who stole your gold teeth. Shameless scoundrels!”

Su Dingfeng drew his sword. “I’ll make them—”

“Ahem!” Qin Fulu coughed twice, cutting him off.

At last, Su Qingtang noticed the elegant youth in white standing aside. His eyes softened with rare paternal affection. “Feng’er, why are you only now coming home?”

Still stung from being ignored, Su Dingfeng replied irritably, “Father, you should get your teeth fixed first.”

Chen Chang’an nodded in agreement. “Make sure they’re real bone, not gold—otherwise, some thieves will covet them again.”

Just then, another group of soldiers arrived, escorting the rest of the Su family’s men home—mostly servants, but among them was Zhu Jiawen, the husband of the second Su daughter.

He was a refined scholar with hair bound neatly, a square face, defined jaw, perfectly proportioned features and figure.

“Jiawen!” Su Wanqing cried out in delight, rushing over to him and covertly giving his crotch a squeeze. “Thank goodness—it’s still there!”

Blushing, Zhu Jiawen shielded his fair face. “Of course… of course it’s still there!”

Qin Fulu, Su Wanqiu, and the others pretended not to notice. Chen Chang’an just raised a brow, thinking that whether it was there or not hardly mattered—a scholar like him was softer than a cucumber anyway.

Su Qingtang breathed a long sigh, gazing around the courtyard with mixed emotions. “I never imagined that after a lifetime of loyalty, I’d be exiled to the outer city. Enough—Fulu, pack up our things. We move tomorrow.”

“Wanqiu and Wanqing, once we get to the outer city, we can’t keep too many maids and servants. The two of you decide who’s useful and let the rest go.”

“As for Jiawen, write home to let them know you’re safe. Otherwise, your family in Qingzhou will worry when they hear the news.”

Having finished his instructions, he looked to Su Dingfeng and Chen Chang’an. “You two… never mind. Dingfeng, come with me to get my teeth fixed. Chang’an, you stay here—moving would be difficult for you.”

His earlier anger at the execution platform had really been more the product of fear and nerves. Even if there had been some resentment, it was far from true hatred. Besides, it was thanks to Chen Chang’an that the Su family had escaped disaster, and for that, he couldn’t help but feel a brief fondness.

As for Chen Chang’an, upon hearing this humane division of labor and seeing his father-in-law with two missing front teeth, he felt a twinge of guilt. Why did he have to lose those gold teeth?

Nonsense—it was the prison guards who did it. What did it have to do with me?

…

Chang’an City was divided into the counties of Chang’an and Wannian, encompassing 108 neighborhoods. Of these, the 13 neighborhoods of the western city were the least populated—practically deserted.

In the midst of bustling, lively Chang’an, these 13 neighborhoods stood out in stark contrast, eerily quiet, as if from another world. The reason was a single long alley.

The alley began at the Jiahuai and Dai Xian neighborhoods and stretched all the way to Yongyang and Zhaoxing, running for dozens of miles. At either end, guards in black uniforms stood watch, unwavering in the face of heat, cold, wind, rain, or snow.

On either side of the alley were rooms of identical size, each one tightly barred. In the distance, at the deepest point, stood a towering building that seemed to scrape the sky—a hundred feet tall at least, its eaves interlocking in grand architectural splendor.

This was the most mysterious location in the imperial court—the quarters of the Black-Robed Guard.

The towering building at the end of the alley was called the Armory Tower. It had nine floors and was manned by two of the only eighth-rank experts in the entire land.

At three quarters past the hour of the rooster, on the sixth floor, a woman clad in bright white and silver armor, her long black hair tied in a high ponytail, her sharp face as cold and beautiful as a frosted blade, sighed and swept her long staff through the sand table before her, scattering the pieces.

“Miss Wu, what’s wrong?” the maid, Cai’er, asked, puzzled.

On Cao Wu’s flawless face, not a ripple of emotion could be seen. She replied calmly, “I just received news—Princess Changning has returned safely to the palace.”

Cai’er was stunned. “Who found her? The Cerulean Eunuchs, or the Three Departments? They beat us to it?”

Cao Wu waved her hand and set her staff on a wooden rack, enunciating each word: “It was a blind son-in-law—someone who can’t see a thing.”