Half an hour earlier.
Red Sleeves Beckoning was situated by Jishuitan Lake, at the end of the three alleys north of Toutiao Alley. It enclosed part of the lakefront water and built eighteen flower towers, each housing a courtesan of the highest rank. The eighteen flower towers were connected by wooden bridges with some distance between them, ensuring that activities in one tower couldn’t be heard from another.
Red Sleeves Beckoning’s signature feature was these eighteen flower towers on the lake.
If clients didn’t want anyone to know they had been there, they could avoid the wooden bridges and take black-canopied boats directly from shore to privately meet their desired ladies in the towers, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of secret affairs with its own special appeal.
So while Red Sleeves Beckoning was expensive, the eighteen flower towers were basically never empty, filled with music and revelry every night.
Merchants didn’t avoid such places—publicly throwing money around actually displayed their wealth. Therefore, those who came to Red Sleeves Beckoning’s eighteen flower towers were mainly high officials who found it inconvenient to meet outsiders or sons of high officials from strictly disciplined families. They didn’t come here solely to sleep with courtesans, but often arranged to meet here to discuss factional struggles and benefit exchanges.
This was an unspoken understanding among men—dining, drinking, and socializing was just the beginning. Sharing the same bed and the same courtesan truly showed friendship.
After all, few had opportunities to build camaraderie through fighting battles together, so it was faster and more practical to bond through visiting brothels together. The friendship was sealed through the courtesan.
These officials never imagined that what seemed the safest place was actually the most dangerous.
In the center of the eighteen flower towers stood a two-story building—Madam Wen Si’s residence. Eighteen small bridges led to where the courtesans lived, like blood vessels through which Wen Si greedily absorbed the girls’ youth, blood, and tears, as well as intelligence.
Late at night in the heavy rain, the clients and courtesans in the eighteen flower towers had all fallen into deep sleep. In Wen Si’s small building, thick curtains blocked the windows while inside, lights blazed brightly.
The still-charming Wen Si held a secret message in her right hand and a bottle of pills in her left. After reading the message, she held it to a candle to burn it to ashes. “From the moment I joined the White Lotus Sect, I knew this day would come eventually. I only regret that my great ambitions remain unfulfilled and the Ming Dynasty still stands—I’m unwilling to accept this.”
The messenger handed over a bundle. “The cult leader says Intelligence Hall’s identity has been exposed. Now the entire Jishuitan area is surrounded by government troops layer upon layer. It’s too late to escape with the cult leader, so Intelligence Hall should go to the paradise of eternal life first to wait for the cult leader. Someday, the cult leader will reunite with Intelligence Hall in paradise and be together forever.”
“The cult leader asks this subordinate to give this to the propagator, saying that when the White Lotus Sect establishes a nation and the cult leader ascends the throne as emperor, he will posthumously enfeoff Intelligence Hall as empress. Intelligence Hall is the White Lotus Sect’s most important propagator and forever the cult leader’s most beloved woman.”
With trembling hands, Wen Si opened the bundle. Inside was actually a deep blue phoenix robe. When unfolded, the robe was embroidered with 148 pairs of phoenix birds.
This was the ceremonial dress of a Ming Dynasty empress—the height of presumption.
Wen Si put on the phoenix robe and spun several times in front of the mirror, her eyes showing a girlish sweet smile.
The messenger said, “This phoenix robe was prepared by the cult leader for Intelligence Hall’s future enthronement as empress. Unfortunately, the crown with nine dragons and nine phoenixes isn’t finished yet and couldn’t be sent together. The cult leader says that once the crown is completed, it will be buried in Intelligence Hall’s cenotaph.”
“This is enough.” Wen Si touched each divine bird embroidered with golden thread on the phoenix robe. “If not for the cult leader’s rescue, recruiting me into the White Lotus Sect and giving me capital to open Red Sleeves Beckoning, I would still be an official slave exiled to the northwestern frontier, washing mountains of stinking clothes for Ming Dynasty soldiers during the day and being played with and humiliated by groups of military ruffians at night. I’m willing to do anything for the cult leader. What is there to fear in death?”
The messenger said, “This subordinate has completed the mission and will take the first step, waiting quietly for Intelligence Hall in paradise.”
With these words, the messenger took a knife and slashed his throat. Blood spurted from his neck as he fell, convulsed briefly, then died.
Wen Si quietly watched the messenger expire, then pulled a rope from within the bed curtains. This rope passed through the underground wooden floor, connecting to the bedrooms of Intelligence Hall’s eight subordinates, with its other end attached to eight bells.
Ding-a-ling!
Clear bell sounds came from beneath the floorboards. The subordinates woke one after another—three male procurers, two flower tower courtesans (including one newly selected as the top courtesan who had danced the Zhezhi dance with Wei Caiwei on the pleasure boat at Jishuitan Lake), and three musicians. Eight White Lotus Sect believers in total.
Wen Si removed the phoenix robe and went downstairs, pouring the entire bottle of white pills into a wine pot. She shook it, then poured it into eight wine cups, quietly awaiting her eight subordinates.
They arrived one by one. “The propagator summons us in the deep of night—what are your orders?”
“There’s an urgent matter that requires everyone to sit down and discuss together.” Wen Si said, “You all seem not fully awake. Everyone drink some wine first and eat something to refresh yourselves.”
When the propagator offered wine, the believers dared not refuse. They raised their cups and drank together, also eating the pastries on the table.
The top courtesan wanted to eat something first to cushion her stomach before drinking. She picked up a piece of water chestnut cake and was about to put it in her mouth when suddenly, a bright red drop appeared on the pale white cake. The courtesan thought her just-awakened eyes were playing tricks on her. She touched it with her finger and twisted it gently—it was warm, sticky, and had a sweet fishy smell, like a drop of blood.
How could a drop of blood appear out of nowhere? As she pondered this, another warm drop fell on her jade-like arm.
The courtesan looked up at the ceiling, and another drop fell, this time hitting her beautiful eye directly.
It turned out the blood from the messenger who had committed suicide upstairs had soaked through the floorboards and was dripping through the cracks.
The courtesan covered her eye. When foreign matter enters the eye, it naturally secretes tears to wash it clean. Her tears washed out the blood, and when she finally managed to open her eyes, she discovered that her seven companions—some collapsed on the ground, others slumped over the table—were bleeding from all seven orifices and already dead!
“Don’t scream. Those who fear death cannot enter paradise.” Intelligence Hall placed a knife blade against the courtesan’s neck. “The cult leader wants me to personally send you on your way.”
The courtesan slowly backed away, her body rigid like a wooden puppet. “The propagator raised me—I consider her my own mother. From childhood to now, I’ve never disobeyed. I was willing when the propagator asked me to sell my art, sell my smiles, even sell my body, but I don’t want to die yet. Please spare me, propagator. I won’t say anything.”
Intelligence Hall’s eyes showed a trace of reluctance and struggle. “But you know the princess’s identity and residence. If the Ming Dynasty learns of the princess’s existence, they will surely place her under house arrest as a hostage to coerce the Khan. So the cult leader cannot let the princess fall into danger. The princess is the Khan’s granddaughter and must not be harmed, or the White Lotus Sect will lose the Khan’s support.”
Hearing this, the courtesan knew Intelligence Hall would definitely not spare her. Survival instinct made her run toward the door, but Intelligence Hall’s blade was faster than her legs. With one slash, the beauty’s head fell to the ground.
Intelligence Hall looked at the beautiful head rolling on the ground, closed her eyes, then opened them and shook her head with a sigh. “Blood everywhere—what a bother.”
Intelligence Hall kicked the head under the arhat bed in the room to hide it, then dragged the headless female corpse inside as well. A trail of blood remained on the floor, so Intelligence Hall brought out a red carpet to cover the bloodstains and sprinkled an entire bottle of Western perfume throughout the room to dispel the bloody smell.
Then Intelligence Hall arranged the seven others who had died from poison on chairs, binding their necks and waists to the chair backs with rope, all facing away from the door, using scarves or hair to conceal the ropes so they looked like a group having a late-night meeting.
Looking through the glass windows and door cracks into the building, Intelligence Hall felt there were still some flaws, so she extinguished all the lanterns, leaving only one dim oil lamp in the center of the table.
Now she could use the dead to deceive the living. The Imperial Guards would only think victory was within reach and that they could net all the White Lotus Sect members at Red Sleeves Beckoning in one sweep.
Having done all this, Intelligence Hall retrieved several standard round bombs produced by the Royal Arsenal from a hidden compartment on the second floor. She placed the bombs in the four corners of the room and under the table, gathering all the fuses at her seat.
Intelligence Hall removed her outer robe and wore the phoenix robe that only an empress could wear underneath, then put the robe back on to conceal the glittering golden 148 pairs of phoenix birds. She sat in the center position facing the door, with grape wine in a luminous cup and some pastries, using herself as bait while silently waiting for the Imperial Guards to step into the trap.
This was cult leader Zhao Quan’s final instruction: they couldn’t just let the Imperial Guards eliminate two propagators in one night, or the sect’s believers would become fearful and lose confidence in the cult leader and the White Lotus Sect.
Propagators could die—they could simply select two new propagators.
But the Imperial Guards must also pay a heavy price. Ideally, for however many White Lotus Sect members died, an equal number of Imperial Guards should die.
Only this way could the believers’ confidence be restored.
This was also why Intelligence Hall chose to hold her ground at Red Sleeves Beckoning despite having opportunities to escape—at worst, she could take poison and kill herself if intercepted by Imperial Guards halfway.
Cult leader Zhao Quan’s reputation was well-deserved; his considerations were indeed thorough.
Now, after Lu Ying received her father’s carrier pigeon message that Intelligence Hall was the Red Sleeves Beckoning madam, she immediately ordered everyone to surround Red Sleeves Beckoning from both water and land routes.
Ambushes were set on both Jishuitan Lake and the roadside. Everyone knew that Red Sleeves Beckoning’s Madam Wen Si lived in the center of the eighteen lake towers.
Lu Ying looked through a Western telescope and could faintly see some weak light from the building’s glass windows.
Wang Daxia was also looking and said, “Right here. We’ve destroyed the Military Strategist’s nest—now let’s wipe out Intelligence Hall’s in one swoop.”
Lu Ying said, “Cult leader Zhao Quan is very likely here. Since the Four Great Propagators don’t know each other, it’s best to capture the cult leader alive. Only by catching him can we uproot the White Lotus Sect completely.”
Wang Daxia said, “This building has two floors. Below is lake water, so no tunnels are possible. Therefore, Zhao Quan must be on one of these two floors. I’ll take the brothers skilled in climbing and use grappling hooks to climb to the rooftop, then attack through the windows. Commander Lu, take your men to the first floor—we’ll attack from above and below.”
Lu Ying neither agreed nor disagreed, but nodded. “We’ll do as you suggest.”
Wang Daxia and others changed into night-traveling clothes, threw grappling hooks that caught on the second-floor balcony railings, then climbed up the ropes. Their movements were masked by the thunder and rain.
Once Wang Daxia and the others reached the second floor, Lu Ying led her men to surround the first floor, raising battering rams to charge inside.
Just as Lu Ying was about to signal for the coordinated attack from above and below, suddenly thunderous gunshots rang out by Jishuitan Lake.
Lu Ying turned back and saw a golden light charging straight toward them. A lightning bolt struck, bright as daylight, revealing her father Lu Bing riding the sweating blood horse. Lu Bing held a newly produced flintlock rifle from the Royal Arsenal—this type of gun didn’t need to light a fuse, as a spring mechanism inside ignited flint, making it waterproof for use on rainy nights.
That warning shot had been fired by Lu Bing.
In the lightning, Lu Bing also saw his daughter. He shouted loudly, “Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!”
With summer thunder rumbling and heavy rain crashing on the ground, Lu Ying couldn’t hear what her father was shouting, but their father-daughter hearts were connected. Reading his lip movements, Lu Ying guessed his meaning and also shouted, “Retreat! Retreat quickly!”
Hearing the commotion outside, Intelligence Hall couldn’t wait any longer for her prey to enter the trap and immediately lit the fuses.
Wang Daxia on the second-floor balcony heard this and quickly called to his brothers, “No time to climb down—everyone jump into the lake!”
Lu Ying and the others on the first floor ran toward shore while Wang Daxia and his men on the second floor jumped into the water.
The moment Wang Daxia hit the water, several tremendous explosions thundered. The entire two-story lake building collapsed. Red sparks and black smoke soared skyward, striking directly at the rainy night sky.
Author’s Note: Brother Bing is awesome~~~~