The Red Sleeve Inn's business was still enviably booming, and the old lame man's laziness was still enviable. His world seemed forever simple: a bench and a gourd of wine were all he needed. In the opulent Red Sleeve Inn, that bench and that old man always seemed so out of place, yet he was there, unwavering.
When Fang Jie entered Red Sleeve Inn carrying a bag of cooked meat, the young manager was dealing with a troublesome customer. This customer was clearly a first-timer in Chang'an; no one cared which remote, impoverished place he came from. But his arrogant attitude, treating Red Sleeve Inn like a local third-rate brothel, was truly repulsive. In fact, it was precisely this kind of person who was most speechless.
Coming from a very, very small place, yet always thinking the emperor is first and he's second.
Seeing the man's unreasonable behavior, Fang Jie handed the cooked meat to the old cripple and asked, "Why don't you just throw him out?"
The old cripple squinted as he took the meat, casually pinched a piece, and popped it into his mouth. "After all, Hongxiuzhao is a place of reason. Unless it's absolutely necessary to throw him out, we should just bear with it. The young master has never seen such a self-righteous idiot since he took charge. Let her learn a lesson. Besides, we don't need me right now..."
Before he could finish speaking, a scream of pain rang out. Fang Jie turned around and immediately widened his eyes. The fourteen or fifteen-year-old young master grabbed the man's clothes by the front, lifting the man, who was over 1.75 meters tall, overhead with one arm. Then he slammed him to the ground with a thud, and the man couldn't even speak. But the young master didn't stop. He bent down again, grabbed the man, lifted him overhead again, and slammed him down again.
This was repeated three times until the man was barely breathing.
"How dare you hit me... I'm going to report this to the authorities..."
The scoundrel stammered, clearly having broken several bones. The young master shoved his toe under the man lying on the ground, then with a sudden flick, sent the man flying like a sandbag. Two waiters from the Red Sleeve Inn swiftly rushed out, catching him before he hit the ground—one by the shoulder, the other by the legs. The scoundrel nearly wet himself, instinctively saying "Thank you."
The two waiters said "You're welcome," then tossed the man outside the Red Sleeve Inn's gate with a whoosh. This fall was even worse; the man couldn't even stand. Just then, several constables from Chang'an Prefecture were patrolling nearby. The man clung to one of the constables' legs, crying and complaining of being beaten. The constables looked at him like he was an idiot, then helped him up and took him back to the yamen to file a case. Of course, the case would never be accepted.
The old cripple hadn't even finished saying, "I don't need to intervene now," when the beating was already over. He shrugged and said, "See, isn't that right..."
Fang Jie chuckled awkwardly and said, "Last time I came, I almost couldn't resist pinching that little brat's butt, but luckily I managed to restrain myself. It hasn't been that long since I last saw her, and this girl hardly seems like a woman anymore... Looks like I'd better avoid her in the future."
The old cripple glanced at him and said, "You're being idiotic. A woman's butt is like a tiger's. If she finds it pleasing, she might touch it, and you won't feel like you've suffered a great loss. But if she finds it disgusting and touches it, she'll beat you to death."
"Then, Master, do you think she finds me pleasing?"
"You can try touching me."
"Just say you told me to touch you?"
"Get lost!"
Fang Jie chuckled and squeezed into a seat on the old cripple's bench: "Master..." "Father, I need your help."
"Spit it out! I knew you'd only come to me when you need something, you damn heartless one."
Fang Jie said, "Master, that's a really bad analogy. Even if I were a customer of a brothel… well… let's say I'm a customer who's into men, I still don't have the means to ask you for help, it'd be nauseating."
The old cripple kicked Fang Jie in the backside and laughed, "You little brat, get to the point!"
Fang Jie cleared his throat, his playful expression fading, and asked, "Master, you've been traveling the martial world for decades, do you know of any organizations or sects near Chang'an that do things for money? Like, I pay them to solve my problems."
"You want to hire an assassin?"
The old cripple frowned. "No, no, no..."
The person nearby quickly waved their hands, saying, "Not assassins, bodyguards. I need to find a group of people with considerable cultivation to protect someone, but I don't know where to find them. Money is not a problem, but their cultivation must be high."
"Bodyguards..."
The old cripple pondered for a moment and said, "Chang'an, the capital city, is the most important place under the emperor's nose. Finding assassins is difficult, but finding bodyguards with considerable cultivation is still possible. There's an old-established escort agency in the western part of the city that doesn't take bribes or hires; they only provide bodyguard services. Many high-ranking officials and nobles in Chang'an hire bodyguards from them for personal protection, but the price they charge is..." "Extremely high."
Fang Jie shook his head: "Ordinary bodyguards can't do this job, because they'd likely be facing experts of the seventh or eighth rank or higher."
The old cripple was taken aback: "Who are you going to protect?"
"I can't say."
Fang Jie shook his head: "I'm doing this for someone."
The old cripple hesitated for a moment, then stood up and said: "Come on, I'll take you somewhere."
...
...
The old cripple walked slowly ahead, Fang Jie following closely behind. The two walked west along East Twenty-Three Street, seemingly heading to a place that wasn't far.
"With your current experience, you should know who the most powerful bodyguard is around the emperor, right?"
The old cripple asked as they walked. Fang Jie hesitated for a moment before answering, "It's definitely not the flying fish robe from the Imperial Guard, right?"
"Flying fish robe?"
The old cripple snorted coldly, "Those charlatans in the Imperial Guard are nothing but a bunch of trash compared to another group. The Imperial Guard is getting worse and worse, almost reduced to nothing more than a showpiece for ceremonial purposes. The Imperial Guard protects the capital, and within the Imperial Guard is a very special unit that even the Imperial Guard general can't mobilize. These people are handpicked from across the Sui Dynasty, only eight hundred in total, called the Attendant Battalion."
Fang Jie had heard the name, but had never seen it.
"Very powerful?"
He asked. The old cripple nodded: "Let me put it this way. Even if the Flying Fish Robe and the Imperial Guards are controlled within the Taiji Palace, as long as the Emperor still has those eight hundred elite Imperial Guards by his side, even mobilizing tens of thousands of troops wouldn't stop them from protecting the Emperor and rushing out. If they want to defend the Taiji Palace to the death, unless they are all wiped out, no one can get close to the Emperor. If those eight hundred men were to launch a preemptive strike, they could raze the Imperial Guards to the ground in half a day."
Fang Jie's mouth gaped slightly, seemingly finding it hard to believe what the old cripple was saying. The old cripple rolled his eyes at him and said, "There's a lot you don't know. Don't look like you're about to die. The Imperial Guard system was established during the reign of Emperor Taizong. These eight hundred men are no ordinary people. The emperor adopted them as his sons, and even the wives of each of them were personally chosen by the emperor. The emperor recognizes every single one of their faces, remembers every single one of their names, and would never mistake one."
"The Imperial Guard wears bright armor and wields large long-handled swords. Where these eight hundred men are stationed is a secret, but without a doubt, if anyone dares to plot against the emperor, they will appear by his side immediately. During the reign of Emperor Renzong, the fifth prince colluded with officials of the Ministry of War and the then-generals of the two guards to rebel, attempting to kill the crown prince and force Emperor Renzong to abdicate. Thousands of rebels stormed the Eastern Palace to kill His Highness the crown prince, but as many as entered, many died. It was the Imperial Guard that killed the rebels, using only three hundred men..."
Fang Jie knew that this Emperor Renzong was considered the most cowardly of the Sui emperors. Only during his reign had such a major case of a prince's rebellion occurred. Emperor Renzong was only slightly weaker than other emperors; during his twenty-one-year reign, he never lost a single foreign war.
However, that rebellion was only briefly mentioned in historical records, without much detail. Fang Jie knew that such events couldn't be publicized, and perhaps that's why he had never heard anyone mention the rebellion quelled by the old cripple's "Attendant Battalion."
But he didn't doubt the old cripple's words. With Emperor Taizong's wisdom and courage, building an army absolutely loyal to him wouldn't have been difficult. And given the vastness of the Sui Dynasty, to select only eight hundred men… just thinking about it made one realize how terrifying the Attendant Battalion must have been.
"What does this have to do with the person we're looking for?"
Fang Jie asked, "You're not taking me to the Imperial Guard, are you?"
"Yes and no."
The old cripple smiled mysteriously and said, "The place I'm taking you to is known to very few people in the entire city of Chang'an. I'd even bet that Prince Yi, who claims to have wide connections and friends all over the world, doesn't know. And the experts you need are there."
"Why?"
Fang Jie asked, "If there really is a group of experts in Chang'an who can rival the elite of the Imperial Guard, why doesn't the court use them? Why doesn't the emperor use them?"
"Because those people don't belong to the court, or even the emperor, they belong to only one person."
"Who?"
"The Loyal Prince of the Great Sui... Yang Qi."
...
...
The old cripple said as they walked, "Every new emperor who ascends the throne will take from the old emperor..." "They took over the Imperial Guard. But the new emperor will definitely replace a group of people. Some are old, and some, because they were too loyal to the old emperor, committed suicide after his death. When Your Majesty ascended the throne, a small portion of the eight hundred Imperial Guards were replaced, and most of those died by suicide. It was Prince Zhong who selected the new elites to supplement the Imperial Guards for Your Majesty."
"The existence of the Imperial Guards isn't exactly a secret; officials in the court and even some well-informed commoners know about them. But the terrifying thing about the Imperial Guards is that no one knows where they are. When Your Majesty entrusted this matter to Prince Zhong, no one else knew anything about it."
"You want to ask why I know?"
The old cripple smiled, somewhat proudly: "Because when Prince Zhong handled this matter, I was right behind him."
Fang Jie was startled, only then realizing that the old cripple was Prince Zhong's confidant. Thinking of the relationship between Aunt Xi and Yang Qi at Hongxiuzhao, no wonder the old cripple had stayed at Hongxiuzhao for over ten years. He had some suspicions, but he hadn't expected the old cripple and Yang Qi's relationship to be so deep. Now Fang Jie understood: when Yang Qi went west, he must have left the old cripple behind to protect Hongxiuzhao.
"You mean, Prince Zhong left a group of people for his own use back then?"
He asked. The old cripple shook his head: "It's not quite like that. When they were selecting people from all over the Sui Dynasty, they naturally chose more than three or four hundred. Many with considerable skill weren't selected for various reasons, such as having a criminal record or being from a bandit background, but their abilities were no less than those selected. Wouldn't it be a waste to send them back? So, the Prince secretly kept a group of them in Chang'an."
"His Majesty doesn't know about this."
The old cripple smiled and said, "The Prince's purpose in keeping these people was actually for His Majesty's sake. He thought that having a palace guard and a smaller guard outside the palace would be double insurance for His Majesty. But who would have thought that the Prince would disappear without a trace after leaving, and these people lost their backbone. But they still believed the Prince would return, so they didn't disband. Moreover, before the Prince left, he told them to protect His Majesty. Besides me, no more than two people know this secret."
Fang Jie could guess that the other person was Aunt Xi, but he couldn't guess who the third person was.
"Can you persuade them to help me?"
Fang Jie asked somewhat nervously.
"No."
The old cripple shook his head. "They won't listen to anyone except the Prince. And after all these years, their tempers have probably only gotten wilder."
"Then what can I do? Will spending money work?"
Fang Jie asked.
The old cripple rolled his eyes at him. "If spending money doesn't work, what will? They're human too, they need to eat! Besides… if others can't, you might be able to."
"Because you are the Prince's only heir, whether it's true or not… you're the only one, aren't you?"
Fang Jie was silent for a moment before asking, "Why didn't you tell me this before?"
The old cripple pursed his lips and retorted, "Did you ask me?"