Chapter 103: Dazed

Xiao Ting finally came to his senses from the shock with difficulty, and before he could figure out how Gu Jiu Ling would appear here, the conversation outside attracted both his and Gu Jiu Ling's attention.

Tuo Ba Yu's tone of speech now was completely different from usual, like a dangerous leopard hiding in the dark night waiting to hunt, elegant and charming yet full of killing intent.

"Miss Ruoxi, where are you from? How long have you been at the Yihongyuan?"

Gu Jiu Ling looked incredulously at Xiao Ting lying beside her, almost exactly the same question as Xiao Ting had asked.

Miss Ruoxi steeled herself and repeated the same explanation she had given Xiao Ting before, speaking with firm conviction.

Gu Jiu Ling, however, felt this was truly too strange; she knew Miss Ruoxi's true identity, a piece of information she had bought at great cost from the Jianghu all-knowing, and she hadn't expected these people to place such importance on Miss Ruoxi's identity.

Could it be that the incident at Qi Sha Gu seven years ago involved too many people?

Tuo Ba Yu collected his thoughts, remained silent for a long while, then slowly said, "Miss Zhou, you're hiding quite deeply!"

With a crash! The sound of a teacup falling to the ground and shattering.

Gu Jiu Ling closed her eyes, and in her mind came the image of that foul man dressed head to toe in a bright red brocade robe, made up like a fairy.

It's utterly disregarding Jianghu rules—just how many people has that bastard sold Miss Ruoxi's background to?

A full thirty thousand taels of silver—don't let her catch him! If she does, just crush him outright!

Suddenly, Mei Ma's panicked voice came from outside.

"Prince! You… you… how did you come? Miss Ruoxi is receiving guests! You can't…"

"Hah! What can't be? There's nothing wrong with me catching up with her."

That lascivious, arrogant voice rang out, and whether they were under the bed or outside it, everyone sucked in a breath in unison.

Xiao Ting gazed deeply at Gu Jiu Ling, his eyes filling with a hint of sympathy.

Gu Jiu Ling's heart felt as if it had been violently seized and tormented, her breath coming in uneven gasps.

Xiao Yin? It's actually Xiao Yin!

This scoundrel actually came to the Yihongyuan behind her back?

Just as Gu Jiu Ling's thoughts were twisting and turning, suddenly a strong gust came from the bed, a fit figure slid in soundlessly, and realizing something was wrong, raised their hand and grabbed Gu Jiu Ling's neck.

Gu Jiu Ling, already weary of life, slowly made a gesture.

By the candlelight seeping in from outside, Tuo Ba Yu saw Gu Jiu Ling's face clearly, his expression drastically changed and he hastily pulled his hand back, only then noticing that on Gu Jiu Ling's other side lay the esteemed Crown Prince.

The atmosphere among the three instantly became subtle, and Tuo Ba Yu's gaze toward Gu Jiu Ling likewise carried a hint of sympathy.

Gu Jiu Ling now felt like dying, the embarrassed mother opening the door in embarrassment, embarrassment reaching its peak.

She and two men hid beneath the bed where light dare not go, while outside her husband and the brothel's top courtesan chatted loudly—who could understand this feeling?

Xiao Yin's footsteps were heavy, carrying a sense of oppression, as he stepped on the shattered teacup on the floor.

With a crack, it shattered into fragments.

Immediately came Mei Ma's voice ordering the maid to come in and clean up, followed by the sound of the door closing.

Xiao Yin sat down slowly, the bustling sound of the maidservants re-serving tea clearly reached the ears of the few people hiding under the bed.

After a long while, only Xiao Yin and Miss Ruoxi remained in the room.

"Miss Zhou, I hope you've been well!"

Gu Jiu Ling almost shouted out, Xiao Yin addressing Miss Ruoxi as Miss Zhou—could he also know Ruoxi's true identity?

Really drunk, Gu Jiu Ling felt the urge to grab the Jianghu all-knowing's collar and ask how many people he'd sold this information to, and whether she could get a refund.

"Prince, commoner..." Miss Ruoxi was completely bewildered—tonight, is everyone coming one by one to amuse themselves at her place?

Xiao Yin said slowly, "Your father was a transport official sent by the Imperial Court to the frontier to carry military grain; seven years ago, in the battle at Qi Sha Gu, your Zhou family was exterminated to a man, and it was truly unjust."

"Prince!" Miss Ruoxi had to cry out, unable to speak!

Ruoxi had also considered using Xiao Yin's help to clear her father's name, but now with so many people hidden under the bed, some things cannot be said!

"Prince, don't… don't spout nonsense!" Miss Ruoxi's voice trembled, almost on the verge of tears.

Xiao Yin furrowed his brows, looking at this woman's expression which seemed somewhat strange; he was currently investigating the Qi Sha Gu affair, never expecting to be dragged into the matter of the transport official Zhou Biao, and this just happened to be related to the mysterious figure on the list he was seeking.

He could hardly wait to come here and press this woman, hoping to extract something from her mouth—what the heck state is she in?

Outside the door, footsteps sounded again; Xiao Yin furrowed his brows and hurriedly rose to his feet.

Miss Ruoxi was almost in tears, "Can't we have no more people coming? There's no room left under the bed."

Mei Ma's voice also came in waves of panic, "Really, it's like seeing a ghost—where did all those people who went in go?"

"Mr. Huang! Mr. Huang! Why don't you first have some tea downstairs? Miss Ruoxi is busy right now!"

"What's there to be busy about? Our master has an appointment with Miss Ruoxi today to meet and listen to her play the zither—hurry up and get things ready!"

"Watch your head!"

"Lord Wang? It's actually Lord Wang!"

Gu Jiu Ling's eyes nearly popped out; obviously it wasn't just her who heard Lord Wang's voice in this room—even if Xiao Yin were as reckless as could be, he couldn't possibly face off against Emperor Longqing here.

He rolled in under the bed, and the several people already under there, with remarkable tacit understanding, all shifted to clear a space in the middle.

Xiao Yin hadn't expected so many people to be hiding under the bed; instinctively he raised his hand and grabbed Gu Jiu Ling's neck.

Immediately, without Gu Jiu Ling needing to do anything, he suddenly released his grip, staring fixedly at his wife lying supine beside him.

At this point, only four people could fit under the bed; any more wouldn't fit.

Gu Jiu Ling and Xiao Yin lay side by side, with Gu Jiu Ling's outer side being Xiao Ting and Xiao Yin's outer side being Tuo Ba Yu.

Several people squeezed together in a pile, with not even a gap in the middle.

Xiao Yin turned his face away, staring hard at Gu Jiu Ling, "Well, look at that—a woman dressed as a man, a wanton courtesan shows up; no wonder her silhouette upstairs looked so familiar, the key being that the gold leaf she tipped the madam with was the one he gave her."

"How promising! Spending his silver, coming to the Yihongyuan for no good reason, and now even lying under the bed with those two scoundrels Tuo Ba Yu and Xiao Ting—truly promising!"

Gu Jiu Ling felt Xiao Yin's gaze like a blade; she instinctively shifted backward, but this shift almost put her into Xiao Ting's embrace.

Xiao Yin's peach-blossom eyes slowly narrowed, and he seized Gu Jiu Ling's arm, pulling her into his embrace.

Immediately, a sweeping leg kicked hard at Tuo Ba Yu, who was close behind; Tuo Ba Yu barely held back a groan, gritted his teeth, threw out a palm, but Xiao Yin deflected it and backhanded a slap at Xiao Ting, who could not avoid it and took the blow full force, seeing stars from the pain.

Gu Jiu Ling was simply speechless.

But they heard the sound of a door closing from outside, and Emperor Longqing no longer bore the former majesty of the Son of Heaven, laughing like an old rascal who had just caught a fishy smell.

"Miss Ruoxi is extraordinarily talented! I… this old master likes her very much. Come, come, come, how about sitting on my leg and playing the zither?"

The three people under the bed were instantly dumbfounded.

Tuo Ba Yu's face flickered with contempt; the Southern Qi from top to bottom is utterly muddled, and if this continues, the state will cease to be a state.

Xiao Ting's face turned pale; he had thought that the father emperor's long-standing refusal to appoint an empress was due to lingering affection for the deceased empress, but unexpectedly…

A flash of contempt crossed Xiao Yin's eyes.

Gu Jiu Ling lowered her voice, enunciating each word: "Old rascal!"