Chapter 111: All for Her Silver

At the palace banquet, Emperor Longqing and the Bei Di crown prince exchanged cups, seeming quite harmonious, with no trace of the life-and-death struggle and rivalry between the two countries.

Gu Jiu Ling saw that it was merely some official courtesies, utterly unrelated to her as a woman of the inner quarters.

These past few days, the child in her belly had grown; after the initial reaction period, Gu Jiu Ling's appetite had improved considerably.

After all, it was a state banquet; the imperial kitchen paid extra attention, pulling out all the stops, and the dishes were especially exquisite.

Even an ordinary radish was carved into the magnificent scene of a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix.

Gu Jiu Ling's appetite was huge; she lowered her head and focused only on the food before her, completely failing to notice Princess Yuan Qing not far away continually gazing toward Xiao Yin.

Seeing Xiao Yin again after seven years, the once unrestrained and soaring youthful general had now gained an added measure of steadiness and grandeur.

Simply sitting there, saying and doing nothing, he was as striking as a captivating painting.

Yuan Qing's heart trembled more and more as she watched; she had liked this man for so long that, despite not seeing him for many years, their reunion remained deeply etched in her heart.

Back in Qi Sha Gu, Xiao Yin had been schemed against by his own father emperor together with people from Southern Qi, leaving his life or death unknown.

She had nearly broken with her father emperor, but in the end she could not defy him; he used her mother as leverage, forcing her to marry a Bei Di noble youth.

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From then on she never dared to see Xiao Yin again; this year her husband died, and she rekindled a glimmer of hope.

Though she knew it was impossible, she still wanted to come and take a look at him.

Gu Jiu Ling was just about to deal with the pine-nut honeyed pastry in her bowl when a sudden cold large hand slowly rested on the back of her neck, jolting her sharply.

Gu Jiu Ling hastily turned her face to meet Xiao Yin's handsome, charming visage; he lightly smiled at her and said, "Is it tasty?"

Gu Jiu Ling felt that his smile was really somewhat chilly, and she did not know what she had done wrong to provoke him.

She had been sitting here behaving herself while eating, not causing any trouble, right?

"It's quite good, Your Highness; would you like to try some?"

Gu Jiu Ling picked up a piece of pastry with her chopsticks and brought it to Xiao Yin's lips.

Xiao Yin clenched his teeth, stared coldly at her, and lowered his voice: "Still eating? Your husband is about to be taken from you, and you don't care at all?"

"Which is more important, the pastry or your husband?"

Gu Jiu Ling stood there dumbfounded, then hurriedly said, "Naturally… both are important, as the saying goes, 'food is the paramount necessity of the people'..."

"Is that so?" Xiao Yin gave a cold smile, his long fingers slowly tightening; Gu Jiu Ling felt her neck go numb in waves.

She hastily corrected herself: "My husband is important! Naturally my husband is important; whoever dares to snatch my man, I will fight them to the death!"

Pastry crumbs clung to the corner of Gu Jiu Ling's lips; her earnest expression somehow seemed hollow, not quite genuine.

Xiao Yin slightly raised his chin, pointed to Princess Yuan Qing sitting not far away, and said: "She is a widow yet follows Tuoba Heng to Southern Qi, nothing more than seeking a marriage alliance."

"Help me ward off this rotten peach blossom!"

Gu Jiu Ling's eye corners twitched sharply as she coughed once: "Your Highness, aren't you being overly sensitive? She is after all a princess of a state; she surely would not harbor improper designs on a married man."

Xiao Yin looked at Gu Jiu Ling as if she were a fool, a flash of anger crossing his eyes: "That woman is a handful! I have no wish to have any dealings with her."

"As long as you help me settle this matter, I will naturally not treat you poorly."

Xiao Yin slowly took out several banknotes from his bosom and placed them on the table.

Gu Jiu Ling smiled, lifted her hand, and seized the banknotes: "As you say, Your Highness, this is not within my duty as a concubine!"

Xiao Yin gave a cold snort, not wanting to bother with her, but she had made him angry enough to retort.

Other women's gazes would almost pierce him, yet she only knows how to eat; could it be that her feelings for him are not as deep as he imagined?

Thinking of this, Xiao Yin's face darkened somewhat, and his phoenix eyes gradually narrowed.

Unexpectedly, Gu Jiu Ling swiftly gathered up the banknotes, pinched a pastry, and brought it to his lips, smiling sweetly: "Your Highness, shall I feed you a snack?"

Xiao Yin had wanted to refuse, but in public it would be improper; his inner struggle lasted only a moment, and his body honestly opened his mouth to bite the pastry.

He was naturally gorgeous and alluring; even this simple act of biting a pastry made Gu Jiu Ling blink slightly in surprise.

This bewitching old man…

"Your Highness, have a drink!" Gu Jiu Ling, having been disgusted by couples feeding each other in the cafeteria during college as a single dog, knew how to deceive and betray.

Xiao Yin raised an eyebrow, and, guided by Gu Jiu Ling's delicate jade hand, downed the fine wine in one gulp, his brows and eyes naturally bearing a touch of suave elegance.

The onlookers could hardly bear to watch, and Princess Yuan Qing's face turned ashen as she could not help but sneer coldly: "I have heard that the Prince Rui and his wife enjoy a deep affection; seeing this, the rumor proves true."

Gu Jiu Ling laughed: "Your Highness Princess, my husband and I share deep marital love; in heaven we wish to be paired birds, on earth to be intertwined branches, our love as firm as metal."

"Hmph!" Yuan Qing gave a light laugh: "Indeed, love as strong as metal—after all, when Prince Rui first married you, he likely did so for your dowry."

The crowd all drew a sharp breath; initially Gu Jiu Ling had used her dowry as bait, forcibly making Xiao Yin marry her in the street, and acknowledged the twins in her belly.

Although Empress Dowager Ning'an had the blood tested publicly, it only confirmed that the child in her womb was Xiao Yin's, yet the whole affair had always seemed strange.

Although everyone knew the truth, they dared not speak out for fear of Prince Rui's violent temperament, and besides it was none of their business; they never expected a Bei Di princess to bluntly lay it out, which was practically a slap to Prince Rui's face.

Unexpectedly, Prince Rui not only did not become angry, but instead gave a soft laugh, rose slowly, and knelt before his imperial elder brother to pay respects.

Yuan Qing was merely speaking her mind in public; she really found Gu Jiu Ling's earlier demeanor disgusting, so she spoke deliberately to sting her, never expecting Xiao Yin to actually rise and kneel before Emperor Longqing—what could this be for?

Everyone stared at Xiao Yin in disbelief—how could he just kneel like that?

Emperor Longqing's brow also furrowed; this ninth brother of his was getting worse and worse, actually kissing and canoodling with the Gu family's eldest daughter at the state banquet, behaving outrageously, even disregarding his dignity.

He had wanted to rebuke him, but with the Bei Di crown prince present, he could not let an enemy prince see him made a fool of.

Emperor Longqing suppressed his anger, looked at Xiao Yin, and said: "What are you doing?"

"Imperial elder brother! Your subject begs you to grant your subject justice!"

Emperor Longqing's eye corners twitched sharply—grant justice? What scheme is he concocting now?

Back when his affair with the Gu family's eldest daughter caused an uproar throughout the city, it had already reached an irreparable state.

Now that others have caught onto this matter, he instead comes to ask him to do what?

Yet Xiao Yin lifted his gaze to Emperor Longqing, a hint of tears in the corners of his eyes.

"Imperial elder brother! Your subject admits that he married the Gu family's eldest daughter solely for her silver!"

Gu Jiu Ling's chopsticks in her hand clacked and fell onto the table, and she instantly froze there.