Chapter 13

Su Wanrou's complexion was as pale as snow, and she looked like a mud‑carved wooden statue.

A breach of decorum in the hall is the most deadly.

Empress Dowager Ning An's face sank to the bottom, and a word slipped from the corner of her mouth.

"Get out!"

Grandma Li hurriedly signaled Su Wanrou to leave at once; even Xiao Yin and the others were not kept, and Consort Duan was also driven out.

For a moment, the bamboo pavilion was in chaos.

Su Wanrou was carried out by palace attendants; today Empress Dowager Ning An kept her for a purpose and did not punish her.

From the surrounding palace staff, who were suppressing laughter to the point of internal injury, it was clear that Su Wanrou's face on the ground was beyond repair.

As a result, even Empress Dowager Ning An could not shamelessly assign Su Wanrou to Xiao Yin as a secondary consort; this could not be done.

Su Wanrou, just after stepping out, almost collapsed in tears before Xiao Yin; the little dignity she had maintained in the Wangfu crumbled, and she wanted to tear Gu Jiu Ling apart.

Before arriving at the Imperial Villa, she poisoned Gu Jiu Ling, intending for Gu Jiu Ling to lose decorum in the hall, thereby offending the Empress Dowager and being punished, preferably executed, as a wretch.

She did not expect that Gu Jiu Ling would have no mishap this time, and that she herself would become the one who made a fool of herself.

She truly could not understand what Gu Jiu Ling had done to her, yet she vaguely felt that Gu Jiu Ling had harmed her.

"Prince! She harmed me! It's that wretched Gu Jiu Ling who harmed me, Prince!!"

"Prince! Wuwu…"

Xiao Yin's brows furrowed sharply.

That year, her father, on his deathbed, entrusted an orphan, urging him to definitely locate his long‑lost daughter.

He was a deputy commander under Xiao Yin, fatherless and motherless, naturally rakish, and had a fleeting romance with Su San Niangzi of Longzhou, fathering a daughter; before the child could be registered in the ancestral record, he encountered the life‑or‑death battle in Qi Sha Gu.

Xiao Yin finally managed to find Su Wanrou, whose mother had also died.

He brought Su Wanrou back to the Wangfu, knowing only how to provide luxurious food and clothing, but not how to discipline such a grown girl.

Xiao Yin felt a heavy weight in his heart.

"Attendants! Send Miss Su back to the residence to convalesce; if her health is poor, let her rest a few more days."

Su Wanrou stared in disbelief at Xiao Yin, wondering if this was a form of house arrest.

The form of address changed; the overly polite "Miss Su" made Su Wanrou feel a chill run through her.

After seeing Su Wanrou off, the inner attendants led Xiao Yin and Gu Jiu Ling toward the emperor's eastern annex, where the hunt would last three days.

The Imperial Villa had a courtyard specially set aside for the residence of imperial relatives.

The emperor, after soaking in medicinal springs and finally feeling better, entered the royal hunt; Emperor Longqing was in high spirits, and many attended.

Turning past the flowering trees, Xiao Yin ordered the palace staff to keep a distance, then seized Gu Jiu Ling's hand and pressed her against the trunk of a flowering tree.

The force was a bit too strong; Gu Jiu Ling's back ached from the impact, purple petals fell, framing Xiao Yin's face with an even more sinister, wild charm.

Xiao Yin leaned down to look at Gu Jiu Ling; her tall figure cast a dim shadow before him.

"What's wrong with that child?" Xiao Yin stared at her.

Gu Jiu Ling took a small glass bottle from her sleeve: "Sprinkle a bit of this powder; it can melt any blood. Prince, why not try it with Ling Feng's blood?"

Xiao Yin's brows lifted; he took the bottle from Gu Jiu Ling's hand and studied it intently.

The medicine inside didn't matter, but the bottle felt like jade yet not jade; he seemed increasingly unable to understand the woman before him.

He originally valued her money, and she even thoughtfully gave him two cheap sons as a one‑plus‑two deal; now she's pulling all sorts of tricks.

"Heh! You're good at hiding things. What else are you hiding?" Xiao Yin's deep, peach‑blossom eyes fixed on her.

Gu Jiu Ling's heart pounded; he was standing a bit close, the breath of a prime‑aged man hitting her face.

"No… nothing else hidden…" Gu Jiu Ling knew the man was angry, probably having guessed her actions toward Su Wanrou.

Su Wanrou was a very special presence in Prince Rui's residence; Xiao Yin despised her petty ways, yet still had to protect her.

He slowly raised his hand, his palm clasping Gu Jiu Ling's belt; his long, defined fingers hooked the ribbon on her belt and tugged it gently.

"Prince!" Gu Jiu Ling grabbed his large hand, her cheek flushing slightly.

She had no mind to be pregnant and play poker with him in the little woods of the Imperial Villa; this fellow always seemed full of mischief, never following a normal line of thought.

"What are you afraid of?" Xiao Yin's lip corner lifted in a mocking smile, yet his laughter was full of boundless elegance.

He slowly untied Gu Jiu Ling's belt, his hand still gathering her collar, holding her like that, while Gu Jiu Ling stared at him coldly.

Their gazes clashed, each exchange sharp.

Gu Jiu Ling said slowly, "Prince, you're so scheming."

"Oh?" Xiao Yin gently pulled open Gu Jiu Ling's collar; the silky brocade held no inner pockets, nothing could be hidden.

"Strange, weird?"

He smiled at Gu Jiu Ling: "Why is that?"

Gu Jiu Ling stared at him: "It's been seven years; Prince, you probably can't endure any longer. Now the emperor is ill, the princes' struggle is raging, and you also want to get involved and have a share."

"In terms of civil and military achievements, no one surpasses the Prince even by half; the Prince is unwilling to accept that."

"Seven years ago the Prince lost terribly; seven years later the Prince wants to rise again, but rising is not easy—without money or power, who will side with you?"

"Prince likes my money; I don't mind. With the money, I'm buying the lives of our mother and three of us; the Prince must protect us."

"But Prince, you cannot use the child in my womb as a raft; you're making everyone focus on my belly, pushing our mother and child out, to see who wants what, and you'll have to handle them one by one."

"But Prince, you can't take the protection fee, leaving me in danger everywhere; this deal isn't worthwhile."

"What do you want?" Xiao Yin tugged the belt, grasping Gu Jiu Ling's waist; the feel was good, quite soft.

He smiled lightly: "Gu Jiu Ling, doing business with me, you must understand the principle of profit and loss, okay?"

Gu Jiu Ling's gaze was intensely cold.

Xiao Yin let out a snort of laughter: "Got angry?"

"You think I despised you for not firmly protecting you and the child in your womb, and for confirming kinship with blood?"

Gu Jiu Ling gritted her teeth: "Prince, what do you say?"

"Gu Jiu Ling..." Xiao Yin focused his gaze on the woman before him, suddenly realizing he had picked up a treasure. He slowly helped her tie her waistband and thoughtfully adjusted her collar.

He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "What should we do? Your value as a chip in this prince's heart keeps growing!"

"I will help you find the child's biological father, that despicable wretch who dares act but not take responsibility—I think this prince should kill him! What do you say?"

Gu Jiu Ling's ears tingled slightly from his breath as he spoke; she ground her teeth and said, "Prince, why not let you keep the money and release us mother and child?"

Xiao Yin sat up straight, raised his hand and pinched Gu Jiu Ling's cheek, feeling it soft all over, nice to pinch.

He let out a low laugh, his voice gaining a magnetic, husky tone: "After today's bloody farce of recognizing kin, the whole world knows I, Xiao Yin, have an heir. Where can you hide with the child?"

"Follow this prince, and this prince will give you everything you want."

"Regarding Su Wanrou, you are the Princess Consort, the mistress of the household—you can discipline her lightly or severely, but you must not harm her, otherwise..."

"Prince, you make so many demands—then give me back my money!" Gu Jiu Ling stared at him coldly; he had taken ninety percent of her dowry, then schemed against her and her child, which she could not tolerate.

Xiao Yin watched her face, reddened from his pinch, and laughed softly, feeling as if he had encountered something amusing.

Xiao Yin himself never lacked money; to him, her money was merely a pretext. Yet looking at her like that, he actually felt a twinge of mischief.

"Not giving! If you're able, take it from this prince's hand!" Xiao Yin laughed as he seized her hand—warm, soft, not too thin, nice to touch.

He tightly gripped Gu Jiu Ling's hand and walked toward his older brother's villa, laughing all the way like a fool.

Gu Jiu Ling, being pulled, had no choice but to move forward, watching his tall, handsome back.

Asking about poisoning one's husband, how can one escape quickly?

Waiting for a reply, so anxious!