Chapter 329: Must See the Prince in Person

Gu Jiu Ling turned and walked into the night; Ling Feng watched her back, his emotions grew complicated and he sighed.

The guard beside him also felt uneasy; in fact, after the Princess Consort of Rui entered, she had saved the Prince several times, and they held an especially good impression of her.

They had always treated Gu Jiu Ling as their proper master.

Yet no one expected such an ending, and it was a knot that could not be untied at all.

The guard whispered, "Commander Ling, should we tell the Prince about the Princess Consort coming to the study?"

Ling Feng gave him a cool glance and said, "Nonsense! You think the Prince is in the study? The Prince has actually left the city."

The guard dared not say more; Ling Feng sighed inwardly, realizing the Prince had gone personally to appease those old men because of the Princess Consort's matter.

After the tragic incident in Qi Sha Gu, Xiao Yin's journey had not been easy, and he had relied on his former subordinates, who were all veteran members of the Feathered Forest Army.

Some of those veteran subordinates had followed the Prince in battle for years, while others had relayed messages for the Prince, secretly forming a jianghu organization.

Some were forces the Prince had cultivated single‑handedly for the final showdown with the Eight Great Families.

These people shared one trait: their relatives all died in Qi Sha Gu, so they were united in hatred and focused their strength together.

Everyone wanted to give the wronged souls of Qi Sha Gu an answer and could not let those people die in vain.

At this point these people already knew the Princess Consort was the granddaughter of Lord Du, and some were itching to act, unable to restrain themselves from killing.

This time the Prince left Jing Cheng to appease those people; saying it was to appease, it was more about suppression, making them understand that moving against Gu Jiu Ling was absolutely impossible.

After days of careful thought, the Prince had decided that even if it offended those people, hurt his brothers' bonds, or chilled their hearts, he would still protect Gu Jiu Ling.

She was Xiao Yin's woman; even if anyone wanted to touch her, Xiao Yin himself would have to do it, and outsiders had no right to point fingers.

This trip, the Prince feared, was likely to end badly, and few knew about his leaving the city.

The guards dared not ask any questions; they just felt the Princess Consort was inexplicably a bit pitiful.

Xiao Yin went himself to the border lands to appease those people, but Shang Jing could not be left empty, and he did not trust anyone else, so he left Ling Feng in Shang Jing to conceal matters.

Ling Feng turned and entered the inner courtyard, but after only a few steps, the steward outside hurried over.

"Commander Ling, someone wants to see the Prince, saying it's urgent and important."

Ling Feng's steps halted there; in the dead of night, which blind fool was coming to find the Prince?

It was indeed strange; when the Prince was present there were no issues, but after he left the city, trouble was everywhere, and he hurried out of the inner courtyard into Zheng Ting.

Shortly after, the steward brought in a hunched‑backed old man, who walked in slowly.

The old man apparently feared others seeing his face, and his hood covered his weathered visage tightly.

Ling Feng looked at the old man before him and couldn't help but furrow his brows slightly.

He rose slowly, clasped his fists toward the other, and said, "The Prince has business and asked me to wait here for you; what is it?"

The old man's expression flickered, and he stared stubbornly at Ling Feng, "Please forgive me; this matter is of great importance, and I must meet the Prince in person to explain."

"To meet you, you fool."

Ling Feng felt a surge of irritation and couldn't help but curse.

The Prince had left Jing Cheng; this matter was conducted in secret, unknown to anyone. He could say nothing, only coldly looked at him and said, "If that's the case, then you may leave."

"The Prince is busy right now; he has no patience for your chatter."

The old man's brows furrowed, he opened his mouth and said, "It concerns the Prince's reputation; please let the Prince listen."

The old man's words made Ling Feng pause slightly in surprise.

It concerns the Prince's reputation? The Prince's reputation has long been foul!

Now a jianghu swindler has emerged, dragging the Prince into it; his voice lowered as he said, "As I always say, just tell me what you have."

"This…" the old man's face showed unease; he sighed slowly and said, "Then Commander Ling, please go in and report; the information I have truly concerns the Prince's reputation."

Ling Feng was also angry; where could he report to? The Prince was not present, so he took out the waist token Xiao Yin had given him, held it before the old man, and asked, "What is your name? The Prince is occupied and cannot meet you; speaking to me is the same."

"Or perhaps you wish to trade this information for something; whatever the terms, I can agree."

"You speak."

The man lingered there; this matter he inevitably had to tell Xiao Yin in person.

Even as Xiao Yin's trusted aide Ling Feng, he still found it hard to trust, fearing something might go wrong in between.

Not only would he gain no benefit, he might even lose his life; naturally he dared not hand the life‑threatening leverage to the young man before him, his heart couldn't help but…

If it weren't for his grandson's offense in the army, he wouldn't have dared to come to Rui Wangfu himself and offend the killing god Xiao Yin.

He held a crucial leverage in his hand, which gave him the courage to come here, but this leverage was precisely what Xiao Yin most wished to keep hidden from others, wasn't it?

For a moment he was at a loss, hurried over to Ling Feng, pulled a crumpled silver note from his coat and thrust it into Ling Feng's hand, smiling, "Please go in and report; I am Dr. Song, the palace physician who treats the consorts."

Ling Feng furrowed his brows; hearing "Dr. Song" gave him a vague recollection—it was the same elderly Dr. Song from the former imperial hospital.

He often took the pulse of the palace's dowager consorts for safety, but grew too old to work, and was dismissed from the imperial hospital two or three months ago.

Now he runs a small clinic in Shang Jing to make a living; why did he suddenly think of coming here?

This man thought he was bullying the weak in Rui Wangfu, refusing to report for him and trying to bribe him—truly laughable.

Ling Feng laughed in exasperation, "Alright, if you want to see the Prince, come back in a few days."

Dr. Song's mind stirred, he sighed, and thought better to wait a few days and see the Prince in person before speaking.

Now that it has come to this, could it be that the Prince truly isn't in the residence?

He dared not think further; trembling, he took back the silver note Ling Feng had handed him, sighed slowly, uttered a few more apologetic words, and left.

Dr. Song shakily rode his carriage back to his little clinic.

He locked himself in his bedroom, then took out a jade pendant from his coat.

The carved floral pattern was ordinary, but on the back was the character "Yin."

Three years ago, the Gu family's miss made a mistake in the palace, having an illicit affair with a stranger, becoming the laughingstock of all Shang Jing.

As a result, the Gu family sent people, even the Crown Prince, to investigate who that beast daring to debauch in the Imperial Harem truly was.

Only he knew who that person was; he was just a humble physician, and could not dare to speak of the matter.

But at this time his army's grandson had an accident; he needed Xiao Yin's help, and also needed to make a deal with Xiao Yin.

He is a cautious yet humble and cowardly person, but at this time, for his grandson, he also has no choice but to go all out.