Chapter 337

In the evening, the entire Jing Cheng was shrouded in a blood‑red setting sun.

At the gate of Shang Jing, the soldiers guarding the city were about to close the gate when sudden urgent hoofbeats shattered the brief evening tranquility, charging toward the gate.

The rider came so fast that the little guard who was about to shut the gate saw his vision blur, and before he could react, the man had already ridden his horse right up to the gate.

The guards on either side were about to stop him, but he suddenly jerked the reins, lifting the horse's hooves high, nearly trampling over their heads.

This overbearing way of riding frightened the little soldiers into retreating again and again.

They fell to the ground in a heap, scrambled up, and were about to give chase when they realized the man who had burst through the gate was none other than Prince Rui, Xiao Yin.

Xiao Yin rode a reddish‑brown horse, his eyes already slightly red.

He was halfway to the frontier when he received the news by pigeon post, and in that instant his soul seemed to be sucked away.

He cared for nothing else, spurring his horse and galloping madly toward Shang Jing.

He raced nonstop without a moment's rest, even running one horse to death and switching to another along the way.

He barely kept from passing out, forcing himself awake by sheer willpower.

His heart pounded wildly, almost bursting from his chest, feeling as if it were torn apart, painfully agonizing.

Even while seated on the horse, his spirit seemed to have flown off who knows where.

Although they had known each other for less than a year, that woman had torn through his hard exterior and entered his heart.

At this moment, how dare she leave him? On what grounds?

Even if she were to die, she would need his, Xiao Yin's, consent.

What exactly is this now?

Xiao Yin was nearly going mad, a bloody killing intent surging in his chest, yet he felt suffocated, not knowing where to vent it.

He could only ride his horse at full speed, hurrying back, not allowing even a moment's delay, to return to her side.

Even if that woman became ruins, rubble, a handful of ashes, she would still belong to Xiao Yin.

Behind Xiao Yin came a large contingent of guards, rushing after him.

They had already been left far behind by their master, but upon producing the Rui Wang Fu waist token, the city guards had no choice but to let them pass.

Xiao Yin galloped his horse to the front of Chongwen Lou, and from afar he saw the Rui Wang Fu guards still clearing the rubble, never expecting the entire Chongwen Lou to have collapsed so completely.

Almost all the beams were charred black, the remainder reduced to ash.

The Rui Wang Fu guards turned out en masse, lying on the debris and digging with their hands bit by bit.

They hoped only to dig up the Princess Consort's intact corpse, but seeing how thoroughly burned it was, they doubted there was much hope.

Leading them was Ling Feng, his head wrapped in white gauze, his body covered in wounds, the gauze soaked with blood.

He was obviously badly burned, yet he persisted in standing on the rubble, his voice already hoarse.

"Dig quickly! Move those stones over there, and those beams!"

"Faster!"

Ling Feng shouted while bending over in pain to shift the broken wood beneath his feet, his eyes somewhat mad, utterly unaware of the urgent hoofbeats behind him.

By the time he heard the hoofbeats and reacted, a tall figure had already swept past him; he stared blankly as his master Xiao Yin charged over.

Xiao Yin stood upright on the rubble, his pair of eyes red enough to make one's heart tremble.

He seemed like a demon fallen into hell; just looking at those eyes made one's scalp go numb.

Around them were also helping civilians, officials of the Jingzhao Yin, palace personnel, and the most numerous were the Imperial Guard.

Everyone was clearing the rubble, but at that moment the sudden arrival of Xiao Yin on horseback gave them a fierce fright.

Nearly everyone stopped what they were doing and stared straight at Xiao Yin.

Xiao Yin had raced all the way without rest, but upon reaching the ruins of Chongwen Lou he froze in place.

He was like a sword thrust into the rubble, standing straight there, forcing himself to remain upright with his last will.

As far as the eye could see, there was no trace of that woman.

Even though this man could barely stand there, he exerted an immense pressure on the others, leaving them speechless with fear.

He stood like that for a long while, then Xiao Yin finally moved his feet, stepping forward bit by bit.

Ling Feng hurried over to Xiao Yin without speaking, when suddenly with a thud the ever‑strong Prince Rui collapsed straight onto the rubble, losing consciousness.

"Your Highness!"

"Someone come quickly! Summon the imperial physician!"

"Help the Prince up quickly!"

The surroundings were in chaos; they thought Xiao Yin had rushed over in haste and would at least bend down to dig a bit in the rubble, never expecting that Prince Rui had already stretched his inner string to its limit, which now snapped completely.

Everyone, scrambling to help, lifted Xiao Yin into a carriage and sent him back to the Wangfu.

Not long after, the palace physicians came in droves to the Rui Wang Fu, even alarming the emperor in the palace.

Emperor Longqing himself rushed to the Rui Wang Fu, and even Empress Dowager Ning'an sent her attendant.

Know that Xiao Yin now holds great power in Southern Qi, especially in the military, where his prestige is extremely high.

If something were to happen to Xiao Yin now, it would certainly cause internal strife.

The emperor personally arrived at the Rui Wang Fu, and the entire residence was on high alert as if facing a great enemy.

Almost all of the palace physicians had gathered inside the Wangfu.

At that moment the warm pavilion was filled with people coming and going, but Princess Consort and the Eldest Princess could not stand it, loudly rebuking the useless panicked folk and driving them out.

Cheng Ming also came, his eyes slightly reddened.

He never imagined that the shameless, worthless Gu Jiu Ling would actually be burned to death in the city tower, and to this day no remains have been found.

Cheng Ming had already been leading people in digging at the rubble for a long time.

Even several princes had rushed over; at this moment the Crown Prince Xiao Ting's complexion was no better than Xiao Yin's.

Although he stood bowed beside Emperor Longqing, his body trembled slightly.

Even now, Xiao Ting still doesn't believe that Gu Jiu Ling was burned to death, and his eyes are somewhat frenzied.

At this moment, Xiao Ting's feelings are beyond words; he never expected that Gu Jiu Ling would leave him to marry Xiao Yin, and yet she still lost her life.

He is furious, resentful, and in extreme anguish.

What angers him is that that woman actually married Xiao Yin, and on several occasions helped Xiao Yin deal with him.

What he hates is that this woman dared to go to the Esteem Literature Pavilion and burn herself alive there, yet he feels heartbroken to death.

On a bright, sunny afternoon, the little maid who had given him New Year's money will never return.

Just thinking about this makes Xiao Ting feel as if he wants to go mad; he stares fixedly at the warm pavilion where Xiao Yin is.

The hatred in the depths of his eyes can no longer be suppressed.

Xiao Yin clearly has a fate that harms his wives, yet he still married Gu Jiu Ling; the one who deserves to die most is him.