Chapter 340: Younger Brother-in-law

The night was already deep, it was the third watch.

Located in West City, Gu Kang's Top Scholar's Mansion was shrouded in the dark, heavy night.

Suddenly, a fierce bout of barking came from not far away, shattering the tranquility of the heavens.

The main house's rooms still had lights on; Gu Kang sat at his desk, still writing furiously.

Gu Kang was probably the most diligent official in Southern Qi; sometimes while organizing his writings and pondering strategies for governing the state, he would become so absorbed that he stayed awake all night.

Usually going to sleep at the second watch was already early, but these past few days he has been writing nonstop, organizing policy discussions, busy to the point of not touching the ground.

Especially since Chongwen Lou was burned to nothing, collapsing into ruins, and as an official of the Hanlin Academy responsible for this Chongwen Lou poetry exhibition, he naturally could not avoid being implicated.

If it weren't for the fact that everyone in Shang Jing knew Chongwen Lou was shoddy, this major mishap would have had early warnings; likely even his recently donned official hat would have been taken away.

Moreover, with the Princess Consort of Rui having been burned to death in Chongwen Lou, he has been busier than ever.

Yet at this moment Gu Kang felt no grief over losing a relative; instead, he was utterly calm.

The Dali Temple had already sent someone over, ordering him to write down the names of everyone who had recently entered and exited Chongwen Lou; Gu Kang's writing hand grew slightly sore.

At this moment, news came from somewhere unknown, saying that the Princess Consort of Rui had been burned to death in Chongwen Lou; there must be something fishy about it.

According to the firefighters at the time, the passage from the third to the fourth floor had been deliberately blocked shut, clearly indicating a premeditated murder.

In short, whether it was murder or accidental flooding, the collapse of Chongwen Lou was a major case that shocked Shang Jing, and Gu Kang himself was summoned no fewer than six times by the Ministry of Punishments and the Dali Temple within a single day.

After all, Gu Jiu Ling was his sister; people could not pin her death on Gu Kang.

But he also suffered some implication, being docked half a year's salary and confined to his mansion to reflect for a month; only after the case was clarified could he resume work at the Hanlin Academy.

Today, rumors spread that Gu Kang had severed his sibling ties with the Princess Consort of Rui.

Furthermore, it was claimed that Gu Kang had previously wanted to kill the Princess Consort of Rui, obviously an attempt to pour all this filth onto him.

Gu Kang coldly snorted inwardly, knowing without thinking who had dragged him into this.

Gu Cheng had thought of killing him to the utmost extreme; likely Gu Cheng never imagined that the one burned to death this time would be Gu Jiu Ling rather than himself, Gu Kang.

Next, Gu Cheng will surely try every means to frame him, but it remains uncertain who will come out on top.

Gu Kang had just dipped his brush in ink and put a stroke on the blank paper when suddenly a hurried footsteps sounded outside, accompanied by Steward Zhang's urgent shout.

"Prince! Prince! Please wait a moment, this servant will report to you at once!"

With a bang, the door to Gu Kang's bedchamber was kicked open; the force was so great that the sandalwood door was actually kicked straight through, leaving a large hole.

One side was already dislocated and hanging in the doorframe, then another kick sent the door panel flying inward.

A tall figure stepped onto the broken door panels and walked straight in.

Gu Kang hastily put down his brush, rose to his feet, and managed only a single glance at the fiery Xiao Yin before him; before he could say anything, Xiao Yin launched a straight kick at his face.

Gu Kang did not dodge; the kick struck him hard in the chest, causing him to stumble backward repeatedly, knocking over the table behind him.

The teacups on the table shattered everywhere; the kick made Gu Kang's qi and blood surge, nearly making him faint.

However, Gu Kang's heart settled somewhat; although the man before him radiated killing intent, his kick left a bit of leeway, otherwise that blow would have sent Gu Kang straight to heaven.

"Be careful, sir!" Steward Zhang hurriedly helped Gu Kang up from the ground.

But before he could finish helping him up, Xiao Yin delivered another vicious kick to Gu Kang's left ribs.

Gu Kang let out a muffled groan and spat a mouthful of blood.

Steward Zhang rushed toward Xiao Yin, trying to block him in front of Gu Kang.

Gu Kang grabbed the flustered Old Master Zhang's arm, pulled him aside, and shouted sternly, "Get out!"

Steward Zhang's eyes widened instantly; being the grandson of Old Master Du, he regarded the son of the late lady in this way.

Yet he had tried desperately to protect him, only to be loudly rebuked by the young master, causing a look of grievance to flit across his face.

At this moment Gu Kang felt anxious; the man before him had already gone berserk, his eyes red with killing rage.

As a lowly steward, if he provoked the devil before him, being kicked to death would be a light outcome.

Gu Kang again shouted loudly, "Get out, are you deaf? I have something to say to the Prince, and furthermore..."

Gu Kang wiped away the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, endured the pain, slowly lifted his head to look at his brother-in-law Xiao Yin, and let out a sneering laugh: "Besides, brother-in-law wouldn't kill me, would he?"

Xiao Yin clenched both hands into fists, eyeing Gu Kang's frivolous, provocative smile.

This time he not only wanted to chop off his fingers, he truly wanted his life.

This little brat actually dared to scheme against Xiao Yin's head; he's truly tired of living.

Steward Zhang saw that between the young master Gu Kang and Prince Rui, there really wouldn't be loss of life; now that the master has spoken, how could he dare to persist further?

She hurriedly withdrew cautiously, closed the door, but dared not go far.

This time, several of the Gu family's guards also hurried over; Steward Zhang gestured to them, some stationed at the doorway, and if the master truly faced any threat, they would fight to the death to protect him.

Even if the opponent was the dreaded Ninth Imperial Uncle, now driven to this point, what could be done?

Xiao Yin's two kicks at Gu Kang used fifty percent of his strength, making Gu Kang's whole body feel as if it had fallen apart.

He slowly braced himself on the ground, gritted his teeth, tried to stand, but with a thump he collapsed back down.

Just now Xiao Yin's kick on his leg felt as if it had shattered his leg bones.

Gu Kang lifted his head to look up at the towering Xiao Yin, who stared back with bloodshot eyes and a pallid face, appearing even more hateful than the wounded Gu Kang himself.

He couldn't help but let out a light laugh: "Brother-in-law, it's so late—what do you want with me?"

Xiao Yin stared fixedly at this brother-in-law before him; if not for his having sent Gu Jiu Ling to write something at that damned Chongwen Lou, how could Gu Jiu Ling have been burned to death there?

Or perhaps Gu Jiu Ling never died at all, and this little brat helped her escape.

They, brother and sister, could fool the blind-eyed folk of Shang Jing, but they could not fool him, Xiao Yin.

Xiao Yin stepped step by step toward Gu Kang, his voice cold and icy: "Where has Gu Jiu Ling gone?"