Chapter 348

Feng Gonggong lay collapsed on the ground, along with the other palace people, while the family members beside them wailed heart-rendingly without cease.

Xiao Yin's wicked image had taken root in these people's hearts for the rest of their lives.

Feng Gonggong tightly held his son, who had been untied from the tree, and hid to the side, trembling.

Imperial Physician Song also stood in front of his son, carefully watching Prince Rui whom he had long wanted to see but never could.

He felt waves of regret, thinking he shouldn't have dragged so many people down.

The dishes on the table had barely been touched, now turned cold; the foul stench of the parasitic worms kept assaulting their faces, sending chills down their spines.

Xiao Yin leaned back in his chair, his complexion icy as frost, his expression shifting between light and dark, yet his killing intent was strong.

Ling Feng, standing aside, felt his heart pound, unsure how the Prince would deal with these people.

In short, they were just poor folk from the Imperial Harem, mainly because they had received benefits from Tuo Ba Yu, so they naturally spoke up for him.

But when the matter involved the Princess Consort, the Prince easily flew into a rage.

After a long while, Xiao Yin finally lifted his gaze to sweep over the trembling crowd before him, then slowly raised his hand.

Imperial Physician Song watched that distinctively jointed hand wave at them, feeling his scalp go numb and his neck grow sore.

That hand hovered in midair for a moment, then finally descended slowly.

"You all know the Prince's methods; if today's affair gets out, the Prince can summon your relatives over for tea anytime, anywhere—you all understand that."

Imperial Physician Song and the others nodded repeatedly in agreement.

"One thousand taels each—go!"

"Imperial Physician Song, give him five hundred taels—gold!"

As soon as the words left Xiao Yin's mouth, everyone froze, staring at him in disbelief.

Xiao Yin coldly said: "Before seeking allegiance to a master, inquire first—don't treat every stray cat and dog as your lord!"

"Those who take the Prince's money today are the Prince's people; if they dare betray him in the future…"

Xiao Yin leisurely wiped his hands, then let the handkerchief in his hand fall to the ground, fluttering down.

Yet his voice sank cold to the bone: "Have everyone wash their necks clean for the Prince!"

Imperial Physician Song and the others lying before him all at once shrank back, shuddering violently.

"Take them away!"

Ling Feng ordered people to take Imperial Physician Song and the others away; after this ordeal, their legs went weak, they staggered away with the money, leaving this splendid, picturesque place.

"Summon Master Nian Yuan!" Xiao Yin felt a surge of irritation; Master Nian Yuan was loyal and steadfast, no doubt about that, but his words and deeds were simply unreliable.

At dusk, the gray-robed Master Nian Yuan was brought into Xiao Yin's study.

Seeing Xiao Yin sitting stern-faced in the chair, Master Nian Yuan blinked slightly, then cautiously approached, palms together, about to greet him.

But Xiao Yin rose and grabbed his collar in one swift motion.

"Eh! Prince! Monks are compassionate; you shouldn't use such brute force…"

"Compassion my ass!" Xiao Yin's eyes nearly blazed with fire as he gritted his teeth and glared: "When you found me at the southern part of the palace city, why didn't you tell the truth?"

Master Nian Yuan froze, suddenly recalling something, and involuntarily shook his head repeatedly.

"Back then… sigh… it was truly horrendous, as if some woman had…"

Master Nian Yuan shook his head again: "It was horrendous—red marks all over his neck, face, and chest… tsk tsk tsk…"

Xiao Yin's slender fingers, gripping Master Nian Yuan's collar, tightened further, his face turning white with rage.

"Why didn't you say? Didn't you say I had intimate contact with someone back then?"

Master Nian Yuan cautiously said: "You're the type who cares about face; if you knew you'd been… by a woman, I feared you couldn't accept it right away and might die of shame, so I kept it from you—though we don't lose out on such things, it's easy to say but hard to hear."

Xiao Yin glared at this half-monk, half-rascal before him, his head pounding with anger.

He's so concerned about saving his own face—I ought to thank him!

"Ling Feng, cut off his wine and meat! Make him a proper person!"

"No no no… Prince! Please calm down!" Master Nian Yuan panicked; he believed in "wine and meat pass through the intestines, the Buddha remains in the heart."

Back then he was the number one swordsman of the jianghu, with countless lives lost at his hands.

Later, after a mishap, Xiao Yin saved him, and he took refuge in Buddhism—yet his six senses remained impure.

However, after taking refuge, he studied Qimen Dunjia, Buddhist and Daoist laws, wandering the jianghu, handling matters of peace and strife, saving common folk from fire and water, being both righteous and wicked—hard to sum up in a word.

He loved wine above all; Xiao Yin had nearly collected all the fine wines of the world to support this eccentric.

Upon hearing this time that his wine would be cut off, Master Nian Yuan immediately wilted.

"Prince, if my guess is correct, the Princess Consort of Rui is truly carrying your child?"

"The Princess Consort of Rui hasn't been burned to death; she has fled to another place, right?"

"Although you have a grudge against her maternal grandfather, now that she bears your seed, this is easily settled."

"The two young masters carry your noble blood; what could your subordinates possibly do then—could they even kill the young masters?"

Xiao Yin glared at him fiercely, and Master Nian Yuan slapped himself.

"Pah! Pah! Pah! This foul mouth of mine! The two young masters are surely blessed with boundless fortune and longevity equal to heaven!"

Xiao Yin's killing intent grew even stronger then; he wished to slay him.

Master Nian Yuan hurriedly said: "Prince, the Princess Consort is so clever that she schemes against others—no one schemes against her—so don't worry too much; mother and child will be fine."

Thinking of this, Xiao Yin felt all his strength drained, and he slumped weakly in his chair.

"Ha! She is indeed clever—she even has the Prince playing in the palm of her hand!"

"She ruined the Prince's reputation, deceived him into marrying her, used the Prince as her stepping stone and shield, seeing that the Prince had a feud with her maternal grandfather, she faked her death!"

"No matter what, she's been leading the Prince by the nose; the Prince has searched every place he could think of, yet he can't find her anywhere."

"She's literally trying to anger the Prince to death! I know, if she doesn't kill him with anger, he'll never find peace…"

As he went on, Xiao Yin felt his throat tighten, choking up until he could not speak.

Master Nian Yuan sighed, then slowly said: "Prince, don't be sad, but in this world, geese passing leave traces; as long as one comes into this world, there will always be bonds; it's impossible to leave without a trace."

Leaning against the chair back, Xiao Yin, extremely sad, his facial expression froze slightly, then he slowly sat upright.

He seemed to have thought of a way to find Gu Jiu Ling.

"Yes," Xiao Yin whispered, muttering, "That dead woman, after all, lived in Shang Jing for so long; how could she just leave whenever she wanted?"