Chapter 443: How did you manage that?

This rebellion carried out under the pretense of a marriage alliance has finally been quelled; when rewards are handed out, Xiao Yin, Cheng Ming, Zhao Lang, and Gu Kang will surely all receive great credit.

Even if Emperor Longqing is extremely unwilling, he must still credit Xiao Yin, otherwise next time he encounters such a troublesome matter, who would still be willing to work for him?

Emperor Longqing, still shaken, will rest tonight at the imperial villa.

Fortunately Zhao Lang has already rushed over overnight, and the defenses at the imperial villa have become even tighter.

After Zhao Lang's army entered Shang Jing, the Duan family army was quickly completely dismantled; the son of Duke Duan died on the spot, the eldest son, second young master, and third young master of the Duan family were killed, leaving only Duke Duan himself, who was pressed to the ground, tightly bound, and thrown into prison.

The remaining small fry are not worth mentioning, though many also fled; the entire Jing Cheng immediately went under curfew.

Emperor Longqing does not trust Xiao Yin, so he placed the defense of Shang Jing in the hands of Zhao Lang and Cheng Ming.

Xiao Yin's troops were gathered at the Southern Great Camp to await orders, and everything gradually returned to normal.

Only on the forest path outside the flower hall, two young generals in heavy armor followed behind Xiao Yin, cursing and swearing.

"Prince Rui! The situation has already been settled; if you continue to detain my family, that would be shameless!" Zhao Lang had just rushed back from the border post overnight, dusty and weary, which only added a few more shades of maturity and sternness to his handsome brows and eyes.

He had received Xiao Yin's secret letter, asking him to return early to divide the Duan family's estate left behind; he originally did not want to agree with this fellow.

After all, this time we are dealing with the Duan family; if one is not careful, it will bring disaster to the family members residing in Shang Jing.

But Xiao Yin used Jinzhi as a stake, and he could not tolerate it—this is already the second time.

This time, Zhao Lang's gaze toward Xiao Yin already carried a hint of killing intent; his hand tightly gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist.

Cheng Ming on the other side had already been cursing and swearing, his anger flaring up immediately.

He followed behind Xiao Yin: "Speak! Where is my lord's wife?"

"Where have you hidden my lord's wife? Xiao Yin! Do you believe I will kill you? My lord..."

Xiao Yin stopped, turned to look at Cheng Ming, his brows slightly furrowed; in those amorous, peach-blossom eyes, a cold light suddenly appeared.

Cheng Ming's cursing died in his throat; he instinctively shut his mouth.

The scene where Xiao Yin merely used the sword intent of the Dragon Spring Sword to snap Xiao Wei's meridians is etched in everyone's eyes—this fellow, when he goes mad, is simply not human! Not human at all!

Xiao Yin slowly raised the Dragon Spring Sword in his hand, though the blade remained sheathed; the hilt lightly rested on Cheng Ming's shoulder.

Just that light touch made Cheng Ming feel his whole body weighed down, and he dared not say anything further.

Xiao Yin's lips curled slightly, revealing a faint smile; Cheng Ming felt his scalp go numb.

Xiao Yin said, word by word, in a low voice: "Cheng Ming, I am your maternal uncle; show some respect, huh?"

Cheng Ming shuddered; Xiao Yin then lifted the Dragon Spring Sword from his shoulder, gave a light laugh, and continued walking forward.

Cheng Ming and Zhao Lang followed at a distance, then exchanged a glance.

"When can we get rid of him?" Cheng Ming gritted his teeth and whispered.

Zhao Lang lifted his eyes, his starry pupils flickering: "Find an opportunity!"

Even though Cheng Ming was itching to tear down the walls, he could only suppress his anger for now and follow behind Xiao Yin.

Anyway, following this fellow is the right thing to do; wherever he goes, they will follow.

Xiao Yin actually felt a little anxious in his heart, although Gu Jiu Ling had previously assured him that nothing would happen, using her personality as a guarantee.

Xiao Yin really did worry about her personality.

He quickened his pace, walking along the forest path, and saw that they had arrived at the previously agreed-upon spot, not wanting to hear a burst of wailing and fighting sounds coming from the woods.

Xiao Yin's heart tightened; he sprinted toward the source of the sound.

Zhao Lang and Cheng Ming behind him also realized the seriousness of the situation and hurriedly followed Xiao Yin.

Not expecting that the three of them would rush out of the woods one after another and come to a clearing inside, they suddenly stopped in their tracks, stunned by the sight before them.

However, in front of the thatched hut where a hunter lived, lay several corpses of ordinary deserters from the Duan family army.

A woman dressed in the uniform of a Duan family army soldier was just pulling her dagger out of the corpse's body.

On the other side stood Lin Ru Jun, exaggeratedly waving her sword, having already stabbed the dead several more times.

Even the timid and weak Jinzhi tightly gripped a blood‑stained sword she had just snatched, terrified out of her wits, yet she stood shoulder‑to‑shoulder with Gu Jiu Ling and the others.

Upon hearing the footsteps and noises from the woods, Lin Ru Jun swung her sword and thrust toward Xiao Yin and the others.

"Ru Jun! It's me!" Cheng Ming rushed over.

Lin Ru Jun then saw clearly who was coming and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

All that had happened in the past few hours still left Lin Ru Jun with a feeling of unreality.

First, the Third Prince led the Duan family army into the flower hall, surrounding everyone.

Then the Princess Consort of Rui pulled the two of them into the crowd and handed each of them a pill.

After she and Jinzhi swallowed the pill, they immediately lost consciousness.

The sensation felt strange, as if their whole bodies were light and floating.

When they woke up, they found themselves in this thatched hut; she asked the Princess Consort of Rui what was going on.

The Princess Consort of Rui only said she had ordered people to break through the encirclement and send the two here; the process was too bloody, unsuitable for children, so she had them put to sleep.

That excuse is pure nonsense—even ghosts wouldn't believe it.

But the truth, the Princess Consort of Rui keeps silent about.

Jinzhi is so obedient it's almost scary; besides giving her medicine, the Princess Consort of Rui could even have her hand over a knife to cut out her own heart, and Jinzhi would comply.

The three of them had just sat down in the thatched hut when a few Duan family army deserters suddenly burst in.

Those deserters still thought they were three unarmed women, about to commit violence, but they were killed instead.

Lin Ru Jun's martial arts this time are comparable to Cheng Ming's; encountering her is also bad luck for them.

Even so, Cheng Ming kept checking Lin Ru Jun's body up and down, worried she might be injured.

His movements were overly familiar, causing Lin Ru Jun to push him away embarrassedly, complaining about his nagging.

The hot‑tempered Cheng Ming is only as obedient as a little white rabbit in front of his own wife.

Zhao Lang rushed up to Jinzhi, snatched the blood‑stained sword from her hand, and threw it to the ground.

He carefully wiped the blood from her face clean, held her tightly in his arms, and whispered softly, "From now on stay away from that couple at Rui Wang Fu; don't play with them."

Having said that, he scooped up his wife in a horizontal hold, ignored everyone else, and walked toward the outside of the woods.

Jinzhi gestured awkwardly toward Zhao Lang, but Zhao Lang simply swept her up and carried her off.

Cheng Ming left together with Lin Ru Jun; he also wanted to walk holding his wife the way Zhao Lang did, but seeing Lin Ru Jun bristling with killing intent, even more overbearing and formidable than himself, he instantly dismissed the idea, hooked her hand, and said, "Let's go, back to the mansion."

"Go!" Lin Ru Jun turned, clasped her fists toward Xiao Yin and Gu Jiu Ling, then dragged Cheng Ming along as she walked.

Being dragged along by his domineering wife, Cheng Ming kept feeling that this way wasn't quite right.

Only the bloody ground and the Prince Rui couple remained in the woods.

Xiao Yin slowly walked up to Gu Jiu Ling, his heart finally settling, and he pulled her into his arms in one swift motion.

Hearing her heartbeat, he felt a little more at ease, then suddenly remembered something.

"How did you escape? And you even brought two living people with you?"

Gu Jiu Ling instantly panicked, wondering whether she should tell him about the space.