Chapter 617: Strangulation

The four characters "Ning An Empress Dowager" had just slipped from Xiao Yin's mouth when He Wan Shan's eyes suddenly narrowed, and the fear in their eyes could no longer be suppressed.

Xiao Yin sneered coldly: "Everyone thinks Ning An Empress Dowager relies on the Duan family, but in fact she also has a private army she raised herself."

"During the Spring Sacrifice of the late Prince, how could it be such a coincidence to encounter an injustice, and yet your He family stepped forward as the scapegoat, earning the late Prince's special favor?"

"That favor lasted for decades; after the late Prince passed away, your He family actually flourished even more. To say no one supported you—how could this Prince dare to believe that?"

"Look at the villages the common folk have built around. This land could only sustain a few dozen households, at most a few hundred families, yet it supports so many people— even if you stripped the surrounding hills bare, it still couldn't feed them all?"

"He Wan Shan? Commander He, what do you think?"

"You already knew?" He Wan Shan's complexion changed dramatically.

Xiao Yin sneered coldly: "Did you think this Prince waited over nine years just to toy with you lot?"

"Speak! Where is Ning An Empress Dowager?"

He Wan Shan's face tightened slightly, then he burst into a laugh, laughing so hard he could barely catch his breath.

"Hahaha… indeed… Prince Rui is formidable, haha…"

Suddenly their laughter stopped abruptly, black blood welled at the corner of their mouth, and their body stiffened piece by piece, unable to move.

Xiao Yin's eyes flashed; he bent down and forced the man's mouth open, only to find He Wan Shan had hidden poison under his tongue, already resolved to seal his lips with death.

Xiao Yin's complexion grew faintly cold as Gu Jiu Ling rode up on horseback, hurrying to intervene, but Xiao Yin blocked her.

"He's already dead beyond rescue."

Xiao Yin sneered: "This man is full of tricks; even his corpse must not be touched. Men! Drag him down, burn him, crush the bones and scatter the ashes!"

Gu Jiu Ling, seeing that the man was truly dead, felt a pang of regret and said, "Prince, now that he's dead, we likely can't learn Ning An Empress Dowager's whereabouts."

Xiao Yin's shimmering peach‑colored eyes narrowed slowly, each word deliberate: "Since we can't get an answer, let's just turn our face away and see how long she can hold out."

"What do you intend to do, Prince?" Gu Jiu Ling understood that once Xiao Yin turned against Ning An Empress Dowager and the eight great families behind her, bloodshed would erupt, the world would be turned upside down.

Xiao Yin slowly lifted his gaze to the rolling thick smoke from the nearby blaze, inhaled, and said, "Tomorrow we return to the capital, conduct a thorough investigation of the eight great families; this Prince will ensure none of them survive."

"This Prince doesn't believe that woman can keep her composure."

Gu Jiu Ling listened to Xiao Yin's icy words and realized the moment to overturn the table had finally arrived.

She was about to speak when a rapid succession of footsteps sounded behind her.

Bai Xiaosheng hurried over, a trace of lingering shock on his face, and smiled at Xiao Yin, "Imperial Uncle, are you well? These treacherous rebels should be killed! But what about the civil officials who just stood behind He Wan Shan?"

"Imperial Uncle, as the nephew sees it, they should be given one chance; in that situation each person was drawn like a bow, inevitably frightened…"

"What do you mean?" Xiao Yin turned slowly, let out a light laugh, and fixed his gaze on Bai Xiaosheng.

At that moment Xiao Yin's eyes were knife‑sharp, an unsettling sting.

Bai Xiaosheng's smooth words suddenly got stuck, caught in his throat.

He looked at Xiao Yin looming before him, instinctively stepped back, then laughed, "Of course we'll follow Imperial Uncle's wishes; Imperial Uncle, how shall we deal with those people?"

Xiao Yin's lips curled into a faint curve, his expression indifferent, as if he were discussing not dozens of lives but the fate of ants.

He sighed, "This Prince gave them a chance, what a waste."

"Ling Feng!"

"Prince!" Ling Feng, clad in heavy armor, emerged from the sea of corpses and blood, leading the Azure Dragon Army's elite guards, and knelt en masse before Xiao Yin.

Xiao Yin's brows flickered with a cold edge as he said deliberately, "According to Southern Qi law, what crime does a public rebel incur?"

"Reporting to the Prince! Lingchi execution!"

Xiao Yin's slender fingers rubbed his temple, as if that tightly furrowed, handsome brow would never smooth out.

He sighed heavily, "Fine, they're all civil officials; Lingchi would be too gruesome. This Prince will leave them a whole corpse; men! Strangle them all!"

Bai Xiaosheng's body shivered violently. All those civil officials to be strangled?

This time it seems the Southern Qi civil officials truly angered Prince Rui; previously when they acted out, Prince Rui did nothing, apparently waiting for today!

As soon as Xiao Yin finished speaking, Ling Feng led the group down; shortly thereafter, in the darkest pre‑dawn night, cries and pleas for mercy rose.

The heart‑rending cries gradually faded, and the air was filled with the scent of death after the great fire.

From Xiao Yin's order to the sudden deaths of those officials for treason took less than half an hour; not even the Ministry of Punishments or the Court of Judicial Review were consulted— they were simply slain.

Such a swift, decisive killing turned the faces of the remaining people pale in unison.

Those people dared not utter a word; large beads of sweat rolled down their foreheads as each silently thanked their luck for not betraying Prince Rui during the dire crisis, lest they meet the same fate.

Bai Xiaosheng's expression wavered, frozen there, his body taut.

Xiao Yin slowly approached Bai Xiaosheng, his bony fingers lifting incrementally, gently resting on Bai Xiaosheng's shoulder; in that instant Bai Xiaosheng's subconscious flinched.

Xiao Yin said lightly, "Crown Prince, you've been out all day; you've worked hard. Return early to rest."

"Yes… yes…" Bai Xiaosheng replied.

He tried to turn and leave, but the Dragon Spring Sword rested on his shoulder, sending a chill through his heart.

His steps faltered slightly; after a long moment he finally turned, but the first step nearly caused him to fall.

Xiao Yin slowly sheathed the Dragon Spring Sword, looked at him and said, "Your Highness, be careful walking this night."

"Thank you… Imperial Uncle, for your concern."

Bai Xiaosheng hurriedly led the remaining civil and military officials outward; they had originally planned to settle in the nearby Imperial Villa after the Spring Sacrifice ended.

Now the surrounding villages are burned ninety percent away, only a few isolated farmyards remain intact.

Xiao Yin has already dispatched people to clear those courtyards, allowing the remaining living officials to move in.

At this moment, as Bai Xiaosheng turned toward that village, Xiao Yin stared intently at his back, his gaze darkening.