Chapter 655

Gu Jiu Ling finally, at the end of the bamboo grove, saw that solitary figure.

At the bamboo grove's end stood a viewing pavilion, exquisitely refined; at that moment Xiao Yin leaned sideways against the pavilion's railing, his whole body seated on the felt-covered ground.

He wore a purple robe, his long fingers tightly gripping a wineskin made of cowhide, and the pattern on his clothing still bore some characteristics of the Longxi foreign regions.

Xiao Yin tipped his head back and gulped a mouthful of wine; the wine was strong, and even though Gu Jiu Ling was far away, its aroma drifted on the wind to her.

Gu Jiu Ling's nose tingled slightly, and even her eyes felt a bit sore.

Given Xiao Yin's abilities, it was impossible for him not to know someone had come to see him; moreover, the defenses were tight, so at this moment, anyone able to walk into this garden and disturb his tranquility...

Besides her, Gu Jiu Ling, there truly was no one else, yet even so Xiao Yin did not turn his head to glance at her.

Gu Jiu Ling sighed in her heart; Xiao Yin was probably truly angry with her.

Previously, Gu Jiu Ling had secretly slipped out of Shang Jing, keeping it from Xiao Yin, and come to Yingzhou, where she alone matched wits and courage with those old foxes of the eight great clans in Yingzhou city.

This also shows Gu Jiu Ling's luck was decent; if any link in that chain had gone awry, the grass on her grave would already be growing.

Even now Xiao Yin still did not want to speak with her; only in front of outsiders did he put on the appearance of a deeply affectionate couple, while privately he had been holding this grudge against Gu Jiu Ling.

Gu Jiu Ling's lips curled with a hint of bitterness; she too had taken this risk to help him, yet he did not appreciate it.

This time she hid here drinking her sorrows away, as if her status as Princess Consort meant nothing to him.

Gu Jiu Ling also felt a fire burning in her chest; she took a few steps into the pavilion, lifted her foot and kicked the drunken Xiao Yin sprawled inside.

"Enough already, giving you face, is that it?"

Across the whole Southern Qi, probably only Gu Jiu Ling would dare treat Xiao Yin this way.

Xiao Yin was naturally handsome and charming; this time his fair, handsome cheeks flushed with a touch of drunkenness, adding even more to his allure.

He leaned against the railing, his long, strong legs slightly bent; likely from the heat, he had pulled open his collar, revealing his sturdy, well-built chest.

Clear wine spilled down, wetting his chest; that pose, however, held a hint of allure.

Gu Jiu Ling's gaze could not move; watching his drunken, unfocused eyes, she felt both pity and amusement.

Gu Jiu Ling sat beside Xiao Yin, snatched the wine from his hand, tipped her head back and gulped a mouthful.

Who would have thought Xiao Yin's wine would be so strong; Gu Jiu Ling could not bear it, immediately coughing, her cheeks flushing.

Only then did Xiao Yin come to his senses; seeing the woman beside him with her flushed cheeks, his gaze deepened a bit, and he gritted his teeth, laughing and scolding: "Why don't you choke to death, you little troublemaker?"

Gu Jiu Ling tipped her head back again and took another gulp; it was still pungent, but this time, upon careful tasting, there was a hint of sweetness.

It turns out that going from never being accustomed to becoming accustomed can happen in just this instant.

"Are you feeling awful and want to cry?" Gu Jiu Ling asked softly.

Xiao Yin's face twitched slightly, then he snatched the wineskin from Gu Jiu Ling's hand, raised his head and drained it all; his eyes grew even deeper and sharper.

Gu Jiu Ling said: "Actually, you could have kept a live witness, after all the Dowager Empress An knows where your mother is buried; as long as we apply some means, we need not worry she won't speak."

Gu Jiu Ling had thought Xiao Yin's mother died in difficult childbirth, but she never imagined she had been poisoned by Dowager Empress Ning'an.

At this moment, seeing Xiao Yin's low spirits, Gu Jiu Ling quietly took hold of his somewhat cold hand.

"Useless," Xiao Yin snorted coldly, "you have no idea how terrifying that woman is; once she grasps your weakness, she will exploit it, tormenting you relentlessly until you are driven mad."

"I don't want her alive for even a moment."

Gu Jiu Ling didn't even know what to say. Xiao Yin turned, and with a backhand he seized her wrist tightly, hauling her into his embrace.

His scorching breath blew on Gu Jiu Ling's neck, making her involuntarily flinch.

"Do you know why you were wrong this time?"

Gu Jiu Ling opened her mouth; the man before her no longer had his earlier nonchalance, his expression instead gaining a few more menacing, sinister edges.

He fixed his gaze on Gu Jiu Ling, then suddenly lunged forward and bit her neck.

A wave of unprecedented numbness and tingling surged over her, and Gu Jiu Ling's whole body stiffened in place.

Xiao Yin was truly drunk, yet I never expected he would take out his drunken rage on me; I had thought that, having avenged his great grudge in Qi Sha Gu and suddenly feeling relieved, his mood would surely change, but instead he poured all that resentment and anger onto her.

"Are you a dog?"

Who would have thought this bite of his would be even deeper; Gu Jiu Ling felt intense pain, wanting to push him away but being held fast in his arms.

A scorching tear fell onto Gu Jiu Ling's hand.

At that moment Gu Jiu Ling froze there, incredulously lifting her gaze to the man before her, only to see his limpid peach-blossom eyes already brimming with tears.

Gu Jiu Ling never expected Xiao Yin to burst into tears; for a moment she was somewhat dumbfounded.

The two gulps of wine just now had gone into his stomach, the potency slowly spreading upward, making him feel a bit dizzy and unable to hold himself up.

Xiao Yin drew a hard breath, gritted his teeth, and looked at Gu Jiu Ling, saying: "Do you know how afraid I am?"

"I, Xiao Yin, have too low a bottom line in this life, and I'm not exactly a good person."

"The lives I've killed by my hand are probably enough to block even the Bridge of Helplessness."

"In my life I have failed to discern people, being toyed with in the palm of their hands."

"Everything I have ever wanted has slipped away from me."

"Although Dowager Empress Ning'an is a scoundrel, I was raised by her own hand. I always thought I was not as steady as my elder brother, that the empress dowager disliked me. I never imagined that my beloved empress dowager and my hypocritical elder brother were actually someone else's pawns."

"My sworn brothers, because of me, were burned alive in the valley."

"Gu Jiu Ling, you… how dare you?"

Xiao Yin gritted his teeth, tears he could not hold back, then fixed a fierce stare on Gu Jiu Ling: "When I heard you had fled from Shang Jing, I was on the verge of abandoning all my fame, fortune, and responsibilities to go after you."

"Later I heard you had gone to Yingzhou, and I couldn't sleep at all; Gu Jiu Ling, do you know that in this world you are the only one left to me? If you were to suffer any mishap…"

Xiao Yin's body trembled violently, his words growing hoarse and hard to make out.

"I'm sorry, it's all my fault, I'm sorry!" Gu Jiu Ling clung tightly to Xiao Yin, seeing him like this she felt somewhat distressed.

That hesitant apology stole Xiao Yin's soul; he could no longer restrain himself, leaning in to clutch her chin and press his lips to hers.