Chapter 221: Dreams Shattered, Lamps Extinguished

Inside the study, the sandalwood desk was wiped spotless. Quan Tianyi was hunched over, attending to official business. A thick stack of documents was piled before him, and an inkstone sat to the side, the scent of ink lingering in the air.

Upon hearing the news from his personal guard, the brush in his hand came to an abrupt halt. The ink-saturated tip left a pitch-black stain on the pristine rice paper, which bled outward, much like his current mood of explosive rage.

"What did you say?"

Quan Tianyi jerked his head up, his voice low and cold, as if it had drifted up from the Nine Nether Hells.

The guard lowered his head, not daring to meet his eyes, and said with a tremor:

"Concubine Jun... she is with child, and requests the Prince to join her for a meal."

Quan Tianyi felt a wave of nausea. His face turned ashen, the veins on his temples bulged, the vessels on his forehead throbbed, and his eyes were filled with disgust.

Impossible. He had a hidden ailment; it was fundamentally impossible for him to have children.

"You fine harlot, you actually dare to lie to this Prince."

He spat fiercely, the venom in that sound seemingly capable of burning a person alive.

Quan Tianyi summoned his trusted guard and gave a few whispered instructions.

The guard took the order and left. Prince Yi sat in his chair, fingers tapping lightly against the armrest, his gaze icy.

He wanted to see exactly who this woman had been having an affair with, daring to treat him like a fool and commit such a vile act right under his nose.

In the secret chamber, several oil lamps hung on the walls. The dim, yellow candlelight flickered unsteadily, illuminating the room in flashes of light and shadow that twisted wantonly on the walls like clawing, gnashing ghosts.

The air was filled with a stale, decaying scent, mixed with a faint smell of blood that made one want to retch.

When Jun Yiyi was brought in, she was still completely bewildered. Seeing Quan Tianyi sitting in the main seat, holding a whip with a cold expression,

a sense of unease welled up in her heart.

"Your Highness, what is this..."

Jun Yiyi had barely spoken before she was interrupted by Quan Tianyi.

"Vixen, do you know your crime?"

Quan Tianyi slammed his hand onto the table with a "crash," snapping the table into two pieces.

Jun Yiyi was so frightened her face turned pale, and she dropped to her knees with a thud:

"Your Highness, this concubine does not know what she has done wrong. I beg Your Highness to enlighten me."

Tears welled in her eyes, threatening to fall; her pitiful appearance was quite alluring.

Watching her, and thinking of his own current state, a bloodthirsty light flashed in Quan Tianyi's eyes. He only wanted to crush her to pieces. He sneered:

"So you won't talk."

Before the words had even faded, he lashed out with the whip.

Jun Yiyi screamed in terror. The whip, imbued with internal energy, struck with a crisp "crack," tearing her skin and flesh.

She instinctively shielded her stomach, crying and shouting:

"Your Highness, Your Highness, this concubine is carrying Your Highness's own flesh and blood, over a month along. I beg Your Highness to show mercy."

It would have been better if she hadn't mentioned it; at the mention of a child, Quan Tianyi laughed in his extreme rage.

A nearly twisted arc pulled at the corners of his mouth, his eyes filled with bloodthirsty madness, as if he might swallow Jun Yiyi whole the next second.

"Good, you actually dare to bring this up! This Prince will make it clear to you. Do you think I never go to your room? I tell you, this Prince has a hidden ailment; it is absolutely impossible for me to have children with you. The day I took you into the manor, I knew you were lying. If you had behaved, I would have tolerated you for a time, but I never expected you to dare marry into my Prince Yi's manor while carrying a bastard!"

Upon hearing this, Jun Yiyi felt as if struck by lightning. The strength in her body was drained in an instant, and she collapsed limply onto the floor.

Quan Tianyi lashed out with several more fierce whip strikes. Jun Yiyi was covered in wounds, and fresh blood soaked through her clothes.

"Speak! Whose bastard is it in your belly?"

Jun Yiyi shook her head desperately:

"Your Highness, this concubine has been loyal to you; I have never had any intention of betrayal."

"You still dare to quibble!"

Quan Tianyi stepped forward, grabbed her by the hair, and forced her face up, his eyes full of loathing.

Jun Yiyi was streaming with tears, filled with regret. How could she have imagined that this pregnancy, obtained with such difficulty, would become a death warrant?

Just then, the leader of the secret guards, Yexiao, delivered a message: the Second Imperial Prince of the Northern Kingdom had suddenly died.

Quan Tianyi froze, and his hand, which had been gripping Jun Yiyi's hair, loosened slightly.

"What? When did this happen?"

Before Yexiao could answer, the door to the secret chamber was suddenly knocked upon, and a flurry of hurried footsteps approached.

A servant ran in, panicked and stumbling, nearly falling over. He leaned into Quan Tianyi's ear and whispered a few words.

Quan Tianyi's originally gloomy face was now like the night sky before a storm—terrifyingly black.

He kicked Jun Yiyi away with a fierce blow, and she let out a miserable cry before fainting.

Quan Tianyi kicked the chair in front of him, and it fell to the ground with a "clang" that was jarringly loud in the silent secret chamber.

Afterward, he signaled to the guard at his side and strode out.

The guard understood, turned, brought over a bowl of medicine, and forced it down Jun Yiyi's throat.

Quan Tianyi rushed to the front of the storehouse in a frenzy, and good heavens, the sight before him left him frozen in his tracks.

In the massive storehouse, the shelves that were once piled high with gold and silver treasures were now empty.

Piles upon piles of chests—not a single one remained.

Quan Tianyi's brows knitted into a tight knot. His legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed. He stumbled into the storehouse, his eyes fixed and vacant, as if he had lost his soul, muttering to himself:

"How is this possible? Overnight, let alone a single chest, not even a piece of silver is left..."

He reached out to steady himself against an empty shelf, his gaze locked onto the perfectly intact door lock.

The lock was shiny, the mechanism inside the core was as good as new, and there was not the slightest trace of it having been pried open, as if this earth-shattering theft had never occurred.

The steward was shivering nearby, his tongue unable to straighten out as he spoke.

"Your Highness, this... the storehouse door was locked tight, and the thief didn't even leave a footprint, or even a trace of the chests being moved. Yet, not a single hair of the storehouse's contents remains. How... how was this done? Is it haunted?"

A chill ran down Quan Tianyi's spine. He glared at the steward and slapped him across the face, the blow fueled by his overwhelming terror.

A crisp "crack" echoed through the empty, silent storehouse, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The steward staggered, nearly falling face-first into the dirt. Clutching his burning cheek, he didn't dare breathe, his legs shaking like a sieve.

"If you make another sound, see if I don't sew your mouth shut!"

Quan Tianyi turned abruptly and looked at the shiny lock again, the confusion in his heart like a tangled mess of hemp, tightening with every passing moment.

He had no money; what would he use to raise an army?

"Search! Turn the entire manor upside down for this Prince! Dig three feet into the ground if you have to, but find me a clue!"

Quan Tianyi roared, the sound making the very air in the storehouse tremble.

The guards immediately scattered to begin a carpet search.

Yet, search as they might, there was not a single trace; the vast storehouse looked as if nothing had ever been stored there at all.