Chapter 359: Kill the Hounds

Baili Qingcang’s eyes were full of smiles. He watched the officials guessing the riddles with interest while glancing at the door from time to time to see if the guards who were looking for the auspicious white crane had returned.

Standing alone under a flower lantern, Baili Jinchuan looked so sullen and serious that no one dared to approach him. Yang Yingxue stood among the women and looked at Shen Ninghua several times. She wanted to go forward but was worried about being cold-shouldered by Shen Ninghua. She had seen Shen Ninghua’s tricks and had also suffered a loss at her hands. Because of this, she learned to be humble in front of her. It was all thanks to Shen Ninghua that she got to enter the Second Prince Mansion and became dignified as she was now.

Speaking of which, Shen Ninghua was quite cold-blooded. It could be seen from her methods to deal with the Shen Family. However, if you asked for her help sincerely, she was willing to lend you a hand on the premise of not letting her down afterward, or she would never give you a second chance.

Yang Yingxue knew her method was not brilliant. Even if Shen Ninghua did not find out the truth, she would probably have a grudge against her. What if she retaliated? Thinking of Shen Ninghua’s tricks, Yang Yingxue could not help but tremble in fear. She had been blinded by love and hate, so much so that she had actually schemed against Shen Ninghua in the heat of the moment. It was already very difficult for her to turn back now.

The keen Shen Ninghua had long noticed that Yang Yingxue was sizing her up. However, she did not pay any attention to her. Although her original impression of Yang Yingxue was not good, Yang Yingxue changed her attitude later on. Because of the bond of blood relationship and personal favor, she helped her realize her dream.

Yang Yingxue definitely had something to do with the incident in which she was drugged. She would forgive her and let bygones be bygones if Yang Yingxue stopped making any unfavorable moves in the future, but if she did, she would definitely fight back.

Soon, the guards who went to investigate the auspicious white crane ran in. Everyone looked at them expectantly, but they found that there was no joy on the guards’ faces.

The guards had regretted their eagerness to run the errand so much that their minds went mushy. When they heard about this mission at first, they fought to grab the chance to investigate it as it was a great opportunity to show their achievement in front of the Emperor. They thought that when they brought the auspicious crane back, the Emperor would definitely be happy to reward them, and they might have the chance to have a brighter future. It would be a fool not to compete for the task. However, when they chased after the white crane, they found that it had landed in the Second Prince Mansion.

When they saw the place where the auspicious white crane landed, they were shocked. It actually landed in the Second Prince Mansion. Could it be that the heavens were indicating something? They carefully knocked on the door and entered. After searching through the mansion, they finally found something in the dog kennel—a floor full of white crane feathers!

Their hands trembled in fear. If they brought these back, the Emperor would probably directly beat them to death, right?

Seeing the cautious expressions of the guards, Baili Qingcang frowned. “Did you bring the auspicious white crane back?”

Hearing his question, the guards shivered more and more violently, and their faces turned ghastly pale. The leader of the guards was already in despair, but he had to bite the bullet and reply, “Your Majesty, we did not bring the auspicious white crane back.”

“What?” Baili Qingcang’s expression turned cold. “Why not? What happened?”

“Your Majesty, the auspicious white crane landed in the Second Prince Mansion’s dog kennel, and the hunting dogs in the mansion…”

“What did you say?” Baili Qingcang suddenly stood up. The originally lively atmosphere suddenly turned cold. All of the officials fell silent. “Say it again! What happened to the auspicious white crane?”

The leader of the guards who replied was almost drenched in a cold sweat. He stammered, his teeth tattering, “Y-Y-Your Majesty, the crane fell into the dog kennel in the Second Prince Mansion, and the hunting dogs in the mansion bit the crane to death! When we arrived, we only saw the crane feathers all over the ground.”

Baili Jinchuan’s eyes turned cold as he glared at Baili Junyi and Shen Ninghua. “This is their retaliation. They are taking revenge on me!”

After hearing this, Yang Yingxue almost fainted. Because there were white cranes flying over the prayer ceremony during the new year’s prayer ceremony, the Emperor had officiated the white crane to be Da’an Kingdom’s auspicious animal. No one was allowed to kill it at will. Only a few days had passed, and the white crane that was regarded as auspicious had been torn apart by the hounds raised by the Second Prince. They were literally jumping into a trap they had dug!

Baili Jinchuan quickly got up and knelt on the ground. At this time, he had no way to refute it. He could only beg for forgiveness with the most respectful posture and pray that Baili Qingcang did not lose his mind because of anger.

Baili Qingcang’s eyes were red. Many citizens must have seen the shining white crane flying over the capital. If they knew that the white crane had fallen into the Second Prince Mansion’s hands and was torn to pieces by the hounds, they would definitely mock him, the seemingly almighty Emperor! Thinking of this, Baili Qingcang glared at Baili Jinchuan, and coldness filled his eyes.

“Go back to your mansion to cultivate yourself, and you’re not allowed to come out without my order. You’re in the capital, so raising the hunting hounds is useless. Also, the hounds are fierce by nature. There are many powerful people in the capital. If the dogs accidentally hurt any one of them, how will you deal with the aftermath? It would be better to cook them directly. Guards, go to the Second Prince Mansion and cook all the hunting dogs. Then, distribute the meat among the officials. Don’t waste it.”

“Yes! We accept the decree.” Seeing that the Emperor did not punish them, the guards almost cried tears of joy and quickly ran out of the imperial palace and went straight to the Second Prince Mansion.

Baili Jinchuan felt his face burning in embarrassment as he felt all the gazes sweeping over him. At this point, he wished that there was a hole on the ground for him to crawl in and hide. Everyone in the capital knew that he liked hunting dogs the most. He would even take them to the suburbs every once in a while to train them. Father Emperor had personally ordered his guards to cook his beloved hunting hounds! This was far worse than directly punishing him.

Baili Junyi had a cold smile in his eyes. If Baili Jinchuan’s scheme had succeeded at the New Year’s Eve banquet, he and Ninghua would probably be in deadly trouble. This time, it was just a slight punishment, but Second Royal Brother could not take it?

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“The auspicious white crane has already been taken to the palace and has settled down. Do you all understand?” Baili Qingcang’s dignified gaze swept over everyone, and he affirmed with a solemn and threatening tone.

“Yes! Congratulations, Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty!” Everyone hurriedly bowed and shouted. No one dared to go against him at this moment.

Everyone continued to kneel for fifteen minutes as Baili Qingcang did not order them to rise. Only when some of the old officials were shaking did he speak, “Rise! Alright, everyone, you’re dismissed. I’m tired, and I need to rest.” After saying this, he immediately stood up and walked towards the back hall.

The officials did not exchange any more pleasantries. They bowed at each other and quickly walked out of the imperial palace. At this time, no one dared to say anything because if they offended the Emperor even with a single word, they would be fired, or worst, be punished by execution.

Baili Junyi and Shen Ninghua walked out side by side. They had only taken two steps when they were stopped by Yang Yingxue.

Shen Ninghua looked at her. There was not the slightest emotion in her eyes. “What do you block our way, Side Concubine Yang?”

Yang Yingxue’s shoulders trembled slightly. The address “Side Concubine Yang” was enough to make Yang Yingxue know her place clearly. Shen Ninghua was really calm to the extreme. Yang Yingxue opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but she was stopped by Baili Jinchuan.

“Yingxue, it’s time for you to go back!”

Yang Yingxue looked at Baili Jinchuan who was not far away and was stunned by his sharp gaze. She slightly moved to the side to make way.

Baili Junyi reached out and held Shen Ninghua’s hand. “Ninghua, let’s go.”

Baili Jinchuan walked to Yang Yingxue and grabbed her wrist. He held her so tightly that he almost broke her wrist. “Don’t do what you shouldn’t do and don’t say what you shouldn’t say. Stay still, and you can be the Second Prince’s Side Concubine. If not, you’d better go back to your family and continue to be the Eldest Young Lady.”

Yang Yingxue swayed and almost couldn’t stand up. “What do you mean by that? Are you going to abandon me?”

Baili Jinchuan glanced at her and did not answer, but the disgust and coldness in his eyes already explained everything.

Looking at his figure striding forward, Yang Yingxue smiled sadly, feeling as if he had held her heart up high and then dropped it heavily on the floor. For some reason, she mustered up the courage and asked, “Your Highness, I love you. Can’t you feel it? Do you really have to have her?”

Baili Jinchuan stopped and turned around. Because he had walked out of the range of the lanterns, the place where he stood was slightly dark, so no one could see his expression clearly, but she could sense the coldness from him. “I can feel it, but I don’t care.” Apart from Shen Ninghua, no one else was worthy of him expending so much effort. He did not say this, but his expression was clearly expressing the remark. After he finished speaking, he left without looking back.

When Baili Jinchuan’s figure disappeared into the night, Yang Yingxue swayed and laughed miserably. “You don’t care. Hah! You only care about Shen Ninghua, right? Unfortunately, you probably won’t be able to get her for the rest of your life!” After saying that, she tidied up her clothes and slowly walked out of the palace.

When the crowd dispersed, a figure appeared from the darkness. It was the Third Prince, who had left earlier. At this time, his eyes kept darting around with obvious excitement. Many things that he could not understand were connected in his mind bit by bit. He clenched his right fist and punched the palm of his left hand. “No wonder, no wonder! It turns out that Second Elder Brother likes Fifth Younger Brother’s wife. Hehe, this is a big discovery!”

He had to tell his mother quickly. Maybe this was a great opportunity to suppress Baili Jinchuan and Baili Junyi!

After Baili Jinchuan left the palace, he rode a horse and quickly rushed back to the mansion. At this time, there was no sound in the dog kennel except for a few guards. Blood flowed all over the ground. The hounds that would shake their tails to greet him in the past became stiff corpses.

Seeing Baili Jinchuan’s dark and gloomy face, the guards trembled all over and immediately saluted, “Greetings, Your Highness.”

Baili Jinchuan carefully sized them up as if he wanted to remember their faces in his heart. “Have you killed them all?”

“Yes, we have already killed them all.”

“Then hurry up and send the portions to the various officials’ residences.” After he finished speaking, he directly turned around and left, not having the heart to take another look.

“Father Emperor, you are tearing off my dignity, throwing it on the floor, stepping and spitting on it!”

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