EWRN - Chapter 55
Chapter 55: Autumn Hunt (X)
Huo Jinyu's icy eyes stared coldly at the Fourth Prince of the Northern Kingdom, who lay twisted in the grass, wailing incessantly. Her voice deepened. "Who gave you the audacity to insult a noble consort of Our Great Yuan Kingdom?" An overwhelming aura emanated from Huo Jinyu, pressing down on the prince on the ground.
The Fourth Prince of the Northern Kingdom seemed to be stunned by Huo Jinyu's menacing aura, and for a moment, he was rendered speechless.
Huo Jinyu sized him up. "Truly an eyesore. I wonder who gave birth to such an ill-mannered beast." With that one sentence, Huo Jinyu had insulted both the Wu Clan Chieftain and his wife.
The Fourth Prince's eyes instantly reddened. He writhed on the ground, shouting, "This Prince is the Fourth Prince of the Northern Kingdom! This Prince is the future crown prince! I have suffered such a grave injury in your Great Yuan Kingdom. My Imperial Father will not let you off!"
"Oh? This is the first time We have seen an insect from the Northern Kingdom with such audacity, daring to bark like a dog on Our Great Yuan's territory." Huo Jinyu looked down, her eyes filled with contempt for the Fourth Prince on the ground. He had lost all semblance of his former self—blood and sweat mingled on his skin, his hair was a mess, and he was utterly filthy. He looked less like a prince and more like a grimy scavenger.
Hearing Huo Jinyu call him a dog, the Fourth Prince seethed with anger. He took a breath to curse back, but the movement pulled at his wounds, and he immediately began howling in pain.
"This piece of trash has no semblance of a man, yet he calls himself royalty of the Northern Kingdom. With such an incompetent royal family, it seems the Northern Kingdom is doomed to fall. Such a bedbug, daring to utter such filth to insult Our Xi'er, and even daring to call himself 'This Prince' before Us. He truly doesn't want to live," Huo Jinyu muttered to herself, her voice low. She was genuinely enraged. Earlier, while hiding behind the tree, she hadn't felt angry even when the Fourth Prince had spoken insolently of her. But when this beast insulted her Xi'er, a towering rage ignited in her heart. She was so furious she wanted to leap out and finish the shameless animal with a single sword strike.
But her reason prevailed, calming her down. To punish someone, death was the quickest release. Simply killing the Fourth Prince of the Northern Kingdom would be letting him off too easily.
No, Huo Jinyu didn't want to let him off so easily. Killing the Fourth Prince would be too merciful. Besides, this was Great Yuan territory. If someone died during the Autumn Hunt, it would be a great loss of face.
The greatest punishment, then, was to live in agony without the courage to die.
Surely, such a punishment would be the greatest torment of all.
As this thought crossed Huo Jinyu's mind, a cold smile touched her lips. The Fourth Prince had been staring at her in terror, afraid she would do something unimaginable to him.
Upon seeing Huo Jinyu's chilling smile, the Fourth Prince pissed himself on the spot.
This was no metaphor. He had actually, literally, wet himself.
A puddle of yellow liquid streamed from between the Fourth Prince's legs, gurgling into the grass and releasing a pungent stench. Huo Jinyu frowned and took a step back. "Guard Captain, sever his hand and foot tendons for Us."
With a rustle, another figure leaped from the bushes. He bowed respectfully to Huo Jinyu with cupped fists. "Yes, Your Majesty." Then he drew his sword and advanced step by step toward the writhing Fourth Prince.
A mix of terror and dread seized the Fourth Prince. He squirmed on the ground, pushing himself backward with his hands, trying to get away from the two demons before him. "Y-y-you… stay away from me!" he cried in panic, his voice stuttering.
Was this some kind of joke? He was a martial artist, a man of the steppe clans! For a man of the steppes, a martial artist, to have his tendons severed would be crippling even for a commoner! For someone who practiced martial arts, it was a living nightmare!
The Fourth Prince was so desperate he began to cry, wailing and begging for mercy. "I was wrong! I was wrong! Please, spare me!" But it was too late for submission. Besides, from the very beginning, Huo Jinyu had never intended to let this animal off.
Finally, the Guard Captain stopped before the Fourth Prince. The sword in his right hand slid gently toward the prince's ankle.
"Aaaahhh!" the Fourth Prince shrieked, his eyes squeezed shut.
The Guard Captain thought, …Your Majesty! He's faking it! This humble servant hasn't even touched him yet!
This time, the Guard Captain did not hesitate. With a swift and practiced motion, he severed the Fourth Prince's ankle tendons.
A wave of excruciating pain shot from his ankle to his brain. This time, the agony was real. The pain was so intense he couldn't even scream, only gasp for air with his mouth wide open.
The Guard Captain moved in a half-circle around the prince, brought the sword to his hands, and with two deft strokes, severed the tendons in his wrists as well.
The Fourth Prince trembled on the ground. He glared viciously at Huo Jinyu, no longer begging for mercy, but spewing a constant stream of vile curses.
"Noisy," Huo Jinyu said with a frown. "We never want to hear him speak again, nor do We wish for him to speak of today's events to anyone." The implication was clear: silence the Fourth Prince forever.
"Yes, Your Majesty." The Guard Captain understood. He acknowledged the order, flicked the blood from his blade, and sheathed his sword. He then produced a small porcelain vial from his robes, uncorked it, and forcing the Fourth Prince's mouth open, poured the contents down his throat.
He put the vial away, leaving the Fourth Prince to gag in terror, trying desperately but failing to vomit the substance back up.
"You… what did you give me!" the Fourth Prince demanded, but his voice came out as a hoarse rasp. He tried to raise a hand, but the searing pain stopped him.
"And finally," Huo Jinyu said, cracking her neck. "You animal. Didn't you say We were incapable? Then We shall make you truly incapable." She gave a sinister laugh. "Guard Captain."
"Here, Your Majesty!" the Guard Captain replied solemnly.
"Crush his 'little head' for Us!" Huo Jinyu ordered viciously.
"…Yes!" After a moment's thought, the Guard Captain complied. He stepped forward and brought his right foot down with crushing force.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!" This time, the Fourth Prince's scream was a genuine, piercing shriek. The sound carried a great distance, startling the birds in the forest into flight.
Not far away, the faces of the Fourth Prince's guards were masks of terror. "Quickly! Go! Something has happened to His Highness!"
Hearing the distant sound of approaching hooves, Huo Jinyu said, "Let's go. We'll leave them to clean up this mess."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" the Guard Captain replied. Ignoring the unconscious Fourth Prince, he quickly followed Huo Jinyu back into the trees. They mounted their horses and galloped away.
Soon, the Fourth Prince's guards arrived. Seeing their master covered in blood, their legs went weak. They were finished.
After Yan Xi departed, she had no heart for hunting and returned directly to the East Palace to rest.
Having done a great service for her Xi'er, Huo Jinyu was in high spirits. She strolled happily through the hunting grounds, bagging several small animals along the way before heading back, intending to have the kitchen prepare a feast of wild game.
With nothing to do in the East Palace, Yan Xi left her rooms, deciding to take a stroll around Jiangbei Villa.
"Hey, have you heard? The Fourth Prince of the Northern Kingdom has met with terrible misfortune!" Suddenly, as she passed a cluster of rockeries, Yan Xi overheard several young palace maids whispering.
Hearing the Fourth Prince mentioned, Yan Xi assumed her actions had been discovered by the Northern Kingdom delegation. She braced herself to face their questions and accusations.
"Is that so? I heard a commotion near the west gate just now, but I was in a hurry and couldn't stop to look. Tell me, what happened?" another maid asked. Yan Xi paused to listen.
"Let me tell you," the first maid said, "the Fourth Prince must have offended someone from another kingdom. He was slashed several times, and I heard all the tendons in his hands and feet were severed! He was conscious when his guards brought him back, but he couldn't speak a single word!"
"Goodness! Does that mean he's mute now?" the other maid exclaimed.
"Shh! Keep your voice down, or someone will hear you!" the first maid chided, lightly tapping the other on the head.
What's going on? Yan Xi was baffled. She had held back, worried that causing a major incident on Great Yuan soil would have negative repercussions for the kingdom. Who, then, had followed her and dealt such a ruthless blow to the Fourth Prince?
Still, it was immensely satisfying. A martial artist of the steppe clans, crippled and immobile—what value did he have left? Moreover, he was a prince of the Northern Kingdom. It was perfect that he was now mute and his hands were useless; he could neither speak of nor identify his attacker. Not that Yan Xi feared being identified, of course.
Leaving the rockeries behind, Yan Xi wandered the villa a while longer before returning to the East Palace.
Huo Jinyu had already returned to the East Palace and handed her pile of game to the servants to be prepared for the midday meal.
She was now sitting in a pavilion, reading a storybook. When she saw Yan Xi approaching, she called out, "Xi'er."
Yan Xi turned her head and saw Huo Jinyu sitting in the pavilion.
"Jinyu." Yan Xi returned the greeting and walked toward the pavilion.
There was only a single cup of tea in the pavilion—Huo Jinyu's. Feeling thirsty, Yan Xi disregarded the usual proprieties, picked up the cup, and drank from it.
...
Huo Jinyu watched Yan Xi's lips press against the very spot where she had drunk from the cup, and her own mouth suddenly felt dry. She recalled the passionate, unrestrained kiss from the previous night in this very pavilion. Huo Jinyu felt her ears burn, and she swallowed hard.
When Yan Xi set the cup down, she was met with Huo Jinyu's rather fervent gaze. She sat up straighter and turned her head slightly away. In broad daylight, surely Huo Jinyu wasn't thinking of repeating last night's activities? Truly… shameless!
Just then, a palace maid arrived to announce that the midday meal was ready. Huo Jinyu reached out, took Yan Xi's hand, and feigning nonchalance, led her toward the dining hall of the East Palace.
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