He then turned to the soldier and gave his next orders. “Go back and tell your commander that the plague mustn’t be allowed to spread. The pestilence should be resolved immediately; otherwise, he can bring his head to this Monarch.”
The soldier kowtowed as he accepted the edict and swiftly let Liu Hall.
~~~
Prime Minister Residence
After Yin returned to his room, he handed the face mask of Prime Minister Wen to the person who was originally in charge of putting on the disguise. That person left the room swiftly to avoid alerting anyone.
Yin then changed into a changshan and buttoned up. The cold and intelligent look in his eyes vanished, instantly replaced by a foolish gaze as the person let his saliva drip onto his sleeve.
The door opened, and a maidservant responsible for delivering the meals gave a disdainful remark. “Time to eat, though you’d be better off starving to death. It’s such a waste for you to have such a gentle face.”
She slammed the bowl of porridge that had already turned black on the table.
Wearing his foolish facade, Yin showed no reaction, continuing to stare at the wall with a dazed expression.
Fumes of anger erupted in the maidservant’s heart. She dashed forward and ruthlessly pulled his clothes.
“Finish this quickly. This young lady still has to meet my boyfriend.” She was too occupied with showing off to notice the contempt that flashed in the man’s eyes.
He purposely picked up the bowl and poured it on the maidservant, then stared at her with a foolish expression.
The maidservant screamed, lashing out with a slap, though Yin managed to dodge it. After all, despite pretending to be foolish, he wasn’t about to let anyone hit him for real.
“How dare you harm me?! Eat it now!” The maidservant grabbed the bits of rice scattered on the floor and stuffed them into Yin’s mouth. However, the commotion alerted those outside, and it wasn’t long before Madame Wen had arrived with her maidservant.
“How are you serving Eldest Young Master? Drag her out and give her 20 beatings of the plank.”
The meal delivery maidservant became panicky. Disregarding her sorry state, she knelt on the floor. “Madame, please spare my life. This maidservant didn’t do it on purpose. It was Eldest Young Master, he…”
Madame Wen cut her off furiously. “Enough! A lowly maidservant dares to bully the Eldest Young Master; sell her to Yihong House[1].”
The meal delivery maidservant’s expression wilted as she envisioned the end that awaited her. Her bawling sounded like ghosts wailing in the air, but she still could not escape her fate of getting dragged away.
Yin’s smirk widened as he watched the farce, but a deafening silence was left as Madame Wen stood stock still in the doorway.
“Xiaoyu, it’s all your mum’s fault. If not for me, you wouldn’t have been taken away by that ruthless woman.” Her gaze was filled with sorrow, but also overflowing with love.
Yin gazed at her foolishly. Despite the complex emotions welling up in his heart, the feeling of resentment was the most apparent.
Madame Wen approached him gently, but he threw a vase at her, causing blood to flow down from her head.
The maidservant was scared witless. “Madame, Madame!”
“I’m fine, keep it down.”
Tears poured down Madame Wen’s face. “Xiaoyu, your mum knows that you blame me and don’t wish to see me, so I will go out first.” She walked out of the room, her footsteps frail.
After she left, Yin regained his normal look – eyes that were as cold as ice that had frozen for a thousand years.
Yin flipped the bed up, revealing an underground passageway. Jumping down, he found himself in a dark and eerie passage. Despite this, he didn’t use any tools to light the way, simply following the cold walls that mirrored his cold heart as he moved forward.
Upon reaching a cell at the end of the tunnel, he found a decrepit Prime Minister Wen who was currently in a sorry state. Finally, a twisted smile stretched across Yin’s face.
Snap! He opened the lock on the door.
1. Most likely a brothel based on its name.
