At the same time, in the main hall of the Eastern Palace, a hidden guard who delivered the message knelt on one knee and reported, "Master, the eldest son of the Fang family is dead. As you predicted, the Fang family is also secretly bribing court officials. They want some lower-ranking officials in the court to jointly impeach the Gu family. According to the subordinates' investigation in the past two days, those officials who received sufficient silver have indeed given the Fang family face. Some are impeaching Old General Gu, and some are impeaching the eldest son of the Gu family, Gu Yefeng.
In addition, those who originally disliked Old General Gu's style of doing things have all come forward and impeached the Gu family grandfather and grandson before the Emperor.
"Hmm, I know. What about that girl from the Gu family?"
"She has disappeared without a trace. The subordinate could not find her."
Listening to the words of the hidden guard.
The man sitting at the head of the table paused the hand that was playing with a fan made of human skin. He raised his eyes, stood up, and walked to the front of the hidden guard.
The hidden guard dared not look up, but the corner of the red robe that flickered before his eyes made him so nervous that cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
"So, you lost track of the person?"
"Subordinate... subordinate... made a mistake. I beg the master to punish me."
The hidden guard lowered his head even further.
The corner of the slightly swaying red robe was still there, and the hidden guard could clearly feel the killing intent from above.
"Please... Master, give your subordinate a chance to atone..."
"Mmmph!"
Ouyang Qinglin struck with a palm, interrupting the hidden guard's unfinished words.
Bright red blood flowed from the corner of the hidden guard's mouth.
His body fell softly, and he breathed his last.
Ouyang Qinglin, as if disgusted, took out a handkerchief from his waist and gently wiped his hands.
At this moment, the hidden guards following behind him silently dealt with the dead hidden guard.
The room returned to its usual tranquility.
Just then, Nan Rong Qi, dressed in splendid robes, walked in energetically, embracing the recently favored beauty, Madam Hu.
"I apologize for keeping you waiting, sir. Today, I heard that my Ninth Imperial Uncle, Nan Gong Mo, who wields immense power and always carries himself with an arrogant demeanor, has been shut out by my father for two consecutive days. Hahaha, I was overjoyed when I heard about this. The more he tries to save Old General Gu and the eldest son of the Gu family, the more he will be deliberately obstructed by my father, haha. For this, I have prepared a banquet. Come, National Master, let us celebrate properly."
As he spoke, palace maids carrying fine wine and delicacies entered like a school of fish.
Nan Rong Qi sat down leisurely, with the beauty Madam Hu sitting closely beside him.
Her sheer pink skirt, slightly red lips, and slender waist were truly eye-catching.
However, the somewhat mismatched wooden hairpin she wore caught Ouyang Qinglin's eye.
Ouyang Qinglin smiled sinisterly, "Your Highness, this National Master is in a bad mood today. I need to drink yin blood, eat yin flesh, and have my skin massaged. You see... today, do I need you to bestow some things upon this National Master?"
As Ouyang Qinglin said this, he deliberately glanced at the beauty Madam Hu.
Nan Rong Qi's expression changed immediately. He looked at Ouyang Qinglin with a dark face and said, "Sir, she is the one who serves me most satisfactorily."
"So what? Whether to bestow or not, it is up to you, Your Highness."
Hearing this, the beauty Madam Hu was startled. At this moment, what else could she not understand?
Who didn't know that the sinister and venomous National Master before them liked to play with women's blood, eat women's flesh, and make fans from women's skin?
She shivered, quickly got up, knelt down, and kowtowed to Ouyang Qinglin, begging for mercy with tears, "Please spare me, National Master. My skin and flesh are not good; they cannot be used or eaten."
Ouyang Qinglin walked towards her, gently lifted Madam Hu's chin with fingers coated in floral scent, and said with a sinister smile, "The skin is smooth, delicate, and tender. Hmm, it is indeed good. Someone, hurry and bring this item back to this National Master and process it properly."
Heard this, Madam Hu was terrified. She quickly stood up from the ground, turned, and stumbled to beg Nan Rong Qi, "Your Highness, please speak a good word for me. I won't go anywhere; I just want to serve by your side."
Originally, Nan Rong Qi intended to persuade Ouyang Qinglin to show mercy, but the moment he saw that the first person Madam Hu pleaded with was not him but the National Master, Nan Rong Qi's face turned cold. He kicked Madam Hu away and said angrily with a cold face, "Get lost, you dead bitch. It is your honor to become the National Master's meal. Someone, hurry and drag this bitch away. I am very annoyed."
Knowing that the Crown Prince also did not want to keep her, Madam Hu's face turned ashen, and she collapsed on the ground.
Two guards walked in and grabbed her. As they passed Ouyang Qinglin, Madam Hu suddenly went mad, lunging at Ouyang Qinglin with her teeth bared and claws extended.
"You damned sinister person, I will kill you!"
*Puchi!*
A sharp long sword pierced through Madam Hu's chest from behind.
After the guard drew the long sword from Madam Hu's body, the blood gushing from her chest splattered everywhere.
Madam Hu slowly fell.
Ouyang Qinglin stood in place, his expression unchanged.
His subordinate retracted the long sword in his hand and stood behind Ouyang Qinglin.
According to the rules of the Eastern Palace, except for the guards at the gate, others were not allowed to carry weapons when leaving the Eastern Palace.
However, here, the National Master Ouyang Qinglin and his subordinates were an exception.
This was not something Nan Rong Qi benefited from, but rather, Ouyang Qinglin had always been so arrogant and overbearing in front of Nan Rong Qi that he was already accustomed to it.
But Ouyang Qinglin was always like this, and Nan Rong Qi still found it displeasing.
"Sir, here in my palace, even my own people need to hand over their weapons when they enter and exit, and let my people temporarily keep them. But your people are like this..."
"Today, this National Master is in a bad mood and cannot accompany Your Highness. I bid you farewell."
Ouyang Qinglin coldly interrupted Nan Rong Qi's words, turned around, and left the Eastern Palace with his people.
As he left, Ouyang Qinglin said to Nan Rong Qi with his back turned, "If Your Highness thinks you can rest easy from now on, then you can indulge yourself without worry. However, at that time, I cannot know what the Emperor will think of Your Highness!"
Hearing Ouyang Qinglin's words, Nan Rong Qi's body trembled violently.
He kicked his personal eunuch, Eunuch Zhou, "What are you still standing there for? Hurry and clean up this room inside and out. Also, inform the back courtyard and tell them not to wander around aimlessly. Say that I am worried about the loss of a pillar of the state for the court after hearing about Old General Gu's affairs, and I have been in seclusion for recuperation. Report to my father at court and ask him to grant me a few days of leave."
Eunuch Zhou was stunned.
Nan Rong Qi kicked him again, "Go, hurry!"
"Yes, yes, yes, this servant will go now."
After Eunuch Zhou left.
Nan Rong Qi chased after him.
"Sir, sir, please wait a moment."
Ouyang Qinglin raised his hand slightly, and the sedan chair he was in paused. He turned his head, still wearing a sinister smile on his face, "Does Your Highness have anything else?"
"Sir, I will have the entire lineage of the Hu family pay for the foolishness of Madam Hu. I hope you will not be angry."
As angry as Nan Rong Qi was just now, he was now as submissive.
"Hmm, Your Highness is thoughtful. However, I wonder if Your Highness still needs this wooden hairpin. If not, then this National Master will keep it with him."
Ouyang Qinglin played with a wooden hairpin, but it was more like he was holding it carefully.
Seeing the wooden hairpin in Ouyang Qinglin's palm, Nan Rong Qi was slightly surprised, and then he understood everything.
So that's how it is.
"Sir, please don't joke. That was originally yours, and it should be returned to its rightful owner."
"Hmm, lift the sedan chair, return to the mansion."
Ouyang Qinglin withdrew his gaze and, riding in a grand eight-bearer sedan chair, swaggered away from the Eastern Palace.
Nan Rong Qi looked in the direction he left, his fawning eyes gradually deepening, and a ferocious smile appeared on his lips, "I don't know what's so good about that little bitch Gu Qianying that she's caught the eye of two equally skilled fellows. This is good. When two tigers fight, one must be injured. If both are defeated, it's best. If not, it's also good if one dies. At that time, I can reap the benefits, or I can deal with one person alone!"
With these thoughts, his mood naturally improved greatly. Nan Rong Qi turned and ordered:
"Someone, go and quietly find two beauties to warm my bed!"
"Yes, Your Highness."
Little did they know, as Nan Rong Qi walked towards the main hall in a very good mood, a hidden guard dressed as a eunuch walked out from behind the rockery.
The hidden guard waited for the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn. After dark, he left along the most hidden path in the back garden.
The next day.
Outside the gate of the Gu residence.
Dozens of guards in black robes with swords surrounded the Gu residence.
"Ninth Imperial Uncle, are you really going to slaughter them?" The Third Prince, Nan Gong Li, holding a folding fan, stood close to Nan Gong Mo, trying to dissuade him from searching for the eldest daughter of the Gu family.
Just two days ago, while his Ninth Imperial Uncle was busy in the palace for the imprisonment of Old General Gu and the eldest son of the Gu family, he received news that the eldest daughter of the Gu family, Gu Qianying, had been driven out of the Gu residence.
Upon hearing this, his Ninth Imperial Uncle immediately sent people to investigate the Gu residence, only to learn that after the eldest madam of the Gu family jumped to her death from the second floor of a pharmacy, the eldest daughter of the Gu family, Gu Qianying, had disappeared without a trace.
Knowing these things, how could his Ninth Imperial Uncle sit still?
And now, he brought more than a dozen people to attack the Gu residence?
As for why the eldest daughter of the Gu family was driven out of the Gu residence, it was because she encountered someone in the residence who bullied her and she was unable to fight back.
Therefore, his Ninth Imperial Uncle had brought people to avenge Gu Qianying.
On the other hand, needless to say, his Ninth Imperial Uncle must have sent capable people to search for that fellow Gu Qianying.
Thinking of this, Nan Gong Li's eyes rolled, and then he quickly smiled and said, "Ninth Imperial Uncle, look, aren't you here to find the eldest daughter of the Gu family, Gu Qianying? As soon as the Fang family sends the eldest daughter out, we will calmly discuss inside how to flatten this Gu residence."