Chapter 106: Xie Nai’s Fury

Chapter 106: Xie Nai's Fury

"Great and revered Divine Lord Jiayi!"

In the dense forest, High Priest Wu Fei raised his staff and prayed loudly, "Tell us where the wild leopard is, for the grassland warriors' arrows are eager to be stained with blood!"

"Grant us knowledge, Divine Lord!"

"Stain with blood, a sacrifice to the Divine Lord!"

The people of the Mengqin Tribe followed Wu Fei, crossing their arms and bowing their heads in sincere prayer.

"Does this prayer even work?"

"Instead of wasting time praying, we should look harder. I don't buy that their Divine Lord will actually kill game and bring it to us. They're just putting on a show."

"You can't say that. These foreigners revere this Divine Lord Jiayi just as we honor our ancestors; they take it very seriously."

"Indeed, if we want to win over Mengqin, waiting a bit won't hurt. We are a great nation; we should be magnanimous."

As Wu Fei led the Mengqin tribe in prayer, officials of the Tianyuan Dynasty whispered among themselves.

Xie Xuanran and Lin Wen exchanged glances, then silently looked away.

Xie Ji'an, standing beside Xie Nai, furrowed his brow slightly.

Their party had originally set out to hunt wild leopards, but after searching the forest for half a day, they had only seen common prey. Not a single leopard, nor even a large gray wolf.

The Mengqin tribe believed in their Divine Lord and would pray when faced with difficulties, so the group stopped to wait for the High Priest to complete his ritual.

"The Divine Lord has given guidance." Wu Fei lowered his staff and announced, "To the southwest."

The faint light cast Wu Fei's gloomy expression in an eerie glow.

"Then let's head southwest." Xie Xuanran ordered.

Just as they spurred their horses forward, Luo Bei rushed over with an unusually grave expression. "Your Highness, there's trouble with the young master."

Everyone saw the Prince of Lingnan's expression shift instantly. "What's going on?" Xie Nai asked.

"They pissed off Consort Dowager Ying and fell from a height into the water."

Luo Bei's voice was loud enough for Xie Xuanran and Lin Wen to hear. "Uncle, you'd better go check on him." Xie Xuanran showed concern.

Lin Wen added, "I, the Prime Minister, will handle things here."

At that moment, Xie Nai's eyes were like icy daggers, filled with sharpness and murderous intent. He glanced at Lin Wen and nodded. "Take care of His Majesty."

Then he snapped his whip and, with Luo Bei, swiftly left the dense forest.

"Your Majesty, who is this young man to earn such concern from the Prince of Lingnan?" Wu Fei asked curiously, watching Xie Nai's retreating figure.

"Just a friend of my uncle's, nothing more." Xie Xuanran gave a calm smile. "It's getting late; let's head southwest."

Wu Fei also smiled, acting as if nothing had happened. "Sure, Your Majesty goes first."

Lin Wen stood beside Xie Xuanran, watching coldly from the sidelines, seeing right through it all but keeping his mouth shut.

And not only Lin Wen, but also Xie Nai saw through the situation.

After Qin Jiao fell into the water, Qin Yuanshan had taken him to the medical station at the northern outskirts. When Xie Nai arrived, Qin Yuanshan was absent, and only Qin Ji and Qin Han were pacing anxiously.

"Why hasn't brother woken up yet?" Qin Han's big eyes were red, and her voice choked.

Qin Ji comforted her, "The doctor said he just swallowed water; it's nothing serious. Don't freak yourself out, Xiao Han."

Though he said this, Qin Ji's heart thumped like a drum, giving him no peace.

Especially since Qin Yuanshan had just been summoned by the Second Prince's men, which only deepened his unease.

Before leaving that day, Yu Shuhan had suddenly developed a headache so severe she could barely walk. Unable to come herself, she had drilled into him to watch over Qin Jiao and their younger sister.

He figured nothing would go wrong when Qin Jiao went to see the Prince of Lingnan, but he never expected Consort Dowager Ying to call for them out of the blue, ending in such a mess.

"Why can't we just go in and take a look? This guard of yours is way too rigid!" While Qin Ji was pacifying Qin Han, Jiang Qingrong had started his third argument with the door guards.

To be precise, it wasn't an argument but testing the waters.

They had been waiting for nearly half an hour without seeing Qin Jiao.

"Prince Jiang, I've already given the reason many times." The guard was getting annoyed too. "The doctor said the two Qin brothers can't be exposed to any draft after falling into water. They can't see anyone until they wake naturally."

Qin Han ventured, "Can we just take a look from the doorway?"

The guard shook his head again. "No. You don't want to make them even worse, do you?"

"Annoying! The room is big enough, and with screens, what's the big deal if we just glance from far away..."

Jiang Qingrong couldn't help grumbling. If he weren't so worried about Qin Jiao, he'd have barged in by now.

Not far away, Xie Nai watched the scene coldly.

The next moment, the Prince of Lingnan swept in with an air of icy wrath he could barely contain.

"The Prince is here!" "Prince!"

Jiang Qingrong started to step forward to greet Xie Nai, but then saw him give a slight raise of his hand. In an instant, several guards swarmed in.

"Arrest every single one of them!" Luo Bei, standing behind Xie Nai, said coldly.

The moment he finished, the guards drew their swords and advanced, quickly subduing the medical station's guards.

"What the—?"

Jiang Qingrong, Qin Ji, and Qin Han stood there, stunned speechless.

As they stood frozen, Luo Bei kicked the door open.

Jiang Qingrong came to his senses, shouting, "Careful, careful! Qin Jiao can't catch the draft!"

He chased after Luo Bei, thinking to himself, "As expected from the Prince of Lingnan—acts swiftly and brutally. Dare to block him? He'll have you all locked up."

But before Jiang Qingrong could finish that thought, Xie Nai ordered the doctors and assistants inside to be seized.

Then, Qin Chaole appeared in front of everyone, looking sickly and unsteady.

Qin Ji and Qin Han hurried over to support him. "Are you alright?"

Qin Chaole forced a smile. "I'm fine."

Jiang Qingrong looked puzzled. "Your Highness, what do you think you're doing?"

Xie Nai did not answer Jiang Qingrong's question, nor did he look at Qin Chaole. Instead, he turned and walked toward the bed not far away.

The beds in the medical office were all draped with thick curtains. When Xie Nai stopped, without him having to act, guards immediately stepped forward and pulled the curtains open.

On the moderately sized bed, the quilt was slightly bunched up. The person inside did not show his head, but through the constantly shaking quilt, one could guess that the person lying inside was shaking violently.

"Drag him down."

At Xie Nai's three words, the guards acted decisively, roughly yanking the shivering person off the bed.

"What's going on? Isn't the person in bed my brother?"

Slow as they were, Qin Ji and the others finally realized something was off.

In particular, Jiang Qingrong and Qin Ji knew the relationship between Xie Nai and Qin Jiao. If the person in bed were truly Qin Jiao, how could Xie Nai treat him like this?

Finally, when the guards yanked him down, Jiang Qingrong and the others saw that it was indeed not Qin Jiao!

"Who are you! Where is my brother?" Qin Ji leaped forward and demanded angrily.

The person dragged down by the guards looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old. Frightened, he couldn't stop trembling, like a leaf.

"Your servant... your servant is from the Noble Consort Dowager's palace." The man sobbed and wailed, "Your Highness, spare me. This was all arranged by the Noble Consort Dowager. I don't know anything, and I have no idea where Young Master Qin is now..."

Jiang Qingrong was furious, even more so than Xie Nai. "Damned lowlife! Shameless and despicable Li Ying!"

"Where could my brother be?" Qin Han's eyes reddened. Then, as if remembering something, she asked Qin Chaole, "Chaole, weren't you summoned together with my brother by Consort Dowager Ying? What's going on?"

Qin Han's words jolted everyone awake. They all turned to Qin Chaole. "Spit it out!"

Xie Nai also looked at Qin Chaole. His eyes were dark and unreadable, but the corner of his mouth curled up, hinting at arrogance and disdain.

Qin Chaole noticed Xie Nai's expression, but he didn't say much. Instead, he said flatly, without changing his expression: "Qin Jiao is..."

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