The Supporting Female Character Enters the Game, the Crazy Crown Prince Slowly Falls Deeply in Love - Chapter 60

Deep within the Imperial Palace.

Inside an abandoned palace hall, a figure stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze gloomy. No palace lanterns were lit in the hall, and only the moonlight shone on his face, making him appear especially cold.

A guard hastily walked into the hall, knelt on one knee, his voice urgent: “Your Excellency, the person… the person seems to have been rescued.”

The man frowned upon hearing this, a hint of malice flashing in his eyes. He slowly turned around, his gaze like a knife sweeping towards the guard, his voice icy. “Rescued?”

The guard lowered his head and reported, “When your subordinates arrived, the Pavilion of Immortal Gathering was holding a riddle contest. The street was completely blocked. The man in black appeared there last, but the specific whereabouts… are unknown.”

“Pavilion of Immortal Gathering?” The man sneered. “Was there anything unusual?”

The guard suddenly recalled something. “When your subordinates arrived, His Highness the Prince of Jin was also on the stage, and a young lady was standing beside him.”

“The Prince of Jin?” He certainly knew how to pick his moments. It was the Mid-Autumn Festival today, and the Prince of Jin not only skipped the palace banquet but also ran off to the Pavilion of Immortal Gathering. Could it be… that the man in black was rescued by the Prince of Jin?

The guard was a bit hesitant. “Could it just be a coincidence? His Highness the Prince of Jin even had a young lady with him…”

“A distraction, nothing more.” The man sneered, a cold light flickering in his eyes. How could there be so many coincidences in the world?

He pondered for a moment and said, “Go and investigate the Prince of Jin’s recent movements, especially who he has been in contact with and where he has been. Report all details, no matter how trivial.”

“Yes.”

The guard was about to withdraw when the man suddenly spoke again. “Wait.”

“Was there anything unusual inside the Pavilion of Immortal Gathering?”

The guard thought for a moment, appearing somewhat hesitant. “Your subordinate also saw Young Master Xie inside the Pavilion of Immortal Gathering. He was… embracing a young lady.”

Hearing this, a look of sarcastic amusement appeared on the man’s originally icy face. “Xie Yunian?” His tone carried a hint of disdain. “Even with amnesia, he doesn’t forget to indulge in romantic pursuits. He’s just a useless fool.”

The guard kept his head down, not daring to reply.

“These aristocratic young masters, each one claiming to be refined, are in fact all mediocre talents addicted to wine and pleasure. The Xie family… ha, nothing more than that.” He turned around, his gaze settling on the guard. “These irrelevant matters, you don’t need to report them in the future. The Master doesn’t have time for this.”

The guard’s expression was hesitant, as if he still had something to say.

The man frowned. “Something else?”

The guard hesitated, but still braced himself and said, “Your subordinate heard that the Master seems to be interested in the third Miss of the Jiang family, and isn’t the one about to be engaged to Young Master Xie… the third Miss Jiang?”

The man was momentarily stunned. “Where did you hear that?”

“Your subordinate… Your subordinate heard it from Lord Jinning. He instructed us to pay attention to the third Miss Jiang’s movements…” the guard quickly explained.

The man slowly paced to the window, his gaze passing through the window lattice towards the brightly lit palace halls in the distance. He pondered for a moment and said, “Fine, I will report it to the Master. Not capturing the person this time can be considered a service rendered to make up for the mistake.”

Outside the window, a cold wind howled, stirring the tattered curtains inside the hall, as if foreshadowing an impending storm.

The night was as dark as ink, and the fine rain fell densely, shrouding Bright Emerald Mountain in a haze. Amidst the ruined walls of the broken temple, the fire had long been extinguished by the rain. Only a few wisps of smoke struggled in the damp air, then quickly vanished without a trace.

A man in brocade clothes silently appeared near the broken temple. His face was covered with a mask, revealing only a pair of slightly upturned eyes. His figure was tall and slender. A jade pendant hung from his waist, engraved with intricate patterns, upon which the character “Xiao” was faintly visible.

He raised his hand and made a gesture. The two people behind him immediately split up, quickly searching every corner of the broken temple. The temple had been completely scorched by the fire, leaving only rubble and ashes all over the ground.

Before long, Moya whispered a report from the overgrown grass behind the courtyard: “Your Highness, two corpses were found here.”

The man quickly walked over and squatted down, reaching out to part the still-wet weeds, revealing two bodies lying on the ground. The corpses’ faces were blurred by the fire, and their clothes were tattered and broken.

Moya reported in a low voice, “Your Highness, besides these two corpses, nothing else was found.”

The man looked around and sighed. “What a pity for this piece of land.”

Moya was covered in black lines, feeling that his Highness was so unique.

“What is this?” He squatted down, his gaze falling on a small patch of dark blue-green on the corpse’s arm. The corpse had been burned, and this area was not obvious. If one didn’t look closely, it would not be noticed at all.

Moya examined it carefully and reported in a low voice, “Your Highness, this seems to be a tattoo…?”

Qingling  also leaned over to take a closer look. “Huh? Your subordinate has this tattoo too.” With that, Qingling untied the binding around his wrist and pulled up his sleeve. “Your Highness, look, doesn’t it look similar?”

“…You have this hobby too?” The person addressed as ‘Your Highness’ frowned.

“No,” Qingling scratched his head. “This is a tattoo only found on death-row inmates.”

Qingling continued to explain, “Usually, only those who have been sentenced to the death penalty and are held in the deepest parts of the imperial prison are branded with this mark. It hurt your subordinate for two days back then.”

“It didn’t hurt you to death, though,” Moya scoffed.

“If it weren’t for Your Highness, I would have died long ago.” Qingling pulled his sleeve back down. “But could this person also have once been a death-row inmate?”

The man’s lips curled into a meaningful smile upon hearing this. He stood up, lightly patting the non-existent dust from his body, and said faintly, “Moya, dispose of this patch. Don’t leave any traces.”

Moya nodded, took out a small dagger from his inner pocket, and pulled over the wine pot hanging from Qingling’s waist.

“Hey! That’s Drunken Immortal Brew! It’s very expensive!” Qingling shouted when he saw this, his voice filled with distress and reluctance.

“I’ll pay you back later.” Moya poured the wine onto the dagger, used a flint to light it, and pressed it onto the tattoo.

“Can you pay me back with two pots then?” Qingling blinked, trying to bargain.

Moya put away the dagger and threw the wine pot back to Qingling. The latter clumsily caught it, muttering, “Be careful! This is my lifeblood.”

“Sizzle.” The sound of the flame scorching the skin was exceptionally clear in the quiet night. Qingling heard the sound and couldn’t help but shiver, shrinking his neck. “I feel like I won’t want to eat any more barbecue for the next few days.”

The man looked at the completely covered tattoo and chuckled.

“Now, that man named Xie owes me two favors.”