Chapter 6: Mr. Hawk

“Qin Qingxue, you must recognize your place! I am a prince, and you are a subject. When we meet, you should pay me respect. Not only did you neglect proper etiquette, but you also dared to presumptuously call me your brother. Even punishing you for this overstepping would not be excessive!” Li Ye said coldly.

“Fine, fine. I salute you! I, General Qin Qingxue, pay my respects to His Highness the Sixth Prince. Is this enough? Are you satisfied now?” Qin Qingxue replied sharply.

“Your Highness the Sixth Prince, please do not use such tactics to entangle me any longer. There is no longer any possibility between us. If you are displeased with me, direct it at me alone! Do not use such means to insult our Qin family. I beg Your Highness to allow me to receive guests at Qilin Pavilion so we may completely sever ties and have no further entanglement.”

“You misunderstand! Guests at Qilin Pavilion must meet strict criteria. Only those who qualify are invited as members. Your Qin family cannot be received simply because you do not meet these standards. I will not casually break the rules,” Li Ye responded firmly.

“I, Qin Qingxue, have defended the Great Yuan Dynasty by repelling the barbarian tribes and secured its stability. The Emperor himself appointed me General Changying. You say I am unqualified? I see now—you are jealous of my achievements! Unable to bear such excellence, you seek to take revenge in this way. Very well, you have succeeded. Are you pleased now?” Qin Qingxue’s face flushed with fury as she stared hard at Li Ye.

Today, no matter what, the Qin family’s disgrace is immense. She harbored deep resentment toward Li Ye.

“Do you have no shame saying that? Without our prince, where would you be today?” Xiao Cuier could no longer hold back and loudly retorted, “Back then, the Qin family was utterly destitute. You didn’t even have the right to enter a poetry gathering. It was our prince who took pity on you and brought you in.

If it weren’t for our prince, the Qin family wouldn’t even have a place to live! Even the residence you currently inhabit was bought by him. Your military training and study of strategy were all arranged by the prince’s masters. Your appointment as general was also petitioned for by the prince to the Emperor!

And yet you have the gall to claim everything was your own doing? That the prince is jealous of you? You are the true ungrateful villain. Having achieved success, you dare to abandon the prince and throw yourself into another’s arms—shameless indeed. If you had any backbone, you would return everything the prince gave you. But do you have the ability to do that?”

Many had only seen the Qin family’s rapid rise in recent years. Coupled with Qin Qingxue’s glory in defeating enemy forces, they had long forgotten how destitute the Qin family once was. Hearing Xiao Cuier’s words brought those memories back. The looks cast at Qin Xinghuai and Qin Qingxue shifted noticeably.

She was right. Without the Sixth Prince, no one would have paid attention to the Qin family. Others might mock the prince as illegitimate, a royal tainted by mercantile greed, but only the Qin family lacked qualification. Worse still, after achieving success, they immediately abandoned Li Ye, revealing their true character.

Qin Qingxue’s cheeks burned red, unable to find a word to retort. She turned and walked away.

“You insolent maid! How dare you insult a general of the Great Yuan! You won’t get away with this!” Qin Xinghuai, too ashamed to stay, spat out harsh words before leaving in disgrace.

The guests who came to celebrate exchanged glances. They had expected the Qin family to show face, but instead, they witnessed disgrace. No one knew whether to stay for the meal.

Though Xiao Cuier had won the argument, she still felt somewhat guilty. Facing Li Ye, she quietly stuck out her tongue. “Your Highness, I hope I didn’t cause you trouble?”

Li Ye gave her a thumbs-up, praising, “Well done!”

“Hmph, this is exactly how to deal with shameless people!” said Linyue coldly, though a smile could not be suppressed in her eyes.

With this clash, news of Qin Qingxue and Li Ye’s breakup quickly spread throughout the capital. It was also known that Qin Qingxue had joined the company of Shi Wushuang from Yunlu Pavilion. Public opinion was mixed.

Some believed Li Ye was unworthy of Qin Qingxue and that Shi Wushuang was the better match. Others considered Qin Qingxue a heartless betrayer. Without Li Ye’s help, her family would have remained destitute and would never have met Shi Wushuang.

Li Ye had no interest in such rumors. After eating and drinking to his satisfaction, he returned home.

In the garden of the mansion, an old man lay leisurely in a rocking chair. He wore loose gray robes, exuding an aura of Daoist transcendence. Holding a pot of wine, he sipped from it intermittently. He was so at ease in the prince’s residence that he seemed to be the true master of the place.

Li Ye was not surprised to see him. Smiling, he approached. “Master Xiao? What wind blew you here? Ran out of wine?”

“Old one pays respects to His Highness the Sixth Prince!” Master Xiao said, bowing but remaining motionless.

Li Ye was unfazed. Sitting on a nearby stone bench, he told Xiao Cuier, “Master Xiao has come all this way. Brew two pots of good tea and bring out the new batch of my sauce-flavored wine. Let Master Xiao have a taste.”

“Yes!” Xiao Cuier responded promptly, gliding away to prepare the refreshments.

Anyone else witnessing this scene would be astonished. To see the prince treated so casually, and the usually aloof and proud Linyue standing respectfully aside, it was clear that this old man’s status was extraordinary.

At the mention of good wine, Master Xiao immediately sat up, his face full of anticipation. “You’ve brewed new wine? How does it taste?”

“You’ll know once you try it. I guarantee it’s a flavor you’ve never experienced.”

Master Xiao slapped his thigh and laughed heartily, “Excellent, excellent! Today was truly worth the trip. Actually, if Your Highness ever announces that you have good wine brewing, even if I were on the farthest horizon, I would come without hesitation.”

“Master Xiao didn’t come just to drink wine, did he? You’ve come to help me master that sword technique of yours, haven’t you?”

“Ha ha ha, Your Highness the Sixth Prince guessed it at once! To drink your wine, I racked my brain to recreate the sword technique, tailoring it to your physical constitution without diminishing its power.”

Li Ye’s eyes brightened. “That is truly good news!”

This Master Xiao was the leader of the most mysterious organization in this world—the Fengxiao Alliance. The Fengxiao Alliance operated in utmost secrecy and was a group of assassins. Everyone who met them died. Yet they were not mercenaries for hire; they specialized in eliminating those who posed great evil to the world.

Among ordinary people, no one even knew of their existence. No one knew their methods or the extent of their reach. But those aware of their name feared the Fengxiao Alliance as much as they did Yunlu Pavilion.

If anyone learned that the master of the Fengxiao Alliance was acquainted with the seemingly worthless Sixth Prince and could converse with him so casually, their jaws would drop in disbelief. It would be impossible to accept as true!