Rebirth: Pampered by the Lord-Chapter 1914: Zhao Yin

Eunuch Li: "Your Majesty, don’t worry too much. It’s likely something happened to the Fourth Prince. The Empress is feeling troubled as well. In time, things will get better."

The Emperor: "Let’s hope so."

In these few days, so much has happened. The harem remains noisy and disruptive, and the Emperor finds it intolerable.

"What’s going on with Zhao Yin?" The Emperor took a few sips of tea and asked again.

A dozen Insect People disappeared without a trace overnight in the Imperial Palace. The Emperor was deeply alarmed, dispatching many highly skilled martial arts of the Imperial Guard to investigate discreetly, all to no avail. He placed significant suspicion on the War Prince, arranging for informants to search secretly within the War Prince’s Mansion, even personally inspecting the military camp, hoping to stealthily investigate the whereabouts of the Insect People. Yet, no clues were found.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Insect People have vanished. Minister Zhao is in a foul mood and has been frequently leaving the palace to seek enjoyment at the Yihong Brothel."

"He’s in a foul mood but still has the mind to seek enjoyment?" The Emperor’s face darkened, clearly displeased.

Eunuch Li stood silently by, having introduced Zhao Yin to the Emperor. However, ever since Zhao Yin gained favor, he began to see himself as above others, completely disregarding Eunuch Li. Thus, Eunuch Li was presently disinclined to speak well of Zhao Yin.

"Is he in the palace now?"

"At this Shichen, he should be. If any later, he might go out again."

"Summon him here. I have words to say."

"Yes."

Eunuch Li responded affirmatively and turned to leave.

The harem is typically home to female members only. Adult males are usually not permitted to reside within the palace. Zhao Yin’s unique status earned him special permission from the Emperor. However, the Emperor was no fool and established rules for Zhao Yin to prevent his reputation from being tarnished, such as prohibiting private interactions with the palace concubines. If urgent matters arose, other eunuchs were tasked to relay messages.

Soon, Eunuch Li returned, bringing Zhao Yin with him.

"Long live the Emperor, long live infinitely." Zhao Yin knelt on the ground, kowtowing and paying his respects.

Since the loss of the Insect People a few days ago, the previously amiable Emperor suddenly lashed out in anger. Zhao Yin now felt deeply fearful at the sight of the Emperor, entirely losing his prior nonchalance.

At this moment, he truly understood the saying that being with an Emperor is like being with a tiger. The Emperor is indeed difficult to please—one moment full of joy, the next turning a blind eye, speaking of exterminating the entire clan. Terrifying. It’s wiser to keep a respectful distance.

The Emperor waved his hand at Eunuch Li.

Understanding the gesture, Eunuch Li realized the Emperor had private words for Zhao Yin and discreetly withdrew.

The Emperor glanced at Zhao Yin crouched on the ground, his voice flat and devoid of emotion, "Stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhao Yin rose upright, standing aside, no longer carrying the ease of previous days.

The Emperor: "The Insect People are lost, and you’re not researching the Gu Poison?"

"I have mastered Gu Poison, Your Majesty, rest assured." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"What about the Insect People?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, that’s different. It’s rearing larvae, which is quite challenging. They need hosts to survive, and their vitality is low."

Out of over a hundred Little Kid hosts, only about a dozen survived, demonstrating the difficulty of nurturing the larvae.

After painstaking efforts to cultivate the Insect People, they vanished overnight without a trace. Zhao Yin felt heartbroken recalling the tremendous effort he invested. Yet, who knows which damned scoundrel silently stole them from the heavily guarded Imperial Palace, leaving none behind.

He now regretted deeply not reporting to the Emperor upon the disappearance of the first Insect Person, thus leading to today’s irreversible situation.

These words, however, could only be swallowed and buried within himself, not to be spoken to the Emperor. Otherwise, the Emperor’s impression of him might deteriorate further.