"You disgrace to the royal family—you shame us merely by staying alive. If killing you didn't damage our image, I'd have chopped you into pieces and fed you to the dogs long ago." A young man in a golden robe planted one foot on Gou Yan's head, his voice brimming with disgust.
Several lavishly dressed men and women stood nearby, their eyes likewise filled with contempt and revulsion. Some were even laughing at him.
"I really don't know what Father was thinking, bringing back a bastard like this and even making him a prince. I refuse to acknowledge his existence."
"Exactly! The blood flowing through us is the true Royal Blood. How could someone as lowly as him possibly compare to us? Being princes alongside him is humiliating enough."
"Haha, he actually thinks he's a real prince. He usually puts on such a convincing act—it's utterly disgusting to watch."
"Enough! There's no need to keep wasting our time on such lowly trash. It only makes us lose face. Who knows, perhaps that equally cheap mother of his will run crying to Father and complain!"
Gou Yan listened to those harsh, grating words. He could endure their insults toward himself—he had been bullied by them for too long—but when he heard them insult his mother, he roared in fury, "Don't insult my mother! You aren't worthy!"
The few of them were displeased by this. With mocking smiles, they stepped forward and kicked Gou Yan several times. "So what if we insult your mother? Is it wrong to say she's cheap?"
"Ah!"
A surge of rage rushed to Gou Yan's head. His eyes fixed on the speaker, bloodshot as he shouted and tried to rise from the ground to teach him a lesson.
The others merely sneered and stepped forward, raining