After a heavy snowfall, the weather in Beijing gradually cleared up. The biting cold winds were no longer so severe, making it a rare day of good weather.
Located in a room in the backyard of a mansion in a prosperous area of Beijing.
“Squeak!”
The carved sandalwood window was pushed open, and a young woman sat bored on the windowsill, propping up her face and looking at the scenery outside the window.
In the courtyard not far away, beneath an arched bridge, a small bridge flows, and dead leaves are scattered throughout the courtyard. Special instructions were given to the servants in the mansion not to clean up the fallen leaves, giving the courtyard a somewhat old-fashioned, wooded atmosphere.
The woman by the window had a beautifully chiseled face, strikingly delicate features, and eyes that seemed almost natural. Despite the cold of winter, she wore only a thin dress, a delicate, light-colored Confucian garment draped around her, her slender figure barely visible.
The cold wind brought a bit of chill.
She wrapped her clothes slightly, parted her red lips, and sighed softly.
"Miss, be careful not to catch a cold!"
Outside the corridor, a worried reminder came from the maid in the mansion.
It's winter now, and if the lady opens the window, she will easily catch a cold.
"fine."
Zhao Xi's voice was soft and lazy. He stretched and glanced out the window: "Has anything interesting happened in Beijing recently?"
"My dear Miss, everything has been peaceful in the capital recently. Nothing major has happened?"
"No?" Zhao Xi's eyes were obviously disappointed.
The maid outside the door nodded: "Apart from the attack on Prince Lin, there have been no other major events in the city recently."
"Prince Lin?"
Zhao Xi seemed to be lost in thought. The news that Prince Lin had been attacked had already spread throughout the city. The news even reached the palace, causing quite a stir.
If nothing unexpected happens, the palace will probably react soon.
Until now, the whereabouts of Prince Lin are still unknown, and many people are speculating that Prince Lin might have died outside the city?
Zhao Xi sat down again, leaning over the windowsill, slightly supporting her chin. Her tight and thin dress showed off her proud figure. As she leaned over, her full breasts also moved against the windowsill, trembling.
A thoughtful expression appeared on her exquisitely beautiful face as she murmured to herself, "Still missing? Could that guy be dead?"
"That shouldn't be the case. Isn't that woman Li Piaomiao..."
At this point, Zhao Xi suddenly looked up and asked, "Where's Li Piaomiao? Where is she?"
The maid in the corridor said cautiously: "Her Royal Highness the Princess has been gone for a while!"
“It is indeed so!”
A meaningful sneer quickly appeared on Zhao Xi's face.
"This woman is really hypocritical. She says no, but in fact she doesn't..."
“Tsk tsk tsk…”
Zhao Xi's face was full of amusement, as if he had thought of something.
At this moment, a maid outside the corridor suddenly exclaimed, "Her Royal Highness, Her Royal Highness the Princess?"
Zhao Xi raised his eyes and saw a figure in white appear on the arch bridge not far ahead.
It will arrive in the blink of an eye.
Zhao Xi saw the woman in white, and with a hint of mischief in his bright eyes, he turned his head and said, "You go down first."
"yes!"
After the maidservant under the eaves hurriedly left, Zhao Xi smiled and said, "Sister Piaomiao, how have you been lately?"
Li Piaomiao glanced at her with a calm expression, ignored her mischievous smile, and pushed the door open and walked in.
The room was warm as spring.
The warm breath wrapped around my body, driving away the severe cold of winter.
"My room has become much colder since you came in."
Seeing this, Zhao Xi sighed and closed the window to block out the cold.
Li Piaomiao still didn't say anything, and sat at the table at the other end of the room, with the long sword in his hand, which he almost never left, placed on the table.
Seeing this, Zhao Xi's eyes rolled slightly. He stood up, stepped barefoot on the carpet in the room, and slowly walked to the table. He came close to Li Piaomiao, staring into her eyes with a half-smile, and chuckled, "Didn't you say you wouldn't save him? Why are you suddenly changing your mind?"
"Why? Can't bear to leave him?"
Li Piaomiao glanced at her and didn't say anything.
"I told you, you definitely couldn't bear to part with him, but in the end, you gave in, didn't you?"
Zhao Xi spoke with a smile.
Li Piaomiao glanced at her coldly and said indifferently, "No."
"Then why did you rescue him?"
Zhao Xi raised her eyebrows, a hint of pride on her delicate face: "You don't have to lie to me. We are sisters, don't I know you?"
Li Piaomiao was silent for a long time before he said indifferently, "I owe Lin Hengzhong a favor."
"Favor?"
Zhao Xi became interested and asked, "What favor?"
Li Piaomiao did not explain.
"You're not lying to me, are you?"
“…”
Seeing that she wasn't going to answer, Zhao Xi remained interested: "No matter what the favor was, didn't you still save him?"
As he spoke, Zhao Xi's eyes became more amused: "So, you two have already met?"
"how?"
"How about what?"
"You two!"
Zhao Xi smiled and said, "Didn't you meet? How was it? Are you satisfied with him?"
"What about him? Is he attracted by your beauty?"
“…”
Facing Zhao Xi's enthusiastic questioning, Li Piaomiao remained indifferent. After a long time, he spoke coldly.
"No."
"No?"
Zhao Xi, however, kept on chasing, blinking, "Who didn't? You, or him?"
"None."
"impossible!"
Zhao Xi shook his head, then blinked as if thinking of something. "What does he look like? Is this Prince Lin as uncouth and ugly as the rumors in the capital say, unbearable to the eyes?"
Li Piaomiao remained silent.
"Why don't you answer me?"
After a long silence, Li Piaomiao uttered two words indifferently.
"generally!"
"generally?"
Hearing this answer, Zhao Xi was slightly stunned, and then became meaningful.
In that case, the Prince Lin should not be ugly?
"What about him?"
Zhao Xi smiled brightly: "He didn't fancy you? He wasn't tempted by your beauty? This shouldn't be the case..."
She seemed to be lost in thought, and asked again, unsure, "Did he really not?"
Li Piaomiao seemed a little impatient, and repeated in a cold tone: "No."
Zhao Xi stared at Li Piaomiao for a few seconds and muttered, "That's strange... According to what you said, I'm afraid we have quite a few misunderstandings about him!"
Zhao Xi glanced at her as he spoke. "If this Prince Lin is really as lustful as the rumors say, and enjoys raping other people's wives and daughters... how could he not have feelings for you?"
"So, those rumors in the capital are probably just fabricated excuses for slander, right?"
Li Piaomiao remained silent.
Zhao Xi's beautiful eyes lit up slightly. "Now that you mention it, I'm quite interested in him... I wonder what kind of person this Prince Lin is?"
Zhao Xi talked about it with great interest, but Li Piaomiao remained indifferent.
"By the way, since you saved him, doesn't that mean..."
Zhao Xi winked at Li Piaomiao: "Are you planning to marry him?"
"Won't."
Li Piaomiao said expressionlessly.
"Why?"
"I have my own plans."
Zhao Xi looked at Li Piaomiao for a few times, then suddenly stood up and walked over to her, sat down, leaned slightly closer, and blinked: "Piaomiao, we are sisters after all, are you hiding something from me?"
Li Piaomiao didn't say anything.
Zhao Xi smiled, her beautiful eyes tinged with mischief: "You saved him... Is he still with you now?"
"Leave."
"So you took him in for a while, right?"
Zhao Xi quickly discovered the details: "During this period of time, you lived together and spent every day together?"
"You guys, wouldn't you..."
"No."
Li Piaomiao's two cold words interrupted Zhao Xi's thoughts.
Zhao Xi immediately became discouraged and his face was full of disappointment.
She had known Li Piaomiao for so many years and understood her character very well. She had always been very straightforward and never lied.
To be precise, it is disdain to lie!
So, if she said no, it meant no.
"Then why aren't you afraid?"
Zhao Xi said, "He's now alive and in the capital. By the time your father summons him, it will be too late..."
At this point, Zhao Xi suddenly thought of something and stared at Li Piaomiao: "Could it be that you want to escape the marriage?!"
Thinking of this possibility, Zhao Xi could no longer sit still.
The engagement between Li Piaomiao and Prince Lin has long been known to the world. Now that Prince Lin has come to the capital to pick up his bride, if she doesn't want to marry him, the only way left is... to run away?
Based on Zhao Xi's understanding of Li Piaomiao, she was really capable of doing such a thing.
If you run away from marriage, it will be a big deal!
Not only would it be a slap in the face of Prince Lin, but it would also be a slap in the face of her father the Emperor... By then, even if His Majesty dotes on her, he probably wouldn't be able to protect her.
"You must stay calm and don't run away from the marriage... If all else fails, just marry him and drug him on your wedding night, killing him quietly..."
Zhao Xi quickly gave advice.
She was very worried that Li Piaomiao would become irrational.
However, Li Piaomiao looked at her calmly. His eyes were composed, even a bit… the calmness of someone who looked at someone with a mental disability.
"I won't run away from marriage."
"That's good……"
Zhao Xi felt relieved, but soon became even more confused: "Then you..."
Li Piaomiao shook his head slightly, a look of amusement flashing across his eyes. After a moment, he said calmly, "It's not me who should be worried, it's him."
"Is it him?"
Zhao Xi was full of confusion. Why was Li Piaomiao like a riddle man today?
She was so anxious!
Tell me what happened!
However, Li Piaomiao never explained anything. After sitting with Zhao Xi for a while, he stood up and left. Zhao Xi was left pacing back and forth in the room, the more he thought about it, the more confused he became.
What did she do?
Why are you so confident?
What should Prince Lin worry about?
Could it be that something happened that she didn't know about?
Thinking of this, Zhao Xi suddenly stopped and turned to look outside the door.
"Someone come."
"Miss, what can I do for you?"
A maid's voice came from outside the door.
"Go to the Jiang family and check whether Prince Lin has returned to the capital... Remember, don't let any rumors leak out."
"yes!"
Night falls.
Zhao Xi, who was still sitting in the room, heard footsteps coming from outside the door.
Soon, a dusty maid entered the room. After hearing what was said, Zhao Xi half-closed her eyes, a gleam of light gleaming in those beautiful pupils: "As expected."
"Lin Jiangnian?"
She whispered the name softly and carefully, with deep meaning.
…
Jiang Mansion.
As night fell, Jiang Ningkang returned to the Jiang Mansion exhausted. As soon as he entered the Jiang Mansion, he hurried to the front hall.
"Jiang Nian is here?!"
“Where?!”
On the way home, Jiang Ningkang learned the news of Lin Jiangnian's arrival and hurried back.
In the lobby, Lin Jiangnian, who had been waiting for a long time, looked up at the middle-aged man who appeared before him. He was about forty years old, thin, and his face had an unhealthy, haggard look, as if he was overworked. But the moment he saw Lin Jiangnian in the lobby, he was still surprised.
"Jiang Nian?!"
"uncle!"
Lin Jiangnian stood up and bowed to Jiang Ningkang.
Jiang Ningkang quickly stepped forward to help him up: "When did you come? Why didn't you tell your uncle in advance? How are you? Are you okay?"
Jiang Ningkang looked excited and looked Lin Jiangnian up and down.
Jiang Ningkang was extremely worried when he learned that Lin Jiangnian was attacked outside the city some time ago. It was not until he saw Lin Jiangnian with his own eyes that he finally felt relieved.
Although it was their first meeting, he recognized Lin Jiangnian immediately. The handsome young man in front of him had the shadow of his late sister in his eyebrows.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ningkang was slightly moved.
Lin Jiangnian looked at the middle-aged man in front of him, who was a stranger but extremely concerned and nervous about him, and some indescribable emotions arose in his heart.
Both Jiang's mother and Jiang Ningkang, who was standing before him, valued this "nephew" of his very much. After asking about Lin Jiangnian's well-being, Jiang Ningkang asked about what had happened recently. Lin Jiangnian naturally told Jiang Ningkang everything, and he fully explained what had happened outside the city.
After hearing this, Jiang Ningkang's face suddenly darkened.
“That’s too much!”
"They have absolutely no respect for the law, are going too far, and are extremely rampant!"
Jiang Ningkang looked ugly and very angry.
His sister's only child had a very dangerous journey to Beijing and almost died on the way. How could he not be extremely angry?
"Don't worry, Jiang Nian. Your uncle will definitely take care of this matter for you. I will submit a memorial tomorrow and will definitely seek justice for you!"
Lin Jiangnian shook his head gently: "Uncle, don't be too angry. Now that I'm alive and in the capital, I'll have to settle this account with them sooner or later. However, now is not the time..."
After listening to Lin Jiangnian's explanation, Jiang Ningkang gradually calmed down, realizing that he had indeed been a bit impulsive. Although Jiangnian had been assassinated, the mastermind behind the assassination had not yet appeared. Without any evidence, even if he reported the matter to His Majesty, it would most likely be left unresolved.
Acting impulsively will only result in more harm than good.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ningkang couldn't help but look up to Lin Jiangnian, his eyes gratified: "Jiangnian, you are the one who thinks clearly. It was my uncle who was impulsive!"
Rumors in Beijing had long circulated that his nephew was uneducated, a complete fool, and guilty of numerous crimes. Jiang Ningkang didn't want to believe it, but after hearing so much, he began to harbor suspicions. Regardless, Lin Jiangnian was his nephew, his sister's only child, so Jiang Ningkang naturally didn't want Lin Jiangnian to truly be the fool he was being portrayed as.
Now she saw that her nephew was not as stupid as the outside world said. Not only that, looking at the handsome, elegant, well-mannered, and calm Lin Jiangnian in front of her, she could vaguely see some of her sister's shadow in him, as well as the calm and strategic temperament of her brother-in-law Lin Hengzhong.
Jiang Ningkang breathed a sigh of relief and felt even more pleased and happy.
yes!
His nephew is Lin Hengzhong's biological son!
Who is Lin Hengzhong?
How could the child born be such a fool?
What's more, wasn't her sister also a famous and intelligent woman in Jiangnan back then?
How could their descendants be mediocre? !
…