son, don't mess around

Hu Mansion.

Hu Yao limped back to the mansion, and the servant at the door stepped forward quickly: "Miss?!"

The servants, naturally, were horrified when they saw their young lady's miserable appearance.

"Miss, what's wrong with you?"

Hu Yao didn't answer. She stopped and looked back.

Not far outside the mansion, Xu Zhongshan stood there, looking at her quietly without saying a word.

Hu Yao's heart trembled, he took a deep breath, and quickly looked away.

When the people in the mansion saw this scene, they immediately guessed something!
"Miss, did this boy bully you?!"

Several guards and servants at the door stared at Xu Zhongshan with unfriendly eyes: "We will teach him a lesson for you right away."

The guards and servants were about to take action when Hu Yao stopped them.

"stop!"

Then, Hu Yao went straight back home without looking back.

Xu Zhongshan stood where he was, looking at the direction where Hu Yao's back disappeared, as well as the guards and servants standing at the door, staring at him vigilantly.

In the end, he said nothing and turned and left.

Beijing, Jiang Mansion.

Since Mr. Jiang became seriously ill at the beginning of the year, Jiang Ningkang and his mother and others from the Jiang family in Beijing returned to Jiangnan, leaving behind their huge house.

Today, there are only a small number of guards and servants left in the Jiang Mansion, and it is usually very low-key and deserted.

Lin Jiangnian kept a low profile during his visit to Beijing, but he still needed to find a place to settle Qingqing and the others. The Jiang Mansion was undoubtedly a good place to hide his identity.

Furthermore, everyone was already familiar with the Jiang Mansion. Whether it was Lin Qingqing, Lin Kong, or the sisters Moli Fengling, they all had lived here for a period of time before last year.

After learning that Li Piaomiao had gone to the northern front, Lin Jiangnian immediately came to find Lin Qingqing and others to confirm the matter.

Lin Qingqing was also very surprised when she heard the news, as she had never heard of it before.

There were many spies in the capital, but no one had heard that the princess had gone to the front. This news was unexpected.

After listening to Lin Qingqing's report, Lin Jiangnian had an idea in his mind.

Even the intelligence of the Lin Palace did not find this news, let alone other people. Li Piaomiao's plan to secretly go to the front line this time was really concealed from the world.

Realizing this, Lin Jiangnian gradually felt relieved. He was worried that Li Piaomiao's plan would go wrong and he would be used by others. Now it seems that once Li Piaomiao reaches the front line and takes control of the army, he won't have to worry too much.

Be it Li Piaomiao's prestige among the people and the army, or her superb martial arts, it is difficult for anyone to shake her position and threaten her life.

But even so, Lin Jiangnian still wrote a letter and asked Lin Qingqing to send it to the northern front as soon as possible.

At the northern border of Xuzhou, the rebel army of Prince Xu confronted the imperial army, and the battle was raging. There were naturally many spies from the Lin Palace in both armies. In any case, Li Piaomiao appeared on the front line, so Lin Jiangnian naturally had to keep an eye on her movements to prevent any accidents.

Only with the secret assistance of the Lin Wang Mansion can Li Piaomiao's safety be protected to the greatest extent.

Lin Qingqing also realized the seriousness of the situation, so she stood up and left in a hurry.

On the other hand, Zhiyuan was not in Jiang Mansion today. She took the sisters Moli and Fengling out of the house and no one knew where they went.

When it got dark in the evening, Xu Zhongshan came to the house as usual.

He appeared at the side door of Jiang Mansion and entered the house.

"Your Highness."

Xu Zhongshan came to Lin Jiangnian and told him what happened today.

"Your Highness, today when I was about to test Hu Yao, the two of them suddenly appeared in a panic... Then, they were captured by the Secret Service..."

"Hu Yao was extremely panicked and uneasy. Those two people had a very close relationship with him..."

Xu Zhongshan reported what happened today. Lin Jiangnian listened quietly, but there was not much surprise on his face.

He already knew about Mi Tiansi's actions.

In fact, it was Chen Changqing who took the initiative to mention it to him yesterday.

"Hu Yao trusts me very much now. I helped her burn a lot of letters today. I secretly left one letter while she wasn't paying attention..."

As he spoke, Xu Zhongshan handed the crumpled letter to Lin Jiangnian. Lin Jiangnian took the letter and looked down at it.

"It really has something to do with her."

Seeing the contents of the letter, Lin Jiangnian raised the corners of his mouth slightly and revealed a sneer.

"Your Highness..."

Xu Zhongshan seemed to be hesitant to speak.

"how?"

“I think this matter is not that simple.”

Xu Zhongshan said solemnly: "Your Highness, the assassination may indeed be related to this Hu Yao. But behind this Hu Yao, there may be someone else..."

Lin Jiangnian naturally knew it without Xu Zhongshan's reminder.

This Hu Yao was just an ordinary daughter of a noble family in the capital. She was not very old and her background was not very strong.

Moreover, in a sense, she had no grudges against Lin Jiangnian, so it was naturally impossible for her to have nothing better to do than to target Lin Jiangnian.

It seems that Hu Yao and the Hu family behind her are nothing but puppets, just pawns used by others.

But being able to trace it back to her proves that we are getting closer to the truth.

"It seems that there are quite a few people involved this time?"

Lin Jiangnian muttered to himself, narrowing his eyes slightly, and his speculation became stronger. He looked at the content of the crumpled letter in his hand, thinking.

Xu Zhongshan on the side said, "This afternoon, I saw Hu Yao go to Cuiweiju."

"Cuiweiju?"

Lin Jiangnian felt that this place sounded familiar. He thought carefully and asked, "What is the origin of this place?"

Xu Zhongshan was silent for a moment, then said, "This place used to be the residence of the Eighth Prince."

The eighth prince?
A familiar figure instantly emerged in Lin Jiangnian's mind, a boy of about sixteen or seventeen years old, who often followed the third prince around, showing off his power.

Last year, when Lin Jiangnian was still in Beijing, he had several conflicts with him. Lin Jiangnian used a little trick to scare the little brat.

After the Third Prince's rebellion failed, the Eighth Prince was so frightened that he never dared to go out again.

He was very close to the third prince and was afraid that he would be implicated. But it was obvious that the emperor was kind and did not embarrass his younger brother. After Li Ci Ning ascended the throne, he made him a prince and then left the capital to go to his fiefdom.

The current Eighth Prince, or the Eighth Prince, is no longer in the capital. Cuiweiju was his former residence, so who owns it now?

"I'm not sure who owns Cuiweiju now, but there must be something wrong!"

Xu Zhongshan recalled the way Hu Yao looked when he saw her this evening. Hu Yao was in a state of disgrace, with no trace of his former pride on his face.

It seems that the power behind Cuiweiju must be very powerful.

"It is very likely that the power behind Cuiweiju is Hu Yao's mastermind. If we find him, we might be able to find out the truth."

Xu Zhongshan analyzed the situation carefully and spoke. After two days of communication and interaction with Hu Yao, Xu Zhongshan felt that he was getting closer to the truth.

Lin Jiangnian was also aware of this, so he quickly called Lin Kong, handed the matter over to him, and asked him to find out the current owner of Cuiweiju as soon as possible.

After receiving the order, Lin Kong left in a hurry.

At this time, Lin Jiangnian looked at Xu Zhongshan again and asked about him and Hu Yao. Xu Zhongshan then told him everything that had happened in the past two days.

When he heard that Hu Yao might have experienced something today, a gleam of light flashed in Lin Jiangnian's eyes.

Hu Yao went to Cuiweiju alone and stayed there for several hours. When he came back, he was disheveled and limping... Anyone with a discerning eye could see what had happened.

It goes without saying. And more importantly, this Hu Yao is not an ordinary woman.

Although the Hu family is not considered a top family in Beijing, it is still well-known. To make the eldest daughter of the Hu family endure such "humiliation", the power behind Cuiweiju must be not simple.

Thinking of this, Lin Jiangnian's eyes narrowed slightly.

Then, he glanced at Xu Zhongshan and asked, "What do you think?"

Xu Zhongshan shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I don't know, I just feel very strange."

"This Hu Yao seems a little pitiful..."

When Xu Zhongshan was at the manor that day, he had no good feelings for this flamboyant and vicious woman. Hu Yao was vicious and jealous of Miss Zhao, which made Xu Zhongshan very afraid.

But when he saw her like that outside Cuiwei Residence today, Xu Zhongshan suddenly felt that this person was a bit pitiful.

Lin Jiangnian glanced at him and said teasingly, "Why? Brother Xu is distressed?"

Xu Zhongshan looked a little embarrassed and sighed, "That's not the case at all. I just think she is hateful, but also a little pitiful."

After all, he was moved by compassion.

However, Xu Zhongshan is naturally not a person who acts on emotion and he knows his limits.

"Brother Xu, have you revealed any flaws in the past two days?"

"should not."

Xu Zhongshan shook his head: "I have behaved very well in the past two days, and she has gradually become more and more trusting of me, especially today..."

Thinking of the expression and distress he showed today, Xu Zhongshan himself could not find any flaws. He fully interpreted the deep love and sadness of a weak man who could not get the love he loved, and showed it vividly.

"According to what you said."

Lin Jiangnian listened to his analysis and thought: "Perhaps, we can use their own tricks against us..."

"Take advantage of the enemy's tactics?" Xu Zhongshan asked doubtfully.

"Now, doesn't that woman trust you very much? Especially after what happened today, this is definitely a good opportunity..."

Lin Jiangnian raised his eyes to look at him, his gaze burning: "At this time, we should strike while the iron is hot... Brother Xu, why don't you sacrifice yourself again?"

Seeing Lin Jiangnian's burning gaze, Xu Zhongshan felt a chill on his back. He subconsciously took a step back and said warily, "Your Highness, you, don't really want me to sell my body?"

"If Brother Xu doesn't mind, it's not impossible."

Xu Zhongshan: “…”

……

Cuiweiju.

Night falls.

There was a dejected atmosphere in the cold room.

"Your Majesty?"

Outside the door, a servant's voice was heard.

Inside the room, the Sixth Prince was half lying on the couch, squinting his eyes and looking at the night outside the window.

It was not until a long while later that he slowly struggled to get up from the couch and limped to the door.

open the door.

Outside the door, guards had been waiting for a long time.

When they saw the prince coming out, they all lowered their heads and no one spoke.

"Let's go."

The Sixth Prince spoke calmly and took the lead to leave, still limping. He walked very slowly and looked extremely uncoordinated.

But none of the guards who saw this scene said anything.

Until the Sixth Prince walked out of Cuiwei Residence, he saw a carriage parked outside the door, and two beautiful women helped the Sixth Prince into the carriage.

The carriage moved away, and outside the carriage, a deep voice came: "My Lord, Prince Lin has arrived in the capital."

Upon hearing the news, the Sixth Prince, who was resting with his eyes closed in the carriage, suddenly opened his eyes.

"when?"

"I have just found out these past two days that there has been no news about Prince Lin in Chujiang City for several days. I am afraid he has already escaped. In the past two days, our people have discovered Prince Lin's movements outside the capital. I am afraid that if nothing unexpected happens, he has already arrived in the capital..."

Inside the carriage, the Sixth Prince opened his eyes. His deep eyes were filled with gloom, and no one knew what he was thinking.

"Find out his whereabouts and what he is doing in the capital!"

"Yes."

There were echoes coming from outside the carriage.

After a while, another voice sounded: "Prince, what about Hu Yao..."

The Sixth Prince narrowed his eyes, his gaze was sharp and a fierce murderous intent emerged.

"Get rid of her, leave her alive."

"Your Majesty, she is the daughter of the Hu family after all. If we kill her, it might cause..."

"Ok?"

There was a sudden silence outside the carriage.

Then, a deep voice came: "Yes!"

There was no more sound outside the carriage. Inside the carriage, the Sixth Prince looked forward with a grim gaze. His whole body was filled with an indescribable gloom, which was creepy.

……

Night, Hu family.

The inner court.

After bathing and changing clothes, Hu Yao sat in front of the bronze mirror, looking at her haggard self in the mirror with a dazed look on her face.

An indescribable emotion made her feel anxious and worried.

Obviously, she would never have such emotions in the past, but today, for some reason, after returning home, she couldn't help but take a shower, change clothes, and clean up the filth on her body.

She even rubbed it over and over again, until her skin turned red, but she still felt very uncomfortable.

In her mind, she would always suddenly think of Xu Zhongshan who suddenly appeared in the afternoon and evening, and his gaze that made Hu Yao indescribable.

Is he feeling sorry for himself?

Or are you making fun of yourself?
Will he tell anyone what happened today?
Thinking of this, Hu Yao couldn't help but tremble all over.

She looked at herself in the bronze mirror and suddenly felt dirty and mean.

Hasn't she always been like this in the past?

She never thought there was anything wrong with this, and often even took pride in it.

How charming is Hu Yao?
Not only did she attract many talented and powerful people in the capital, but even the Sixth Prince fell in love with her.
But today, for some reason, everything seems to have changed?

That so-called vanity seemed to be just an illusion she created to deceive herself?

From the beginning to the end, she seemed to be just a plaything of the Sixth Prince... just a plaything with some beauty that could please him and be played with!
At this moment, Hu Yao's face was extremely pale.

She sat in front of the bronze mirror for a long time, until, in the quiet night, there was a sudden noise outside the door.

"Who?"

"..." (End of this chapter)