son, don't mess around

Night was falling.

Beneath the imperial city, a full moon hung in the sky.

The autumn wind is bleak, and the capital city is gradually entering winter. The once bustling streets are now deserted. Only the street located outside the imperial city along the river remains as prosperous as ever.

This area is home to many high-ranking officials and dignitaries from Beijing, making it a veritable "rich area".

The lights shone brightly all night long, and the sons of the powerful and wealthy lingered there, still immersed in the glory of the dynasty.

As for the war in the north, most of them didn't really care. No matter how turbulent the world was, most of them wouldn't be greatly affected.

Even if the country changes hands, it's just a change of ruler. For powerful families, it doesn't really make much difference.

Moreover, who is the leader that Xu Wang rebels in the north has chosen?

It's His Highness the Third Prince!

So, in the end, isn't this still a royal infighting?

Whether the imperial court ultimately wins or the third prince marches into the capital, it will simply mean a change of emperor.

Throughout history, in times of war and turmoil, only ordinary people are affected. Powerful and wealthy families often manage to remain unscathed and unaffected.

Of course, there are exceptions, except for special cases like the appearance of a fierce man like Huang Chao.

As night fell, the bustling streets were filled with people, the shops along the street were lively, and the sons of the wealthy and powerful, dressed in fine clothes, frequented various restaurants and entertainment venues.

In the distance, the Linjiang River flows, dividing the area in two. On the opposite bank of the river lies the Imperial City of Daning.

The dark, imposing imperial city stretched as far as the eye could see, creating a stark contrast with the bustling areas around it.

In this bustling place, in a restaurant, on the windowsill of a private room on the top floor, a figure dressed in white stood quietly between the pavilions, gazing into the distance with a cool and aloof look.

From this vantage point, one can vaguely see the imperial city not far ahead.

What you see is spectacular and awe-inspiring.

The aloof young woman gazed silently at the scene, lost in thought.

Until a soft voice sounded in my ear.

"Sister Paper Kite, it's getting late, you should go back and rest."

The speaker was a girl of about seventeen or eighteen years old. She had a slightly immature appearance, a beautiful face, and a rather capable demeanor.

From the girl's eyebrows and eyes, one could vaguely see a resemblance to Jasmine.

Wind chimes.

Jasmine's twin sister!

A year ago, she and Jasmine were taken in and stayed with Paper Kite.

At this moment, Fengling looked out the window at the sky; it was already quite late.

"Sister Paper Kite, I'm keeping an eye on things here. If I find any clues, I'll notify you immediately."

"You should go back and rest first."

Hearing a sound behind her in the courtyard, Paper Kite turned her gaze back and landed on the bustling street.

"How is it?"

She asked in a cool and aloof tone.

Feng Ling shook her head and sighed, "The palace is heavily guarded, and our people can't get in. Although we've found some clues these past few days, we haven't made any progress."

"What happened back then happened too long ago, many people have died, too many clues have been lost, and it's very difficult to find out the truth..."

silence.

The kite did not open its mouth.

But Fengling was well aware of this. They had investigated for so long and had now reached this point, but suddenly the clues disappeared, so they were naturally unwilling to give up.

Zhiyuan lowered her eyes slightly, her hands behind her back, lost in thought.

The cold night wind ruffled her skirt, her aloof and captivating aura stirring the heart. Her dark hair was tousled by the wind, revealing her exquisite and flawless face.

After a long pause, she slowly turned around and looked into the private room.

"Sister Paper Kite, there's one more thing."

"explain."

"Just now, our men discovered that the Sixth Prince entered the palace overnight."

"The Sixth Prince?"

Zhiyuan murmured softly, a sharp glint flashing in her beautiful eyes, but she didn't say anything more.

"You go down first."

The kite spoke softly.

Upon hearing this, Fengling wondered if Sister Zhiyuan wasn't planning on going back yet.
She wanted to say something more, but before she could speak, Zhiyuan waved her hand and said, "Go ahead."

Seeing this, Fengling ultimately said nothing, sighed in her heart, turned around and went to the door of the room, just as she was about to push the door open and walk out.

As soon as I pushed open the door, I was surprised to see a figure suddenly appear outside.

Feng Ling's eyes suddenly narrowed, startled.

There are guards watching over this place, so how could someone suddenly appear without a sound, without even her and Sister Paper Kite noticing?
But upon closer inspection, Fengling instinctively exclaimed in astonishment, "Your Highness?!"

Upon hearing this, Zhiyuan, who was originally standing outside the courtyard, raised her eyes and looked towards the door.

Outside the private room, Lin Jiangnian was standing at the door, watching the two people inside.

"Your Highness..."

For some reason, Fengling felt inexplicably guilty and subconsciously lowered her head: "Why are you here?"

Lin Jiangnian shifted his gaze from the wind chimes in front of him to the kite, and said calmly, "You can go out now."

Upon hearing this, Fengling secretly glanced back at Sister Zhiyuan, blinked, and, not daring to say anything more, nodded and carefully left the room.

Then, Lin Jiangnian went into the room and closed the door.

"Crack!"

Lock the door.

Then, he looked up at the kite again, slowly walked up to her, stopped, and looked into her eyes.

Zhiyuan remained calm as she watched Lin Jiangnian walk up to her. Her beautiful eyes were clear and composed as she met Lin Jiangnian's gaze.

Lin Jiangnian couldn't detect any guilt in her eyes.

The two remained silent for a long while.

Why did you hide it from me?

Lin Jiangnian spoke first.

Zhiyuan didn't answer the question; her eyes were slightly lowered: "Jasmine told you?"

"If Jasmine hadn't told me, were you planning to keep it from me forever?"

Lin Jiangnian questioned, somewhat angrily.

This woman had been keeping it from him all along.

It's the other way around!

Does she still see herself as her master?
The kite shifted its gaze, its eyes returning to the street not far away.

No sound was heard.

It's like tacitly agreeing to something.

Her appearance made Lin Jiangnian even angrier.

While angry, she also felt somewhat helpless. In some ways, Zhiyuan was indeed a very obedient maid. She was dutiful, dedicated, and exceptionally capable.

Otherwise, Lin Hengzhong wouldn't have trusted her so much in the first place.

To some extent, Zhiyuan was a capable assistant that Lin Hengzhong had cultivated for Lin Jiangnian in advance.

This is precisely why, in some situations, kites can be very disobedient.

She has her own ideas and can be very stubborn in doing some obstinate things, such as leaving the Prince Lin's mansion without hesitation to go to Yanzhou to avenge her father.

For example, she adhered to her principles and absolutely refused Lin Jiangnian's unreasonable demands in bed...

In short, she was indeed very principled, but she was also often disobedient and often liked to defy the prince.

Back in Chujiang City, Lin Jiangnian had learned from his aunt that Zhiyuan was investigating the matter of the Princess Consort. He just didn't expect that she would continue to investigate until now.

She even kept it from him and secretly investigated him.

If he hadn't learned about this from Fengling, he probably would still be in the dark.

Thinking about this, Lin Jiangnian felt both amused and annoyed.

I still feel a little sad.

This silly girl!

Thinking of this, Lin Jiangnian's anger vanished.

This girl has indeed sacrificed a lot for him, and Lin Jiangnian can't bring himself to be angry no matter what.

"You should have told me."

Lin Jiang sighed: "So many years have passed since the assassination of Princess Lin. It would take you forever to find out the truth with just a few of you."

Upon hearing this, Zhiyuan looked up at Lin Jiangnian, seemingly surprised that he didn't scold or reprimand her as usual.

This made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

She was already prepared to listen to His Highness's lecture and scolding!

...Anyway, I'm used to it!

As long as she remains silent, His Highness often finds himself helpless after giving her a lecture.

Unexpectedly, His Highness did not say anything to her this time, which made Zhiyuan feel a little uneasy.

She looked away again, remaining silent.

Whenever she doesn't know what to say, she chooses to remain silent, and it always works.

As expected, Lin Jiangnian didn't dwell on it any further. Although his little maid was indeed a bit disobedient, he had long since gotten used to it.

Since he made the choice himself, why should he?
Furthermore, Zhiyuan's disobedience is usually limited to her stubbornness and having her own ideas. Most of the time, she is still quite obedient.

For example, Zhiyuan would resist and refuse Lin Jiangnian's excessive poses and requests, but when Lin Jiangnian came to her, Zhiyuan, as an obedient little maid, almost never refused.

Lin Jiangnian was very satisfied with this.

As for her resistance and disobedience, that was something Lin Jiangnian would gradually work to train her in the future.

This can be considered a kind of development, right?
……

"Where have they gotten to now?"

Seeing that the kite remained silent, Lin Jiangnian turned to ask about the current situation.

Over the past year, Zhiyuan has been secretly investigating the forces that assassinated Princess Lin back then. Lin Jiangnian had previously learned the general outline from Fengling.

A year ago, when Zhiyuan returned to Jiangnan, she began to read through a large number of intelligence books, looking for the people who had been by the side of the Princess Consort of Lin back then, and searching for clues.

A year has passed since then.

At this point, Zhiyuan glanced at Lin Jiangnian, seemed to ponder her words for a moment, and then spoke.

"Eighteen years ago...it should be nineteen years ago. The princess, six months pregnant, was traveling south from Chujiang City to find the prince when she was ambushed by a mysterious force..."

"The princess was frightened and gave birth to twins, namely His Highness and the late His Highness..."

Lin Jiangnian already knew about this; the princess's early death was inextricably linked to the assassination attempt years ago. That assassination left the princess extremely weak after childbirth, and she passed away a few years later!

The twins born to the princess had always been a secret. It wasn't until a year ago that Lin Jiangnian finally found out.

But what about the group that assassinated the princess, and why Lin Jiangnian ended up abroad and how he returned?

Why it appeared in that dilapidated temple more than a year ago remains a mystery!
"That assassination plot against the princess was premeditated."

A cold glint flashed in Zhiyuan's eyes as she spoke in a deep voice.

From the clues left behind in Jiangnan, she discovered the secret about the princess's journey to find the prince years ago. She confirmed that someone had tipped her off and betrayed her whereabouts.

Otherwise, given the princess's caution, she would never have so easily exposed her journey.

Behind this, someone is plotting against the princess.

To be precise, they were plotting against Prince Lin.

"who is it?"

Paper Kite shook her head slightly: "The person who tipped us off back then has long since disappeared. I checked all the servants and maids in the Jiang family back then, but too much time has passed. Most of them either left the Jiang family long ago or have already passed away..."

"There's very little information available."

Even Lin Hengzhong couldn't find out what happened back then, which shows how deeply the person behind it was hiding. Now, more than a decade has passed, and the evidence and clues have been almost completely erased.

Finding out is indeed incredibly difficult!
"But that's where the problem lies."

Zhiyuan suddenly spoke softly, a sharp glint flashing in her cool eyes: "Back then, the prince was not yet the Prince of Lin, but merely a general ordered to conquer the southern border kingdoms. At that time, the Jiang family was already the most prominent family in Jiangnan."

"Who exactly had the ability to scheme against the Jiang family and plot the assassination of the princess in order to harm the prince, who was then the Grand General?"

Finding the mastermind behind something through clues and evidence is difficult, but the process of elimination can narrow down the possibilities.

Zhiyuan's words made Lin Jiangnian suddenly realize... Yes, back then, the prince wasn't a prince yet, he was just a general!

Back when he was conquering the southern kingdoms, he wasn't like he is now, surrounded by enemies all over the world. By eliminating possibilities, he could narrow down the possible sources of the mastermind.

"Back then, the prince, who was a great general, held military power and was at the height of his influence!"

Paper Kite's tone remained aloof: "When the princess was assassinated, the prince already enjoyed immense prestige among the people, and he had annihilated nine out of ten of the surrounding kingdoms, leaving only remnants still resisting. Unification was an inevitable trend. Given the prince's prestige at that time, his achievements already overshadowed the emperor!"

"Being crowned a king is only a matter of time!"

The kite's gentle and slow tone made Lin Jiangnian realize something as if struck by lightning.

"what do you mean……"

Lin Jiangnian instantly locked onto a target in his mind.

If that's true, then the person most likely to have assassinated the princess back then was...

"The late emperor?"

A sharp glint flashed in Lin Jiangnian's eyes.

If the prince's achievements overshadowed the emperor's, then the late emperor might very well have secretly done something like this to eliminate the prince as a problem.

Zhiyuan said calmly, "Besides the late emperor, there is another force."

"Who?"

"The remaining forces of the southern border kingdoms!"

Zhiyuan said coldly, "Back then, the Prince led the Linwang Army with overwhelming momentum, wiping out the main force of the Southern Frontier in just a few years. At that time, the Southern Frontier kingdoms were left with only one breath left, but their remaining forces did not give up the fight..."

"Back then, in the last remaining kingdom in the southern border region, there was a rumor that a mysterious and elite group of experts was cultivated!"

"That elite and mysterious group of experts disappeared after the fall of the Southern Frontier Kingdom, and no one knows where they went."

"..." (End of this chapter)