The Demon Prince

Nine flowers bloom, each representing a different branch.

Inside the Ordnance Bureau, in a side hall filled with blueprints and old wooden parts, several men sat around a table.

The leader was slender and wore the official robes of the Military Equipment Bureau. His eyebrows and eyes bore a resemblance to Li Lingxi's.

He is the sixth princess's maternal uncle and also the director of the Armory, Yuncheng.

Yuncheng reviewed the clues they had collected over the past few days:

"Lingxi and Xiao Xingyue are getting too close."

A staff member standing nearby said:

"He is no longer an ordinary heir. He has the power to investigate by the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites, and the Fifth Princess has also begun to pay attention to him."

If this continues, the Sixth Prince will inevitably be dragged into the struggle for the throne sooner or later.

The other person whispered:

"Your Highness was born late, and the Yun family is slightly weaker than the Jiang family's North Hall. Compared with the first five princesses, they have no foundation to compete for the rightful succession."

Our most important task now is to accumulate strength discreetly. The Arsenal is the only foundation His Highness can build slowly, and it must not be exposed prematurely.

Yuncheng looked towards the corner.

Li Lingxi was squatting on the ground, disassembling a wooden mechanical bird, seemingly oblivious to everyone's words.

She had dismantled the wooden bird's wings into pieces, and copper teeth were scattered all over the ground beside it.

Yun Cheng said in a deep voice, "Lingxi."

Li Lingxi paused for a moment:

"What are you doing?"

"Have you been going to the Prince's Mansion frequently lately?"

"no."

"Then why does your mechanical bird always fly there?"

Li Lingxi lowered his head and fiddled with the bronze teeth:

"It flies on its own; it has its own ideas."

The expressions on the faces of the people inside the room changed.

Yuncheng pressed his brow:

"You must not get close to Xiao Xingyue anymore."

Li Lingxi looked up:

Why?

"Because he will drag you into the imperial court."

"I was already in the imperial court."

"You are just a princess, not an official."

Yuncheng's tone became a bit harsher:

"You are able to enter the Arsenal now because we fought for you, and His Majesty agreed to grant you a small workshop."

You can slowly study the mechanisms, slowly train craftsmen, and slowly build your own team.

But once you're associated with Xiao Xingyue, everyone will think that the Armory is on his side.

The Fifth Princess will be wary of you, the Fourth Princess will try to suppress you, the Third and Second Princesses will also be watching you closely, and His Majesty will suspect you of plotting to seize the throne.

Li Lingxi frowned: "I didn't."

"Whether it exists or not is unimportant," Yuncheng earnestly advised.

"What others think is what matters."

Li Lingxi pressed the mechanical bird's wings back in:

"Xiao Xingyue is not what you say he is."

The people in the room fell silent.

Yuncheng looked at her, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

This niece was immersed in government offices and miscellaneous studies from a young age, and knew nothing about interpersonal relationships.

She doesn't have many friends and doesn't care what others think of her, but now she's actually starting to speak up for Xiao Xingyue, which is more dangerous than Xiao Xingyue investigating the Armory.

Li Lingxi whispered:

He also praised my mechanism, saying that it wasn't a toy, and that what I understood, others might not.

She lifted her face:

"Only he is willing to let me be myself."

Yuncheng certainly knew what these words meant to Li Lingxi.

These family members of the princess's mother had supported her for many years, always treating her as a card that needed to be carefully hidden.

But they forgot that Li Lingxi was not a card, but a person, someone they protected and also restricted.

Yuncheng said in a low voice:

"No matter what you think."

"Starting tomorrow, the old armory of the Ordnance Bureau, that is, the small workshop where you were rewarded, will be closed. No one may enter without my token."

Li Lingxi suddenly stood up:

"You're going to deal with Xiao Xingyue?"

"It's not about dealing with it." Yun Cheng closed his eyes.

"It's to stop him from getting any closer to you."

"As long as he runs into the Armory, or your family's influence, we have to take action."

"Sixth Prince."

An aide whispered:

"For your future, Xiao Xingyue cannot come again."

Li Lingxi gripped the mechanical bird tightly.

She wanted to stop it, but didn't know how.

Because every word these people said was in the name of protecting her.

Yun Cheng whispered instructions to his staff and others:

There are some things that Lingxi cannot know yet.

If she asks, just say that the old warehouse has been in disrepair for years and is temporarily closed.

If Xiao Xingyue forces his way in, let him bear the consequences himself.

"You are not allowed to touch him." Li Lingxi sensed the dangerous atmosphere.

Yun Cheng said in a deep voice, "Lingxi!"

Li Lingxi repeated it:

"I said, don't touch him."

The advisors inside the room exchanged glances. Yun Cheng didn't try to persuade them any further. He simply turned around and walked towards the door, instructing those around him that if Xiao Xingyue arrived, they should ignore Li Lingxi and proceed with the plan directly!