On the Ark.

Yingzhen... that sounds like a woman's name. Who could it be?

Hao Guangzhuqing subconsciously looked at the photo in Ying Jie's hand, only to see that it was a man. However, before he could take a closer look, Ying Jie turned the photo to the side, and Hao Guangzhuqing understood what Ying Jie meant.

"Your Highness, I shall take my leave now," Haoguang Zhuqing said.

Ying Jie nodded, no longer in the mood to talk to Hao Guangzhuqing. After Hao Guangzhuqing left, he looked at the butler who was holding a handkerchief to wipe his hands, and impatiently shook his hand: "Don't waste time here. What's going on? Why is Ying Zhen's photo in Wei Yanwu's hands?"

The steward said respectfully, "According to Governor Wei Yanwu of Longmen, His Highness Yingzhen..."

Ying Jie grabbed the photo and slammed it on the butler's head, shouting angrily, "Don't call him Your Highness! Is he your Highness?!"

The steward, who had been reprimanded by Ying Jie, dared not refute and could only endure it. He then said in a low voice, "Yes, Your Highness. According to Wei Yanwu, he did not know Ying Zhen's identity, but only had some acquaintance with him. Ying Zhen claimed that he had lost his memories from several years ago, did not know who he was, or where he came from, so he asked Wei Yanwu to help investigate his identity."

Ying Jie frowned slightly: "Amnesia?"

"Yes, that's what Wei Yanwu said."

Ying Jie paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, as if deep in thought. After half a minute, he stopped and slowly said, "Let's not talk about why Ying Zhen is still alive. Let's talk about that old man Wei Yanwu. Has he ever seen Ying Zhen before?"

"This..." The butler pondered carefully, then said in a low voice, "More than ten years ago, before Wei Yanwu was sent to Longmen, Yingzhen met him once when she was just a few years old. But that was more than ten years ago. It's hard to say whether Wei Yanwu would recognize Yingzhen now."

“More than ten years ago, more than ten years ago.” Ying Jie recalled briefly, then said, “It was at Ying Zhen’s first birthday banquet, wasn’t it? Back then, Ying Zhen was still called Ying Zheng, the ‘Zheng’ meaning ‘to conquer the world.’ At that time, Father Emperor didn’t neglect him. Of course, it was also because he hadn’t drawn that sword yet…”

As he said this, Ying Jie's eyes narrowed slightly.

"You're saying that once he pulled out that sword, he shouldn't have lived?" Ying Jie glanced sideways at the steward. "He pulled out that sword, so he should have died, right? My Ying family can no longer tolerate him. So I sent someone to kill him for the sake of the Great Yan dynasty, to share the Emperor's burdens, and to ensure that my Ying family can maintain its rule. It wasn't a matter of brothers killing each other, is it?"

The butler lowered his head: "Of course."

“Very good.” Ying Jie nodded, then raised his voice, his tone filled with anger, “Then who can tell me?! Why didn’t he die?! What exactly did those Ghost Warriors I hired at a high price five years ago do?!?”

As he spoke, Ying Jie once again swung his wooden knife, smashing the antique porcelain pieces around him.

The broken porcelain cut the butler's face, but he dared not utter a sound. He knew very well that Ying Jie was in a fit of rage, and that rashly provoking him would only bring trouble upon himself.

It wasn't until Ying Jie smashed everything he could in the room that he calmed down a little and barely managed to regain his composure. Only then did the butler dare to offer his advice.

“Your Highness, now is not the time to dwell on the past,” the steward said in a low voice. “The most important thing now is what to do next.”

"How to say?"

"Let's set aside whether Ying Zhen's amnesia is real or feigned," the steward said. "The most important thing now is to prevent the news of his survival from reaching His Majesty and the First Prince's ears, especially the First Prince's. Although His Majesty does dislike Ying Zhen, and Ying Zhen's life or death may be insignificant to him, the First Prince is different. If the First Prince finds evidence that you harmed Ying Zhen, he will inevitably use it to his advantage. If he then makes this public, Your Highness..."

The butler's words were like a bucket of cold water poured on Ying Jie's heart.

“At that time, let alone the title of Crown Prince,” Ying Jie said in a low voice, “I might not even have the title of a vassal king.”

"That's the crux of the matter, Your Highness."

Ying Jie took a deep breath and asked, "Then what should we do?"

"Two steps." The steward held up two fingers. "First, we must keep Wei Yanwu in check no matter what. We absolutely cannot allow Wei Yanwu to contact His Majesty or the First Prince. Whether by coercion or bribery, we absolutely cannot let this matter leak out before you ascend the throne."

Ying Jie nodded: "That's natural, and what else?"

“Secondly, of course, is Yingzhen himself,” the steward said in a low voice. “Your Highness, we absolutely cannot let Yingzhen live. The longer he lives in this world, the greater the threat he poses to you.”

Ying Jie's voice also turned cold: "Of course I know that. But he's not in Yan Kingdom right now, where am I supposed to find him? Should I ask Wei Yanwu to do it?"

The steward shook his head and said, "No, Your Highness. Ying Zhen's survival until now is a lesson for you. In matters like this, we absolutely cannot trust outsiders, and Wei Yanwu is an outsider too."

"Then what should I do?" Ying Jie said. "Right now, I only have the limited power of the Supervisory Department."

“This can be considered gradually,” the steward said. “The first thing to do is to confirm Ying Zhen’s location. Even if we can’t kill him in a short time, we absolutely cannot let him return to Yan Kingdom!”

"Heh, you can rest assured about that," Ying Jie said coldly. "My cowardly brother, even if he manages to escape with his life, would never dare to oppose me. Even if I promised him the position of a vassal king, he would never dare to set foot in Yan Kingdom."

……

"Achoo!" Lin Ye sneezed loudly.

Warfarin looked at him with disgust: "You're disgusting."

Lin Ye said irritably, "How is sneezing disgusting?"

"Your nose is running."

Lin Ye was startled by Warfarin's words and quickly reached out to cover his nose, only to find that there was no snot at all.

"You fucking..."

Warfarin closed the book and said, "I suddenly thought of something."

"what?"

"The fourth princess of Yan Kingdom might also be a human, after all, there's not a trace of dragon characteristics on her."

"so what?"

"Can we find a way to get some blood from her?"

Lin Ye's eyes widened: "Are you tired of living?!"

"No, don't we have a legitimate excuse for blood collection?" Warfarin looked at Lin Ye with a smile. "Right, Doctor?"

Chapter 552 Dr. Lin, why aren't you turning on the light? (3K)

Lin Ye was genuinely startled by Warfarin's idea.

This is only the second day since arriving in Los Angeles, and they've already set their sights on the fourth princess of Yan Kingdom, even having a rough plan. Under the guise of a pharmaceutical representative, they'll find a way to draw some blood from the princess… Hmm, I must say, with an ally like Warfarin, how could they not end up in jail? They've got their eyes on the princess in two days; shouldn't they be thinking about drawing blood from the emperor in two weeks?

For his own safety, Lin Ye firmly refused Warfarin's offer, even warning her to give up the idea as soon as possible. After all, if this matter escalated, not only would they be affected, but Rhodes Island would also be implicated. Rhodes Island was already at odds with Ursus, and if they were also targeted by Yan Kingdom, Kal'tsit would probably come and tear them apart.

"Look at you, so timid and cowardly, you have no adventurous spirit at all. How can you do research like this?" Although she complained like this, Warfarin was quite reasonable. After all, while the Fourth Princess's blood sample was very tempting, it would be too much of a loss if it involved the entire Rhodes Island. So Warfarin didn't continue the conversation.

Looking at the time, Lin Ye said, "It's about time, we should head back."

Warfarin glanced up at the wall clock, then slowly stood up. "Alright, I'll come back tomorrow. There are quite a few books here, but give me a week, and I should be able to find the information I need."

So the two found Grani, who was reading a romance novel, and went to the coffee shop to find the other three people before returning to the hotel together.

"Hey you guys," said the Iron-Eating Beast, "you actually spent the whole day reading in the library?"

"what happened?"

"What else? I came with you guys to have some fun, not to sit in a coffee shop and drink coffee," said the Iron-Eating Beast. "I can tell you're not ordinary people, so can you tell me what you're investigating? I'm a local from Yan Country, after all, and I definitely know more about the situation than you do in many ways."

"It's nothing, we're just an ordinary pharmaceutical company."

"Just kidding," Lin Ye thought, "how could I easily tell anyone about 'Potion L'?" And the things they needed to investigate—the First Emperor and the original humans—couldn't be discussed too openly with the Iron-Eating Beast, so Lin Ye could only apologize to the well-meaning beast. The Iron-Eating Beast was naturally displeased. Pointing to Nian, who was munching on a flatbread she'd bought from who-knows-where, she lowered her voice and said, "You've already dealt with this big shot, and you still tell me it's just an ordinary pharmaceutical company?"

Lin Ye was at a loss for words when faced with the Iron-Eating Beast. They had come to Yan Kingdom with the intention of keeping a low profile, but they hadn't expected to encounter the Nian Beast on their very first day. Now, it seemed the Nian Beast had been eating non-stop for the past two days. Yesterday at the hotel restaurant, it had devoured the equivalent of several people's portions, and showed no signs of being full. Lin Ye wondered what its tiny stomach was made of.

Thinking this, he couldn't help but pat Nian's head. Nian looked up at him, said nothing, and continued to concentrate on eating her sesame seed cake. The sesame seed cake she ordered was also extra spicy. Lin Ye could see the thick layer of chili sauce spread on it when he looked down, which made his scalp tingle just looking at it.

The second day in Los Angeles passed just like that. After returning to the hotel and having dinner, everyone went back to their rooms to rest.

They said they were resting, but really it was because there was nothing to do, so they all went back to their rooms, partly because it was quite late. He was sitting on the sofa, petting the still-sleeping Messiah, recalling what Warfarin had told him during the day. Based on the materials they had found that day, there did seem to be some abnormal flaws in the history of Yan Kingdom, though they couldn't pinpoint them yet.

Then again, logically speaking, this kind of thing has nothing to do with Lin Ye, and he shouldn't need to care so much. But for some reason, he felt that his desire to know the truth was no less than Warfarin's. Perhaps it was because this country was so similar to the place he had once lived that he cared so much.

As Lin Ye was thinking this, he suddenly heard a slight noise coming from the next room. He turned around and saw that all the lights in the next room were off again. He then remembered that he seemed to have promised the girl next door a small favor last night, which he had almost forgotten.

So he put down Messiah and was about to go over when he felt as if he had missed something.

After thinking for a moment, he reached out and turned off the lights in the living room and on the balcony, plunging the entire suite into darkness, just like the night before. Only then did he step onto the balcony, where, sure enough, he found the girl waiting for him in the dark.

"Good evening," Lin Ye greeted with a smile.

Ying Li looked at the hazy figure in the darkness, her heart filled with mixed feelings.

A voice inside her kept telling her she shouldn't do this. As the fourth princess of Yan Kingdom, she absolutely couldn't show weakness in front of strangers. If the media found out, the consequences at this point wouldn't be hard to guess.

So, Ying Li, be strong.

Your brother is no longer in this world. The person next door is just someone whose voice sounds similar. You can't keep deceiving yourself.

These were the words Ying Li had been telling herself all day. However, once darkness had completely fallen, she still turned off all the lights and, just like the night before, stood on the balcony waiting. At that moment, she was thinking that this had nothing to do with self-deception; it was purely because she had promised Lin Ye last night to meet him again tonight. After all, she was the fourth princess of Yan Kingdom, and she had to keep her word.

However, her identity as a princess absolutely could not be revealed. So, Ying Li thought to herself that if the other person didn't turn off the lights, she wouldn't give them a chance to see her and would immediately return to her room. But if the other person turned off the lights, just like last night, then she would... reluctantly chat with them one more time, but that would definitely be the last time.

When Ying Li thought this, she was startled by her own thoughts.

Why would a princess of the Yan Kingdom, the fourth princess, have the mentality of a little girl at this time?

No, no, absolutely not. They say things shouldn't happen more than three times, but for her, it's more like two times. What started yesterday, she's going to cut off today.

With this in mind, Ying Li replied with a rather indifferent "Mm".

Lin Ye smiled, and then the two started chatting. It was more of a talk than a conversation; Lin Ye did most of the talking, while Ying Li occasionally replied with a word or two. No, rather, a couple of onomatopoeic words, sounding very perfunctory. Lin Ye felt quite annoyed, wondering why Ying Li had become so cold after only one night.

After thinking it over, Lin Ye concluded that it was because he had been talking the whole time, like he was performing a monologue. So he turned the conversation to Ying Li: "Could you tell me about your brother?"

"My brother?" Ying Li frowned slightly. "Why?"

"Didn't you want to hear me wish you a happy marriage in your brother's voice yesterday?" Lin Ye said with a smile. "But I don't know your brother very well, and I don't have a sister myself. So I'm not sure how to capture that feeling. I was thinking that if I could get to know your brother better, it would be much better."

Ying Li was silent for a moment, then said, "No need."

"what?"

“I said, you don’t need to say those things to me anymore,” Ying Li said softly. “I’ve figured it out. You are not him, and you can’t replace him. Besides, I don’t want too many people to know about his affairs. I want to protect his privacy, even though he’s no longer in this world.”

Is that so?

Ying Li's answer left Lin Ye unsure whether to feel relieved or disappointed. Relieved because Ying Li had come to her senses—which was a good thing, regardless of the circumstances. Disappointed, however, because it seemed he hadn't done anything at all; as a psychologist, he had indeed failed somewhat.

But what Lin Ye didn't know was that another voice was already ringing in Ying Li's mind at that moment.

……

"Lili, Father gave me a piece of candy on my birthday. Here, have it."

"Second brother, would he dare hit you? I, I, I'm going to find him and settle the score right now."

"Yes, I'm sorry, I can't beat my second brother. No, but I bit him and drew blood, hehe, although I got scolded by Father again."

"It's alright. Anyway, Father doesn't like me, but he definitely likes you. I didn't expose you."

"That's so good. You can leave the palace again, but I can't... But it's okay, I'll wait for you to come back."

If you get bullied outside, tell me, and I'll go beat him up for you.

"Even if it's my second brother... I'll still hit him."

……