Chapter 233 Ambition

Fan Jingrui and Chu Ci thought that the Fifth Prince was jealous of the love and sweetness between them.

The two of them ignored him and walked out hand in hand.

Seeing them ignoring him like this, the Fifth Prince was immediately furious. He turned around and complained to the First Prince: "Brother, look at them? They are simply going too far. They don't even take me seriously!"

The eldest prince was momentarily dazed upon seeing this, but soon regained his composure. He raised the corners of his mouth and said with a smile, "Isn't this the result of Fifth Brother's constant indulgence?"

Upon hearing this, the Fifth Prince frowned, "Haven't they saved my life so many times? If it weren't for them, I'd probably be dead. I'll always remember this kindness, so why not be a little more lenient with them?"

At this point, the Fifth Prince stared at the First Prince with a burning gaze, his tone inquiring, "Come to think of it, Big Brother is quite indulgent towards them. Is he repaying Minghui for saving his life? Or does Big Brother have other plans?"

Upon hearing this, the eldest prince stared at the fifth prince with a sharp gaze, as if he could see through him.

On the other side, Chu Ci and Fan Jingrui had already invited the yamen runners and Lin Zheng and his servant who followed them to the living room.

Fan Jingrui, neither humble nor arrogant, bowed to the yamen runner and said in a clear voice, "Sir, my wife and I are new to your place. We are strangers here, so we are always very cautious in our actions, fearing that we might make mistakes or cause offense."

"I wonder what brings you here today, sir? I hope you will explain clearly that if there are any mistakes, my wife and I will do our utmost to cooperate and will not disobey in the slightest."

The yamen runners saw that Fan Jingrui was dressed like a scholar, had an extraordinary demeanor, and even had female relatives with him.

The arrogance he had displayed upon entering had largely dissipated, but he still had a duty to inquire. "A passerby saw the young master of the Lin family enter your carriage. Excuse me, does the young master know where he went after leaving the carriage?"

"This matter is of great importance. I hope you will tell me the truth and not hide anything. Otherwise, I may cause you unnecessary trouble."

Upon hearing this, Fan Jingrui was slightly stunned, then pretended to understand. He then said, "You really didn't notice this? Madam, did you notice it?"

His gaze turned to Chu Ci with a hint of inquiry.

Chu Ci frowned slightly upon hearing this, pretending to think. After a moment, she slowly said, "It seems like they went to a fish ball stall. After all, it was far away, so I couldn't see it clearly. There were people coming and going at the time, so I just took a casual glance, so I can't be too sure."

After hearing Lin Zheng's questioning, the yamen runner already knew that Lin Yun went to the city gate just to eat fish balls. After some consideration and weighing, he dispelled his suspicions about Fan Jingrui and Chu Ci.

Just as he was about to say goodbye, the anxious Lin Zheng could no longer hold back and suddenly stood up and asked anxiously, "Are you sure Yun'er got off the carriage?"

His voice trembled slightly, and his eyes were full of anxiety and expectation.

Upon hearing this, Fan Jingrui remained calm and composed, not panicking at all. "Of course. How could my wife and I possibly make a mistake in remembering such a beautiful and charming child?"

But Lin Zheng didn't let it go. Instead, he frowned, staring intently at Fan Jingrui, and continued to ask, "Then why didn't anyone watching notice Yun'er leave? Isn't that strange?"

However, this time Fan Jingrui did not speak, but Chu Ciying stood up. "Mr. Lin, have you been deceived?"

"We have eight carriages in our group. Each carriage is closely guarded by guards. It's impossible for those onlookers to get close, so how can they see what's going on inside the carriages?"

The speech was well-reasoned and clear, and completely consistent with the results of the yamen runners' previous investigation.

Although Lin Zheng still had doubts in his heart and his brows were still furrowed, he couldn't find any flaws after thinking it over again and again.

His eyes darted back and forth between Fan Jingrui and Chu Ci, still tinged with resentment and doubt. However, after much deliberation, he could only reluctantly suppress his doubts for the time being. "I'm sorry, Lin Zheng was reckless. I was so anxious looking for my child just now, and I hope I've offended you all. I hope you will forgive me."

"I understand." Chu Ci said with a faint smile, "Mr. Lin loves his son dearly, so it's only natural for him to be anxious at the moment. My husband and I naturally don't take it to heart. We just hope to find your son as soon as possible so that Mr. Lin can rest assured."

After hearing Chu Ci say this, Lin Zheng felt a little better.

But he still believed that the Chu Ci couple must be hiding something from him, but he had no solid evidence at the moment, so he forced a smile and said, "Then I'll take your kind words, Madam. If you have any further news, please send someone to the Lin Mansion to let me know. I will reward you handsomely."

Chu Ci nodded slightly upon hearing this and smiled as if agreeing to the request.

At this point, Lin Zheng had no reason to stay. Filled with doubt and resentment, he slowly turned and left.

However, what Lin Zheng didn't know was that as soon as he left, Chu Ci and his group rode at full speed to the courtyard where Lin Zheng lived.

To be more precise, he thoroughly searched every place where Mu Diao and Mu Diao had the most contact in the Lin family. His efforts paid off, and Chu Ci actually found Lin Yun and his son in the secret room under Lin Zheng's study.

At this time, the eldest prince witnessed this series of events with his own eyes, and finally believed what the fifth prince and the purple-robed envoy said, that Chu Ci was the nemesis of those who hid in the sewers and did evil.

Thinking of the complicated relationship between the Fan family and the former crown prince and the fifth prince, the eldest prince couldn't help but frown and sighed, "What a lucky life!"

However, he never believed that the relationship between people would always be close and without rifts.

Since I can now participate in this, it means that God favors me and will definitely give me the opportunity to break the current situation and achieve great things.

It’s just that ideals are full, but reality is very skinny.

Every time the eldest prince tried to fit in and wanted to have an equal dialogue with Chu Ci, he would always be stared at by Chu Ci's vigilant eyes as if to say "What are you planning?" In this way, he would easily fail.

Finally, the eldest prince simply returned to his true nature, no longer pretending to be gentle, and said loudly: "Tomorrow we will go to the Lin residence, and I will go too."

Chu Ci's eyes suddenly lit up, and he said with a hint of joking, "Your Highness, King of Shu, have you also fallen in love with the feeling of watching a live performance?"

The eldest prince was truly impressed by Chu Ci's train of thought. He coughed fakely to cover up his own gaffe. "I just wanted to see what the expression of someone who can mistakenly admit his wife and children would be."

"Oh——" Chu Ci stretched out his voice, neither clearly saying whether he believed it nor whether he did not believe it.

But her half-smile clearly showed that she didn't believe it at all.

The eldest prince was slightly annoyed, his face darkening instantly. "Why, can't I even have this little curiosity? Do you think I'm so unbearable?"