Chapter 211 Jin Shu has no way to repay the prince's kindness.

On the way back, as Jin Shu crossed the threshold of the Six Doors, she would occasionally peek out to glance at Li Jin, who was walking ahead of her.

After going back and forth three or five times, Li Jin frowned slightly and stopped.

Jin Shu, who was standing behind him with her head outstretched, couldn't stop in time and bumped into his back.

"Sir, please speak frankly." Li Jin smiled slightly as he looked at her staggering figure.

Jin Shu raised her hand and rubbed the tip of her nose slightly: "Your Highness doesn't keep your word."

Li Jin paused.

He turned around, glanced at Jin Shu from head to toe, and chuckled softly: "What makes you say that?"

Jin Shu raised an eyebrow and smiled mysteriously: "The case is solved. The prince said he would tell his subordinates about it."

Li Jin had truly forgotten about this matter.

He paused for a moment, then realized that it seemed to be true.

Glancing at Jin Shu's expectant expression, she snorted disdainfully, "What's so interesting about that? The Crown Prince's mother wants to plant a spy next to me."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Jin Shu clicked her tongue and quickly followed, asking, "And then?"

"And then what?" Li Jin glanced at her. "They didn't succeed."

Seeing him casually spitting out little by little, Jin Shu curled her lips and said, "Your Highness really has no sincerity."

As if deliberately teasing her, upon hearing her slightly dissatisfied voice, Li Jin slowed down, flicked his fan, and said in a serious tone, "At last year's New Year's banquet, Su Wanying presented five riddles in a row, challenging me to a contest in front of the Emperor."

He chuckled softly: "I can't remember the riddle, but the five characters of the answer, put together, mean: I will marry no one but you."

As Li Jin said this, a look of disgust flashed across her face.

"Has the prince been relieved?" Jin Shu asked.

Li Jin's expression shifted slightly, becoming meaningful and his words carrying a hidden meaning: "Does the master wish for me to explain?" He leaned closer and chuckled, "Or perhaps not?"

Before Jin Shu could react, he said gently, "Jin Shu, do you know why I can't refuse Su Wanying to her face?"

Jin Shu shook her head: "I don't know."

Li Jin smiled and started walking, taking much slower steps than before.

Seeing Jin Shu's puzzled look, Li Jin pondered for a moment, but swallowed the words "because of you."

“She’s wanted to be the mistress of the Jing Prince’s mansion for more than three or five years,” Li Jin said. “She’ll find fault with anyone who gets too close to me.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Zhou Zheng behind Jin Shu and Shen Wen hiding behind the screen wall.

“She schemed against all of Shadow’s men.” After saying that, her eyes smiled like crescent moons, “Except for you.”

Jin Shu asked in surprise, "You even care about men?"

“Manage.” He narrowed his eyes slightly.

“That’s strange,” Jin Shu frowned. “If she had feelings for the prince, why did she…”

At this point, Jin Shu suddenly stopped, looked at Li Jin's face, and pursed her lips.

Li Jin chuckled lightly, unconcerned: "I've never liked getting too close to women. Su Wanying tried many methods, but they all ended in failure. To dissuade her, I warned her to her face more than once, telling her to give up those impossible ideas."

“But she pretended not to understand.” Li Jin said, fanning herself as she walked.

Perhaps it was Li Jin's repeated rejections that made Su Wanying consider taking a different, unorthodox approach.

She turned around and relied on the Second Prince Li Jing, becoming his most loyal pawn.

Then, through Li Jing's influence, she eliminated General Xiao in the capital, sent Consort Xiao to the cold palace, and wiped out Li Jin's entire brother's family, removing all the obstacles she thought stood between her and Li Jin.

In this way, Li Jing, after ascending the throne in the future, can issue a decree of marriage and rightfully place her in the Prince Jing's residence.

"...That method is a bit ruthless," Jin Shu said with a dry laugh.

“Ruthless, but effective.” Li Jin stopped in the corridor. “When she used Consort Shu to pressure me, backed by the Grand Tutor and the Crown Prince, I was truly helpless.”

Prince Jing of Wei, in the end, was a prince and a subject. He seemed high above, with the blood of a chosen one flowing through his veins.

But he was still bound and restricted by invisible shackles, making it difficult for him to move an inch.

“But Mr. Jin need not worry,” he said. “The Grand Tutor knows perfectly well that if he wants to preserve his honor and the Su family, he must keep a close eye on Su Wanying.”

Jin Shu pursed her lips and nodded: "Does Your Highness really intend to let the Grand Tutor go?"

Li Jin remained silent about this matter.

He took a deep breath, looked at the courtyard outside the corridor where the maple leaves were turning red, and after a long while, said to Jin Shu, "Think about Jin Rong."

The only bloodline of Li Mu, who was studying at the Imperial Academy.

The one and only time Jin Shu lost her temper with Li Jin was triggered by her "brother," her relative.

Jin Shu understood, and her gratitude was beyond words. She cupped her hands and said, "Thank you, Your Highness. I have no way to repay such kindness."

Li Jin slammed the fan shut, a faint smile playing on his lips. He used the fan to lift her arm and looked at her face. "I'm not some sucker who doesn't expect anything in return."

Jin Shu was slightly surprised for a moment, then frowned: "I have no money, I'm penniless, I can't afford to treat people to meals, and my family doesn't send me to school."

These words clearly enumerate Li Jin's "sins" over the past six months.

He suppressed a laugh, raised an eyebrow, and deliberately adopted a businessman's demeanor, giving her a disdainful look: "No money, huh..."

That gaze sent chills down Jin Shu's spine.

“How about this,” Li Jin said seriously, “I’ll owe you this for now, and you can repay this great favor after the major case is closed. What do you think?”

Jin Shu instinctively took half a step back.

It all looks suspicious.

"What, sir, don't you trust me?"

Upon hearing this question, Jin Shu gave a dry laugh, shook her head, and said, "Trustworthy."

That expression perfectly exemplified the hypocrisy of saying one thing and meaning another.

Li Jin didn't nitpick, simply ignoring her shaking her head, and left with the words, "It's a deal." Satisfied, she turned and left.

In the middle of the corridor, Jin Shu watched the departing figure and took a deep breath.

She knew that the fragments in Li Jin's hands had gradually come together to form a complete chain of evidence.

It's only a matter of time before the case from six years ago is reopened and brought into the public eye as one that must be reinvestigated.

It's only a matter of time before the verdict is overturned.

Looking at the corridor I've walked through every day for the past six months, looking at the maple leaves gradually turning red beside the corridor, looking at the two golden ginkgo trees in the middle...

Jin Shu knew that the time for her departure was drawing ever closer.

In half a year, in her eyes, Li Jin gradually transformed from an unreasonable fellow into the wise and meticulous Prince of Wei, who had the world in his heart.

It became more and more dazzling, making it impossible for her to look away.

But Jin Shu knew that she and he were worlds apart, one from the underworld and the other from the heavens. One was a commoner who dealt with the dead, and the other was a prince born into nobility who held sway over the world.

It's impossible no matter what.

My feelings for Li Jin are something I can never mention or reveal in this lifetime.

Rather than getting deeper and deeper into his arms, it would be better for both of them to leave before he even knows who she is.

With that thought in mind, Jin Shu deposited her monthly salary into the bank once again, and then walked along the streets of the West Market in the sunset.

She weighed the silver in her hand and decided what to give as a Mid-Autumn Festival gift.

only……

She frowned slightly as she looked at the plain purse and handkerchief in her hand.

She really doesn't know how to embroider!