drunk

Upon reaching the second floor, He Lin was led into a private room by the waiter, while Gu Ziyu stood guard at the door.

When He Lin entered, he saw a man pouring wine into a white jade cup. When he saw He Lin, the man raised the corners of his mouth.

"Zhaobai, I heard from Ziyu that you wanted to see me. What's the matter?"

He couldn't help but shake his head and tease, "He Lin, it's really not easy to see you these days. If I'm not mistaken, the person walking with you on the long street just now was your sister-in-law, right?"

"Yes, it's her."

He Lin's face remained expressionless, something Yin Zhaobai was already used to.

They grew up together, brothers who had crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. If they ever saw He Lin smile, the other person was likely in deep trouble. After all, He Lin was known as the "Cold-Faced King of Hell," and was always decisive, ruthless, and merciless...

Of course, a fake smile doesn't count.

"Is there a problem on your end?"

Yin Zhaobai glanced at him with a smile: "Of course not. That young lady is very simple-minded. She trusts me a lot now and basically lets me accompany her when she goes out."

He Lin nodded, raised his cup and clinked it with his, "The dignified Lord Zhao Bai is actually willing to follow behind a young lady as a servant and be at her beck and call. It is truly a humiliation for him to endure such hardship."

"Hahahaha, not at all, this is the perfect opportunity to show off my charm." Yin Zhaobai tilted his head back and downed his drink in one gulp, casually wiping his mouth. "But He Lin, are you sure it's okay for you to leave your sister-in-law alone and come here to drink?"

"It's alright, she knows the way back to the General's Mansion, she won't get lost."

Yin Zhaobai clicked his tongue in amazement: "By the way, how's the investigation into the Crown Prince's assassination attempt on his southern journey going? I can't get away from the Prime Minister's residence, otherwise I would have gone to investigate myself. Are there any clues?"

He Lin picked up a peanut and put it in his mouth, chewing it expressionlessly. Yin Zhaobai knew him well, and seeing He Lin's expression, his face also showed a serious look. It seemed that this case was more troublesome than expected.

The Crown Prince traveled south, and due to the special nature of his identity, he concealed his whereabouts along the way. His route was extremely secretive and unpredictable, making it impossible for anyone to carry out such a precise assassination.

The assassin was ruthless, clearly aiming for the Crown Prince's life. If it weren't for the Imperial Guards protecting him in secret, he would probably have returned to the capital as a corpse...

After this incident, the Crown Prince unusually ordered all those who knew about it to keep it a secret. His Majesty is still unaware of the assassination attempt. Otherwise, if the Emperor were to investigate the case thoroughly in a fit of rage, not only would his entourage be punished, but local officials would also be implicated. In the end, there might be even more deaths and injuries.

Yin Zhaobai stroked his chin, trying to analyze: "Hey, do you think Qi Junyuan planned this himself, or is there someone else behind it trying to harm him?"

Upon closer examination, Yin Zhaobai's guess is not unreasonable. His Majesty is over fifty years old, yet he only has two sons.

Crown Prince Qi Junyuan is the son of the Empress and is the rightful heir to the Eastern Palace; Second Prince Qi Junxu is the son of the Consort, who is the younger sister of the current Prime Minister. With the Prime Minister's strong support in the court, their power is considerable.

Although the crown prince has been chosen, His Majesty is capricious and it is not impossible for him to change the choice at the last minute. Moreover, who in the court does not know that the two princes have already been secretly vying for power and developing their own influence?

It's possible that Qi Junyuan orchestrated this whole affair to protect his position as crown prince and to frame others for future crimes. It's also possible that Qi Junxu secretly sent assassins to vie for the crown prince position. However, the possibility that others were secretly stirring things up cannot be ruled out...

Therefore, only by thoroughly investigating this matter can we prevent even greater trouble from arising in the future.

He Lin shook his head: "I don't know. I've already sent Yanzhi to investigate. Don't get involved in this matter. If you're not careful, that old fox Shangguan Dehui will notice that something's wrong with you. But keep an eye out for people with black eagle tattoos on their chests. Find an opportunity to see if there are any such people in the Prime Minister's residence."

Yin Zhaobai lowered his eyes, his long, slender hand with distinct knuckles playing with a cup.

"Okay, I understand."

As soon as they finished speaking, a commotion arose at the door. The two paused, exchanging a glance.

Logically speaking, with Gu Ziyu guarding the door, no outsiders should be able to get close at all, but at this moment, it's making an unbelievable racket.

"Gu Ziyu, what are you doing here? Where is He Lin?"

Gu Ziyu chuckled, raised his hand to scratch the back of his head, and simply didn't know how to answer. If it were anyone else, he could have knocked them out and thrown them down, but this person really couldn't move a single finger! Leaving was not an option, and staying was not an option either.

"So that's why you disappeared when I turned around. You ran into the restaurant. Why didn't you call us? What were you standing here for? Like doormen? Come on, let's go in and eat together."

As Jiang Yi spoke, she was about to walk past Gu Ziyu and push open the door to go inside.

"Young, Young Madam!" Gu Ziyu didn't dare to reach out and grab her, blocking the doorway with a troubled expression. "Young Master, he's not here."

"Really? Since he's not here, what are you doing standing here?" She narrowed her eyes, suspiciously asking, "Is He Lin doing something behind my back?"

"No."

"Oh, I see!" Jiang Yi stepped closer, pointing at him and saying each word clearly, "Could it be that he has another woman outside, keeping a mistress?"

Gu Ziyu waved his hands frantically: "No, no, it's not that, Young Master..."

The door to the private room was suddenly opened from the inside, and Jiang Yi looked up to see a pair of dark eyes; it was He Lin.

"Come in."

Jiang Yi gave a soft snort and followed them inside.

Yin Zhaobai greeted her with a smile, "Sister-in-law is here too, please have a seat."

Jiang Yi paused for a moment, looking at He Lin with confusion. He then explained, "This is a friend of mine—Yin Zhaobo."

"Huh? Your friend?"

Jiang Yi carefully examined Yin Zhaobai, never expecting that the two were actually friends.

That said, He Lin is a pretty boy, shouldn't his friends also be delicate and handsome young masters? This guy doesn't look like one at all. He's sallow and thin, wearing coarse linen clothes, and looks more like a servant following behind a young master.

Following her gaze, Yin Zhaobai looked up at himself and guessed what Jiang Yi was thinking. She probably hadn't expected He Lin to have such a friend.

He didn't mind at all, and instead laughed and said, "Sister-in-law, you've really wronged He Lin this time. There are only the two of us in this house, and there are no other women."

Jiang Yi snapped out of her daze and felt a little embarrassed. Not only had she misunderstood, but she had also been staring at a strange man, which was really impolite.

"Uh, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were eating. Sorry to disturb you."

After saying that, she glanced at He Lin and was about to leave.

He Lin, however, quickly grabbed her arm and said, "Aren't you hungry? Why are you leaving?"

"Yes, sister-in-law, please sit down. Don't worry about me, just pretend I don't exist."

Jiang Yi: "Then I won't stand on ceremony?"

Yin Zhaobai: "Please."

...

Half an hour passed in a flash, and He Lin frowned and snatched the wine cup from Jiang Yi's hand.

"What are you doing? What's wrong with me having a little drink?"

Upon hearing this, He Lin's face darkened, and his dark eyes stared intently at Jiang Yi.

Her fair face was flushed, and her eyes were no longer as clear as before; she was clearly a little drunk. Drinking a little alcohol was not a big deal, but what bothered He Lin was that she had put her arm around Yin Zhaobai's shoulder and acted like a brother to him right in front of him!

Does he not exist?!

Yin Zhaobo chuckled and shook his head. It was the first time he had ever seen He Lin so jealous, and he found it quite novel. It seemed that getting married really made a difference. If he had the chance to tell Wu Yuan about this in the future, he would probably make him laugh at it for half a year...

No, that guy is even colder than He Lin. His face, which is as white as snow all year round, doesn't have a single crack. He's so perfect that it's like he's wearing a mask.

"Go home if you're drunk."

Jiang Yi propped herself up on one arm and turned to look at him, her hazy, drunken eyes revealing an unfathomable emotion.

He Lin gently swallowed his Adam's apple and stared back at her without blinking. The two of them just stared at each other like that, while Yin Zhaobai's eyes darted back and forth between them a few times.

The more I thought about it, the more I felt I shouldn't be there; I should have crawled under the table.

"Ahem, well, it's getting late, I'll be going now. You two can continue eating?"

"Wait, Brother Zhaobai!"

Upon hearing the words "Brother Zhaobai," He Lin's temples throbbed inexplicably, and he instinctively felt that Jiang Yi was not going to say anything nice next.

Are you going to "Mirror Flower Water Moon"?

He Lin: "..."

Yin Zhaobo froze on the spot, his expression as if he was about to burst out laughing, his eyes wide: "What?"

Jiang Yi stood up unsteadily; if He Lin hadn't been there to protect her, she probably would have stumbled and fallen.

"Yeah, hiccup~"

She had barely opened her mouth when she let out a loud burp. He Lin turned his face away in disgust, wishing he could stay as far away from her as possible if she weren't unsteady on her feet.

"It's that biggest brothel in the capital, you've been there, right? If you haven't, that's okay, I'll treat you, I'm rich. But let's make it clear first, we'll just take a look, we won't do anything. Look at me, I've even changed my clothes..."

Yin Zhaobai glanced at He Lin's face and clicked his tongue; it was incredibly ugly.

Taking advantage of Jiang Yi's drunken state, he suppressed a laugh and asked, "Why didn't you ask He Lin to go with you?"

He Lin shot him a glare, but Yin Zhaobai ignored him, feeling like he was about to burst from holding it in, and laughed so hard his shoulders were shaking.

"No, he, he can't go to a place like that."

"Why?"

Jiang Yi raised her hand to cover her mouth, seemingly letting out another hiccup, and sighed softly, saying, "If he goes to a place like that, I won't want him anymore. Why should only women be expected to be chaste? In my opinion, men should be even more so!"

Both of them were taken aback upon hearing this.

He Lin pursed his lips, his back to the candlelight, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

"..."

The two of them, Jinghua and Shuiyue, did not make an appointment. Yin Zhaobai made an excuse that he had something to do and hurriedly slipped away before He Lin could come to his senses.

Anyway, everything that needed to be said has been said. Now, let's just pray that Jiang Yi has good luck. He Lin, that "cold-faced devil," is not so easy to deal with!

After Yin Zhaobai left, He Lin glanced at the drunkard beside him, couldn't help but pinch his brow, and then carried Jiang Yi downstairs like a chick. After being exposed to the wind, she sobered up quite a bit. Xia Zhi supported her as they staggered towards the General's Mansion.