Chapter 50

Weidao has been busy with the tasks assigned to him by the leader recently, so he has been out of sight and reach. Li Yin has no reason to summon him, but tonight, Li Yin summoned Weidao after a long time.

Weidao put the knife aside, sat down without any greeting, and poured himself a cup of tea. Li Yin didn't mind at all.

Ototo sipped his tea and asked, "What's going on?"

Li Yin paused, then said, "Right now, there's a rumor going around in the capital that Hong Jingxiu's daughter is still alive. Have you heard about it?"

The teacup in Weidao's hand trembled slightly, nearly spilling the tea. He looked up at Li Yin, a subtle flash of panic in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and said in a deep voice, "Are these rumors just groundless? The entire Hong family was executed, so how could his daughter escape?"

Li Yin stared deeply at the teacup on the table and said slowly, "I also thought it was nonsense at first, but in the past few days, people have been secretly inquiring about the whereabouts of Miss Hong. I'm afraid this matter is not that simple."

Wei Dao's heart tightened, but he pretended to be calm on the surface. He took a sip of tea to hide his inner turmoil and asked, "Does anyone know where this rumor came from? Who are the people behind this?"

Li Yin retracted his gaze and looked at Wei Dao, saying meaningfully, "Ji Ke only said one sentence, but father's anxiety symptoms have become more serious."

Li Yin took out the mask given to him by His Majesty from his bosom and said to Wei Dao, "Do you remember? This mask is exactly the same as the one I wore at the Prime Minister's banquet."

Wei Dao's eyebrows jumped when he saw the mask, but he quickly covered it up and changed the subject, saying, "If Miss Hong is really alive, once she shows up, all forces will be ready to move, and the court will probably be plunged into conflict again."

Li Yin nodded slightly, his expression solemn. "If that's true, we must find her before Ji Ke does."

Weidao was silent for a moment, weighing the pros and cons in his mind. If he could really find Miss Hong, it would be an extremely important trump card for both himself and Li Yin.

He looked up at Li Yin, a hint of determination flashing in his eyes, "Then let's start investigating. We must find her whereabouts before anyone else."

"Yes, Your Highness."

At noon, after Li Yin finished his discussion with Wei Dao, he prepared to leave. The palace maids had been waiting outside the door. As soon as Li Yin came out, they hurried to greet him.

Luo Sanrong walked in front holding a canopy to block the light for Li Yin, but the canopy kept shaking. Luo Sanrong used all his strength to stabilize it, so his face looked a little ferocious.

Li Yin quickly realized something and said to Luo Sanrong, "It's too heavy. Give it to me!"

Li Yin recalled that night. He originally wanted to hand over the letter expressing his feelings to Luo Sanrong personally, but he didn't expect to see Luo Sanrong wearing familiar women's clothing outside the window. The women's clothing was exactly the clothes worn by the person standing behind Ji Zeming when they took shelter from the rain in the bamboo pavilion that day.

At that moment, Li Yin seemed to understand everything. It turned out that she was actually a girl.

However, Li Yin did not rush in to "expose" her. Instead, he thought that since she risked her life to enter the palace, she must have had her own reasons. Or, he should wait for her to tell him in person!

So Luo Sanrong didn't know that Li Yin already knew her identity as a daughter, and she always emphasized her identity as a man in front of Li Yin. She thought that Li Yin liked men.

Luo Sanrong subconsciously shrank back, her hands tightly gripping the handle of the canopy, her knuckles turning white from the strain. She raised her face, her eyes surprisingly bright, and said stubbornly, "Your Highness, no, this is my job, and there are too many people watching!"

The palace maids around them all stood with their heads bowed. In the scorching sun, they looked like frozen sculptures. But Luo Sanrong knew that although their eyes seemed to be lowered, they were actually secretly paying attention to every move here.

There are eyes everywhere in the palace. If you are not careful, rumors will drown you like a surging tide.

"Then it's okay for me to bask in the sun." Li Yin said nonchalantly.

Eunuch Ma hunched over and quickly stepped forward. He glanced up at the scorching sun high in the sky, then quickly lowered his head. His voice was filled with caution as he admonished, "Your Highness, the sun is truly scorching. Please go back to the canopy and rest. Be careful not to burn yourself out. We cannot afford that."

Seeing this, Luo Sanzhen stepped forward holding the canopy and said to His Highness, "It doesn't matter to me. If I find a mere canopy too heavy, what kind of man would I be?"

Looking at Luo Sanrong's forcing herself to hold on, and remembering that Luo Sanrong was actually a... Li Yin couldn't help but smile.

Li Yin said to the palace servant behind him: "The wind outside is so cool, I want to take a nap here, please don't disturb me."

The palace servants answered respectfully: "Yes, Your Highness"

Li Yin also deliberately winked at Luo Sanrong and said in a serious tone, "And you, hold the canopy carefully for me, do you understand?" Then he pulled Luo Sanrong up and sat him under the cover of the canopy without the palace people noticing.

Li Yin and Luo Sanrong smiled at each other, then Li Yin quietly took Luo Sanrong's hand, stroked it and said, "Such a small hand, how can it be so rough?"

Luo Sanrong's cheeks flushed crimson instantly, her eyes flickering in panic. She cleared her throat, trying to sound calmer, but her words still carried a subtle hint of embarrassment: "Aren't all men's hands like this?"

Li Yin suppressed his laughter. "That's right," he deliberately dragged out his tone. "Yes, your eyes, nose and lips..." At this point, he finally couldn't help but chuckle, and quickly cleared his throat. He leaned forward and lowered his voice, but it was more meaningful. "Such heroic men, gathered together, actually gave rise to an indescribable sense of strength. This palace——"

He paused deliberately, watching the faint blush on the other's ears, and the smile in his eyes became even deeper. "I'm just addicted to this unique energy, aren't I?" "I'm just addicted to your strong feeling."

Luo Sanrong was taken aback by his straightforward yet playful compliment, and her tone unconsciously expressed surprise, "Huh? What?"

Then he looked around and lowered his voice, fearing that others would hear him. "I'm really worried that someone might hear us. Your Highness, please take back what you just said!"

"Take it back?" He curled his lips, dragging out the last line of his words slightly, with a certain nonchalant certainty. "You can't take back what you've said. You have to take responsibility."

Li Yin let Luo Sanrong rest her head on his shoulder. Instead of continuing the conversation, he turned to another topic. He opened the book in his hand and slowly flipped through it. He said to Luo Sanrong, "Take a break! I'll read very slowly."

Luo Sanrong leaned obediently on Li Yin's shoulder and murmured, "Your Highness, you cherish me so much, but I can't be happy."

After a pause, he continued, "Don't think you know me well."

Li Yin patted Luo Sanrong's head, his eyes not moving away from the book. He said gently, "I didn't say I knew you well enough. I just wanted you to rest."

Luo Sanrong didn't continue speaking, but just thought silently in his heart: "Your Highness, please don't be so nice to me. I always want to rely on you, but this won't work."