"Uncle Yi, I've come to see you." In the main hall of Yi's mansion, He Jinran sat on a guest chair, smiling brightly.
If Qin Susu and Qiu Ling'er saw his expression, they would definitely think that the He Jinran they saw this morning was not the same person.
"Look at me?" He Xuan scoffed. "What's so interesting about a cripple?"
However, He Jinran completely ignored He Xuan's cold expression.
"Uncle Yi, I just arrived and would like to ask for a drink of water."
He Xuan thought to himself, "Such a young age, yet so shameless."
He looked at the maid beside him.
"Serve tea!"
"Thank you, Uncle Yi." He Jinran continued smiling, not even taking a sip of tea, when a servant from the Prince's residence approached He Xuan and respectfully reported...
"Your Highness, General Gu has arrived."
He Jinran...
Why is Father here too?
"Uncle Yi, I'll take my leave now." He stood up and, before He Xuan could speak, had already run out of the hall.
Watching He Jinran's hurried departure, He Xuan's eyes remained indifferent; he only gave instructions to the servants beside him.
"See His Highness the Crown Prince out of the residence."
Then, he waited quietly for Gu Qian to enter the hall.
The servants followed him out.
His Highness the Crown Prince did not see it, but only Gu Qian's calm face.
"General Gu, please."
As for He Jinran,
As soon as he stepped out of the hall, he saw his father approaching and naturally didn't want to bump into him.
Sure enough, the person immediately changed location and hid in the artificial hill of the Prince Yi's mansion.
"Who goes there!"
As soon as he finished speaking, He Jinran saw a guard from the Prince Yi's residence chasing after him.
He turned and ran.
How come I was mistaken for an assassin just for visiting someone's home?
He had only taken two steps when he suddenly stopped.
What is he afraid of? He's a guest, after all.
But in the next instant, the guard's sword was already at his neck.
"What do you mean?" He Jinran asked the guard with an innocent look on his face.
The guard gave He Jinran a careful look, his expression slightly taken aback.
"Who are you, and why are you here?"
The next instant, the guards saw the servants who had just been running towards them.
"Your Highness, so you're here!" The servant said, panting.
"Your Prince's hospitality is truly unique," He Jinran laughed heartily, pushing away the guard's sword with both arms.
"Your Highness?" The guard looked He Jinran up and down carefully, his previously serious expression now showing respect.
He clasped his hands in a respectful gesture.
"Your subordinate has been impolite; please punish me, Your Highness."
"Hey, it's no big deal." He Jinran said with a simple smile.
“Brother Guard, it’s so boring being with the elders, so I thought I’d wander around a bit. You go ahead and do your work.”
"This... Your Highness is of noble birth, please do not address me as such." The guard hesitated, "Let me accompany Your Highness."
He Jinran's eyes flickered slightly. "Alright."
This isn't his own home; as a guest, he shouldn't wander around aimlessly.
Having someone follow along doesn't seem abrupt.
However, He Jinran didn't care about what the Wing King thought of him.
The servant's face stiffened slightly.
He had originally come to see He Jinran off from the mansion.
But now that he's heard He Jinran's words, he can't very well tell him to kick them out.
"Go ahead and get busy," He Jinran said to the servant.
The servant was speechless, and finally watched as He Jinran and the guards left his sight.
Gu Xiaoran walked among them, seemingly without any apparent change, but in reality, she was quite deliberate.
"Well..."
"Your subordinate is Chu Wei."
"Guard Chu, does your Prince Yi have a queen?" He Jinran asked as she walked.
"No."
"No?" He Jinran thought of the Wing King's crippled legs.
“My mother is an excellent doctor. Another day, I’ll have her examine Uncle Yi; perhaps she can cure his leg ailment.” He Jinran originally intended to say this to Prince Yi.
Before he could even utter a word, his father's sudden visit caught him off guard.
"Your...mother?"
"Yes, my mother is the general's wife."
He Jinran completely ignored the puzzled look on Guard Chu's face, only thinking that she must bring her mother to treat Uncle Yi's leg ailment another day.
Keep going forward.
He passed by a lake,
He crouched down and looked at his reflection.
Suddenly, in the reflection, he saw a woman in pink.
Turning around abruptly, he only saw Chu Wei's serious face.
"Who was that young lady just now?"
“Your Highness, there is no young lady,” Guard Chu said earnestly. “There are only maids.”
"Perhaps I'm seeing things." He Jinran stopped insisting and only glanced briefly at the three or five maids dressed in pale yellow dresses in the distance.
He looked at the reflection in the lake again.
This time, there was no pink dress.
Could it be that he really misread it?
He Jinran walked east and west, looking around.
The bodyguard Chu followed closely behind.
As he walked, Guard Chu glanced at the sky.
He wondered to himself, when exactly will His Highness the Crown Prince leave?
Half an hour later,
He Jinran practically toured the entire Prince Yi's residence, inside and out.
Even when the Wing King appeared before him in his four-wheeled chariot, he still couldn't find a single clue.
"Does Your Highness consider the Prince Yi's residence your own home?" He Xuan was not as smooth as the guards.
"That depends on whether Uncle Yi is willing to take him in." He Jinran smiled casually, as if he and He Xuan had known each other for a long time: "Uncle Yi, my father has passed away?"
"I'm gone." He Xuan really hadn't expected He Jinran to still be there.
He assumed that He Jinran had already slipped away upon seeing Gu Qian.
"What did you talk about?" He Jinran asked curiously.
"It's nothing." He Xuan didn't want to say more and just wanted to see the guest out.
But unfortunately, He Jinran didn't utter a single word about separation.
"Even if you don't say it, I know that Father must suspect you."
"You're quite clever."
“Don’t blame me for being smart. That day, the assassin identified you himself,” He Jinran said, without any concealment.
Upon hearing this, He Xuan's expression changed.
"A scapegoat, huh? It's not the first time."
"Uncle Yi, I believe you." He Jinran, of course, understood the meaning behind He Xuan's words.
Right now, he wants to get closer to He Xuan.
“Uncle Yi, my father and mother are always lecturing me, and I’m not very familiar with His Majesty…”
"So, what do you want to say?"
"Could I stay at Prince Yi's residence for a few days to escape the hustle and bustle and find some peace and quiet?" As if afraid He Xuan would refuse, He Jinran added.
"Just a few days."
He Xuan...
They make it sound like they know each other very well.
In the General's Mansion, Qiu Yan and Gu Qian sat together on the swing set in the courtyard.
"What discoveries did you make today?" Qiu Yan asked.
"His Highness Prince Yi looks sickly and speaks listlessly. Moreover, his fingers are delicate and long, with no calluses between his fingers or on the base of his thumb. The person who assassinated His Majesty that day was not him," Gu Qian affirmed.
"However, I cannot determine whether his leg ailment has recovered."
"Well, that's simple." Right now, one problem hadn't even subsided when Xiao Ran became obsessed with her long-lost sister. So, Qiu Yan pondered how to find evidence.
One thing turned into two, and Qiu Yan rose to the challenge.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
