Chapter 301 Demanding a Portrait
Zhan Xingzhuo stood on the palace road.
Lin Shiyuan came out and glanced at him indifferently: "Lord Zhan, you've finished court and aren't you leaving? Is there something you need?"
Zhan Xingzhuo's gaze lingered on Lin Shiyuan's forehead for a moment, and he pressed down on the corners of his lips, his face extremely ugly.
However, he said nothing and left with a cold expression.
This departure left Lin Shiyuan completely bewildered.
I watched the carriage drive away, completely bewildered.
What does he mean?
Lin Shiyuan frowned slightly, carefully recalling Zhan Xingzhuo's glance just now.
He came to warn Yao Qingling as her ex-husband, only to find that he was not qualified.
...
Zhan Xingzhuo sat in the carriage, a gloomy atmosphere lingering.
If he hadn't known about Yao Qingling and Lin Shiyuan's private dealings, he would have been deceived by their appearance and, like everyone else, thought that Lin Shiyuan was bullying Yao Qingling.
That's right, Yao Qingling was the driving force behind Lin Shiyuan's rise to power.
They used these shady methods to bind the two of them together.
Lin Shiyuan didn't want to be the son-in-law of a prominent family, and Yao Qingling didn't want the man she had helped to marry someone else.
She's so shrewd, how could she be willing to be someone else's stepping stone?
Zhan Xingzhuo didn't know why he had waited so long for Lin Shiyuan at the palace gate, but in the end he only left with a meaningful look.
He should say that he has seen through their tricks, he will expose them, and warn them to be careful. He will not let the lovers get together.
No, he wouldn't say that.
He can't let them be together, so he shouldn't give them time to prepare.
The man gripped the corner of his robe tightly, his fingers making a cracking sound.
"Second Master, we've arrived at Xiangyuan," Minglu reminded him.
Zhan Xingzhuo snapped out of his daze, got off the carriage, and strolled into the garden.
After court today, he only invited Prince Xin to sit here.
At this moment, Prince Xin was already waiting in the private room.
The sound of wind instruments drifted out from inside the room. Prince Xin was surrounded by women on his left and right, and courtesans were pouring him wine.
"Brother Zhan is treating me to dinner, why are you making me wait?" He said with a smile, holding his wine glass.
Zhan Xingzhuo sat down, looked at the women, and with a slight wave of his hand, the women bowed and withdrew.
Prince Xin, ever the playboy, held up his wine cup, examining its origins, and casually glanced at Zhan Xingzhuo, whose face was grave.
"Speak your mind. I'm not in the mood to see your sour face."
He finished his drink and put the glass back on the table.
Zhan Xingzhu silently poured him a full glass of wine, and then poured one for himself as well.
He drank the wine in one gulp.
His bitter face was filled with his pain.
Prince Xin frowned slightly as he looked at him, but he didn't say anything and just kept pouring himself more wine.
Prince Xin said, "What, you can't stand Lin Shiyuan's smugness in court?"
"Or is it that you can't stand him bullying your ex-wife and causing Yao Qingling's reputation to be tarnished?" Prince Xin held a half-full wine cup and sneered coldly, "If you can't stand it and want to protect Yao Qingling, then just find a few people to teach him a lesson."
Zhan Xingzhuo glanced at him and said calmly, "With Lin Shiyuan's skills, how many people can beat him?"
Prince Xin raised an eyebrow, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
But then she added, "Yao Qingling's reputation isn't that important. Everyone still remembers how she used to hire eight matchmakers to find men for her. Also, that gigolo she keeps in the alley has been coming and going from Xiangyuan a few times."
"Lin Shiyuan flirting with her is just another man in the family. As the saying goes, 'When you have too many lice, they don't itch,' so why are you so concerned?"
After speaking, Prince Xin smiled calmly, as if he had just heard a romantic anecdote and was savoring it while sipping his wine.
Zhan Xingzhuo suddenly stared quietly at Prince Xin: "Your Highness."
Prince Xin lifted his eyelids to look at him: "Hmm?"
Zhan Xingzhuo swallowed hard and said, "Your Highness, I once gifted you a portrait of Yao Qingling. Now... I'm willing to exchange that painting for a painting by Mi Fu."
Prince Xin became interested: "Mi Fu's paintings are priceless, yet you're trading a priceless painting for Yao Qingling's portrait?"
He waved his hand: "You're a skilled painter too. You can close the door and paint as much as you want, whatever you want. Why bother?"
Zhan Xingzhuo looked serious and remained silent.
Prince Xin's casual smile vanished, and he looked at him calmly: "If I were to say that the painting was lost long ago, how could I return it to you?"
He picked up the fan from the corner of the table, unfolded it with a swish, and slowly waved it.
As the air was stirred, Zhan Xingzhuo suddenly felt a chill on his body.
Zhan Xingzhuo looked at him, rose and bowed respectfully: "If that painting has long been lost, it means that Your Highness never cared about it. Then how could Your Highness still remember that such a painting ever existed?"
Prince Xin leisurely continued to wave his folding fan.
With his other hand, he picked up his chopsticks, casually picked up a slice of sashimi, dipped it in soy sauce, put it in his mouth, and chewed it slowly.
Zhan Xingzhuo maintained the bowing posture throughout.
After a moment, Prince Xin said, "I remember that painting. You gave it to me shortly after your marriage. Let me see what your bride looks like."
In fact, Zhan Xingzhuo never actually said that the painting was given to Prince Xin; he also never said that he wanted to take it back.
So, it was assumed that the painting was given to Prince Xin.
It was common for high-ranking officials to send concubines to curry favor with the powerful and wealthy, and Prince Xin was known for his amorous nature.
The woman in Zhan Xingzhuo's heart is Zhou Zhining. Even if he gives away his newlywed wife, it's just to please him.
It was just a painting with some bright colors, so it seemed even less important.
When Zhan Xingzhuo realized this problem, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and his body felt hot.
He couldn't help but ask himself, what right did he have to ask Yao Qingling to forgive him and treat him differently?
If he could turn back time, he would never have given that painting away.
He wouldn't have looked down on Yao Qingling like that, or hurt her like that.
Zhan Xingzhuo took a deep breath: "Your Highness, to be honest, Yao Qingling asked me for this painting. If I cannot give it to her, I really cannot explain it to her."
"Oh? So it was Yao Qingling who came to ask you for it." Prince Xin smiled casually. "It seems that Yao Qingling wants to cut ties with you cleanly, not even giving you a single painting as a token of her affection."
Zhan Xingzhuo pressed down on the corners of his lips, but didn't say anything.
Prince Xin closed his folding fan, placed it back on the corner of the table, and looked at him indifferently: "But, I have indeed lost that painting long ago."
"I had a lot of these hidden away, and I often travel all over the country. I don't even know when they disappeared. Perhaps they were stolen and sold by some servant, just like the major case in the palace."
He spoke as if he didn't care, taking a sip from his wine glass.
Zhan Xingzhuo's face was extremely grim.
Prince Xin didn't even say "go back and look for it," insisting that the painting was lost, which only indicated that he didn't want to return it.
He recalled the various strange phenomena from the past, stared intently at Prince Xin, and became even more certain of his thoughts—Prince Xin had ulterior motives towards Yao Qingling!
His heart was pounding in his chest, and he couldn't tell whether it was from anger or surprise.
Yao Qingling's womanizing ways even extended to Prince Xin...
However, she was not a stunning beauty, and she had given birth and was divorced. Prince Xin had seen countless women, so why would he have feelings for Yao Qingling?
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