break.
Lin Huaiyin runs fast, but she has short legs.
Xiao Zhian strode after him, his long arms encircling her waist, and the tiger snatched the delicate deer in its jaws.
"Let me go!" Lin Huaiyin bared her teeth and brandished her claws.
"No." Xiao Zhian put one arm around his waist and the other on his head, comforting him while quickly admitting defeat: "You reminded me that Shen Congyun may indeed take the blame for Pingyang. I shouldn't have excluded you. I should have let you see all the evidence, let your clever little brain fill in the gaps first, and then strike a fatal blow to nail them down."
"Yinyin." Xiao Zhian forcefully picked up Lin Huaiyin, ignoring her scratching his arms and chest, he just held her head tightly, looked into her eyes, and accepted her raging outburst.
“I’m sorry. Sometimes I love you so much that I can’t help but want to protect you. Now I know I was wrong. You don’t need my protection. From the beginning, you were the one seeking revenge. I shouldn’t have excluded you. Yinyin, you haven’t mistaken me for someone else. I am Zhi’an, who loves you the most.”
Xiao Zhian took a deep breath and relinquished control: "I can follow your pace. Teach me how to make you happy, okay?"
Xiao Zhian's apology seemed sincere.
The Crown Prince lowered his head, his heart pounding, and his eyes reddened as he admitted his mistake. Any woman would know when to stop, and if Lin Huaiyin hadn't sensed the three parts concession and seven parts unrepentance in his words, she would have been moved to tears.
"I want Pingyang dead right now." Lin Huaiyin sneered, lowering her hand to watch quietly as he continued his performance.
"Can't."
Xiao Zhian immediately rejected the idea. He could agree to anything, but this was absolutely unacceptable. He forced himself to object: "Have you thought about your two brothers? If Pingyang dies, they will both be punished. Why won't you—"
"I'll turn myself in." Lin Huaiyin ignored Xiao Zhian's long-winded reasoning.
"Yinyin!" Xiao Zhian's heart clenched when he saw the fierce determination in her eyes.
Lin Huaiyin smiled sweetly, her eyelashes fluttering, looking pitiful. She said, "Princess Pingyang seduced my man. I am the legal wife, and we were married by imperial decree. As for killing that shameless slut, let the three judicial departments jointly try her for whatever crime she deserves."
"Hehehe." Lin Huaiyin laughed, her eyes curving into crescent moons, her laughter shaking uncontrollably in Xiao Zhian's trembling pupils.
She absolutely did not believe in any joint trial by the three judicial authorities, because in her previous life, the Lin family's nine clans were wiped out as a result of Shen Congyun's manipulation of the joint trial. That kind of thing was only good for fooling ghosts; it was nothing compared to actually cutting off a head in one's hands, which gave one peace of mind.
Princess Pingyang was not only vicious, but she was also incredibly clever, making her impossible to guard against. Lin Huaiyin was only careless for one night, and almost lost a fish.
Yu Li hasn't woken up yet. Lin Huaiyin absolutely cannot allow Princess Pingyang to continue spitting out her snake tongue to harm people. Every extra breath Yu Li has left, Lin Huaiyin is filled with anxiety. If she dies even an hour earlier, Xiao Zhian has no idea what kind of venomous snake he's raising. Why should she obediently wait for him to make a promise?
She wouldn't wait; she believed in striking first to gain the upper hand, and those who acted later would suffer the consequences. Lin Huaiyin would never back down, even if it meant going to hell.
Thus, in Xiao Zhian's eyes, he saw Lin Huaiyin as follows: excited and restless, her eyes filled with a thirst for blood, as if she could immediately bring back a bloody human head if he let go.
She despised him and didn't love him at all. Right in front of him, she spoke words of mutual destruction. Her heart and mind were only focused on dying together with Pingyang. She was willing to give up anything for revenge, without considering the future or him, even though he was standing right in front of her.
Xiao Zhian looked at Lin Huaiyin, wanting to ask: What about me, Yinyin? You recklessly set fire to Kunlun, burning everything to the ground. Do you still care about the future? You're only fifteen, with your best years right in front of you. Don't you want your future freedom and happiness?
Lin Huaiyin was laughing, and her laughter was chilling.
Xiao Zhian remained silent. She had her own choices, which were her right and her freedom, but he couldn't let her do that; it wasn't worth it.
He wanted to protect Lin Huaiyin, even if she didn't need it. He couldn't stand by and watch her be consumed by hatred and fall into hell. He wanted to hold her back, help her get through this ordeal, and let her receive the reward she deserved, even if he wasn't part of that reward, even if she hated him from then on and would never forgive him again.
The matter will soon come to an end, and she will be reborn into a new life, filled with bright sunshine and boundless joy.
Pingyang was Xiao Zhian's own sin, and there was no reason for Lin Huaiyin to risk everything to fight for it.
He confessed to his crime.
It's already a blessing from heaven that Lin Huaiyin was willing to stay by his side for a while; to be greedy would be incredibly ungrateful.
Xiao Zhian gently put Lin Huaiyin down and called out, "Xuan Ge."
"Your subordinate is here."
As Xuan Ge approached from afar, Lin Huaiyin suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.
Xiao Zhian released Lin Huaiyin's wrist and instructed, "Send Miss Lin back and make sure to hand her over to Lin Shifeng personally."
Before she could finish speaking, Lin Huaiyin took off running.
It had just rained, and the stone slabs in the courtyard were slippery, so Xuan Ge didn't dare to chase too closely.
Lin Huaiyin panicked and ran out of the yard, only to bump into a cold, hard object. When she looked up, she saw Lin Shifeng.
"Second Brother, how could you—" Lin Huaiyin stared in disbelief.
Lin Shifeng lowered his eagle eyes and gestured for Lin Huaiyin to look at the ground.
Lin Huaiyin's shoe prints were on the ground, small prints, stained with mud after the rain.
Last night, Lin Huaiyin went to the camp in the rain, leaving wet footprints with each step. Lin Shifeng remembered them on the spot. When he went out just now, he keenly noticed Lin Huaiyin's fresh footprints and waited here. As a result, he really did catch up with Lin Huaiyin. He also heard the few words of arguing in the courtyard very clearly.
Lin Shifeng had no intention of dealing with her at Xiao Zhian's place, and walked straight away. Lin Huaiyin had no choice but to follow closely behind.
Upon witnessing this, Xuan Ge immediately went back to apologize, admitting that he had failed to notice Lin Shifeng's presence, which was a serious dereliction of duty.
However, Xiao Zhian didn't care. He only had one goal now—to deal with Pingyang as soon as possible, and then go to Lin Huaiyin to apologize and ask for her forgiveness.
"Go and rest, and have someone bring Chen Zaiyuan here."
Xiao Zhian instructed Xuan Ge, then turned and went to wait in the main hall.
He has been in the main hall since last night, and now he is going to interrogate Shen Congyun's younger brother, Shen Zaiyuan.
Xiao Zhian had to admit that Lin Huaiyin's concerns were very reasonable—Shen Congyun was very likely to take the blame for Pingyang.
If Pingyang were to escape punishment through Shen Congyun, he would be unable to give Lin Huaiyin a satisfactory explanation, but there is still a way out.
Not long after Shen Congyun became the top scholar in the imperial examination, his father suddenly passed away. Xiao Zhian had not paid attention to the so-called accident before, but now he realized that Shen's father's existence was an obstacle to Pingyang and Shen Congyun's affair. With Xiao Zhian's constantly evolving understanding of Pingyang, he couldn't help but suspect that Shen's father might have died at Pingyang's hands.
The hatred for the murderer of one's father is irreconcilable. Xiao Zhian believes that if the truth is true, it will not only be a new charge against Pingyang, but will also break the alliance between Shen Congyun and Pingyang. At least Shen Congyun will no longer blindly take the blame for Pingyang.
Thinking of this, Xiao Zhian felt a headache coming on. Yesterday it was Yu Li, and today it was Shen Fu. He had been shocked by Pingyang's crimes for days. He had lived for twenty-three years in vain and only then realized that his beloved sister's actions were outrageous.
Pingyang deserves to die, and she must die. Xiao Zhian will personally end her life to give Lin Huaiyin and everyone an explanation.
Xiao Zhian stared quietly at the door where Lin Huaiyin had left, silently praying that Lin Huaiyin would not hate him.
——
Lin Huaiyin followed behind Lin Shifeng, looking completely dejected.
Princess Pingyang peeked at the two of them through the window, leisurely combing her hair, and secretly laughed—even with the brother and sister bringing witnesses, it was no use. Xiao Zhian was still the same Xiao Zhian, unable to be ruthless towards her.
Lin Huaiyin left, and there was no point in looking anymore. Princess Pingyang sat back down in front of her dressing mirror and slowly and methodically did her makeup.
Lin Shifeng walked ahead, while Lin Huaiyin walked cautiously, ready to answer his questions at any moment.
She felt that he must have heard everything she had shouted in the courtyard. She thought back carefully and realized that what she had said was nothing special. The key point was that Xiao Zhian said "I love you", then "I love you the most", and called her "Yinyin".
It's over. Lin Huaiyin felt like the sky had fallen. Her second brother definitely knew about her relationship with Xiao Zhian—no, she had already broken off all ties with him and had nothing to do with him anymore.
Lin Huaiyin thought this way, and Lin Shifeng thought the same way—they've already broken off relations, what's the point of asking? If she gets scared and cries, he'll have to take her to her older brother to comfort her, since he doesn't know how to comfort his younger sister himself.
The key now is to fully support Xiao Zhian in thoroughly investigating Princess Pingyang.
As for that bastard Shen Congyun, once he returns to the capital, he only needs to tell his father. He doesn't even need to wait for Xiao Zhian to make a move; his father will come and wipe out the Shen family. He just needs to take advantage of the chaos to kill Shen Congyun.
The third sister has suffered hardships and injustices outside, and now it's time for the Lin family to take over everything, support her, and help her vent her anger. There's no need to scold her and make her feel bad for nothing.
Lin Shifeng, having finished his own mental preparation, stopped and turned to Lin Huaiyin, saying, "Just pretend you're back from last year's Shangsi Festival, and nothing happened in between. Go home and be your Third Miss. If you're willing, Su Jinggui is waiting to marry you. From now on, live a peaceful life, practice archery every day, eat well, and sleep well. Do you understand?"
Lin Shifeng spoke earnestly and gently, hoping that Lin Huaiyin would become more normal and stop being half-human and half-ghost, filled with hatred, as her elder brother had described.
Lin Huaiyin lowered her head and did not respond.
She couldn't understand why everyone was now telling her she couldn't continue and had to quit, since she had been doing it all by herself and hadn't harmed anyone.
Why should she quit?
Without her, they would have had no chance against Princess Pingyang.
It seems that Princess Pingyang has been targeted and will soon be able to be taken advantage of. However, Lin Huaiyin clearly remembers that in her previous life, Lin Shifeng led his troops south and lost five cities and suffered countless casualties. Princess Pingyang definitely has a backup plan. She may have already betrayed her country and made contact with the Japanese in the south...
These are all extremely important matters, and they could erupt at any time. Rather than waiting for them to investigate and interrogate slowly, with the Emperor possibly interfering, it could take forever to reach a verdict. By then, Princess Pingyang might have caused the deaths of countless people.
History must never repeat itself.
Lin Huaiyin gritted her teeth and refused. She would never back down. She had plenty of ways to kill Princess Pingyang. In these six days, only one of her and Princess Pingyang could return to the capital alive.
Seeing that she remained silent, Lin Shifeng said no more and went straight to where Yu Li was.
Upon arrival, the twelve snake catchers waited to observe the situation.
Lin Shifeng directly assigned Lin Huaiyin a task: "These people were recruited by you, and they have made great contributions in this battle. How should they be settled? Should they be brought back to the capital? How should their families and relatives be taken care of? I'm leaving this to you."
"Hmm," Lin Huaiyin had no choice but to agree.
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