Brother Zhi'an.
"good."
Lin Huaiyin didn't want him to hug her. She quickly slid off the bed, down the steps, and ran to the table to sit down.
"You sit across from me."
Lin Huaiyin slumped in her chair, barely managing to point to the furthest spot with her eyes, "Come over here when you've satisfied me."
"Yes." Xiao Zhian nodded helplessly. "This husband obeys."
The palace maid served food to Lin Huaiyin without noticing the need to avoid her.
Xiao Zhian was slightly annoyed by their immature behavior.
What he's about to say—listen to it, and you'll have to be carried off.
The palace maids were just transferred from the Imperial Clan Court yesterday; it's hard to say they aren't spies for the Emperor or Princess Pingyang.
To be on the safe side, it was best to drive them all away.
However, Yinyin on the other side is indeed weak and needs someone to take care of her.
After a moment's hesitation, Xiao Zhian still revealed everything.
"Originally, the plan was to be even more complicated."
You will make contact with Consort Hui and infiltrate the palace. I will be imprisoned in the Eastern Palace by my father for trespassing in a concubine's chambers, or I will request to be deposed as Crown Prince due to the defeat in the southern campaign. In short, create an opportunity for my father to take charge of the government, forcing Princess Pingyang to act. Once Princess Pingyang acts, you can use the pretext of protecting the emperor to avenge yourself.
Xiao Zhian remained calm and unhurried, as if nothing had happened.
The eight palace maids standing to the side were shaking so badly that their chopsticks and bowls were clattering.
His Highness the Crown Prince and his beautiful concubine are plotting to murder the Princess! Is this something that can be said? Must it be said in front of them? If you're going to plot, do it quietly! Can't you just kick them out? They're all able-bodied, they have legs!
They came to serve others, not to be sent to their deaths. What kind of hellish palace is the Eastern Palace? They've only been here for less than a day, and their heads are already hanging on their waists, swaying back and forth, no longer their own.
Across from Xiao Zhian, Lin Huaiyin ignored the people around her, ate her food in small bites, and her mind slowly turned.
This was the original plan, which was indeed complicated, but it gave her a perfect excuse to take revenge herself, and even gave her the honor of protecting the emperor, so the emperor would reward her.
No wonder he went to Consort Hui's palace that night. It turns out he wasn't idle. He was willing to tarnish his own reputation and invite trouble, just to fulfill his promise to personally avenge her.
"But how did you know?" Lin Huaiyin asked the same question she had when she first met Madam Liu. "How did you know I wanted to get close to Consort Hui?"
"Didn't you take Xie to see her unborn child?" Xiao Zhian retorted. "My plan naturally revolves around you. If you want to use the unborn child to make a move in the palace, I will fully cooperate."
Upon hearing this, the palace maids turned pale, the bowls and chopsticks clattered louder, their teeth chattered, and their bones creaked.
Killing the princess wasn't enough; they also wanted to use the imperial fetus as leverage. His Highness the Crown Prince and his beautiful wife are two living devils!
Lin Huaiyin remained oblivious to her surroundings, lost in thought.
Her being taken to Consort Hui by Xie Xincun was purely accidental. Unexpectedly, Zhi'an had seen her every move and regarded it as a guiding principle, so he followed suit.
Looking at the man opposite her, she admired him a little. Even after being completely overwhelmed by Xie Xincun and watching helplessly as he took her away, he could still think of so much and arrange for Consort Hui to make contact with him at Shengshui Temple. His willpower was simply terrifying.
This person is a devil no matter how you look at him, but thankfully he's her man.
Lin Huaiyin silently held the bowl, drank the soup to calm herself down, and then weakly explained, "I didn't think it was that complicated. I just want to prove that Princess Pingyang murdered the dragon's offspring. When the emperor is furious, I'll be the executioner."
"There's something wrong with your plan."
Xiao Zhian smiled slightly and immediately pointed out: "Yinyin, when you want to use someone, you have to understand him first. My father would never publicly expose such a royal scandal as a princess plotting to harm the imperial heir. He might even lose Consort Hui's life. If Consort Hui exposes you, I will have to bail you out, and even the entire Lin family will be implicated."
Xiao Zhian smiled and corrected him, as if his words were not scary at all, and as if he had already devised a way to rescue Lin Huaiyin and the Lin family in an instant.
Lin Huaiyin, with chopsticks in her mouth, froze, her head buzzing and rattling.
There's another layer to this: the current emperor is a bad person. She forgot that and still treats him like a normal person, even though her father had just said that the royal family's reputation is paramount and the princess's crimes must not be made public.
My father's words were true after all.
Lin Huaiyin felt a chill run down her spine, filled with lingering fear. She had almost made a terrible mistake, dragging the Lin family into a fire pit.
Seeing this, Xiao Zhian got up, dragged a chair toward Lin Huaiyin's side, and moved a body closer.
Lin Huaiyin acquiesced.
What else could she do but acquiesce? Should she rush over, jump into his arms, and kiss him?
"Then, then—" Lin Huaiyin's ears turned red, embarrassed by the erotic images in her mind, and she stammered, trying to find the right words: "So you mean that Princess Pingyang's crimes can never be made public, and that I can just kill her and that's it?"
"No." Xiao Zhian's voice suddenly became light and flirtatious, his eyes sparkling. He clearly understood what Lin Huaiyin was thinking. He made a gesture of shoveling rice into her mouth, reminding her not to blush and to eat quickly, little vixen. Thinking about that kind of thing won't fill your stomach.
Poor Lin Huaiyin, this time she realized that she had been seen through, blushed and lowered her head to eat voraciously.
"In the original plan, you were to protect her and kill the traitors, and only half of that was to take revenge yourself. Otherwise, if we kept dragging it out, some people would think that I had broken my promise. Who knows what amazing things she might do?"
Xiao Zhian spoke leisurely.
Lin Huaiyin buried herself in her food.
Yeah, yeah, the amazing thing I did was climb into your bed. What's wrong with that? Not satisfied?
"But how can you announce the charges? Wouldn't announcing the charges also affect you?" Lin Huaiyin grumbled. "Princess Pingyang is your own sister. She has committed a heinous crime. You can't remain unscathed, can you?"
Indeed, it is impossible to remain unaffected.
Xiao Zhian quietly looked at the top of Lin Huaiyin's head and couldn't help but wonder: Would Yinyin give up exposing Pingyang's crimes for him? After he helped her kill Pingyang?
Xiao Zhian wanted to ask, and wanted to get an answer from Yinyin that she had yielded for him because she loved him.
If she is willing, he will die without regret.
But Xiao Zhian didn't ask, because asking would be forcing her.
Forcing someone who has died once to give up a blood feud spanning two lifetimes; forcing someone whose family has been destroyed and whose century-old reputation has been ruined to give up their absolutely legitimate right to seek justice is not something a lover should do.
Moreover, as Pingyang's elder brother, she bears an unshirkable responsibility for Pingyang's crimes.
He couldn't demand any rights from Yinyin.
This is already an immense blessing.
Suppressing his surging emotions, Xiao Zhian continued in a cold voice: "The crimes will be made public after the Southern Expedition, when we obtain evidence of Pingyang's treason. Because the White Lotus Sect points to Shen Congyun, Bai Zhizhi points to Shen Zaiyuan, and the evidence brought back by Mu Zhanjuan points to Shen Congyun and Liu Cang. The assassination attempt on Father Emperor will surely be suppressed by him. Only the treasonous alliance with Japan, in which she must have been personally involved, will surely spread throughout the Southern Expeditionary Army and the Southern Frontier Prefectures. At that time, public opinion will boil over, and the power struggle will force Father Emperor to investigate."
By peeling back the layers, we finally arrived at the end.
Xiao Zhian's entire plan was laid out before Lin Huaiyin, each step intricately linked, using the other's strength against them. Princess Pingyang died and was subsequently disgraced, while Lin Huaiyin personally killed her enemies and remained hidden behind the scenes, unscathed.
Xiao Zhian devised a flawless revenge plan for her, aiming to mobilize the entire empire and eradicate this scourge.
The plan was perfect, a testament to Xiao Zhian's unpredictable and ingenious methods.
However, he still did not answer what his situation would be after the matter was accomplished.
The matter was far from over, but Lin Huaiyin felt relieved and only cared about Xiao Zhian.
"And what about you? What will you do? The world knows you dote on Princess Pingyang, and what will you do if you are implicated for treason?"
Seeing how worried she was, her hands, which were gripping the bowl and chopsticks, turned blue, Xiao Zhian stood up and pulled the chair closer.
"Of course I am still the Crown Prince, the Eastern Palace Prince, and the Lin family's son-in-law." He looked at Lin Huaiyin as if she were a fool. "Yinyin, have you forgotten again? You used my jade talisman to subdue the White Lotus Rebels in my name; Mu Zhanjuan's punishment of corrupt officials and rescue of the people was also done in my name; the Southern Expedition was also initiated by me. Yinyin, you have long since won over the hearts of the people for me, solidified my unshakable foundation, and guarded the Eastern Palace's defensive fortress. As long as the Eastern Palace is not in chaos, the world will not be in chaos. Didn't I say that following you, I can live a life of ease and comfort?"
"Pfft!"
Laughter rang out from the group of palace maids.
Immediately, all sixteen knees thudded to the ground.
Lin Huaiyin didn't care at all.
Xiao Zhian used to say he was just going through the motions of living a carefree life, and she didn't understand what that meant. But now she understands perfectly. This kid is following her around and getting all the benefits he can. He's making a killing.
Now Xiao Zhian is only two body lengths away from her. This so-called "original plan" is already flawless. Why not continue? Why has it become the "original plan"?
Xiao Zhian accurately captured Lin Huaiyin's puzzled expression, and then reached out in utter helplessness, only to find that he couldn't reach her face.
"According to the original plan, I will marry you after the southern expedition is over and everything has settled down."
“I can wait,” Lin Huaiyin said, patting his hand.
"No way!" Xiao Zhian's face darkened instantly. "The whole capital is guessing whose man I've become. I can't follow you like this, sneaking around without knowing anything. I want a title, right now! You don't know how fierce my second brother-in-law is. He dared to glare at me in front of all the officials in the Jiade Hall."
Xiao Zhian complained, looking aggrieved.
Like a living Yama, he chews up human bones and then uses the bone fragments to embroider.
The eight palace maids, kneeling on the ground, were so engrossed in biting their fingers that they were afraid of laughing out loud and then laughing their heads off.
"Oh." Lin Huaiyin's reaction was indifferent. "No wonder you've seemed absent-minded and not working hard since last night. So you were just barely going through the motions while you were actually thinking about how to get a meal at my Lin family's restaurant?"
Lin Huaiyin downplayed it.
The palace maids stuffed their fists into their mouths and chewed them up.
Stop talking, stop talking. They don't care whether His Highness the Crown Prince works hard or not. Besides, His Highness the Crown Prince is going to be skinned alive. The little money they get each month isn't worth suffering like that. It's really not worth it.
Who said yesterday that coming to the Eastern Palace was a lucrative job?
Who exactly said that?
Xiao Zhian gazed longingly at Lin Huaiyin, his lotus-like lips pressed tightly together, his phoenix eyes filled with tears, looking utterly pitiful.
He still has some reserves, enough to fight back. A little vixen who can only stand with his help looks down on his back just because she has a chair.
With bloodshot eyes, Xiao Zhian slowly uttered the words, "Go out."
The palace maids, as if granted a pardon, vanished in the blink of an eye, using both hands and feet.
Xiao Zhian slowly stood up, grabbed Lin Huaiyin, and said, "It's just a chair. I want to show Yinyin that a mere chair can't protect her at all!"
He also wanted Yinyin to understand: the waist does what the waist does, and the brain does what the brain does. No matter how strong his brain is, his waist is definitely stronger than his brain. You can look down on his brain, but you must submit to his waist!
"What?" Lin Huaiyin, holding her bowl, felt a chill run down her spine when she met his eyes. She quickly shoveled another mouthful of rice into her mouth. "Don't disturb my meal, I'm hungry!"
"I know you're hungry." Xiao Zhian pulled out a chair, a smile playing on his lips. He hadn't eaten a single bite and was also very hungry.
"Then I'll allow you to move your chair." Lin Huaiyin forced herself to remain calm and smiled. "So what's the new plan? Oh, I really want to know! I'm losing my appetite if you don't tell me, Brother Zhi'an."
Upon hearing Lin Huaiyin's voice, "Brother Zhi'an," Xiao Zhi'an's eyes widened, he was stunned, his heart melted, and he was completely captivated. He was utterly lost, drowning in Lin Huaiyin's cherry blossom-like pink beauty.
Brother Zhi'an.
Brother Zhi'an.
Yinyin called him Brother Zhi'an.
Xiao Zhian's skin and muscles were taut, his breathing was rapid, pleasure surged to its peak, and his legs went weak just like last night.
A fairy. Yinyin is truly a fairy.
Xiao Zhian was defeated and slumped back into his seat. His eyes were filled with Lin Huaiyin, and his chin was tinged with red. He couldn't imagine how much ultimate happiness he would experience for the rest of his life. Falling in love with Yinyin and being her man was just too good.
His thoughts gathered and scattered, from this world to the future, Xiao Zhian longed for every day and night, every moment.
He couldn't wait to go to the Lin family's house and eat their meal.
"My father will issue a decree, and I will marry into the Lin family as ordered."
Xiao Zhian spoke with confidence and composure.
Lin Huaiyin's mind went blank again. With the rice she had been frantically shoveling in her mouth, she forgot to chew and wondered: Is Brother Zhi'an a human or a ghost? How could he persuade the emperor to send the crown prince to marry into the family?
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