Chapter 90: The Lost Princess Bai Yueguang 21: Silencing
When Ji Hanlin woke up, he was stunned for a moment and felt a little strange at first.
This mattress was much softer than where he usually slept, and there was a faint fragrance lingering in his nostrils. This fragrance slowly overlapped with the scent of Wen Qianning in his memory.
The young man was stunned, looking at the curtains that came into view, and his memory slowly returned... He was infected last night, and the medicine had a strong effect. Later, the imperial physician came to treat him. The last scene was the little princess asking him to take the medicine, and then he fell into a coma.
Ji Hanlin moved subconsciously, and the quilt slipped slightly. When his arm touched it, the soft touch made his heart tremble.
The girl placed him in her most private bedroom without any hesitation.
What should I do... Realizing that he was sleeping on Wen Qianning's bed, although Ji Hanlin remained calm on the surface, his heart was already in turmoil.
Then, expressionlessly, he buried his face in the quilt and sniffed gently.
That fragrance was the unique sweetness and tenderness of a young girl in the past, and her breath lingered.
My chest seemed to be filled with something in an instant, sore, swollen, and warm.
He...was actually a little greedy.
Looking up, Ji Hanlin saw a stuffed doll placed beside the pillow.
The doll was a bunny-shaped doll, delicately embroidered and childish. Its ears had been rubbed flat, and the thread around one of its eyes was curled up, clearly a creature often held in its owner's arms.
Ji Hanlin was stunned for a moment, then reached out and picked up the doll. He looked at it for a moment, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up slowly.
The little princess... actually sleeps with something like this in her arms.
The more he interacted with Wen Qianning, the more he discovered the girl's unique sense of contrast.
This was in stark contrast to her usual princess-like demeanor, her cold and arrogant demeanor towards outsiders. In the eyes of outsiders, she was a princess, a woman out of reach.
But who would have thought that in the bedroom, she was just a girl who liked to sleep with a stuffed doll and soft bedding.
An indescribable tenderness surged in Ji Hanlin's heart, even the indifference in the deepest part of his heart was washed away. As he stroked the doll's ears, he just felt... Wen Qianning was so cute.
I've never felt this way before.
The boy smiled silently and gently put the doll back where it belonged, not wanting to mess up her things.
“…Ningning.”
He called out softly, knowing that she was not in the bedroom, but he still couldn't help doing it.
Ji Hanlin propped himself up and slowly sat up. The light coming through the curtains fell right on his shoulders, making his eyebrows and eyes look as handsome as a painting.
There was a rare hint of tenderness in his eyes.
He rarely relaxed like this.
In Dayan, I have never slept so peacefully and comfortably. I didn't have to be on guard, calculate, or be woken up. It was like I had returned to a long, long time ago, when I was a child, and there was that simple tranquility before I was involved in disputes.
Ji Hanlin reached out to straighten the corner of the quilt, his expression gradually returning to its calm state, and then he got up and got off the bed.
At this time, there were soft footsteps outside the palace door.
"Master Ji?" Zhuyue's voice came cautiously, "Are you awake?"
Ji Hanlin restrained his expression, lowered his eyelashes, and said calmly, "Yeah."
When Zhuyue came in, she saw that he had stood up and was standing in front of the gauze curtain, with a tall and handsome back.
"If the young master wakes up, I will go and report to Her Royal Highness the Princess." Zhuyue bowed and said.
Ji Hanlin nodded, his expression calm, but his fingers twisted slightly, as if the lingering fragrance of warmth and softness still lingered.
He realized that he was getting deeper and deeper into trouble.
If I have to leave Xuanping in the future, how can I bear to do it?
*
“…”
"Ningning..." Ji Hanlin stared at the girl in front of him, silent for a while, and then spoke, "You didn't get enough rest?"
There was a faint bluish-black tint under Wen Qianning's eyes, and her makeup couldn't hide the tiredness.
The girl raised her hand and rubbed the corner of her eyes, pretending nothing happened, and muttered softly: "...No."
She said this, but after she finished speaking, as if she couldn't hold back her grievance, she walked up to him and hugged him.
Her slender body pressed against Ji Hanlin's arms, carrying a soft fragrance. Wen Qianning rested her chin on his shoulder and said in a muffled voice, "I'm a little... picky about my bed."
It turned out that she hadn't slept well last night because he occupied her bed.
A complex feeling welled up in his heart. Ji Hanlin gently raised his hand and placed it on her back, saying in a low voice, "I'm sorry."
He didn't mean it. Wen Qianning shook her head, not intending to blame Ji Hanlin. Her hair brushed against the side of the boy's neck, making it itchy.
The irritability caused by the aphrodisiac fragrance last night should have been suppressed by the medicine, but now it seems to be rekindled.
Ji Hanlin knew it wasn't the love incense that was causing this, but rather Wen Qianning herself, a huge temptation to him. This morning was already a time of high energy, and with her nestled so defenselessly in his arms, how could he truly remain indifferent?
He remained silent, his arms unconsciously tightening, trapping her completely in his embrace. His palms rested on her back, and his chest felt the delicate touch beneath the thin fabric. Evil thoughts surged, unable to be suppressed.
The sixteen-year-old girl has developed very well, and the curves fit her body perfectly.
However, seeing the trust in her eyes, the boy still forced himself to restrain the desire in his heart, but his voice inevitably became hoarse: "Ningning, don't do this."
Wen Qianning tilted her head and looked at him in confusion. She clearly did nothing but get close to him as usual.
"I..." Ji Hanlin scratched his head in annoyance. Facing the girl's innocent eyes, he didn't know how to express his current physiological reaction. Saying these words out loud would be blasphemy to her. "Forget it."
If Ningning wants to post, let her do it, and you just have to bear with it.
After a while, Wen Qianning straightened up from his arms: "The person who set up the trap yesterday was probably Concubine Zheng."
"Empress Zheng?"
"Yeah." Wen Qianning nodded and told him all her theories. "She was the only one who left the banquet midway, using the excuse that she wanted to invite Father to come watch the play with her again. But think about it, Father had already declined before, so why would she insist on inviting him again? Unless she wanted to use this opportunity to lure Father past where you and I were."
"She wants to seize this opportunity to have Father catch us both doing something under the influence of the aphrodisiac incense. Father is a man of great respect for propriety, and seeing this would undoubtedly be furious. My reputation would be damaged, and you would be banished, which would be exactly what she wants."
After a moment of silence, Ji Hanlin spoke again: "Ningning, what do you want to do?"
Wen Qianning stared at him for a long time, reached out and poked his face and smiled.
"As long as we find the palace maid who led us into this yesterday, and have her reveal the mastermind behind this, and hand it over to our father, everything will be clear."
"What the emperor hates most is the women in the harem using sinister means to form cliques and interfere in politics. She wants to ruin my reputation and pave the way for the eldest prince, but she forgets that if she fails and is blamed by the emperor, she will be the first to give in. By then, the eldest prince will probably be implicated as well." She took a deep breath, gathered her thoughts, and analyzed slowly.
"Noble Concubine Zheng's greatest support is the First Prince behind her. The First Prince has always been proud and arrogant. If he doesn't win the favor of the Emperor, he will definitely seek other opportunities. If I take this opportunity to push back and put the blame for last night's incident on Noble Concubine Zheng and the First Prince, not only will they not benefit, but they will also lose their composure."
Ji Hanlin listened quietly with a deep gaze.
Although the girl is delicate and looks harmless, her mind is so clear and sharp.
But he was still a little worried.
What Ji Hanlin didn't say was that the palace was a complicated place and the maid might have been killed long ago and might not be found.
Wen Qianning was well protected after all. Even though she grew up in the palace and may have witnessed many cruel methods and plots, and was smart and courageous, she still retained some purity and innocence in her heart. She always felt that no matter how cruel the opponent was, he would not go too far, and at least would leave some room.
But if he were Concubine Zheng, he certainly wouldn't have taken the slightest risk. That maidservant was merely a pawn, easily discarded. Regardless of success or failure, eradicating the root of the problem was the safest course of action. As long as the person was dead and silent, no one would be able to expose the mastermind behind the plot.
Ji Hanlin never told Wen Qianning about these doubts. After all, one day, all grudges, old and new, would be settled. Concubine Zheng and the eldest prince behind her would definitely pay a heavy price for what happened today.
That day won't be long.
As expected, Zhuiyun, who was ordered by Wen Qianning to secretly search for the palace maid from yesterday, brought back a piece of news in less than half a day.
"Your Highness," Zhuiyun reported to Wen Qianning with a serious and somewhat frustrated expression, "Just now, someone found the body of a palace maid near the Imperial Well. The bad news is that after it was salvaged... I've identified the face, and it's the palace maid who led you there yesterday."
Wen Qianning paused, the teacup in her hand trembling slightly as she was about to pick it up, nearly spilling the tea inside. She had never expected Concubine Zheng to be so ruthless, even ruthlessly destroying a chess piece she had used.
"Drowned in a well..."
These shady methods in the palace, the so-called "falling into a well", are clearly the best way to cover up the truth. Anyway, for these people, palace maids are of humble status. If they are alive today and disappear tomorrow, no one will care at all.
Seeing her serious expression, Zhuiyun hesitated and said, "Your Highness, now... I'm afraid we won't be able to find any evidence to incriminate her."
Wen Qianning pursed her lips, a sudden feeling of powerlessness welling up in her heart. Last night, she had planned everything perfectly: if she could capture that palace maid, she could turn against Concubine Zheng. But now, with death like the extinguishing of a candle, the most crucial evidence vanished in an instant.
The bedroom suddenly became quiet. Wen Qianning slowly closed his eyes, holding his forehead, and for a moment he didn't know what to do.
Ji Hanlin was not too surprised to hear the news. He did not immediately speak to comfort Wen Qianning. He knew that what the girl needed most was empty words.
Just when Wen Qianning frowned, he quietly reached out, took her hand in his palm, and whispered, "Don't worry, you won't suffer this calculation in vain."
Wen Qianning looked up in confusion, but before she could ask, she saw a flash of coldness in the depths of his eyes, as subtle as a knife blade.
She seemed to have realized something, but he brushed it off vaguely: "Have a good rest, leave the rest to me."
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