Even so, he remained defiant: "Do you think you can do anything to me? Do you even know what crime it is to murder a prince?"
He Jiuniang blinked innocently and said, "Who said I came to harm you? I was just entrusted by His Highness Prince Chen to treat your illness."
Given Prince Lin's special status, He Jiuniang wouldn't be so reckless as to take his life right now.
Taking his life now would be easy, but it would cause a lot of trouble for our family afterwards, so we should think twice before acting.
Hearing her say that, Prince Lin secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought that she was going to take his life today, but now it seemed that she really wouldn't dare to make a move against him easily.
As long as he can hold out for the time being, there's nothing he can do about it.
"I am perfectly fine, you need not worry about me."
He snorted coldly, though his confidence was actually somewhat lacking.
He had always been wary of this woman.
Lu Baichuan said, "Your Highness is indeed doing very well. I will go back to inform His Highness of your safety now, otherwise His Highness will continue to worry about you."
The main purpose of our visit today was to see if Prince Lin was indeed Lin Yiping. Now that his identity has been confirmed, there's no need for them to stay any longer.
Before leaving, He Jiuniang kindly reminded him, "That kind of mask is poisoned. Your Highness Prince Chen must not wear it anymore, otherwise you might die unexpectedly, and I would be heartbroken."
She would be heartbroken if she died too easily.
Prince Lin stiffened for a moment, his eyes glaring at He Jiuniang as if he wanted to poke a hole through her.
After a long while, he asked, "How much benefit did Prince Chen give you? I will give you double!"
"Whoa!"
He Jiuniang truly hadn't expected him to say such a thing, and couldn't help but exclaim, "What, Your Highness, are you trying to bribe us? Do you think we're short of money?"
"Isn't that right? Your family comes from a humble background, and you're following Prince Chen just to get ahead, aren't you? I can give you those things too!"
Lin Wang felt that he was right. His family still had to rely on doing business to support themselves. How could such a life of showing their faces in public compare to enjoying a life of leisure with him?
"Tsk tsk tsk, this is the first time I've ever seen someone who's so hypocritical! On one hand, they're asking for favors, and on the other hand, they're saying we're of lowly birth. How lowly? In what way? To put it another way, how noble are you? No matter how noble you are, you still have to look up to me, and you still want me to do things for you."
He Jiuniang twitched the corners of her mouth and retorted without any politeness.
"vulgar!"
Prince Lin was starting to lose control of his emotions and was barely able to stand it. If it weren't for his subordinates supporting him, he might have rushed forward without restraint.
"Even something crude is far better than Your Highness's hypocrisy. Farewell!"
Lu Baichuan glanced at Prince Lin with a cold expression, his warning clear, then pulled He Jiuniang away.
Even if they come from humble backgrounds, if they ask themselves honestly, they have never done anything to wrong anyone. They have always acted uprightly and honestly, so naturally they are not afraid of being looked down upon by anyone.
Lin Wang didn't speak, but gritted his teeth and watched the couple leave.
"Your Highness, what should we do now?"
Those around him looked at him timidly. Before they arrived, His Highness was already so angry. Now that his true identity has been exposed, what path will His Highness take in the future?
"You ask me what to do? How would I know!"
Prince Lin threw the long sword in his hand to the ground. Ironically, he had just tried to sneak away. He was a prince, how could he do something so shameful?
Over the years, he has put in a lot of effort to disguise himself as a carefree prince who has no interest in politics, so that people would relax their hostility and surveillance towards him. He even used Lin Yiping's identity to do many things.
He thought things would continue smoothly, but he never expected to meet He Jiuniang in Jingzhou.
It would have been fine if they had just met, but he had some inappropriate thoughts, which is why he brought such a big trouble upon himself.
He knew the whole story perfectly well, but he just refused to admit that it was all his fault.
There's no going back now; we can only take it one step at a time.
On the way back, He Jiuniang belatedly asked, "Won't it have any consequences if I reveal his identity now?"
There was nothing she could do; she just wanted to go back so badly. She kept dreaming about the dog lately and really missed it.
"Yes, but it's not a big deal, and it might even accelerate the development of the situation."
Lu Baichuan nodded. Not to mention He Jiuniang, he also wanted to go back as soon as possible. However, Prince Lin was a prince after all, and he could not be eliminated so easily. Moreover, when eliminating him, it was necessary to ensure that Prince Chen's position was not shaken.
The old emperor has never liked Prince Chen. If they blame Prince Lin for what happened, then all their efforts will have been for nothing but benefiting the crown prince.
“Okay, that’s fine.” He Jiuniang also felt that this shouldn’t be a big deal, but she still said, “You can try to leak this news to Prince Jing and let him talk to him about it. When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits. Now that it’s out in the open, it’s much more convenient than before.”
Lu Baichuan took her home, and then went to Prince Chen's residence to tell Prince Chen what had happened. When Prince Chen learned that everything they had guessed was true, his expression was very unpleasant.
"This fifth brother is getting more and more outrageous. He actually colluded with the Eastern Court. Does he think Northern Yan isn't chaotic enough already?!"
Lin Yiping was definitely involved in the Daoping incident, but so far they have no concrete evidence, otherwise they could have directly convicted Prince Lin.
Prince Chen was furious that in his struggle for power, he had colluded with foreigners to harm people, and the victim was none other than their own father, the emperor. This was utterly rebellious!
“Your Highness, please calm down. I have already sent people to investigate the relationship between Prince Lin and the people of Dongting. He has always presented himself as Lin Yiping, so he must have left some incriminating evidence. It should be relatively easy to find out.”
Lu Baichuan continued rationally, "If he really has dealings with Dongting, Your Highness should make preparations as soon as possible."
Although the words were somewhat veiled, Prince Chen understood them and said, "Don't worry, if there is any evidence pointing to him, I will not tolerate it."
Ultimately, these are all his half-brothers, and he doesn't want to cause too much trouble unless absolutely necessary. However, this matter is not simple and needs to be handled with caution.
"Your Highness is wise."
Lu Baichuan gave a brief report, went to the yamen (government office) for a visit, and then went home to be with his wife. These past few days, his wife had been enjoying shopping, and accompanying her would broaden his horizons and help him learn what she liked and disliked, so he wouldn't have to worry about buying her gifts in the future.
That evening, Prince Lin returned from the villa and soon after, he entered the palace.
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