Chapter 54
After Li Yin came out of the Prime Minister's Mansion, he did not go back to the palace directly, but went to the nearby market instead.
In the past, Li Yin liked to wander the streets when he was upset. Now, he still did so, but he no longer had the leisurely mood he had back then. Li Yin walked aimlessly on the streets.
Suddenly, a hawking voice attracted his attention. The vendor saw Li Yin looking over and hurriedly introduced the jewelry.
"Look at this, it's an eternal chain that can connect two people."
"The Eternal Chain?" Li Yin showed an interested expression. Seeing that there was something interesting, the vendor hurriedly introduced it more enthusiastically: "If you and your lover can each wear this bracelet, even if you are separated, you can turn things around and be together in the end."
This bracelet is made up of two strings connected together, both of which are dark blue and sparkle brightly in the sunlight.
Li Yin wanted to pick up the 'Chain of Eternity' to take a closer look, but he didn't expect that as soon as he picked it up, another person also picked it up. Li Yin turned around and saw that it was a familiar person, but he didn't know his name.
Li Yin did not react. Instead, the woman saw Li Yin and said in surprise, "I didn't expect to see you here, Your Highness... no... Young Master."
The woman was Zhao Yaner. After coming out of the tavern, she found a market nearby. Seeing that it was still early, she thought she might as well go out for a walk, but she didn't expect to meet Li Yin here.
Li Yin stared at Zhao Yan'er without saying a word. After a while, Zhao Yan'er thought there was something strange on her face. Zhao Yan'er couldn't help but ask, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Li Yin recalled their previous 'premeditated' encounter in the Imperial Garden, and now he encountered her inexplicably at the market. Moreover, her father was a member of the Prime Minister's faction, so Li Yin had to be more cautious.
Li Yin asked with a half-smile, "Are you pretending to meet by chance this time too?"
Zhao Yaner didn't understand why Li Yin said that, and asked in confusion, "...What?"
Zhao Yan'er thought about it and finally realized that he wouldn't think that it was the same as the last incident in the Imperial Garden, that she had followed him here and then met him by chance!
Zhao Yaner wanted to explain, but she couldn't tell anyone about her secret meeting with her fiancé, so she could only desperately explain, "This time it was really a coincidence."
He and Ji Zeming had clearly made an appointment to meet in such a remote place, and Li Yin, as the crown prince, had been in the palace all year round. Logically, they should not have met each other easily, but they still met in such a small market.
Zhao Yaner couldn't help but ask, "Could this be fate?"
Li Yin looked at Zhao Yan'er, who looked completely unaware of his presence, and thought he might have misunderstood her. Then, looking at her current expression, he silently stroked his forehead and sighed, "You really can't talk in a roundabout way."
Zhao Yan'er was still immersed in the imagination that she and Li Yin were destined to be together. She found that Li Yin didn't know what he saw, and his expression seemed a little wrong. When Zhao Yan'er reacted, she hurriedly followed him.
It was because Li Yin saw Wei Dao that he had asked Wei Dao last night: "What's going on tomorrow?"
Weidao replied to him at the time: "There will be training tomorrow. I will be at the training ground all day."
So when Li Yin saw Wei Dao, he didn't think anything and just followed him reflexively, but unexpectedly found that Wei Dao was surrounded by several masked men in black.
Li Yin couldn't help but take action. Although the other side had more people, with the joint efforts of him and Wei Dao, those people were quickly killed and fled.
Weidao followed the fleeing men to find out who had sent them.
Li Yin did not follow him out. He looked around and found that he seemed to have forgotten something. After thinking carefully, where did Zhao Yan'er go?
Finally, Li Yin found Zhao Yan'er hiding behind a bamboo pole. She was squatting and huddled in a corner, looking terrified.
Li Yin walked forward, half-knelt, patted her shoulder, and said in a slow tone, "Are you okay?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Zhao Yaner's tears finally fell. She hugged Li Yin tightly and said with joy, "Your Highness, I'm so glad you're okay."
Just when Zhao Yan'er hugged Li Yin, Li Yin instinctively wanted to let her go. Suddenly, his eyes fixed on one place. That mask...that mask was so familiar.
After Zhao Yan'er's mood improved a little, Li Yin picked up the mask and suddenly remembered what his father had told him: "The thugs who robbed the granary all wore exactly the same masks."
Li Yin's face was a little stunned. How could this mask appear here? What does the tail knife have to do with the masked thug?
A series of questions made Li Yin silent unconsciously. Li Yin wanted to ask, but was afraid of getting terrible answers.
Wei Daozhen, who had rushed back, stared blankly at Li Yin holding the familiar mask. However, Li Yin did not ask him anything. Wei Dao followed Li Yin closely and could not help but ask directly, "Why... don't you ask me?"
Li Yin's eyes moved away from the mask and stared at Wei Dao. He asked in a hoarse voice, "Are you asking who is hunting you? If you can tell me, you wouldn't hide it from me, right?"
Weidao hesitated to speak. If His Highness really wanted to know the answer, perhaps he could tell him, but then he might have to leave His Highness' side.
Thinking of this, Weidao remained silent.
Li Yin said, "I want to be alone. Please send Miss Zhao back to the mansion!"
Zhao Yan'er was reluctant at first, but when she saw Li Yin's lost look, she still obeyed the decision.
Before leaving, Li Yin called out to Wei Dao and said, "Wei Dao, if there's only one person in this world I can trust, it's you. You know that, right?"
The night was deep and everything was silent except for the sound of the wind in the courtyard, which gently blew past like a whisper.
Luo Sanrong paced back and forth in the room, the flickering candlelight illuminating her anxious face. She would stop from time to time and look at the closed door, her eyes filled with worry and anticipation.
Finally, the familiar sound of footsteps echoed outside. Luo Sanrong rushed over almost instantly and pushed the door open. Li Yin, dragging his exhausted body, slowly approached. The moonlight shone on him, outlining his slightly frail figure.
Luo Sanrong's eyes were slightly red as he quickly stepped forward, his voice filled with anxiety and concern that was difficult to conceal: "Your Highness, where have you been? Why are you back so late?"
Li Yin replied, "I went to see the person I missed."
Luo Sanrong asked cautiously, "Who is it?"
Li Yin looked at the moonlight outside the palace and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "My mother."
Luo Sanrong knew that in Li Yin's heart, the only person he could call "mother" was the late Queen. Looking at Li Yin's appearance, she felt a little distressed and asked cautiously, "What kind of person was the late Queen?"
Li Yin recalled his mother's appearance in his mind and said unconsciously: "She is a person who loves freedom very much. She has always felt bored in the palace and wants to see the scenery outside the palace."
Luo Sanrong: "He looks very similar to His Highness!"
Li Yin also remembered that his mother would often go out to wade in water on rainy days, regardless of the opposition of the palace servants. She would eventually fall seriously ill after returning, and his father would always take care of her helplessly.
Thinking of this, Li Yin's mouth curled up into a smile unconsciously, and he said: "He always does some inexplicable things, which makes people in the palace feel very troubled."
"This is very similar to Your Highness, isn't it?" Luo Sanrong also smiled.
Then, Li Yin turned back into the hall, took a deep breath, and said, "But she is warmer and wiser than anyone else."
Ji Ke's words were still ringing in his ears. His mother's death was a taboo that he would never allow anyone to touch in his life. But Ji Ke did it anyway, using his mother's departure to threaten him, using the deep pain to force him to bow his head.
A chill suddenly rose from the soles of his feet and instantly spread to every part of his body, followed by a hatred that spread like wildfire.
I hate Ji Ke's meanness and shamelessness, I hate myself for being powerless and for enduring at this moment, and I hate myself even more for watching my mother pass away without being able to say a word to keep her.
His hands hanging at his sides clenched quietly, his knuckles turning blue and white from excessive force, his nails almost digging into the flesh of his palms, but the sharp pain was far less than the dense and tight pain in his heart.
"Protect her. At that time, I understood..."
He murmured unconsciously, slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the fragility in his eyes had been replaced by an almost fierce determination.
The hatred that Ji Ke had aroused today strangely settled down at this moment and turned into something harder and colder.
"To protect the people you cherish, you must make yourself strong."
Luo Sanrong frowned slightly, the worry in his eyes not dissipating: "Your Highness..."
Li Yin felt a pang in his heart. He gently embraced Luo Sanrong and said softly, "Are you worried again because of my silent disappearance?"
Li Yin kissed Luo Sanrong's hair and murmured, "You don't have to say anything, just stay by my side. You are my happy pill."
Luo Sanrong leaned in his arms, listening to his steady heartbeat, and the uneasiness in her heart gradually subsided.
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