"No."
The eldest princess refused expressionlessly.
“Eh…”
Zhao Xi was startled, blinked, then realized something and smiled: "After all, you and I have been sisters for many years, how could I possibly cheat you?"
The eldest princess glanced at her and said nothing.
Zhao Xi sighed: "I definitely don't have any intention of tricking you this time..."
As she spoke, she stood up from the couch and the blanket slipped off her body. Zhao Xi was only wearing a thin light-colored long skirt. She walked barefoot on the soft carpet in the room and slowly walked to the side of the eldest princess.
"Although I think that it would be better for you to marry him than to stay in the capital and be constrained at every turn... Although it would be a bit unfair to you, once you control him, you will be able to control the huge family business that Lin Hengzhong left for Prince Lin..."
"Linzhou has a hundred thousand cavalry and a three hundred thousand strong army. Who wouldn't be intimidated by the entire court? Isn't being the Princess of Lin, feared by the whole world, much better than being a seemingly glamorous Princess like you?"
Zhao Xi spoke with bright eyes, but saw that the eldest princess had no expression from beginning to end and was completely uninterested, so he sighed inwardly.
"However, if you don't want to, as your sister, I naturally can't sit idly by... I heard that Prince Lin brought a betrothal gift with him when he came to the capital. If nothing unexpected happens, your father will probably summon him when he arrives. By then, it will be too late for you to regret..."
The current emperor has not appeared in public for a long time, spending his days secluded in the inner palace. However, when the Crown Prince of Lin arrives in the capital to marry, His Majesty will receive him no matter what.
Hearing this, the eldest princess beside her finally reacted, her cold eyes were a little frosty.
"By then, even if you are unwilling, how can you resist your father's will?"
Zhao Xi sighed softly.
The princess remained expressionless and silent for a long time before she said coldly, "Let him make it to the capital alive first."
"What will you do if he really arrives?"
“…”
The princess remained silent, but Zhao Xi seemed to have thought of something. He half-closed his eyes and smiled, "I heard that he encountered many assassination attempts right after arriving in Zhongzhou. There was even a bounty on his life, with someone offering ten thousand taels of gold for his life!"
"Ten thousand taels of gold! How many people in the world would be crazy about this?"
Zhao Xi's beautiful eyes smiled, a smile that seemed to be neither smile nor laughter: "Your royal brother is really generous!"
The eldest princess suddenly raised her eyes and asked, "How do you know it was him?"
"Do we even need to guess?"
Zhao Xi's beautiful eyes flickered as she smiled. "There are many people in this world who want to kill Prince Lin, but not many who have the ability to do so. Even fewer are willing to offer ten thousand taels of gold on the Jianghu bounty list."
"Except for your royal brother, I can't think of anyone else..."
The eldest princess said nothing.
Zhao Xi sighed softly and glanced at her: "Are you really not going to take care of this?"
“…”
"If the Prince of Lin really dies at the hands of your younger brother, you should know better than me what the consequences will be, right?"
Zhao Xi sighed softly: "Although he did it very secretly, even you and I can't find any clues..."
"But the King of Linzhou won't look for any evidence."
"Lin Jiangnian is his only precious son. If something happens to him, who can guarantee what the consequences will be?"
Zhao Xi still had a faint smile on his face as he looked at the eldest princess in front of him: "What if he rebels?"
The eldest princess in white sat quietly aside, her bare hands gently stroking the sword that was almost inseparable from her hand, her beautiful eyes calm and indifferent.
"He won't."
"Um?"
Zhao Xi raised his eyes.
"Li Yuan isn't the only one who wants him dead."
Li Yuan, the third prince of the Daning Dynasty and the eldest princess's younger brother.
Zhao Xi was stunned at first, then seemed to be thinking about something, and then suddenly seemed to realize something. He raised his eyes with a look of surprise in his eyes.
"Xu Changsheng?!"
"You guys want to... divert the blame?!"
At this moment, Zhao Xi understood everything instantly.
Apart from the third prince, the other person who wants Lin Jiangnian to die more than anyone else in this world is Xu Changsheng.
The vassal king of Xuzhou with a different surname, Xu Changsheng, the eldest son of Xu Wentian!
As a different-surnamed heir of the Daning Dynasty, Xu Changsheng, like Lin Jiangnian, held a pivotal position within the Daning Dynasty. Of course, perhaps the Xu family, having been crowned kings since the founding of the Daning Dynasty and passed down through the generations, had gradually declined. In terms of reputation and status, the Lin family held a more prominent position than the Xu family.
If Lin Jiangnian died outside the capital this time, and the blame was shifted to the Xu family's son, given Lin Hengzhong's protective nature, he would certainly not let the Xu family off. If this were to stir up a feud between the two families, and the two families were to consume each other in internal strife, the court would be able to sit back and watch the fight unfold, reaping the benefits...
"It seems that I underestimated you!"
After realizing this, Zhao Xi sighed softly, "Your family's calculations are quite impressive."
The eldest princess had a blank expression on her face: "It has nothing to do with me."
She had never been involved and wasn't interested.
The grievances and conflicts between the imperial court and the two kings of different surnames had nothing to do with her.
"However, you are underestimating the Lin King. I'm afraid he won't be fooled so easily."
Zhao Xi shook his head slightly and sighed: "If anything goes wrong, the consequences will be disastrous..."
"That's their business!"
The eldest princess's answer was cold. She was not interested in these things and stood up: "I'm leaving."
As she spoke, she walked straight out the door.
"so……"
Zhao Xi seemed to have thought of something. Her eyes flickered, and a playful smile flashed across her face. "There's another way right now... It can leave you a way out, and also give you a chance not to marry that Prince Lin..."
"Are you really not interested?"
The eldest princess, who had already walked to the door, pushed it open. The cold wind from the courtyard outside rushed into the room. Zhao Xi, who was only wearing a thin long skirt, shivered slightly in the cold wind.
However, when he saw the figure standing at the door, the smile on his face became even wider.
…
The capital city is a prosperous place.
A restaurant, top floor, private room.
This is the most prosperous and luxurious restaurant in the capital. Anyone who can come here is either rich or noble.
At this time, several young noblemen dressed in luxurious brocade robes were sitting in the private room on the top floor.
"Mr. Li, how come you have time to treat us to a drink today?"
"Yeah, I heard that you weren't in the capital some time ago and went to Linzhou?"
"I also heard that you had an argument with the Prince of Lin in Linzhou and was beaten by him. Is that true?"
"Hahaha……"
A burst of cheerful laughter was heard in the private room.
Inside the private room, a young man dressed in luxurious attire had a gloomy expression on his face and gritted his teeth in anger, "Shut up, everyone! If anyone dares to mention this again, don't blame me for getting angry!"
"Hey, why are you so anxious, Mr. Li?"
"Yeah, everyone cares about you, doesn't he?"
“…Okay, okay, okay, I won’t say anymore, I won’t say anymore!”
“…”
The young man in luxurious clothes sitting on the first seat was Li Qianlin.
In Yanzhou, he planned to assassinate Lin Jiangnian, but the plan was disrupted in advance by the brainless female knight, resulting in the plan being exposed and Lin Jiangnian taking the initiative.
If he had not reacted in time and realized that something was wrong and evacuated in advance, he would probably have fallen into Lin Jiangnian's hands.
Li Qianlin, with his few remaining men, hid from place to place and finally returned to the capital ahead of schedule. But before Li Qianlin could breathe a sigh of relief, news of his past conflict with Lin Jiangnian in Linzhou, where he was publicly beaten by Lin Jiangnian in a teahouse, reached the capital. Since his return, the incident has been brought up repeatedly.
This was difficult for him to accept as he was so proud and arrogant. He was extremely angry but had no place to vent, and his hatred for Lin Jiangnian deepened.
At this moment, Li Qianlin was looking at the people in the private room.
These people were all his close friends in Beijing. He had a purpose in calling them here.
"I called you here today because I want you to do me a favor."
Li Qianlin spoke slowly.
"Mr. Li, what can I do for you that you need our help?"
The person who spoke was Zhou Huiguang, the son of the current official in the Ministry of Personnel. In Beijing, he had a good relationship with Li Qianlin.
"I guess you have also heard the news that Prince Lin has arrived in Zhongzhou?" Li Qianlin glanced at everyone.
This statement caused heated discussion among everyone.
Naturally, the people of the capital had heard of the Prince of Lin. Whether it was because of Lin Hengzhong or his engagement with the eldest princess, it was enough to attract attention.
Many people in the capital wanted to see what the legendary Prince Lin looked like.
Is it as bad as the rumors say?
Of course, everyone was just there to watch the joke.
"I've heard that Prince Lin will have to come to the capital in a while. When the time comes, I have to go and take a look. I can't be left out of this excitement." Zhou Huiguang squinted his eyes with a smile on his face.
"Oh, he can't come!"
Li Qianlin sneered.
The others were stunned.
"What do you mean?"
"Someone doesn't want him to live."
Li Qianlin said coldly: "He will die in Zhongzhou."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's eyes focused slightly.
"Is the news true?" asked Gao Wenyang, the son of the Minister of Personnel.
"That's natural."
Li Qianlin sneered: "You can't imagine who wants him dead."
As he spoke, Li Qianlin whispered something.
Soon, the expressions of several people changed slightly.
"Are you serious?"
"When have I, Li Qianlin, ever lied to you?"
"Then why did you come to see us today..."
Li Qianlin said in a deep voice: "I need your help."
"This..." Several people looked embarrassed.
"Don't worry, you will benefit greatly after this is accomplished."
Having said that, Li Qianlin glanced at the few people and asked, "Don't you want to prove yourselves and improve your status in the family?"
These words seemed to grasp the thoughts of the people present. Although these dandies seemed to be in a good position, in reality, most of them played an insignificant role in the family.
Don’t they want to prove themselves?
So, after looking at each other and discussing for a while, they finally made up their minds and gritted their teeth.
"Okay, since you said so, Mr. Li, we have been friends for so many years!"
"This time, we believe you!"
Li Qianlin looked at the people in front of him, a smug smile inadvertently flashed across his face, and then a fierce light flashed in his eyes.
Lin Jiangnian, this time, let’s see how you survive!
“…”
The autumn wind is bleak, the leaves are yellow and withered, and a chill is drifting between heaven and earth.
There was a strong smell of blood in the air.
Outside the town, on the flat ground, more than a dozen black shadows lay in a pool of blood.
The strong smell of blood enveloped the sky and the earth, making people feel chilly.
"Your Highness, all the assassins have been eliminated, no one survived!"
Lin Kong appeared in front of Lin Jiangnian and bowed his head and spoke respectfully.
Lin Jiangnian nodded slightly and glanced ahead: "Have you found out the identity?"
"These people are all dead. They didn't leave any signs on their bodies, so it's difficult to trace them."
Lin Jiangnian was not surprised by this result. The dozen or so assassins who suddenly appeared in the town were quite skilled in martial arts.
It takes years and countless efforts to train these assassins, but they are left here so easily. The people behind the scenes are really willing to do it.
But it also means that the other party has really begun to use any means necessary.
"It seems that their next move will be much faster!"
Lin Jiang smiled and turned his head: "I don't know, who will be sent next?"
Beside him, Zhiyuan stared ahead with a cold gaze, saying nothing. However, a hint of worry flickered in the depths of her eyes.
Behind him, Xiao Zhu's face had already turned pale. She had never seen such a bloody scene before, and her expression was embarrassed. Shen Lingjun was whispering to comfort her.
He glanced at the bloody scene around him from the corner of his eyes, and his expression became slightly unnatural.
Who did this damn prince offend?
Why do so many people want to kill him?
…
night.
A small town on the way to Beijing.
Inn.
"Your Highness, I have already verified the identities of these people..."
Inside the room, Lin Qingqing spoke in a deep voice, "Someone has put a bounty of ten thousand taels of gold on the Zhongzhou Jianghu bounty list for your life... This bounty immediately caused quite a stir... Most of the people who have come to assassinate you recently are after the bounty!"
"Ten thousand taels of gold?"
Lin Jiangnian was not surprised to hear the news, but instead chuckled.
"I didn't expect that my life would be so valuable?"
Lin Jiang sighed: "No wonder they don't even care about their lives and are so crazy about assassinating this prince."
Lin Qingqing lowered her head, expressionless.
Although there are many people who want to assassinate His Highness, most of them are small characters who come to try their luck and are not worth mentioning.
Those real martial arts masters naturally know that the money is not easy to get, and not many people will actually come to die.
but……
Nothing can be guaranteed.
"How far are we from the capital?" Lin Jiangnian asked.
Lin Qingqing thought for a moment and said, "It will take about two days to reach the capital."
"Two days?"
Lin Jiangnian thought thoughtfully: "It's almost there!"
"You go down first."
At this point, Lin Jiangnian glanced at her and said, "Be careful tonight."
Lin Qingqing immediately understood: "Yes."
After she left the room, Lin Jiangnian sat at the table, tapping it lightly with his right hand, smiling: "They should be here soon!"
"If you don't come now, it will be too late."
After entering Zhongzhou, I have been attacked by assassinations several days in a row. Although they are not painful, they are annoying.
But apart from those dead men from the past few days, there are not many other powerful masters who have appeared.
This is unusual!
Lin Jiangnian is about to arrive in the capital, how can they still sit still?
Why is the person behind this delaying action?
What are they waiting for?
Lin Jiangnian half-closed his eyes and looked out the window.
The night view of the small town is extremely prosperous.
Zhi Yuan, wearing a plain skirt and a single-color long gown, leaned quietly on the bed. She had a graceful figure and was also looking out the window, wondering what she was thinking.
Lin Jiangnian slowly stood up, walked behind her, and quietly put his arms around her slender waist from behind. Zhiyuan seemed a little uncomfortable, her body still subconsciously tensed slightly, but she didn't struggle obviously.
After that, just let it go and don't move.
"It's getting late. We should rest now. We have to travel again tomorrow."
Lin Jiang spoke in a young voice.
"No rush."
Kite spoke softly.
"Um?"
"I have a hunch."
Zhiyuan slowly raised her eyes, without any expression on her face, but her bright and clear eyes seemed to contain something.
"They will come tonight!"