The drizzle was still falling, carried by the cold wind, falling on the skin, making it bone-chilled.
The courtyard was silent.
Under the black umbrella, the master and servant still stood there.
Not far away, Zhou Ruijin's body fell heavily on the bluestone slab, making a dull sound.
Zhou Ruijin, who had just been dressed in brocade and looked regal, was now in a state of disgrace. His clothes were stained with mud, mixed with rainwater, making them look extremely dirty. His once handsome face was now filled with astonishment and shock, staring at the two people in front of him with a ferocious and humiliating look.
"puff!"
Zhou Ruijin's face turned pale. He suddenly felt a tightness in his chest and a pain all over his body. His body was churning, and a fishy smell rose in his throat.
A mouthful of blood was spat out.
Mixed with the rain on the ground, it looks messy and dazzling.
There was a brief silence all around, and then a huge wave of excitement suddenly arose.
Uproar!
Unbelievable!
No one expected that Zhou Ruijin would suddenly attack.
He actually dared to suddenly attack Prince Lin in public.
Is he crazy?!
After all, he is the Prince of Lin!
Assassination in public, regardless of success or failure, is a capital crime!
For a moment, countless people's eyes fell on Zhou Yao in front of the hall.
Although Zhou Ruijin is Zhou Huiguang's cousin, he actually has no close blood relationship with the Zhou family. He can only be regarded as a descendant of a side branch of the Zhou family.
If Zhou Yao hadn't instructed him, how could he have dared to attack Prince Lin in public?
Countless people stared at Zhou Yao, who had an expressionless face and no sign of joy, and they all had different thoughts in their minds.
This Zhou Yao has truly lost his mind.
Crazy!
At the same time, countless people stared at the Prince of Lin, who was dressed in a black robe in the courtyard, and were terrified.
Zhou Ruijin's sudden attack just now caught everyone by surprise. At such a close distance, it was difficult to react.
How did he do it?
Some figures present who were good at martial arts cast their eyes on the cold-tempered maid behind Prince Lin, their expressions gradually becoming solemn.
Obviously, they had just seen the maid's attack.
But, the speed is too fast!
It was so fast that almost no one present could see how she made the move.
No wonder the Prince of Lin dared to come here alone, it turns out he was well prepared.
Today, someone comes with bad intentions?!
"That was too harsh."
Lin Jiangnian glanced at Zhou Ruijin, who was spitting blood and had a pale face not far away, then looked at Zhiyuan, who had an expressionless face beside him, and shook his head softly.
Zhiyuan glanced at him and said nothing.
Lin Jiangnian retracted his gaze and looked up at Zhou Yao in front of him, saying calmly, "Master Zhou, are you okay with it?"
His tone was nonchalant, as if he didn't take what just happened seriously.
Zhou Yao continued to stare at Lin Jiangnian, his eyes deep and cold. After a moment, he said expressionlessly, "Rujin is ignorant and has offended His Highness the Crown Prince!"
As he spoke, Zhou Yao suddenly turned his head and stared at Zhou Ruijin who was not far away: "Why don't you come over and apologize to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
“Why?!”
Zhou Ruijin, who fell to the ground, had an extremely ugly expression on his face. He gritted his teeth and stared at Lin Jiangnian. "Uncle, he killed my cousin. He is a murderer. And today he came here openly to humiliate us. Why should I apologize to him?!"
"If he wants to apologize, he should pay for his cousin's life first!"
Zhou Ruijin's eyes were filled with resentment and his gaze was cold.
Zhou Yao was silent, and then his cold gaze fell on Lin Jiangnian again. He said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, can you give me an explanation?"
Sing the same tune?
Lin Jiang smiled young: "What does Lord Zhou want to explain?"
"What deep hatred does my son have with His Highness the Crown Prince that would make His Highness want to kill him?"
Zhou Yao's voice trembled slightly. "Even if my son has offended Your Highness, his crime is not punishable by death... Why did Your Highness want to kill him?!"
The cold tone, with its impetuous questioning, was as powerful as a rainbow.
Lin Jiangnian said calmly: "I have already said that Zhou Huiguang's death has nothing to do with me!"
"The evidence is irrefutable. Who else could it be but you? And now you're still trying to argue and confuse right and wrong in front of so many people?"
Zhou Ruijin sneered and questioned, "So many people witnessed the Lu family wedding that day. What else do you have to say?"
"Seen it with your own eyes?"
Lin Jiangnian scoffed, his eyes sweeping across the courtyard, his calm gaze sweeping over everyone under the eaves one by one: "I'm curious, is there anyone who saw it with their own eyes? Come out and see."
There was a commotion and discussion all around.
But no one stood up.
We are not stupid, no one wants to be the first to speak out.
More importantly, although the evidence is solid, to say that I have actually seen it with my own eyes... that's not the case.
Many of those present today witnessed Zhou Huiguang's death. They were certain that his death was likely related to the Prince of Lin, but by the time they arrived at the scene, Zhou Huiguang was already dead.
No one actually saw Lin Jiangnian kill Zhou Huiguang. In addition, there were many suspicious points in the case, and the other party was the prince of Lin Wang, so naturally no one wanted to get into trouble.
"The evidence you mentioned is solid and what you saw with your own eyes, is that true?"
Lin Jiangnian glanced at Zhou Ruijin.
Zhou Ruijin saw the reactions of the people around her and her face turned extremely ugly, she couldn't believe it.
He never expected that the group of people who were so indignant and threatened to uphold justice and were mortal enemies with Lin Jiangnian just now, now tacitly chose to shut up.
No one spoke!
Zhou Ruijin's eyes swept over the few people who had spoken most fiercely, but he saw that they were either avoiding his gaze, or had already hidden behind the crowd, or were talking about something else...
Zhou Ruijin's heart sank.
A feeling of sadness welled up in my heart!
The human nature in the capital is even more fickle than one might imagine.
They are all hypocritical people.
At this moment, Zhou Yao's deep voice rang out again: "Since His Royal Highness the Prince of Lin claimed that he didn't kill my son, why did my son die in front of His Royal Highness?"
"Your Highness, how do you explain this?"
Facing Zhou Yao's gloomy and cold gaze, Lin Jiangnian said indifferently, "I have already explained everything that needs to be said last time. If Lord Zhou wants to know the truth, he should ask those friends of Mr. Zhou. I think they should know something..."
As he spoke, Lin Jiangnian's eyes inadvertently fell on Li Qianlin and Gao Wenyang not far away.
Seeing this, the two of them changed their expressions and became furious: "What do you mean? How would we know?"
Lin Jiangnian said cheerfully, "I haven't said anything to you yet, why are you so eager to jump out?"
"you……"
Li Qianlin and Gao Wenyang's faces turned blue and red.
Li Qianlin's face darkened: "Lin Jiangnian, don't try to excuse yourself or change the subject!"
"Why should this prince need to make excuses?"
Lin Jiangnian said calmly, "This prince and Zhou Huiguang have never met before. What good would it do to kill him? If I really want to kill him... well, Master Li and this prince have had a conflict before, right?"
"If I'm going to kill someone, I should kill you first, right?!"
As soon as these words were spoken, silence fell all around.
No one expected that the Prince of Lin would say something so shocking.
Being so arrogant and presumptuous in public?!
But besides being shocked, when I thought about it carefully, it seemed that this statement... made some sense?
Li Qianlin's face turned pale in an instant, looking ugly and alert: "You, what do you want to do?!"
"It's not enough for you to kill Master Zhou, you also want to kill me?!"
"hehe!"
Lin Jiangnian chuckled twice in response, then retracted his gaze, no longer paying attention to the idiot. His eyes returned to Zhou Yao, "I deeply sympathize with Young Master Zhou's misfortune. Although I have had some unpleasant conflicts with Young Master Zhou, death is the greatest virtue."
"I came here today simply to burn some incense for Master Zhou... I wonder if Master Zhou would welcome me?"
From beginning to end, Lin Jiangnian's tone was very calm.
The handsome face under the black robe, the elegant temperament, and the always calm aura shocked many people.
Faintly, they saw some of the aura of the former Prince Lin from the young man in front of them.
Zhou Yao stared at Lin Jiangnian's eyes for a long time. Finally, he spoke in a hoarse voice with an expressionless face.
"Since His Royal Highness the Prince of Lin is here to see my son off, he is naturally welcome."
When these words were spoken, many people around were stunned.
Agree?
Can you agree to this?
I thought Zhou Yao would drive Prince Lin out. Even if he couldn't drive him away, he would definitely not let him burn incense for his own son!
The murderer burns incense for the victim...isn't that ridiculous?
Zhou Ruijin's face instantly turned extremely ugly. He wanted to say something, but he saw that Zhou Yao in front of the hall had already made way.
"Wait for me here."
Lin Jiangnian whispered something to Zhiyuan beside him. Zhiyuan didn't say anything, but looked up at the hall in front.
"Don't worry, they don't dare to do anything."
Lin Jiang comforted him in a young voice, then raised his head, flicked his sleeves, and walked calmly into the hall.
…
The atmosphere in the hall was depressing and gloomy.
It was quiet all around.
Lin Jiangnian stood quietly in front of the memorial tablet, looking at the portrait of Zhou Huiguang in front of him with an indifferent look and sighed secretly.
"Although I didn't kill you, your death is indeed inextricably linked to me!"
"You're a pitiful person, after all. You probably only realized you were deceived when you died... If you want revenge, go find your real murderer..."
"In your next life, remember not to be so easily used as a pawn..."
Lin Jiangnian looked indifferent as he calmly burned incense. After inserting the incense into the incense burner in front of him, he slowly turned around. Zhou Yao stood behind him with an expressionless face, staring at him coldly without saying a word.
There was no one in the empty hall.
"Master Zhou, do you want to catch the real murderer of your son and avenge Master Zun?"
Lin Jiangnian suddenly spoke.
Hearing this, something seemed to flash in Zhou Yao's eyes, and he stared at him coldly: "What do you mean by that?"
Lin Jiangnian met his eyes and chuckled, "I guess Lord Zhou doesn't really believe that this prince killed Young Master Zhou, right?"
Hearing this, Zhou Yao just stared at him expressionlessly without answering.
But the default is equivalent to an answer.
"Mr. Zhou has been building momentum in the capital these days, putting pressure on all sides, hoping to force this prince to reveal himself... But in reality, Mr. Zhou hasn't actually taken any action. Is there doubt in Mr. Zhou's heart?"
Lin Jiangnian said, "This prince has no grudges against your Zhou family. There is absolutely no need to kill Mr. Zhou. Moreover... such a low-level frame-up?"
Zhou Yao's pupils suddenly shrank, and he stared at Lin Jiangnian: "What do you know?"
"If it wasn't you, then who killed my son?!"
Facing Zhou Yao's excited expression, Lin Jiangnian spoke calmly.
"That depends on whether Lord Zhou is willing to trust me this time!"
“…”
At the Zhou family's house, the courtyard was still immersed in a strange atmosphere.
Li Qianlin stared at the hall, his eyes gloomy, complicated, and fearful.
Thinking back to what Lin Jiangnian had said about killing him, Li Qianlin felt a chill in his heart. Just as he was about to turn around and say something to Gao Wenyang beside him, he saw that there was no one beside him.
Hey, where is Brother Gao?
On the other side, a figure quietly left the Zhou family through the side door, walked along the quiet alley, crossed the street, and came to an old house next door.
He walked into the courtyard and came to a room. He whispered, "Lin Jiangnian is here. He just caused trouble at the Zhou family... I don't know what his purpose is. Zhou Yao actually let him in to burn incense for Zhou Huiguang. What the hell..."
After the report was finished, there was silence in the room for a long time before a cold voice was heard.
"Keep watching and report any situation at any time!"
"yes."
After receiving the order, the figure left the courtyard and returned the same way.
At this moment, in the room.
A young man in brocade clothes sat on the couch, his eyes calm, and he said without hesitation: "What do you think he wants to do?"
"I don't know."
Situ Yan shook his head slightly, frowning, "His behavior is a bit unusual. He should be more low-key at this time. Why did he suddenly show up in such a high profile today?"
"The purpose is probably not simple!"
"Let him be, he can't do anything."
The Third Prince retracted his gaze and half-closed his eyes: "What's the situation in the palace?"
"Her Royal Highness the Princess has strengthened the palace's defenses, and no news has been released yet. But I imagine... the Crown Prince's situation isn't optimistic."
"I heard that the princess invited several famous doctors into the palace some time ago..."
“Not optimistic?”
The Third Prince narrowed his eyes, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "It's good not to be optimistic. He really didn't lie to me!"
"I have waited for so long, and finally this day has arrived!"
Situ Yan hesitated: "Your Highness, be careful of fraud!"
"I know."
The Third Prince's eyes were cold and grim. "I've waited for so long, so a little longer won't hurt."
As if thinking of something, he said, "Father's side..."
"Don't worry, Your Highness. Everything is going according to plan."
“…”
In the deserted alley, Gao Wenyang was preparing to return along the same route.
Just as he reached the entrance of the alley, a figure suddenly appeared in his sight, blocking his way.
"Who are you?!"
Gao Wenyang became alert instantly, staring at a young woman in front of him.
He is heroic and has a good temperament.
But the long sword across his waist was particularly eye-catching!
He comes with bad intentions!
Especially when the other party's cold gaze fell on him, Gao Wenyang had an ominous premonition: "You, what do you want to do?!"
He took two steps back, his whole body tense, and the next second, he turned around and ran.
But after running just two steps, a figure flashed past him from the corner of his eye. The next second, he felt a heavy collision on his shoulder.
"ah!"
Gao Wenyang screamed and fell to the ground in a mess. Before he could react, someone lifted him up by the collar and he was hanging in the air.
"You, what are you going to do?!"
"Let go, let me go, you...ah..."
Gao Wenyang continued to struggle and was hit hard on the lower abdomen. The pain made him tremble and his eyes went black.
Before he could scream, he felt his body flying up, climbing over several walls and landing in a small courtyard.
Afterwards, Gao Wenyang was thrown to the ground, where he rolled around in a mess, his body covered in mud.
"You, you're dead. You know my father is..."
Gao Wenyang wanted to speak angrily, but suddenly heard a cold voice in his ears.
"Your Highness, the person has been captured!"
Your Highness?
Gao Wenyang's whole body suddenly became cold and stiff. He looked up suddenly and met a pair of familiar eyes.
She was smiling at him harmlessly.
"Mr. Gao, what a coincidence!"
…
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