Zhiyuan's cold face showed no emotion as she said calmly, "Your Highness is the young master of the palace, so he is naturally my master."
Her answer was neither humble nor arrogant, but when she glanced at Lin Jiangnian's face, she caught a glimpse of a smile that seemed to be full of evil humor.
Zhiyuan frowned slightly.
"Since this prince is your master..."
Lin Jiangnian quietly looked at the kite in front of him, and said meaningfully: "Then you should obey the orders of this prince, right?"
Zhiyuan lowered her eyes: "What are your orders, Your Highness?"
"I don't have any instructions, but I suddenly felt that the title of Your Highness sounded too ordinary."
Lin Jiangnian glanced at her and said, "Why don't you just call me Master from now on?"
"I think this name sounds better, what do you think?"
Zhiyuan's frown deepened.
Seeing that she was silent, Lin Jiangnian smiled and said, "Why? You don't want to?"
Zhiyuan was silent for a moment before she said, "Since Your Highness has ordered this, I shall do as you say."
"Okay, then why don't you shout one out now so that I can hear it?"
“…”
"host……"
Zhiyuan opened his mouth, but couldn't say the words.
Under Lin Jiangnian's gaze, she finally uttered two words from her thin red lips with difficulty: "Master..."
For some reason, when she shouted these two words, she felt something strange in her heart, an inexplicable feeling of... shame?
"Very good, very good!"
Lin Jiangnian nodded in satisfaction: "From now on, you can call me Prince like this."
The kite didn't say anything.
A hint of unnaturalness flashed across those cold eyes, but soon, they returned to calm.
Lin Jiangnian didn't bother her any further. Asking her to call him "Master" was a bit of a joke, a small act of revenge. While it wouldn't cause her any harm, it was enough to disgust her, and it was a way to vent the anger he felt in the bathroom that night.
Feeling good!
Lin Jiangnian turned his head to look outside the door, then suddenly thought of something and asked, "So, he wants to murder me?"
Naturally, he heard the conversation between Zhiyuan and Lin Kong just now.
Zhiyuan glanced at Lin Jiangnian and said lightly, "He doesn't dare."
Lin Jiangnian asked back, "How do you know he doesn't dare?"
"Since he didn't dare, why didn't he save me when I was in danger?"
"Do you know that this prince almost died at the hands of that assassin today?"
Lin Jiangnian pointed at himself. If he had not been more careful and prepared today, he would have suffered the consequences.
As his bodyguard, Lin Kong knew the danger but didn't come to the rescue immediately?
What does he want to do? !
Zhiyuan was silent for a moment before she said, "Lin Kong is the commander of His Highness's guards. He is loyal to His Highness and would never intend to murder His Highness..."
"He failed in his duty today, and I have already punished him severely. I will deal with him again when the prince returns."
"hehe!"
Lin Jiangnian narrowed his eyes: "Loyal? Are you sure?"
Zhiyuan met Lin Jiangnian's gaze, remaining neither humble nor arrogant. There was no evasion in her eyes as she calmly said, "Lin Kong grew up in the palace since childhood. He has fought for the palace for many years and is naturally loyal to the prince and His Highness."
This is somewhat ironic!
However, Lin Jiangnian didn't care.
He was more concerned about...
He stared at Zhiyuan's cold face without any dodging, nor was he afraid of her at all, especially her bright and beautiful eyes, which seemed to be always calm, and seemed to be able to see through Lin Jiangnian's heart.
"Lin Kong is just a guard, so he naturally wouldn't dare to murder this prince. But if someone is behind him, that would be a different story..."
When Lin Jiangnian spoke, he happened to look into Zhiyuan's eyes.
There finally seemed to be a ripple in her calm eyes, and her eyes twitched slightly: "Your Highness, do you suspect that it was this servant who ordered him to murder Your Highness?"
"What do you think?"
"I have absolutely no such treasonous thoughts."
"How do you prove it?"
“…”
Their eyes met and the atmosphere suddenly became heavy.
Lin Jiangnian stared quietly at Zhiyuan in front of him, staring at her cold eyes, beautiful face, and... her thoughts that were impossible to see through.
Zhiyuan's gaze also fell on Lin Jiangnian, and she looked into his eyes, confronting him.
She was very tall, not much shorter than Lin Jiangnian. She didn't need to look up when standing in front of him, and her eyes were almost level with his.
She was wearing a purple shirt and skirt that wrapped up her figure perfectly, revealing her snow-white and slender neck, her slender waist that could be held in one hand, and her long legs hidden under the skirt.
As a maid in the Prince Lin's mansion, her attire was completely different from that of the maids in the mansion. If an ordinary outsider saw her, they would definitely not mistake her for a maid in the mansion.
She looks more like a lady from the Prince Lin's Mansion.
Even more like... a little mistress!
Zhiyuan stared at Lin Jiangnian quietly. She sensed a strong, oppressive aura coming from his Highness. His gaze was filled with sharpness and a sneer, as if questioning her.
This feeling is similar to before, yet different.
I always feel...
Your Highness seems to be more aggressive!
The kite was silent.
It was not until a moment later that she spoke: "Your Highness, how do you want me to prove it?"
"That's something you have to ask yourself."
Lin Jiangnian sneered: "Do you think this prince's suspicion is well-founded?"
Zhiyuan was silent for a moment: "Yes."
Although Lin Kong was the Crown Prince's bodyguard, he actually obeyed Zhiyuan more within the palace. With something like this happening today, it was natural for His Highness to be suspicious.
"Then do you think that I should doubt you?"
Zhiyuan slowly lowered her eyes, shifting her gaze away from Lin Jiangnian. After a moment's silence, she said calmly, "Your Highness, you're worrying too much. I've never had the thought of harming you. Besides..."
She paused for a moment, looked up at Lin Jiangnian, and said nothing more.
"What else?" Lin Jiangnian asked.
Zhiyuan was silent for a moment before she said, "If this servant wanted to harm His Highness... His Highness wouldn't notice."
Hearing the calm tone of the maid in front of him, Lin Jiangnian suddenly felt a little apprehensive!
yes!
She was the personal maid of Prince Lin, holding immense power within the palace. If Zhiyuan had truly intended to harm him, Lin Jiangnian would have died countless times already.
Lin Jiangnian was naturally aware of this, but it did not stop him from pointing the finger at her.
"So, have you ever thought of harming this prince?"
"I dare not."
"Since you don't dare, how do you know that I won't find out?"
Lin Jiangnian narrowed his eyes. "Or have you already rehearsed in your mind how to kill this prince?"
If you want to accuse someone of a crime, you can always find a pretext.
Zhiyuan glanced at him and remained silent.
"You are truly this prince's attentive maid!"
Lin Jiangnian sneered.
Zhiyuan lowered her eyes and said calmly, "Your Highness will always be Your Highness, and this servant will never hurt Your Highness."
"I don't believe it."
Lin Jiangnian shook his head. "This prince has always believed that as members of the royal palace, you wouldn't have second thoughts about me. Now it seems that I was overthinking it... You servants are unreliable."
He sneered, "There are so many people out there who want to kill me, even here at home. It seems like if I want to survive, I can only rely on myself, right?!"
The kite remained silent.
She didn't explain much, perhaps in her eyes this matter didn't need to be explained.
Or maybe he just doesn't bother to explain.
It’s up to His Highness whether he believes it or not.
"This prince has remembered what happened today. You can take care of yourself."
Lin Jiangnian snorted coldly, turned around and left.
Having achieved his goal, Lin Jiangnian didn't intend to continue talking nonsense with her. With his current ability, he was not enough to affect Zhiyuan's status and position.
He came to see her today just to express his anger and to lay the groundwork for his next goal.
If you really want to deal with her, you have to take it slow and gradual.
"Your Highness!"
Just as Lin Jiangnian turned around, the silent Zhiyuan behind him suddenly spoke.
Lin Jiangnian stopped, glanced back at her, and sneered: "It seems that you really don't take my words seriously?"
"host……"
Zhiyuan's eyes flickered, and she hesitated in silence for a long time, but ultimately failed to shout out.
Do you feel an inexplicable shame rising from the bottom of your heart?
She took a deep breath and said, "Tomorrow is the anniversary of the princess's death. Your Highness needs to get up early and make preparations."
The princess's death anniversary?
Lin Jiangnian was startled, then snorted coldly: "Of course this prince knows!"
After saying that, he turned away.
The remaining kite was still standing there, with a calm expression.
She always looks like this, as if nothing can interest her.
She quietly watched His Highness's departing back, and only after a long time did she withdraw her gaze. Then, she glanced coldly in a certain direction behind her.
"check!"
"Who assassinated His Highness today? Capture the assassin!"
"yes."
A figure swayed behind him and left silently.
…