When Xu Lan was still confused, Lin Jiangnian pulled her back to the room in a daze.
Close the door!
The two little maids, Xiaozhu and Xiaolu, were left outside the door looking at each other in confusion.
This, what is going on?
"Your Highness has taken my young lady into the room?" Xiaolu turned to look at Xiaozhu and asked uncertainly.
Xiao Zhu was also confused and nodded.
"Your Highness, what do you want to do?"
"No, I don't know."
"Your Highness, do you want to bully my young lady?!"
Xiao Zhu couldn't help but stare at the closed door for a while, his expression and tone uncertain: "Yes, maybe?"
“…”
In the room.
Xu Lan was a little panicked!
how……
Pull her into the room as soon as you meet her?
He, what does he want to do? !
It wasn't until they were pulled into the room, the door closed, and they were alone that Xu Lan suddenly realized what was happening. A panicked look appeared on her face. She stared at Lin Jiangnian warily, waving her fists: "What do you want to do?!"
"You, don't do anything rash... I, I will scream!"
Seeing Xu Lan's nervous and frightened expression, as if she was about to be molested, Lin Jiangnian said, "Why are you so nervous? What else can I do to you?"
“Who knows?!”
Xu Lan blushed and argued confidently: "Who knows what you want to do... Then, then why did you pull me into the room?"
How could she not think of other things when a man and a woman were alone in the same room?
While feeling nervous and scared, a strange sense of excitement came over me.
Lin Jiangnian said, "I have something important to talk to you about!"
"If you have something serious to say, just say it directly. Why did you drag me in here?!"
Xu Lan's face was still full of vigilance.
Lin Jiangnian shook his head: "The serious matter I'm telling you cannot be known to others."
Xu Lan was still being stubborn, but when she heard Lin Jiangnian say that he had something serious to tell her and that no one else could know about it, she immediately blinked!
A secret that no one else knows?
Only she can know?
So exciting?!
This instantly piqued her curiosity.
His tone softened for a moment: "What, what's the matter?"
"Come and sit down first."
Lin Jiangnian didn't speak immediately. He sat down at the table, poured himself a cup of hot tea and took a sip.
Xu Lan walked over to the table and sat next to Lin Jiangnian, with a look of excitement and uneasiness on her face. "What do you want to talk to me about?"
Lin Jiangnian put down his teacup, glanced at Xu Lan, and suddenly asked, "How long have we known each other?"
Xu Lan looked bewildered, not knowing why Lin Jiangnian suddenly asked this question, but after thinking carefully, she said, "It's been almost a year, right?"
"Yeah, we've known each other for almost a year..."
Having said that, Lin Jiangnian paused and continued, "What do you think of our relationship?"
"relation?!"
Hearing this, Xu Lan's heart skipped a beat and her face flushed slightly: "You, why are you asking this?!"
Why did this guy ask about their relationship for no reason?
He, what does he want to do?
"Don't worry about what you're doing, just tell me if our relationship is good or not."
Lin Jiangnian thought for a moment and asked her, "We've known each other for quite a while. We should at least be considered pretty good friends, right?"
"Friends?!"
Xu Lan's expression froze slightly as he stared at Lin Jiangnian in a daze.
For some reason, I felt inexplicably relieved and a little relaxed and happy.
friend?
In this guy's eyes, am I a very good friend of his?
This guy already considers himself a good friend?
Hearing this, Xu Lan was indeed a little happy.
But for some reason, besides being happy, I also felt a little inexplicably lost in my heart.
Just, just friends?
"yes!"
Lin Jiangnian nodded and looked at Xu Lan in front of him: "Just tell me, am I good to you on weekdays?"
Xu Lan looked up, met Lin Jiangnian's gaze, and then said angrily, "Not good!"
"What's wrong?"
“Nothing is good!!”
Xu Lan's expression became more and more angry: "Just tell me how you treated me well?!"
"I……"
Lin Jiangnian was about to speak, but quickly stopped.
He quickly thought about it carefully in his mind, but he really couldn't remember... How could he be nice to Miss Xu?
Not long after they met, Xu Lan exposed his true identity, and Lin Jiangnian nearly killed her. Although they reconciled after that, every time they met, Lin Jiangnian was not very enthusiastic about this Miss Xu, and even disliked her at one point.
In Lin Jiangnian's eyes, Miss Xu often plays the role of a tool.
Faced with Xu Lan's soul-searching question, Lin Jiangnian fell silent.
After a while.
"Ahem...it's not important!"
Lin Jiangnian waved his hand: "Generally speaking, I've been pretty nice to you, right?... There must be something good about me, right?"
"What do you think?!"
Xu Lan's face was filled with anger, and he sneered: "When have you ever been nice to me?"
When talking about this, Xu Lan felt inexplicably angry!
"calm!"
Lin Jiangnian quickly calmed down Miss Xu, who was about to explode: "We are already good friends. Why should we care so much about friends? Isn't that right?"
There was a hint of contempt in Xu Lan's eyes, and it was obvious that he did not agree with Lin Jiangnian's words.
Seeing this, Lin Jiang sighed: "I have always treated you as my best friend... Otherwise, your grandfather and your father would have been killed many times over just because of the little tricks they were playing behind the scenes."
Xu Lan was startled when he heard this, and a look of horror appeared on his face: "You, you... know everything?!"
Lin Jiangnian glanced at her and sighed, "Your Xu family has already shown it so obviously, how could I not know?"
Xu Lan's heart suddenly hung in the air. She knew exactly what her grandfather and father were up to! If the Lin family knew about this, it would be a disaster for the Xu family.
“I, I…”
Xu Lan's face suddenly became anxious and panicked.
"I know these things have nothing to do with you." Lin Jiang comforted in a young voice.
Xu Lan's eyes were complicated, and after a while, he said with some disappointment: "I can't persuade my father and grandfather, they..."
"That's their choice."
Lin Jiangnian looked indifferent. The Lin family and the Xu family were old friends and should have been as close as before, but the Xu family had ulterior motives.
Naturally, these things could not escape the eyes of Prince Lin’s Mansion!
Lin Jiangnian could understand that the Xu family was loyal to the emperor, and they were worried that if they got too close to Prince Lin's Mansion, they would become traitors in the future.
Especially the one in Beijing, Xu Lan's grandfather. He has been in Beijing for decades and naturally supports the emperor. In this way, based on the current positions of the court and the vassal kings, the Xu family naturally sides with the emperor.
However, this can be considered a betrayal for the Prince Lin's Mansion!
Everything the Xu family has in Linzhou was given by the Lin family. Now that the Xu family wants to turn against the Lin family, it is undoubtedly a stab in the back.
If it were someone else, they might have been dealt with thoroughly by Prince Lin's Mansion long ago.
But the Xu family is different!
After all, the Xu and Lin families were old friends, and their relationship had been very good. Lin Hengzhong still remembered the life-saving grace of Mr. Xu, so he had not yet taken any action against the Lin family.
Of course, the main reason was that all the Xu family's actions were under the watchful eyes of the Lin Wang Mansion. No matter how the Xu family struggled, they could never escape the control of the Lin Wang Mansion, nor could they shake or damage the interests of the Lin Wang Mansion.
Because of this, even though Lin Hengzhong had already noticed the Xu family's disloyalty, he did not choose to take action against them.
However, if the Xu family continues to insist on their own way in the future, it will not be a good thing in the end.
"After all, the Xu and Lin families are old friends. If your grandfather and your father can turn back from their mistakes, everything will be fine..."
Lin Jiangnian shook his head slightly: "If they are still determined to break with the Lin family, it will definitely not be a good thing for them..."
When Xu Lan heard this, her face turned slightly pale and she bit her lower lip tightly: "My father and the others..."
Didn't she know the seriousness of the matter?
However, she had no influence on the choices made by grandpa and dad.
"Don't worry, this matter has nothing to do with you. Even if the Xu family and the Lin family really fall out, it will not affect our relationship."
Lin Jiangnian paused at this point and said, "I happen to be in Beijing. If I have time, I would like to visit your grandfather and persuade him..."
"After all, your grandfather was kind to my father. I still hope that our two families can reconcile as before."
No matter from which perspective, Lin Jiangnian does not want to really break up with the Xu family.
Xu Lan stared at Lin Jiangnian, her eyes flickering with emotion. After a moment, she took a deep breath and whispered, "Thank you."
"No need to thank me!"
Lin Jiangnian shook his head slightly. Seeing that the groundwork was almost done, he began to talk about business: "I came to you today for something serious!"
Xu Lan raised her eyes, a little surprised: "Isn't this a serious matter?"
"Yeah, but that's not what I'm looking for you for today!"
Lin Jiangnian shook his head.
Xu Lan asked anxiously, "What else is going on?"
Lin Jiangnian stared into Xu Lan's eyes and spoke slowly, "Back when we were in the Lin Palace, you said that you were the one who killed the Lin Prince, right?"
Faced with Lin Jiangnian's sudden question, Xu Lan stood there in a daze, as if she had not expected that Lin Jiangnian would suddenly bring up the old matter.
She was inexplicably dazed!
If Lin Jiangnian hadn't suddenly mentioned it, she would have almost forgotten about it... The Lin Jiangnian in front of her was a fake!
He is not the real Prince Lin!
Xu Lan was a little surprised: "You, why are you suddenly asking this again?!"
Almost a year had passed since the incident, and no one doubted Lin Jiangnian's identity as the fake Prince Lin anymore.
Why did he suddenly bring up this matter again?
Lin Jiangnian still stared at her and said softly, "If I remember correctly, this is how you answered me at that time, right?"
Xu Lan hesitated for a moment and nodded.
"You said at the time that it was you who tricked Prince Lin out of the city and killed him..."
Lin Jiangnian stared into Xu Lan's eyes: "How did you kill him?"
"I……"
Being stared at by Lin Jiangnian, Xu Lan felt inexplicably flustered and subconsciously avoided his gaze, "I, I... forgot!"
Forgot?
Lin Jiangnian: “…”
Even if you are lying, you should find a suitable excuse.
How can such a serious crime as murdering Prince Lin be forgotten just like that?
"Do you think I'm stupid?"
Lin Jiangnian sighed: "Who can you fool with this excuse?"
Xu Lan pursed her lips and said nothing.
I felt a little panicked.
Of course she knew she couldn't lie to him, but Lin Jiangnian's sudden mention of this matter caught her off guard, and for a moment she felt... a little panicked, indescribable.
"Last time I asked you, you didn't want to tell me. Now that so much time has passed, you still don't want to tell me?"
Lin Jiang sighed: "We are already good friends, is this how you cheat on your friends?"
Xu Lan then realized that Lin Jiangnian had just said that they were good friends. Was this the real trap?
“I, I…”
Xu Lan hesitated, looked around, and didn't know how to start.
"Actually, you didn't kill him, did you?"
Lin Jiangnian suddenly spoke.
Xu Lan subconsciously wanted to refute something, but when she met Lin Jiangnian's eyes, she was stunned again.
After a while, he looked a little embarrassed: "You, how did you know?"
"Even with your pig brain, you can figure it out. You want to kill Prince Lin? Do you really think the guards in Prince Lin's mansion are just for show?"
"You're the pig-brained one!"
Xu Lan was a little unconvinced: "I, I have a good relationship with him... He has no defense against me, so I can secretly plot to kill him, right?"
"Based on what you said, you can't be the murderer. What murderer would openly say that he is the murderer?"
Xu Lan: “…”
She opened her mouth, but for a moment she was speechless.
If Lin Jiangnian had indeed suspected someone behind Xu Lan's actions, considering the Xu family's intention to backstab the Lin family, the most likely person behind this was the imperial court...
But as he got to know Miss Xu better, Lin Jiangnian gradually gave up this idea.
Judging from Miss Xu's intelligence, she doesn't seem like someone who is being ordered around by others.
Given her personality, if the death of Prince Lin was really related to her, she would definitely not be able to run to Prince Lin's mansion frequently and calmly without revealing any flaws.
"You didn't kill him, but you insist on saying it was you who killed him?"
Lin Jiangnian narrowed his eyes and stared at her: "Why are you doing this?"
"Are you deliberately hiding something?"
Faced with Lin Jiangnian's sudden questioning, Xu Lan was panicked and at a loss, "I, I..."
"I don't!"
"Really?!"
"I……"
Faced with Lin Jiangnian's aggressiveness, Xu Lan was anxious and panicked. She simply turned her head away and said stubbornly, "I, I didn't have any!"
“…”
"Even if you don't tell me, I can guess something."
Lin Jiangnian paused and looked at her: "When you told me that you killed Prince Lin, you were actually lying to appease me, right?"
Xu Lan looked back at Lin Jiangnian with a hesitant and complicated expression. After a while, he nodded and then shook his head.
"What's the meaning?"
Xu Lan took a deep breath and shook her head: "I can't say."
"Why?"
"He, he won't let me say..."
"he?"
Lin Jiangnian caught the key clue: "Who is he?"
Xu Lan shook her head repeatedly.
"Can't you tell me?"
Xu Lan nodded her head.
Lin Jiangnian didn't say anything and just looked at her quietly.
Xu Lan was stared at by Lin Jiangnian for a long time and gradually became unable to bear it. She subconsciously avoided his sight and became a little flustered.
"You, don't ask anymore... I, I can't tell you..."
"Isn't it good now? You are the prince of Lin Wang, and no one doubts your identity..."
"Besides, he's already dead. You, just stop caring about it..."
"OK?"
“…”
