silence.
There was a long silence.
Lin Jiang sighed: "Are you planning to keep this secret hidden forever?"
Xu Lan lowered his head slightly, his face full of confusion and hesitation.
Don't speak.
Apparently, that seemed to be her intention.
"You can't hide it!"
Lin Jiangnian looked at her and shook his head gently: "Besides me, there are other people who also suspect you."
Hearing this news, Xu Lan subconsciously looked up: "Who?"
"Kite."
Xu Lan immediately looked flustered and nervous: "She, how could she?"
"She had previously developed suspicions about the death of Prince Lin, and since you were closest to him, it was natural for her to suspect you."
Lin Jiangnian paused and continued, "Not only Zhiyuan, even my aunt has begun to doubt you!"
When Xu Lan heard this, her heart was instantly in her throat.
She suddenly remembered the inexplicable questions Aunt Xiang asked her when she last came to Jiang Mansion...
Aunt Xiang asked her if she had noticed anything wrong with Lin Jiangnian recently?
Xu Lan had suspected something was amiss at the time, but since Aunt Xiang didn't ask any further questions, she didn't think much about it. But when she heard Lin Jiangnian say this, her heart skipped a beat.
Aunt Xiang, are you starting to doubt her too?
Could it be that they all discovered something?
"and you……"
Xu Lan subconsciously looked at Lin Jiangnian: "Your identity..."
Since Aunt Xiang and Zhiyuan both doubted Lin Jiangnian's identity, then he must be...
Very dangerous?!
"So, you understand the seriousness of the situation now, right?"
Seeing Xu Lan's worried look, Lin Jiangnian suddenly lowered his voice slightly and said in a deep voice, "Zhiyuan and Auntie have already begun to doubt you and me. I'm fine for now, but you will definitely be unable to escape sooner or later... When Zhiyuan and Auntie come to you and ask about it, how are you going to answer?"
"Could it be that you continue to play dead and say you don't know?!"
Xu Lan did intend to do so, but seeing Lin Jiangnian's serious and low voice, she panicked for no apparent reason: "I, I don't know..."
At this point, she looked up and said nervously: "Then, what should I do?!"
Lin Jiangnian continued in a deep voice, "There is only one way now."
Xu Lan quickly asked, "What's the solution?"
"You must first tell me how the previous Crown Prince Lin died. What else do you know? ... Only if you tell me these things first can I come up with a solution."
"Otherwise, sooner or later, you and I will be exposed and we will both be doomed!"
Listening to Lin Jiangnian's nervous and serious voice, and imagining the consequences of being exposed, Xu Lan couldn't help but become more and more panicked.
Exposed?
This guy is a fake!
If the truth comes out, then he... will definitely be dead!
Uncle Lin will never forgive him.
Thinking of this, Xu Lan's heart sank, and he looked at Lin Jiangnian with complicated eyes, his face full of hesitation and entanglement.
Seeing this, Lin Jiangnian said, "Besides, this matter is only known to you and me. I'm a fake, so I definitely won't make it public... You and I just need to keep our mouths shut. Isn't that the same as you not saying anything?"
"Besides, it's better for the two of us to share the secret than for you to bear it alone...don't you think?!"
It has to be said that Lin Jiangnian's instigation did work.
Xu Lan's expression gradually wavered, and he seemed to be hesitant to speak.
So, Lin Jiangnian added the final fuel to the fire: "Aren't we friends?"
"Do you really consider me your friend?!"
"Don't you have this little trust in your friends? Think about it, when have I ever betrayed you?"
“Really?!”
“…”
Faced with Lin Jiangnian's soul-searching questioning, Xu Lan felt dizzy and at a loss for a moment, and was a little overwhelmed.
When she looked up, she saw Lin Jiangnian looking at her calmly. His eyes were serious and urgent, but for some reason, Xu Lan felt an inexplicable tremor in her heart.
She hesitated for a long time, and finally, took a deep breath.
It seems like he has made up his mind!
"That……"
Xu Lan hesitated for a long time before finally speaking: "You, absolutely cannot tell anyone about this!"
Lin Jiangnian immediately said, "Don't worry, I will never tell this to anyone else!"
"You swear!"
Lin Jiangnian: “…”
Under Xu Lan's burning and worried gaze, Lin Jiangnian finally swore a vow.
Seeing this, Xu Lan finally felt relieved, and heaved a sigh of relief and felt relieved.
"Now, can you tell me?"
Lin Jiangnian looked at her.
"Wait a minute!"
Xu Lan stood up and walked to the door, pushed it open, and looked outside carefully.
The door and the yard were empty, without a single person in sight. Xiaozhu and Xiaolu were nowhere to be seen. Xu Lan closed the door again and locked it.
Then, he walked to the side to make sure that all the doors and windows were locked. Only then did he feel relieved and returned to the table and sat down next to Lin Jiangnian.
Lin Jiangnian looked quietly at Xu Lan, whose face was full of caution, and became more and more confused.
What happened to make her so cautious?
Xu Lan gathered her emotions and calmed herself down, then raised her head and met Lin Jiangnian's eyes. After some hesitation and consideration, she spoke with a complicated expression, "You, in fact, guessed correctly... I didn't kill him."
"But his death...I did expect it!"
"What's the meaning?"
Lin Jiangnian looked suspicious.
Xu Lan bit her lower lip lightly, as if recalling something from the past, and sighed softly, "He told me that."
"he?"
Lin Jiangnian suddenly realized something: "Prince Lin?"
"He told you?!"
Xu Lan nodded heavily: "Yes."
Lin Jiangnian's face showed an incredible look: "He told you that he would die?!"
Xu Lan shook her head, then nodded. "He didn't tell me he would die. He just told me... He said he might die one day, and told me not to be surprised if that day really came..."
Lin Jiangnian was stunned, deeply surprised. He knew the Lin Prince's death was fraught with doubt, and he suspected there must be something fishy going on. But he never imagined...that the Lin Prince had actually foreseen his own death?
If you expected it, why would you still...?
Lin Jiangnian pressed on: "What on earth is going on?!"
"Actually, I don't know much..."
Xu Lan curled her lips and said, "My relationship with him is just average. He's actually a very strange person. I don't like him that much..."
"In the eyes of outsiders, he's truly a complete playboy. While he hasn't done anything outrageous or excessive, he has all the bad habits a playboy should have... Plus, he has a bad temper and is a bit moody."
As if thinking of something, Xu Lan sighed softly: "That's why he has a bad relationship with Miss Zhiyuan. He told me that he really dislikes Miss Zhiyuan and has always wanted to drive her away... But I always feel that he seems to be worried that Miss Zhiyuan will discover his secret..."
"secret?!"
"Well, he's a mysterious and sneaky guy with a lot of secrets..."
Xu Lan nodded: "He often comes into contact with some strange people. Those people are very unfamiliar, have high martial arts skills, and are not from the Linwang Mansion."
Lin Jiangnian frowned: "Not from the palace? They appeared in the palace and were never discovered?"
"He is the prince of Lin Wang, and the Lin Wang Mansion is his territory. It is not difficult for him to avoid being discovered."
Xu Lan hesitated for a moment, then added: "After all, I'm still there to cover for him..."
Lin Jiangnian looked at her in surprise: "You?!"
Xu Lan nodded. "It was his request. He asked me to visit him at the Linwang Mansion often... He and I grew up together as childhood sweethearts, so it's reasonable for me to visit him at the Linwang Mansion. It won't arouse anyone's suspicion."
"My main purpose in going to Prince Lin's Mansion was actually to cover up for him and help him conceal these things..."
Lin Jiangnian was stunned. This was the reason why Xu Lan often frequented the palace and was close to the Prince of Lin?
Is everything intentional?
In this case, the behavior of the Prince Lin seems... very strange!
"He is the prince of Linwang. Linwang Mansion is his home. Why is he being so sneaky in his own home?"
"Is he afraid that Zhiyuan will discover his secret? What is he hiding?!"
"have no idea."
This time, Xu Lan answered very straightforwardly.
She had had the same question before and asked the Prince of Lin, but received no answer.
"He's a weird guy. He's very smart, but his personality is very strange. He used to be okay, but later on his temper started to get worse and worse..."
Xu Lan seemed to recall something and said, "Oh, by the way, half a year before he passed away, he had a fight with Uncle Lin, and it got really bad!"
"Had a fight?"
This was news that Lin Jiangnian didn't know: "What was the quarrel about?"
"have no idea."
Xu Lan shook her head. "After that quarrel, Uncle Lin left the palace and headed north. When Uncle Lin came back six months later, he had already..."
At this point, Xu Lan's emotions were inexplicably complicated. She looked at Lin Jiangnian and was silent for a moment before she said, "It was also around that time that he suddenly came to me and said to me inexplicably..."
"He said he might die one day and asked me not to be surprised..."
"I didn't believe it at the time. I said it was a good thing he died, because Linjiang City would be spared a major disaster... That time, he also said he was going to do something important!"
"event?"
“He didn’t say it was a big deal…”
Xu Lan shook her head.
Lin Jiangnian remained silent.
He always felt that he had gradually grasped a certain clue and was very close to the truth!
But I still don't get the point.
Didn't grasp the essence of it!
event?
Was it anticipated?
Still full of fog!
What exactly happened?
"Then how did he die?"
Lin Jiangnian stared at Xu Lan and asked.
"What does his death have to do with you?"
"I have no idea……"
Xu Lan shook his head subconsciously and tried hard to recall it.
The memories that had passed so long seemed to have been buried in the dust, and she tried hard to recall them.
"That time..."
"The day before he got into trouble, I went to Prince Lin's mansion to look for him. He seemed in a good mood that day... He told me he was planning an outing to do something important..."
"I don't know where he went, but he mentioned that someone wanted him dead..."
The scene of that day in Xu Lan's memory has gradually become a little blurry. To her, it was just an extremely ordinary day.
She didn't even take it to heart.
As for him saying that someone wanted him dead...that's perfectly normal!
From childhood to adulthood, as the Prince of Lin, he has experienced countless assassinations and people who want him dead. Even Xu Lan has become accustomed to it!
Until that time... he really died!
Lin Jiangnian listened quietly and remained silent for a long time.
He suddenly stared at Xu Lan: "Are you hiding something from me?"
Xu Lan was slightly startled: "Why, why do you ask?"
"How do you know he's dead? And how do you know I'm a fake?"
Lin Jiangnian caught the loophole in her words.
The Prince of Lin did say that he might die, but how did Xu Lan know that he died on that day?
You know, when Lin Jiangnian was brought back to the Prince Lin's Mansion as the fake Prince Lin, no one suspected that the original Prince Lin was dead!
How did Xu Lan know this?
There is an even more crucial point...
She found out that Lin Jiangnian was a fake, but she didn't show much surprise!
In fact, he doesn't seem to care about it.
More like...
Had you anticipated this outcome?
Faced with Lin Jiangnian's questioning, Xu Lan was silent for a while.
Finally, she nodded, looked at Lin Jiangnian with complicated eyes, and said, "He did tell me about this."
"Um?"
"The day he said he might die..."
Xu Lan took a deep breath, looked at Lin Jiangnian, and finally told him the secret that he had kept in his heart for a long time.
"He said that he might die one day and disappear from this world. But he also said...if he died, he would find someone who looked exactly like him to replace him..."
"He told me not to be surprised or panic if one day I discovered that the Prince of Lin's Mansion was no longer him..."
"He also told me to keep this secret and never tell anyone!"
At this point, Xu Lan looked at Lin Jiangnian with complicated eyes: "That day, I heard that Prince Lin was assassinated outside the city. I realized that something might have happened, so I ran over to confirm... As expected, you are no longer him!"
"That's when I knew he might be dead..."
"And you are the one he said he wanted to find, an identical replacement!"
“…”
Xu Lan's words were like thunder, exploding in Lin Jiangnian's ears.
He was so shocked that he stood there in a daze!
Find someone who looks exactly like him?!
Why would the Prince of Lin suddenly say that he wanted to find someone who looked exactly like him to replace him?
There is only one possibility that can explain all this... The Prince of Lin probably knew about Lin Jiangnian's existence a long time ago!
wrong!
To be precise, the Prince of Lin probably knew that he had a twin brother!
And the big thing he was talking about, could it be finding Lin Jiangnian?!
This seems to explain why Lin Jiangnian woke up at the crime scene in the temple that night...
It turns out that there is a trace of all this!
The purpose of the Prince of Lin was not to go on an outing, but...
Go find his twin brother Lin Jiangnian? !
“…”
