CHAPTER 315: CHAPTER 303: WITH A FACE LIKE YOURS, HOW COULD I BEAR TO?

Almost at the moment when Yun Ran’s words fell, the chill in the wind surged, as if December’s snow and hailstorm, beautiful yet freezing!

Yun Ran, rather timidly, shrank back a bit, "What, what are you looking at? Afraid others won’t know you’re pretending to be blind?"

The man narrowed his eyes dangerously, "You want to divorce me?"

Yun Ran: "..."

[Don’t be scared! Death is inevitable, if you’re not convinced, fight back!]

[Forget it, life is precious, a wise man knows when to retreat, a girl should be flexible!]

"How could that be? I was just joking! Don’t take it seriously!"

"You’re so good-looking, have a great figure, lots of Silver; where else can I find such a top-notch handsome man! How could I bear to divorce you?"

"Even if someone offered me ten million taels of Gold to divorce you, I would firmly refuse!"

"Not only would I refuse, I would also beat them up for daring to ruin the deep affection between me and the Prince!"

Nangong Mo: "..."

Though he knew she was speaking nonsense, perhaps not a word was true, yet these words were still quite pleasing to the man’s ears.

He glanced at her coldly, "Glad you know."

[Tch~ So easy to fool! Not even a fool would believe those words.]

"Mmm mmm ~ I know, I know ~"

Nangong Mo: "..."

Facing the little girl whose inner and outer words didn’t match, the man pursed his thin lips and coldly and leisurely threw out a sentence:

"I brewed three bowls of medicine for you tonight."

Yun Ran: "?! ..."

[Save me! It’s like a bolt from the blue! Awakening from a dream! Three bowls?! Will there still be a person after downing three bowls?]

Yun Ran pulled at her mouth, intending to put on a gentle, friendly fake smile, but alas, her face was too stiff, and she failed!

"Nangong Mo, are you sure you want to do this? Though good medicine is beneficial, consuming too much can be harmful. Aren’t you afraid of poisoning someone to death?"

Meeting Yun Ran’s accusing gaze, the man remained calm and elegant, "Poison to death, so be it, no big loss."

Yun Ran: "......"

[Fine! Can’t even have a proper chat, can’t even live properly, let a bolt strike him and send him away to diplomacy!]

...

At this time, the Minister Mansion was shrouded in dark clouds, gone was the springtime joy when Lin Haoran had just returned to the capital days ago.

In the main courtyard, Lin Qianqiu furrowed his brows, looking significantly more haggard and aged than before.

"This tempest comes violently, who on earth is manipulating it in the shadows? This clearly aims to destroy my Minister Mansion!"

In recent days, Lin Qianqiu has been racking his brains, reviewing his political enemies, those he might have offended, potential enemies, analyzing them all over again, and drawing up a long list of suspects.

This involves not just the clinic and those dozen shops, but also some matters in the court.

The issue with the shops has caused the Minister Mansion’s reputation to plummet among the capital’s citizens, its credibility deeply damaged.

In the court, he has been impeached multiple times recently. Nepotism, corruption, abuse of power to seize fertile land. Those were matters from a few years ago, all conducted extremely covertly, so how did they surface at this time?

Lin Haoran sat across from Lin Qianqiu, looking pensive.

"The one manipulating behind the scenes either has a vendetta against the Minister Mansion, deliberately digging up those old cases, or has been keeping an eye on the Minister Mansion for a long time, lurking in the shadows, waiting for a move."

"Either way, it’s very dangerous for the Minister Mansion."

Lin Haoran feels like it’s akin to being watched by a beast in the shadows, which could pounce at any moment, with bared teeth and sharp claws to kill you!

Lin Qianqiu’s mind raced, the style and methods of the mastermind behind this incident felt faintly familiar to him.

"The last incident with the mine was already fishy. Originally everything was under control, flawless for years, no way it could suddenly go wrong, could it?"

"Now it seems, the person might have had their eyes on the mine long ago, merely chose not to act before. If they wanted to, they could do it anytime."

"Moreover, the mine issue was more bark than bite; the person doesn’t seem to want to make a big fuss, nor did they want to use this leverage to crush the Crown Prince. I’m still puzzled about their true intent."

Lin Haoran wasn’t clear about the mine issue, but seeing Lin Qianqiu mention it repeatedly, he speculated in his heart, "Father, are you suspecting the mastermind behind these two matters is the same person?"

Lin Qianqiu looked at Lin Haoran with some appreciation, "Haoran’s words aren’t wrong; that’s what I was thinking."

"It’s just that even with the suspicion that it’s the same person, we don’t know who it is. The Crown Prince secretly investigated for a long time but found no clues."

Lin Haoran thought for a while and said, "Let’s go through it again. The root of this entire incident is the Haoyan Clinic. And the people involved in this..."

"That Yan Ruofeng, Prince Qin Mansion, Song Rentou, Lin Wanyue."

"Father, do you think it could be King Qin?"

Lin Haoran’s sudden remark took Lin Qianqiu by surprise for quite a while, "This...can’t be?"

"King Qin is now just a cripple without military or actual power, not even considered a wealthy leisure king; he shouldn’t have this capability."

Lin Haoran disagreed, "A centipede dies but never falls down, a thin camel is still bigger than a horse. King Qin once ruled over Jiuzhou, his prestige spread across nations, unmatched at the time, with countless followers."

"Now, although he seems to have retired in disgrace, who knows what’s really going on behind the scenes, it’s hard to conclude."

"If he were to rally now, countless people in the military and civilian sectors would still support him, rally to him, wouldn’t they?"

"He led troops for years, away from the capital’s court, who’s to say he hasn’t secretly developed his own power?"

Lin Qianqiu thought this idea was absurd. In his eyes, King Qin was an outdated, overlooked Prince, unable to cause much of a stir.

But listening to Lin Haoran’s words today, after contemplating repeatedly, made him feel a faint chill down his spine.

"This matter needs long-term planning; I must find time to see the Crown Prince."

The father and son discussed late into the night, while Mrs. Qin and Lin Yanran were also not idle.

The rash on Lin Yanran’s body had cleared, but some marks remained, making her feel downcast every day.

Coupled with the recent series of troubles, her mood was extremely poor.

No matter how skillfully Mrs. Qin tried to console and persuade her, it was useless.

"What are the people below doing! They’re all worthless drunkards! So long has passed and they still haven’t contacted the Wangsheng Sect people!"

"Wangsheng Sect isn’t an ordinary Jianghu organization? It’s not that easy to find. The more powerful the assassin organization, the more mysterious and elusive. Yan’er, don’t be anxious; they’ll be found eventually."

Actually, Mrs. Qin felt relieved that they hadn’t found them.

Involvement with such a mysterious, unpredictable entity is best avoided, and for some unknown reason, she always had a premonition that truly provoking the Wangsheng Sect would bring about a disaster.

Lin Yanran didn’t know what Mrs. Qin was thinking, nor did she care. She only had one thought on her mind: Lin Wanyue, die!

"Yan’er, you’ve been cooped up in the mansion for too long, you should go out to unwind. Your brother mentioned there’s a hunting event on Qishan in a few days. You could join him for some fun."

Lin Yanran harshly replied, "With Lin Wanyue still alive and well, how could I be in the mood to play?"

Mrs. Qin: "... I heard this time the Crown Prince himself is leading the hunt."

...

Perhaps due to drinking Chinese medicine recently, Yun Ran started to feel sleepy shortly after dinner.

Lying in bed, she was about to fall asleep when she saw Nangong Mo walk to her bedside with a pillow in hand.

Yun Ran, yawning, looked at him warily, "What are you doing?"

"Sleeping."

Brief and to the point, he spoke and undressed all at once.

Yun Ran: "... I refuse! Go back to your own bed to sleep."

Her reply was met with the sight of the man, wearing only his inner clothes, taking a long stride with elegance and agility onto the bed.

Yun Ran: "..."

[Look at that swift bed-climbing move, truly a beast! Pretending to be disabled before really hindered his performance!]

Complaining inwardly, Yun Ran directly stretched her leg and unceremoniously kicked towards him, "Get off the bed, please!"