CHAPTER 351: CHAPTER 305

"Do I not resemble one?" Shen Jingbing looked at himself and then at Hua Kongque, a genuine talent!

"How did you get to know the Crown Prince?" Out of curiosity, Shen Jingbing inquired. To his knowledge, these past years the Crown Prince has been in poor health, constantly staying within an old house at Hidden Dragon Mountain, never emerging from seclusion. How did they become acquainted? Could it be like in the myths, meeting each other in dreams?

"You’re overthinking it." As if hearing Shen Jingbing’s thoughts, Lan Tian couldn’t even be bothered to roll her eyes, imagining wildly like that, why not write a novel. Oh, right, online novels don’t exist yet.

Shen Jingbing paused, looking at Hua Kongque, "Did I say that out loud?"

"No," Hua Kongque shook his head, you didn’t say it, but it’s written all over your face.

"The Crown Prince is getting ready to close the net now, some people will definitely act in desperation. Pushed to their limits, there’s no telling what they might do. Old Mo and the others, they dare not touch, but you, they have no such scruples." Hua Kongque’s expression was grave and solemn. The Crown Prince has ordered them to protect her at all costs; such action is tantamount to telling everyone that she is the Crown Prince’s Achilles’ heel.

Pick on the soft persimmons. Lan Tian touched her face. Does she look like someone with a steamed bun face?

"Those people are too hasty. Both members of the Ji Family are weak and sickly, having endured so long already, they can’t even wait a few more years. When the time comes, they might not need to fight at all, both Ji Family members could be gone, and the power and wealth would still fall into their laps." Shen Jingbing speaks without any taboo.

"Which side are you really on?" Lan Tian scrutinized him, and after that comment, Lan Tian had reason to suspect he might be an enemy spy.

"Of course, I’m on your side." Shen Jingbing declared with an air of righteousness. "As soon as they heard about a secluded master who could cure illnesses, they all panicked. Whether the cure works remains to be seen, but they couldn’t wait to jump out. Haha, right into the Crown Prince’s net. Stupid, I’ve never seen such stupidity. It’s unforgivable not to deal with them when they’re so willing to expose themselves."

Lan Tian: "... " You must be an undercover, right? Undercover, surely.

"Little Lan, the Crown Prince is really cured," Shen Jingbing’s eyes gleamed bright.

It’s not good for a man to be so gossipy.

"You’re already Ji Feng’s person. If he hasn’t informed you, it’s even less appropriate for me to gossip." Implied in her words was that you’re too nosy. Hua Kongque got the hint in Lan Tian’s words, turned his head aside, and shrugged his shoulders repetitively. Zhang Shenjing paused, realizing what that meant and began to tremble pointedly with his finger at Lan Tian, "Betrayer, you’re betraying your mentor."

Lan Tian snorted coldly, still talking about betrayal, that expression usage is... unbearable, where are you even from? Hua Kongque’s shoulders shook even more violently, together with his suppressed cough.

"He’s just a busybody, I’m not one of your circle, who would hold a grudge against a girl like me? What’s the use of holding a grudge against me, when I’m not blind?"

"That’s not necessarily true..." Shen Jingbing hadn’t finished speaking when Hua Kongque gave him a warning glare. Shen Jingbing had no choice but to shut up, but gave Lan Tian a meaningful look. Catching you would be a way to threaten the Crown Prince. Such a temptation laid out in front of them, how many people could blindly come looking for her – just the thought makes my blood boil with excitement.

"I don’t understand politics, and I usually don’t like trouble, but I’m never afraid of it." Unfolding an old map of Beijing on the tabletop, Lan Tian examined it inch by inch, marking the suspected places or regions. This afternoon, she would go there to take a look around.

After reviewing the map several times, she couldn’t find "He Xu Palace," though other surviving palaces were all marked on the map.

Really strange. If it had been mentioned by one person, Lan Tian might think they remembered it wrong, but two, three, four, five people all said the same thing, proving that "He Xu Palace" did exist. So why wasn’t it on the map?

Places bearing the word "palace" are usually related to the imperial palaces, and there’s no record of it in modern history either. So, either this place doesn’t exist, or someone has deliberately erased its existence, keeping it from seeing the light of day again. Lan Tian thinks the latter is more likely.

To erase the existence of a place, no one else could do it besides those in power.

The question arises, what is it about "He Xu Palace" that makes those in power so dread its existence that they wiped it out? What do they want to hide?

"What are you looking for?" Zhang Shenjing stepped forward and leaned over to look at the map on the table, sweeping a casual glance. Both of them had good eyesight and could see that Lan Tian was not looking at the map for amusement.

Hua Kongque also glanced at the map.

"You two are local tyrants, come here and see if there’s anything wrong with this map." Those two were going to stick around like an annoying plaster that couldn’t be easily torn off. Given Zhang Shenjing’s troublemaking disposition, Lan Tian was not sure she could shake him off. At least not today.

Zhang Shenjing: "..."

Hua Kongque: "..."

What a way to talk. Both of them were talents, strikingly handsome, how could the term "local tyrant," only fitting for hooligans, be associated with them?

"You have to say what you’re searching for. Otherwise, how can we look for it," Zhang Shenjing mumbled while examining the map. Hua Kongque also stood up for a closer look, especially at the places Lan Tian had marked, before exchanging glances, finding no issues.

"Little Lan, what exactly are you searching for? There are no issues with the map."

Lan Tian glanced at Zhang Shenjing, then towards Hua Kongque. Hua Kongque nodded. "The map has no issues."

Zhang Shenjing felt a cold chill in his heart as Little Lan evidently didn’t trust his words, fixing her with a pathetic look accusing her of being heartless.

Lan Tian, preoccupied with thoughts about the map, did not see his pitiable expression, her delicate jade fingers rhythmically tapping on the map as she pondered for a moment and then said, "Think again, besides the palaces I marked, are there any other palaces in Beijing not shown on the map?"

Are there?

Both thought for a while but shook their heads. All the surviving and well-preserved palaces are marked on the map.

Lan Tian saw that they didn’t seem to be lying, which could only mean they weren’t deemed worthy to know. One just doesn’t know if Ji Feng is aware of the existence of "He Xu Palace."

It seems that Ji Feng doesn’t know either; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so schemed against in his past life.

Unable to find useful materials in the library, Lan Tian packed her things in preparation to leave, patting the books on the table and saying to Zhang Shenjing, "Mr. Zhang, please put these books back."

After speaking, she left, Hua Kongque hurriedly followed.

"Hey, where are you going?" Holding the books, Zhang Shenjing looked at the books in hand and then at the two descending the stairs, tossing the books onto the table and chasing after them.

"Lan Tian," Zhou Sisi came down from the third floor, her delicate face beaming with a playful smile, "I was just about to come down and find you. Did you find the material you needed?" Seeing Hua Kongque nod her head subtly, highlighting her demeanor as a young lady of a reputable family.

Lan Tian hummed in acknowledgment, effectively responding to Zhou Sisi’s question.