son, don't mess around

In the evening, it was getting dark.

The sunset glow in the sky has not yet completely dissipated, and night is slowly falling in the distance.

In the cold and quiet room, An Ning sat on the bed in a daze for a long time. It was not until the light outside the window gradually disappeared and the room gradually darkened that she finally came to her senses.

When she saw the dark scene all around her, for some reason, she felt a little panicked.

The loneliness of darkness, that feeling of solitude overwhelms me.

She struggled to get up, and there was another knock on the door.

"peaceful?"

The voice was cold and calm.

An Ning was stunned, "Princess?!"

The voice outside the door came from their own princess.

"May I come in?"

The princess asked outside the door.

"Yes, yes..."

The door was pushed open and Li Piaomiao, dressed in a white long dress, stepped into the room.

In the dark room, she immediately saw An Ning behind the screen. She looked dazed and a little flustered.

"Why don't you light the lamp?"

Li Piaomiao's cold yet calm voice was like a warm current.

The tranquility that was originally in the darkness was like grabbing a life-saving straw. The panic that had just hit my heart like a tide gradually dissipated.

A strange emotion filled her heart, making her eyes sore for a moment. An Ning opened her mouth, not knowing how to start.

Li Piaomiao did not wait for her to speak, but walked to the side and lit the lamp in the room. The bright light illuminated the entire room, and also clearly illuminated the tranquility behind the screen.

An Ning stood up and walked away from the screen, looking at the princess who suddenly came over, seeming a little at a loss.

"Princess, why are you here?"

"Come and see you."

Li Piaomiao's beautiful eyes fell on An Ning. Looking at this delicate and fair face, her emotions were no longer the same as before.

Sure enough, there is something on your mind!
"Oh."

An Ning didn't know how to answer, so she lowered her head slightly, as if trying to hide her emotions.

"Are you unhappy lately?"

Li Piaomiao suddenly asked.

An Ning was stunned for a moment and shook her head: "No, no..."

"Jinxiu told me everything."

Li Piaomiao looked at her quietly and spoke softly.

Hearing this, An Ning's eyes became obviously more flustered.

Then came anger.

It seems that he is angry at Jinxiu's talkative behavior.

Then, I felt a little helpless.

When facing her own princess, she felt flustered and at a loss. She lowered her head even more, as if she wanted to bury it, and her hands were intertwined, showing extreme nervousness.

"what's going on?"

Li Piaomiao's voice was very calm. Looking at the peace in front of her, there was a hint of tenderness in her eyes that was rarely seen in the past.

An Ning is the girl she watched grow up.

To be precise, it was the girl who grew up with her.

Li Piaomiao never regarded her as her maid. In her eyes, Jinxiu and An Ning were her most important relatives in the world.

Compared to Jinxiu's lively personality, An Ning is more shy, sensitive and timid.

But at the same time, she is also the best at hiding her emotions.

Many times, when she was wronged, she would just hide it and never show it.

His behavior is childish, but his performance is mature enough to make people feel distressed.

"Can you tell me something?"

Faced with the princess's question, An Ning remained silent, with confusion and uneasiness on her face.

If Jinxiu asked, she could have chosen to remain silent.

But, if it's a princess...

She didn't want to deceive the princess.

but……

"I, I don't know either."

An Ning looked confused. Until now, she still didn't know what was going on.

But I just feel unhappy.

Li Piaomiao stared into her eyes quietly, "Jinxiu said, you cried last night?"

"Did he make you cry?"

"No, it's not..."

An Ning quickly shook her head, her tone a little nervous and stuttering: "It has nothing to do with His Highness."

"Yes, it was me..."

As she spoke, her voice gradually became smaller: "I, I don't know what happened..."

"Just, just..."

She couldn't explain it clearly.

Why are you crying?
She didn't know that at that moment, she suddenly wanted to cry!

Very wronged!
Especially when in front of His Highness, she is just like the princess, completely unable to restrain herself.

Li Piaomiao did not say anything, but listened quietly to An Ning's soft and stammering explanation, her eyes always on An Ning's face.

Until the end, An Ning fell silent, not knowing what to say.

Li Piaomiao said nothing, but waved at her. An Ning obediently walked over and sat down next to the princess.

Li Piaomiao looked at the still young and not fully grown up girl in front of her, and she already had some guesses in her mind.

She gently reached out and stroked An Ning's drooping hair. After a while, she suddenly said, "Do you know about Jinxiu and him?"

An Ning was startled, raised her eyes and looked at the princess, and saw that the princess' eyes were calm. She hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"When did you know that?"

"Just, not long ago..."

"How does it feel?"

An Ning was silent and shook her head.

"Do you think that the two of them are...suitable?" Li Piaomiao's tone was neither cold nor indifferent.

"No, I don't know..."

An Ning lowered her eyes, and after a while she suddenly spoke again: "Your Highness, he is your fiancé, the princess."

"Jinxiu, she stole your fiancé... Princess, are you angry?"

Looking at An Ning's somewhat doubtful and seemingly uneasy tone, Li Piaomiao's eyes remained gentle.

“She didn’t rob.”

Li Piaomiao said: "Jinxiu likes him, and he also likes Jinxiu. The two of them love each other, which is also a beautiful thing!"

"So, what about you, Princess?"

An Ning couldn't help but ask.

"me?"

Li Piaomiao glanced at her and shook his head slightly: "I'm actually not important."

An Ning wanted to ask something else, but she saw the princess looking at her again and suddenly asked, "Are you angry that Jinxiu is with him?"

"angry?"

An Ning was startled, looking a little confused: "No."

"You, don't feel anything?" Li Piaomiao looked at her and asked again.

"Feel?"

An Ning looked even more stunned, as if she was caught up in some kind of emotion.

After a while, she hesitated and said, "I, I don't know... Well, it seems not, it seems..."

As she spoke, her voice gradually became smaller and smaller: "Just, just..."

"what happened?"

Li Piaomiao did not rush to ask questions. She spoke in a gentle tone and gently combed An Ning's black and smooth hair.

This little girl who was so timid and sensitive back then has grown up so big in the blink of an eye.

An Ning lowered her head, seeming to be a little depressed. After a while, she spoke: "It's just... I feel very strange!" She couldn't put it into words.

When An Ning first learned about the relationship between Jinxiu and His Highness, she was very angry at first and even had a conflict with Jinxiu. Later, with the comfort of His Highness, the two sisters reconciled.

Originally, this matter should have just passed like this.

but……

Later, whenever An Ning saw Jinxiu and His Highness laughing and playing together, or even talking about love in front of her, she felt an indescribable strange emotion in her heart.

Not feeling well!

The feeling was very strange, she couldn't really put it into words, it was just... very dazzling.

In particular, sometimes Jinxiu would whisper something to Her Highness, especially when she was hiding it from her behind her back, the emotion became even stronger.

At the same time, An Ning felt a sense of urgency and panic as if she had been abandoned.

Obviously, she and Jinxiu are twin sisters, but since Jinxiu has been with His Highness, she has become closer and closer to Him.

Many times, An Ning is more like an outsider!

She watched Jinxiu flirting with the prince and being intimate with him, but she could only be a bystander, watching silently from the side.

Became an ignored existence.

Not only was he ignored by Jinxiu, but he was also ignored by His Highness!

Obviously, she looks exactly like Jinxiu, but His Highness only remembers her occasionally.

Clearly that night, His Highness mistook her for Jinxiu and treated her...

Afterwards, His Highness apologized to her and An Ning forgave His Highness...or rather, she never blamed His Highness from beginning to end.

But afterwards, His Highness seemed to have forgotten the incident.

Like, that never happened?
But, how could it not have happened?!

Obviously, she remembered it so clearly.

How could she forget?
But His Highness...

An Ning's eyes were dim and her thoughts were confused.

Li Piaomiao quietly looked at An Ning, who was in a state of confusion and seemed to be trapped in some kind of emotional trap.

She had guessed it before coming here, and An Ning's reaction confirmed her guess.

This silly girl actually developed feelings for him.

But she herself didn't realize this.

An Ning had a simple personality and had seldom been exposed to the outside world since she was a child. This girl's world was even purer than hers, and she practiced martial arts all the time.

There was almost no one else around An Ning except her and Jinxiu.

Naturally, she doesn't understand the relationship between men and women.

The authorities are obsessed!

As an outsider, Li Piaomiao naturally saw all of this very clearly.

A large part of An Ning's emotional loss came from feeling neglected.

She grew up with Jinxiu, and the two sisters depended on each other. They seemed to be incompatible and quarreled all the time.

But in fact, for An Ning, Jinxiu is the most important person in her life and the one closest to her.

But now the person closest to her is with the person she likes. Naturally, An Ning will feel left out.

That's the possessiveness at work!

Maybe it's not just possessiveness.

Mere possessiveness would not make An Ning like this.

So…what else?

Li Piaomiao did not try to comfort An Ning, as this was not something she was good at.

"After some time, we should go back."

She looked at An Ning in front of her and said softly, "After I leave this time, it may take a long time for me to come back next time..."

“Maybe, I’ll never come back.”

An Ning, who had been lowering her head, was startled when she heard this. As if she thought of something, she subconsciously raised her head and said, "Then, then Jinxiu..."

"She might stay, or she might go back with me."

Li Piaomiao looked at her: "What about you?"

"I……"

An Ning opened her mouth, but was speechless for a moment.

She should have followed the princess back without hesitation. After all, she had always been with the princess since she was a child. How could she be separated from her?

But when An Ning heard that Jinxiu might stay, she panicked for a moment!

She doesn't want to be separated from Jinxiu either!

"If you don't want to leave, you can stay."

Li Piaomiao spoke.

"No, I, I want to follow the princess..."

An Ning's eyes were filled with panic, and she shook her head quickly: "Wherever the princess goes, An Ning will go there."

"Even if it means separating from Jinxiu?" Li Piaomiao asked again.

This question once again made An Ning stunned. Her eyes showed panic, like a little girl at a loss, with a terrified expression: "Princess, I, I..."

She couldn't make a choice!

She didn’t want to be separated from the princess, nor from Jinxiu. She, she…

Li Piaomiao seemed to see through her thoughts and emotions, and didn't say anything more. He just touched her head, sighed softly, slowly stood up, and left the room.

An Ning was left sitting there blankly, looking terrified.

……

It gets dark.

When Lin Jiangnian left Ruyi Tower, Lin Qingqing and Lin Kong had been waiting for a long time outside the lake.

The two stood on the left and right of the lake, and when Lin Jiangnian appeared, they walked quickly forward.

"Your Highness, I have prepared everything according to your instructions."

Lin Qingqing looked a little haggard, but the excitement in her eyes was hard to conceal: "When do we start?!"

Lin Jiangnian asked, "How is the Chen family doing?"

Lin Kong stepped forward and said, "Everything is going on as normal at the Chen family. It is all within your expectations. I have deployed many spies near the Chen family to ensure that nothing goes wrong."

Lin Jiangnian nodded, glanced at the darkening sky, and said calmly, "Let's do it tonight."

Without further ado, it's time to end it!
Lin Qingqing's eyes immediately focused: "I understand!"

Lin Kong was also shocked. Your Highness, are you finally going to take action against the Chen family? !
Although he had expected it, he was still somewhat surprised when he realized it now.

"Your Highness, the other families..."

Lin Kong was a little worried.

"No need to worry."

Lin Jiangnian looked indifferent. He had already made arrangements for other families.

"Just follow the original plan. Remember...nothing can go wrong, especially Chen Hongsheng!"

"Try not to cause trouble!"

"My subordinate understands!"

"As ordered!"

"..."

Lin Qingqing and Lin Kong left in a hurry with excited looks, while Lin Jiangnian stood where he was, looking at the night scene in the distance.

After battling wits and courage with that old fox for so long, it’s time to end it!
Now Lin Jiangnian has sufficient evidence and backup plans to attack the Chen family.

Well, he naturally didn't plan to wait any longer!
As a large and powerful family that has been entrenched in Linzhou for many years and has a complex network of power, the Chen family's influence is indeed considerable.

The entire Linzhou government is full of people from the Chen family, or those who rely on the Chen family's power. With this huge network of relationships, it is extremely difficult for ordinary people to bring down the Chen family!

Many times, for such a large family, even dynastic turmoil and changes of dynasties cannot shake its foundation.

For thousands of years, even though dynasties changed and the world was in chaos, the aristocratic families remained deeply rooted.

For Lin Jiangnian, he did not intend to completely eradicate the Chen family. Eradicating such a large family is not an easy task, even if it is the Linwang Mansion!
His real purpose was to take advantage of this opportunity to attack the Chen family and suppress the arrogance of the Chen family and other families in Linzhou.

At the same time, he used this opportunity to infiltrate and control the Chen family, turning the Chen family into a puppet of the Linwang Mansion among the Linzhou families.

It is far more appropriate to control a family than to destroy it!
Lin Jiangnian looked thoughtfully, and in his sight, a figure appeared quietly by the lake.

He glanced sideways.

The willow trees by the lake swayed, creating ripples on the water.

By the lake, a figure in white was standing there, looking at her quietly.

...(End of chapter)