Ji Zizhao understood that the Fourth Prince would not have appeared here for no reason.
As expected, as soon as the thought crossed her mind, Huo Nian Gong walked up to her. "My master requests an audience with the Eldest Daughter of the Ji family."
In front of outsiders, Huo Nian Gong had directly concealed the title of Prince.
Ji Zizhao calmly appeased the Old Madam of the Ren family. Only after the Ren family had completely departed did she step into the Fourth Prince's carriage.
A cool scent, from some unknown incense, filled the carriage.
Xie Jinglan leaned back against the soft couch behind him, not sitting as upright as usual. At this moment, he propped his face with one hand, his head slightly bowed as he looked at the scroll in his other hand. His long legs, resting by the carriage window, were slightly bent, adding a touch of casual grace.
Hearing the sound, Xie Jinglan looked up from his book. "You're here?"
Ji Zizhao did not stand on ceremony and sat directly opposite him. "The Fourth Prince invited me; this humble daughter would not dare refuse."
Xie Jinglan gave a faint smile and put down his scroll, but made no move to sit up. "The Eldest Daughter of the Ji family dares to declare the dead alive even in the Dali Temple. What is there that you do not dare?"
Ji Zizhao's gaze sharpened. "The Fourth Prince has keen eyes and ears."
It was not surprising that adult princes would secretly deploy their informants within the imperial city.
Xie Jinglan calmly accepted the compliment and then asked with a raised eyebrow, "Aren't you afraid it was I who sent people to kill him?"
"If I can deduce that Ren Jun held the evidence of the Fifth Prince's collusion with the Second Prince, then I imagine this matter was also within the Fourth Prince's expectations. There can only be one ruler. Since the Fourth Prince has already decided to plot for the Seventh Prince's ascent to power, how could he possibly help the Fifth Prince eliminate Ren Jun and boost his rival's morale?"
The repeated appearances of the Seventh Prince led Ji Zizhao to guess the Fourth Prince's intentions.
He clearly had the opportunity to take credit himself and curry favor with her, yet he had instead benefited the Seventh Prince.
Although she didn't understand why the Fourth Prince, with such strategic depth, would help the Seventh Prince ascend, he had indeed done so.
Listening to Ji Zizhao's comprehensive analysis, Xie Jinglan couldn't help but smile.
He had indeed been secretly helping Little Seven. However, very few people could see through such matters. He hadn't expected a mere girl to see through it at a glance. That was why he had said she should cooperate with him.
He needed her.
"Now, Ren Jun's death is an undeniable fact. Even if the Eldest Daughter of the Ji family's medical skills were extraordinary, capable of substituting the real for the fake, it would be difficult to find evidence of collusion between my fifth brother and second brother. So why does the Eldest Daughter of the Ji family insist on declaring the dead alive?"
He had already investigated her knowledge of medicine.
Ji Zizhao felt a hint of indignation. "Out of spite."
Xie Jinglan looked at the girl whose eyes sparkled with fire, estimating that he had been too blunt. "If others acted out of spite, it might be understandable, but the Eldest Daughter of the Ji family would never do something so childish."
Ji Zizhao: "..."
You've investigated me thoroughly, and now you remember to flatter me?
Thank you for your compliment.
Ji Zizhao calmed her emotions before speaking again. "Ren Jun is dead, and the evidence is gone. It's impossible to tear off the Fifth Prince's mask of hypocrisy in one fell swoop. However, as long as Ren Jun is alive, regardless of whether there is evidence, it is enough to keep the Fifth Prince on edge. To bring down the Fifth Prince requires evidence, but to make the Fifth Prince agree to a divorce does not."
Xie Jinglan understood Ji Zizhao's intention.
Ren Jun was dead, and the Ji family had no hope of bringing down the Fifth Prince.
However, Ji Zizhao was deliberately pretending to bring Ren Jun back to life to blackmail the Fifth Prince, making him agree to a divorce under the fearful suspicion that Ren Jun was still alive.
Once Ji Zizhao was completely divorced from the Fifth Prince, she could continue to oppose him.
Ji Zizhao's thinking was that with persistent effort, even an iron rod could be ground into a needle.
It didn't matter that she couldn't bring down the Fifth Prince now. As long as she regained her freedom, she could openly oppose the Fifth Prince. Sooner or later, she would make the Fifth Prince pay for the blood debt of the Ji family.
Xie Jinglan was indeed somewhat surprised.
Under normal circumstances, from the moment Ren Jun died, Ji Zizhao had completely lost this battle.
Anyone else would likely be immersed in their failure and unable to extricate themselves by now.
But Ji Zizhao understood the strategy of advancing by retreating and attacking by defending.
She extracted the maximum possible benefit from defeat and then consolidated her position to fight a protracted war.
The Fifth Prince had truly provoked a formidable opponent.
Xie Jinglan also gained much knowledge. A girl who had once lived in seclusion, unaware of the outside world, possessed such meticulous calculation and psychological warfare strategies...
It was truly extraordinary.
"For the Eldest Daughter of the Ji family to wish Ren Jun to remain alive, someone needs to temporarily suppress the news from the Dali Temple. I do not underestimate the Eldest Daughter of the Ji family, but this is something she cannot do, while I can." If Xie Jinglan's initial desire to win over Ji Zizhao was for the sake of the greater good and thus dispensable, then now he was openly pressuring Ji Zizhao to yield.
Such a person, even if a woman, as long as she possessed courage and strategy, could surpass countless men.
Although Ji Zizhao currently had no intention of pledging allegiance to anyone, she could not guarantee that she would feel the same way in the future.
Therefore, he had to bind her to his side in advance.
Ji Zizhao sensed the sharpness in his eyes and said calmly, "The Fourth Prince seems rather impatient today."
Xie Jinglan slowly straightened up and gazed into Ji Zizhao's eyes across a low table. His dark eyes were as deep as a well, and his slightly raised lips held a smile that was not quite a smile. "If I wish to possess the Eldest Daughter of the Ji family, how can I not be impatient?"
Ji Zizhao: "..."
Could such brazen words truly come from this well-dressed man before her?
At this moment, Xie Jinglan was still the person Ji Zizhao remembered, but his gaze revealed an extremely dangerous aura, as if a fierce beast was stirring within him, eager to leap.
This Xie Jinglan was a stranger to Ji Zizhao.
So strange, it was as if he were an entirely different person.
The smoothly moving carriage suddenly lurched violently.
Completely caught off guard, Ji Zizhao leaned towards the carriage window. Instinctively, she reached out a hand towards the carriage wall near the window, trying to steady herself.
Unexpectedly, a strong arm had already braced her waist, pulling her into an embrace.
Her ears were filled with the sound of the man's steady, powerful heartbeat, and before her was a strange, cool scent.
Ji Zizhao subconsciously looked up, and Xie Jinglan, who was holding her, also lowered his head to look at her.
Their eyes met, and both could clearly smell each other's breath.