Xie Jinglan smiled, his phoenix eyes slightly raised, like a small hook that directly tugged at people's hearts.
Seeing her silence, he paused and said again, "This cooperation should be mutually beneficial, but I always don't want to see you struggling in the mire of being pushed and forced again. I don't know how long I can protect you, but as long as you are willing to marry me, as long as I am here for a day, I will protect you for a day. When the time comes... I am no longer here, the title of Fourth Prince Consort will be enough for you to live a stable life."
He couldn't do much, and this was his limit.
"If Miss Ji has other better choices, I will naturally respect them. If Miss Ji has other people she fancies, I will not obstruct them. As for the Empress Dowager, I will find a way."
Ji Zizhao felt that the Fourth Prince must have had too much to drink.
But his dark eyes were calm, his gaze bright, without any trace of turbidity.
Xie Jinglan looked at Ji Zizhao's doubtful gaze and chuckled, "It wasn't Miss Ji who wanted me to speak my true feelings after drinking, so why are you now uneasy?"
Ji Zizhao looked at him, who was always smiling, "This humble subject just wants to know the Fourth Prince's true feelings."
"What is true feeling?"
"It's the thought hidden beneath the Fourth Prince's smile."
Xie Jinglan was stunned for a moment, as if he didn't understand her meaning.
"From the day I met the Fourth Prince, he has been a person who likes to smile. It is probably this smile, like the spring breeze of March, that makes many people think the Fourth Prince is pure and easy to bully. A smile that doesn't reach the eyes, to this humble subject, is just a fake mask for public display."
Xie Jinglan had never heard anyone say this before, and he touched his face in confusion.
The next second, he saw her, and his lips curved.
His thin lips curved upwards, forming a beautiful arc, his dark eyes seemed to smile yet not smile, and within their depth, there was a hint of wantonness.
It was the same face, yet it was as if he had become a different person.
This made her feel strange and dangerous.
Ji Zizhao quickly got up and bowed, "This humble subject has finished eating and will take my leave."
However, as she turned to leave, Xie Jinglan also stood up.
Hearing the sound of footsteps behind her, Ji Zizhao quickened her pace and opened the door. A cool breeze brushed her face, and the dizziness surged into her head.
Ji Zizhao swayed, her head growing heavier.
A pair of hands supported her shoulders, helping her to stand steady in place.
After Ji Zizhao regained her balance, she quickly said, "Thank you, Fourth Prince."
However, the hands holding her shoulders did not loosen, but instead pulled her close to his chest.
Xie Jinglan leaned down slightly, his soft lips gently grazing her burning earlobe, his voice filled with the aroma of wine, seeping into her ears bit by bit. "My words today are not a joke, Miss Ji should consider them carefully."
Ji Zizhao suddenly turned around and found that he behind her had returned to his original gentle and elegant demeanor.
It was as if just now had been her drunken illusion.
Suppressing the chaotic guesses in her heart, Ji Zizhao bit her lip to maintain her sobriety. "How could this humble subject be so fortunate to trouble the Fourth Prince to wait."
Xie Jinglan looked at her, her body tense like a straight line, and shook his head slightly, a hint of helplessness in his faint smile.
He took another step towards her and raised his hand, gently stroking the corner of her lip that she had bitten.
The scent of wine from him wafted into her nostrils.
Ji Zizhao, who had reacted, instinctively wanted to retreat, but Xie Jinglan withdrew his hand first.
"These words I've said today are just to give you a better choice, not to coerce you in any way. You can go back and think about it slowly, I'm not in a hurry." He just hoped that she could always spread her wings and fly freely, rather than being confined by the selfishness of others.
This was the greatest help he could give her within his capabilities.
Ji Zizhao wanted to speak, but her throat felt inexplicably dry. She nodded instinctively, turned, and left the room.
Xie Jinglan stood at the door, watching her gradually receding back, the smile on his lips slowly fading.
Huo Nian Gong appeared silently at the door. "Your Highness, there is a letter from Xirong."
Xie Jinglan immediately withdrew all his thoughts. "Return to the manor."
Huo Nian Gong nodded and walked down the steps with Xie Jinglan.
He inadvertently glanced at his Highness's eyes, which had returned to the stillness of still water, and the usually taciturn Huo Nian Gong, for once, added a sentence. "If Your Highness truly likes her, when the time is right, you can directly take her with you..."
"Nian Gong!"
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by a sharp reprimand.
Huo Nian Gong looked at the Prince walking ahead again, not understanding. Isn't liking about possession?
Xie Jinglan had to admit, he liked Ji Zizhao.
He liked to see her thinking seriously, and he admired her resilience in facing danger calmly.
But neither liking nor admiration was a reason for possession.
Even though his time was running out, he still wanted to give her the best.
So in the future, even if he was no longer by her side, as long as she was well...
That would be enough.
When Xie Jinglan got into the carriage, Ji Zizhao had just arrived at Zhong Xinyi's courtyard.
Zhong Xinyi was shocked to see Ji Zizhao had been drinking and quickly ordered some fruit and hangover soup to be prepared.
Ji Zizhao was bothered by her fussiness and said, "It's not that exaggerated."
Zhong Xinyi pulled her to sit on the couch. Seeing that she was really fine, she breathed a sigh of relief. "You're quite bold to dare to drink with my fourth cousin."
A few years ago, Xie Jinglan came to the Marquis of Zhongyong's manor to visit his nominal grandfather and was made to stay for a meal.
In a military family's meal, few people didn't drink.
At first, Old General Zhong advised Xie Jinglan that men always needed some alcohol tolerance to handle social engagements more smoothly.
But in the blink of an eye, everyone at the table had passed out, except for Xie Jinglan, who was still calmly eating and drinking. Sudan Novel Network.
Then, even the Old General Zhong, who had just been lecturing, had drunk himself under the table.
Zhong Xinyi sighed helplessly, "Speaking of which, the most tragic one was my brother. You know my brother likes to pretend to be strong. After hearing about this, he insisted on challenging my fourth cousin to a drinking contest."
Ji Zizhao listened with curiosity. "What was the result?"
"What other result could there be? He was naturally drunk like a puddle of mud. When he was carried off the carriage by the servants, he didn't even recognize his own mother and called her sister-in-law."
The result was that Old General Zhong chased Zhong Shaowen around the courtyard with a military stick.
He got so drunk that he messed up the generational hierarchy, so why wouldn't he be beaten?
Zhong Xinyi could only watch with a blank face as her brother was beaten sober under her grandfather's stick.
Drinking led to such a mess of kinship, who else would he beat if not him?
Zhong Xinyi, recalling the past, felt a thousand tears of sorrow.
However, looking at Ji Zizhao, she smiled and said, "I told you my fourth cousin has you in his heart. My fourth cousin dotes on you so much, how could he bear to let you drink and feel uncomfortable."
Ji Zizhao, "..."
She wasn't looking for the Fourth Prince to compete in drinking, was she?
Seeing Zhong Xinyi's mischievous smile, Ji Zizhao couldn't let her continue talking nonsense and began to talk about business. "I've already discussed the matter of military supplies with the Fourth Prince. The Fourth Prince also thinks it's feasible, but to make it happen, I still need your help."
Zhong Xinyi quickly replied, "This is my family's business. I'm the one troubling you. Just tell me what you need me to do."
Now that Tonglin was being invaded, the people in the city were living in fear.
Raising military funds was imperative, and Ji Zizhao hoped it would be as soon as possible.
However, persuading Old General Zhong still required Zhong Xinyi to speak up.
Even though the Fourth Prince outwardly called Old General Zhong grandfather, he was not related by blood, so many words were not appropriate. It would be more suitable for Zhong Xinyi to speak.
After all, they were connected by blood, and no matter how she spoke, it would not be out of place.
However, after hearing Ji Zizhao's words, Zhong Xinyi was stunned.
She had thought of countless possibilities, but she never expected it to be like this.
She looked at Ji Zizhao in disbelief. After confirming that she had not misheard, she took a deep breath and said that she was still alive and not scared to death. "Zizhao, are you really not joking?"
Ji Zizhao said seriously, "This matter concerns Tonglin, how can it be treated as a child's play."
Zhong Xinyi, "..."
But why did she still feel so startled?
Seeing Zhong Xinyi still in a daze, Ji Zizhao grabbed her hand. "Xinyi, believe me, I will not harm you, nor will I harm the Zhong family."