After her mind was read, the spoiled brat became the darling of the whole group.

Inside the ship, there was singing and dancing.

Jun Lanjin, dressed in a light-colored long robe, reclined on the couch, his fingertips caressing a wine cup. Below him were several court officials.

The atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

The stark contrast between the bustling outside and the quiet inside only intensified the officials' anxiety.

After a long silence, the person sitting at the top spoke up: "Gentlemen, how is the investigation going?"

After the palace banquet, the emperor entrusted Jun Lanjin with a thorough investigation after he captured the remnants of the previous dynasty. Today, outside the horse farm, he intended to follow the clues to investigate, but he was interrupted by Song Ci and others.

The officials looked at each other, drenched in cold sweat.

They investigated, but they found nothing.

Moreover, Prince Jin's demands went beyond simply investigating the remnants of the previous dynasty; he also extended the investigation to all the princes.

"Your Highness..." An official was about to speak when a bodyguard jumped in, walked to Jun Lanjin's side, and whispered.

The secret guards were people Jun Lanjin planted next to Song Ci to spy on her.

Jun Lanjin raised an eyebrow and turned to look at the guard: "She really did that?"

The secret guard nodded.

Jun Lanjin narrowed her beautiful peach blossom eyes slightly and tapped her teacup with her fingertips.

After a while, he stood up from the soft couch and said in a calm voice, "Let's stop here for today. I'll give you three more days. I need to find the hideout."

As he reached the door, Jun Lanjin paused slightly. He glanced at the officials and said with a smile, "I know that you all have some connection with the princes."

"But this time, His Majesty wants the results. If we don't satisfy His Majesty..."

Before he could finish speaking, an official immediately knelt on the ground, trembling with fear.

"Your Majesty, we will certainly not fail in your mission."

Jun Lanjin put his hands behind his back and walked out.

Standing on the second-floor deck, you can have a complete view of the first floor.

Jun Lanjin stood by the railing, looking down, and quickly spotted a conspicuous figure in the crowd.

Xie Xing is currently looking for Xie Mingzhu.

The cruise ship was so big that Xie Xing searched all around but couldn't find Xie Mingzhu.

Xie Xing couldn't help but ask the system, "Is Xie Mingzhu really on the ship? Why haven't I found her after searching for so long?"

The system replied decisively: 【I'm definitely here.】

[In the storyline, Princess De'an invites Xie Mingzhu to go boating on the lake, and Xie Mingzhu is definitely on the boat.]

Princess De'an is the female supporting character who is the villain in the book that I like the most.

Basically, wherever Jun Lanjin is, Princess De'an is there too, especially since Jun Lanjin is boating on the lake today.

The system added again: "If not on this ship, then on another one!"

Xie Xing: "..."

She puffed out her cheeks speechlessly: "She's not on this ship, how am I supposed to find her!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the cruise ship gradually approached another ship.

Xie Xing looked in that direction and saw that the two boats were very close together. Someone had set up a plank, and soon several noble ladies wearing veils stepped across the plank and boarded the boat.

Xie Xing could still hear a woman's sweet and cheerful voice coming from the other end of the line: "I heard that Brother Jin is here too, I'm going to find Brother Jin!"

"Princess, the Prince will be very happy to see you."

The other voice was very familiar to Xie Xing; it was Xie Mingzhu's voice.

"See, I told you so." The system's smug voice echoed in my mind.

Xie Xing nodded and exclaimed in amazement, "System, you guessed so accurately, she really did come."

Yes, she's starting to worry again.

Her relationship with Xie Mingzhu is so-so. In fact, in the story, she is a vicious female supporting character who is jealous of Xie Mingzhu. How can she lure Xie Mingzhu to the rear cabin to find Luo Hanfeng?

While Xie Xing was troubled, Xie Mingzhu noticed him at a glance.

Her appearance was so striking that she wasn't wearing a veil, revealing her exquisite and beautiful face, making her instantly noticeable.

This is one of the reasons why Xie Mingzhu dislikes Xie Xing so much.

Even though she was already beautiful enough, she couldn't help but compare herself to Xie Xing when they were together.

The three older brothers of the Xie family were all very handsome and were often popular with noble ladies in the capital.

However, when it came to Xie Mingzhu, everyone had many doubts and speculations about her.

Although Xie's youngest daughter was pretty, her features never quite resembled those of a member of the Xie family, which was a thorn in Xie Mingzhu's side.

Although her parents and brother doted on her to the extreme, which temporarily suppressed this thorn, it sprang up again like bamboo shoots after a spring rain when Xie Xing appeared.

From then on, it grew stronger and stronger, and often pricked her.

Even within the Xie family, Xie Xing was the one who was ignored.

Can……

Xie Mingzhu bit her lip. It was clearly hers, so why did Xie Xing have to appear and take it away?

“Mingzhu?” Princess De’an noticed that Xie Mingzhu beside her was acting strangely and asked her.

Xie Mingzhu snapped out of her daze and smiled at Princess De'an, "It's nothing, Princess. I saw my sister."

"That country bumpkin?" Princess De'an's face instantly turned to disgust.

She had a fiery temper and considered Xie Mingzhu her best friend. Because of Xie Mingzhu, she hated the new daughter that the general's mansion had taken in.

Xie Mingzhu smiled bitterly: "Princess, please don't say that. In the end, I am the one who took her identity. It is only right that my brothers pay more attention to her."

"It's just that I feel a little uncomfortable." As she spoke, Xie Mingzhu looked up, her watery eyes filled with mist, making her look extremely pitiful: "I'll get used to it."

Princess De'an felt the pain in her heart, but how could she bear to see Xie Mingzhu looking so dejected?

Her expression immediately changed slightly. She drew a whip from her waist and said coldly, "What do you mean by real daughter or fake daughter? In my eyes, you are the only daughter of the General of the State."

"With me, the princess, here, let's see who can bully you now?"

The whip cracked loudly on the ground.

Princess De'an comforted Xie Mingzhu, saying, "I'll go and help you settle the accounts."

Xie Mingzhu hurriedly said, "Princess, there's no need for you to stand up for me."

After speaking, she lowered her eyes and said casually, "Today I took my sister horseback riding. The horse got spooked for some reason. Fortunately, Prince Jin saved my sister, otherwise who knows what would have happened."

"I feel really bad about it."

“Brother Jin?” Princess De’an grasped the key point.

Xie Mingzhu nodded, "Yes, when I arrived, my sister was being held by Prince Jin."

“My sister is so lucky. Everyone in the capital knows that Prince Jin is not interested in women and never lets any woman near him, but today you are being held by Prince Jin as if you were a precious treasure.”

As she said this, Xie Mingzhu bit her lip, a trace of resentment flashing through her heart.

Even she had never had any interaction with Prince Jin.

"What?!" Princess De'an's face changed drastically. She gritted her teeth, "That vixen dared to seduce my brother Jin! I'll teach her a lesson!"

As she spoke, she raised her long whip and rushed towards Xie Xing.

Xie Xing was still worrying about how to lure Xie Mingzhu to the rear cabin when he turned around and was met with a whip.

The unexpected lash left Xie Xing with only time to cover his face with his hands.

"Snapped!"

The long whip lashed hard across Xie Xing's bandaged wrist, causing her delicate and beautiful face to turn pale instantly from the pain.

Her almond-shaped eyes instantly welled up with misty tears.

it hurts!

Xie Xing's hands were trembling with pain, and his whole body was shaking.

If that merciless whip had landed squarely on Xie Xing's face, it would have disfigured him instantly.

"Host!" A worried voice from the system echoed in my mind.

Princess De'an's whip strike instantly drew the attention of everyone around, and all eyes turned to them.