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

The next day.

Zhenxiu Pavilion.

Xie Xing was wearing a pink dress, and the pink hairpin and jade pendant in her hair swayed gently with her movements. She was lying on the table, her fingers wet, and she was drawing circles on the table.

"Xing'er." Song Qingyang sat opposite her and, seeing her like this, couldn't help but ask, "Is something on your mind?"

Xie Xing sighed deeply.

[It's not just something on my mind, it's a major issue!]

Song Qingyang, who heard her thoughts, was speechless.

Song Qingyang remained calm: "If there's anything you need, you can talk to your older brother. Perhaps he can help you?"

The palace examination is in a few days, and Song Qingyang wants to see Xie Xing one last time before it begins.

The court has been unstable lately, and Song Qingyang is worried about Xie Xing's safety.

Xie Mingzhu's identity, in particular, is a ticking time bomb.

The General's Mansion is such a troublesome place.

If I had known this would happen, I would have been better off not returning to this general's mansion.

Xie Xing's eyes darted around in their sockets.

If I hadn't had the chance to meet Jun Lanjin, I certainly wouldn't be seeing him now.

Perhaps my brother has a solution?

How can I reasonably tell my older brother that I want to see Jun Lanjin?

Why is it Jun Lanjin again?

Song Qingyang frowned slightly.

Although Prince Jin is of good character, he is absolutely not suitable for Xing'er.

Song Qingyang lowered his head and took a sip of tea, pretending not to hear these thoughts.

Xie Xing on the other side was also at her wit's end. Just as she was about to speak, a scream suddenly came from the other side.

Xie Xing turned his head and saw Jun Lanjin on the first floor below, wearing a purple gauze robe. He was accompanied by several people, who seemed to be young officials in official robes.

Even with a large crowd below, Jun Lanjin could still be spotted at a glance.

The reason is simple: they're on a completely different level from everyone else.

He stood downstairs, tall and elegant, his black hair tied up high, giving him a youthful and spirited air. His peach blossom eyes were always slightly curved, and he gently tapped his palm with a jade fan, as if listening to someone beside him, rather than facing Xie Xing directly.

Seemingly sensing something, Jun Lanjin on the first floor looked up and happened to see Xie Xing sitting on the second floor.

Eyes facing each other.

Jun Lanjin smiled at her, then looked away.

Xie Xing's eyes lit up.

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear!

She suddenly stood up from her seat and was about to go over when Song Qingyang grabbed her wrist.

"Xing'er!"

Song Qingyang looked at Xie Xing with a serious expression and said, "You can't go over there."

“The people accompanying Prince Jin are all important officials of the court. They must have important business to attend to here.”

When Prince Jin arrived at the Treasure Pavilion, although the crowd below was somewhat alarmed, no one dared to approach.

Xie Xing naturally knew.

But she wasn't trying to get close to Prince Jin; she just wanted to know which room he had gone to, and whether she could even sit there for a bit.

Seeing that she still had ulterior motives, Song Qingyang said, "This matter is of great importance. It is not appropriate to eat here today. Let's go."

Those officials were all important advisors to Jun Lanjin.

As Jun Lanjin's advisor, Song Qingyang naturally knew that the Southern Kingdom's envoy had colluded with the Chu Kingdom's traitors to steal the defense map some time ago.

The matter has been investigated, and now the only thing that needs to be resolved is to bring that traitor to justice.

The matter is simple in theory but extremely dangerous, and Song Qingyang doesn't want Xie Xing to get involved.

there--

Jun Lanjin and his entourage had already made their way up to the second floor.

As they walked, they had already passed Xie Xing.

Jun Lanjin happened to pass by Xie Xing. His purple robe brushed against the hem of Xie Xing's clothes, and Xie Xing could even smell the medicinal fragrance emanating from him.

Her gaze followed Jun Lanjin's profile and landed on his waist.

It was also adorned with the small bouquet that Xie Xing had made last time.

【Hmm? She's still wearing that little flower?】

Xie Xing raised an eyebrow.

Song Qingyang glanced around a few times, seemingly puzzled.

What little flower?

Where did these little flowers come from?

Jun Lanjin paused, glancing down at the flowers on his clothes.

I've gotten used to wearing this flower, so I forgot to throw it away.

He raised his hand, about to remove the flower from his waist, when the system's voice came:

【Huh? These people look so familiar.】

[Is Jun Lanjin going to discuss the matter of traitors with these people?]

Xie Xing looked up at the officials surrounding Jun Lanjin and replied to the system: [It seems so. My brother said these are all high-ranking officials who died in the imperial court.]

"Ah, that's a pity." The system sighed.

Xie Xing asked: "What's a pity?"

[Actually, in the story, Jun Lanjin did everything quite well, except he never expected that there would be a traitor among the court officials he trusted.]

[Traitor?!] Xie Xing exclaimed in surprise.

Yes, it's the younger-looking one to Jun Lanjin's left.

Xie Xing subconsciously followed the system's voice and looked toward the young man in official robes.

The man looked to be no more than twenty or thirty years old, dressed in a blue official robe, exuding righteousness. He walked beside Jun Lanjin with a calm and composed expression on his face.

What's wrong with him?

[He had already been bribed. It all comes down to Jun Lanjin's mother; she was an informant planted by the old princess next to Jun Lanjin.]

[It was also during this incident that he revealed the matter to Jun Lanjin's mother, causing the news to leak out. In the end, nothing was found, and the defense map was lost.]

Xie Xing exclaimed in surprise: "The defense deployment map should already be with the old princess, right?"

She always thought the masked man was from the old princess's side.

The masked man stole the defense map; he should have given it to the old princess long ago.

War was still unavoidable.

The system replied: "Yes, so this time, the villains are probably in for an even worse time."

Xie Xing didn't understand: "Did his mother also betray her country?"

Why did you always want Jun Lanjin dead, and then do all these things?

The system said: "These events are also explained in the plot; they concern the loves and hates of the previous generation."

Jun Lanjin's mother was originally a stunning beauty, favored by the emperors of four kingdoms, but her favorite was the emperor of the Southern Kingdom.

[There's a lot of melodramatic stuff in the middle, but in the end, the old queen who fell in love with the emperor of the Southern Kingdom, became pregnant with the Chu emperor's child, and married the head of the Jun family.]

Xie Xing: "..."

Jun Lanjin: "..."

Song Qingyang: "..."

Even though I was mentally prepared, I was still completely stunned by the system's words.

"Your Highness?" The official beside him couldn't help but turn to look at Jun Lanjin when he didn't move.

Jun Lanjin remained expressionless and said, "I suddenly saw an old friend. I'll be right back. You may go ahead."

The officials naturally noticed Xie Xing standing there as well.

It was no secret that Jun Lanjin had spoken up for Xie Xing in the Emperor's study some time ago. The official knew this and did not suspect anything, but he just glanced at Xie Xing a few more times.

I don't know what it is about this person that makes Jun Lanjin treat him with special regard.

Xie Xing was still in shock and hadn't recovered. [So, this is why the old princess wanted to kill Jun Lanjin?]