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

Xie Xing's face was covered by Jun Lanjin. He blinked innocently and said, "Your Highness, I didn't do anything. I just have something I want to ask you."

Jun Lanjin breathed a sigh of relief and then moved a little away from Xie Xingxuan.

He leaned back and said, "Go ahead and ask."

Lying on the ground, Hua An felt as if he were sitting on pins and needles, as if he had thorns in his back.

He shouldn't be lying here; he should be lying underground.

Just as Xie Xing was about to speak, Hua An got up from the ground and respectfully said to Jun Lanjin, "Your Highness, I'll go out first."

As Hua An spoke, he walked out of the pavilion before Jun Lanjin could reply, stood by the railing outside, and walked a little further away.

Only Xie Xing and Jun Lanjin remained in the entire attic.

The two looked at each other.

Jun Lanjin touched his nose and said, "Go ahead and say it."

Xie Xing had just thought of a question on the spur of the moment and wanted to ask it, but now she was interrupted by the two of them one after another, and even she was stunned for a moment, blinking and not knowing what to say for a long time.

So he spread his hands and said, "Your Highness, I forgot."

Jun Lanjin: "..."

He rolled his eyes at Xie Xing and called out loudly, "Hua An, come in."

Hua An's voice came from outside: "Your Highness, I will keep watch outside for you and will not come in."

Upon hearing this, Xie Xing couldn't help but remark, "Hua An is quite sensible."

Jun Lan remained silent.

He lay back down, placed his hands neatly in front of him, and closed his eyes, intending to go to sleep.

Xie Xing's voice suddenly rang out beside him: "Your Highness, you studied outside the manor since you were a child. What did you learn?"

Jun Lanjin: "..."

He opened his eyes, a hint of helplessness showing in his dark pupils.

He turned to Xie Xing and asked, "Are you curious about my affairs?"

Xie Xing blinked, rested her chin on her hands, and looked at Jun Lanjin with a smile, "Since Your Highness has already decided to marry me as your princess, isn't it only right that I get to know you a little?"

Jun Lanjin rubbed his forehead and said, "You seem to have a lot of energy. Aren't you afraid you'll never get out?"

Xie Xing said, "Whether we can leave or not depends entirely on Your Highness. I believe Your Highness will not stay in this Star-Picking Tower forever."

"Oh?" Jun Lanjin turned his head with a half-smile. "Even I don't know, so why are you so sure?"

"This Star-Picking Tower is so tall that it reaches deep into the clouds. Even if I had extraordinary abilities, it would be difficult for me to escape from this tower. Unless Your Majesty has any intention of letting me out, I will have to spend the rest of my life in this tower."

Jun Lanjin's words were merely meant to scare Xie Xing.

But Xie Xing wasn't scared.

She won't stay here forever, and neither will Jun Lanjin.

However, she still smiled and said, "I'll stay in this pavilion for the rest of my life, anyway, I'm just here to keep the prince company."

"With a beautiful woman by my side, this life is enough."

Jun Lanjin: "..."

He was speechless, raised his hand and tapped Xie Xing on the forehead, saying, "A liar's mouth."

“And…” Jun Lanjin approached Xie Xing, his dark eyes fixed on Xie Xing, and said slowly, “When you share a room with a man, the one who gets eaten will never be the man.”

Why do you feel no fear towards me?

Jun Lanjin was somewhat helpless.

Is Xie Xing just too carefree, or does she not see him as a man?

Aren't you even a little bit afraid?

Xie Xing's head was poked by Jun Lanjin's hand, causing her to fall backward, but she was bounced back. She laughed and said, "I believe that Your Highness is not that kind of person, so I am not afraid."

"Aren't you afraid?" Jun Lanjin chuckled lightly.

The smile on his face faded, and his dark eyes gradually deepened, giving off a sense of oppression.

"You're so naive."

"Just because of the little kindness I've shown you?"

"There's no such thing as a free lunch. Aren't you afraid that everything I've done for you is just because you have something I want? My relationship with you is nothing more than a charade?"

Jun Lanjin stared intently into Xie Xing's eyes.

Xie Xing was stunned.

The smile on her face faded.

Seeing her like this, Jun Lanjin assumed she had calmed down and composed himself, preparing to lie back down to sleep, when Xie Xing's slightly puzzled voice came from beside him:

"In terms of status and appearance, Xie Xing is far inferior to the prince. In terms of power and cunning, Xie Xing is insignificant in front of the prince. The only thing that can be used to exploit Xie Xing's identity is that of the young lady of the Zhenguo General's Mansion."

“Even without me, Your Highness can still get the Xie family father and brothers to do things for you.”

"The value of a woman in this era is nothing more than marriage."

With that, Xie Xing smiled shyly: "But Your Highness, given the current situation in the court, using me for a marriage alliance will no longer be of any use."

Xie Xing tilted his head: "So, what else do I have that the prince can take advantage of?"

"Could it be that the prince is after me for who I am?"

"That would be even better." Xie Xing moved closer to Jun Lanjin and took his hand. "Your Highness is first-rate in both appearance and power, and you have no other women around you. It would be an honor for Xie Xing to be the one to be desired by Your Highness."

"Your Highness need not feel guilty."

Jun Lanjin: "..."

He was silent.

Although Xie Xing's words were not wrong, all he wanted was Xie Xing himself.

Of course, it's not about her other uses, but rather the uses of Xie Xing as a person.

In his youth, he traveled all over the beautiful land and witnessed all the joys and sorrows of life.

Jun Lanjin began to find the world incredibly boring, as if everyone was predetermined, forever unchanged.

He carried the honor and disgrace of his family on his shoulders, held all the power in his hands, and even the emperor was extremely wary of him.

He thought his life would just pass by in this boring way, but he never expected to hear Xie Xing's inner thoughts and discover some things that he was unaware of.

I originally thought he had everything under control, but that wasn't the case.

So Jun Lanjin began to notice Xie Xing.

At first, I was curious about what kind of story she was talking about, but in the end, I became interested in the world she described.

What kind of world is that?

However, she then noticed Xie Xing.

She has a keen intuition and perception, sometimes to the point of being ridiculously silly, and her clueless and groping way of figuring things out is quite amusing.

Compared to other women from prominent families, she was not rigid, not particularly intelligent, not particularly kind, and somewhat selfish, but none of these qualities were pure.

Impure kindness, impure selfishness.

It was this very person who made Jun Lanjin feel alive.

How can one person have so many characteristics?

It was full of flaws and shortcomings, but Jun Lanjin felt it was real.

For some reason, he felt that this was how people should be.