CHAPTER 12

No matter how calm Song Yuanzhi was, she realized at this moment that Prince Ning should have been in Tiangong Workshop just now.

In other words, the chaos at Tiangong Workshop just now was directed at Prince Ning.

However, is the relationship between the Zhenbei Marquisate and Prince Ning so good? Can the Marquisate’s secret guards also protect Prince Ning? What about the Empress’s resentment towards Prince Ning?

Song Yuanzhi’s head was immediately filled with question marks. She looked at Prince Ning and then at the elder brother, who had saved her several times. For some reason, she suddenly had a sudden thought and asked Yu Zhi, “Does this count as… discovering your secret? You won’t kill me, will you?”

A helpless look flashed across the young man’s face, but a smile emerged on his face that he himself had not noticed. He casually threw his sword to Song Yuanzhi, folded his arms, and leaned back comfortably. He raised his long eyebrows and teased Song Yuanzhi with a smile, “I’ve given you all the weapons. Now only you can kill me.”

Prince Ning looked at the young man in shock, then looked at Song Yuanzhi, who was holding the young man’s sword. An unfathomable smile instantly appeared on his face, and he cast a meaningful look at the young man.

The boy narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression was fierce, and he even carried a hint of murderous intent. Song Yuanzhi looked over alertly but only saw the boy lazily leaning against the window and almost thought that the murderous intent she had just felt was her own illusion.

Only Prince Ning touched his nose secretly, sighed at the young man, and smiled knowingly.

When he looked at Song Yuanzhi again, Prince Ning’s eyes were more inquiring.

Song Yuanzhi was curious. “Your Majesty, is there something dirty on my face?”

Prince Ning faced the young man’s murderous gaze and calmly answered Song Yuanzhi, “I was just thinking that we will be a family in the future, and I was curious about what Ah-ji’s future wife would look like.”

Song Yuanzhi was even more confused. “A family?”

Prince Ning coughed lightly, secretly cursing himself for his gaffe, and explained in a gentle voice: “Ah-ji and I grew up together and are as close as brothers. Since you are Ah-ji’s wife, you are naturally a family member.”

Song Yuanzhi thought that Lu Shaoyou was quite popular. From Emperor Yongkang to the Empress and Prince Ning, they all took great care of him and even benefited her after his death.

She didn’t know what that person was like when he was alive.

However, Song Yuanzhi was quite cautious about making friends with the prince. She didn’t want to be dragged into the vortex of power struggle and drag Madam Qin into it. She wanted to counter the plot. It was one thing to stop Prince Wu from ascending to the throne, and it was another to make friends with Prince Ning. This was not a multiple-choice question. Even if she wanted to seize power, she should clearly fight for a position as the chess player instead of being used as a chess piece and a tool for others to seize power.

Therefore, when facing Prince Ning, Song Yuanzhi was naturally a little more cautious. She did not comment on Prince Ning’s obviously good words but just thanked him lightly, “Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. Madam Qin cares about me very much; I am very grateful.”

Prince Ning’s face twitched for a moment, as if he wanted to laugh, but he held it back. His face twisted for a moment. Seeing this, Song Yuanzhi couldn’t help but feel disgusted. This prince was really unrefined. Look at what he had done to his handsome face. It was because there was no technology for taking photos and screenshots these days; otherwise, he would have become an emoticon in a matter of minutes.

What made Song Yuanzhi even more confused was that brother Yuzhi’s expression was also strange, as if he had heard something funny and was trying hard to hold back his laughter.

She always felt like there was some secret between the two of them that they were deliberately hiding from her.

This feeling is subtle but difficult to express in words.

Song Yuanzhi thought about it again and again, but still couldn’t suppress her curiosity. She opened her eyes wide and asked Brother Yuzhi, “Did I make a fool of myself just now? What’s so funny?”

“No, the young lady is fine!” Before Yu Zhi could speak, Prince Ning answered first, but he shrugged while speaking. After a long while, he couldn’t help laughing. His shoulders shrugged, and the whole room was filled with his laughter. “The young lady is very smart. I admire you. Hahahahahaha…”

This tone doesn’t sound like admiration for others. Song Yuanzhi frowned, pointed at the tip of her nose, and asked Brother Yuzhi, “Do I have a face that is particularly easy to deceive?”

“Puchi——” As soon as these words came out, big brother Yuzhi couldn’t help laughing. Prince Ning’s laughter became even more rampant, and he collapsed on the chair and kept slapping the table.

Song Yuanzhi was even more confused. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No…no!” Prince Ning almost fainted from laughing. He glanced at Brother Yu Zhi jokingly, then tried to put away the smile on his face and said to Song Yuanzhi seriously, “Young lady, you are so straightforward and honest. No wonder Madam Qin praised you so much.”

Song Yuanzhi had a hunch that this guy was speaking in a sarcastic way, but she had no evidence, so she could only perfunctorily say, “Thank you, Your Majesty, for your compliment.”

Yu Zhi glared at Prince Ning when he saw this and then explained to Song Yuanzhi, “We just escaped death, and it’s normal for us to be a little emotional. I did disturb the young lady.”

Song Yuanzhi was particularly good at grasping the key points this time: “You escaped death? You didn’t serve as my secret guard today, but went to protect Prince Ning.”

The young man was startled, and Prince Ning continued to pound the table and laugh.

Song Yuanzhi then realized that she had misunderstood. She touched her nose awkwardly and laughed dryly, “So I misunderstood. No wonder you guys were laughing the whole time.”

They actually got in touch! Prince Ning continued to pound the table; what a talent!

The smile on the boy’s face grew bigger and bigger, which made Song Yuanzhi depressed. “Laugh if you want to.”

As soon as she said this, the young man stopped smiling and secretly flicked a bean at Prince Ning’s back. Prince Ning jumped up in pain and glared at the young man. After meeting the young man’s dangerous eyes, Prince Ning finally calmed down and bowed to Song Yuanzhi and said, “I was rude to you just now. I’m sorry for offending you.”

Song Yuanzhi shook her head, thinking that this idiot prince was quite miserable, being hunted down in broad daylight. His danger level was five stars. She was too lazy to bother with him about him making fun of her just now.

However, thinking about the pursuit just now… Song Yuanzhi wanted to ask about the details but was worried that she would be implicated if she knew too much. After struggling for a while, she decided to be cautious and ask the brother alone next time.

So, Song Yuanzhi slapped her forehead and said, “Oh, my maid didn’t catch up. I have to go find her!”

“Your maid ran faster than anyone else. She has no intention of protecting her master, and you still care about her.” Prince Ning curled his lips, not hiding his disdain for Hongshao. He was still in the mood to remind Song Yuanzhi, “That maid is not loyal. You should be more careful.”

Song Yuanzhi nodded. “Thank you for your reminder, Your Highness. I will pay attention to it. However, it would be a pity if she lost her life because she came out with me.”

The young man stood by and listened for a long time before he spoke: “There is a murder case in Tiangong Workshop, and it involves Prince Ning. There is unrest outside, so you should go back home first. As for that maid, with her cleverness, she might go back earlier than you.”

That’s true.

Song Yuanzhi just wanted to find an excuse to leave. After hearing Yu Zhi’s words, Song Yuanzhi immediately stood up and said that she wanted to go back home.

The young man clapped his hands slightly, and four more people appeared behind Song Yuanzhi. They were of the same height and build and seemed to have no presence.

The young man looked at Song Yuanzhi steadily and comforted her in a gentle voice, “These guards will secretly escort you back home; you don’t have to worry.”

Song Yuanzhi knew that the young man and Prince Ning still had important matters to discuss, so she nodded without hesitation, “Thank you very much!”

After Song Yuanzhi left, Prince Ning continued to laugh and slumped in his chair, teasing the boy, “I didn’t even know when you changed your name to Ah-zhi.”

The young man’s eyebrows flew up. “Zhi and Ji both mean the rain has stopped. I am not lying.”