14
After All, We’re Just Nominally Married
If Xiao Heng hadn’t heard Lin Qingran’s inner thoughts, he would have genuinely believed she didn’t know how to care for others.
Now it was clear—this girl was deliberately pretending. All those previous displays of deep affection were likely heavily diluted with falsehoods. He never expected even he would be deceived by her.
“Rest well, Ranran,” Xiao Heng said softly.
Lin Qingran smiled. “Crown Prince gege, there’s no need to worry about me. Taking care of you is my greatest joy. I know I have many shortcomings, but I’ll learn quickly and take good care of you in the future.”
[Speaking of which, that dog man and I are getting married in about three months. Is this really set in stone?]
[Getting married at this age—ugh, how annoying! But it’s fine anyway. After all, we’re only married in name. With that dog man’s temperament, he’d never fancy someone like me.]
[If that dog man really dies, none of the later events would happen. Then I could, hehehe… Should I take matters into my own hands?]
Hearing this, Xiao Heng decided he couldn’t let Lin Qingran continue her train of thought, or who knew what underhanded tricks she might come up with to deal with him.
In truth, Xiao Heng was overthinking it. Lin Qingran was merely entertaining these thoughts internally and would never actually act on them.
“Ranran, actually—” Xiao Heng hesitated, then decided it was unnecessary to say more.
Just then, Yuanbao entered the hall, interrupting Xiao Heng before he could finish.
“Your humble servant greets Your Highness,” Yuanbao said with a cheerful smile as he bowed. “Your Highness, the Young Marquis has arrived.”
“Mm,” Xiao Heng nodded.
Having served Xiao Heng since childhood, Yuanbao immediately understood that this meant Mu Feng should be admitted. He withdrew to invite Mu Feng inside.
Lin Qingran gave a slight curtsy. “Crown Prince gege, you must have important matters to discuss with the Young Marquis. I shall take my leave first.”
Unexpectedly, Xiao Heng refused her request to depart. “There’s no need. You may stay.”
[What? That dog man actually wants me to stay?]
[This isn’t right. I’ve never had such an honor before. According to the usual pattern, shouldn’t he be eager for me to leave? Heaven knows I don’t want to hear any of this—isn’t living well enough? Does knowing more mean I’m not dying fast enough?]
Lin Qingran’s mind raced with doubt and unease. She had no desire to learn more; knowing too much was never a good thing, especially in the Eastern Palace, where secrets were often discussed.
“Is this really appropriate?” Lin Qingran resisted strongly.
Xiao Heng smiled without replying, but his eyes held an unyielding insistence. Lin Qingran immediately fell silent, realizing resistance was futile. Just then, Mu Feng walked in with a smile.
“What isn’t appropriate?” Mu Feng asked, then added, “Your Highness, are you feeling better today? And Miss Lin is here too?”
“Quite well,” Xiao Heng replied tersely.
Lin Qingran flashed her signature smile, revealing eight pearly white teeth that looked utterly charming. “Yes, I’m here to take care of Crown Prince gege.”
Seeing that Xiao Heng had no intention of sending Lin Qingran away, Mu Feng understood he meant for her to stay and didn’t waste time on pleasantries.
There were indeed some matters to report to Xiao Heng today, though nothing of great importance.
“Your Highness, Liang Peng, the official from Dali Temple, will soon celebrate his birthday. I’m afraid we’ll have to make an appearance then. Liang Peng is somewhat capable and has just joined Dali Temple. My thought is to try and win him over. What does Your Highness think?”
Mu Feng’s status was quite special, and his relationship with Xiao Heng was very close, which was why he referred to himself as “I” in front of Xiao Heng.
[Liang Peng, Official Liang? Why does that name sound so familiar?]
Xiao Heng was about to respond when he heard Lin Qingran’s voice and immediately stopped, wanting to know how she would assess this person.
The tone of her words seemed somewhat off.
Mu Feng was also taken aback, as if he hadn’t expected Lin Qingran to know of Liang Peng. But then, considering Grand Tutor Lin’s status and position, it didn’t seem so surprising after all.
[Ahhh, I remember now! This Liang Peng is about to crash and burn! He’s the first official under that scoundrel to fall from grace. Yes, it seems right after joining Dali Temple, he was recruited by that scoundrel, but he crashed in less than half a month.]
[And he was also involved with another official, and it had something to do with his own wife. In the end, he even offended the male lead, making that big pig trotter angry at the scoundrel for having such a person under his command.]
[Thinking about it, it seems Official Liang’s scandal is quite big. Otherwise, that big pig trotter wouldn’t have been so furious.]
Mu Feng was stunned. What had he just heard?
Who did “scoundrel” and “big pig trotter” refer to?
Though he had some guesses, Mu Feng didn’t dare confirm them, as these terms were utterly irreverent.
And what did Lin Qingran mean? Did she know some secrets about Liang Peng?
But His Highness showed no reaction—he must not be able to hear Lin Qingran’s voice. So, he absolutely must not ask further. The only question was, how did Lin Qingran know about future events? Did she dream about them?
Xiao Heng, on the other hand, appeared quite composed. Since he had verified that Lin Qingran’s words were true, he could now calmly accept her shocking remarks and her knowledge of future events.
“There’s no need to concern ourselves with Dali Temple for now. I have other plans,” Xiao Heng said.
Mu Feng had been worried about whether he should retract his suggestion about Liang Peng. Hearing Xiao Heng say he had other plans was a relief.
“Very well. I’ll investigate Dali Temple further,” Mu Feng thought for a moment and added, “How about arranging for someone suitable to test him directly? We can try money, women, power, threats, and incentives. If none of these sway him, we can keep him under observation for a while longer before deciding. It’s best to analyze each person’s character individually and then tailor our approach to see if they take the bait.”
“Reasonable and feasible,” Xiao Heng nodded.
We can apply this method to others we wish to recruit as well. The key is to understand them thoroughly and not rush.
Although Xiao Heng was now the Crown Prince, there were princes who coveted the throne, and not all of them were content with their lot.
Thus, he had to cultivate his own influence and secure loyal talents within the court.
Lin Qingran was dumbfounded. Was this really something she should be hearing?
[How… how does Young Master Qingfeng have such a dark side? It’s quite intriguing, a bit interesting. Too bad he fell for the same woman as that scoundrel and didn’t end up well in the end.]
“From the looks of it, aside from the male lead, these people don’t seem to have good endings. By the way, I haven’t seen the female lead yet—wonder when I’ll get to see my darling girl.”
Xiao Heng and Mu Feng simultaneously turned their gazes toward Lin Qingran, their eyes devoid of any discernible emotion, perfectly concealed.
“Why are you looking at me?”