Chapter 57: Diary and Essays

A flicker of coldness crossed Zhiyiyuan's eyes before they returned to a state of calm. "Whose rumors is Your Highness repeating?"

"Whose rumors they are doesn't matter. What matters is..."

Jiangnian stared into her eyes, a playful glint in his own. "Are these truly rumors? Or... is there no smoke without fire?"

"Rumors."

Zhiyi lowered her gaze, her fair, delicate face tinged with a few threads of coldness. "There is no blood relation whatsoever between this humble servant and the Prince. I am not the so-called illegitimate daughter of the Prince!"

"Whoever brought this rumor to Your Highness intended to mislead you and disrupt the peace within the Prince's Estate!"

"Their intentions are punishable by death!"

Zhiyi wore a stern expression, her tone icy and heavy with a dense intent to kill.

Jiangnian watched her eyes, as if trying to read something from them. However, her bright yet completely tranquil eyes revealed nothing at all.

He withdrew his gaze and continued, "This Heir is also somewhat curious. If you truly are not my father's illegitimate daughter, then how is it that..."

"My father trusts you so deeply?"

This maid held an extremely high status and immense power within the Prince's Estate.

Although the estate had a steward, the steward's presence was negligible. While the entire estate operated in an orderly fashion, Jiangnian had felt ever since his arrival that everyone in the household treated her with a measure of awe and reverence.

Was she truly just a maid?

If she had no blood ties or familial connections to the Prince of Lin, why would he trust and rely on her so completely?

Zhiyi's eyes remained icy as she fell silent for a moment. After quietly watching Jiangnian for a while, she lowered her gaze and said, "This humble servant is a bondmaid of the Prince's Estate, and Your Highness's personal attendant."

"Just because of that?"

Zhiyi offered no further explanation. Raising her eyes to look into the distance, she said calmly, "Your Highness need not worry about such matters. This humble servant..."

Seeming to recall something, her eyes remained unperturbed.

"This humble servant will never betray the Prince's Estate."

"..."

Jiangnian watched her quietly for a long time before finally retracting his gaze.

"Very well."

"This Heir is a bit hungry. I'm going to dine."

With that, Jiangnian turned and left.

This time, Zhiyi remained where she was, not following him.

She stared quietly at Jiangnian's retreating figure, remaining silent. Yet, perhaps thinking of something, her eyes gradually grew slightly cold.

Nighttime in the Prince's Estate offered few recreational activities. As the Heir of the Prince of Lin, Jiangnian either went out to the streets to stroll with his pet bird and bully innocent women, or stayed home to flirt with the estate's maids.

However, Jiangnian had no interest in any of that today.

After having his meal and taking a bath, Jiangnian dismissed the maids and attendants, returning to his room alone.

Seated at the table, Jiangnian narrowed his eyes, contemplating everything that had happened today.

Zhiyi's earlier reaction indicated that Jiangnian's guess was not wrong... She was indeed far from simple.

Zhiyi's identity was by no means just that of a maid in the Prince's Estate!

On the seventh floor of the Ruyi Tower, in the chambers of the late Princess of Lin, Jiangnian had found a journal among the items on the table.

It was like a diary!

A personal journal kept by the late Princess of Lin.

The late Princess seemed to have a habit of recording her daily thoughts and moods, jotting down various matters from time to time. When Jiangnian had skimmed through it, he happened to catch references to Zhiyi written in its pages.

Legend had it that Zhiyi was an orphan adopted back then by the Princess of Lin, a fact that Zhiyi herself had acknowledged and confirmed. Yet, judging from the Princess's journal, things did not seem nearly that simple.

At the very least...

The Princess of Lin was well aware of Zhiyi's true background.

In fact, the tone of the Princess's entries was even one of astonishment and surprise!

"It is a pity that Zhiyi lost her mother the moment she was born, truly a pitiful child..."

That was the only sentence recorded at the end of the journal entry.

Yet, that single sentence carried a wealth of hidden meaning and interpretation.

Therefore, when outside the Ruyi Tower, Jiangnian had recalled the rumors circulating within the estate regarding Zhiyi being the Prince's illegitimate daughter and decided to test her.

Although Zhiyi had denied it, her reaction clearly showed that she knew something.

A moment later, Jiangnian let out a soft sigh.

Zhiyi's background was far too mysterious. He could neither read her nor see through her, making it naturally difficult to get any leverage over her!

Dealing with a woman like this was immensely difficult.

Could it be... drugging her?

Jiangnian inexplicably thought of the aphrodisiac given to him by the woman in red... Upon closer reflection, might that wicked idea actually work?

Just at that moment, a faint, delicate fragrance drifted past, and a familiar figure appeared in Jiangnian's field of vision.

"Did you get the Xuanyang Mental Technique?"

The woman in red sat down and immediately cut straight to the point.

Jiangnian raised his eyes to look at the woman before him. Today, she had finally changed her attire.

The style of her dress was different, but the color remained unchanged. It was still blazing red, passionate and vibrant.

Her beautiful eyes carried a trace of a smile, as if she were in a good mood, and she sized Jiangnian up with a hint of curiosity.

"No."

Jiangnian let out a soft sigh.

"No?"

The woman in red raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. "The Xuanyang Mental Technique isn't inside the Ruyi Tower?"

"That's right!"

Jiangnian sighed. "I searched the entire Ruyi Tower today and couldn't find the Xuanyang Mental Technique anywhere... It looks like it's probably not in the tower."

"That shouldn't be the case, right?"

Doubt flickered in the woman's beautiful eyes as she fell into deep thought. "If the Xuanyang Mental Technique isn't kept in the Ruyi Tower, where else could it be? Could Lin Hengzhong be carrying it on his person? Unlikely..."

The woman frowned slightly, as if thinking of something, and looked up at Jiangnian. "Could it be that he entrusted the Xuanyang Mental Technique to Zhiyi for safekeeping?"

"Who knows?"

Jiangnian shook his head. "Anyway, I didn't find it."

"If it's not in the Ruyi Tower, then the highest probability is that it's with Zhiyi."

The woman in red narrowed her eyes slightly and glanced at Jiangnian. "You can think of a way to get it from her."

"How do I get it?"

"You're the Heir of the Prince of Lin. Can't you just ask her for it directly?"

"I'm a fake."

"You are the real one now."

The woman in red scrutinized Jiangnian, gently shaking her head. "The real heir has already vanished from this world, which means..."

"You are the real one!"

Her gaze was burning, evidently extremely pleased with her own brilliant scheme of substituting the crown prince with a civet cat.

Jiangnian fell silent, speaking only after a long pause. "Well then, shall I give it a try?"

"If you want to practice martial arts, obtaining the Xuanyang Mental Technique is your only path."

The woman glanced at him. "You've already missed the prime age for starting martial arts, and only the Xuanyang Mental Technique can save you."

"Does the Xuanyang Mental Technique truly possess such miraculous effects?"

"Naturally."

The woman in red nodded slightly, sighing, "Lin Hengzhong only began practicing martial arts at around your age. Back then, everyone thought he wouldn't achieve much, but who could have imagined..."

"In less than ten years, he leaped from a late-blooming martial artist at the age of maturity to a First-Rank Grandmaster, renowned across the realm!"

"The world has always rumored that the Xuanyang Mental Technique has the ability to reshape one's bones and tendons. It is precisely because of this that the technique ranks among the supreme top-tier martial arts manuals of the pugilistic world..."

Jiangnian's expression remained unchanged as he nodded thoughtfully.

A supreme top-tier martial arts manual?

Capable of reshaping bones and tendons?

A First-Rank Grandmaster?

What a fantastic treasure!