Chapter 46

In that case, from whom guard Zhan following his orders? This question caused Tang Kexin to tremble with fear.

"Tang Kexin! Enough already. Let's go back now." Seeing that she had gotten so close to him and couldn't bear to continue watching, Ye Lanchen directly pulled her back, dragging her away.

"What are you doing?" When the empress who just came out from the palace saw this, she frowned slightly. "Chen'er, be careful. You're hurting Xin Xin."

"Hmph, it's better for her to be injured than to let her make a fool of herself." Ye Lanchen glared at Tang Kexin. His expression didn't look so good.

"What's going on?" The empress was puzzled, but she had a faint smile on her face, thinking that it was just the two of them bickering over trivial things.

"Ask her...!" Ye Lanchen obviously didn't want to say it out loud, or maybe he was too embarrassed to say it out loud.

The empress turned her eyes to look at Tang Kexin.

The corner of Tang Kexin's mouth moved. She wanted to say something, but stopped herself.

Right now, she did not have any evidence to prove that the incident yesterday and the death of the palace maid, Xiao Cui, last night were related to imperial guard Zhan. She could not tell anyone that she had deduced it through reading the guard's micro expression, and even if she had, no one would believe her.

The crime scene yesterday had no loopholes at all, just like Xiao Cui's death inside the prison. Although she was secretly protected by Ye Lanchen's men last night, she was still easily killed unnoticed, so finding an evidence was like finding a needle in a haystack.

Perhaps, it was not imperial guard Zhan who was capable, but the person behind him.

However, if imperial guard Zhan was to continue to stay in the Kuan'An Palace, the Empress would be in danger at any time. It would be a very dangerous situation then. Furthermore, she didn't know who was behind imperial guard Zhan.

Tang Kexin let out a sigh as she thought of how the emperor had chosen the guards for the empress. Suddenly, she felt a churning sensation inside her stomach. What if the person behind guard Zhan was none other than the Emperor?

But he wouldn't, would he? If that was the case, then this matter was too traitorous and too cruel. The emperor was the empress' pillow man after all.

So, the most important thing to do right now was to find out if this matter had anything to do with the Emperor. And to do this, Tang Kexin had thought of a clever idea.

As Tang Kexin's eyes flashed, she then smiled. She said somewhat awkwardly, "I just think that Guard Captain Zhan is very good-looking..." Then she chided at Ye Lanchen, "I went over to say a few words to him...! What was wrong about that? Is there a problem?"

"You—! You just said a few words?! You were clearly flirting in front of him!" At this moment, Ye Lanchen's tone was very harsh, "Moreover, the way you were just now—hmph! Too shameful!"

"Xin'er?" As expected, the empress was stunned as she stared at her, her expression changing slightly. "You?"

"But imperial guard Zhan is so handsome, and his martial arts are powerful. He is truly a perfect man." Tang Kexin blinked, her face full of yearning and worship.

The empress's face grew dark, stiff and anxious.

"Esteemed Aunt Empress..., is Imperial Guard Zhan married?" Tang Kexin looked at the empress and suddenly asked, her expression filled with anticipation.

"Does it have anything to do with you?" Ye Lanchen viciously glared at her.

The empress subconsciously pressed her hand to her heart, as if she couldn't take it anymore. Her face had already completely changed.

"Of course it does! If he isn't yet married, I still have a chance, right?" Seeing the empress' reaction, Tang Kexin knew that she had achieved her goal, but she still added fuel to the fire.

The meaning behind her words was straightforward that the empress was visibly shocked. And the greater her shock was, the smoother the matter would be handled.

Because of her knowledge of psychology, her understanding of a person's mind was thorough.

So, she knew that with the empress' love and care of her, she definitely wouldn't want her to fall in love with a mere guard. Thus, when the empress heard of her words, she would definitely think of ways to remove the guard away and to nip the romantic emotion in the bud before it will fully grown.

Imperial Guard Zhan had been personally selected by the Emperor. If the empress would want to remove him as one of the guards inside the Imperial Palace, she would have to inform the Emperor first. The approval or the rejection of her request would then ascertain the position of the Empress in the heart of the Emperor, in which would determine if the emperor was the person behind imperial guard Zhan.

However, just as she finished speaking, she felt a cold breeze shoot straight at her back. It seemed to instantly freeze her on this scorching summer day. Tang Kexin did not need to turn her head around to knew who was behind her. Such a gaze that could freeze one to death was completely known to the third prince.

But she didn't offend him in anyway today, so why would he be treating her like that so early in the morning?

Was it because of what had happened last night? When she suddenly thought back about it, even though how many hours had already passed, she still felt a little awkward in her heart.

"What chance? What chance do you mean?! You—! You aren't really thinking of wanting to marry him, do you?!" It was obvious that Ye Lanchen did not notice the person behind him, because at this moment, he was completely shocked and was unable to comprehend what Tang Kexin was saying. However, his words added fuel to the agitation and anxiety within the empress' heart.

"But who does Xin Xin want to marry?" A gentle and a handsome voice sounded from behind her, carrying a hint of a smile.

Tang Kexin's eyes flickered. She could naturally tell that this was the the crown prince's voice. But what did the crown prince address her just now?

Xin Xin? Did he know her that well? She was not used to the sudden calling of the Crown Prince.

However, she was the empress' niece, and she should be considered a cousin of the crown prince. So, if he called her such, it was reasonable.

"Oh, the Crown Prince and the Third Prince are here..." The empress heard the crown prince's voice and quickly regained her senses. She kept the shock on her face and forced out a smile. "This little girl is just messing around. There's no need to take note of what she said, Crown Prince."

The corner of Ye Lanchen's lips moved, but in the end, he didn't say anything.

"This son greets the empress." Since the empress had said this, the Crown Prince naturally didn't say anything else. He slowly bowed and looked at Tang Kexin with eyes that seemed to hide something.

"This son pays his respects to the empress." The third prince also bowed with his head slightly lowered. His pupils were slightly contracted and there was no expression on his face, nor was there anything out of the ordinary.

However, Tang Kexin could sense that he was filled with ominous feeling that would cause one to tremble in fear.

Both the crown prince and the third prince sat down for a while and then left.

The Empress, too in a while found an excuse to leave. Although Tang Kexin knew that the empress must had gone to discuss the matter of Imperial Guard Zhan to the emperor.

As a result, she and Ye Lanchen were the only one left in Kuan'An Palace. Although she was so anxious waiting for the result, she didn't let out any hint of her anxiety.

However, she hadn't expected that the third prince, who had just left, would suddenly return.

"Third Brother, why are you back?" Seeing that the third prince had returned, Ye Lanchen was extremely surprised.

"You can go now." His eyes quickly swept across Ye Lanchen. His voice was so cold that it made people shiver.

"Third Brother…" Ye Lanchen was stunned and a little bewildered.

"Don't let your third brother say it a second time." His sudden cold voice interrupted Ye Lanchen's words. That kind of arrogant domineering aura made people not dare to disobey.

Ye Lanchen's body visibly stiffened as he looked hesitantly at Tang Kexin.

If he were to go out, would his Third Brother hurt Xin Xin?

"I'm okay. You can leave first." Tang Kexin gave Ye Lanchen a comforting look, indicating that he should leave.

From the looks of it, the third prince had something important to say to her, not intending for others to hear about it.

Although Ye Lanchen still didn't feel assured, he still left.

At this moment, there were no servants in the room. And as Ye Lanchen left, there were only her and Ye Lanjue.

Tang Kexin raised her gaze and looked at him. When she met his eyes, which were so dangerous that they could suffocate her anytime, her heart trembled.

His appearance was truly rather frightening. No, it should be said that it was extremely frightening. This caused Tang Kexin to be unnerved within her heart. Did this man need to be so intimidating?