The female cannon fodder in the book, the villain instantly turned into a pitiful and coquettish gir

Ling Muxiao's appearance made Ling Jinhan and Zhou Hanyi both stunned.

Ling Jinhan quickly adjusted his expression and returned to his usual playful smile.

"Brother, I just heard that there is some unrest in the palace, so I came back to take a look."

Ling Muxiao narrowed his eyes and looked Ling Jinhan up and down, as if judging the truthfulness of his words.

"Oh? Really? Have you finished reading it? If you're done, go back and continue your labor."

Ling Jinhan nodded and was about to leave, but suddenly seemed to remember something.

"By the way, my brother, this Concubine Zhou seems to be very interested in the layout of the palace. Why don't we let her be my guide and take me on a tour?"

Ling Muxiao looked at Zhou Hanyi with a scrutinizing look in his eyes.

"Oh? Concubine Zhou, are you willing?"

Zhou Hanyi felt so miserable. This was simply forcing someone to do something they were not prepared for.

But she knew that refusing at this moment would only get her into deeper trouble, so she gritted her teeth and nodded.

"Yes, of course I do."

So, Zhou Hanyi was "kidnapped" by Ling Jinhan and began her "one-day tour of the palace".

Along the way, Ling Jinhan "interrogated" her in various ways, from asking about the secret passage in the palace to the emperor's diet and daily life.

Zhou Hanyi could only rely on his limited skills and rambling to cope with the situation.

Ling Muxiao was observing silently from the side, thinking to himself: What is this Concubine Zhou up to?

Zhou Hanyi followed Ling Jinhan and felt like a mouse being teased by a cat.

Every step was taken carefully, for fear of accidentally stepping into a minefield.

Ling Jinhan was like a leisurely hunter, enjoying this game of cat and mouse.

"Fourth Prince, look, this palace is really huge. I feel a little dizzy after walking around for so long."

Zhou Hanyi tried to distract Ling Jinhan with words, hoping to find a chance to escape this "disaster".

Ling Jinhan smiled slightly, with a hint of cunning in his eyes.

"Is it big? Why do I feel like it's not big enough?

If it were bigger, maybe it would be able to hide a little mouse like you."

Zhou Hanyi almost couldn't help rolling her eyes, thinking:

Sir, are you praising me or insulting me?

However, she still kept smiling and continued to "stroll" with Ling Jinhan.

Just then, they came to a remote corner, which was overgrown with weeds and seemed that no one had been there for a long time.

Ling Jinhan suddenly stopped and his eyes became sharp.

"Concubine Zhou, do you know where this place is?"

Zhou Hanyi shook his head and muttered to himself:

How should I know? I don't have a map of the palace!

But she still said:

"I don't know. This place seems very mysterious. Can the Fourth Prince tell me?"

Ling Jinhan looked into her eyes, as if trying to determine the truth in her words.

After a moment, he slowly said, "This is the forbidden area of ​​the palace. There are many unknown secrets hidden inside, including...the method of choosing the true heir to the throne."

Zhou Hanyi's heart suddenly tightened.

She didn't expect that Ling Jinhan would mention the sensitive topic of the heir to the throne so directly.

She asked cautiously:

"Fourth Prince, are you kidding me? Isn't the heir to the throne the emperor? He has already been chosen, how could it be false?"

Zhou Hanyi sneered in her heart. Now everyone knows that although Ling Muxiao became the emperor, he took the throne back from Ling Chenyu.

He will step down sooner or later, so it is really hard to say who will be the emperor in the future.

Therefore, the more Zhou Hanyi spoke, the more she acted like a little bird, and it was obvious that she wanted to use the advantages of being a woman to obtain more information.

Ling Jinhan laughed, seeming satisfied with her reaction.

"The heir to the throne? That's just a cover. The real heir has been hidden in this forbidden area, waiting for the right time to appear."

Zhou Hanyi thought to himself:

Sir, are you testing me or are you really telling me the truth?

However, she quickly made a decision. Since Ling Jinhan was willing to share this secret with her, why not take the opportunity to get more information out of him?

So, she pretended to be very interested and continued to ask:

"Then... who is this true heir?"

Ling Jinhan looked at her, a hint of depth flashing in his eyes.

“Well, a true heir must not only have a legitimate bloodline, but also have the ability to control the ever-changing situation.

And hidden in this forbidden area is the testing ground for all of this."

Zhou Hanyi covered her mouth in pretended surprise, her eyes sparkling with curiosity and gossip.

"The Trial Field? It sounds so mysterious! Is it like in martial arts novels, with secret manuals, treasures, and hidden masters watching from behind?"

Ling Jinhan was amused by her and couldn't help laughing a few more times.

Then he said seriously: "Although it is not right, it is not far off.

The secrets here are far more complicated than you think.

However, if you are really interested, if you can become my person, I can take you to see it with your own eyes."

What Ling Jinhan didn't say was that he had already known that this man was Wen Jie's bootlicker, and in a sense, he was already his man.

Zhou Hanyi's heart moved, and she wondered what Ling Jinhan was up to.

Is he really planning to drag me down with him?

No, no, her body and mind can only belong to Wenjie.

Don't let this dirty thing hold you back.

After thinking about it, she turned her head away with a coquettish look.

"Oh, Fourth Prince, please don't make fun of me. I am naturally timid, and I am most afraid of these palace fights and house fights. I will continue to be my happy little maid and listen to your gossip occasionally."

Ling Jinhan looked at her expression of wanting to explore the mystery but also being afraid, and couldn't help but feel an inexplicable emotion in his heart.

He shook his head slightly and smiled:

"Well, when you figure it out, you can come to me anytime. But remember, the wind in this palace is not something that anyone can blow."

After saying that, he turned around and was about to leave, but seemed to remember something, stopped, turned back and blinked at Zhou Hanyi.

"Oh, by the way, next time don't call me the Fourth Prince. Call me Brother Jinhan. Got it?"

Zhou Hanyi was stunned, then rolled her eyes, thinking that Ling Jinhan was really narcissistic.

However, since he is so interesting, what's wrong with just calling him Brother Jinhan?

Maybe we can get some more information!

So, she responded sweetly: "Okay, Brother Jinhan, take care!"

Looking at Ling Jinhan's back getting farther and farther away, Zhou Hanyi was secretly calculating in his heart.

The water in this palace seems to be really unfathomable.

However, for Wenjie's great cause, we have to stir it up and make the water more turbid to make it more interesting!

Ling Jinhan's back disappeared around the corner of the palace wall, and Zhou Hanyi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She patted her chest and talked to herself.

"This Ling Jinhan is no longer a prince, yet he is still so active. However, his words have aroused my curiosity. The heir to the throne and the trial field sound like they are hiding many secrets. I must explore them for Wenjie first."

She looked around, confirmed that there was no one around, and quietly slipped back to her residence.

As soon as he entered the door, he couldn't wait to rummage through the boxes and drawers to find his treasured "secret book of the martial arts world".

A tattered copy of the "Palace Survival Manual".

She had obtained this handbook with great difficulty from a young eunuch. It contained many secrets and gossips in the palace.

"Let me see what's hidden in this forbidden area."

Zhou Hanyi muttered as he flipped through the manual.

However, after flipping through several pages, I still couldn't find any information about the forbidden area.

She couldn't help but feel a little discouraged, wondering if this manual was a little too unreliable.

Just when she was about to give up, her eyes suddenly lit up and she found the last page of the manual, written in crooked handwriting.

"The secret of the forbidden land can only be known by the royal family. But there is one person who may be able to reveal something. This person is the old steward of the palace library, known as the 'Bookworm'."

"Bookworm? The old butler of the library?"

Zhou Hanyi murmured to himself, and suddenly something came to his mind.

She decided to try her luck at the library at night, hoping she could get some useful information from the bookworm.

As night fell, the palace was silent.

Zhou Hanyi changed into night clothes, covered her face, and quietly slipped out of the room.

She walked along the winding palace road, avoiding the patrolling guards, and finally arrived in front of the library.

The door of the library was closed and the surroundings were pitch black with only a few dim lanterns swaying in the wind.

Zhou Hanyi took a deep breath and gently pushed the door open.

The creaking sound of the door hinges was particularly harsh in the quiet night.

She walked in carefully and saw that the room was filled with all kinds of books and the air was filled with the faint scent of ink.

At the end of the bookshelf, next to a shabby wooden table, sat a white-haired old man, buried in a pile of books.