Jiang Xiao Tian walked towards the Crown Princess and bowed politely. "Your Highness.".

"Were you waiting for me?" It has been almost a week since the last time she met him during her stroll in the city.

Jiang Xiao Tian smiled. "I do have some matters I need to discuss with you."

The Princess nodded. "Let's take a walk at my garden." She tilted her head slightly to the right and called, "Ah Zhen."

Ah Zhen stepped forward beside her with a thick robe in her hand. She helped the princess to cover a cloak around her body and retreated to the side to give them privacy.

Princess Lingchen then led her cousin brother towards her garden. Most of the trees have shed their leaves, and the ground was covered with a thin white layer of snow as the capital experienced light snowfall last night. They stopped once they reached a bench. A few months ago, her favorite Camellia flower was blooming.

"Are you alright?" Princess Lingchen gave Jiang Xiao Tian a look over.

Jiang Xiao Tian was startled by her question. It took him a few seconds before he answered, "I'm fine. Thank you for your concern. Your Highness."

Princess Lingchen continued to watch him. She knew that he was lying. She had noticed the way Jiang Xiao Tian walked earlier. Although he tried to hide it so well, she could see the way he was slightly limping.

She wondered if he was injured, and quickly dismissed that thought. She knew that the Emperor had not sent him out on a dangerous mission after he returned to the capital.

A thought flashed into her mind. She has not seen Jiang Xiao Tian for a week. It couldn't be that he was punished because of the incident in the market? At that time, even with Jiang Xiao Tian and the hidden guards protecting her, a boy took his chance to get close to her and tried to s.n.a.t.c.h her purse. If it weren't for that masked man, the boy would succeed.

She did not mind if she lost a few gold or silvers. But what if the boy had stolen something more valuable like her identification tag? Wouldn't everything turn chaotic later on?

This time, Jiang Xiao Tian and everyone else was punished with flogging. But what if something happened to her? Wouldn't everyone who accompanied her granted with death?

"Were you-?" Princess Lingchen bit on her lips and her question were left unfinished.

"I'm alright," Jiang Xiao Tian spoke. This time, his tone softened as he wanted to stop her from worrying. He saw the way she looked at him and knew that the Princess had guessed what was happening to him.

Princess Lingchen looked away. Her hands clenched tightly under her robe. She has to be more careful with her surrounding or else she might implicate everyone around her. She took a deep breath and turned to face Jiang Xiao Tian. "You said you have something to discuss with me?"

Jiang Xiao Tian pursed his lips before he told the Princess what Yan Zifu had reported to him. Princess Lingchen was quiet for a long time after he finished his report. He watched as the Princess was deep in her thought. Her fingers tapped the side of her thigh. He had noticed the way Princess Lingchen would rap her fingers whenever her mind was preoccupied with something.

"Your Highness," Jiang Xiao Tian called after a long silence between them. "May I know what are you planning to do?"

A flash of light flickered in the Princess' eyes. She sneered and said, "What do you think I should do? Even with this information, everything was just my guess. There is nothing else I can do but to be wary of them." She looked up to meet his gaze before she spoke again. "If I wanted to fight against them, I have to have a strong plan."

Jiang Xiao Tian studied the princess's expression and knew that she already has a plan in mind. Seeing this, a part of him was relieved. Princess Lingchen was a smart woman. He trusted that whatever idea she had in mind, it can protect herself from harm. Jiang Xiao Tian did a hand fist salute and bowed. "Your Highness, whatever plan you have in mind, please know that the Jiang family will always be right behind you."