Lady Meilin is seduced by her green tea brother-in-law everyday-Chapter 292: A princess for Mingzhe.

The idea of Junjie marrying a foreign wife was astounding enough but when it came to Jun Mingzhe, it hit them like sudden frost on ripe blossoms.

Prime minister Chi Rui, also the royal son-in-law was the first to recover. "Have you lost your mind? Lady, are you thinking with all the brain cells you were given at birth?"

Princess Si Si scoffed. "There is no need for harsh words just because the Imperial Commander is your nephew."

The Empress Mother slapped the table. "Si Si, you must not be thinking straight because if you were, this nonsense would not have spilled out of your mouth."

"Even I can see that that would be a terrible idea." Ruoxi raised her voice. "He is the Imperial Commander who is in charge of the security of the royal family and the empire. You want a man with a huge army and the backing of a powerful noble family to marry a foreign princes!!!"

"It is not as if I am asking him to rebel." Si Si defended herself. "The Jun’s are loyal to the crown."

"And love has a way of blinding people." The Empress Mother slapped the table. "Besides, Jun Mingzhe is not the kind of man whose marriage is to be decided for him. He could have any woman he wants and yet he has turned down all marriage proposals and gestures of romantic interest."

"If women are the problem, Cyprus has a gay prince too." Princess Si Si blurted out.

Silence. Then chuckles.

"He is very straight." Prince Long Feng assured them with authority like he knew something. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Whatever he is..." Princess Rize raised her voice, "it is of no concern to anyone here. His marriage concerns the royal family to some degree but this does not mean that we are allowed to poke into it as we wish." She looked at Si Si. "What is your obsession with marrying this princess into the empire anyway?"

Someone gasped at the end of the table. "Are you a spy?"

More gasps and shock rose in the room.

Princess Si Si’s jaw dropped down and she gasped as well. "I cannot believe that you would think such a thing about me!! That child lost her mother at a young age and I played a big role in raising her like a grandmother. Now, her father is looking for an opportunity to trade her off to a powerful empire. Her only options are running away, death or a good marriage."

"I will take her." Prince Long Zhigang raised his hand. "As the emperor’s cousin, I am willing to take one for team and save this damsel in distress."

His phone slipped from his hand and a hologram of a photo of Princess Lysina in a bikini hovered over the table. While some adults covered the eyes of their children, others chuckled. The reasons for Long Zhigang volunteering were laid out in the open.

"So she is hot and I like that. Sue me." he told them. "Anyway, I am like twentieth in line for the throne and have no desire to be the leader of the empire. But I am a prince, I have significant financial reserves, more than enough houses. I also have a steady job as a designer in Phoenix toys and I am unmarried at thirty two with no scandals unlike some people here. I am a catch."

"He is a catch." The Empress Mother also said.

Rize applauded and Ruoxi followed her quickly. Long Zhigang was one of the most respectable and exemplary royals of the young generation.

His parents looked on with proud smiles, holding their heads high. All of their children had turned out well unlike Long Bo’s brats. They had not even bothered to join the rest of the royal family in mourning. The ones outside the empire had not even returned or made phone calls to share their condolences.

Junjie suddenly stood up. "I am tired and I need to rest. Keep the budget for the funeral below fifteen million. Use one hundred million to cover other emergencies. We have to pay all the law enforcement officers working beyond their shifts overtime and compensate those whose property is damaged by all the gatherings in the city. Money should be used for important things and only that."

He left in silence.

****

Jun Meilin was out playing a game that was not exactly her favorite: Who is the better detective? It was a game of sorts her mother had created. Something they did together.

Her mother would take her to old crime scenes and they would search for clues together and solve cases. It had been fifteen years since they last did that.

It seemed like her mother was on a mission to resurrect their old traditions and she had brought Jun Yi and Mingzhu as well. The two had refused to get out of the car because they were watching a movie.

So, it was up to Chi Lian and Mei Mei to solve the case just like they had always done.

The crime scene happened to be a house in a deeper area of The Hollow which was still abandoned. It was close to the edge of the district, a forgotten memory. The walls were brown and ugly, vines creeped all over and strangled them. The roof was rusty and crooked. It was so abandoned that it seemed like an old haunted house in a dying town seen in horror movies.

When the two women made entry, it the floors creaked in protest as if their weight was too much to bear. Chi Lian lit up the house with a hand held torch. Mei Mei used the torch app on on her smart watch. Her mother liked to do things old school. Mei Mei preferred new technology. Their walk paused between the empty living room and kitchen.

"She was found here five years ago, throat cut, no sign of forced entry." Chi Lian pointed to the brown cracked tiles. "Her name was An Li, twenty two years old and a fresh graduate. There was evidence of sexual assault but no DNA was found so no arrests. No resolution.

At the time, the case garnered so much attention in the empire but as time went on, An Li was forgotten. Phoenix news keeps documents on all unsolved murders so when I find time, I pick a case and see if I can solve it.

An Li’s murder reached my desk yesterday." She turned the torch and looked at Mei Mei. "So are you aware of the case?"

Mei Mei nodded. "Of course I am aware. Mingzhu was one year old at the time. I remember watching the news and seeing An Li’s mother breaking down outside the police station. I hugged Mingzhu very tightly and thought to myself that I hope to God I am not like An Li’s mother someday. Since then, I put trackers in Mingzhu’s shoes, hair pins, watch. I almost had one installed in her body because I was paranoid." She looked at the floor and sighed. "Being a parent sucks sometimes."