Xia Lin sat obediently next to Achen. Achen's tone carried a hint of helplessness. "Is that girl Naya targeting you?"
Xia Lin was taken aback. He thought Achen would talk to him about his relationship with Karoon, but it turned out the topic was about Naya.
Xia Lin nodded without hesitation. "Yes, it's quite obvious. She has a crush on Karoon." Xia Lin was straightforward. He didn't want to beat around the bush. They were all smart people.
Achen let out a bitter laugh. "I neglected this. That girl has liked Karoon since she was a kid. At that time, you hadn't appeared yet, so I told Naya that she could marry Brother Karoon and become the queen in the future. So now that girl even resents me. She had an argument with me the other day!"
Nolen frowned. "Achen, don't be sad. She's just being childish!"
Achen shook his head. "No, I'm indeed responsible. Xiaolin, I'll try my best to persuade Naya. I hope you can be more tolerant of her on your part. Of course, if she really does something excessive, you don't have to spare my feelings. It's okay to punish her with your power as the queen!"
Xia Lin frowned, looking rather conflicted. "The key question is... What's the boundary between tolerance and punishment you mentioned, Father Achen?" Was he supposed to judge according to his mood?
Achen said guiltily, "If she says something unpleasant in front of you, just ignore her. Pretend she's air, and then you won't get angry. If she does something to damage your relationship with Karoon or really angers you, then... I've already thought it through. I've limited the number of times she can come to the palace. Maybe that will help."
Xia Lin nodded. He could somewhat understand Achen's dilemma. After all, Naya was his adopted daughter, regarded as half his own child, while he was Achen's "daughter - in - law" who had only known him for less than a year. Both were important, but one was a bit closer, wasn't it?
Achen and Nolen left. At night, lying in bed, Karoon asked Xia Lin, "Xiaolin, what did Father talk to you about today?"
Xia Lin told him the truth. After hearing this, Karoon let out an unhappy snort. "I don't agree with Father's way of handling this. It would be better to send Naya away. Let her come back after she figures things out."
Xia Lin shook his head. "After all, she's his adopted daughter. I understand Father Achen's choice. As long as you're on my side, I'm already satisfied." Saying this, Xia Lin rubbed contentedly against Karoon's bare chest, reigniting the "flame" that Karoon had just managed to extinguish.
With a roll, Karoon pinned Xia Lin down. "You're so energetic? Then let's go another round."
"Wait... wai—mmph..."
Well, it was another fiery night.
No one knew if Achen really said something to Naya, but in the following days, Naya behaved herself much better and didn't come to find Xia Lin for a long time.
Soon, the culprit who had kidnapped Xia Lin was found out. It turned out to be the grandson of the illegitimate son of the great - great - great - former emperor. He thought he had the right to inherit the throne and somehow heard the prophecy that Xia Lin was destined to be the queen.
However, even though the culprit was found, Xia Lin wasn't happy. Instead, he was in a gloomy mood because Karoon also knew the real prophecy and learned that what Pismann had told him before was not the real one. After locking up Pismann who had deceived him, Karoon gave Xia Lin the cold shoulder.