Chapter 701 Schemes of All Parties

As soon as the others left, Wei Lan's chest heaved. She had never suffered such injustice before, and she burst into tears.

"What did Xu Da mean by those words? Was he cursing me?"

Wei Lan sniffed. She knew she had a bad temper. After her sister entered the palace, her parents doted on her. Otherwise, they wouldn't have compromised and agreed to let her marry Bai Dingfeng.

"Don't take it to heart, don't pay attention to what Xu Da says, he's just being a sour grapes."

Bai Dingfeng comforted Wei Lan, explaining that the marriage between the Bai and Wei families was not simply because he had ruined Wei Lan's reputation, but because the Wei family had been intentionally trying to win over his father and use Wei Lan to make everything more natural.

His father was the prefect of Beidi Prefecture City. He understood the North and was even more familiar with the barbarians. Getting the Bai family to board the Wei family's big ship was just the first step.

The Wei family had ambitions, and so did Bai Dingfeng. It would take many years for someone to pass the imperial examinations and become an official, but that couldn't compare to the merit of supporting the emperor.

All of this was absolutely beyond Wei Lan's comprehension; she was the only one kept in the dark.

"Brother Bai, since you're coming to paint tomorrow, how about I buy it?"

When Bai Dingfeng learned that the young ladies were contributing to the Northwest military supplies, he also wanted to participate, but Wei Lan couldn't bear to see his work bought by someone else.

"That's my heartfelt gift. If you like it, everything from now on..."

Bai Dingfeng coaxed Wei Lan, saying that the money raised this time should ultimately end up in the Wei family's pocket, and that it shouldn't be interfered with by too many people.

However, he had to keep all of this a secret, and he couldn't let his sister Bai Youran know about it.

"That's for the future, we're not married yet!"

Wei Lan stamped her foot, tugged at Bai Dingfeng's sleeve, and smiled brightly.

Not far away, Bai Youran and Li Ruoxue hid behind a tree, taking in Wei Lan and Bai Dingfeng's intimate little actions.

Li Ruoxue lowered her eyes, the mockery in them vanishing in an instant.

Once upon a time, she did exactly the same thing as Wei Lan, thinking that by paving the way for him with money, she could at least gain some respect. But as it turns out, Bai Dingfeng was a deep-thinking and heartless man, but he was quite good at pretending.

Last night, Bai Dingfeng stayed with her and solemnly assured her that he was only marrying Wei Lan because of pressure from both the Wei and Bai families, and that in his heart, Wei Lan could not surpass her.

These words made Li Ruoxue gag. What a hypocrite! He's still putting on an act with her at this point, just because he's unwilling to give up the large dowry she brought with her.

What's even more ridiculous is that Bai Dingfeng took Li Ruoxue's gagging as a natural reaction to morning sickness.

The "child" in her womb cannot be kept; there will be plenty of biological children in the future. As for this "child," even if Wei Lan doesn't take action, Bai Dingfeng will get rid of him.

Li Ruoxue bribed Bai Dingfeng's servant to learn that he had already prepared the medicinal soup for the game.

Women tend to be more considerate and less likely to cause serious harm, but men can be truly ruthless when they get angry.

That wasn't just some simple medicine for abortion; it was something truly deadly.

Imagine, Li Ruoxue died along with her unborn child, and the blame fell on Wei Lan and the Wei family. Bai Dingfeng received a large dowry from her and could use this opportunity to make the Wei family feel guilty towards him.

He wouldn't lose out if he killed her.

Wei Lan simply disliked her and wanted her to become a concubine, but Bai Dingfeng wanted her dead.

Those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of those who have something to lose. Since Li Ruoxue has nothing, she doesn't mind playing games with the two of them. Until the very end, the outcome is still uncertain.

"She's shameless even before they're married! She's only doing this because she's a young lady from the Wei family! Bah!"

The girls in the brothel were all more reserved than Wei Lan. Bai Youran immediately spat and said, "Sister-in-law, even if we can't stop Wei Lan from entering, we must make her lose face before she even gets in!"

"Wei Lan told her father that I was the one who encouraged her to go to Wenjun Tower."

As a result, the Wei family hated Bai Youran and even tried to interfere in her marriage. Didn't they know their own daughter's true colors? If Wei Lan hadn't seduced a married man, no matter how much Bai Youran tried to fool her, Wei Lan wouldn't have fallen for it.

Moreover, it was her idea to gather young ladies from the capital to sell their jewelry for charity, but Wei Lan intercepted it, and Wei Lan got all the good things!

Bai Youran was furious. She couldn't let it go like this. She had to drag the young ladies along and demand that the accounts be investigated. At the very least, the Wei family shouldn't be allowed to make decisions about the later charity sales. Who knew if the Wei family would be greedy for money? After all, reporting the accounts was just a matter of words.

"You were the one who fawned over her back then. I told you that young ladies from wealthy families can't be trusted."

Li Ruoxue pondered for a moment, then said.

Thinking back to the night Wenjun Tower arrested people, she felt secretly pleased. The matter was handled discreetly, and hundreds of people were asked to publicize it. The law does not punish the masses, and the Wei family could not find the mastermind at all.

"Sister-in-law, it's all my fault for being so short-sighted."

Bai Youran looked bitter. She was trying to please Wei Lan, but she didn't have any other intentions. She just wanted to enter the inner circle of the city and make herself useful.

She and her elder brother lived in the Bai Mansion in the capital. Their parents were not around, and they were living under someone else's roof. The people in the mansion were sycophantic and snobbish.

She didn't think she had done anything wrong in order to improve her life and strive for a better future.

Once she arrived in the capital, she didn't want to go back. Her ultimate goal was to find herself a good marriage.

"My little sister miscalculated. Who would have thought that Wei Lan would be so shameless as to rush to become my elder brother's concubine?"

She was called a secondary wife, but she was only slightly better than a concubine.

"Sister-in-law, we must cooperate well and give Wei Lan a warning so that she won't dare to act rashly."

With all eyes in the capital on the Wei and Bai families, Wei Lan dared not cause trouble for Li Ruoxue for the time being, but it was hard to say what would happen once things calmed down.

Bai Youran was very clear-headed. With Wei Lan's judgment, the fetus in Li Ruoxue's womb, regardless of gender, would not live to give birth.

"Little sister, I must thank you for reminding me of this matter."

Li Ruoxue held Bai Youran's hand and said, "Before, because of Wei Lan, we, as sisters-in-law, had some disagreements. Now I understand clearly that you are the one who truly cares about me."

"I only recognize you as my sister-in-law."

Bai Youran was very serious, and the two officially formed an alliance. She prepared a blood bag and had Li Ruoxue carry it with her. The blood bag could be used tomorrow in front of all the young ladies, providing the best opportunity to frame Wei Lan.

Bai Youran simulated several possible scenarios for Li Ruoxue, covering all aspects, which Li Ruoxue memorized.

After everything was arranged, Bai Youran ran to the main kitchen to find Lin Yuesha.

Over here, Lin Yuesha made Xu Da a bowl of hot and sour noodles to test his taste so she could adjust the amount of chili. Xu Da ate it and was sweating profusely, exclaiming how refreshing it was.

"If you happen to pass by a village, you can buy some vegetables and cook hot and sour noodles and greens to make a hot pot."

Lin Yuesha instructed Xu Da that even if they were rushing to catch their train, they shouldn't go hungry for three to five days, or they would suffer health problems from hunger, which would be a greater loss than gain.