Prince Linjiang Li Longjing sat in his study in the waterside pavilion, his black robe giving him a sinister and gentle look.
The moonlight outside the window was like water, reflecting on his pale face, adding a bit of coldness.
In his left hand, he was playing with a pair of jade walnuts. The emerald green jade stones were turning in his palm, making a slight friction sound.
Emperor Li Longze summoned him today. Although his words were gentle, he hinted that he should choose a day to return to his fiefdom and never enter the capital again.
Thinking of this, Li Longjing suddenly paused the walnut in his hand, and his knuckles turned white due to the force.
"Your Highness." Yan Boxi's voice sounded outside the door, respectful yet calm.
"Come in." Li Longjing restrained his emotions and spoke in a normal voice.
Yan Boxi pushed the door open and walked in. He took a few steps forward and keenly sensed the oppression in the air.
"Sir, do you know who I met today?" Li Longjing suddenly spoke, his voice so soft that it was almost inaudible.
"His Majesty summoned you." Yan Boxi had already learned the news from the steward.
Li Longjing turned around, a sinister glint in his eyes: "He asked me to return to my fiefdom."
A cold laugh rang out, "He said that the emperor's brother has been in the capital for many years, but in fact he is just afraid that I will stay in the capital to get in his way."
Yan Boxi did not respond immediately. He knew that what Li Longjing needed at the moment was not comfort, but planning.
"Your Majesty," he said slowly after a moment, "I'm afraid your majesty's actions are related to the quelling of the rebellion in the Western Rong and Northern Di."
A cold light flashed in Li Longjing's eyes. This was what made him most angry.
He had originally planned to use border wars to contain the emperor, and even secretly funded the Northern Di tribes. However, he did not expect that the emperor would join forces with the Western Rong prince Nurhadu and put down the rebellion in one fell swoop.
Now that the border is stable and the emperor's prestige is even greater, it is difficult for him to profit from it.
"That Nurhatu, if he hadn't been loyal to the Xue family..." Li Longjing gritted his teeth.
Yan Boxi's eyes flickered slightly: "I heard that the Prince of Xirong is on good terms with the Xingyuan Marquisate."
Upon hearing this, Li Longjing's eyes flashed with calculation. He walked to the desk and ran his fingertips across a list on the table.
"Didn't the Queen Mother intend to marry the Xue family's youngest daughter to me?"
Yan Boxi nodded: "Miss Xue's Shanqiu is said to be both talented and beautiful."
Li Longjing suddenly smiled, a smile as cold and sinister as a venomous snake. "Since that's the case, before I leave the capital, what should I take with me?"
He looked at Yan Boxi, "What do you think, sir?"
Yan Boxi pondered for a moment: "If the prince can get the daughter of the Xue family, he can win over the Xingyuan Marquisate and dampen Nurhadu's arrogance, killing two birds with one stone. But..."
"Just what?"
"Although the Queen Mother is interested, the Xue family may not be willing. Besides, Nurhadu seems to be quite fond of Miss Xue."
Li Longjing snorted coldly, "A barbarian is worthy of competing with me?"
Yan Boxi's face was calm, but there was a barely perceptible chill in his eyes.
When he heard Prince Linjiang mention Xue Shanqiu, he knew what the other party was planning.
Prince Linjiang wanted to use Miss Xue to take revenge on Nurhadu, and even use it to contain the Xingyuan Marquisate.
The knuckles in Yan Boxi's sleeves tightened slightly, and his nails almost dug into his palms.
Prince Linjiang actually wanted to use Xue Shanqiu as a chess piece?
Yan Boxi lowered his eyes, hiding the murderous intent surging in his eyes, but his voice remained steady: "If the prince wants the daughter of the Xue family, he must act quickly."
Li Longjing raised an eyebrow: "Oh?"
"The Xue family has been crowded with guests lately, with many people seeking marriage, and the Prince of Xirong has been visiting frequently." Yan Boxi spoke calmly, as if he was just stating a fact.
"What should we do?"
"Why not just ask the Queen Mother for an order?"
Li Longjing narrowed his eyes, rubbed the jade walnut with his fingertips, and seemed to be thinking about something.
Yan Boxi continued, "Although the Xue family has been restored to nobility, their foundation is not yet stable. If the Queen Mother grants them a marriage, they dare not disobey."
Li Longjing smiled suddenly, but the smile did not reach his eyes: "Sir, you have thought very carefully for me."
Yan Boxi bowed slightly, hiding the coldness in his eyes: "It is my duty to share the worries of the prince."
But what he was thinking in his heart was: If Prince Linjiang really dared to touch Xue Shanqiu, he wouldn't mind letting this prince die "accidentally" on the way out of Beijing.
Li Longjing didn't notice his abnormality. He just turned and looked out the window, his tone cold: "Then go and arrange it."
Yan Boxi nodded his head, but he felt mixed emotions. He had to think of a way to help Miss Xue avoid this disaster.
In the moonlight, the shadows of the master and servant were cast on the ground, like dormant beasts, ready to pounce on their prey at any time.
A gust of wind blew outside the window, and peach blossoms fluttered down. A few of them floated into the window and landed on Li Longjing's black robe, so red that it looked like blood.
In the meeting room of the Imperial Household Department, Chen Jin unfolded the secret letter in his hand. Under the candlelight, Yan Boxi's handwriting was clearly visible.
"Prince Linjiang intends to use the Queen Mother's marriage auspices to forcefully marry Shanqiu, daughter of the Xue family, in order to control the Xingyuan Marquisate and blunt the Western Rong prince's influence."
Chen Jin frowned, tapped his knuckles lightly on the letter paper twice, and then sneered: "Prince Linjiang has a good plan."
He closed the letter, called over his trusted eunuch, and whispered, "Go to the Xingyuan Marquis's Mansion and tell the old lady."
Xingyuan Marquis Mansion, Xiangyun Hall.
Old Madam Hong Yingrong sat at the head of the table, the teacup in her hand already cold. Xue Yuanchu stood in the hall, a stern expression on his face.
"Mother, this matter must not be agreed to!" Xue Yuanchu said in a deep voice, "Prince Linjiang is ambitious and wicked. Who in the court doesn't know this? Now that His Majesty has ordered him to leave the capital, he wants to use Shanqiu's marriage to control our Xue family. He deserves death!"
Hong Yingrong nodded slowly, a cold look in her eyes: "If the Queen Mother really decrees the marriage, how should we respond?"
Xue Yuanchu sneered: "Now that my son has inherited the title, even if it means disobeying the emperor's order, he must not send Shanqiu into the fire pit!"
Hong Yingrong closed her eyes, and the tragic scene of the Xue family’s annihilation in her previous life flashed through her mind.
She opened her eyes and said in a low but firm voice: "Yuanchu, you are right. The Xue family can no longer be manipulated by others."
Xue Yuanchu's eyes turned stern. "My son will write to His Majesty tomorrow, requesting to postpone the marriage on the grounds that Shanqiu is weak and needs rest."
Hong Yingrong shook her head: "This method can delay things temporarily, but not forever."
She pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "Unless Shanqiu gets even sicker."
Xue Yuanchu was startled: "Mother means..."
Hong Yingrong's eyes were heavy. "Since the King of Linjiang wants a daughter of the Xue family, then we will give him a 'terminally ill' daughter of the Xue family."
Xue Yuanchu understood instantly, and the corners of his lips curled slightly: "Son, I understand."
The next day, Xue Shanqiu's boudoir was filled with the aroma of medicine.
She leaned on the couch, her face as pale as paper, but her lips were deliberately smeared with a layer of light pink rouge, and there was a hint of unnatural brightness in her sickly look.
"Miss, the palace physician is here. He said he is ordered by the Empress Dowager to check your pulse." The maid reported in a low voice.
Xue Shanqiu coughed twice and nodded weakly: "I understand."
She lowered her eyes and thought to herself that this scene must be performed perfectly.
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