22 Demonstrations
◎How dare you covet the future queen◎
Xue Ji suddenly arrived at the inn, wearing bright and beautiful clothes and a black fur coat on the outside, which was very eye-catching.
Wen Xiaqing was an envoy, so he respectfully addressed him as Lord Xue.
"I wonder why Master Xue has come here?"
Xue Ji never looked at him directly. He just took off his coat and sat in the middle.
She took a sip of the strong tea on the table slowly, looking at him lazily, "Of course I'm here to rescue Lord Wen from danger."
Wen Xiaqing was completely confused by him and had no idea what he was talking about. He didn't know that Xue Ji had been paying attention to him silently for a long time and that he had intercepted their correspondence a long time ago.
His goal was straightforward, which was to persuade him to return to the right path.
He must not let Rong Qianyu go with him.
"I don't know what Lord Xue means by 'dangerous situation'."
Xue Ji raised his eyebrows slightly, smiled with peach blossoms in his eyes, and looked confident as if he had already succeeded.
He picked up the teapot and poured tea, not paying attention to what Wen Xiaqing was asking, and started drinking. He blew the hot tea leisurely, not looking like he was here to accuse someone, but rather like he was just visiting to chat.
"I shouldn't have..." He drank the tea in one gulp, and when he raised his head, he stared at him with a cold look.
There was hostility in that look.
"I heard that Lord Wen is a man of integrity and righteousness in Rong State, and all the girls in the capital are eager to marry into the Wen family. But when we met today, I felt that Lord Wen...is not as upright and righteous as the rumors say. Instead, he seems a bit rude and reckless."
He always speaks harshly in front of others, and sometimes he may not be able to react, making it difficult for people to understand him.
Wen Xiaqing felt something was amiss. "Master Xue, what do you mean by this? Please explain clearly!"
"I saw Lord Wen's letter," he said coldly.
"What letter!?"
Wen Xiaqing was a little flustered, and immediately understood what Xue Ji meant, but still tried her best to remain calm.
"I know everything about the letter Lord Wen wrote to the Crown Princess of Great Zhou, as well as Lord Wen's family background."
What he said seemed like a provocation. He had investigated him thoroughly and even targeted him early on.
"How did you get it?!"
He was a little panicked. The letter was written so frankly and honestly. Why did Xue Ji want to investigate him, and how much did he already know?
He was bored and looked up at Wen Xiaqing. "As early as when the rumor spread that the Lord was coming to the Great Zhou, I sent people to inquire about it."
"Are you investigating me?" Wen Xiaqing asked seriously.
Xue Ji waved his hands, looking very lazy and calm, not at all like he'd been exposed. "Why bother saying such harsh words? You're the Crown Princess's childhood sweetheart, a young talent in Rong Country. Everyone knows that, so why would I bother to do it deliberately?"
Wen Xiaqing began to become alert, "What are you going to do?"
"I said, I'm here to rescue Lord Wen from danger."
Xue Ji was neither hurried nor slow, his eyes slightly raised, his eyes revealing shrewdness and ruthlessness.
Wen Xiaqing remained silent. He naturally understood what Xue Ji said, but he was upright and not afraid of his temptation.
Seeing that it was boring to waste time with him like this, Xue Ji went straight to the point and said, "Wen Xiaqing, you are so brave! You dare to elope with the Crown Princess of the Great Zhou!"
This sentence completely exposed his thoughts. He looked at the outstanding people, who were upright and polite, but his mind did not want to be as self-disciplined and polite as he, who came from a family of noble families for generations.
He coveted the Crown Princess and even had the crazy idea of eloping with someone.
"She has no intention of fighting. What's wrong with me taking her away and giving her a free life?"
Xue Ji respected him as a gentleman, but he also looked down on him from the bottom of his heart. He dared to elope with people, but did not dare to disobey his parents. He dared to ask for permission to be an envoy, but did not dare to resist the order of marriage at that time.
If he is weak and his words carry little weight, he is now alone, so why does he have the courage to fight back?
"Why do you take her away? What makes you want her to go with you?"
"I am hers..." He was about to say, but was suddenly choked. He was nothing to her. It was just wishful thinking.
Rong Qianyu is living in dire straits, but will she really go with him? Wen Xiaqing hesitated and didn't dare to continue.
He was conflicted in his heart, but he couldn't say it out loud. Rong Qianyu seemed to have become his obsession. He didn't know whether he really loved her, but he only knew that she couldn't stay in the Great Zhou Palace.
Using one-sided words heard from others, one tries to change a person's life, or even act as a guiding light in life to judge whether others are right or wrong.
"What does she think or not have to do with you? She is now the Crown Princess of the Great Zhou, not the Princess of Rong State. When is it your turn as an old foreigner to interfere in her affairs?"
This is true, Xue Ji knows exactly how to take advantage of other people's weaknesses.
"Since Lord Xue has spoken frankly, I won't hide anything. You should know what kind of life she's been through. What's wrong with me taking her away from the disputes?"
This was funny, and Xue Ji finally put down his teacup. "Don't you think you're particularly great and courageous like this?"
It was the first time he spoke so hastily, his face twisted with anger, which had previously been cold and arrogant.
The air around him ignited, and Wen Xiaqing didn't expect that Lord Xue could be so furious. After a moment, there was deathly silence, as if the air was also tearing at each other's hearts.
"Do you think you're particularly determined now? You didn't choose her at the beginning, and now you've abandoned her. Do you still want to choose again after making another choice?"
"I won't!" Wen Xiaqing said solemnly.
"Really? What can you swear that you won't do it? Will you risk your bright future and the lives of your family?"
"I won't abandon her." Wen Xiaqing repeated in a daze.
But this vague promise was nothing to Xue Ji. "Then what were you doing when you had to make the choice?"
"I can't help it!"
"How come you have a solution now?" Xue Ji asked.
"Yes, now I can make Qian'er live a better life. I have the ability."
Wen Xiaqing actually had no idea about Xue Ji's doubts, but he could only speak in a firm and resounding manner, as if he was confident.
"Do you think this is love? You are harming her. Are you hoping that she will be torn apart by five horses and burned to death soon? Do you think that running away on impulse is noble? You are a filial son. Even if the Crown Prince doesn't pursue the matter, the Emperor and Empress will pursue it, right? Then you, her, your family, and even the entire Rong Kingdom will not have a good ending. You are not a person who will take risks."
"I……"
Wen Xiaqing was left speechless by these questions, and all his words of defense seemed extremely pale and powerless at this moment.
He always makes decisions impulsively and never seems to consider the consequences. In this respect, Rong Qianyu is very similar to him, but Rong Qianyu is more rational and will not let the throbbing in her heart grow.
"Admit it, Lord Wen. Rong Qianyu was never your first choice. You simply can't give her everything. Not in the past, not now, and not in the future. Your career, your parents, your loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness, your honor and glory for your family—each one is far more important than her."
These words left him exposed. After the impulse, he still had parents and a family.
Seeing that he was showing his weakness, Wen Xiaqing turned his attention to Xue Ji again, "Is this the reason why you came here this time?"
"Of course, I'm doing this not only for the Great Zhou, but also for you, my lord, to escape unscathed."
"Master Xue, do you have no selfish motives?"
"What do you want to say?"
"You should know what kind of life Qianyu has been leading in the Great Zhou. The Crown Prince is cold and indifferent to her, and everyone in the harem, except the Empress, looks down on her. I heard that Lord Xue has been taking good care of Qianyu since she was on the road. It seems that it was Lord Xue who suggested that Qianyu accept Cui Shi. Why are you doing all this?"
Xue Ji stopped talking, and the two of them were in a tense situation.
"It's been three or four months now. Is your Excellency doing this for fun? Do you want people to owe you a favor? Or is it something else? Did your Excellency stop me today because you want her to owe you a favor? Is it for the sake of diplomatic relations between our two countries, or for... your own selfish desires?"
The two of them exposed each other's secrets. In fact, without anyone saying it explicitly, they understood each other's thoughts very well, but they were the same as their own.
"What exactly do you want to ask?"
"Your Excellency is also a wise man and should know what I am asking." Wen Xiaqing said slightly aggressively.
"What do you think?" Xue Ji asked back.
"You covet the future queen!"
He stared at Wen Xiaqing with his deep eyes, as if he wanted to tell him how upright he was.
He just smiled knowingly and said, "I didn't say anything. You said it yourself. I'm a eunuch. What can I do? You are not. You can do so much."
In front of others, Xue Ji was still so arrogant, but he was timid in front of Rong Qianyu.
As for Wen Xiaqing, he didn't even show any respect at all.
"You think so highly of yourself, is this love? You're either harming her or hoping she'll be torn to pieces and burned to death soon!"
These words hit Wen Xiaqing so hard that he was speechless. After calming down after the passion, he had not thought about these things yet.
"Lord Wen probably doesn't understand my character. Once I've made up my mind, I will absolutely not let go."
Xue Ji really kept his word. Anyone would be unhappy to have their childhood sweetheart being spied on by the eunuch in front of them.
"Whatever you want to do, whatever you can do. Qianyu is still in prison, and what about you, a eunuch, what can you do?"
The two men fought back and forth, and even if they didn't gain any advantage, they would still be merciless in their words.
However, Xue Ji had already investigated this person thoroughly. Filial sons are most afraid of being tied down by their parents and family, and Wen Xiaqing is the one who cannot get rid of these ties.
"I heard that your father, Old Master Wen, has been in poor health this winter. As a son, you don't show filial piety by his bedside, and you don't consider your career and family. Instead, you run thousands of miles away to elope with a letter for a childhood sweetheart who has no future. What a good son you are."
“…”
These words hit his soft spot and completely extinguished his anger. He cared about his parents the most. Seeing that he was weak, Xue Ji took advantage of the situation and pursued him.
"What the Crown Princess said is true. You really can't distinguish between the important and the urgent. Now you want her to be fooled with you. The Queen values her very much. If she knew that she eloped with her ex, you would be unfaithful and unfilial, and you would even die with her as a scapegoat. Your love for her is truly touching."
"I……"
Xue Ji drank the tea in his hand, patted Wen Xiaqing on the shoulder, and left. "Go back peacefully. You are now on opposite sides, each serving his own master, and have long since parted ways. If you can't give her freedom and happiness, then let her go early. I won't stop you if you want to die alone, but if you take her with you, I will tie you up and bring you before the emperor, and we will have a good talk. If you covet the future queen mother, your entire Wen family will be buried with her."
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