tit for tat
She originally intended to provoke her uncle into testing the Xuanping Prince's system. Whether the negotiations succeeded or failed, she could proceed to the next step. However, she did not expect the Xuanping Prince to target her mother instead.
Sui Zhixu bit her lower lip. Her mother was the means by which she gained power, and she could not let Prince Xuanping's plan succeed.
At this moment, there was a soft knock at the door. Sui Zhixu looked up at Fan Lingzhang, who gestured for him to get out of bed and check. Before leaving, he lowered the bed curtains.
"Who is it?" Fan Lingzhang pressed his ear against the door and whispered.
“My lord, it is I, Afu.”
Fan Lingzhang carefully opened the door and let Afu in. "What happened?"
"The head of the Sui family has arrived with his men."
Behind the bed curtains, Xu Taohua's eyes revealed a knowing look; it must be the person who had been following her uncle who had returned to the mansion to report to her mother.
Fan Lingzhang bent down and pulled back the curtain, meeting the indifferent peach blossom eyes. He paused for a moment before slowly saying, "You stay here for now. I'll go out and check to make sure they don't find you."
Seeing that Xu agreed, Fan Lingzhang walked towards the door. Before leaving, he glanced at the bed, and the moment he opened the door, a wanton and unrestrained smile appeared on his face.
Multiple layers of gauze curtains blocked Sui Zhixu's view, and she continued to press herself against the wall to listen.
"No way! My elder sister is like a mother to me, not to mention the years she raised me. Although we've disagreed over the years, and she, as a member of a prominent family, insists on getting involved with people from humble backgrounds, how could I harm her? Don't use me as a pretext."
"I never said I would kill her. Why would I use you as a pretext? As you said, noble families should not associate with commoners in the first place."
As Xu leaned against the wall, lost in thought, he realized that what Prince Xuanping truly wanted to deal with was his father.
According to the information she learned in the Prime Minister's study, three years ago her father reformed the government, unearthing many remnants of the previous dynasty and amending the imperial examination system, introducing a large number of scholars from humble backgrounds into the court to replace them.
Prince Xuanping appeared to be a carefree and uninvolved figure, seemingly unconcerned about politics. Although the fire hadn't completely engulfed him, he undoubtedly harbored resentment towards his father.
"Your Majesty, the head of the family has arrived." A servant of Prince Xuanping approached.
"What? My older sister is here? No, I can't let her see me and you being together."
Replacing the flustered, stammering voice of his uncle was a hearty, unrestrained laugh.
“Master Sui, it is an honor to have you here. The servants are ignorant and should be entertaining you personally.”
“Young Master Fan.” Sui He nodded slightly. “No need. It’s almost noon. I’m just picking up my good-for-nothing younger brother to take him home.”
Turning towards the private room where Prince Xuanping was, he shouted sternly, "Suishan, get out here right now!"
Sui Shan blushed inside the house. He was well past forty, so how could he be taken back in front of everyone?
At He's signal, two maids opened the door, and the group looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Why is the King here too? Ah Fu, what's wrong with you? You didn't even announce the King's arrival." Fan Lingzhang snapped his folding fan shut, feigning displeasure.
With a beaming smile, Prince Xuanping glanced at him and smiled gently, “Why blame me, Fan Lang? I went out in plain clothes today and happened to meet Brother Sui. We just sat down for a cup of tea and chatted about poetry. How could you, my servant, possibly see me all the time?”
Prince Xuanping replied to each question, while the system broadcast in his mind: [System Real-time Broadcast: The system has detected that the current host's luck color is green. No special luck user has been detected yet... Error! Error! Special luck user detected...]
The system did not detect any individuals with exceptional destiny.
Prince Xuanping frowned slightly, as the system had never encountered this situation before, but he quickly regained his smile.
Meanwhile, Sui Zhixu overheard the group chatting and laughing next door, her expression indifferent. Her mother should know that she was also at Yunlai Tower, and the people from the Prime Minister's residence who were following her uncle would surely have seen her.
She sent her maid, Dan Hong, to buy pastries.
The line in front of the pastry shop was long and drawn, and Dan Hong should be back by now.
It's okay, she can just say she went to the restroom.
"In that case, I shall take my leave first. It is nearing noon, and I must return to my residence to dine with the Princess. I will have another chance to chat with you about poetry. Farewell."
The Prince of Xuanping spoke gently and without airs, showing concern for Fan Lingzhang's well-being like an elder. Fan Lingzhang responded to each question, and the conversation was very pleasant.
As he went downstairs, many literary figures greeted him, asking when he would publish a new poem and whether he would participate in poetry gatherings recently.
Sui Zhixu had already tiptoed to the door and overheard the conversation outside.
The reputation of Prince Xuanping was even better than she had imagined. In the mansion, she had only heard her father and mother occasionally mention that Prince Xuanping was different from the bloodline of the fallen dynasties in previous dynasties, and that he had a good reputation among the people. She did not expect him to be so good, comparable to...
Um, her mind went blank, and she couldn't think of any examples.
Yueling sat by the water mirror and seized the opportunity to talk to Sui Zhixu, "You should read more books. No matter how smart you are, you can't compare to someone who is learned and knowledgeable if your mind is empty."
Sui Zhixu's eyebrows twitched. "You've been eavesdropping on my thoughts again."
"I've formed a master-disciple contract with you, and now I can only talk to you through the Water Mirror, but you ignore me. If you don't talk to me, then no one will talk to me for the next six months, so I'll just listen occasionally." Yue Ling joked, being so shameless that you couldn't do anything about it.
"Enough with the nonsense. Although Prince Xuanping's trip deviated from our plan, it wasn't without its gains. We can postpone the matter of using my uncle to spy on the system for a while."
Her original intention was to have a second chance at love, using her uncle to attack Prince Xuanping through public opinion, to test whether the system considered it an act of harming him. Now, Prince Xuanping is publicly exchanging poems with her uncle.
This plan is now scrapped.
As Xu Zhixu was lost in thought, the door in front of her suddenly opened, and she quickly dodged it.
"It's me."
Fan Lingzhang's gaze shifted from the table to the crimson shawl peeking out from the corner, his eyes filled with a smile.
"Why are you hiding under the table? Patriarch Sui has already taken Uncle away." Fan Lingzhang stepped forward and lifted the tablecloth, his forehead almost bumping into Sui Zhixu, who was about to come out.
The scent of jasmine wafted over, and Sui Zhixu recoiled abruptly. Luckily, she had a keen sense of smell, and the wound on her forehead had only recently healed; she didn't want to touch it again.
The face so close to his eyes flashed into Fan Lingzhang's view. He awkwardly piled the tablecloth on the table and waited for Sui Zhixu to come out.
"Have you seen a maid looking for me?"
Fluffy white snowflakes drifted down onto the window. Fan Lingzhang lowered his eyes, not answering Sui Zhixu's question first, but instead looking out the window, he said, "It's snowing."
Following Fan Lingzhang's gaze, Xu looked out the window. The fluttering snowflakes resembled willow catkins dancing in the sky. They fell from the sky and were manipulated by the wind, adorning the world with a silver-white coat.
As Xu's fingers unconsciously rubbed together, she made up an excuse for herself: she needed to use the restroom and couldn't stay any longer.
She didn't want to waste too much time with Fan Lingzhang. "Do you really want to be tied to the Prime Minister's mansion?"
After Fan Lingzhang finished speaking, he kept looking at her and said as if nothing was wrong, "Just like my wife, I am a businessman. Businessmen value profit and do not distinguish between factions."
"The Prime Minister holds a high position of power and enjoys the Emperor's deep trust. By aligning myself with Prime Minister Cong, I can reap greater profits, which in turn will enrich the Prime Minister's household with gold and silver treasures, allowing my wife to live a life of luxury. Isn't that a win-win situation?"
"Why must I associate with people from the previous dynasty? My wife has passed away. If it weren't for the fact that my wife happens to be related to the Prince of Xuanping by blood, I wouldn't have been so foolish as to associate with people from the previous dynasty in the first place."
Sui Zhixu nodded reluctantly, "The reason is acceptable."
She stood by the window, looking at the pastry shop in the distance, and said in a low voice, "My mother will soon announce me as the young master of the Sui family. I can give you the conveniences and connections you want with the powerful. I don't need gold and silver treasures, but I need to lend you your people."
Fan Lingzhang was naturally willing. Seeing that Xu nodded, he casually said that he would keep in touch later, and then hurriedly went downstairs.
Although she had no brain, she learned very quickly. Not long ago, she overheard her father talking to her mother after returning from the Fan family. One of the sentences was, "As long as there are interests, there are no eternal enemies."
She and Fan Lingzhang currently share a common enemy, making cooperation a mutually beneficial option.
"Dan Hong, I'm here." Sui Zhixu stood on the stairs and immediately saw the flustered Dan Hong in the hall.
"My lady, where have you been? You scared me to death! You just got home. If something had happened to you, how could I explain it to the master?"
Dan Hong's voice was clearly choked with sobs, and a hint of helplessness suddenly appeared on Xu Zhixu's usually indifferent face.
She tried her best to imitate the gentle voice of Prince Xuanping and said to Danhong, "I just went to the toilet, but I couldn't find a place for a while, which is why it took a little longer."
Once Dan Hong calmed down, she quickly changed the subject, "I vaguely heard my mother's voice, has she arrived?"
Danhong, carrying the pastries, gently wiped away the tears from her eyes. "You've arrived. I just ran into the master at the door. He saw me waiting for you and asked where you were. I'm waiting for you in the carriage now."
"Then let's hurry up and go." Sui Zhixu lifted her skirt and walked towards the carriage. From afar, she saw her uncle standing and pacing beside the carriage.
"uncle."
Sui Zhixu suddenly spoke up, and Sui Shan was shocked, clutching his heaving chest, "What are you doing here?"
"Buy pastries."
Her words were concise and to the point, and her tone was neither warm nor cold, just like her father's, no wonder he hated her so much.
Sui Shan turned his back and hummed softly.
As Sui Zhixu boarded the carriage, he unexpectedly encountered a gaze that was deep, gentle, and obscure.
"Mother."
Sui He affectionately pulled Sui Zhixu's hand and made her sit down beside him. "Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. Your third aunt's letter will arrive in Chang'an tomorrow morning, and our family will be able to have a reunion this year."
Sui Zhixu nodded. Although Yueling said that she was one with the original Sui Zhixu and was originally a girl of Sui He, she still found it difficult to accept her mother's intimacy.
Perhaps she didn't have a mother in her past life.
"The snow came suddenly, you must not have brought umbrellas, look at your head full of white."
Sui Zhixu lowered her head and let Sui He remove the snowflakes from her head. The pearls by her ears swayed into Sui Zhixu's collarbone with the movement, the cool touch like snow outside the window melting into her skin.
It also wafted into Sui Zhixu's heart.
That night, Sui Zhixu tossed and turned, unable to sleep, and finally fell asleep just before dawn.
A gust of wind swept through the bamboo forest, and in the rainy night, swords gleamed. "Kill! Kill the escaped traitor!"
A face, indistinct beneath the carved beams and embroidered doors, argued with her...
“Something from outer space helped me, and from then on, I was blessed with good fortune and ascended to the throne.”
Fragmented, blurry images flashed through her mind, and as she struggled to break free, she was instead pulled into them.
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