“Song Qingzhang is on good terms with the young master of the Yan family. Heling and Yujing are far apart and cannot communicate in a timely manner. When the young master invites Song Qingzhang to a banquet, the young master of the Yan family, unaware of your intentions, will naturally suspect that Song Qingzhang has turned against him. Wouldn’t this have the effect of sowing discord? That’s one point.”
After Zhu Jiayu finished speaking, Gu Zhongyi sat up slightly: "Okay, let's consider that as one. What about two?"
"In Yujing, everyone knows the relationship between the Crown Prince and Young Master Yan, as well as between Song Qingzhang and Young Master Yan. If you host a banquet for Song Qingzhang now, the people of Yujing will only think that you are putting aside past grievances and want to fulfill your duties as a host. This will spread and greatly benefit the Crown Prince's reputation. That is the second point."
Gu Zhongyi narrowed his eyes, leaned forward slightly, and asked Zhu Jiayu, "Where's the third one?"
Zhu Jiayu said, "Back when Song Qingzhang was in Yujing, he was a lackey of Young Master Yan and often acted like a fox borrowing the tiger's power. He even spoke rudely to you. But now that you have invited Song Qingzhang to a banquet, he dares not refuse, but he does not know your intentions. Naturally, he is extremely frightened. In this way, you can deal with him without bloodshed and make him lose here. This is the third point."
"Song Qingzhang once spoke rudely to me?" Gu Zhongyi frowned. How come he had never heard of this?
Zhu Jiayu naturally didn't know if Song Qingzhang had spoken disrespectfully to her, but Song Qingzhang had committed several crimes, so one more wouldn't make much difference. After all, he was on the opposite side of Wei Qinglou, and Gu Zhongyi was on Wei Qinglou's side; the two were destined to be enemies. Therefore, she felt no guilt whatsoever in fabricating this lie, and even spoke with great conviction:
"It is true. This man is arrogant and treacherous, with a haughty attitude. He even tried to harm Lord Wei. It is normal for him to disrespect the young master. However, the young master is magnanimous and probably won't take it to heart even if he hears about this. But Song Qingzhang will not be grateful to you. He will only become more ruthless. Jia Yu thinks it is necessary for the young master to teach him a lesson, otherwise it may embolden him."
Gu Zhongyi thought for a moment and said, "What you say makes sense. In that case, hosting a banquet for him would indeed kill three birds with one stone. But Miss Zhu has said so much about the benefits of inviting him to the banquet for me. What about the benefits for Miss Zhu?"
"Miss Zhu is not my strategist. Surely she wouldn't have made this special trip just to offer me advice?"
He looked at Zhu Jiayu in front of him, seemingly trying to glean some clue from her expression.
However, Zhu Jiayu's expression was upright, and even though Gu Zhongyi stared at her without blinking, he couldn't tell what kind of crooked thoughts she was harboring.
Zhu Jiayu was already prepared for Gu Zhongyi's question, and when she heard him ask about her connection with Song Qingzhang as she expected, she pursed her lips and said:
“Your Highness… I do have some grudges with him, and it’s not that I can’t talk about it, but I find it difficult to bring it up. If Your Highness can guarantee that you won’t mention it to a second person, then it’s not impossible for me to tell you the reason.”
Her expression darkened slightly, and she did seem to have something she couldn't say.
Gu Zhongyi then began to hesitate. On the one hand, he did not want to force anyone, but on the other hand, he was indeed quite curious about the grudge between Zhu Jiayu and Song Qingzhang.
From Zhu Jiayu's words just now, it's clear that she is a capable and insightful person, but also a very shrewd and vengeful one.
He really wanted to know what Song Qingzhang had done to offend her, that she had to go to such lengths to persuade him to host a banquet for Song Qingzhang.
After hesitating for a while, curiosity finally prevailed over his reason. He coughed lightly and said, "Tell me, and I promise I won't tell anyone else what you said."
To avoid appearing too gossipy, he added, "You have some connection with Wei Qinglou, so I naturally consider you a friend. If Song Qingzhang has really done something to wrong you, I will definitely stand up for you."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Jiayu blushed and lowered her head, saying, "No, it wasn't me, it was Lord Wei." Her smile was slightly bitter. "I heard that when Song Qingzhang was in Yujing, he actually plotted to frame Lord Wei, so I couldn't help but come to the young master, hoping that he could use the banquet as an excuse to punish Song Qingzhang."
"Although the difference in status between me and Lord Wei is like an insurmountable chasm, and I am well aware of my humble appearance and the fact that it is rare for you to favor me, I still want to do something for him in the way I can."
As she said this, she couldn't help but silently apologize to Wei Qinglou, but she had no choice. If she wanted to deal with Song Qingzhang, she needed a plausible reason that Gu Zhongyi could accept. After thinking it over, she could only think of Wei Qinglou as the pretext.
Amitabha.
Upon hearing this, Gu Zhongyi was indeed greatly shocked, but he quickly nodded with a serious expression: "I see. It's truly kind of you to go to such lengths. Wei Qinglou... sigh, I really didn't expect him to be that kind of person... Don't worry, when I see him next time, I will definitely get an explanation for you!"
In his view, since Wei Qinglou had already given the jade pendant personally bestowed by the Emperor to Zhu Jiayu, he naturally believed in her intentions. However, he did not expect that he would abandon her after starting something, and poor Zhu Jiayu had given her heart to the wrong person. Even now, her feelings for him have not diminished.
Gu Zhongyi despised Wei Qinglou's actions, but felt great pity for Zhu Jiayu, and sighed incessantly.
Although he often flirted with women, it was only because he had not yet found someone he loved. If he were to choose just one from among many women, he would cherish her dearly. Now that he knew that his friend was such a fickle lover, he even looked down on him.
Zhu Jiayu had no idea that Gu Zhongyi could make so many connections in just a few words, and even classify Wei Qinglou as a scumbag. Otherwise, she would have silently uttered a couple of "Amitabha"s.
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