Chapter 644 Wen Jue's Assessment of the Situation
In order to prevent Yu Huanzhen from marrying into the family, she went to great lengths to meet Wenxi, giving her the illusion that becoming the Princess of Chu would make her the Empress.
This also made the King of Chu think that if he didn't marry Wenxi, the Yongchang Marquis's mansion would abandon him in the same way they abandoned the deposed crown prince.
Thus, the King of Chu and Wenxi quickly hit it off and became a couple.
Yu Zhenhuan, the stumbling block between the two, naturally needs to be removed.
With the King of Chu and Wenxi taking the initiative, Yu Huanzhen only needed to cooperate slightly, and the annulment of the engagement became a foregone conclusion.
After hearing what Zhen Huan said, Qiao Qinghe thought to herself, no wonder Zhen Huan's behavior changed so much today, and no wonder he questioned Miss Wen in public whether she was in love with the Prince of Chu.
It turns out that everything was premeditated.
Lady Yongning and Qiao Qinghe exchanged a glance, both seeing hesitation and probing in each other's eyes.
Finally, Lady Yongning spoke first, tentatively saying, "Madam, Princess Huaiyang has been frequently seen in front of the Emperor lately, and it seems that she is even more favored by the Emperor than the princes."
Qiao Qinghe smiled and agreed, "Who says otherwise? If you ask me, Princess Huaiyang is in no way inferior to the princes in terms of courage and strategy."
Lady Yongning nodded. "By shifting the blame eastward, we easily solved the problem of wanting to annul the engagement."
"Princess Huaiyang is indeed intelligent," Qiao Qinghe praised sincerely.
No matter how you look at it, the King of Chu was the one who initiated the annulment of the engagement.
Digging deeper, it turns out that the King of Chu and Wenxi were secretly having an affair, and at most it was Min Pan'er who instigated it.
It has absolutely no connection whatsoever with the Yongning Marquis's residence.
But who would have thought that the first to want to break off the engagement would be the Yongning Marquis's mansion!
Why did Li Sanqi take the initiative to remind the Yongning Marquis's Mansion? And why did he go to the trouble of helping the Yongning Marquis's Mansion solve its problems?
Both of them were intelligent people, and neither of them said it outright, but they both knew the purpose of Li Sanqi's actions.
Lady Yongning and Qiao Qinghe exchanged another glance, and this time, they both understood each other perfectly.
The crown prince has been deposed.
The moment King Qi tacitly approved the Liu family's killing of Min Yuexi, he was eliminated from Qiao Qinghe's circle.
The King of Chu was rejected by Qiao Qinghe even earlier.
Qiao Qinghe initially held some goodwill towards the King of Chu. After all, the King of Chu had initially protected Li Sanqi, fought for her, and even volunteered to go to Daxi to escort her to her wedding, disregarding his own safety.
However, after returning from Daxi, from the moment the King of Chu publicly defended Min Pan'er in the border town, the King of Chu was out of the picture with her.
An emotionally driven King of Chu is no match for the crown prince, much less the emperor.
As for the other princes, they were either too young or their mothers were of low social status, so they were raised to be timid and submissive, like invisible people, and had no chance of competing with them.
After all the calculations, only Princess Li Sanqi, born of the legitimate wife, stood out the most.
***
With the matter of the King of Chu announcing the marriage settled, Li Sanqi took his leave first.
News of today's flower banquet must have already reached Emperor Xiaozhao's ears; she must go to the palace to apologize.
But before that, she needed to see Xia Linyuan.
Although the flower banquet was a complete mess, as long as Xia Linyuan has someone he likes, the flower banquet is not a complete failure.
However, as soon as she stepped out the door, Wen Jue chased after her.
"Princess, please wait!"
Upon seeing Wen Jue chasing after him, Li Sanqi composed himself and put on a smile again. "Uncle, is there something else you need me for?"
Wen Jue looked at Li Sanqi with a complicated expression. "May I speak to you in private?"
Li Sanqi thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "Let's go to the pavilion in front."
Wen Jue nodded.
Soon the two entered the pavilion, leaving the maids and servants who were serving Wenxiu and the others at a distance.
"What brings you here, Uncle?" Li Sanqi asked bluntly as soon as he entered the pavilion.
Wen Jue hesitated for a moment before saying, "I've heard that the princess and Madam Qiao are close friends despite their age difference, and that the princess is also very close to Miss Qiao. Is this true?"
Li Sanqi was slightly taken aback, then smiled broadly and teased, "Uncle, you're not asking this because you want me to act as a mediator and go to the Qiao residence to mediate for you, are you?"
Wen Jue nodded earnestly: "That is indeed the intention. If the princess can help me to make this happen, I will definitely follow her lead."
"Follow the horse's lead?" Li Sanqi narrowed his eyes, looking completely clueless, and asked in surprise, "Uncle, are you mistaken?"
Wen Jue smiled, “A single Lady Qinghe has connected the Enping Marquis’s Mansion, the Yongning Marquis’s Mansion, and the Jin State Duke’s Mansion.”
"If the princess does not abandon me, I am willing to become her assistant."
Li Sanqi's smile faded. "Is Uncle testing me?"
“No.” Wen Jue smiled bitterly. “I’m just trying to find a way out for myself and for the Yongchang Marquis’s mansion.”
Li Sanqi curled the corners of his lips. "Shouldn't the future of the Yongchang Marquis's mansion lie with the Prince of Chu?"
Wen Jue smiled bitterly, "Only my mother and the others are blinded by the current glory of the Marquis's mansion and cannot see reality. They still think that since the Crown Prince has been deposed, the Prince of Chu is the only remaining legitimate son, and the position of Crown Prince belongs to him."
"But it's clear to anyone with eyes that the current King of Chu is not as good as the deposed crown prince back then."
"His Majesty is not even satisfied with the deposed Crown Prince, so how could he be satisfied with the current Prince of Chu?"
Li Sanqi laughed for real this time. "But Uncle should also know that since the founding of the Great Yan Kingdom, there has never been a precedent of a woman being the crown prince."
Wen Jue took a deep breath. "It's all up to human effort. Just because it didn't happen before doesn't mean it won't happen in the future."
"As long as the princess is willing, I am willing to do my part for her."
Li Sanqi stared intently at Wen Jue, his gaze filled with scrutiny and inquiry.
After a long silence, she slowly spoke, but the topic shifted elsewhere, "My uncle publicly proposed to Qiao Yuanyao, was he trying to force the Qiao family to accept the marriage, so that he could get close to the Qiao family and me?"
Wen Jue shook his head, "Part of the reason for proposing marriage in public was to help the Qiao family out of a predicament, and another part was to try to win for myself."
In the end, he did indeed harbor some thoughts of testing the waters.
He wasn't entirely sure at first, but now he was certain that Li Sanqi was behind today's events.
"Strive for what?" Li Sanqi was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Does your uncle like Yuanyao?"
Wen Jue nodded shyly, "It all started with liking Furong Junzi's paintings. Later, after returning to the capital, I learned that Furong Junzi was the Qiao family's daughter, so I paid more attention to her and gradually became interested in her."
"No wonder my uncle was so determined to choose Yuanyao back then at Fahua Temple."
A genuine smile appeared in Li Sanqi's eyes. "I will go to the Qiao family to mediate this matter on behalf of my uncle."
"However, I cannot guarantee whether the Qiao family will agree."
“Of course,” Wen Jue quickly replied. “Whether this matter succeeds or not, I will always remember the princess’s kindness in working for me.”
Li Sanqi remained noncommittal and continued, "As for my maternal grandmother, my uncle will have to find a way to persuade her himself."
Wen Jue nodded again, "Princess, don't worry, I will find a way to get Mother to agree."
"Finally," Li Sanqi stared directly at Wen Jue and said, enunciating each word clearly, "I want the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion to fully support me."
"Listen carefully, what I want is not you and the meager power you possess."
"What I need is the full support of the Marquis of Yongchang's mansion."
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