The King of Qin saw a woman with a pale face, like a peony about to wither in winter, beautiful and stunning, yet fragile and touching.
Even he, who was never one to be soft-hearted, felt a pang of pity.
"Miss Chen, are you feeling unwell?"
Fearing she might disrupt the plan, Shen Mianmian hurriedly said, "I'm sorry to have worried Your Highness. I'm alright and gradually recovering."
The King of Qin nodded slightly, intending to speed things up so that Gu Zi could go back to rest sooner. He then asked Jiang Yinjin, "What are you trying to remind me of by suddenly bringing this up today?"
Jiang Yinjin lowered her voice, "This humble woman wants to ask Your Highness whether you wish for Prince Jin to rebel."
The King of Qin was taken aback. "Do you wish for it? What, is there still room for rebellion?"
“Yes! In my previous life, it was I who analyzed the pros and cons for my father and persuaded him to incite Minister Zhong to make a suggestion. In this way, if the rebellion succeeded, my father could claim credit for it; if the rebellion failed, it would be Minister Zhong’s suggestion and would have nothing to do with my father. I wonder if Your Highness understands what I mean.”
The King of Qin lowered his gaze, his scrutiny intensifying. "Are you saying that if you had followed the same path you took in your previous life and persuaded Minister Jiang, Prince Jin would have rebelled; conversely, without your persuasion, Prince Jin might not have rebelled?"
Jiang Yinjin's lips curled into a smug smile, then she lowered her eyes with feigned humility, "This humble woman dares not be arrogant. This humble woman can only say that there is a possibility."
Upon hearing this, the King of Qin felt a deep unease, as countless possibilities flooded his mind.
He scrutinized Jiang Yinjin—her face showed a determined look, and her eyes clearly showed a desire for credit.
He glanced at the Gu Zi next to Jiang Yinjin, only to find that the Gu Zi was pale and focused, as if it was also hearing these things for the first time and had no inner thoughts.
So... this is true?
At this moment, Jiang Yinjin added, "Of course, I will obey Your Highness's every command. If Your Highness wishes to achieve other goals, I will follow Your Highness's arrangements."
She paused, lowered her eyes, and whispered, "This humble woman asks for nothing more than that Your Highness will not forget her when you achieve great success."
The King of Qin felt disgusted—this woman, relying on her rebirth, had been causing trouble in the Marquis of Anning's mansion. When her affair was exposed, she was forced to divorce him, and now she actually wanted to come to the King of Qin's mansion? What kind of place was the King of Qin's mansion, a place that accepted filth?
That's quite a clever scheme.
At the same time, the King of Qin looked at Gu Zi, who had remained silent, and asked, "Miss Chen, what do you think?"
While struggling with dizziness, Shen Mianmian pinched her thigh hard to force herself to concentrate. "Your Highness, I am just a woman and do not know anything about these things."
[Is it not over yet? I really want to go back and lie in bed.]
"..." King of Qin.
The King of Qin knew this seemingly docile Gu Zi who was inwardly full of complaints. She would mutter to herself if there was anything in the outside world that she disagreed with or disapproved of.
Unexpectedly, this time, there was no internal struggle.
This can only mean that either Jiang Yinjin was telling the truth, or Gu Zi was unaware of the matter of deposing the empress.
After a moment's thought, the King of Qin asked, "In your previous life, you persuaded Minister Jiang. Are you confident you can do it again in this life?"
Jiang Yinjin glanced at Chen Mianmian beside her without leaving a trace. "Your Highness, my father is strict by nature and loyal to the court. He refuses to take sides. If I were to offer a word or two of advice, I'm afraid I would not be able to persuade him. Even in my previous life, I spent more than a month trying to persuade him."
The King of Qin frowned. "More than a month?"
"My father is stubborn."
Then, the King of Qin lowered his eyes and pondered. Jiang Yinjin also remained silent, but secretly glanced at Chen Mianmian.
Shen Mianmian could feel the concerned gazes, but she dared not be distracted. She was extremely dizzy, and now that she saw that the King of Qin was somewhat persuaded, how could she faint at this moment?
So even if the sky were to fall and the earth were to crack, she would grit her teeth and bear it.
After a long while, the King of Qin raised his eyes and asked, "How do you intend to explain these past few days of disappearance?"
Jiang Yinjin said, "I intend to tell the truth. I will say that I refused to go to Jiangnan and ran away from home. I met the prince by chance and stayed at the prince's mansion for a while. My family will help to smooth things over and will not make a fuss."
Seeing the King of Qin frown, Jiang Yinjin asked in a meaningful tone, "Does Your Highness not want outsiders to know that I am in your household? Or has Your Highness always hoped that I would selflessly offer you information without asking for anything in return?"
The King of Qin's eyes turned cold instantly, and a murderous aura emanated from his body.
Even in her deepest sleep, everyone was worried for Jiang Yinjin.
Jiang Yinjin gave Shen Mianmian a reassuring look, and then said softly, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Your Highness. I've died once, and the last thing I care about is life and death."
"..." King of Qin.
Ultimately, the King of Qin had no choice but to accept Jiang Yinjin's terms of alliance: "I have always rewarded people according to their merits. As long as your contribution is sufficient, I will give you what you want."
Jiang Yinjin smiled and said, "I have always known that Your Highness is a person who rewards and punishes fairly."
The King of Qin glanced at the pale-faced woman and raised his voice, "Guards!"
Hongye and Luluo, who were waiting at the door, entered and said, "Your Highness, we are here."
The King of Qin pointed and said, "Prepare a room for her to rest here."
"!!!"
Everyone was shocked.
Red Leaf and Green Ivy were astonished—preparing a room in the main courtyard? The Prince wanted to keep Miss Chen in the main courtyard? Could it be…that he intended to favor her?
Jiang Yinjin also looked at Chen Mianmian with a panicked expression.
[Sleepless: No way? I'm already this sick, and this beast still wants to take advantage of me? That's inhuman!]
"..." King of Qin.
He wanted her to stay because of his oversight in letting the frail Shen Mianmian dine in the main courtyard, and he felt bad about it. Now he wanted to make up for it as much as possible, but who knew she would misunderstand.
The King of Qin was about to change his mind and tell her to go back to her room, but he swallowed the words back down his throat. He had been looking forward to hearing her thoughts all day to relieve his boredom. If he just told her to go back like this, wouldn't he have waited in vain?
Besides, it's uncertain when she'll recover from her illness, so he can't possibly condescend to come to the guest room every day, can he?
Seeing the woman's terrified face, the King of Qin suddenly felt a sense of exhilaration, even more so than when he had pried open the mouth of a stubborn person in the imperial prison.
He stood up and said, "I have to be busy for a while. Miss Jiang can return to the Jiang residence whenever she wishes."
With that, he left the dining hall.
Inside the dining hall, only Chen Mianmian, Jiang Yinjin, and a few maids who had just entered remained.
In a moment of quick thinking, Shen Mianmian said to the maids, "You all go out first. Miss Jiang wants to go home, and I want to talk to her for a few more minutes."
"Yes." Everyone left.
The crowd didn't have to be so obedient, but the prince had surprisingly ordered the woman to move to the main courtyard, which meant that Shen Mianmian had probably caught the prince's eye, so no one dared to disobey.
As soon as everyone left, Chen Mianmian grabbed Jiang Yinjin's hand and said seriously, "Listen to me, let's leave now! Have Hongye or Lulu arrange for someone to go through with it. We can't wait for him to back out!"
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