Chapter 150 Chess Player
Her voice suddenly rose, with a hint of trembling and grievance:
"It's been spreading all over the capital these past three days. Qin Xiu, such a proud man, has disregarded the rumors in the capital and repeatedly lowered himself to come to Ning Pavilion to find you."
"But you, not only do you stay indoors, you also refuse to say a word, leaving him waiting in vain."
"Jiang Qingning, is your heart made of stone?"
Li Youwei became more and more excited as she spoke, tears welling in her eyes: "I can see it, I can see it clearly, the way you look at him is different from others, when he looks at you, that look..."
She choked, as if unable to accurately describe the complex and deep emotions in Qin Xiu's eyes.
"That's something he's never given to anyone, not even me. I, Li Youwei, do like him and have liked him for many years, but I know that he only has you, Jiang Qingning, in his eyes and heart. I admit it. I'm even planning to withdraw. I don't want to be stuck between you like a joke anymore."
Her voice was filled with broken tears. She took a deep breath and stared into Jiang Qingning's eyes.
"But what have you done? You turned around and hooked up with He Ning, the powerful prince of Zhenbei who just returned to the capital. Are you so impatient to leave Qin Xiu and throw him away like a rag?"
"Jiang Qingning, I really don't understand you. I thought we were at least friends, but now I realize that I didn't see through you at all. Can you tell me why?"
There was a dead silence in the flower hall, with only the sound of Li Youwei's slightly rapid breathing.
She stared at Jiang Qingning intently, her chest heaving violently.
Jiang Qingning stood quietly, enduring all of Li Youwei's anger, confusion and accusations.
The light and shadow outside the window fell on her plain clothes, swaying her desolate outline.
She did not answer immediately, her gaze passing over the excited Li Youwei was like a stone thrown into the bottom of a deep pool, which caused barely perceptible ripples to appear, but was then swallowed up by the deeper darkness in an instant.
She slowly raised her hand, ignoring Li Youwei's questioning, and reached for the teacup that Zhiqiu had just served on the small table next to her.
"Princess."
Jiang Qingning finally spoke, his voice had a strange penetrating power, suppressing Li Youwei's panting.
She did not lower her eyes, but instead looked at the green leaves in the teacup that were stretching out and slowly floating up and down.
"You said you understand Qin Xiu, and you understand me too?"
She paused, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the warm wall of the cup, but the warmth could not penetrate the coldness in her eyes.
"The winter eight years ago."
Her voice was very light, like a feather, but it carried a great weight.
"My father and brothers fought bloody battles for the great cause in Mobei, escaping death by the skin of their teeth, only to achieve a great victory that will go down in history. When the news of this victory reached the capital, the whole country rejoiced.
But what awaits them is not the glory of a triumphant return, nor the rewards they deserve, but rather the targeting of the powerful and an imperial edict from His Majesty, sympathizing with the meritorious officials and bestowing favors on Lingnan."
"Compassion? What a funny word."
The corners of Jiang Qingning's lips curled up slightly, without a trace of smile, but with a deep irony.
"Lingnan is a smoky and wild place, uncultivated. It was ostensibly a promotion, but in reality it was an exile. The imperial edict was issued, and no one was allowed to argue. Not a single court official who had been on good terms with me pleaded for mercy.
In order to prevent my father and brother from being isolated and helpless, my mother took the initiative to take my seven-year-old sister Qingxi with her husband and son to Lingnan, separating us from our flesh and blood forever.
She raised her eyes and her gaze fell on Li Youwei's face.
His gaze remained calm, but it was like a needle tempered with ice, piercing people's hearts.
"The princess was born in splendid circumstances and raised in the deep palace. Do you know what it's like to be in the miasma of Lingnan?"
"My Lady, do you know that wild place is full of snakes, insects, rats and ants, and there is a lack of medical care and medicine. A cold can kill someone, and my family has endured there for eight whole years."
Her voice was still steady, but the fingertips gripping the cup wall were slightly white due to the force.
Jiang Qingning's gaze shifted away from Li Youwei's shocked face and looked out the window, his voice filled with fatigue and desolation that penetrated deep into his bones.
"I foolishly believed in the friendship between childhood sweethearts and the Xun family's promise to protect the Jiang family if the two families were to be at peace.
For this foolish trust, for that ridiculous engagement, I stayed alone in this capital city surrounded by wolves, guarding the last bit of dowry left by the Xiao family for my mother.
In the cannibalistic backyard of the Jiang Mansion, I dealt with my two good uncles and my kind grandmother, trying my best to protect what my mother left me. I was so worried and anxious at every step.
During those eight years, I was in the Qingyi Courtyard of the Anping Marquis's mansion. Princess, what do you think I was doing? Singing to the wind and moon, lamenting the passing of time, waiting for Xun Chen's tiny favor? How ridiculous!
She sneered softly, her laughter was short and cold, filled with endless sadness and self-mockery.
"I am enduring, like a stone thrown into a corner, enduring day after day, enduring their cold eyes, suffering their harshness, and following their calculations.
It's because my father and brother were demoted, the Jiang family lost power, and because in their eyes, I was married off early to seek the protection of the Anping Marquis's mansion, and I can be treated as a burden at will!"
Jiang Qingning spoke calmly as he revealed his bloody past bit by bit.
"What sustained me during those years, besides the little dowry I had to protect, were the bits and pieces of information I learned from Lingnan. I engraved every word into my bones."
She took a slow breath, as if to push back the chill and pain that had accumulated for eight years into her heart.
Looking at Li Youwei, whose face had turned pale and the anger in her eyes was replaced by astonishment and a hint of confusion.
"The princess asked me why I agreed to He Ning? Why did I ignore Qin Xiu?"
Jiang Qingning tilted her head slightly, the light from the sky outside the window outlining her thin and resolute profile. The corners of her lips seemed to bend slightly, but the words she spoke were exceptionally clear and resolute.
"Because love is the most useless and extravagant thing in this world. It can't fill the stomachs of relatives exiled to Lingnan, it can't stop the fangs of jackals in the capital, and it can't warm the heart of the emperor on the dragon throne, who can separate people and destroy families with a single decree!"
"On my chessboard, Jiang Qingning, love doesn't even count as a piece on the corner."
Her gaze was sharp, piercing Li Youwei's heart.
A sharp cracking sound suddenly broke the suffocating silence in the hall.
Li Youwei staggered back a step, her face as pale as paper. There was no trace of her previous pride and anger left, only great horror and confusion.
The fire in her beautiful almond-shaped eyes died, replaced by disbelief and shock, and a fear that felt like looking into the abyss.
Jiang Qingning is not trying to curry favor with the powerful, nor is she in love with someone else. What she sees is not love or romance at all.
She saw a cold and cruel chess game, and the hand holding the chess pieces was pointing at the supreme emperor.
Li Youwei didn't dare to think about it anymore.
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