Chapter 97 The box will never be opened...
You'll never know if the cat inside is alive or dead until you open the box, and many prophecies in history have come true precisely because those who heard them chose to believe them.
But in the story she knew, Prince Cheng was the main villain, and his final fate was to be disgraced and poisoned. Xiao Yan felt that she couldn't guarantee whether speaking those words would make things better or destroy everything that was gradually getting better.
After all, the current situation is quite different from the reality she knows. What if her reckless words, instead of pushing Qin Ji onto a better path, actually push him back to the original plot?
More importantly, her Qin Ji is quite different from the character in the original novel; perhaps they aren't even the same person. After all, the original novel didn't say that the main antagonist, Prince Cheng, was a time traveler. If she presumptuously tells Qin Ji that he's just a character in a novel, how will he feel?
Even if he's not the type to question his own existence, what about their relationship? Wouldn't he question their relationship?
Although several months had passed, Xiao Yan Hui still vividly remembered Qin Ji's outburst that day. Although he was mostly normal, it didn't stop Xiao Yan Hui from knowing that deep down, Qin Ji probably had a trigger point that could explode at any moment.
For such a person, if the two of them want to continue their relationship, maintaining his inner peace is perhaps more important than any "prophet".
Moreover, there are some things she can do herself or have Qin Ji do, so there's no need to reveal the so-called plot that has been completely distorted.
"Yan Hui, Yan Hui!" Her hand was pulled twice, and Xiao Yan Hui came back to her senses to see Qin Ji's eyes filled with grievance and dissatisfaction.
"Were you lying when you said you felt sorry for me? Otherwise, why were you so distracted when you looked at my face?"
Seeing his expression as if he was about to cause trouble, Xiao Yan Hui, unusually, played along: "Then you have to prove that I truly care about you."
Upon hearing this, Qin Ji's eyes lit up. He endured the pain and leaned towards Xiao Yan Hui, then raised his face and said, "It's not difficult. Just give me a kiss and I'll believe you."
"You rascal!" Despite having a handsome face with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, he was now acting like a sea lion. Xiao Yan, who had just been full of worry, heartache and confusion, couldn't help but laugh at him.
She quickly leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead: "Good boy! Rest well, I'll go to the kitchen and make you something to eat."
Watching the person disappear through the doorway in the blink of an eye, Qin Ji reached out and gently touched the forehead, which was still slightly cool and soft to the touch. He shook his head helplessly and affectionately: "Finally, you've recovered your spirits."
But is this how you comfort someone who treats you like a child? You've been called a scoundrel, but you haven't done anything scoundrelly at all. You've lost out!
However, his relief was short-lived. Qin Ji soon began to consider the situation again. Now that he had made his first move, choosing to feign weakness and retreat as a strategic advance, would his good brothers' next move proceed as he had anticipated?
......
In the Fifth Prince's residence, the Fifth Prince Li Sheng was practicing calligraphy in his study when he heard a secret report delivered by his trusted eunuch. His brush paused slightly, and a drop of ink fell onto the Xuan paper and slowly spread.
A single drop of ink ruined a beautiful piece of calligraphy that was about to be written, but the Fifth Prince showed no displeasure whatsoever; on the contrary, he was in an excellent mood.
He slowly put down his pen, his inner joy and anger not showing on his face, and only asked indifferently, "Did the sixth brother really take twenty lashes and then faint at the gate of the mansion?"
"This is what the scouts reported: the people had to be carried in, and Princess Cheng was in a great panic," the eunuch whispered.
Li Sheng was silent for a moment, then a half-smile appeared on his lips: "Shiqi, do you think my sixth brother is really a Casanova?" His tone was calm, but it carried a hint of sarcasm and mockery.
Today, Xue Shiqi was still drinking alone, but this time the wine in his glass was finally the fine wine from Jiangzuo that he loved.
Hearing the Fifth Prince's question, he simply said, "What does it matter whether it's true or false? All I know is that after this beating today, the Second Prince probably won't be keeping such a close eye on the Sixth Prince like before. The vacant position in the Ministry of Revenue will probably not be so easy for our people to get."
"You mean... the sixth prince staged a self-inflicted injury, but he doesn't have much influence in the court to begin with, so even if you suppress him, the effect is limited. On the contrary, by following the emperor's wishes and marrying a woman from a high-ranking family, he can gain considerable support. This move of his is not a good one."
The Fifth Prince has recently come to deeply understand the difficulty of finding fault with the Sixth Prince.
Recently, his men have been looking for an opportunity to impeach Li Hui, but since this sixth brother has been acting under the identity of Qin Ji in his fiefdom for a long time, it is difficult to find any loopholes in him.
After searching high and low, all that could be said were trivial matters such as competing with the people for profit and being too negligent in managing the affairs of the fiefdom.
However, the charge of laziness is definitely off-limits. From the emperor down to local officials, who in the entire court wouldn't want the princes granted fiefdoms to be a little lazy? They'd be happier if they got less involved in local affairs. And strangely enough, although the sixth prince seems to rarely participate in local affairs, he has had an excellent reputation in Jiangzuo in recent years.
As for the matter of trading, I thought that my father would have some reservations about the sixth prince's financial resources, but I didn't expect that all the impeachment memorials were suppressed.
It seems that the sixth prince gave the Imperial Treasury more money than expected, so much so that the Emperor could hardly give up this benefit.
"Sixth Prince's actions are not entirely without reason. If he can get the help of the Xie or Kong families, it would indeed be worthwhile to be a scapegoat. But the fear is that he might marry someone but not get the help he needs."
Given the Xie and Kong families' ways, they might not even look favorably upon the Sixth Prince. Even if the Emperor were to bestow a marriage upon their daughter, they could simply give up one of their daughters.
Moreover, His Majesty's decision to bestow a marriage upon the Sixth Prince into a prestigious family may not be entirely sincere. The Xuanwu Marquis's family is also on that list. Perhaps His Majesty wants the horse to run but doesn't want to feed it, which explains why the Sixth Prince is so reluctant.
Xue Shiqi said with a smile, showing no restraint in comparing a prince to a horse.
"Heh!" Li Sheng chuckled briefly. "Father..." He wanted to say that his father was like that, all talk and no action, but when it came to actually giving benefits, he wasn't so generous. However, saying that would be presumptuous, so he changed his mind and said, "No matter the reason, it's true that he disobeyed Father and angered Father."
The Fifth Prince walked to the window, looked at the bamboo in the courtyard, and slowly said, "Father originally wanted to use him to stir up trouble. Is he also indicating that he is not willing to be used as a pawn by Father against us?"
"No matter how much noise there is about the Sixth Prince, he ultimately lacks a solid foundation. He hasn't been able to compare to His Highness for over a decade because of his efforts. So, now that this spectacle is over, we should turn our attention back to the Prince."
Xue Shiqi held up two fingers and shook them: "Your Highness, our focus remains unchanged, and your greatest enemy has never changed. As for the Sixth Prince, since he has taken a step back first, wouldn't it be great to keep such a capable younger brother who is extremely good at making money if he continues to know when to advance and when to retreat?
Upon hearing this, Li Sheng was taken aback for a moment, then exchanged a glance with Xue Shiqi. Seeing his meaningful smile, he couldn't help but burst into laughter: "Absolutely right, absolutely right! Shiqi, you've thought things through much further."
Xue Shiqi smiled and poured him a glass of wine. The two clinked glasses and drank it down at the same time, as if they could already see the good times ahead for the Fifth Prince.
But after the laughter, we still had serious business to discuss.
"Although Lao Liu's move saves us from having to deal with such an unexpected variable, we can't just let him run wild."
"Your Highness, rest assured, there are already people keeping an eye on things at Prince Cheng's residence. It's just a pity that the Sixth Prince is playing the role of a romantic hero and is extremely restrained when it comes to women. Several attempts to arrange a trap with beauties have had no effect whatsoever. Otherwise, when it comes to gathering information and keeping watch, women placed in the inner courtyard are still the most useful."
Xue Shiqi's words were casual and ordinary, which seemed to be their usual tactic. One wonders what the many women in the capital who longed for Xue Langjun would think if they knew that the seemingly elegant and noble Xue Shiqi had such a side.
"With the incident at the top of the main hall just over, the sixth brother will probably be extremely cautious about women for a while. As for the second brother, I heard that Miss Xie, whom he has been longing for but cannot have, is about to return to the capital? After the incident of the caning on the sixth brother, I suppose the second brother will not treat him as a major threat as before."
Xue Shiqi understood immediately: "Your Highness means that the Second Prince will also think that the threat posed by the Sixth Prince has been temporarily eliminated or weakened, so he will take action against us? So we should cause him some trouble first?"
"Before today, the most famous womanizer in the capital was my good second brother. His affection for Miss Xie was known to everyone. Now that Miss Xie is coming back, we should naturally create some good opportunities for him."
"Old fox Xie has been using this daughter to string his second son along for long enough. If he keeps doing this, his daughter will be an old maid by now, and the young master of the Wang family won't be able to wait any longer. Since they're so indecisive, let's be good people and give them a push, so that the lovers can finally be together, and so as not to delay Miss Xie's fate."
"Then why not have Jing'er host a banquet? Let's do it after the banquet at the Sixth Prince's residence. It would be a return gift and also a way to win over that princess; it seems she still has a lot of favor with her. Most importantly, we can use the excuse of introducing her to various noble families in the capital and helping her integrate into the capital's social circles to invite everyone we should. Then we can all gather together..."
The Jing'er that Xue Shiqi mentioned was naturally the Fifth Prince's wife, who was also his younger sister. He knew his sister was intelligent, and it would be much more convenient to let her arrange many matters concerning the women.
Upon hearing this, the Fifth Prince also felt that it made sense. Although he had secretly dealt with the Sixth Prince, it was a covert operation, unlike the Second Prince, who acted as if he wanted to announce his name as soon as possible. He was confident that the Sixth Prince had not noticed anything, and even if he had noticed one or two things, the Sixth Prince might have pinned them all on the Second Prince.
So on the surface, they are just strangers, but Lao Liu, who went to his fiefdom at a young age, is stranger to everyone. So as long as we show goodwill first, we may be able to win him over.
Thinking of this, the Fifth Prince felt even more contempt for the Second Prince's reckless and short-sighted actions. He was far inferior to him. If it weren't for his mother being more favored and his maternal family being more powerful, what could such a person use to compete with him?
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