He lowered his eyes and said, "Your Highness, Prince Gong is far from being as kind as you see him. People are fickle. Once Your Highness sees the true face of the Prince, how will you conduct yourself?"
Su Wanyan looked at Su Shiyan: "Does Lord Su mean to say that he is that kind person?"
Su Shiyan choked up immediately.
Su Wanyan smiled and pressed on, "Are you? Marquis Yuanning? One of my brothers and sisters who used to live under the same roof?"
If it were someone from this era, Su Wanyan would really be swayed by Su Shiyan's words.
In this era, a woman's foundation rested primarily on either her husband's family or her mother's family.
Unfortunately, Su Wanyan was not a woman of this era; in fact, she was completely unyielding.
"If that's the case, why would you have disregarded my life and death back then? Isn't that right, Lord Su?"
If that were the case, he wouldn't have gone to the prison to persuade Zhen Yuhuai to commit suicide, nor would he have stood by and watched Su Muqing die in prison.
Su Wanyan's tone was sarcastic, showing him no respect whatsoever.
Su Shiyan was silent for a moment: "But at least, the blood flowing in Her Majesty's veins is the same as ours."
They are blood relatives, so they are definitely more reliable than Yu Nanqing, aren't they?
"Lord Su," Su Wanyan suddenly asked with a smile, "Do you think I'm easy to manipulate?"
Su Shiyan lowered his eyes and replied fluently, "Your Majesty, I merely offer you a suggestion."
"A suggestion?" Su Wanyan continued, "Does Lord Su know me? Do you remember me? Do you have any impression of me?"
Su Shiyan frowned, having absolutely no recollection of Su Wanyan.
Let alone whether you remember or not.
He opened his mouth to speak, but Su Wanyan interrupted him: "Why doesn't Lord Su go to the Prince? Why wait until the Prince goes to court before coming to the Prince Gong's residence? You came to me with these questions just to try to ease the tension between the Marquis of Yuanning's residence and the Prince Gong's residence. Wouldn't it be easier to go directly to the Prince?"
Su Shiyan frowned: "Your Majesty seems to have misunderstood..."
“If you won’t say it, I’ll say it for you. It’s because the prince is hard to control, and in your eyes I’m still that useless, timid illegitimate daughter. So you think that you can control me by giving me a little favor and make me grateful.”
This is why Su Shiyan came to see her before court, because at other times Yu Nanqing would be there, and he was simply avoiding Yu Nanqing.
“Your entire Yuanning Marquisate has always regarded me as a tool that can be controlled at any time.”
“So you won’t go to the Prince because you can’t control him at all.” Su Wanyan said, slowly crossing her legs and smiling at Su Shiyan: “Lord Su, the people of the whole capital know how the Marquis of Yuanning’s family has treated me since I was forced into marriage. Since you have chosen to abandon me, why not abandon me cleanly and neatly? Why bother picking up the sand that has been scattered on the ground?”
She doesn't need any of what the Marquis of Yuanning is offering her now; the person who needed it is long dead.
Su Shiyan's brows furrowed involuntarily. His thoughts had been exposed, and the dark cloud on his face grew even more intense.
Before coming, he thought Su Wanyan wouldn't have any major objections, but now it seems she's even more calculating than him.
Su Wanyan picked up the land deeds and shop deeds on the table and leisurely handed them to Qiu Ye: "Please take these back, Lord Su. The Prince Gong's Mansion has no shortage of these land deeds."
Qiu Ye took the land deed and shop deed and presented them to Su Shiyan with both hands.
Su Shiyan stared at Su Wanyan, his fist already clenched in his sleeve.
There was another very important purpose behind currying favor with Su Wanyan and winning over Prince Gong's mansion.
After a brief standoff with Su Wanyan, Su Shiyan composed himself and did not take the land deed from Qiu Ye's hand. He bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty need not rush to a conclusion. What I say today will always be true, and the Marquis of Yuanning will always be your support."
He bowed and said, "I have troubled you greatly, and I will take my leave now."
After saying that, Su Shiyan turned around and left the palace in a very efficient manner.
Qiu Ye held the land deed and looked at Su Wanyan: "Your Majesty, what do you think of this..."
"Keep them," Su Wanyan said with a smile. She was certain that Su Shiyan wouldn't take the land deeds and shop deeds back, which was why she said she would return them to him.
Naturally, she didn't believe a word Su Shiyan said.
What eternal support? There's no such thing as a free lunch. Unsolicited kindness is either a trap or a scheme; they might be lurking somewhere, waiting to deliver a fatal blow.
As Su Shiyan walked out of the palace gate, he paused and couldn't help but look back.
He had some doubts before he came, but now he was certain that Su Wanyan was not a stupid or reckless person at all. All the absurd things she had done before were just to cover up her true intentions.
Now that Prince Gong has fully recovered, he is able to take charge of the overall situation.
She then returned to her original appearance, no longer needing to act crazy or pretend to be insane to attract everyone's attention.
Su Shiyan felt a surge of frustration. Su Wanyan, a woman who had once lived in the Yuan Ning Marquis's mansion, possessed such courage. Why had he never heard of her before?
If he had known Su Wanyan had this mindset, he would never have let her marry Yu Nanqing so easily.
There is only one explanation: Su Wanyan deliberately concealed her talents in the mansion.
In just a moment, Su Shiyan imagined a scene where Su Wanyan, in order to survive, would conceal her sharpness in the Yuan Ning Marquis's mansion, be cautious and diligent every day, and fight wits and courage with the other people in the mansion.
After Su Shiyan's visit, Su Wanyan enjoyed a period of peace and comfort.
Although some people in the court were at odds with Yu Nanqing, they would still maintain a harmonious relationship on the surface, just like when the Dali Temple handled the case of Zhen Yuhuai.
When Yu Nanqing was paralyzed, the Court of Judicial Review and the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs colluded to make things difficult for Prince Gong's Mansion, but now they are at peace in the court.
At least that's how it appears on the surface.
Meanwhile, many officials who were observing the situation in the court began to stir after learning that the Duke of Changguo's mansion, the Duke of Shunguo's mansion, and the Prince Gong's mansion had made contact.
Not to mention that Dai Zhiwan and Xu Yixuan have been getting close to Su Wanyan recently, so they have started to intentionally or unintentionally let their children get in touch with Su Wanyan.
The banquet invitations sent to Prince Gong's Mansion prove this point; they included banquets for flower viewing, garden tours, spring outings, and poetry recitals.
These are all social gatherings held by the daughters' families.
Thinking of the trip to the lakeside pavilion on the tenth of June, she naturally declined all these unimportant banquets.
On the tenth day of the sixth lunar month, just as dawn was breaking, Yu Nanqing had already opened his eyes.
Because he had to attend court, Yu Nanqing woke up very punctually every day, as he had to prepare breakfast for Su Wanyan before going to court.
Usually, Su Wanyan would wake up soon after Yu Nanqing woke up, and she would go back to sleep after Yu Nanqing left the room.
No sooner had Yu Nanqing lifted the thin blanket than Su Wanyan reached out and grabbed a corner of Yu Nanqing's undergarment.
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