Chapter 18 Who is the person he truly loves?
The carriage stopped at the West Garden gate. Dou Wenyi lifted the curtain, stepped down from the carriage, and immediately saw the carriage bearing the Lin family emblem.
Cuizhi exclaimed in surprise, "Miss, Miss Lin has come too."
The girl she was referring to was named Lin Zhiyi, her close friend. Because Dou Wenyi insisted on pursuing Xie Guidu and ignored her advice, the two of them almost had a falling out.
Later, Lin Zhiyi went to Jinghu with Lord Lin and only recently returned to the capital.
At this moment, Dou Mingyan's maid Baochuan ran over, clutching her stomach in discomfort, and pleaded with a forced smile, "Fourth Miss, I think I've eaten something bad. I need to go to the outhouse first. Could you please take this zither to our young lady? She needs it urgently... Please help me!"
Dou Wenyi stared at her intently for a moment, and Baochuan felt a chill run down her spine before she finally spoke, "Okay."
Cuizhi snorted in dissatisfaction, but still took the zither case. Baochuan ran off like a gust of wind.
Led by the head maid, Dou Wenyi and the others walked inward, past the winding stream, and into the pavilions and waterside terraces. She respectfully said, "The Biyue Pavilion is just ahead. Miss Dou and the others are inside."
Dou Wenyi smiled and nodded, just about to take a step forward, when she suddenly saw Princess Fu'an coming towards her from the wooden bridge with a fierce aura.
Cuizhi tugged at her sleeve worriedly, "Miss, the visitors seem ill-intentioned. Shall we leave?"
Is this something she can avoid just because she wants to?
Dou Wenyi remained expressionless; it was all Xie Guidu's fault for causing all those unwanted romantic entanglements!
Princess Fu'an was arrogant and domineering, and her true intentions were obvious.
Even after they got married, she often made things difficult for herself. In order to get them to divorce, she even drugged Xie Guidu, intending to take advantage of him.
In her past life, she spared no effort to protect their relationship and guard his backyard, clearing away all sorts of unwanted suitors, but how many enemies did she incur in the process?
Later, she didn't even dare to leave the house.
She was determined to sever ties with him, so why should she suffer this undeserved misfortune?
Princess Fu'an arrogantly raised her chin, raised her eyebrows and chuckled, her eyes full of mockery, "So you're Miss Dou the Fourth?"
Dou Wenyi smiled brightly, "It is indeed I, a humble woman."
Seeing her calm expression, Princess Fu'an felt an uncontrollable surge of anger. "A vixen dares to covet Prince Xie? Let me tell you, even if he comes to propose, this marriage will not be possible!"
Dou Wenyi was unfazed by her disdain and feigned surprise, "Is that really true?"
Princess Fu'an was momentarily stunned.
Dou Wenyi blinked and lowered her voice, "Princess, I also want to break off the engagement, but I'm worried about how to do so. If you can help me solve this problem, I would be extremely grateful."
Xie Shizi was elegant and refined, with a graceful and lofty demeanor, like a banished immortal. He was the white moonlight in the hearts of many noble ladies in Tianning City, yet he could not catch her eye.
Princess Fu'an stared at her, her anger rising even more. "Dou Wenyi, how arrogant you are!"
Dou Wenyi took her hand and said, "Oh, Princess, it's not what you think. To be honest, it seems that Prince Xie has someone he admires. Do you think that person is me?"
Princess Fu'an glanced at her disdainfully. Even if she had a face that could bring misfortune, Prince Xie was not such a shallow person. He would never fall for a woman like her.
She shook her head decisively.
Dou Wenyi seized the opportunity and said, "So I really want to break off the engagement... I've only told you this, so you have to keep it a secret for me!"
"You really don't want to marry him?" Princess Fu'an looked her over, half believing and half doubting.
Dou Wenyi said unhurriedly, "There is not a single falsehood in this. Young Master Xie is a man of exceptional talent and elegance. I think he is a perfect match for the Princess. I just don't know if the Princess dares to boldly pursue her love..."
"What a joke! What wouldn't I dare to do?" Princess Fu'an said anxiously.
"Princess, there are ways to pursue her. If you can cater to her preferences, you will surely achieve twice the result with half the effort!"
"You know his preferences?" Princess Fu'an immediately realized.
"His favorite colors are crescent white and sky blue, and he dislikes bright red the most. If he is in a bad mood, he will wear black. He also likes to eat squirrel-shaped mandarin fish and oranges, but he dislikes spicy food. He dislikes physical contact with others the most. His paintings and zither playing are exceptional, and he cherishes his zither very much. No one else is allowed to touch his zither, except for his beloved!"
Dou Wenyi's words were sincere and reasonable, and Princess Fu'an could not find a single flaw in them. "Is there anything else? Dou Wenyi, are you really willing to give it up so easily?"
She doesn't even want Xie Guidu anymore, so what is there to be reluctant to part with?
"I can sell you a copy of what Young Master Xie likes, but..."
"How much silver?" Princess Fu'an's eyes lit up with joy, her anger long since vanished.
"As long as it's genuine, I'll pay any amount of silver! If you dare to play tricks on this princess, you'll be in for a world of hurt."
Dou Wenyi smiled faintly, "Absolutely genuine. Princess, how much silver do you think such a secret is worth?"
"You also said he has someone he admires. Who is it?" Princess Fu'an asked again, still not entirely at ease.
"Well, it's hard to say. I just suspect... If you observe carefully, you'll definitely find out. Princess, let's discuss this in more detail later. I still need to deliver the zither to my third sister."
Dou Wenyi looked troubled and kept everyone in suspense, saying that she had already given them enough free information.
Her problem comes at a different price!
“Alright.” Princess Fu’an nodded reluctantly. She would naturally send someone to verify the information she had just received; she wasn’t so easily fooled.
Dou Wenyi and Cuizhi moved towards Biyue Pavilion.
A feud vanished without a trace, and without Xie Guidu as a nuisance, her life indeed became much smoother.
Meanwhile, Xie Guidu sat indifferently under the pavilion and waterside terrace, painting, his deep gaze unconsciously falling on that graceful and slender figure.
Didn't she refuse to come?
Dou Wenyi wore a soft, embroidered gauze dress with double patterns, a gilded carved hairpin, and light makeup. She also had a plum blossom decoration on her forehead, which made her look as beautiful as a lotus and as radiant as a crabapple. Her waist was slender and delicate, and every gesture she made exuded a charming and graceful demeanor.
Dressed so alluringly, who is she trying to seduce this time?
Mo Yu had just stepped inside when a deep voice reached his ears, "Did Fu An cause her trouble?"
Mo Yu was standing near the rockery very close to them. He had intended to avoid it, but having practiced martial arts since childhood, even though Miss Dou was deliberately keeping her voice low, he could hear it clearly.
"No." Mo Yu glanced at him. "Fourth Miss said she won't marry you."
Xie Guidu's brows furrowed with gloom. He stopped writing, a mocking smirk playing on his lips. "Anything else?"
Mo Yu lowered her head and swallowed hard. "She also wants to sell your preferences to Princess Fu'an."
Xie Guidu's expression shifted repeatedly, and a cold snort escaped his nostrils. "She knows all my preferences?"
"She only said a few words, but it is indeed your preference." Mo Yu's forehead was covered in cold sweat. In the past, the young master had always been indifferent to the behavior of Miss Dou.
Xie Guidu's lips curled up. He even knew all about Xie Guidu's preferences. How could Xie Guidu say he didn't like him?
Self-deception!
She's even learned to play hard to get; she's really become quite skilled.
She also said that you truly admire someone else.
With a "smack," Xie Guidu's wolf-hair brush was slammed onto the painting paper, staining a perfectly good landscape painting with an indissoluble blot of ink...
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