“I don’t know why you were at Yuanshan Temple that day, and why you avoided me and Fu Ashou. You must have seen me save Fu Ashou, so you had someone spread the news to try and ruin your marriage with Fu Ashou.”
"You succeeded."
Jiang Xuelin sat there, leaning back slightly, looking quite comfortable and at ease, while Fei Qing, sitting opposite her, had his back taut.
"At first, you probably just looked down on Fu Ashou, a good-for-nothing playboy who had nothing to offer except for his family background. After all, you were a renowned talented woman in the capital. If the Yongchang Marquis's family hadn't declined somewhat, your marriage would probably have been better. You studied music, chess, calligraphy, and painting from a young age, striving to enrich yourself and become extremely outstanding. In the end, you had to marry a playboy who had nothing to offer except for his family background. With your pride, you must have been unwilling to accept this."
Fei Qing pursed her lips and looked at Jiang Xuelin without saying a word.
"Back then, you probably didn't intend to marry Prince Cheng. You just didn't want to marry Fu Ashou. It wasn't until later that the Yongchang Marquis's mansion and Prince Cheng plotted against me." Jiang Xuelin smiled and sighed as she said this.
“Qing’er, you are indeed clever. You did not offend me. Even though the Yongchang Marquis’s mansion did such a thing, I only feel sorry for you because of your choice. I know your innocence and your helplessness. So even though I knew there was a trap ahead, I still followed that maid to prevent your relatives from discovering your private actions.”
"You anticipated my reaction; you really know me well."
Isn't that because he knows Jiang Xuelin extremely well? Fei Qing even foresaw Jiang Xuelin's subsequent reactions and thoughts. The Yongchang Marquis's Mansion offended Jiang Xuelin, but Fei Qing himself did not.
“You deliberately wore a dress of a similar color to mine that day, and splashed around in the water, making it impossible to tell who was who. So when I tried to save you and pull you away from Prince Cheng to preserve your innocence, you struggled in a panic, making it impossible for me to take you away. In the end, Prince Cheng successfully rescued you in front of everyone.”
“You are the legitimate daughter of the Marquis’s family, the direct cousin of Prince Cheng, and the Imperial Concubine in the palace is your aunt. Prince Cheng’s first wife passed away and he is about to remarry. Since you two had physical intimacy in public, the Emperor will most likely grant you a marriage, rather than sending you to a nunnery or making you a concubine.”
Looking back on Fei Qing's arrangements that day, Jiang Xuelin was truly amazed if she hadn't been a pawn in them.
She calculated it so accurately; she anticipated almost every step of the way.
What a pity.
Such intelligence, yet it was not used for the right purpose.
"Qing'er, I just want to ask you, after all that has happened, why are you still able to invite me so intimately? What value do you still want from me? Is it the power behind the Marquis of Jing'an's mansion and the Prince of Ping's mansion? Or something else?"
Jiang Xuelin didn't want to come, but she did have some questions for Fei Qing, and coming here would allow her to clarify them completely.
As for maintaining superficial harmony, there's no need for that. If we can pretend we don't know each other in the future, it's best to do so.
Fei Qing smiled helplessly when she heard the question, "I thought Sister Xue Lin didn't know what I had done."
Jiang Xuelin shrugged.
Fei Qing didn't have many people under his command, and those people hadn't managed to clean up the mess, so if someone wanted to investigate, they would naturally find out.
"In fact, you should have guessed it long ago."
Fei Qing lowered his head, picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea. Hearing this, he replied, "...It was probably when Sister Xue Lin sent over my wedding gifts ahead of time and said that because of the relationship between the two families, it was inconvenient for you to come."
Fei Qing already had a feeling about it at that time.
As for the reason, Fei Qing didn't believe it. She knew Jiang Xuelin; Jiang Xuelin was definitely not the kind of person who would give up for this reason. There could only be another reason why she didn't come.
When Jiang Xuelin got married, she went to see her in person and saw her off at her wedding. But when she got married, Jiang Xuelin only sent gifts.
But at that time, Fei Qing didn't dare to think that much, didn't dare to think in that direction.
"Do you really think Prince Cheng is a good man?" Jiang Xuelin waved her hand, dismissing the servants around her, leaving only her and Fei Qing by the stone table before asking another question.
Fei Qing was speechless, unsure how to respond.
"It seems you understand too."
"...I am His Highness's cousin."
Therefore, I should be better off than the first one; at least I won't die so easily.
Jiang Xuelin scoffed.
She had already heard that Fu Yunhui was dissatisfied with Fei Qing. Would someone with such dirty methods show mercy just because of their blood relation?
He is not.
Fei Qing would "die of illness" whenever necessary.
This is pure gambling.
Moreover, the chances of the Third Prince winning the struggle for the throne are very low. The Crown Prince's position is secure, and he has two legitimate sons and three illegitimate sons. What about the Third Prince?
Ambitious but incompetent, short-sighted, and using dirty tricks—how could someone who can't even be upright and honest possibly become the next emperor?
On the contrary, it was Fu Ashou.
As long as the Prince of Ping's family doesn't rebel, their future won't be bad. Judging from Emperor Xuande's affection for Fu Hanlai, he won't be a county prince in the future; he'll probably inherit the title of prince. Unless the third prince ascends the throne, he'll at most be a prince.
Once embroiled in the struggle for succession, the ultimate danger is unpredictable.
That's why Jiang Xuelin felt that Fei Qing had made a wrong choice.
Of course, Jiang Xuelin was too lazy to say these things to Fei Qing. She didn't believe Fei Qing wouldn't understand. Besides, Fei Qing was no longer her Qing'er sister, so she didn't need to tell her these things.
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