"You!" Li Junyan covered her swollen red face, a look of horror and resentment: "How dare you hit me?!"
Xin He coldly raised her lips: "I’m afraid you either overestimated your abilities or underestimated my temper. Since you dared to provoke me today, you should have known this outcome. Otherwise, what did you expect? That I should keep a low profile in front of you?"
Xin He sneered, seemingly mocking Li Junyan’s stupidity.
Li Junyan stared at her angrily, feeling a burning pain on her face, not knowing if it was from the slap or from Ji Xinhe’s words.
Indeed, Li Junyan hadn’t expected this. She had almost no chances to confront Ji Xinhe directly before. The only time was six years ago when Ji Xinhe was still in Le Yuanhou’s Mansion. She tried to push her into the water, only to find herself pushed into it by Ji Xinhe.
However, this single event might not be enough for Li Junyan to learn her lesson, nor did she expect Ji Xinhe’s temper to be so fierce.
She just took action without a word!
Even if Li Junyan had previously come with a contemptuous attitude, she couldn’t help but become more vigilant and restrained her unrestrained emotions. She pressed her lips together, gritted her teeth, and swallowed her anger.
Xin He coldly said, "I don’t have much time to waste on small talk with you. Give you the time of a cup of tea, tell me your purpose here quickly, or I will directly ask you to leave."
If it were in the capital, perhaps she would have to be more cautious, but this was Yu State, her territory! Where did Li Junyan get the courage to confront her here?!
Li Junyan gritted her teeth, full of anger but had to hold it back. She knew clearly that she had no right to be arrogant in front of Ji Xinhe at this moment.
"What purpose could I have for coming here? Since I came to Yu State, of course, I had to greet my dear sister," Li Junyan forced a smile and coldly snorted, "So that some people will know their place and not set their sights on someone else’s husband."
Xin He raised her eyebrows: "Oh? Whose husband?"
"You know who it is in your heart. Don’t think I don’t know your abilities. Times have changed; be careful!" Li Junyan said viciously before angrily turning around and leaving.
Watching her back, Xin He finds it funny. She thought Li Junyan had something important to say, but it turned out to be just a few insignificant words. Is she afraid that Ji Xinhe would steal Duan Lan?
"I really overestimated this woman in the past." Ji Xinhe coldly snorted.
Xiaoyu said: "Miss. Li seems to have come secretly, probably because she’s being cautious about Minister Duan."
Ji Xinhe shook her head speechlessly: "Forget about it; it doesn’t matter. The emperor really shouldn’t have put such a brainless thing by Duan Lan’s side."
She thought that Duan Lan had achieved great success in front of the emperor all these years, but no one had ever suspected him. It now appears that the chess piece placed beside him had already lost its power.
Considering Duan Lan’s intelligence, Li Junyan’s mind was no match for him. She must have been in the palm of his hand for a long time.
Xiaoyu said, "Since the emperor placed Li Junyan as a chess piece beside Minister Duan, there must be a reason. It’s just that Minister Duan is more clever, perhaps suppressing her. It doesn’t mean that the situation can’t change. If the princess uses her well, Li Junyan might still be useful."
Xin He nodded thoughtfully: "You do have a point."
"There’s no news from Minister Duan’s side right now, so the princess doesn’t need to worry too much. When the soldiers come, the generals will block them, and when the water comes, the soil will cover them." Xiaoyu said in a deep voice.
Xin He curved the corner of her mouth: "Alright, then."
——
At this time, Li Junyan left the Pingyang Prince Mansion and went straight to Duan Lan’s residence in Lian’an Town.
A little maid beside Li Junyan looked at her swollen cheeks and said tentatively: "Madam, let me put some ice on your face, it’s swelling..."
Li Junyan glared at her resentfully: "Why bother? Since Ji Xinhe dared to do such a cruel thing to me, I won’t let her go! Let Duan Lan see the true face of the woman he’s been longing for!"
Li Junyan gritted her teeth as she spoke.
For six years, she had been married to Duan Lan! From the beginning full of anticipation and joy, marrying him amidst the envious gazes of many, she thought her life was complete.
Everyone else thought so too, until the wedding night after their officially becoming husband and wife. She waited all night but no one came. Later, she found out that he had drunk too much wine and passed out in the study. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
Full of worry, she ran to the study to find him, only to see a room full of portraits. The woman in the paintings was not her, but someone she knew all too well.
It was only at that moment did Li Junyan realize what hatred was!
Her mother told her that she should be the luckiest person in the world because the real power behind their mother and daughter was the emperor. Therefore, although she was originally a concubine’s daughter, she eventually became the legitimate daughter as per her mother’s status. It also meant that only she could marry someone like Duan Lan, whom countless girls in the capital secretly admired and aspired to marry.
But everything shattered on her wedding night.
She had no idea how to express her feeling of being wronged. Duan Lan scolded her for intruding into his study uninvited.
For six years, she had been trying so hard without a glance from him in return. The envious gazes from people in the capital were the same as those that envied Ji Xinhe. Even though she hadn’t given birth to a child in six years, Duan Lan never took a concubine.
She pretended to be graceful and noble on the outside, but she couldn’t deceive her heart. To Duan Lan, she was probably just a stranger whose name he knew.
"I know what your purpose of marrying me is, and you should know why I married you. Since we both know each other’s motives, there’s no need to pretend. Just remember one thing: once you set foot in the Duan Family, keep your crooked thoughts in check. If you dare to play tricks on me, I’ll make sure you die quicker than you can imagine."
Of the few words that Duan Lan spoke to her in her memory, Li Junyan remembered the ominous look in his eyes. It was as cold as a venomous snake, terrifying and even intimidating.
Even now, just thinking about it sent a shiver down Li Junyan’s spine.
"Madam, we’re here."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
