Hearing this, Wei Shuwan finally calmed down. Although she would do what was going to happen anyway, Li Qingchen's words seemed to give her strength.
"Then can you do me a favor?" She cautiously observed Li Qingchen's expression, trying to see the answer in his eyes.
Li Qingchen did not hesitate and asked directly, "Do you want me to give you a room?"
Wei Shuwan's heart pounded, and she nodded with her lips tightly pressed together.
"Then let's go to Changning Palace."
This was exactly what Wei Shuwan wanted. She had discovered during her previous visit to Changning Palace that there weren't many palace servants there, and with Li Qingchen's help, it was easy to deceive people.
The two reached an agreement, and upon returning to the Jiying Hall, to make things more natural, Li Qingchen took the initiative to seek out Sun Xingjian for drinks. Sun Xingjian had an excellent capacity for alcohol; the fruit wine Wei Shuwan had given him earlier hadn't affected him at all. However, Li Qingchen's capacity for alcohol was no less than his. After the two drank more than ten bowls, Sun Xingjian was the first to give in and began to talk nonsense in his drunken state.
Meanwhile, Pan Wenjun, who originally had a higher alcohol tolerance than Wei Shuwan, couldn't withstand Wei Shuwan's earlier drinking session, which left her fully energized and ready to fight again. After a few rounds, Pan Wenjun also began to stagger and become unable to sit still.
Since both sides had a reason to leave, Wei Shuwan and Li Qingchen each helped one of them out.
In the past, during palace banquets, there were occasional female guests with low alcohol tolerance who needed to go out to sober up. This time, as usual, several rooms were arranged as places to rest. Therefore, when Sun Xingjian and Pan Wenjun were helped away, no one found it strange.
However, the rooms were close to each other and guarded by palace servants, making it unsuitable for any action. So, after Li Qingchen and Wei Shuwan helped the two to their rooms separately, Yuan Que and Gu Zhuang, who had already sneaked into the rooms to wait, moved the two to Changning Palace for accommodation.
Wei Shuwan has now completed all three steps she outlined. She has done everything she could. What the outcome will be next is up to her uncle and Sister Pan.
Wei Shuwan was anxious and wanted to know her uncle's decision as soon as possible, so she did not return to Jiying Hall, but chose to wait outside Changning Hall.
Li Qingchen stayed with her, and seeing that she was silent and trembling, he took off his cloak and draped it over her shoulders.
Wei Shuwan was about to say "thank you" as usual, but when she looked up and met Li Qingchen's eyes, she remembered what he had said by the lake earlier: "There's no need to keep saying those three words all day long."
So she swallowed back the words that were on the tip of her tongue, and instead asked with concern, "Aren't you cold?"
Li Qingchen smiled, but didn't answer. Instead, he put his hands behind his back, looked up at the hazy moon in the sky, and unexpectedly said, "You did this to save her, didn't you?"
Wei Shuwan was taken aback. She wanted to ask him why he had guessed, but the question stuck in her throat and she remained silent.
Li Qingchen explained to her as if he knew something: "You asked me to find a way to interrupt Prince Awuge's request before, so you must know something. So Awuge wants to marry Pan Wei's daughter?"
He turned his gaze to Wei Shuwan, seemingly asking a question, but his eyes revealed his unwavering belief in his own deduction.
Wei Shuwan finally couldn't help but ask, "Why can't you hide anything from me?"
"Because I have eyes and can see. After I fought with Awuge earlier, he glanced at Pan Wei and his daughter with great resentment. Therefore, it is not difficult to guess that what he wants is a marriage alliance between the two countries, and the princess of Daye must be Pan Wei's daughter."
Since Li Qingchen's analysis was so logical, Wei Shuwan didn't want to lie and said frankly, "Yes, you're right. That's why I have to help my uncle and Sister Pan get together today."
Li Qingchen did not press Wei Shuwan about how she learned that A Wuge would propose to Pan Wenjun, which gradually put Wei Shuwan's mind at ease.
The two chatted idly for an hour, about all sorts of things, when a figure walked out of the gate of Changning Palace. It was Sun Xingjian.
Seeing Sun Xingjian's expression, Wei Shuwan knew that things had gone well. At this moment, she really wanted to rush forward and ask her uncle what his plans were next, and whether he could immediately go to the envoy Pan Jie to marry Pan Wenjun. However, thinking that her uncle would most likely blame her, Wei Shuwan moved behind Li Qingchen somewhat timidly.
She moved subtly, but Li Qingchen immediately sensed her timidity, so he stepped forward in her place and calmly greeted Sun Xingjian: "Marquis of Pingyang."
Sun Xingjian's face changed color, and his previous confusion and helplessness faded away. He also nodded to Li Qingchen: "Young Prince."
However, Sun Xingjian's gaze then fell on his niece, clearly he had figured out the cause of today's events, which was all Wei Shuwan's doing.
Following his gaze, Li Qingchen also glanced at Wei Shuwan. Seeing her head hanging down guiltily, Li Qingchen asked directly on her behalf, "Marquis of Pingyang, what are your plans next? Do you intend to propose marriage to Envoy Pan?"
Sun Xingjian's gaze shifted back to Li Qingchen, and he slowly frowned: "Could it be that the young prince was also involved in tonight's events?"
For the first time, Li Qingchen showed a look of shame in public, and his lack of defense was tantamount to admitting it. He then explained in a serious tone: "The Marquis of Pingyang may not know that the Ziyi Kingdom sent envoys to our Daye this time to negotiate peace with Daye under the pretext of a marriage alliance."
Sun Xingjian's expression changed again, and then Li Qingchen continued, "And the woman they want to marry is Pan Wei's daughter."
Sun Xingjian's eyes widened in shock. "Wenjun? Does Your Highness truly believe this?"
“Indeed. Prince Awuge had intended to bring this up when the birthday gifts were presented, but I interrupted him by proposing a contest.”
The people of Ziyi Kingdom had long hated Pan Wei and the Weirong Army to the core. Years ago, they had kidnapped Pan Wenjun, hoping to demoralize Pan Wei and the Weirong Army. Now, their desire to marry her was clearly driven by ulterior motives!
Sun Xingjian slowly processed this information, then glanced at Wei Shuwan: "So, Shuwan did all this today also for..."
“Yes.” Wei Shuwan raised her eyes, tears welling up as she looked at Sun Xingjian. For a moment, she lost all her timidity: “Uncle, go and propose to Governor Pan. Do it in front of the Emperor and all the officials, and let everyone be your witnesses.”
As Sun Xingjian hesitated, he heard a noise behind him and turned around to meet Pan Wenjun's tearful eyes.
Pan Wenjun had heard everything clearly, and she understood that Wei Shuwan's strange words to her earlier were actually meant to save her. However, she didn't want to pressure Sun Xingjian, and calmly said, "Brother Sun, you don't need to risk your entire life's happiness to save me. If you..."
"To be able to marry you is the greatest fortune of my life, Sun Xingjian," Sun Xingjian interrupted her, speaking with unwavering resolve.
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