Chapter 1149 Joining in a Conspiracy, with Big Ambition
At this time, the hall became quiet. Both of them seemed to have calmed down in an instant.
Although Chu Qing’s face darkened, he did not lose his temper again. After taking a sip of water with an icy look, Princess Yuyan put down the teacup and said, “Let me say it again. I’m not satisfied with the Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion. And I don’t want to be your legal wife, let alone do anything to your woman. You can rest assured!”
Evidently, she disdained him.
Chu Qing’s face turned livid again with a trace of hostility. He hated it the most when people talked to him in a scornful tone. It sounded as if he was a worthless fool in their eyes.
He had known that Princess Yuyan didn’t want to marry him, but he didn’t doubt Chu Liuchen’s previous words.
He didn’t quite care about whether Princess Yuyan liked him or not. With her character, she was very likely to target Mo Qiuyi because she couldn’t tolerate any other women around him.
Ever since others knew about Chu Qing’s existence, they had been jeering and sneering at him. Most people he encountered would look at him with contempt as if he should not have shown up before everyone.
But when Chu Liuchen appeared, everyone treated him with caution. They did not dare to stare at him for fear of provoking him. But after he appeared, no one cared about him. What was worse, others would watch him with silent contempt. Merely because of this, Chu Qing did not like Princess Yuyan. She was no different from those who looked down on him.
He wished he could gouge out their eyes that disapproved of him.
But now, it was not the time to fall out with Princess Yuyan. He needed the support of Princess Yuyan and the Xu State.
“So what if you don’t want to marry me? I’ve already told Consort Li about it when we were in the Xu State. In the end, she still sent you here to marry me!” Chu Qing made an effort to soften his tone, but his words still sounded sarcastic.
“How could she despise me? Doesn’t she know her inferior status and background? Does she wishfully think that others would abandon their fiancees to marry her? What makes her think others want to marry her?”
Chu Qing’s attitude also provoked Princess Yuyan to anger. She had never suffered such a great grievance. Somehow, she got involved with Chu Qing, but her mother didn’t allow her to go back on her word, saying Chu Qing was also a good choice.
How could it be? She didn’t want to marry this worthless wretch at all!
After calming down, Princess Yuyan felt it was better to speak calmly. In the Kingdom of Dongcang, she could not be so willful! She was trying so hard to appease herself. After all, she needed Chu Qing and mustn’t break it off with him.
“We aren’t compatible with each other. Even if we are forced to get married, I’m afraid we won’t live in peace. Why not do me a favor and let me marry into another mansion? At that time, I will be of great help to you.” Princess Yuyan’s attitude changed for the better, and she even managed a faint smile when looking at Chu Qing.
“Are you crazy? You really take a fancy to Chu Liuchen?” Chu Qing widened his eyes and said in disbelief.
“More than him, Chu Liuyue is also a good option. Prince Yue is the Emperor’s eldest son, right?” Princess Yuyan glanced at him indifferently and came up with another plan. “Either of them is living a better life than you. If I marry one of them, I promise I will help you to achieve great things. This is my mother’s order. I will not disobey it!”
Princess Yuyan took what she said as a matter of course as if she was considering everything for Chu Qing wholeheartedly. Her promises sounded dignified but would not bring any tangible benefits. Chu Qing couldn’t wait to slap this shameless woman hard in the face. He had known she was restless, but it never occurred to him she was unruly to the extreme.
Would she help him achieve anything significant? If she didn’t marry him, he firmly believed this woman would betray him in the end.
“Who on earth do you prefer?” Chu Qing controlled his anger and asked with a subtle emotion in his eyes. He was waiting for this woman to be badly battered. At that time, not to mention being the princess, she might feel content to be any prince’s second legal wife.
Seeing Chu Qing agree to her idea, Princess Yuyan was satisfied. She thought carefully and said, “Frankly, Prince Chen is quite good really. It’s best if I can marry into the Prince Chen’s Mansion. But with Princess Chen around, I’m afraid it’s not easy for me to… Then why don’t we…”
“You might as well get rid of Princess Chen. She has always been in poor health!” Chu Qing interrupted her and said.
After pondering over his suggestion, Princess Yuyan didn’t think it wouldn’t work. Shao Wanru, Princess Chen, was exceedingly beautiful. Even if Princess Yuyan refused to admit it before others, she had already acknowledged Shao Wanru’s beauty to herself.
“It’s better to marry Prince Yue. Since he hasn’t married yet, I will meet much less resistance!”
“Prince Yue is not married, but he is going to marry Prime Minister Zhang’s daughter. Prime Minister Zhang is of great assistance to him. Do you think Chu Liuyue will give him up for you?” Chu Qing asked.
“But I’m the princess of a country, backed by the Xu State!” Princess Yuyan retorted indignantly.
“So what? A princess from a remote country and a powerful minister of the current imperial court, who do you think Prince Yue will choose?” Chu Qing violently crushed Princess Yuyan’s pleasant dream.
His descriptions of a remote country and a powerful minister were accurate. Princess Yuyan had considered the same thing. Now, she had to admit the fact, though unwillingly. She gritted her teeth and said, “I can be a second wife as a start. Even so, I can help you succeed. If you encounter setbacks, I can protect you in the Prince Yue’s Mansion. When I ascend to the supreme position, you can assist me!”
“Since she is willing to be a second wife, why doesn’t she choose me? Obviously, she holds me in contempt and thinks it is impossible for me to succeed.” Chu Qing loathed her to the marrow but showed no hatred on his face. There was only a trace of viciousness crossing his eyes. “This should be the idea of both Princess Yuyan and Consort Li!”
She tempted Chu Qing to support Princess Yuyan, saying they would help him achieve wholeheartedly. Meanwhile, she led her daughter to think of other possibilities, planning to make Chu Qing their supporting power. Back then, Chu Qing had known Consort Li was sufficiently sophisticated. Now, Chu Qing could see the fact more clearly.
They intended to build a monarch-subject relationship instead of a principal-subordinate one. No misinterpretation about that was allowed!
Sure enough, Consort Li was an over-ambitious woman, just as Chu Qing’s mother had said. Compared to the Mo Family, Consort Li was slicker and more likely to betray him. Consort Li plotted to rule over Chu Qing, making him their paw. Oh, wishful thinkers!
“Even if you only want to be Chu Liuyue’s second legal wife, the Prime Minister Zhang’s Mansion may disagree. Chu Liuyue won’t go against Prime Minister Zhang for you!” Chu Qing frowned slightly as if he sincerely cared about Princess Yuyan’s future. But in fact, he didn’t want to intervene in this matter. Anyway, he had nothing to do with whatever chaos Yuyan caused in the end. One thing was sure: both Chu Liuchen and Chu Liuyue were not to be pushed around.
When he returned to his mansion, he wouldn’t visit this place again unless necessary and would keep a certain distance from Princess Yuyan.
“That’s not necessarily true. Is Prime Minister Zhang’s daughter as beautiful as me? Moreover, my mother is the imperial consort of the Xu State, and my brother will be the King in the future. Just because of this, he will want to marry me!” Princess Yuyan analyzed proudly. She didn’t believe that Chu Liuyue wouldn’t be attracted to her. When their longingly gaze met that day, she could tell Prince Yue admired her. At first glance, his desire and interest were aroused by her. Princess Yuyan would not make a mistake about that.
“Well, I don’t care, but be careful not to let anyone get anything on you.” Chu Qing didn’t intend to persuade her. He nodded at once to show that he agreed with her idea. Then he stood up and reminded her, “Since you have no intention of marrying me, I should avoid arousing suspicion. In the near future, I won’t come over. Don’t come to me if you have nothing to do, lest others misunderstand!”
Of course, he meant he was afraid that Chu Liuyue might misunderstand them. If Chu Liuyue was really interested in Princess Yuyan, he would not be willing to see Princess Yuyan get close to another man, especially Chu Qing. After all, it had once been rumored that Princess Yuyan and Chu Qing would get married.
Princess Yuyan thought it made sense. At this moment, Chu Qing seemed more pleasing to the eye. A charming smile faintly emerged on her face. Princess Yuyan looked amiable and tender. Everything was just like the beautiful scene when she met Chu Qing for the first time in the Xu State. “You’re so thoughtful. I’ll pay attention to it. But since I’ve just come here, I don’t know much about your country. I need some information!”
“Don’t worry. It’s not a big deal. I’ll ask someone to send you the information about Chu Liuyue, Chu Liuxin, and even Prince Cheng.” Chu Qing agreed readily. Since he had decided to let Princess Yuyan explore the way ahead, he would undoubtedly do something to help her. Giving her some widely known information was not an issue. He should show his goodwill to Princess Yuyan and relax her vigilance toward him.
“Thank you very much, Your Highness!” Princess Yuyan replied happily and even politely. She bowed sideways to Chu Qing and reassured him with a smile, “Don’t worry. After I succeed, my family will help you quickly rise to the top. This is your way to success, and no one is more suitable than you.”
“Thank you, Your Highness!” Chu Qing also returned the salute.
The two of them behaved courteously to each other, well displaying elegant demeanor as descendants of aristocratic families. Anyone seeing this scene could hardly imagine that they had almost started fighting.
Chu Qing left satisfied, while Princess Yuyan sent him off to the door. Watching his carriage leave, she waved goodbye to show they were in harmony.
She stared after his carriage until it disappeared around a corner. Afterward, she entered the mansion. Instead of going back to her courtyard, she went to Princess Yutao’s place.
The mansion was huge, but the two princesses lived independently on each side, far away from each other. If they didn’t go to see each other, they had no chance of coming across each other.
Princess Yutao had asked the palace maid to light the lamps in the room. Hearing that Princess Yuyan was on her way here, she was slightly stunned and asked someone to invite Princess Yuyan in.
“Eldest Sister, have you decided which guests you want to invite?” As soon as Princess Yuyan entered the door, she asked amiably and smiled broadly.
“I was thinking about it. I’ve come up with several names. Do you want to add some?” Princess Yutao pointed to a piece of paper on the table and said. There were only a few names on it, and Princess Chen’s name stood out.
“Let me do it. Tomorrow, Infanta Yuan’an will come over. I’ll discuss with her whom we should invite. We’ve just arrived here, so we need local people’s guidance. I’m afraid that we might offend some people without noting it. What do you think?” Princess Yuyan’s attitude was quite different from the past. People who didn’t know the truth would think she was another princess.
However, Princess Yutao was used to it. She didn’t want to do this. It was best for Princess Yuyan to take it over, and she didn’t mind it at all. “Then take it!”
“Thank you, Eldest Sister!” Princess Yuyan was delighted and became perfectly courteous to her. She had to draw up a list of names with Infanta Yuan’an carefully…
