The concubine's favorite? Break off the engagement and marry another prince, please respect you

Chapter 175

Autumn has always been a sad and lonely season, and the same is true for Shengjing City.

The ground in the yard was covered with withered yellow leaves, and the autumn wind was blowing wildly, creating a bleak atmosphere.

But the dignitaries are never short of a good mood for enjoying flowers and feasting.

Since the beginning of autumn, the scorching heat has passed, and the weather is pleasant and clear. Invitations to chrysanthemum-viewing banquets and lake cruises have been coming in like snowflakes.

Xie Wan Ning remembered the advice given by Pei Yuqing and Lu Ziyan when they left, and never liked to join in such fun.

Her reasons were ready-made. Her husband and brother were both on business trips and might be in danger at any time. She should just be a vegetarian and pray for blessings. How could she be carefree and happy?

No one could find fault with such a reason for refusal, and they would even praise her for her deep love and loyalty. Even Princess Duanyang nodded repeatedly after hearing it.

However, the eldest princess was very kind. She could not bear to see her daughter-in-law so young that she stayed in Xuanhua Courtyard all day long and avoided people. Instead, she encouraged her to go out and play.

Grateful for her mother-in-law's kindness, Xie Wan Ning, in addition to taking care of her own dowry and the property left by Pei Yuqing, would return to the Xie family to accompany Zheng whenever she had free time.

Occasionally, he would meet Li Rong, the future heir apparent of the Marquis of Xuanping's mansion. After Xie Yanyu left Beijing, she was often invited by Zheng to visit.

After Xie Wan Ning spent several times with her, she admired her mother's vision even more.

Li Rong is simply a model of a noble lady brought up by an aristocratic family. She is well-educated, gentle and virtuous. She speaks softly, but does not make people feel that she can be bullied. She is measured in her words and actions, and considerate and attentive to others.

Naturally, Xie Wan Ning became close to her future sister-in-law, and the two of them often chatted and drank tea together. The person they talked about the most, of course, was Xie Yanyu, who had already left Beijing.

Speaking of Xie Yanyu, he sent a letter home a few days ago, saying that he would return to Beijing before the end of the year. Zheng was very happy and immediately started to renovate the villa, muttering that she would set the wedding date after the New Year.

Both of them are not young anymore. After the Chinese New Year, Xie Yanyu will be 22 and Li Rong will be 18, which is the age for them to get married.

Even Pei Yuxuan's wedding date has been set, which is early spring next year.

In addition to Pei Yuxuan, the eldest daughter of the Pei family, Pei Lin, has also reached the age of marriage. Originally, due to the title, the relationship between the eldest wife and them should be a little awkward, but this girl is also strange, she is very close to Xie Wan Ning.

Talking about marriage, such an important matter, she did not ask her own relatives, but came to Xuanhuayuan to find Xie Wan Ning, and told her the purpose of her visit shyly. After mentioning a few names, she asked her opinions of these people.

What could Xie Wan Ning think? However, since the girl had brought it up, and as her 'aunt' she was also an elder, she gave an objective comment.

Finally, she was indeed a little curious, so she said, "For matters like this, you should ask your mother and ask her to send someone to investigate before making a decision."

Hearing this, Pei Lin showed a bit of embarrassment on her face, but she also said frankly: "You may not know how much the noble ladies in the capital envy you."

"Oh?" Xie Wanning frowned slightly, "What do you mean?"

"I heard that, too," Pei Lin whispered, "They all said that you have a good eye for choosing a husband."

...husband?
Xie Wan Ning was stunned for a moment, and suddenly remembered that not long after Pei Yuqing left Beijing, the fact that he was the leader of the Qingtian Guard was made public by the emperor.

He is handsome and elegant, with a quiet backyard without any beautiful girls around him. He holds great power and does not care that she had been engaged before. Now that he can leave Beijing for work, he must be in good health.

Apart from being a little older, Pei Yuqing is simply the husband that every girl dreams of.

She had two husbands in total, one was her fiancé and the other was her legal husband.

One is the young killer Lu Ziyan who is as good as a military commander, and the other is Pei Yuqing, a Han think tank who has every plan in mind.

Neither of these two men is an ordinary person. Even in the capital city full of aristocratic families, they are the most outstanding young men on the pyramid, but they are both deeply in love with her.

As Lu Ziyan's fame grew, the incident of him rushing back to the capital from Yunzhou overnight just to stop her from marrying into the family was mentioned again and again.

The name Xie Wan Ning is almost a household name among the people of Beijing.

If it weren't for Pei Lin, she wouldn't have known that she had become the object of envy of the girls in the capital.

What does it mean to have a good eye for choosing a husband?

Xie Wan Ning was speechless.

Pei Lin smiled and said, "A good person like my aunt deserves the undivided love and care of her husband."

If a married lady said such words, Xie Wan Ning would have to act shy even if she was pretending, but since these words came from an unmarried girl, she really couldn't feel embarrassed.

She thought about it and decided to act like an elder, said a few words of encouragement, and then served tea to thank the guest.

Pei Lin looked embarrassed and begged in a low voice, "I will be getting engaged soon, and I am a little nervous. Auntie said that the marriage temple in Chuyun Mountain is very effective. Would you like to go with me to ask for a fortune?"

Go to the marriage temple?

Xie Wan Ning was stunned for a moment, and quickly realized that the Pei family was not very large, and she was the only girl in Pei Lin's generation, and she did not have any sisters to accompany her to seek divination.

In fact, although she has to call Pei Yuxuan "Aunt" according to her generation, the actual age difference between them is not that big. However, the relationship between the two rooms is actually a bit awkward. Pei Yuxuan was named a princess since she was a child, and her playmates were all noble ladies from the royal family. She had no patience for the struggles among the younger generations in the family, and her relationship with her niece was very cold.

Compared to Pei Yuxuan, who treated her as her aunt, Pei Lin was indeed closer to Xie Wan Ning, who had been married for a year.

Even if you are good friends with someone outside, it is not a good idea to accompany him when seeking marriage, unless the girl is currently seeking marriage.

Looking at the girl in front of him who was about to get married with fresh complexion and an anxious look on her face, Xie Wan Ning slowly agreed.

She was no stranger to the Marriage Temple. She had been there by herself, had been there with her cousin, and had also been there once with Pei Yuxuan two months ago. She was quite familiar with the place.

Although it is in the suburbs of Beijing, it is not too far away. If you go in the morning and plan your time well, you can return to Beijing in the afternoon.

On the second day after I agreed to go to the Marriage Temple with Pei Lin, an invitation suddenly came from the palace which had been silent until then.

It was delivered personally by the eunuch in charge of Concubine Xian's palace, saying that it was Concubine Xian's 40th birthday. The Concubine Xian was concerned about the war on the border and the suffering of the people in the northeast due to the drought, so she did not want to hold a grand ceremony. Today she just wanted to invite her family to the palace to chat and liven things up.

And Xie Wan Ning, the biological niece, is of course included in the list of "family members".

It's so sudden and there's no sign of it happening. This banquet is definitely not going to be a good one.

As soon as Xie Wan Ning received the lavender gold-embossed invitation, she secretly said "coming".

She is not stupid. The current political situation is almost clear. Lu Ziyan is overwhelmingly suppressing all the princes, including the eldest prince.

Her aunt really couldn't sit still anymore. Was she planning to take action against her?

How dare Xie Wan Ning go to the birthday party!

In her previous life, she died from a secret poison in the Western Regions, and the masterminds behind it were her aunt and cousin.

Who knows what other sinister things they have in their hands? Once the relationship breaks out... won't she be murdered silently again?

But since she had invited me to my aunt's birthday party, how could I easily refuse?

The chief eunuch Li in charge of Yanxiang Palace was right next to him, so he couldn't pretend to be sick even if he wanted to.

Just when the atmosphere was getting a little weird, Pei Yuxuan stepped into Xuanhua Courtyard.

She had come to talk to her sister-in-law. Seeing this, her eyebrows slightly raised. After asking about the situation, although she couldn't guess the inside story, she could see that Xie Wan Ning was not willing to go to the banquet alone, so she smiled and took her arm and said, "It just so happens that I have nothing to do today, so I will accompany my sister-in-law to the palace to play. I'm sure the queen won't blame me."

She is the current emperor's niece, and has been in and out of the palace since she was young. She is as favored as several princesses. When she asked to go with the emperor, Eunuch Li didn't dare to give her face and could only smile and nod.

Seeing him nod, Pei Yuxuan turned around and took the two housekeepers, whom she usually didn't like to bring with her when she went out of the house.

Those were all old maids brought out from the palace by the eldest princess. They were absolutely experienced and wise.

One of them seemed to be an old acquaintance of Eunuch Li. When he greeted Eunuch Li with a smile, he was met with a forced lip pull from the other party.

The group entered the palace and when they arrived at Yanxiang Hall, they found it deserted.

There wasn't any joy at all like a palace mistress's birthday party.

Moreover, although it was said that there was a family banquet for the birthday, even the married niece was invited to the palace, but no one from the Xie family, including Zheng, was there.

Only Concubine Xian and the eldest prince were there. When they saw Pei Yuxuan following Xie Wan Ning, their expressions froze.

When his eyes fell on the two maids dressed in female officials' uniforms following behind Pei Yuxuan, his stiff face twisted for a moment.

Everyone knows that female officials are precious in the palace. Only the mistress of a palace is worthy of having female officials serving by her side. These female officials are used to palace struggles and have developed a pair of sharp eyes. If you want to do something under their noses... no matter how perfect your plan is, there is a possibility that it will be exposed.

How careful this is!

They are blood relatives, yet they are so defensive!

The virtuous concubine and the eldest prince could not help but feel resentful.

Although they didn't intend to do anything secretly today, it was still uncomfortable to be guarded against like this.

After all, she was an empress who was able to climb to a high position in the palace. During the meal, Concubine Xian was friendly and there was nothing wrong with her. In comparison, the eldest prince's expression was not as natural as his mother's.

Although Pei Yuxuan was with her, Xie Wan Ning still had to be extremely careful.

The method of poisoning the food was too crude, and even with two maids present, they did not dare to take such a risk.

There will be no problem with burning spices.

She thought about it carefully, and suddenly a cry of surprise came from the side.

A palace maid accidentally spilled tea on Pei Yuxuan.

The virtuous concubine said a few words of concern, then pointed to a maid beside her to take her to the side hall to change clothes.

This means he has made up his mind to talk to me alone.

As long as she doesn't play dirty, she's not afraid of a few words.

Xie Wan Ning winked at Pei Yuxuan, and she followed the nanny and left.

The two female officials also went outside the hall to wait.

The main hall, which had been bustling just now, became quiet.

Concubine Xian looked deeply at her niece, no longer thinking of being polite, and said straight to the point in her first sentence: "Aunt knows that you are smart, so I will not tell you in detail about your strengths. You just need to know that with your relationship with Qi Ziyan, once he returns victorious, not only will your cousin have no hope, but even the Pei and Xie families will be in danger."

As she spoke, her eyes were fixed on her niece. Seeing Xie Wan Ning's expression change, she softened her tone, "Wan Wan, are you willing to help your cousin for once?"

When Xie Wan Ning heard the words "Qi Ziyan", she was stunned for a moment, but she quickly reacted and said with pursed lips: "...I don't know what you mean."

"You know it." Concubine Xian smiled slightly, "With Qi Ziyan's persistence in you, as long as you cooperate with us, he will definitely lose."

Whenever she thought of this, Concubine Xian couldn't stop feeling happy. Qi Ziyan was extremely arrogant and could get whatever he wanted, but he still fell in front of the girl from the Xie family.

She only saw the tip of the iceberg of her obsession with Lu Ziyan, and didn't think it was true love at all. She just lamented that what she couldn't get was the best, and had no idea that his love had reached a pathological level.

But even so, he still felt that this obsession with the girl from the Xie family would be Lu Ziyan's only weakness.

As long as he takes advantage of this weakness, Lu Ziyan will not be invincible and he will die.

"Qi Ziyan is our common enemy. Even if it's for the sake of the Xie family, you should stand on our side." Concubine Xian said, "When your cousin succeeds to the throne, the Xie family will be the emperor's in-laws, and your husband's family will be able to maintain its current glory."

There is no coercion or inducement, but a direct statement of reality.

"How do I cooperate?" Xie Wan Ning asked, "What does my aunt want me to do?"

"Let you disappear. As long as the news spreads that something happened to you, considering how much Lu Ziyan thinks of you, he might not be interested in the war and go straight back to the capital." said the eldest prince on the side.

"My cousin thinks too highly of me. He has a heart as hard as iron and blood on his hands. How could you think he would be influenced by a woman?" Xie Wan Ning clenched her hands tightly in her sleeves, but maintained a calm expression. "Before in Yunzhou, he was able to rush to the capital overnight because the war was over."

Indeed, last year Lu Ziyan rushed back to Beijing to stop a night break-in at the bridal chamber. At that time, the unrest in Yunzhou had been quelled, and he did not ignore the war and rush back to Beijing at night.

The eldest prince smiled and said, "We have to try it out to see if it works. To be honest, we have almost exhausted all the methods we should use these days. If there is a method, we have to try it first. If Lu Ziyan gets the news that you are in trouble and panics, it will be a pleasant surprise."

The main thing is that this method doesn't require much effort.

It was just to make a woman disappear and then pass the news to Lu Ziyan's ears.

If Xie Wan Ning voluntarily cooperates with this "disappearance", it will be much easier. If she refuses to cooperate, they will always find a way to make it happen.

Although she was indeed cautious, in fact, they had almost accomplished it. According to their plan, they could even do things more ruthlessly without having to worry about not being able to shake Lu Ziyan.

If his mother had not taken into consideration the blood relationship and felt pity for her niece, there would not have been such a banquet today.

Xie Wan Ning naturally had no idea of ​​the eldest prince's thoughts.

She squeezed her palms for a long time, and finally shook her head slowly to refuse: "No, I can't cooperate."

Combined into one, there will be another chapter later~~