As she spoke, Wang Chan started crying again.
While crying, she cursed Qi Yunting.
“That dmned Qi Yunting! If that bstard hadn’t behaved so shamelessly and gotten involved with Qi Jin, causing Rong Jie’er to break off the engagement, she wouldn’t have had to marry so far away!”
If she were still marrying within the capital, the sisters could at least see each other often and keep one another informed whenever something happened.
Originally, Xiang Rong had also been quite upset. But hearing Wang Chan curse Qi Yunting so passionately, she couldn’t help bursting into laughter through her tears.
She was both amused and exasperated.
“Oh, enough already.” Xiang Rong wiped away her tears and smiled. “If things had really happened the way you’re saying, I wouldn’t just be crying today, I’d be crying every single day.”
The girls exchanged glances and couldn’t help laughing.
The atmosphere of parting immediately became much lighter.
Xiang Rong pinched Wang Chan’s cheek. “Alright. I know you don’t want to part with me. But isn’t life just like this? I’m only accompanying him back to his hometown for now. In a few years he’ll certainly return to the capital to continue his studies. We’ll see each other then.”
This was her last day at home.
In truth, they all had countless things they wanted to say.
Xiang Rong looked at Wang Chan with concern. “With your temperament, you really should try to change a little. Ah Chan, you must take good care of yourself. Be more cautious and thoughtful in everything you do.”
Then she couldn’t help smiling. “Although, with Yuan Jie’er around, you probably won’t need to worry about such things yourself.”
After chatting for quite some time, Xiang Rong quietly asked Qi Yuan: “Yuan Jie’er, you and His Highness the Imperial Grandson…”
She was the most perceptive of them all.
Back at the country estate, when Xiao Yunting had nearly shot Duke Cheng clean through with an arrow, Xiang Rong had already keenly realized that Xiao Yunting liked Qi Yuan.
And the fact that Qi Yuan allowed Xiao Yunting to remain by her side showed that she liked him as well.
Taking Qi Yuan’s hand, she said softly: “Yuan Jie’er, your journey has been so difficult. I often think how fortunate the Qi family was to find you and bring you back.”
Otherwise, if the family had truly been handed over to that scoundrel Qi Yunting, together with Qi Jin, who knew what would have become of the Yongping Marquis Residence?
For that reason alone, the Yongping Marquis Residence ought to worship Qi Yuan like an ancestor.
There was nothing to hide in front of close friends.
Qi Yuan admitted it openly. “His Highness has gone to the Northwest to investigate the Lu family’s case. When he returns, we’ll talk about it then.”
She didn’t worry about things that had not yet happened.
And she accepted whatever came.
Xiang Rong took a deep breath and nodded. “Good. Then you’ll have to remember me often in the future. If I have a friend who’s the future Imperial Grandson Consort, my life can’t possibly turn out too badly.”
The three girls looked at one another and burst into laughter.
After leaving the Xiang residence, Wang Chan asked worriedly: “Yuan Jie’er, do you think Rong Jie’er will live well in the future?”
Qi Yuan nodded. “She will. She’s a very intelligent person. Intelligent and upright. People like that can live well wherever they go.”
Hearing that, Wang Chan finally relaxed and felt much better.
She then invited Qi Yuan back to the Wang residence. “Grandmother talks about you every day. She keeps saying you haven’t visited for quite some time.”
Qi Yuan shook her head. “I still have some matters to handle. In a few days, after I’ve prepared a gift, I’ll go visit Grandmother.”
Wang Chan knew that whenever Qi Yuan said she had something to do, she truly meant it.
Without further questions, she simply nodded.
Qi Yuan then headed for Dazhao Temple.
Inside the temple, Xie Ying was engrossed in reading a book. A pot of tea that had long since gone cold sat on the stone table beside him. The moment he saw Qi Yuan, he quickly stood up.
Qi Yuan raised an eyebrow. “Young Master Xie, in weather this cold everyone else wishes they could spend their days hugging a hand warmer. Why are you sitting out here in the ice and snow instead?”
“To clear the mind and stay alert.” Xie Ying answered succinctly, smiling as he led her into the Zen courtyard.
Qi Yuan looked curious. “If it clears the mind and keeps you alert, then why are we going into the courtyard now that I’ve arrived?”
“Because Miss Qi is always clear-minded already. There’s no need for you to wake up any further.” Unable to resist, he made a joke and instructed his pageboy to prepare fresh tea.
Then they sat down as host and guest.
Xie Ying asked curiously: “Miss Qi, have you come to see me because you need something else?”
The last time she had come, she had asked him to help write a storybook. The result had been that Ren Ming’s reputation was utterly ruined, and the entire Ren family was exterminated.
So what was it this time?
He was genuinely curious.
Qi Yuan smiled. “I heard that when you were studying at the Imperial Academy, Wen Mingfeng looked down on everyone and considered himself a once-in-a-generation genius. Yet among all those people, he was willing to humble himself only for you.”
At the mention of Wen Mingfeng, the smile on Xie Ying’s face faded slightly.
After a moment, he sighed. “He played the wrong role, so from the very beginning he made the wrong choices.”
People who made mistakes naturally paid the price.
There was nothing regrettable about that.
Still, he didn’t understand why Qi Yuan had suddenly brought up Wen Mingfeng.
Qi Yuan was not the type of person who enjoyed repeatedly humiliating a defeated opponent.
Qi Yuan nodded. “That’s right. He played the wrong role. So I’ve decided to find the place where he first started playing that role.”
Xie Ying frowned.
Then realization struck him immediately. “Miss Qi, you mean… you’re going to Jinling?”
Wen Mingfeng’s ancestral home was in Jinling. It could be said that his tragedy had begun there.
If the Wen family hadn’t suppressed and despised him and his mother, treating them as worse than livestock, perhaps Wen Mingfeng would never have walked down a path from which there was no return.
But Xie Ying still didn’t quite understand.
To Qi Yuan, Wen Mingfeng had merely been an opponent who had never truly harmed her. He was already dead.
Why continue investigating him?
He had intended to ask, but then he remembered Wen Mingfeng’s background.
No. Wen Mingfeng was the illegitimate son of Duke Cheng.
And Duke Cheng had close ties with the Ren family.
The Ren family had gone to great lengths to frame the Lu family.
Could Wen Mingfeng have been involved as well?
After all, for many family leaders, illegitimate sons were often entrusted with gray-area tasks and matters that could not be brought into the light.
He asked: “Was Wen Mingfeng involved in the Lu family affair?”
Xie Ying truly was intelligent.
Qi Yuan smiled and nodded. “Exactly. Although Wen Mingfeng was merely a chess piece, given his personality, he would never have been an obedient one. I suspect that was why Zhao Xing and the others sought him out in the first place. Wen Mingfeng must have possessed secrets related to the Lu family.”
Or rather, he likely possessed evidence that could serve as leverage against the Ren family, Duke Cheng’s estate, and perhaps even the Crown Prince himself.
Qi Yuan had no intention of simply waiting for Xiao Yunting.
Nor would she allow him to fight alone.
She herself was an army.
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