The Crown Prince waved his hand slightly, and the people behind him bowed and stepped away.
Mingxi was blocked at the staircase, making it difficult for her to bypass the Crown Prince. Thinking of Duke Wei’s predicament and seeing the Crown Prince in front of her, she found him utterly repulsive.
To avoid revealing her true emotions through her gaze, she turned her head away from him, suppressing all thoughts of Qiu Yun and trying to appear calm.
“Miss Duan and my fourth brother’s wedding date has been set, but I have yet to offer my congratulations,” the Crown Prince said.
“My marriage is a trivial matter, unworthy of Your Majesty’s concern,” Mingxi replied.
The Crown Prince gazed at her. “Is Duan Wang truly so wonderful that you refuse to marry anyone else?”
Mingxi’s face darkened. “What does Your Majesty mean by this? The marriage was decreed by His Majesty—I would not dare defy the imperial edict.”
“So, you don’t want to marry Duan Wang, but you have no choice?”
Mingxi coldly replied, “Your Majesty, I dare not interpret your words in such a manner.”
“Duan Mingxi, what can Duan Wang give you? I can offer you twice as much…”
“Your Majesty, would you dare to say this before the Emperor?” Mingxi lifted her eyes to stare at the Crown Prince, her disgust completely unmasked. “I am betrothed to your younger brother, yet Your Majesty encourages me to break the engagement. If this matter spreads, I wonder how the world will view you?”
“Duan Mingxi, do you think even if you say it, anyone would believe you?”
Mingxi let out a mocking laugh. “It doesn’t matter if others believe me or not. As long as the Emperor believes, that’s enough. What do you think, Your Majesty?”
Hearing her use the Emperor against him with every word, the Crown Prince’s expression darkened. He hadn’t expected her to be so unyielding. With a cold laugh, he said, “Just don’t regret it later.”
“I never regret my actions. Your Majesty, please!” Mingxi responded icily.
The Crown Prince’s face turned ashen. He gave Duan Mingxi a fierce glare before flicking his sleeves and storming away.
As soon as he left, Qi Dongchun emerged from the shadows, wiping away cold sweat. “Miss, are you alright?”
Mingxi shook her head. “I’m fine. I’m going up to the third floor. If Duan Wang arrives, let him come up directly.”
“Yes, Miss, please.” Qi Dongchun bowed immediately.
After Mingxi went upstairs, Qi Dongchun wiped his sweat with a handkerchief. Seeing the situation turn dire earlier, he had quickly cleared the surroundings. If word of this had spread, the Crown Prince might not have suffered any consequences, but Mingxi’s reputation would have taken a severe hit.
He truly hadn’t expected the Crown Prince to be such a person in private.
Upstairs, Mingxi took a sip of tea to suppress her anger.
Standing by the window, she gazed down at the street. The Crown Prince’s carriage disappeared into the distance, and for a brief moment, the curtain seemed to lift slightly before falling back down.
She withdrew her gaze, looking at the bustling streets, the endless stream of people. In that moment, time overlapped with her past life.
Only, in her previous life, the departing figure she had watched was Gao Zhan. This time, it was the Crown Prince.
Two men she had once deeply despised—she still loathed them in this life.
With a soft creak, the door to the room opened.
Mingxi turned her head.
Xiao Muchen entered, wearing a long robe embroidered with floral patterns. The hem of his robe billowed as he walked, and his always-serious face carried an even colder air.
“Xixi.”
Hearing him call her name, for the first time, she found it warm and familiar.
A faint smile curved her lips. “I thought you wouldn’t arrive so soon, Wangye.”
“Qi He went to the palace. Once I received word, I came immediately.” Xiao Muchen sat across from Mingxi. “You don’t look well. What happened?”
Mingxi instinctively touched her face. Was it that obvious?
She had already tried to suppress her emotions.
Seeing her reaction, Xiao Muchen chuckled. “You must have been truly angered. Who provoked you?”
“Not long ago, I ran into the Crown Prince at Yuxian Tower,” Mingxi said directly. There was nothing to hide.
Xiao Muchen’s smile froze. “Did he trouble you?”
“Not exactly. He just tried to persuade me to break my engagement with you.”
Xiao Muchen: …
“If Xixi is this upset, I suppose that means you rejected him.”
Hearing this, Mingxi suddenly laughed. “Wangye is quite confident in yourself.”
“Of course,” Xiao Muchen said. “First, you are a rational person. Since we agreed to this engagement, you wouldn’t break it for no reason. Second, the Crown Prince has schemed against you multiple times. How could you ever reconcile with him? Third, the position of Crown Princess is already taken. What could he possibly offer you to make you waver?”
Mingxi: …
Well reasoned—she couldn’t refute him at all.
She let out a soft laugh. “Your words are quite to my liking, Wangye.”
“If the Crown Prince truly offered you the position of Crown Princess, what would you do?” Xiao Muchen gazed at her intently, his dark eyes unwavering.
Mingxi averted her eyes slightly and lowered her head. “We walk different paths—I would never align myself with him.”
Xiao Muchen’s gaze softened, and he added, “It seems we truly are a match made in heaven.”
Mingxi’s smile almost faltered. Even with all her experience from a past life, she realized her composure paled in comparison to Duan Wang’s.
Decisively changing the topic, she brought up Zhong Yuqing’s impeachment of Qiu Yun. “if impeaching Duke Wei angers the Emperor, the entire Wei family might suffer. if Duke Wei falls, Fengcheng Marquis will be left isolated in Qinan. i suspect this is the Crown Prince’s true goal.”
Hearing this, Xiao Muchen’s expression darkened. He looked at Mingxi and said, “There’s been renewed conflict in Qinan recently.”
Mingxi hadn’t known this. Such military intelligence was only accessible to high-ranking officials in court.
At this moment, she felt the disadvantage of lacking information. if she had known earlier, she could have anticipated the Crown Prince’s true intentions when Liu Yunhua mentioned Zhong Yuqing’s impeachment.
She fell silent for a moment. The Marquis family had no influence in court, which was why they were always a step behind in intelligence.
She had been working to strengthen them, but it still wasn’t enough.
“So, we must stop Zhong Yuqing’s impeachment of Duke Wei,” she said to Xiao Muchen.
Xiao Muchen studied her with a trace of hesitation before saying, “You’re worried about implicating Miss Liu, aren’t you?”
Mingxi nodded. “She was kind enough to pass this information to me. i can’t turn around and stab her in the back. She’s currently discussing marriage with Zhong Yuqing’s son, and she learned this from Zhong Sheng. if this causes harm to Zhong Yuqing, how could I face her in the future?”
“Zhong Yuqing is too rigid—he’s likely being used. Leave this matter to me. You don’t have to worry,” Xiao Muchen reassured her, his gaze softening.
She was just that kind of person—always considering others first.
Mingxi felt uneasy under his gaze. She hadn’t done anything special, so why was he looking at her like that?
“Are you planning to fan the flames on the Bai Zhiwei matter?”
“What?” Mingxi withdrew from her thoughts and looked at him in surprise. Now that he asked in this way, she was intrigued. “How do you plan to add fuel to the fire?”
Adding fuel to the fire required skill.
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