After marrying a sickly and powerful official, Jiaojiao cries every day

After hearing this, Wen Ranyan raised her eyebrows slightly, her eyes as chilly as spring, "So what?"

She just stared at Zhou Huizhi, her eyes hidden in the coldness revealing strong interest and mischief, but her expression remained indifferent, as if she was looking at some insignificant cat or dog.

Zhou Huizhi couldn't figure out what she was thinking, and she was staring at him with such a look. He felt a chill in his heart, and he quietly took a few steps back, then calmed down.

"The Imperial Garden is quiet and secluded. If there are other sounds, they must be clearly audible. Did you hear anything along the way, Madam?"

She spoke directly to the point without reservation, and it was obvious that she wanted to expose the dirty things in the imperial garden.

After hearing this, the pretended calmness on Wen Ranyan's face faded away. She curled her lips and smiled, her smile was gentle and bright, but a dark color flowed in her eyes, which was strange and creepy.

"I'm not deaf. I can hear such a loud noise and such a commotion." She said in a low voice, and suddenly changed the subject, "It's just that Miss Zhou seems to have the ability to see through everything. She was staying in the pavilion, but she knew what was happening in the Imperial Garden. People who didn't know thought that this was caused by Miss Zhou."

Her words were pointed and to the point, and several sharp edges came at Zhou Huizhi, making his scalp numb and as if there were thorns in his back.

It was originally a silent game of chess, but she was quickly defeated and at a disadvantage.

Zhou Weizhi concentrated his mind for a moment before saying, "Madam, since your heart is as clear as a mirror, why do you need to test me?"

Meeting her smiling eyes, Zhou Xuzhi was slightly startled, then said, "Yes, I was the one who slipped the note to Zhou Wantang, and I was the one who poisoned her. The commotion they caused was all because of me."

She admitted it openly, without any shame on her face for framing her siblings, instead she was as calm and open as water.

Under the soft moonlight, she stood in the wind's outlet, the tassel hairpin in her hair swaying in the wind, the thin beads floating on her body like clear waves, her hands folded in front of her, she looked demure and graceful, like a lady from an aristocratic family.

It is hard to imagine that this poisoning method came from her hand.

"It's really hard for you to put on such a show for me to watch." Wen Ranyan leaned against the pillar, looking lazy, with a beautiful curve at the corner of her mouth, but the words she said were cold.

"You invited me alone to appreciate your masterpiece. Are you showing weakness and surrendering to me?"

The former said it nonchalantly, but the latter's pupils suddenly contracted.

Zhou Xuzhi looked at Wen Ranyan in a daze. She knew that Wen Ranyan was a capable person, but she didn't expect that she was so sharp and smart. She had noticed everything in just a moment.

When talking to smart people, there is no need to beat around the bush.

Zhou Huizhi's hands that were twisting the handkerchief loosened slightly, and she said frankly: "Yes, the one who can stay with the new emperor for such a long time and be treated differently by him must be no ordinary person. Everything I did today was nothing more than a gamble, a gamble that you can find it, a gamble that you can come."

She added, "This is my gift of surrender to you. Madam, I'm sure you've seen it. Zhou Wantang and Prince Yongqing have known each other for a long time and have promised to be together forever. The Duke's Mansion also has close contacts with him. I don't need to explain the meaning of this. Madam should be able to guess it."

Wen Ranyan gathered her sleeves, smiled gracefully, and looked unpredictable, "You mean, the Duke's Mansion and Prince Yongqing have other plans."

Her voice was neither high nor low, and when blended into the wind it had an indescribable chill that penetrated it.

The rustling sound in the wind is like a ferocious ghost with bared fangs and claws, which penetrates into people's hearts.

Zhou Xuzhi took a deep breath and said, "If there was no other plan, why would the Duke's Mansion have any dealings with the prince who is far away in Liangzhou? And even promised his daughter to him. Who dares to believe that there is no trickery and no monstrous ambition behind this?"

She didn't know it at first, but recently the princes were pardoned and returned to Beijing. One time, she ran into Prince Yongqing who was disguised and entered the palace, and was gathering with my father in the study to conspire and discuss things.

She didn't dare to go forward, but just a glance from a distance made her so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat and felt chilled all over.

Later, she ran into Zhou Wantang and Prince Yongqing having a secret meeting under a rockery. The two were deeply in love and had known each other for many years. She did not dare to listen carefully to their plan, but only heard that it involved imperial power.

From that day on, she was convinced that what they were planning was a heinous crime punishable by death. Everyone in the Duke's Mansion knew about it, but she was the only one who was kept in the dark. To them, she was completely an outsider.

Wen Ranyan looked at her and pointed out jokingly, "But you are also from the Duke's Mansion."

Zhou Xuzhi's eyebrows drooped, and a few cold smiles formed on his lips. "But in their eyes, I am an outsider. Since I am an outsider, I naturally have to find a way to survive for myself."

"The Duke's Mansion has not completely fallen into decline until today, all because of my mother's dowry. But even so, I have not enjoyed any glory as the eldest daughter. They all step on me and bully me. Even my father is plotting against me. What's the point of letting me enter the palace as the queen? It's nothing more than wanting me to die."

"During today's grand banquet, my father secretly gave me a packet of love potion, saying that he wanted me to slip it into the new emperor's wine, hoping to make it a done deal. But the new emperor is such a man, he was just putting me on the fire. I obeyed on the surface, but he actually secretly gave it to my second sister."

As Zhou Xuzhi spoke, he suddenly looked towards the direction of the Imperial Garden. His eyes were cold and clear, without a trace of warmth.

Wen Ranyan looked in the direction she was going. The imperial garden was silent. Only the bright moonlight, as white as day, made her face stand out clearly. Her eyes were filled with a coldness of determination to fight to the death and to sacrifice one's own relatives for the sake of justice.

"Miss Zhou is very different now since that day." Wen Ranyan sighed, smiling widely, her voice so gentle that it was hard to tell whether she was being honest or not.

"But this family has a lot of complicated connections behind it. If one prospers, all prosper, and if one suffers, all suffer. Are you really willing to give up your status as the legitimate daughter of the Duke's Mansion? If the Duke's Mansion is destroyed in the future, you will have nothing to rely on."

Wen Juan's voice sounded like a test, or like a demon stirring people's hearts and minds, with a clear intention of bewitching them.

After hearing this, Zhou Xuzhi was very determined and sneered, "If their plan succeeds, I won't be able to share the wealth with them, but if they fail, I will have to die with them. It's unreasonable that we can't share the good fortune but have to share the misfortune. But I won't do that. I will go against them."

"If they were sincere to me, I would die with them without fear or complaint, but they are not sincere at all. I will let their desires go to waste and only seek a way out for myself."

The summer night breeze was a bit hot, but it couldn't melt the icy chill in her words.

Such cold-heartedness and selfishness made Wen Ranyan look at him differently.

If it was Zhou Huizhi in the Imperial Garden, Wen Ranyan would not bother to pay attention to her, but at this moment, Zhou Huizhi could not help but let Wen Ranyan look at her a few more times.

After all, she is a noble lady from an aristocratic family. It is impossible that her mind is filled with romance and vying for favor and power. Naturally, she also has the foresight to look at the overall situation and the means to protect herself.

Wen Ranyan said with a smile that made it hard to tell what she meant, "I just hope Miss Zhou won't regret this move in the future."

For a woman from an aristocratic family, without the support of her family, her life will be completely different.

People in Beijing are used to flattering the weak and fawning on the powerful.

Zhou Huizhi bowed, her tassels twitching slightly, showing her courtesy. "Thank you for your advice, Madam. My mother's family started out as a business, and I can do the same. If I can't stay in the capital, I can go somewhere else. As long as I'm alive, I'll always live a good life."

After saying a few more words, Zhou Xuzhi bowed and said goodbye.

A tall figure fell behind the swaying branches. When the wind blew, his clothes rustled in the wind.

Wen Ranyan lazily looked towards the flower branch and suddenly said with a smile: "When did our new emperor of Beilang learn to eavesdrop?"