You're the one who wants to marry a mistress, and I'm marrying someone else, yet you still

Lou Li harbored deep resentment towards Xiao Yan, almost to the point of utter hatred.

In her previous life, Xie Wanru's soul wandered for a long time before she learned that after her death, Xiao Yan ascended the throne and was cruel and heartless.

However, she did not know that the reason why the crown prince's orphan was able to successfully reclaim the throne was actually due to the surging of another force that held back Xiao Yan, allowing the young child to win the final victory.

The Lou family is loyal to this very force.

That supreme position has captivated countless souls, making people willing to pay any price to obtain it.

After seeing Prince Rui off, Xie Wanru and Lin Qingcai reunited.

“Our plan is going smoothly. Xiao Yan has already become suspicious of the Lou family. What we need to do next is to deepen this misunderstanding and make Xiao Yan and the Lou family completely turn against each other.”

After Xie Wanru finished speaking, her eyes became quite worried. "Lin Qing, I know you are a sincere person, but I don't want to drag you down because of these things. I've already been married once. I've experienced what life is supposed to experience. We don't know what the future holds, but I hope... you won't get involved in some things."

When Lin Qing saw that Xie Wanru meant for her to avoid these things, she immediately refused.

"Why shouldn't I get involved? Aren't we all in the same boat? Wanwan, what do you mean? Don't you trust me?"

As she spoke, Lin Qing's face turned red with anger. She had just covered for her, and now she was abandoning her? She knew Wanwan wasn't an ungrateful person, but to tell her to stay away from danger, was she really that fragile?

"Lin Qing, that's not what I meant."

Xie Wanru bit her lip. Her senior brother and Dongzhu exchanged a glance and wisely left, afraid that Xie Wanru would repeat herself to them again.

They would never let Xie Wanru face this alone.

"What I'm about to do will be very dangerous. Whether it's Xiao Yan or the Lou family, once they find out that I'm the one causing trouble, they will definitely come after us. You've already helped me a lot, really enough. From now on, I won't let either you or Senior Brother get involved in anything else."

Xie Wanru said seriously, “Playing chess against Xiao Yan and the Lou family is not as simple as dealing with the people of the Yong'an Marquis’s mansion. Xiao Yan and Lou Li are both very ruthless. They will not be merciful to their enemies and will harm everyone in your Lin family.”

Because what follows is a matter of life and death, and she still doesn't know who Prince Rui is on her side, she can't let Lin Qing be implicated because of her.

In her past life, neither she, nor the entire Xie family, nor His Highness the Crown Prince, nor Shen Cong'an, nor Dongzhu had a good ending.

However, in this life, their fates have changed, so even if the plan fails, it won't be worse than the previous life.

But Lin Qing is different.

She originally didn't want Lin Qing to be involved in these things, but it was because of her divorce and Lin Qing's knowledge of her situation that she started seeing him more often, and there were some things she had to let Lin Qing know.

Seeing Xie Wanru's utter seriousness, Lin Qing's heart sank, especially when Xie Wanru said, "Everyone in the Lin family."

She was her father's only daughter. Minister Lin disliked women, had only two sons, and didn't even have a concubine. In this era, he was considered an extraordinary person.

Lin Qing could disregard her own feelings, but she still had to think about her father, mother, and brothers.

"Can't we...can't we let them kill each other? The Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince have grown up, and they must have designs on the throne! And the First Prince, we haven't seen him for so many years, who knows if he's really sick or faking it? Let's lure them into this and just watch. With so many people involved, who will have time to care about a nobody like me?"

Lin Qing's way of thinking was quite unconventional, but what she said wasn't entirely unreasonable, so she continued to press, "Or is it that I haven't done well enough these past few days? Are you dissatisfied with me?"

The current emperor has six sons but no daughters. The eldest and fifth princes were born to the empress, while the other four were born to the four concubines.

Although the eldest prince's mother was one of the four consorts, he was not born to the empress. He should have been born later than the crown prince. He was born prematurely to the virtuous consort and became the eldest prince by accident.

In addition, since Consort Xian was not a person of the Great Zhou, but a beauty presented as tribute by the Khitan, he did not become the Crown Prince despite holding the title of the eldest prince.

Moreover, since the Empress was nearly murdered back then, and there was evidence pointing to Consort Xian, the Emperor sent Consort Xian to Qingquan Temple. The premature and weak eldest prince lived in seclusion in his residence, and almost no one had seen him.

Therefore, although Xiao Long was the crown prince, he was actually the second son. He was born to the empress and was the legitimate son of the empress. In addition, he was upright, kind, and virtuous, making him the only choice for the throne.

Xiao Yan was the third son of Consort De, who was always indifferent to worldly affairs. Because Consort De died early, he had little support in the palace. So perhaps out of longing for Consort De, the emperor treated Xiao Yan fairly well.

The fourth prince's mother was the gentle and virtuous Consort Shu, who had a mild temperament and seemed to have little interest in the throne.

The Fifth Prince is introverted. Although he was also born to the Empress, his personality is the opposite of that of the Crown Prince. He is rather aloof and obsessed with studying various gadgets.

As for the sixth prince, he bullied a young palace maid who took care of him at a very young age. After the emperor found out, he was sent to study in Laoshan, far away from the capital, and was not allowed to return to the capital unless necessary.

His mother was also implicated as a result, and has not been favored by the emperor since. Her position as a concubine was only retained because the Tang family had previously served the emperor.

The current emperor did not inherit the throne, but rather overthrew the rule of a tyrant; in fact, he was once just a vassal king.

Perhaps not wanting his descendants to suffer the same fate as the previous dynasty, the current emperor is constantly learning from the lessons of the past and is very strict with his subordinates.

The current emperor attaches great importance to the education of his sons, fearing that they might follow in the footsteps of the dissolute and immoral princes of the previous dynasty.

The fourth and fifth princes that Lin Qing mentioned each had their own personalities, and they might actually have some covetousness for the supreme throne.

Especially the Fifth Prince, although he seems indifferent to the throne, who can know what kind of ambition is hidden under his cold exterior?

"No, Lin Qing. Putting aside the fact that they are innocent, stirring up internal strife will have endless consequences, and it was not my intention. But it's not because you didn't do a good enough job either, so don't overthink it."

Xie Wanru shook her head, feeling that Lin Qing probably didn't understand her thoughts.

Her targeting of Xiao Yan and Shen Nian'an was actually due to their past lives when they both targeted the Xie family. After Xiao Yan ascended the throne, he became even more licentious and immoral.

"Hmm? Not your intention? Wanwan, you're helping His Highness the Crown Prince against Xiao Yan. You're already involved. If you don't bring others in, won't the current situation be more like internal strife?"

Lin Qing was probably angered by Xie Wanru's advice to stay out of these things, or perhaps that was exactly what she thought.