After deceiving the villain, I was forced to love him.

Soon, thanks to the old steward's "leak," the news that Wang Qingyan was going to return to Lincheng reached Lu Jian's ears.

Lu Jian, who never dreamed of such a gain, was overjoyed but also restrained himself and cautiously confirmed the matter with his other informants.

Only after confirming that Baili Ce had indeed made some agreement with Wang Qingyan did they feel at ease and begin the next step of the plan.

"In other words, my previous guess was wrong."

Placing the secret report on the table, Lu Jianqia thought, "No, this just matches your previous guess."

"I thought that Wang Qingyan would at most instruct the Wang family in Lincheng to keep a closer eye on Baili Ce, but I didn't expect him to go back in person."

"I didn't expect that either."

"However you look at it, this matter is entirely beneficial to us."

The Wang family was deeply entrenched, with followers throughout the court and the country. Lu Jian was just worried about not finding a breakthrough when Wang Qingyan delivered himself to his doorstep.

"From this perspective, he did not entirely view the marriage between the Wang family and the Baili family as a transaction."

During the suppression of the rebellion in the northern frontier, He Yao met Wang Qingyan. She originally thought that someone like him would never fall in love with anyone.

"Yes," that's exactly what Lu Jian was worried about.

“Those who do not seek small gains must have grand schemes. If Wang Qingyan wants to marry Baili Ce only to use him, then we don’t need to put in much effort. The Baili family and even Baili Ce himself will find a way to refuse.”

"But if his intentions are beyond our expectations, or even beyond our comprehension, then..."

Wang Qingyan is a strange and unpredictable person. He is really worried that his current happiness is what the other party wants to see.

Moreover, "if there is genuine affection, given Wang Qingyan's appearance and talent, it is hard to guarantee that Baili Ce will not fall in love in time."

He Yao made no attempt to deny that it was true.

“Once a woman falls in love, she will most likely give her all for the other person, which will be very disadvantageous for us.”

"So I'm also wondering whether or not we should continue with Baili Ce's move, in case..."

If the country is lost and someone else gets a wife as a bonus, that would be terrible.

He Yao thought for a moment, then suddenly realized something, but held back from saying it for the time being, "In Your Majesty's opinion, does Wang Qingyan have any other purpose in going to Lincheng?"

"There should be, but the undercover agents haven't found out yet."

In fact, Lu Jian had a vague feeling that Wang Qingyan's trip to Lincheng might really be just for Baili Ce, but he also felt that if he said it out loud, He Yao would definitely scold him for being superficial.

To everyone's surprise, He Yao didn't dwell on the issue at all. Instead, she leaned closer to the table with a meaningful look and said, "Then Your Majesty should make this move even more."

"How to say?"

"With Baili Ce around, do you think it will be easy for Wang Qingyan to do his job?"

"Among the powerful families, interests are intertwined and deeply entrenched. I do not believe that Baili Ce is completely indifferent, nor do I believe that someone who has tasted power would willingly be controlled by others."

As long as Baili Ce cares, no matter what Wang Qingyan wants to do, as long as Baili Ce is by his side, he will definitely have to be careful.

This is also advantageous for them.

“But…” Although He Yao’s words made sense, Lu Jian still hesitated.

"As Your Majesty said, if Wang Qingyan's trip to the three cities was for the purpose of sacrificing the capital's resources, and if he truly had designs on Baili Ce."

"By the same token, he is no longer so unbreakable and unscrupulous, is he?"

"Secondly, Baili Ce comes from a collateral branch. Three years ago, in her struggle for power, she almost killed other members of the clan. There has long been resentment within the clan that she is in charge of the family. She is too powerful. How could the other five branches of the Baili clan tolerate her?"

"You should know that when someone is the target of everyone's criticism, everyone will attack them."

"If that's the case..."

Lu Jian narrowed his eyes, thinking of a clever idea that would harm others for his own benefit. "I can also issue a secret decree to select someone to accompany me to monitor Wang Qingyan."

"If it's discovered, make that person say it was Baili Ce who ordered it."

Even if it doesn't have any real effect, it can still annoy the two of them.

He Yao gave a thumbs up, "Brilliant, Your Majesty!"

"Don't praise me yet, there's something even better," Lu Jian said proudly, straightening his back.

These thoughts flowed like a spring, and one wicked idea after another came to mind. "It just occurred to me that ever since Baili Ce moved to the capital, quite a few families have wanted to arrange a marriage between her and Baili Ce."

"Why don't I add one or two to the entourage?"

"Yes! Let's do it!" That's a fantastic idea.

How can he be so smart?

Getting carried away, Lu Jian slammed his fist on the table, his fighting spirit soaring, "I refuse to believe that I can't ruin Wang Qingyan's marriage!"

"..." Seeing Lu Jian's smug look, He Yao suddenly fell silent.

"Hmm? Yao?" Lu Jian, who hadn't heard the flattery, turned to look at He Yao.

"Oh~" He Yao suddenly realized.

She then smiled gently, but her eyes were filled with murderous intent. "So that's how it is."

"What do you mean?" Lu Jian hadn't understood yet.

"I was wondering why I kept running into you everywhere when we first met, and why you never seemed to have any luck with anyone you met. Was this what you were doing all along?"

"Uh...this, that...no, I don't..." Lu Jian was feeling guilty but had a thick skin, so he didn't blush.

He stood up, rubbed his hands, licked his lips, and straightened his clothes. "I suddenly remembered I have something to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."

go? !

What a beautiful thought!

He Yao directly pulled Lu Jian aside and started flirting...

"Ahhh, oh dear! Ouch..."

"It hurts... Stop, stop!"

"You still feel pain?"

"Tell me! Was it you who had this so-called mistress that young doctor mentioned?! And what about the general who suddenly changed his mind before the wedding, and Brother Jin who has this inexplicable interest in maritime trade..."

"Ahhh! If you don't stop, I'll fight back!"

"You're going to pay me back?!"

"Put down the knife! Put down the knife!"

"I...I am the emperor! This is regicide, regicide..."

"What?!"

"It was my fault, honey, I'm sorry."

......