Favoring a Hidden Mistress? Engagement Broken-Chapter 148 - 118:

Xie Wanqing grew increasingly irritated the more she thought about it; her good mood from the past few days vanished completely upon hearing the name Lu Ziyuan.

Back in Xuanhua Courtyard, she didn’t even bother to check the accounts, and instead picked up a random book to distract herself.

Unawares, the sky outside had darkened by the time Pei Yuqing entered and saw the young girl lounging on a chaise longue, idly flipping through the pages of a book.

Upon hearing his footsteps, Xie Wanqing lazily lifted her eyes, then lowered them again.

Her demeanor made Pei Yuqing raise an eyebrow slightly. He took a few steps closer, scrutinizing her for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "What’s the matter? Who’s made our Wanwan unhappy?"

Soon after their marriage, he took on an official position, and now had just returned from the palace without changing out of his vermilion official robe, which only accentuated his elegance and charm.

Picking up the book from her hands, he chuckled, "Anything troubling you, feel free to tell your husband, I’ll solve them all for you."

Xie Wanqing pondered for a moment, sat upright, and pulled him to sit beside her, saying, "Have you been getting close to the Crown Prince lately?"

Pei Yuqing’s eyes flickered with surprise; he evidently didn’t expect this young woman, who doesn’t care much for court affairs, to ask such a question.

He cleared his throat lightly and said, "The Crown Prince’s reputation for being benevolent and virtuous is widespread. I’ve been interacting with him more lately and found him to be astute and articulate, knowledgeable about foreign threats, the drought in the north, and the chaos in the south. It’s not just armchair theorizing; he has practical opinions on strategies for the people, cultivating land and troop deployment. Additionally, he is your first cousin by blood, and since we are married, it’s only logical and right to support him."

After speaking, he noticed her unusual expression and added seriously, "Wanwan, do you think something’s amiss?"

"..." Xie Wanqing thought carefully for a long while.

It seemed that both emotion and rationale supported their family’s current stance; aside from the Crown Prince, there didn’t appear to be a better choice.

The Emperor is elderly, with various Princes all having reached adulthood, yet the Crown Prince’s position remains vacant, the contest for succession imminent.

The Crown Prince is the Xie family’s direct grandson, calling Xie Shu uncle since childhood. If he ascends, the Xie family becomes the Emperor’s maternal family, and even if the Xie family has no such intention, others will only categorize them within the Crown Prince’s faction.

On the Pei family’s side, though, with Princess Duan Yang around, there’s absolutely no need to involve themselves in the succession battle; regardless of which Prince ascends, she is their direct aunt. Yet, Pei Yuqing knew Lu Ziyuan was the late Empress’s legitimate son and had offended him thoroughly for her sake.

In any case, the Crown Prince is the best choice.

"Wanwan, I haven’t taken sides lightly for personal gain,"

Pei Yuqing said, "I’ve evaluated that the Crown Prince is a man of vision and strategy. The Great Khan is currently troubled domestically and internationally, severely weakened. I don’t know if he has the capability to stabilize the dynasty should he ascend, but I will do my utmost to help him eliminate outdated policies and govern the land well."

Xie Wanqing was stunned for a long time, "Changqing, did you have such a dream for the nation?"

"Wanwan," Pei Yuqing looked at her with deep eyes, smiling, "When chaos looms, this realm never lacks men of ambition, each scholar arriving at the Capital City harbors dreams of stabilizing the country. I’m no exception."

Penning glorious articles, wielding swords across vast territories.

Subduing foreign tribes, deterring enemy invaders, extending the Great Khan’s two-century reign, this is the dream in every ambitious person’s heart.

Xie Wanqing no longer spoke; compared to the nation’s stability, her tragic death in a past life seemed insignificant.

She couldn’t say, "I don’t like the Crown Prince, choose another person to assist."

Not just him, even her father and brother would stand by the Crown Prince, and all she had to do was forget about those things that didn’t happen in this life, at least not interfere with them.

As for Lu Ziyuan...

In her past life, Lu Ziyuan, too, had such ambitions; he was always very busy, busy to the point where he had little time to visit the back courtyard of the house, spending most of the year out of the Capital City and, even when in the Capital City, almost always stayed at the academy.

Every trip to Shaoguang Courtyard was for that matter...

Xie Wanqing steadied herself and said, "It’s time for dinner."

Saying so, she stood up to head to the front hall. Before she could step forward, her wrist was held.

"Wanwan, don’t worry about other things." Pei Yuqing gave her a serious look, saying, "I am a man, a competent politician. I have my reasoning behind every decision, which isn’t solely for you; don’t shoulder everything alone."

He assumed she was worried about the Xie and Pei Families failing to aid the Crown Prince’s ascension, and Lu Ziyuan seizing the throne, subjecting them to ruthless revenge, so he smiled gently, "Don’t be afraid, alright?"

Xie Wanqing paused her steps but didn’t reply before he lowered his head to kiss her lips lightly, pulling her hand to dine in the side hall.

......

Soon it was the day of the family banquet, and Pei Shurui’s three half-brothers, who had set up their own households, returned with their families.

The banquet was divided by gender, and Xie Wanqing joined the women’s side, sitting directly beside Princess Duan Yang, with the other side occupied by the long-unseen Princess Pingning.

After marrying into the Pei family, Princess Pingning initially often sought her out for fun, but then, whether due to the Princess’s advice not to disturb her brother and sister-in-law too often, or seeing her brother’s bad attitude, she came less frequently.

Now meeting, Xie Wanqing gave her a glance.

She wore a light smoky pink gown, with a distinctive pearl hairpin in her hair, exuding an extremely elegant and serene aura.

Compared to before, she seemed much more composed.

Xie Wanqing was quite surprised but couldn’t ask much given the crowd.

The banquet was very lively, everyone chatting and laughing cheerfully.

Only Nanny Luo, who stood behind Mrs. Zhao to serve the dishes, inadvertently kept glancing at Xie Wanqing’s face.

It seemed she finally confirmed something, whispering softly to Mrs. Zhao’s ear as she served, causing Mrs. Zhao to reveal a look of shock, before barely composing herself.

She tried to restrain but couldn’t help but frequently glance that way.

Xie Wanqing’s senses were rather keen and she vaguely noticed the pair’s scrutiny, frowning slightly and glancing over.

Their eyes met with Zhao’s.

Zhao smiled, "Judging by the time, it’s been almost three months since Changqing’s bride entered the estate, shouldn’t there be good news from your belly by now?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the room fell silent.

Zhao, seeming oblivious, continued, "At Changqing’s age, his brothers already have five children under their branch, you should hurry and seize the opportunity during the honeymoon, to give us double happiness."

Compared to Pei Yuqing, who at twenty-seven has yet to provide a single Sun Miaomiao for the second branch, the eldest’s posthumous son, Pei Shiqi, has four sons and three daughters by his thirties, with the eldest daughter slightly younger than Princess Anning, and even the eldest son is at the age of betrothal.