"Princess Chengping?"
This time, Li Wanming was truly confused.
Why did this matter suddenly take a turn towards Princess Chengping?
She had desperately withstood the pressure today and refused to talk, all just to avoid involving the princess...
Xiao Jingnan said, "When Princess Chengping was granted the title of First - Rank Imperial Lady, the late emperor had a two - story - high flower terrace built for her to show his great regard."
"At that time, the late emperor did this for two reasons. One was to placate the King of Ning who was still suppressing the rebellion in the southern border, and the other was to win over the former subordinates of the Huo family. In fact, it was something he had to do."
"However, Princess Danyang and Princess Chengping had known each other since childhood and had been rivals for many years. When Princess Danyang saw that Princess Chengping had received such great honor, she remembered it in her heart."
"From then on, wherever she went, there were always fresh flowers accompanying her. After the late emperor's death, her extravagance became even more out of control and excessive."
Li Wanming said blankly, "You mean... Princess Danyang made such a big show on the Qixi Festival last year just to compete with Princess Chengping?"
"Yes. There is a rumor among the people that Princess Chengping is the most noble woman in the Dacheng Dynasty after the empress dowager... Princess Danyang has been dissatisfied for many years. Their discord is well - known in the capital."
Xiao Jingnan turned around and looked into her eyes. "So, my lady, Guo Wei wanted you to go to the princess's mansion not to make the Li family take the lead. Instead, it was to divert the trouble and push Princess Chengping out to take the blame for him."
"Guo Wei's motives were truly malicious."
"He knew that the Li family couldn't withstand the princess's fierce anger. There had to be someone of equal status to stand up so that the princess's anger could be appeased."
"After this matter was settled, he could still hide behind the scenes, pretending not to know anything, and continue to associate with your Li family through Sun Miaoqing's relationship."
"If he had really succeeded, the only one caught in this mess would have been you, my lady."
Xiao Jingnan's voice was very low, but in Li Wanming's ears, it was like a thunderclap.
She stared blankly with her mouth wide open and couldn't come back to her senses for a long time.
...
Li Wanming had always thought that she had understood Guo Wei's plan, but she didn't expect that he had hidden his true intentions so deeply.
So that's how it was...
So that's how it was!
Besides trying to hide behind the scenes, Guo Wei probably also wanted to curry favor with Princess Chengping and further get rid of Princess Danyang's influence on the Guo family...
He had almost succeeded...
Now Li Wanming finally understood why Guo Wei had desperately forced her into the princess's mansion at that time.
Because she didn't need to do anything. As long as she stood at the door of the princess's mansion, it already showed her stance - Princess Chengping's stance.
"Unfortunately, no matter how well Mr. Guo calculated, he miscalculated one thing."
Xiao Jingnan's eyes were cold as he said indifferently, "That is, Princess Danyang is not as stupid as he thought!"
Yes, Princess Danyang was not only not stupid but also very intelligent.
She didn't even ask Li Wanming's purpose. In fact, she hardly said a few words to her from beginning to end.
Moreover, in front of Li Wanming, she called Guo Ziyan over and said that she was a person who clearly distinguished between kindness and hatred. She always believed that the person responsible should bear the blame and would never involve innocent people. In this way, she cleared Li Wanming of any suspicion...
Wait a minute!
Innocent people?
Li Wanming finally reacted and asked with a trembling voice, "The innocent person the princess mentioned is... is..."
"You're right."
Xiao Jingnan replied, "It's Princess Chengping."
"Princess Danyang was telling Guo Ziyan that she could see clearly what the Guo family was up to. She told them not to sit on the sidelines and try to watch the tigers fight."
Li Wanming slumped onto the bed and helplessly tightened the cloak on her body. Her mind was in a complete mess.
She had always thought that she was quite smart, but now she realized how stupid she was.
She not only failed to see through Guo Wei's plan but also didn't understand the hidden meaning in the princess's words.
"Didn't you say that the princess and Princess Chengping are on bad terms?" Li Wanming asked weakly.
Xiao Jingnan said, "They are on bad terms. They have been openly and secretly competing for many years. People in the capital say that there are four beautiful noble ladies competing for glory. The pair of peonies are Princess Danyang and Princess Chengping, and the pair of tree peonies are Lü Songyuan and Fang Zhi. These four famous flowers have been competing fiercely, adding color to the capital all year round."
When he said this, he smiled faintly and continued, "However, compared to her grudge with Princess Chengping, Princess Danyang hates even more being used as a tool, especially by her own..."
"By her own dog." Li Wanming softly continued his words.
She remembered how Guo Wei had described her:
"She just wants a dog, a obedient dog."
"As long as this dog is willing to submit to her, she doesn't care what the dog thinks."
"People like us, the important court officials, are actually just the dogs of the powerful and noble."
...
At that time, when she heard these words, she even felt a bit of sympathy for Guo Wei, thinking that it was really not easy for a man from a humble background to climb to such a position...
Now that she thought about it, it was all nonsense!
If Princess Danyang hadn't been crazy enough and deviated from Guo Wei's plan, she would have really ruined both the Li family and Princess Chengping.
She had even felt sympathy for Guo Wei... Who did she think she was to feel sympathy for him?
That old fox had never told the truth from beginning to end. He had skillfully manipulated her with his smooth acting skills.
It was a pity that he was too smart for his own good. In the end, he didn't gain any advantage.
With just one sentence from Princess Danyang, he had to kill his daughter - in - law and offer the lives of the entire Guo family.
"Guo Wei was the Langzhong of the Ministry of Personnel six years ago and was promoted to the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Personnel four years ago. Before reaching the age of forty, he became a third - rank official. He was the most popular new noble in the court at that time and was extremely glorious for a while."
Xiao Jingnan softened his expression, and his voice sounded again.
"Unfortunately, everything has a price. Guo Wei took shortcuts to get promoted, so it was inevitable that he would fall hard in the end. In the end, all his efforts were in vain."
Li Wanming asked, "Did he get promoted to the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Personnel through the princess's connections?"
"Well... it's hard to say. Who can see what goes on behind the scenes?"
Xiao Jingnan smiled and walked over to sit down. "However, the scandal between Guo Ziyan and the princess did start to spread around that time."
"If you don't want others to know, don't do it in the first place."
Li Wanming nodded silently.
Xiao Jingnan said, "Although the Guo family did gain some benefits, the rumors in the market were too unpleasant. After all, it's not a good reputation to rely on one's son to curry favor with a woman for promotion. So Guo Wei had planned to break away from the princess a long time ago..."
Before he could finish, Li Wanming shook her head. "The princess won't allow it."
Want to run away after getting the benefits? There's no such easy thing in the world.
Moreover, the other party was the decisive and ruthless princess.
She would never allow her dog to have the heart of rebellion and separation...