In the dilapidated small courtyard, the man pursed his lips and looked down at Shangguan Xue without responding for a long time.
Meng Ruyi and Song Huaizhi were leaning against the corner of the wall, listening to the conversation between the two. They couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat.
She had never done such a thing as eavesdropping before! She really wasn't used to it!
But she couldn't not listen. The man inside was Wen Xiuzhi, one of the original male leads and the female lead's cousin.
[Xiuzhi is on stage too! This plot is so heart - wrenching this time. It's a battle between childhood sweethearts and the new arrival. To be honest, the character of that stupid prince is so outdated. He's completely unlikable.]
[I agree with the above. Wen Xiuzhi and Shangguan Xue are childhood sweethearts, and he has a good personality. They were almost there, but unexpectedly, Wen Xiuzhi was cut off by that stupid prince! I'm so angry!]
[I can't stand it anymore. When will the prince die? Didn't it say he was going to be finished? Hurry up and get off the stage. Why does everyone seem to have a grudge against him? Reflect on yourself, Zheng Yuanjia!]
[Lol. Where are those people who used to love the outdated prince? Weren't you the ones shouting for the prince? Now you want him to be out. It's too late. How could the male lead die?]
Seeing that the bullet comments were arguing again and there was no other useful information to be found, Meng Ruyi focused her attention back on the two people inside who were talking.
"Cousin." Shangguan Xue called out softly again, as if nothing had happened, and gently asked, "I wonder what you've come to see me about?"
"Axue." Wen Xiuzhi's voice was dry and trembled slightly. "Do you know that Zheng Yuanjia..."
"Cousin, watch your words!"
Before Wen Xiuzhi could finish his sentence, Shangguan Xue interrupted him in a hurry and said coldly, "You know that some things can't be spoken out."
The Wen family was also a first - class noble family in the capital. Naturally, they had heard about what had happened recently. The Wen family was known for their literary achievements, and Wen Xiuzhi was the outstanding one of this generation. He had already been promoted to the deputy minister of the Ministry of Rites. If he took one more step forward, his future would be limitless.
He was the dream lover of countless women in the capital, but he was infatuated with Shangguan Xue.
Meng Ruyi vaguely sensed the author's conception of this book.
A man that no one else could conquer was conquered by Shangguan Xue. She also had an outstanding family background and a perfect appearance.
In a sense, Shangguan Xue's image in the book was not three - dimensional. She was just an incarnation of all that was good. She had no self - interest and naturally no thoughts of her own. She was a complete paper - cut character.
No soul, no thoughts.
Thinking of this, Meng Ruyi paused slightly, surprised in her heart.
The way Shangguan Xue was showing now was different from her image in the book. Was it because of the changes she and Brother Xiaosong had brought about, or because she had gained a soul and would no longer yield to the plot?
In the book, Shangguan Xue dallied among different men, but now she clearly loathed Zheng Yuanjia. Although she was cold - voiced to her cousin now, it didn't seem that she had no feelings.
"Cousin." Shangguan Xue called out softly. "Both the Wen family and the Shangguan family are watching us."
It wasn't that she was heartless. It was just that the two of them carried too much. The Shangguan family was supported by Shangguan Xue's grandfather. The next generation was all useless, and among the grandchildren, only Shangguan Xue was truly sober and intelligent.
The Shangguan family could only move forward, never backward. There were countless noble families in the capital. Who would remember the fallen ones?
Even if Shangguan Xue didn't care about these things, her father and grandfather, who had doted on her since childhood, would not allow it.
Although Wen Xiuzhi's family background was not bad, it couldn't satisfy Shangguan Xue's father and grandfather.
Shangguan Xue watched the pain on Wen Xiuzhi's face. Her heart was broken into two pieces, and even her soul seemed to be torn apart, turning into two completely different individuals that were constantly tearing at her body.
"Axue." Wen Xiuzhi's voice came, calmer than before but sounding oppressive. "Why? If... if I could take one more step forward and the Wen family could move forward too, would you marry me?"
Shangguan Xue gave a soft laugh and said to him, "No."
"The prince is still the prince after all. The emperor won't depose him because of other things." Shangguan Xue said as she looked into the far distance. At this moment, the waning moon hung in the night sky, empty, with only a few scattered stars around.
"If the emperor wants to depose him, what about the queen and those court officials who support him?"
"Decades, even decades of hard work would be in vain. Would they just watch it happen?"
Shangguan Xue said, giving a soft laugh with a sarcastic look on her face. "Wen Xiuzhi, I know you understand all this."
"No matter what, I've tried very hard." Shangguan Xue said, her voice faintly choking. "Rejecting the marriage proposal, is it that easy? Father and grandfather have tolerated me for a long time. Before long, I should do what a legitimate daughter of the Shangguan family should do."
Meng Ruyi and Song Huaizhi glanced at each other.
"Cousin." Wen Xiuzhi's voice was still gentle. "If you really became the one second only to the emperor, would you be happy?"
For a long time, the night was quiet. Just when the two people squatting by the wall thought Shangguan Xue wouldn't answer, she said, "Yes, cousin. If I could really reach that step, I would be very happy."
...
Meng Ruyi and Song Huaizhi quietly left before the two people inside came out.
Since it was a secret meeting, they even kept it from their families. So they didn't bring any servants or maids with them, which gave Meng Ruyi and Song Huaizhi a chance.
Back at the inn, Meng Ruyi's mood was as chaotic as the bullet comments. When she sat down, she was still shocked by Shangguan Xue's struggle.
"Incredible." Meng Ruyi said to Song Huaizhi. "Shangguan Xue is so smart. Usually, she's gentle and low - key, but just now she seemed like a different person."
Painful, confused, and struggling, but still willing to become a pawn of the family.
"I'm also a bit surprised."
Song Huaizhi never thought that in countless reincarnations, Shangguan Xue sometimes married the prince and sometimes was entangled with him for a long time.
Song Huaizhi never delved into it deeply, but he also didn't expect that her father and grandfather had put a lot of pressure on her.
Shangguan Xue always appeared obedient, as if growing according to the prince's preferences. Gentle, soft, talented, and with her own unique tenacity.
So the prince was always easily captured by her.
He finally found out why Wen Xiuzhi was willing to cooperate with the prince but never got along well with him.
"Shangguan Xue is right." Meng Ruyi said, analyzing. "The prince is not just himself. We must pay attention to the forces behind him."
"Will the people behind him give up on him?"
Meng Ruyi frowned. "Under what circumstances will those people really give up on the prince?"
"Right now." Song Huaizhi gave a soft laugh. "A prince who has lost the support of the people will one day be abandoned by all forces."
"They can control a hundred people, a thousand people, but they can't control all the people in the world."
"Yuyu." Song Huaizhi looked at her and said sarcastically. "Shangguan Xue trusts her father and brother's words too much. No one is invincible."