sjar Chapter 759 What was that person's name again?
Chapter 759 What was that person's name again?
Princess Jiahe paused slightly in her teacup, looked up at her, and her scrutiny intensified.
"Oh? Tell me, what earth-shattering event is it that requires my intervention?"
“This matter is indeed earth-shattering.” Gu Qingchen took a step forward, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching Princess Jiahe’s ears. “I would like to ask the princess for a favor.”
She paused, then said, word by word, "Help me cancel my engagement to the Crown Prince."
"puff--"
Princess Jiahe nearly spat out the tea she had just brought to her lips. She slammed the teacup on the table, splashing tea everywhere in her haste.
She stared intently at Gu Qingchen as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world, her eyes filled with absurdity and mockery.
"Gu Qingchen, are you out of your mind? You come here asking me to help you break off your engagement? Are you trying to humiliate me, or yourself?"
“Why is Your Highness so angry?” Gu Qingchen’s expression remained calm. “You and I both know that you hate me to the bone and want to trample me underfoot. As for me, I have never thought of entering the Eastern Palace and competing with a group of women for a man.”
She looked directly into Princess Jiahe's eyes, which were filled with anger, and slowly said, "The biggest obstacle between us is not each other, but His Highness the Crown Prince."
Princess Jiahe's sarcastic expression froze.
"He wants me to be his Crown Princess, to stand in front of him and use my father's military power to consolidate his power. He also wants you to be his concubine, to appease the Yongding Prince's Mansion behind you, and to have you fight me in the backyard. It would be best if you fought to the point of mutual destruction, so that your royal family could reap the benefits."
Gu Qingchen's voice was as cold as ice, "In this game of chess, you and I are just pawns. Princess, a proud daughter of heaven, are you really willing to be manipulated like this for the rest of your life, to be a mere foil to another woman?"
"Shut up!" Princess Jiahe shouted sternly, but her voice lacked confidence and instead carried the embarrassment of having her secret exposed.
"It's easy to shut me up." Gu Qingchen's tone was uncompromising. "If we join forces, we'll ruin this game. I'll step down from the board, and you can sit in the seat you want. From now on, we'll go our separate ways. That's my sincerity."
A deathly silence fell over the flower hall.
Princess Jiahe's violently heaving chest gradually calmed down. She sat down again, but her beautiful eyes were now like poisoned ice, staring unblinkingly at Gu Qingchen.
"Why should I believe you?" she asked coldly. "This might be another trap you've set to drag me down with you."
“The princess is a smart woman; she should be able to tell whether I am lying or not.”
Gu Qingchen met her gaze calmly. "The position of Crown Princess is the glory you've sought your whole life. But for me, it's a cage I'd rather avoid. Our goals are fundamentally opposed, so there's a possibility of cooperation between us."
She smiled gently, a smile that carried a hint of cunning and certainty.
"Besides, His Highness the Crown Prince is now deeply in love with me, and the Emperor is happy to see it happen. Without a sufficiently compelling reason, this marriage cannot be called off. And only you can give me that reason."
Princess Jiahe gripped the silk handkerchief tightly in her hand, remaining silent.
She was distraught.
Gu Qingchen's words were like needles, piercing the deepest, most humiliating parts of her heart.
Yes, a concubine.
This is a shame she can never wash away in her lifetime.
But should she join forces with Gu Qingchen? Her mortal enemy whom she had hated since childhood?
"What do you want to do?" After a long silence, Princess Jiahe finally managed to squeeze out these words through gritted teeth.
A genuine smile finally appeared on Gu Qingchen's lips.
"It's very simple."
She leaned close to Princess Jiahe's ear and whispered a few words in a voice that only the two of them could hear.
Princess Jiahe's expression changed repeatedly with her words, from initial shock to disbelief, and finally to bewilderment and uncertainty.
After Gu Qingchen finished speaking, he stood up straight and resumed his calm demeanor.
"I have already told you the method. Whether you do it or not is entirely up to you, Princess."
She turned away, refusing to look at Princess Jiahe again.
"My patience is limited, and so is the princess's youth. I hope to hear good news from the princess when we meet next time."
After saying that, she walked straight out of the hall, her back view resolute, without the slightest trace of lingering affection.
Only after Gu Qingchen's figure completely disappeared did Princess Jiahe collapse into a chair, as if all her strength had been drained.
She stared at the cup of tea on the table, now completely cold, Gu Qingchen's last words echoing repeatedly in her mind.
"I want you to expose my 'affair' with Qian Zhenyun in front of everyone at the New Year's Eve banquet."
Princess Jiahe maintained her seated posture, her gaze vacantly fixed on the cup of tea in front of her, which had already lost all its heat.
break off an engagement.
Join hands.
She suddenly stood up and paced irritably back and forth in the hall, her footsteps silencing the expensive Persian carpet.
She hated Gu Qingchen, wishing she could tear that woman to pieces. But she hated the words "concubine" even more; they were a knife hanging over her head, a constant reminder.
Gu Qingchen's plan kept echoing in her mind...
However, there was one thing she just couldn't understand.
Princess Jiahe stopped in her tracks, her delicate brows furrowing tightly.
How could she be the prince's study companion?
The core of Gu Qingchen's plan was actually to start with one of the prince's attendants.
Princess Jiahe couldn't help but find it absurd.
In her opinion, shouldn't the best knife be Lin Jiayou's?
He was like a bloodstained, dirty knife in the Crown Prince's hand; it was only natural for him to use that knife to stab the Crown Prince in return.
You can frame someone, you can frame someone; no matter what you do, it all seems reasonable.
But Gu Qingchen chose a study companion.
That person... what was his name again?
"Princess." Chunhe, the personal maid, walked in cautiously. Seeing that her expression was not right, she softened her voice considerably. "It's time for your lunch."
Princess Jiahe waved her hand impatiently, "Take it all away, I have no appetite."
Chunhe dared not say more and bowed as she withdrew.
The huge flower hall was now empty except for her.
It doesn't matter who Gu Qingchen chooses that would ruin her reputation!
If this plan succeeds, Gu Qingchen will be dethroned from her position as Crown Princess, and she, Princess Jiahe, will be the Crown Prince's only choice.
At that time, she will use a little trickery to soothe the Crown Prince's wounded face, and the supreme Phoenix position will be hers for the taking!
What she wanted was the full title of Crown Princess, and the future dignified and virtuous empress!