readytorunbook Chapter 188: It's easier to fish in troubled waters [revised version]
Chapter 188: It's easier to fish in troubled waters [revised version]
Zhao Fangyu's dowry was richer than the family assets of an entire family, and Zhou Qinghe was even a prince.
The eldest lady had taught her that at a banquet, the best things should be put out first, and the things put in later on should not match them. That was the behavior of poor people.
A real banquet is eye-catching from the very beginning. You think there is nothing better, but in fact, there is always something better next one.
Zhao Fangyu silently responded to the lady's words that had just been used to try to please Liu Mianxin. The woman lowered her head in disappointment, while Liu Mianxin was still turning the bracelet on his wrist out of boredom.
His eyes fell on the void, his expression was calm.
It was so calm that she seemed unaware that the servant was the key to the evidence that implicated her daughter.
Everyone praised Zhao Fangyu's arrangement. Zhao Fangyu smiled and changed the subject: "I've heard that Madam Yang is very good at educating her daughter, but I didn't know what she looked like. I met the third daughter of the Yang family at my sister's house the other day. She was really well raised."
"I have no children now, I just hope to learn a little bit from Madam Yang."
The two things that Mrs. Yang is most famous for are the deep love between her and her husband, and her kindness to others.
Zhao Fangyu never said anything explicitly. Some people guessed that she wanted to be like Madam Yang and treat Zhou Qinghe as an equal, while others guessed that she wanted a good reputation.
The Prime Minister's wife felt that Zhao Fangyu was like a piece of candy that was sticky to one's teeth, which could neither be grasped nor thrown away.
So he pretended to smile and said politely to Zhao Fangyu: "No, I am still a naughty boy at home, I just learned some human ways outside and behaved more reservedly."
Someone smiled and patted the prime minister's wife's arm: "What are you talking about? You raised Bao'er well? If you think Bao'er is not good enough, just send Bao'er to my house!"
"Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. I can only take care of her for a while. How can I take care of her for the rest of her life?"
"If we discipline her more strictly now, she will suffer less in the future."
Speaking of Yang Xiaofei, Liu Mian felt very disappointed with her.
They are obviously the same sisters. Liu Mianxin gave birth to three daughters, but the second one is the best looking and the least promising.
Even though she was married, she would still write to the border to ask her elder sister Yang Xiaoyi for her opinion when something happened.
Zhao Fangyu understood the meaning of the string, and the smile on his face became even wider: "Madam, what you said really makes me sad. A good girl turned out to be a monkey in your mouth. When I saw her that day, I thought she was good in every way, much better than my mother's sister."
The Prime Minister's wife snorted and laughed, then slowly leaned back in her chair. "You only met her once, and you don't know her depth. You were just fooled by her. She's very cunning."
Zhao Fangyu chuckled and shook his head: "Mrs. Yang's children are all well-grown."
Madam Yang had many fans, all of whom praised the deep love between Madam Yang and the Prime Minister, and the anecdotes of the couple that were sung by everyone in the capital when they were young. Zhao Fangyu laughed twice and let others change the subject.
In fact, Liu Mianxin’s attitude is already very clear.
If Yang Xiaofei does not affect the Yang family, she can help Yang Xiaofei clean up the mess, but if she endangers the Yang family, then Yang Xiaofei will be nothing more than a married girl who is like spilled water.
The mistake made by Yang Xiaofei has nothing to do with the Yang family.
She is indeed a woman who wants to kill people as soon as they meet. For her own sake, she would even give up the child.
Based on this ruthlessness, Zhao Fangyu knew that Liu Mianxin was a hundred times more difficult to deal with than her second sister.
The Yang family's weakness and failure lies in Yang Xiaofei. How easy is it for the Yang family to stay out of it?
At the banquet, Zhao Fangjin carried Shu Jie'er, who had just woken up, to find Zhao Fangyu.
"Now that the people are settled, what do you want to do?"
Zhao Fangjin didn't ask Zhao Fangyu what he was going to do before helping him. He only asked after he had done the job, which showed that he really trusted Zhao Fangyu.
"I'm just a young girl, how can I be in charge of the overall situation? Naturally, I'll report it to the police."
Hit the snake at its most vulnerable part. Yang Xiaofei, the Yang family, and the third prince are all on the same boat.
The emperor was afraid of the consequences for the third prince, so what Zhao Fangyu had to do was to make a big fuss about this matter.
This is not a big deal. She doesn't need to do much. As long as she sends this evidence to Jingzhao Yin, there will be many people who will help her to make things difficult for the Third Prince.
Just because they didn't have any fatal leverage didn't mean others didn't. Zhao Fangyu was only responsible for muddying the water. She didn't care what kind of wild beasts were hiding in the water. She just stood on the shore and watched.
Smiling, he took Shu Jie'er into his arms and coaxed her. Then Zhao Fangyu turned to Zhao Fangjin and said:
"Sister, the older I get, the less patient I am."
She couldn't wait to see how the Third Prince would respond when faced with a pack of wolves surrounding him.
She was a victim, she chose to swallow her anger and even held a grand banquet to please the Yang family.
Who can say she is wrong?
From the Queen to the lower-level officials who could not see clearly the struggle for power, who could believe that this was all planned by her?
It wasn't her who started it, nor was it her who ended it. She didn't get any benefits and was filled with grievances. Who could say it was her fault?
Zhao Fangjin couldn't stop feeling heartbroken when he saw Zhao Fangyu teasing Shu Jie'er.
It had been a long time since she had seen Zhao Fangyu, the man with shining eyes, smiling and calling her sister, and rushing towards her.
After years of tacit understanding, even if Zhao Fangyu didn't say it, she knew that Zhao Fangyu and Zhou Qinghe had reached some kind of unspeakable consensus. There was nothing wrong with this, but as a sister, she felt sorry for Zhao Fangyu's increasingly thin body.
No matter how great the royal family is, with all its gold and jade, it is nothing more than a gorgeous golden cage that locks people in, with thorns growing all around it. Even if you have a thousand tricks, you will be trapped to death bit by bit.
The eldest lady had told Zhao Fangjin since she was young that the imperial palace was the last place to go. They had made countless plans, but unfortunately, things played tricks on people. Zhao Fangyu, a noble bird destined to fly high, was eventually forced to stay in the imperial palace by a decree from heaven, becoming an exquisite white crane.
Her eyes were lifeless, and instead turned into a hidden ambition.
Zhao Fangjin wanted to ask her how she was living in Hewang Mansion, but then he thought, given Zhao Fangyu's personality, she would always be nice to everything no matter how much he asked her, and would swallow all the bitterness.
She couldn't help much, at most with the permission of her father-in-law and husband, he could leak some news from the court to her.
Zhao Fangjin knew that Zhao Fangyu was walking on a road full of thorns and mud, but she could only watch and could not help or lend a hand.
He could only promise Zhao Fangyu dryly: "I am here for the Song family, so you can rest assured."
Zhao Fangyu smiled and returned Shu Jie'er to Zhao Fangjin: "Sister protected me when I was young, now it's my turn to protect sister."
In fact, when Zhao Fangyu was young, he did have the intention of taking advantage of Zhao Fangjin and the eldest lady, but human nature is soft.
She knew that someone was being nice to her and planning for her.
The troupe of actors that Zhao Fangyu had hired at great expense continued to perform until the banquet was over. The carriages left one after another, and Liu Mianxin left late.
"Princess, you are still young. There is no need to rush about many things. You will understand them later."
Zhao Fangyu smiled lightly, not looking at Liu Mianxin, but looking at the lights of thousands of houses in the distance: "Yes, there is still a long way to go, why should I be in a hurry."
The downfall of the Yang family is inevitable. They have more than one life on their hands. They cover up one mistake with another, and one life with another. They look clean on the outside, but are crawling with maggots on the inside.
The Yue family chosen by the emperor for the third prince is like a double-edged sword, hurting others as well as himself.
The third prince doesn't know how to judge the scale, and the imperial concubine is stupid and can only see the prosperity but not the hidden dangers in the dark.
The third prince was just a model in the emperor's hands that could be destroyed at will.