That night, both Third Young Master Qi and Fourth Young Master Qi were melancholy at heart. After dinner, Qi Ning went to Qi Le’s room to drink with him. The two raised their cups and drank heavily, both looking extremely troubled and distressed. Upon careful consideration, their anguish was all over women, and surprisingly, both situations were related to their second brother.

Comparatively speaking, Qi Ning suffered far more than his fourth brother. Although Fourth Brother had lost both his scholarly achievements and marriage prospects, at least he had mentally prepared for this a few days ago, so it wasn’t too sudden. But Qi Ning was different—he had been eagerly awaiting Wenwen’s reply, thinking that since Second Brother had already nodded his approval beforehand, there was an eighty to ninety percent chance of success. Who could have predicted such a dramatic reversal? Mother’s revelation tonight struck him like a thunderbolt, shattering all his beautiful dreams and awakening his… hatred toward Second Brother.

Second Brother… he had clearly nodded his agreement! He had clearly already promised! He had clearly decided to give Wenwen to him!

But he had changed his mind and stolen Wenwen away!

Second Brother already had everything—Father’s regard and Mother’s love, scholarly achievements and official position, countless admirers, and even noble ladies secretly fond of him. Even the Princess liked him and was willing to abandon her dignity for him—why did he have to compete with him for Wenwen!

Did he truly like Wenwen? Or was it just to humiliate him! To prove that he was the best one! That everyone else was inferior to him!

How hateful!

Qi Ning had truly lived unsatisfactorily these years. His repeated failures in the imperial examinations had already made him unable to hold his head up at home. Worse still, his fourth brother, whom he had never much respected, had passed the provincial examination and entered the metropolitan examination, making him feel even more disgraced. He had hoped to regain some ground and comfort himself by marrying the incredibly beautiful Wenwen, but this dream had also turned to nothing. At this moment, he channeled all his accumulated resentment from years of failure onto his second brother, his shame and anger gradually transforming into hatred.

That things had developed this way was indeed beyond Qi Ying’s expectations.

After establishing his relationship with Shen Xiling, Qi Ying had originally planned to find an opportunity to explain the situation clearly to Qi Ning. But immediately after that came the metropolitan examinations, leaving him so busy he could barely manage, constantly on his feet. Subsequently, he was punished with family discipline and went to the estate to recover from his injuries. In between, he truly hadn’t been able to find time for a proper talk with Qi Ning. If he could have spoken clearly with his brother first, although Qi Ning would still have felt shame and anger, it would have been better than suddenly hearing this news from Mother.

Unfortunately…

At this moment, both Qi Ning and Qi Le were thoroughly drunk. Qi Ning, emboldened by alcohol, was even more furious, feeling fooled and manipulated by his second brother, filled with uncontrollable rage. He drunkenly draped his arm over his fourth brother’s shoulder, his eyes reddening, and said with hatred and mockery, “Second Brother is really impressive, isn’t he? With just a casual word, he can decide our fate… Hah, truly remarkable, truly remarkable…”

He repeated this over and over as if possessed, while Qi Le had collapsed drunk on the table, seemingly unconscious.

The next day dawned bright and beautiful. The transition between spring and summer was the most pleasant time of year, and the Fourth Prince’s residence was also blooming with flowers.

His Fourth Highness had been at leisure recently and was in a good mood today, so he personally trimmed flowers and plants in the garden. His gentle and understanding Princess Consort saw this and naturally accompanied him, and the couple chatted about various matters, enjoying a leisurely time.

While gently cutting excess branches and leaves from the hydrangeas, Fu Rong asked Fourth Highness with a smile, “Oh? According to Second Brother Qi’s meaning, we can arrange Ziyu’s wedding celebration in a while?”

Fourth Highness was personally loosening soil for the newly cultivated geraniums and, too busy to look up, casually responded with a sound of agreement.

Fu Rong glanced at him, lowered her eyelashes, thought for a moment, then asked, “Does Your Highness believe it?”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ziheng paused in his soil-loosening, straightened his back, and looked at Fu Rong with a half-smile, asking, “What do you mean by that, Rong’er?”

Fu Rong also looked at Xiao Ziheng. The scissors in her hand were quite sharp, but her expression was gentle as she said, “Your Highness should know his character better than this consort. So intelligent, and having always regarded Ziyu as a sister—would such a person willingly give up power and position to become a Prince Consort?”

“Before the metropolitan examination results were announced, this consort could believe it, believing he did this to demonstrate loyalty to Your Highness,” Fu Rong turned aside to trim flower branches, her tone casual, “but after the metropolitan examination affair… it becomes much harder to believe so easily.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ziheng’s expression flickered. After pondering for a moment, he asked, “You think the Qi family will change sides?”

“This consort wouldn’t dare say such a thing,” Fu Rong smiled, “just somewhat worried for Your Highness.”

Xiao Ziheng smiled, “Oh?”

Fu Rong turned back to look at him and said, “Second Brother Qi is a person of deep schemes and foresight, with his own principles in his heart. I imagine that rather than revering anyone, he has more faith in what he believes within his own heart. Such a person will certainly be a capable minister, but not necessarily a loyal one—doesn’t Your Highness also understand this clearly?”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ziheng fell silent for a moment, then his expression shifted, revealing a sinister smile as he looked at Fu Rong and said, “I’ve said before that you are different—Rong’er, you truly haven’t disappointed me.”

Fu Rong smiled and gave Xiao Ziheng a shallow curtsy, saying, “Thank you for Your Highness’s praise.”

Xiao Ziheng approached Fu Rong, brushed the dirt from his hands, and pulled her into a side embrace, saying, “I naturally have my doubts, but the Northern Expedition is a great national plan, and I can’t obstruct him. Moreover, without some bone-deep major incident occurring, there’s no way to get a grip on Jingchen.”

Fu Rong fell silent for a moment, instantly thinking deeply about many things.

She certainly knew that Qi Ying was a person difficult to control. He was too thorough and too alert, seeing clearly and able to act decisively—such a person was impossible to defeat.

But who said defeating a person could only be done by targeting them directly?

Behind him was a vast family with so many brothers and nephews. What if they encountered problems? Could Qi Ying escape the crime of association?

Great families seemed like towering trees rooted among rocks, but precisely because they stood so high, sometimes removing just one foundation stone was enough to topple the entire edifice—wasn’t that exactly what happened to the Shen family back then?

Fortune and misfortune always cycle. The Qi family had been arrogant for too long; it was time for them to fall from the clouds and make way for others.

The Fu family harbored some very subtle enmity toward the Qi family in their hearts. Although both families were among the Three Great Surnames, the Qi family always took the lead and surpassed others in everything, while the Fu family visibly declined day by day, no longer displaying their former glory. Although the old Qi matriarch who had married into the Qi family had always looked after her natal family over the years, there was always a subtle condescending undertone, as if the Fu family’s children and nephews were inherently inferior and had to rely on Qi family patronage to live well.

Specifically regarding Fu Rong herself, she also felt indignant. Back then, Qi Ying had rejected her, unwilling to marry her, and had used leverage to let Xiao Ziyu publicly slap her hard. That slap didn’t just fall on her face but on her heart, making her deeply aware of the Qi family’s arrogance, as if noble ladies like her were insignificant, for them to want or reject at will.

What gave them the right?

And after all these years, not only did the Qi family not know restraint, they became even more excessive.

For the sake of that Fang Jun, Qi Ying had openly opposed the Fu family without hesitation, even instructing Lu Zheng from the Court of Judicial Review to directly behead Yang Dong, completely unconcerned about offending Fu Hong. At that time, the Fu family had temporarily endured without erupting due to the impending metropolitan examinations, not seeking to settle accounts with him. Who could have predicted he would act so ruthlessly, eliminating countless Fu family children and nephews in the metropolitan examinations, allowing only two to barely enter the third tier.

This was completely disregarding the Fu family!

But it didn’t matter. Dikes collapse from ant holes, and air escapes through needle points—with patient waiting, they would definitely catch the Qi family’s problems.

And for this task, there was no one more suitable than Fu Rong.

She was right beside Fourth Highness, and he was very likely to be Great Liang’s future monarch. Even though great families currently controlled Jiangzuo’s political situation, the imperial family was ultimately the imperial family, and ministers were ultimately their subordinate pieces. Now that Fourth Highness had the Han family as his maternal relatives and had formed a marriage alliance with the Fu family, he became the person in the entire realm most likely to topple the Qi family.

Even better, Fu Rong knew that Xiao Ziheng harbored reservations about Qi Ying in his heart.

So what if they grew up together? So what if they studied together? As long as one was human, they would feel jealous. Even if Qi Ying had always concealed his talents, so what? He was still superior to others in everything—could Xiao Ziheng’s heart have no knots?

No one could truly accept with equanimity that someone around them excelled in everything, especially when that person was their own minister.

Xiao Ziheng’s attitude toward Qi Ying was complex and subtle—on one hand admiring, appreciating, and relying on him, while on the other hand… wanting to drag him down from the clouds.

This wasn’t because Xiao Ziheng was base, but simply because of human nature.

And now, Xiao Ziheng lacked only two things: an imperial throne that rightfully fell to him, and a blade sharp enough to kill Qi Ying with one strike.

What Fu Rong had to do was find that blade for His Highness and personally place it in his hands.

Fu Rong lowered her eyelids and remained silent for a long time. When she looked up again, she was smiling beautifully and said to Xiao Ziheng, “Right now it’s merely that the time hasn’t come. In the future, Your Highness will surely achieve your heart’s desire.”

Xiao Ziheng gazed at Fu Rong, not like a husband looking at his wife, but rather like a monarch observing his capable minister, his peach blossom eyes glinting with sharp light.

Xiao Ziheng also had his own thoughts.

He naturally harbored wariness and even jealousy toward Qi Ying as Fu Rong had predicted, and indeed hoped to topple the Qi family, making this so-called premier family of Jiangzuo lose everything overnight just like the Shen family of old—but this didn’t mean he had much trust in the Fu family either.

The Fu family was even more greedy and despicable than the Qi family. He not only disliked them but actually found them disgusting. He only dealt with them insincerely because he currently needed some loyal hunting dogs.

This family was too “clever,” unlike the Qi family which still retained some foolishness—for example, Qi Ying’s conduct in this metropolitan examination was utterly stupid: he clearly knew he would incur widespread anger for this, clearly knew he would be universally condemned afterward, yet he still risked universal condemnation for the sake of that bit of compassion and responsibility in his heart.

Incredibly foolish, yet… inspiring involuntary respect.

The Fu family had no such character. They were merely his hunting hawks and running dogs, willing to do anything for mere scraps of food—like Fu Rong, who would forever remain “loyal” to him for her family’s temporary prosperity.

The smile in Xiao Ziheng’s eyes deepened. He casually said “good,” then released his arm from Fu Rong’s shoulder and returned to continue loosening soil for the flowers nearby.

Fu Rong smiled and also turned to begin trimming flower branches. However, her scissors, whether intentionally or not, went askew and cut down an entire hydrangea bloom.

And fallen flowers will all eventually become mud.

Author’s Note:

Can only say to Old Madam Qi that it’s not worth it.