The Eldest Daughter is Delicate and Pretty, How Can She Be a Malicious Supporting Character - Chapter 66

Chapter 66: Discussion

Pei Lingyi sat in the carriage, lifted the curtain, and looked at the scenery outside. Although she was looking at the scenery, her eyes didn’t show any appreciation for it.

Pei Sitang looked at her sister’s distracted expression and knew she must be thinking about something. Last night’s events had been quite dramatic, and Pei Lingyi must have had her own plans.

She didn’t disturb her and simply looked at her with satisfaction.

Pei Lingyi felt Pei Sitang’s gaze on her but didn’t turn her head.

In just three days, the Gentleman’s Gathering had concluded, but she had been thinking about how to break through the situation since she woke up. She was very satisfied with the outcome of the past three days, but it wasn’t enough.

Last night, Xiao Huaijin had summoned Li Miaozhu for questioning. She heard from the servants guarding the courtyard that there were sounds of things being broken inside, and the argument between the man’s disappointment and the woman’s heart-wrenching cries intertwined.

It was likely that they didn’t get a wink of sleep.

Pei Lingyi didn’t care about them; she had slept well.

Now that the Gentleman’s Gathering was over, two of the daughters from the Xue family who attended – one was accused of plagiarism, and the other was so ruthless that she offended the Crown Prince. From now on, the Xue family’s daughters would likely have to be very humble in the capital.

The Minister of the Xue family would also inevitably face criticism from his political enemies in the court. With his own difficulties, would he still have a good attitude towards his daughters?

She thought about her dream, where the Prime Minister Mansion fell, and many officials who usually acted dignified came to mock her. The worst offender was the Minister of the Household Department.

But he had a good daughter.
Relying on Xue Yiran’s relationship, after the Per family fell, he benefited and became the most powerful official in the kingdom. However, Pei Lingyi knew that it was all just blood sucked from the Pei family.

This battle would severely damage the Xue family, which was an added bonus. Xue Baohua wasn’t part of her plan, but since she insisted on dying, Pei Lingyi would grant her wish.

The argument between Xiao Huaijin and Li Miaozhu last night also gave her an opportunity.

Years ago, the Crown Prince’s mother was just a concubine who wasn’t favored. Later, for some reason, she passed away when the Crown Prince was old enough to remember.

There were many people in the palace who wanted to adopt him, except for those who had given birth to princes.

The Empress didn’t originally plan to raise him. Although she hadn’t given birth for many years, she wanted a newborn prince to raise as her own, someone who would be closer to her.

But rather than someone like Xiao Huaijin, who was already grown and aware.

However, her brother, the Duke of Li, had a precious daughter, and the Empress, as Li Miaozhu’s aunt, naturally loved her dearly.

If Li Miaozhu hadn’t entered the palace and seen Xiao Huaijin, crying and begging him to be her cousin, the Empress might not have thought of taking him in.

In the Great Ye Dynasty, the legitimate son was always valued. Since Xiao Huaijin was adopted by the Empress, he was considered the legitimate son. With his own abilities, the position of Crown Prince was naturally his.

Xiao Huaijin’s becoming the Crown Prince can be said to be inseparable from Li Miaozhu’s credit. The Empress probably had the idea of marrying Li Miaozhu to Xiao Huaijin as the Crown Princess.

After all, this would make the Li family produce another Empress, and the Duke’s mansion would continue to prosper.
However… Pei Lingyi looked at the clouds flying by outside the window, smiling in her eyes. But now that Xiao Huaijin had reprimanded her and even quarreled with Li Miaozhu because of her, his life in the palace would probably be unpleasant.

She put down the curtain and closed her eyes to rest. But that wasn’t her problem. She and Li Miaozhu, he had to choose one. If he chose Li Miaozhu, it would mean that his future path would be smooth sailing, but if he chose her…

The difficulties would be endless. For someone like him, Pei Lingyi wanted to give him a strong dose of medicine to force him to make a choice.

Let him be abandoned by his friends and family, let him go against his own morals, and let his love for her become an instinct.

This was the path she had chosen for him.

The three-day Gentleman’s Gathering had daily excitement to watch, and now that it had ended, the entire capital was buzzing with the news.

“Hey, did you hear? The third Miss Xue from the Xue mansion plagiarized on the spot at the poetry gathering!”

“What? She really dared to do that? Our dynasty’s literary scholars were all there, and she dared to plagiarize? She’s probably going to face everyone’s anger.”

“Exactly! I heard the Crown Prince was there too. You can say she really poked a hornet’s nest. It was still Miss Pei from the Pei mansion who exposed her. I don’t even want to think about it. If no one had exposed her, who knows what benefits she would have gotten that weren’t hers to begin with?”

“Miss Pei? Isn’t she the Miss Pei from the Pei mansion?”

The tea house was abuzz with discussion. To say who was most interested in these matters, it would have to be the scholars preparing for the imperial examination.

The way Xue Yiran acted naturally made these scholars look down on her and even despise her.

“Excuse me, did the Miss Pei that you gentlemen were just talking about belong to the eldest daughter of the Pei mansion?”

Song Yanli was pulled to the tea house by his classmate Sun Lin today. Although he was poor, he would take the time to copy books for others or sell his calligraphy and paintings to supplement his family’s income. He would also copy books for his classmates in the academy to earn some silver.

He had excellent handwriting and literary talent, so everyone would usually ask him to do it. Therefore, he didn’t have to worry about silver.

He could still afford to order a cup of tea in this tea house.

Today, the tea house was discussing the Gentleman’s Gathering, and Sun Lin listened with great interest. He also knew a thing or two about it. Both of them didn’t expect the daughter of Minister Xue’s mansion to be so despicable, plagiarizing and stealing others’ work.

Such a person would probably become the public enemy of all scholars.

He had listened for an entire afternoon and was about to bid farewell to his classmate when he heard a familiar surname.

The person who was discussing just now was suddenly interrupted and looked up at Song Yanli. He saw that he was wearing a white-washed scholar’s robe, but he looked handsome, and his temperament was as elegant as green bamboo.

He answered him truthfully, “Indeed, it’s the Miss Pei from the Pei mansion. However, I’m not sure if it was the Eldest Miss Pei who exposed her. I heard that the Second Miss Pei was also there that day.”

After getting the answer he wanted, Song Yanli thanked the other person and left the tea house. Suddenly, he caught sight of the Mingxiang Tea House not far away.

The tea house was still bustling with people, but it was less lively than it was that day. When he heard the girl in men’s clothing call her “Miss Pei,” he later investigated and confirmed that she was the eldest daughter of the Pei mansion.

Although she spoke elegantly and every move she made was full of the grace and demeanor of a noble lady, he didn’t know why… he was inexplicably drawn to asking about her background.

By the time he realized what he was doing, he had already placed this Miss Pei in his heart.

So, when he heard the familiar surname just now, he asked an extra question. He wanted to know everything about her.