217: Chapter 217 The Prime Minister's Residence and the Marquis of Zhenguo's Residence? (6/21)

He waved his hands repeatedly and hurriedly explained:

"Your Highness, please calm your anger! This subordinate has verified it repeatedly; there is absolutely no illicit affair!

That Ouyang Wanqing has a cold temperament and an alarmingly high standard.

Her contact with First Scholar of the Capital is purely for the sake of discussing poetry and Dao.

Every meeting takes place in a teahouse in full public view, with a screen separating them, and at least four maids from the Prime Ministers Mansion following by her side."

Hearing this, the coldness in the First Prince's eyes gradually dissipated.

He placed his teacup back on the table, emitting a light "thud":

"Discussing poetry and Dao? Heh, these scholars just have too many quirks. Continue."

The aide straightened his back, wanting to continue, but the words suddenly stuck in his throat.

He stood there, his expression somewhat strange, his eyes darting left and right, not daring to meet the First Prince's gaze.

The First Prince frowned, his expression instantly darkening:

"Why did you stop? Did a dog bite your tongue? Is there anything I cannot hear?"

The aide swallowed hard, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and spoke with some hesitation:

"Your Highness, the next matter... this subordinate does not know if I should speak of it."

The First Prince snorted coldly, and a formidable pressure suddenly radiated out, making the air in the study feel heavy:

"Speak!"

Enduring the pressure, the aide quickly lowered his head:

"Yes! This subordinate found out that this eldest Young Miss Ouyang has recently been... getting a bit too close to the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion heir, Chen Shanzhi, at Four Seas Academy."

"Who? Chen Shanzhi?"

The First Prince was stunned.

He picked his ear, suspecting he had misheard.

"You aren't joking with me? Ouyang Wanqing, she is getting close to that heir of the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion?"

"It is absolutely true." The aide nodded with a bitter smile, "Not only that, for this restructuring of the academy's martial arts teams.

Ouyang Wanqing took the initiative to turn down the people the Prime Ministers Mansion had originally prepared for her.

Instead, she lowered her status to join the team led by Chen Shanzhi.

And then she followed Chen Shanzhi every day to carry out missions."

"Bam!"

The First Prince slammed his palm onto the armrest of the yellow pear wood chair, and the hard wood instantly split with a fine crack.

He stood up and paced back and forth in the hall, his expression so dark it was about to drip water.

This news contained too much information.

The Prime Ministers Mansion and the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion were sworn enemies who had been fighting in the imperial court for over a decade.

One was the head of the civil officials, the other the Supreme of the military generals.

If the two families were to truly get into bed together, then the Great Jiang throne might as well just change its surname to Ouyang!

"Ouyang Wanqing going to approach Chen Shanzhi... it certainly isn't as simple as it looks on the surface, so what is the reason?"

The First Prince stopped pacing: "With Ouyang Wanqing's status as the Daughter of the Prime Minister, it is absolutely impossible for her to have taken a fancy to Chen Shanzhi.

Unless... this is Prime Minister Ouyang Mingyuan's idea?"

The First Prince calculated rapidly in his mind.

What kind of person is Chen Shanzhi?

According to his reputation in the capital, he is a lecherous devil who cannot move his feet when he sees a beautiful woman.

And Ouyang Wanqing just happens to be born with a face that could bring disaster to the country and the people.

"So, is this a honey trap?"

A dangerous glint flashed in the First Prince's eyes, and he gritted his teeth:

"That old fox Prime Minister Ouyang Mingyuan wants to use Ouyang Wanqing's beauty to win over the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion!

Or even, he wants to indirectly lay his hands on the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion's military power at the border by controlling Chen Shanzhi!"

Thinking of this, the First Prince felt a chill run down his back.

If this move were really pulled off by the Prime Ministers Mansion.

The civil officials, military generals, and military power would all fall into the eyes of the Prime Ministers Mansion.

Even if he, the First Prince, were to ascend the throne as Emperor in the future.

He would only be a puppet placed on the dragon throne, likely to be slapped to death by Prime Minister Ouyang Mingyuan at any moment.

"What a ruthless scheme! What a huge appetite!"

The First Prince punched the wall, shaking a layer of dust down from the rafters of the study.

The aide stood to the side, watching the First Prince panting with rage, and rubbed his nose in embarrassment.

He hesitated for a moment, then spoke cautiously:

"That... Your Highness, this subordinate feels that this honey trap from the Prime Ministers Mansion might... have been facilitated by our own hands."

The First Prince was in the middle of a fit of rage, and upon hearing this, he turned his head sharply, his large eyes glaring fixedly at him:

"Facilitated by us? What nonsense are you spouting?

Did I get water in my brain to help the Prime Ministers Mansion win over the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion?"

The aide shrank his neck and smiled bitterly:

"Your Highness, have you forgotten? A while ago in the capital, who was it that spread the rumors about that poem 'little pond'?"

The First Prince was taken aback.

He blinked somewhat stiffly, and the connection in his brain was instantly made.

"little pond..."

The First Prince muttered to himself.

At the time, that poem 'little pond' had caused a massive wave in the capital's literary circles.

In order to muddy the waters and make the Prime Ministers Mansion think that Chen Shanzhi was a hidden dragon who had been playing the pig to eat the tiger, the First Princes Residence...

...thereby causing Prime Minister Ouyang Mingyuan to be distracted and deal with the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion.

So he had specifically sent people to spread rumors in the major teahouses and restaurants in the capital.

Saying that 'little pond' was actually written by this profligate heir, Chen Shanzhi.

Thinking of this, the First Prince's mouth slowly opened wide.

"So this really was something I facilitated single-handedly at the time?"

"Your Highness, this humble subordinate feels it is very likely." The aide also had a helpless look:

"That Ouyang Wanqing loves poetry more than anything in her life.

Our publicity directly packaged Chen Shanzhi as a shocking and world-renowned Immortal of Poetry.

How could Ouyang Wanqing not take the bait?"

"Plus, Chen Shanzhi shone brilliantly in the academy's martial arts test a while ago, not only entering the academy's wind and cloud ranking but also the immortal stele hidden dragon ranking.

And he even obtained the medal for the poetry class, so this humble subordinate thinks the Prime Ministers Mansion must believe he has been hiding his strength all along.

Ouyang Wanqing joining his team is likely to test whether he is truly that hidden dragon."

In the study, it was eerily quiet for a moment.

The First Prince blinked.

His blood pressure, which had been about to explode, suddenly and miraculously dropped at this moment.

The clown was actually me?

No, it should be said that this wave was a godly assist from their First Princes Residence, directly pushing the eldest Young Miss of the Prime Ministers Mansion into Chen Shanzhi's bowl?

"Ahem."

The First Prince cleared his throat awkwardly and rubbed his aching temples.

Since it is just a test and not a true alliance, things haven't reached the worst-case scenario yet.

The First Prince sat back in his chair, his expression relaxing quite a bit, and he raised his hand to signal the aide to continue:

"Forget it, it was a lucky mistake. Has Ouyang Wanqing discovered any results from her testing yet?"

The aide stepped forward and reported:

"As of now, although the two of them come and go together in the academy, Chen Shanzhi is still his usual unreliable self.

Ouyang Wanqing seems unable to get a read on him.

Besides that, this subordinate also received news that Ouyang Wanqing is preparing to hold a poetry gathering in the Prime Ministers Mansion tomorrow."