Chapter 31: Xue Qi’s Little Schemes

The snow in the moat city brewed a spring chill, and honeyed plum blossoms were served with dew.

At dinnertime, Wang Baochuan had no appetite, so she only asked Qingqing to make her some tea and a plate of honeyed plum blossoms. The dessert was exquisitely made, using a small amount of white plum flesh, soaked in snow water, and then infused with plum wine. Snow fell outside the window, tea was brewed inside, and paired with this poetic and picturesque dessert, life’s pleasures couldn’t be better.

Late at night, the snow outside grew heavier. Wang Baochuan hadn’t expected her second sister, whom she hadn’t seen in a while, to come to see her in the midst of the snowstorm.

Before she could greet her, Wang Yincui rolled her eyes at her and then led a woman dressed in a goose-yellow shawl into the room.

The howling wind from outside blew in, making her shiver involuntarily.

“Wang Baochuan, Xue Qi wants to see you.” She dropped those words and turned to leave with her maid.

“Greetings, Miss Wang.” Xue Qi’s nose was red from the cold.

“Miss Xue, what brings you here?” Wang Baochuan was surprised. In her previous life, she and Xue Qi were considered sisters-in-law, and Xue Qi had only come to see her once when Wei Bao wanted to capture her.

In this life, she had no connection to Xue Pinggui. She wondered why Xue Qi had suddenly come to see her.

Xue Qi didn’t beat around the bush, “My brother got married. To Xu Wanning.”

“I heard.” The marriage was a sensation in the capital. It was hard not to know.

“But I know my brother’s heart doesn’t belong to Miss Xu. When he was drunk the other day, he clearly told me that he was smitten with you the first time he saw you…”

What? What did this mean? Even if her brother hadn’t gotten married, she, a respectable daughter of the Prime Minister’s mansion, wouldn’t marry Xue Pinggui if she had any sense.

Did Xue Qi want to tell her that Xue Pinggui was interested in her, so she should go and be Xue Pinggui’s concubine?

“What do you mean, Miss Xue? I don’t quite understand.”

Wang Baochuan sat by the brazier, slowly brewing Yangxian tea. She loved this tea, its clear broth, rich flavor, and lingering aroma. Even though it wasn’t suitable for drinking in winter, she still liked to brew it and smell its fragrance.

“My brother clearly told you his feelings, but why did you reject his sincerity?”

“I know you went to the Wei Mansion last time to see me. You saw me because you were interested in my brother, so you wanted to help us, right? Since you also have feelings, why didn’t you agree to my brother? Is wealth and glory that important?” She said this with some excitement, coughing repeatedly.

If wealth and glory weren’t important, why would she come to the Prime Minister’s mansion and try to reconcile with her?

It was simply that she had gone to see Wei Bao again, and Wei Bao had played matchmaker, so her second sister brought Xue Qi to see her.

Be lenient with yourself, but strict with others?

“Did your brother say that I was interested in him but rejected him with tears because I couldn’t bear to leave the wealth of the Prime Minister’s mansion?”

Xue Qi defended, “No, my brother wouldn’t talk bad about people behind their backs. Besides, I’ve never seen him so smitten with a woman before. Even his current wife, he hasn’t been as smitten with her as he is with you!”

“Oh?” The night was long, and it seemed like listening to a story wouldn’t be bad. “How was he smitten with me?”

“My brother secretly painted your portrait. Every time he thought of you, he would wander around the Prime Minister’s mansion. Even though he knew he wouldn’t see you, he still did it.”

“Is that considered being smitten?” Wang Baochuan wanted to laugh, “Then my personal guard, who protects me day and night, is more devoted than him.”

“If I’m not mistaken, Miss Xue Qi, you also have feelings for your brother, right? You just don’t like Xu Wanning, so you want to use me as a pawn to break them up.”

Xue Qi was caught, speechless.

“Miss, my miss should be going to bed. Please leave.” Qingqing seized the opportunity to dismiss her guest. Xue Qi glared at her resentfully and left reluctantly.