Chapter 118: Chapter 118: The Plan

Chunmian and Chunyu naturally couldn’t say that Fu Shinian had plans against Qingqing. They only relayed the message as Fu Shinian instructed.

Sure enough, Li Zhaohui and Zheng Sulan understood.

There was certainly something inside involving Qingqing.

Not long after Chunmian and Chunyu left, Li Zhaohui went to the Zheng Mansion to find Zheng Sulan.

The two of them conspired and simply wrote letters, sending them to their close friends, inviting them to join in.

Li Zhaohui didn’t even return to the Li Mansion, writing the letters together at Zheng Sulan’s place.

Hearing that they were sending so many letters, Mrs. Zheng curiously went to Zheng Sulan’s room and asked, “Is there something special happening the day after tomorrow? Why are you inviting so many people to the Law Temple?”

Because there were so many invitations, along with Li Zhaohui’s friends,

they couldn’t rely just on their own maids.

Li Zhaohui even borrowed the young servants from the Zheng Mansion.

Zheng Sulan thought for a moment, then closed the door and pulled Mrs. Zheng over.

Mrs. Zheng looked puzzled, “What is it that is so secretive?”

Mrs. Zheng’s expression turned serious, “Don’t mess around!”

“We’re not messing around,” Zheng Sulan said. “It’s Fu Shinian inviting us to the Law Temple the day after tomorrow.”

“We are also curious. Our relationship with her is not bad, but not particularly close, just a nodding acquaintance when we meet,” Zheng Sulan said. “The only connection is when she plotted against Qingqing, we helped on the side.”

Mrs. Zheng nodded and chuckled at the thought of Fu Shinian, “The two young ladies of the Fu family are certainly quite the characters.”

“So we were curious why she invited us to the Law Temple this time,” Zheng Sulan said. “The maid who delivered the message didn’t say explicitly, but we suspect it’s about Qingqing.”

“Maybe Fu Shinian came up with another plan to deal with Qingqing,” Zheng Sulan said, “Mother, as long as it involves Qingqing, I definitely want to get involved.”

Mrs. Zheng’s attitude at the palace banquet on the first day of the lunar month also showed that she wanted to help Zheng Sulan save face.

Moreover, Qingqing repeatedly dragged them into the mud while trying to gain reputation for herself, which greatly disgusted Mrs. Zheng.

She thought for a moment and asked, “Are you sure?”

“Well… if it’s to deal with Qingqing, Fu Shinian wouldn’t say it outright. This is just our speculation,” Zheng Sulan said. “We really don’t have much interaction with Fu Shinian on normal days, aside from meeting at those banquets. There’s no other intersection, let alone arranging to go to the Law Temple together, which has never happened before.”

“Madam, I think it’s probably accurate. For Fu Shinian to send a maid with a message is already rare,” Li Zhaohui said. “She’s also taking a risk of being discovered. If Qingqing found out and changed the time and place, all of Fu Shinian’s preparations would be in vain.”

“So giving us a hint like this is a sign of trust,” Li Zhaohui said.

Mrs. Zheng nodded, “That’s true.”

Now, Mrs. Zheng was also beginning to view Li Zhaohui differently.

Originally, she just thought she got along well with her daughter, both not too bright but compatible.

Looking at it now, Li Zhaohui and Zheng Sulan were actually quite clever children.

Especially when compared with Qingqing, Zheng Sulan and Li Zhaohui seemed not so foolish.

At least, they didn’t cause trouble at home and attract dislike, waiting for the moment to mess up and be stepped on by everyone.

Thinking this, Mrs. Zheng said, “I’ll make a visit to Assistant Minister Chen’s residence.”

“Mother, are you going to see Mrs. Chen?” Zheng Sulan asked in surprise.

Now it was Mrs. Zheng’s turn to be surprised, “You actually thought of that?”

“Mother, do you really think I’m that stupid?” Zheng Sulan couldn’t help but pouted to express her dissatisfaction, “At the palace banquet on the first day, Mrs. Chen directly expressed her dissatisfaction with Qingqing in the hall. Now she certainly wants to see Qingqing’s disgrace.”

“But it’s not just about watching the spectacle,” Mrs. Zheng shook her head. Zheng Sulan and Li Zhaohui were smart, but not entirely so.

“Fu Shinian needs as many witnesses as possible, to spread what they see; otherwise, she wouldn’t have sent you invitations,” Mrs. Zheng said. “She knows that once you suspect it involves Qingqing, you’ll bring many friends to watch Qingqing’s embarrassment.”

“So the more people we call, the better,” Mrs. Zheng said. “However, we must carefully select the people. Inviting too many risks leaks, so we need to choose those who don’t like Qingqing and are tight-lipped.”

“There’s no need for too many, just a few. Watch the show the day after tomorrow and spread the word,” Mrs. Zheng said.

“Mrs. Chen is an excellent choice,” Mrs. Zheng said.

Li Chaohui said, “Then I’ll go back and tell my mother as well.”

“Exactly,” Mrs. Zheng nodded in agreement, “You can go back and discuss with your mother, see if she thinks the same. If your mother joins us, it will surely proceed even more smoothly.”

“I’ll go back now.”

Sure enough, when Li Zhaohui talked to Mrs. Li, Mrs. Li immediately had the same speculation as Mrs. Zheng.

“Good thing Mrs. Zheng asked you, otherwise you two would hide it from us,” Mrs. Li said. “I’ll handle this matter. You just need to accompany me to the Law Temple the day after tomorrow.”

Mrs. Zheng went to the residence of Assistant Minister Chen and spoke with Mrs. Chen about it.

The response from these ladies was swift, and Mrs. Chen immediately guessed Fu Shinian’s intention.

“In my view, it’s not suitable to have too many people, for fear of leaks,” Mrs. Chen said. “Just the two of us and Mrs. Li. If Mrs. Li has suitable candidates, we can add more, and that will be enough.”

“If we really see something, can’t just our few spread it?”

Mrs. Chen could even imagine roughly what they might see.

Intrigues of the inner court are nothing but familiar machinations.

Just not clear which trick Fu Shinian arranged for Qingqing.

“However, I am curious, why does the second young lady of the Fu family target Qingqing?” Mrs. Chen wondered. “Although Qingqing’s actions are underhanded, it shouldn’t warrant such deliberate targeting. Did Qingqing do something to offend the Fu family?”

“I don’t know either,” Mrs. Zheng was also puzzled, “Previously, Qingqing got along very well with the eldest Fu daughter, then somehow they fell out. Perhaps something happened in between.”

“If it wasn’t for something very serious, there’s no need to pursue it relentlessly,” Mrs. Zheng said.

“I just don’t like Qingqing,” Mrs. Chen said frankly.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep