Directed Leakage of Inner Voice: I Pretended to Be a God Undergoing Tribulations Chapter 356

The system deliberately teased, and as Yue Fuguang crushed the walnut in her hand, it quickly continued: "In this arranged marriage, strictly speaking, there were actually three victims. Besides Xie Zhiyao and Xiyuan Mountain, there was also Xixiang, whose engagent was stolen."

Yue Fuguang nodded. "True. Xiyuan Mountain was completely kept in the dark, while Xie Zhiyao played along with the situation. So what’s the story with that unprivileged prince Xixiang?"

"Master, on the surface, several princes of Xiqiang joined forces out of discontent with Xiyuan Mountain’s claim to the throne, scheming together to suppress him, leading to that setup. But behind it all stood a hidden puppeteer—one of the victims, Xixiang, whose bride was snatched away, leaving him with no recourse to voice his grievance."

Yue Fuguang set down her teacup, recalling the partial intelligence she had seen on him, gathered by Dayan. This man was extrely low-key, hardly making his presence known among the princes. "Xixiang? Why would he deliberately fra his own prospective princess and brother?"

Given his precarious position in Xiqiang, it seed unlikely he could snatch a woman of higher status than Xie Zhiyao. Could Prince Qi’s death have made Xixiang abruptly change his mind?

Yue Fuguang couldn’t figure it out, but those seasoned political veterans like Wei Ping and Cai Xuan glanced at each other, wheels turning in their minds, as if they had already guessed the answer.

Xie Zhiyao, a princess seemingly unable to offer any political advantage to her husband—why was she ultimately betrothed to Xixiang? Because he was the weakest, the least favored by the aging emperor.

Would Xixiang willingly marry such an unhelpful foreign commandery princess?

If he had no ambition for the throne, he would naturally obey the arrangent and bring her into his household, which would greatly benefit his stable future once the new emperor took power.

But if he harbored designs on the throne, he would never waste his position as primary consort.

Xixiang and his brothers, including the one on the throne, must have realized this. Xixiang knew they knew too.

So how to evade the marriage required 'wisdom'!

"Because he had already chosen the best candidate for his consort long ago."

"So from the very beginning, Xixiang only pretended to agree to the marriage alliance. He never actually intended to marry Xie Zhiyao?"

"Master, it should be said that he never intended to take Xie Zhiyao as his principal consort. If not for Xiyuan Mountain recognizing his lineage and being granted the title of Relic Prince ahead of the other brothers, sparking jealousy and scheming, his original plan was to trap Xie Zhiyao into losing her chastity before marriage, then magnanimously step forward to sacrifice his own reputation for the sake of diplomatic ties between the two nations, reluctantly taking her as a secondary consort."

Yue Fuguang’s face turned cold. While she did not particularly care for Xie Zhiyao—and might even order the system to end her life if she interfered with her own plans—she felt deeply disgusted upon hearing how Xixiang would stoop so low as to ruin a woman’s reputation for his own benefit.

"This Xixiang is nothing but a black-seed dumpling laced with poison!"

"Later, when he saw that the princes were scheming against Xiyuan Mountain, he steered them toward pairing him with Xie Zhiyao.

Thus, the news Xie Zhiyao received about him and Xiyuan Mountain was deliberately leaked by Xixiang’s n. Even what she 'accidentally' heard or saw, and the way the eunuchs and maids fawned over the powerful while belittling the weak, was orchestrated by Xixiang. He knew exactly how a power-hungry woman like Xie Zhiyao would react.

From the mont he learned he would marry Xie Zhiyao, he had already sent people to Dayan’s capital to investigate her character and conduct.

He even learned ahead of the Xiqiu father-daughter pair that Emperor Mingxi planned to take action against Prince Qi’s line.

So he was well aware that once Xie Zhiyao knew about his situation, she would never willingly marry him.

And things turned out exactly as he expected—Xie Zhiyao jumped into the trap even with her eyes open."

Yue Fuguang shook her head. In truth, she felt that in their ruthless ambition, willingness to use any ans, and obsessive drive for the throne, Xixiang and Xie Zhiyao were quite suited to each other—a match of like-minded power players.

But if such a pairing actually succeeded, the first thing they’d do is fight each other!

After all, even two tigers, one male and one female, will vie for dominance in matters of power.

"Little Zhu, a man like Xixiang—cunning, scheming, selfish, and cold—if he ever gets to be emperor, it will spell major trouble for Dayan." Even for Xiqiang itself, it wouldn’t necessarily be good.

If Xiyan could live a few more years, it might not matter. But if he dies within the next couple of years, and the sly, sheep-in-wolf’s-clothing Xixiang seizes power, the consequences would be severe.

Unless she personally executed them, even if Dayan managed to conquer Xiqiang, it would co at a huge cost.

Emperor Mingxi and his ministers exchanged glances. Consciously or not, their eyes fell on Zheng Zicheng, the deputy director of the Secret Intelligence Bureau, seated at the lower end.

As the third-in-command of Dayan’s intelligence departnt, Zheng Zicheng felt a chill crawl up his spine from the scrutiny of the emperor and his colleagues.

Cold sweat involuntarily beaded on his brow. Clenching his fists, he forced himself not to look at his superior, the Crown Prince, but instead shook his head apologetically at Emperor Mingxi.

Their lack of intelligence on Xixiang was indeed a failure.

Among all the princes, aside from his looks, Xixiang was the most unremarkable. They had been subconsciously deceived by his overly handso, harmless appearance and his low-key style of operation.

It was only recently, when they heard he was about to marry the daughter of Xiqiang’s Marquis of Changxin, that they began deploying more agents to gather additional information.

Even the latest intelligence would take at least half a month to arrive from Xiqiang.

But regardless of past mistakes, Emperor Mingxi and his ministers now clearly understood that Xixiang could not be allowed to live.

Having soone assassinate him was one option, but if Dayan’s n did the deed… it would leave undeniable evidence for Xiqiang.

But if it looked like a struggle among the brothers, where soone couldn’t help but strike against his own kin…

The ministers couldn’t help but turn their gaze toward Xiyuan Mountain and Xiling. Weren’t two equally sharp swords already conveniently at hand?

Zheng Zicheng received the tacit signal from the emperor and the crown prince and nodded almost imperceptibly. How to skillfully and covertly leak Xixiang’s machinations to those two, making them believe without exposing themselves? That required careful planning.

Zheng Zicheng’s fingers tapped lightly on his desk. So of his spies in Xiqiang had already word their way into the noble circles, but due to insufficient achievents, they had yet to earn the full trust of those princes.

This ti, he could choose a suitable target to deliver the ssage, further boosting his own n’s position.

Yue Fuguang glanced around, noticing the furrowed brow on Zheng Zicheng’s face as he began plotting counterasures. She knew the matter was settled.

Truly, 'killing with a borrowed knife' was the most cost-effective thod!

By now, everyone in the hall was half-drunk, many lounging lazily in their chairs, watching the graceful dance of the perforrs with hazy, inebriated eyes.

Just now, Gantang had raised a toast to her, which reminded her of sothing. So she asked, "Little Zhu, are you sure that after Gantang attended the Crown Prince’s wedding last ti, she didn’t rescue Ling Yuanhang on the way back?"