"These treasonous words of yours, if they were to reach His Majesty's ears, both your head and mine would be in jeopardy."
Ling Mohan said helplessly. He had completely given up any hope for Feng Jin's unguarded mouth, only wishing these words would not reach His Majesty's ears.
"If His Majesty were to punish me for these matters, it would only show that His Majesty is truly a narrow-minded person. Freedom of speech, to even speak a word requires constant vigilance, then what is the point of living."
If Emperor Xuanwen were to truly know and blame her, she would have countermeasures and naturally wouldn't have to worry about losing her head.
In the final analysis, it was the Empress Dowager who was wise and intelligent, having seen early on that the Empress was not as gentle and virtuous as she appeared, and that Chu Yanxi was incapable of bearing great responsibility.
She had started cultivating Chu Chenyi early on. Fortunately, Chu Chenyi was somewhat promising, much stronger than Chu Yanxi, and had not let the Empress Dowager's years of hard work go to waste.
"This is for you." Ling Mohan took a shining invitation from his怀 and handed it to Feng Jin.
"What is this? Why have you been receiving so many invitations these past few days?"
Feng Jin took the invitation and looked at it from side to side. "Why are you accepting everyone's invitations? Since it's your invitation, you go yourself. I don't want to go."
With that time, she only wanted to stay at home and study medical books. She was not good at such social events and did not like to attend them, yet she was being forced into it.
"The invitation is for female guests. What do you expect me to do? If you truly don't want to go, you can just not go. Out of respect for the Ling family's reputation, no one would dare say anything."
He had never cared about these social matters before. Previously, his second uncle managed the family affairs, and these miscellaneous invitations would naturally go to the second branch. Now that he managed the family affairs, these naturally fell upon Feng Jin.
These were all insignificant matters to him, and he did not expect them to help his career.
"If you don't want to go, I'll help you..."
"No, I am now the mistress of the Ling family. These are my duties. Not only must I go, but I must also uphold our family's dignity."
Since she had accepted the invitation, she would not refuse it. It was just women gossiping about family matters. Could she, a modern person, not handle these trivial matters?
Feng Jin opened the invitation, glanced at it, and immediately lost her previous enthusiasm. If she had known earlier that it was an invitation from the Third Prince's mansion, she would not have agreed so quickly.
The words were already spoken, and it was too late to go back. Feng Jin somewhat dejectedly threw the invitation onto the stone table beside her.
"Should I help you reply to the invitation now?"
His reaction to Feng Jin's current mood was within his expectations. It was still possible to reply to the invitation now.
Feng Jin, sensing something was amiss from his words, looked at the man beside her. "Are you deliberately provoking me?"
"No..." The man's voice sounded a little guilty, lacking any confidence.
"This invitation was opened by someone before you gave it to me. You knew it was from the Third Prince's mansion. You clearly know that I do not get along with the people in the Third Prince's mansion. If you were truly considering me, you should not have given this invitation to me; you should have refused it directly..."
"Not only did you give me the invitation and let me see its contents, but you also kept reminding me whether to refuse it, which is clearly deliberate provocation."
At first, she hadn't thought much of it. It was just that Ling Mohan's actions were too unusual.
In the past, he would never have cared about such things. His uncharacteristic concern this time made her suspicious. Seeing the man's current expression, she became even more certain of her suspicions.
"Tell me, why do you insist on me going? Do you want me to do something for you?"
She could be said to understand Ling Mohan very well. If there were no benefits to be gained, he would absolutely not get involved in this matter. She wanted to hear what Ling Mohan wanted her to do.
The man opened the fan in his hand and waved it gently, concealing the trace of embarrassment that appeared after being exposed.
"It's nothing much when you get there, but I want you to visit the Third Prince's mansion more often. Know yourself and your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles."
There was nothing to investigate, but now they were in a state of irreconcilable conflict with Chu Yanxi in the imperial court. The only thing left was for the two sides to break the unspoken agreement.
This was a crucial time. If she could visit the Third Prince's mansion more often and perhaps get some news, it would be even better.
Originally, he did not want Feng Jin to go. He also knew how much she detested everyone in the Third Prince's mansion.
However, an invitation had also been sent to Lin Yuwei, and Lin Yuwei had no choice but to go. He was worried that Lin Yuwei, with her simple mind, would be devoured in this tiger's den. After careful consideration, it was most prudent to have Feng Jin accompany her.
"If you don't say it, I won't force you. Then this matter is over..."
Ling Mohan became a little flustered. He grabbed Feng Jin's wrist, pulling the little woman who was trying to leave back, and pressed her onto a chair beside him. He then explained his intentions to Feng Jin one by one.
It seemed that if he did not tell Feng Jin the truth, it would be difficult to make Feng Jin go willingly.
"Is that all? Is there anything else you haven't clearly explained?"
"No, I've told you everything."
Feng Jin looked at the man for a long time. From his expression, she finally concluded that Ling Mohan was not lying at this moment.
"Given your good attitude in admitting your mistake, I will forgive you this time. If there is a next time, don't blame me for being impolite!"
"So, your meaning is... to go or not to go?"
Feng Jin did not answer immediately. She stood up somewhat lazily and straightened her clothes that had been disheveled during the struggle. "Whether to go or not; I haven't decided yet. If your attitude were better, I might consider going."
The man chuckled in a low voice, walked up to Feng Jin, and approached her step by step until he cornered her. His deep voice sounded, "I wonder when my wife will finish her consideration? Your husband is eagerly awaiting your reply?"
"Then I can only trouble you... to wait patiently!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she stomped heavily on the man's foot.
A sudden sharp pain spread throughout his body. Ling Mohan quickly retreated a few steps, stumbled a few times before he could stand steady.
"You..."
By the time he recovered, the person in front of him was long gone, leaving only a receding figure.
"Daddy... Daddy..." Da Bao tugged at Ling Mohan's clothes and called out.