Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 941: The Beauty’s Stratagem

Song Qingshu was utterly exasperated. Pucha Alihu’s demand was clearly different this time; she wanted Wanyan Liang to witness it with his own eyes to achieve the desired effect of revenge. This was just too… outrageous.

Seemingly sensing his reluctance, Pucha Alihu bit her lip and offered a reason that Song Qingshu found difficult to refuse: “As long as you help me this one time, from now on, even if we have to be your ox or your horse, my daughter and I will repay your great kindness.”

Song Qingshu felt his heart stir. He glanced at Pucha Alihu’s enchanting, mature face, then at the stunningly beautiful and youthful Wanyan Chongjie standing nearby. His heartbeat quickened uncontrollably.

Pucha Alihu continued, “If I’m not mistaken, for you to fully control the court’s power next, you must win over the Pucha family and the various princes of the Taizong lineage. My daughter and I can help you resolve this worry.”

Only then did Song Qingshu realize he had misinterpreted her earlier meaning. He inwardly scolded himself, though it was hardly surprising. Countless men in Daxing Prefecture secretly coveted this peerless widow and her daughter; misunderstanding was almost natural.

“I need to consider this,” Song Qingshu said. Although Pucha Alihu’s proposal was tempting, he didn’t agree immediately. The matter was simply too extraordinary, so he opted to stall.

Since Gebi and Wanyan Ping had already gone to settle scores with Wanyan Liang, Pucha Alihu and Chongjie couldn’t go to the Laundry Courtyard for the time being and had to stay in the palace a while longer. They took the opportunity to visit several imperial consorts. The Pucha family had intermarried with the royal clan, and Wanyan Chongjie was a descendant of the Taizong line, so they were related to many in the palace. Previously, due to their fallen status, they rarely visited. But now, with Song Qingshu as their powerful backing, they could freely visit friends in the palace.

After visiting several people, Pucha Alihu seized a moment when no one was watching to pull her daughter aside and say, “I plan to find an opportunity to marry you to him.”

Wanyan Chongjie was stunned. “Marry who?”

Pucha Alihu shot her daughter an exasperated look. “Who do you think?”

Wanyan Chongjie finally understood, her face instantly flushing. “Why should I marry him? Do we have to repay his kindness this way?”

Pucha Alihu affectionately stroked her daughter’s head and sighed softly. “Do you think I’m doing this just to repay him?”

“Isn’t that the case?” Wanyan Chongjie couldn’t help but pout. She had been curious about Tang Kuo Bian’s mysteriousness earlier, and later she was impressed by Song Qingshu’s power and deeply grateful for his help in avenging her and her mother. But these favorable impressions weren’t enough to make her impulsively want to marry him.

“Of course not,” Pucha Alihu shook her head. “We are just a widow and her daughter, after all. We can’t support a family alone, and you will have to marry eventually. Now that the court’s power has fallen into his hands, marrying him will ensure our family’s glory for generations, and it might even surpass the prosperity of your grandfather and father’s time.”

“Besides, although our relationship with him seems good on the surface, I can clearly sense that he doesn’t fully trust us. Who knows what changes the future may bring? Only through marriage can we completely put his mind at ease and ensure our safety. Also, you don’t want the Three Corpse Brain Holy Pill inside you to activate, do you?” Despite Pucha Alihu’s experience, the thought of that terrifying drug still made her pale.

Wanyan Chongjie’s expression also darkened. She couldn’t help but snort, “I don’t believe he’d be so heartless as to withhold the antidote when the time comes.”

Pucha Alihu recalled Song Qingshu’s handsome, refined features and clear eyes. In her heart, she agreed with her daughter’s judgment. However, she wasn’t a teenage girl anymore; her decisions were more cautious and rational, and she wasn’t willing to bet everything on vague feelings.

“Actually, the reasons I just mentioned aren’t the real ones. The reason I’m so eager for you to marry him…” Pucha Alihu paused, not explaining directly but changing tack instead. “Although he’s now the emperor of the Jin Dynasty, he can only rule under the identity of Emperor Xizong. Eventually, the throne must be passed to a descendant of the Wanyan line. But since he is the emperor, how could he pass the throne to someone unrelated to him? So the most likely outcome is that he will pass the throne to his own son.”

“However, Gebi and Wanyan Ping sisters know about his impersonation of the emperor. Although they love Song Qingshu and won’t expose him, they would never be willing to become sinners of the Wanyan clan by allowing the throne to fall into the hands of another bloodline.”

“If my prediction is correct, the final compromise between the two sides will be to choose a solution that satisfies both: passing the throne to a prince who is both Song Qingshu’s son and has the bloodline of the Wanyan family.”

Wanyan Chongjie was thoroughly confused and subconsciously replied, “Mother, you think so far ahead. But what does this have to do with me?”

Pucha Alihu felt like giving her daughter a good knock on the head. Her daughter was clever, but all her intelligence was spent on martial arts and being mischievous. Despite her royal background, she was completely ignorant of politics, which was both frustrating and amusing.

“Of course it has to do with you!” Pucha Alihu hurriedly explained. “From the current situation, Gebi and Wanyan Ping are closest to Song Qingshu. Barring any surprises, one of their sons with Song Qingshu will likely inherit the throne. However, Gebi’s nominal husband is Tang Kuo Bian, making it difficult to deceive everyone in practice. So the most likely candidate is Wanyan Ping’s son with Song Qingshu.”

“But nothing is absolute. Wanyan Ping has royal blood, but so do you! As the granddaughter of Emperor Taizong’s eldest direct line, if you have a son with Song Qingshu, whether by bloodline or legitimacy, his claim to the throne would be no less than that of Wanyan Ping’s son.”

“Therefore, anyone could ultimately be chosen as emperor, and the deciding factor will be Song Qingshu’s preference and favor. Chongjie, you’ve inherited my beauty, and you even surpass me in this aspect. Compared to Wanyan Ping, you have a natural advantage. If you work hard to win Song Qingshu’s affection, how could Wanyan Ping possibly compete with you?”

Wanyan Chongjie was dumbfounded. Her earlier failure to understand wasn’t due to stupidity but simply because her mind wasn’t on these matters. Now, with her mother’s clarification, she instantly grasped the implications and couldn’t help but admire her mother’s foresight.

“But Mother, for all your calculations, you’ve miscalculated one thing,” Wanyan Chongjie pointed out the biggest flaw in her mother’s plan.