Xi Ronghua almost stopped breathing.
Gu Yue’s eyes widened.
Xi Anran looked back and forth between the adults nervously.
[Those two women hate each other.]
[Seriously hate each other.]
[The kind of hate where they can smile while secretly wishing the other person falls into a river.]
Several people nearly choked.
Old Madam Xi’s eyelid twitched violently.
Lin Meiyun slowly lowered her head, she was beginning to regret reading that letter.
[The Prime Minister’s wife will think she was replaced.]
[And not just by anyone.]
[But by the woman she dislikes the most.]
[In her eyes, that will be the same as the Xi family publicly choosing sides.]
[After that, she’ll hate the Xi family.]
[She’ll remember it for years.]
[Then later, when the Xi family runs into trouble and desperately needs help from the Prime Minister’s faction...]
Su Yueqing casually reached for a pastry.
[Guess what happens.]
Nobody wanted to guess.
Unfortunately, she answered herself.
[The Prime Minister’s wife will convince her husband not to get involved.]
[And she’ll spend months whispering into the Emperor’s ear too.]
[Since she’s his favorite younger sister, he’ll listen.]
[The Xi family gets abandoned.]
[And all because someone thought inviting the Chancellor’s wife was a brilliant idea.]
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The entire courtyard seemed frozen in time.
Even the servants standing nearby could sense that something was wrong.
Nobody knew what to say.
Nobody knew how to react.
Especially Xi Ronghua.
After all...
The suggestion had been hers.
Very slowly, Xi Ronghua turned her head toward Lin Meiyun.
Lin Meiyun turned toward her as well.
The two women stared at each other.
Xi Ronghua immediately coughed.
"...Maybe the Chancellor’s wife isn’t such a good option after all."
Old Madam Xi nodded immediately.
"Yes."
"Very bad option."
Gu Zhen added without hesitation,
"Terrible option."
Xi Qianqian nodded rapidly.
"Horrible."
Even Xi Anran, who barely understood politics, quickly joined in.
"The worst."
Xi Ronghua glared at all of them.
Traitors.
Meanwhile, at the center of the table, Su Yueqing calmly swallowed her pastry.
Then she glanced around in confusion.
Inside her mind, another thought appeared.
[Why is everyone acting strange again?]
The Xi women immediately looked away.
No one wanted to answer that question.