She accidentally flirted with the villain and was fiercely criticized as the regent for forcibly mar

Chu Jin was surprised.

She thought she had hidden it well, but she didn't expect it to be seen through so easily.

She pursed her lips, biting her lip lightly with her teeth; it hurt a little.

"So far, I've only met him a few times. Apart from greetings and thanking him, we've never had a proper conversation. He hasn't made any advances towards me either. So whether he likes you or someone else, it's his freedom and his right."

"I won't blame anyone for things that aren't meant to be, and I certainly won't hurt you for a fleeting, unfulfilled affection."

Jiang Ruining was very worried.

The plot is so skewed that even the author's own mother wouldn't recognize it. The male and female leads should be smitten with each other and exchanging glances, but now there's absolutely no progress.

But that's not right!

Although there were cracks in Madam Jiang's attitude towards the original owner, she was still restrained by the "female lead's toxic fan" persona. The male and female leads are the spiritual core of the entire book!

Having already met, how could they possibly break free from the framework of a destined couple?

So, the male protagonist is pretending not to be interested in the story for the sake of the mission!

In reality, I had already imagined the female lead eight hundred times in my heart!

Yes, yes, yes!

That must be it!

Thinking it over, she took the initiative to advise him: "Shao Yunting is first-rate in both looks and ability. I do admire him, but I don't have any romantic feelings for him. I was just bothering him before because I heard that he doesn't show his emotions, so I deliberately teased him and wanted to see him get angry from my annoyance!"

"Don't worry about me. If you like him, go for it! You two are a perfect match!"

Show three fingers.

He solemnly swore, "Don't worry, I definitely won't cause any trouble. From now on, I'll stay far away from him when I go out."

Chu Jin looked at her serious expression and smiled: "So you like the Regent?"

"Huh?" Her topic changed so quickly that Jiang Ruining almost couldn't keep up. For some reason, her heart clenched slightly, and she blurted out a denial: "No! That's not true!"

Chu Jin raised an eyebrow.

It seems that the one hiding with her these days is the Regent.

Jiang Ruining understood that she had already guessed that Xiao Che was hiding at her place.

Fine!

The female lead is the female lead; nothing can escape her eyes.

Chu Jin gently patted the back of her hand: "You must be starving after all this commotion this morning. Let's go back and have some food!"

She didn't continue the topic, so Jiang Ruining didn't say anything more, nodded, and left with the maid.

Watching Jiang Ruining's departing figure, Yunxi whispered, "This servant thinks Miss Ning has really changed a lot!"

Changes in a person's spirit and temperament are easy to observe.

Chu Jin said softly, "Actually, nothing has changed. She has always been very smart and sees things more clearly than anyone else."

Chunxi noticed the change in her mistress's attitude towards Jiang Ruining and, fearing that she had believed Jiang Ruining's words instead of her own, anxiously said, "Miss! She plotted against you so many times before, all with the aim of killing you. Have you forgotten all that?"

"How could a wicked person suddenly become good? She's just putting on an act to deceive you. Once you believe her and lower your guard, she'll definitely come back to harm you! She definitely will!"

is it?

Chu Jin recalled the past and felt that those conflicts were from a very long time ago, so long ago that she could hardly remember what had happened. They seemed as insignificant as the petty squabbles of naughty children.

If you change your mindset and look at those things, you might even find Jiang Ruining's little schemes rather cute!

Moreover, given Ningning's intelligence, if she really wanted to harm her, she would have succeeded long ago. How could she have been so easily discovered every time?

Even though she was so angry and in so much pain, she still didn't want to hurt her, which shows that Ningning is a very kind person!

"She suffered a lot of injustices in the past, and I understand her. She didn't go too far. If it were me, I would probably have been a hundred or a thousand times more ruthless than her."

His indifferent gaze fell upon his trusted maid.

"We've had many misunderstandings, and you know in your heart how many of them were caused by your deliberate meddling! For the sake of our past relationship, let bygones be bygones, but don't let me hear these kinds of words again, and don't do anything behind my back that you shouldn't have!"

Chunxi protested, "This servant didn't! Miss Ning was faking it all, she's such a..."

"Alright!" Yunxi frowned and tugged at her forcefully. "Don't say things you shouldn't. It's only damaging the relationship between you and Miss Ning! You can be wary and vigilant for her if you don't trust her, but you can't speculate and slander her before anything has even happened!"

"Don't forget, Lord Jiang is returning to the capital soon. If he sees that even a maid like you dares to bully and scheme against his daughter, how can he truly love our young lady!"

"Don't ruin a girl's bright future for your own selfish reasons!"

Chunxi bit her lip hard, looking at her master's indifferent back, feeling very flustered.

These past two days, the master has only given instructions to Yunxi and has refused to take her with him when he goes out, which clearly shows that he no longer trusts her.

But everything she did was for the benefit of her master, and the young lady had always tacitly approved of her actions!

Why did you suddenly change your attitude and start blaming her?

It's all Miss Ning's fault! She's the one who caused all this trouble!

People like that should die!

Go die already!

She had to find a way to get rid of the person, otherwise, if things continued like this, what dignity would she have left in front of her master? What if Miss Ning talked nonsense in front of Lord Jiang and made it impossible for her to have a foothold in the Jiang family?

No!

We absolutely cannot give Miss Ning this opportunity to harm their master and servant.

Correct!

As long as we get rid of this vicious and despicable woman, everything can go back to the way it was before, and she will still be the most trusted and respectable confidante of her master.

……

Shao Yunting returned to the Dali Temple.

His good friend Xie Lanheng had been waiting for him for quite a while.

"how?"

Shao Yunting: "The petty thieves arranged by the patrol battalion have been detained and interrogated by the Regent's men. All those involved in the plot to forcibly break into the residence of a high-ranking official will be dismissed, and our men can be replaced immediately, but... my intentions have been discovered."

Xie Lanheng's heart sank slightly, but he wasn't surprised: "The matter of winning over the court officials is bound to begin. The Regent is shrewd, so it's expected that he will be discovered. He is currently engaged in a fierce battle with the Empress Dowager and Cui Sheng'an, so he may not have the time to deal with us."

"Besides, we have made so many preparations beforehand. As long as the plan is implemented, we can make the Regent mistakenly believe that we have already sided with Grand Tutor Cui and will not expect that His Majesty has already made arrangements."

"The most important thing right now is to appease Miss Jiang and prevent her from being seduced by the Regent's bewitching face. Otherwise, once they become related by marriage, we will never have another chance to win over the Jiang family."

The fact that Lord Jiang was able to wield real power and maintain his high position right under the nose of the narrow-minded Grand Tutor Cui demonstrates his exceptional abilities and shrewdness in handling affairs. Winning him over would greatly increase the chances of the young emperor assuming personal rule in the future.

Over the years, he has neither taken sides nor offended either. To win him over, one must find another way. Getting close to his most neglected yet most beloved daughter is the best method!

There was no rush, but the Regent made the first move.

This forced them to act sooner rather than later.

Compared to the Empress Dowager and Cui Sheng'an's faction, who only care about their own interests and disregard the common people, and Xiao Che's unpredictable and bloodthirsty ways, allying with us is the wisest choice.

"Besides, isn't Miss Jiang's display of intelligence at this time a deliberate attempt to attract your attention? If you're willing to get close to her, winning over the Jiang family and cultivating good relations with officials won't be difficult at all!"

Shao Yun pointed his elbow at the edge of the table, pinched the bridge of his nose, and lacked the confidence one would expect: "Jiang Ruining knows very well why I approached her."

Xie Lanheng exclaimed in surprise, "It seems she's been pretending to be stupid all these years!"