I was a stepmother in ancient times, and I led my whole family to wealth.

Chapter 480 Luring Dongfang Jin into the "Trap" 1

Dongfang Jin proudly raised her chin: "Absolutely! Let's go eat. It's all my brother's favorite food."

Gu Chenglin...

Honey, I'm still here.

She gritted her teeth, staring at Cang Lingchen's retreating figure. Brother-in-law, whatever, he was just so annoying.

He glanced at the stunned Changsun Lan, then placed the wine jar in his hand into Changsun Lan's arms: "Let's go, there's plenty of wine."

Changsun Lan took the wine jar, glanced at Gu Chenglin's dark face, and looked at the backs of the brother and sister in front of her.

Is that girl ignoring me?

How many times has he been ignored by this girl?

Is he really that unlikable?

He recalled the first time they met, when this girl stared at him with surprise in her eyes, without a trace of infatuation.

He knew this girl was no ordinary person.

You know, with his face, very few people aren't "obsessed".

Thinking about it, he recalled those looks that disgusted him, and sometimes even his wife would show that kind of expression that he hated.

Staring at the receding figure, he sneered inwardly. What was he expecting?

She glanced at her youngest son chasing and playing, then looked up at the sky, suppressing that "excitement" in her heart and treasuring it well.

However, after glancing at Lu Yunqing, who was chatting and laughing, and then at Gu Chenglin, whose face was still dark, his smile deepened.

Today, there's going to be another good show to watch. Anyway, he doesn't have Lu Yunqing's thick skin.

However, he also admired Lu Yunqing's sense of propriety and envied him for being single and having the means to act impulsively.

He glanced at Helian Shuo again; how could he have forgotten about that kid?

He had personally witnessed this kid carving the girl's likeness with a carving knife.

That guy is still unmarried; he's probably too deeply involved in his romantic life.

How to do it?

Does he have an urge to kill?

……

At the dinner table, Changsun Lan stood up, holding her glass, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "Thank you for your hospitality, Xiao Jin."

He couldn't let such a good opportunity slip by since this girl was going to stay in the capital permanently.

Her youngest son has successfully stayed with her, and it would be wonderful if he could stay with her from now on.

Now he has a reason to approach her.

Cang Nanxi, sweating profusely from eating, glanced at everyone and looked at Changsun Lan: "Stop with the nonsense."

Tell me, what exactly are those foreigners planning?

This fox desperately wanted to keep his two sons with his daughter.

If one move fails, another will follow.

These guys getting together is never a good sign.

The fact that they've all gathered here must be the nephew's idea.

Thinking about it, he glanced at his precious daughter.

Sigh, it's all because these men are useless! They always have to rely on their daughters to solve every problem.

Cang Lingchen looked up and met Changsun Lan's gaze, only to see the other give him a meaningful look.

She picked up a slice of mutton and put it in his bowl: "Father, those people have their eyes on the Royal Primary School."

They wanted the children of the princes and officials they had brought to study there.

Cang Nanxi put down his chopsticks, took out a gold-threaded handkerchief and lightly wiped the corner of his lips, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes: "So you've changed your methods?"

Do they realize what it means to leave those people behind?

He tapped his fingertips on the edge of the table. They had originally planned to provoke the younger generation of Donglin Elementary School at the banquet.

Moreover, the Imperial Tutor, Duke Wen, Duke Fu, and the Prime Minister had also made preparations in advance.

Those kids are all putting in their best effort to prepare for the competition.

Cang Lingchen's throat bobbed slightly, his knuckles turning white as he clenched his fists: "When they made this proposal, my cousin and the Imperial Tutor had already pointed out the significance of the words 'hostage' to my face."

However, this time they seemed to have planned it beforehand and agreed unanimously.

The princes were also willing to be 'hostages', and even said that they would if their cousin agreed.

Those princes who led the way even offered to establish a fifty-year peace treaty with our country..."

He suddenly stopped, glanced at his sister who was still eating crayfish, and smiled.

Even after he said that, she pretended not to hear it; she was being "bullied" badly by her cousin.

He continued, "The Imperial Tutor suspects there's something fishy going on here, and besides, we haven't even started spreading the knowledge from the Royal Elementary School to the outside world yet."

According to the original textbook regulations, textbooks were used every six years, with new textbooks introduced in middle school...

But the Royal Elementary School has only been established for four years. If we let them in…

He thought to himself: These people have really gone all out this time, even willing to throw away a 'hostage' as a bargaining chip.

Changsun Lan traced the rim of the cup with his fingertips, a cold glint in his eyes, and looked at Cang Nanxi: "Uncle, are you aware that something similar happened during the Cang Sheng Kingdom period?"

Dongfang Jin...

There's more to the story?

Cang Nanxi was taken aback by his question, then seemed to remember something and said, "Speak."

Sending a prince or a son of a subject to another country as a hostage is tantamount to cutting off that prince's path to succession.

Children from the families of officials were to be removed from the family genealogy, which was equivalent to "hostages" being "abandoned children".

Life and death are left to fate.

Now they are vying to send "hostages" to them, how can this not arouse suspicion?

Changsun Lan poured him some wine at the right moment, the dark patterns in her sleeves appearing and disappearing with her movements.

He took out a sheet of Xuan paper: "Uncle, please take a look at this gift list—the hostage sent by the Western Liang Kingdom is actually the second prince, Qi Min."

The prime minister of Cangmo Kingdom was even more ruthless, bypassing the regent Mo Zhentian and handing over the jade token of his grandson Wei Zheng.

There was also the most favored young prince of the Oirat Mongols, Mongol Khan; the young prince of the Xiongnu Dazi; and the Eagle Clan…

The more willing they are to sacrifice their direct bloodlines, the more it proves that there is something about our Royal Elementary School that attracts them.

After saying this, he glanced at the group of people and then said to Cang Nanxi, "Uncle, in the late years of the Cang Sheng era..."

When the Northern Di (present-day Cangmo Kingdom) sent a hostage to the capital, they ostensibly claimed it was for 'studying and appreciating antiquity,' but in reality, a spy had already been planted in the Imperial Academy's library...

Upon hearing his words, the group recalled that "tragic" period of history, which was also due to those "hostages."

The once mighty Cang Sheng Kingdom was destroyed, much like a "thousand-mile dike collapsing due to an ant hole."

This further enraged Cang Qingtian (the "last" emperor of Cang Sheng Kingdom), who ordered his secret agents to burn down all the libraries in academies across the country.

Is history repeating itself this time?

At this moment, everyone present, including several of the older children, turned to look at Dongfang Jin in unison.

Dongfang Jin pretended not to see anything and continued to eat and chat with Ruyi.

Gu Chenglin picked up a cup of warm fruit tea and handed it to her: "Don't eat too much spicy food, or your stomach will hurt."

"know."

Cang Nanxi glared at Gu Chenglin, his fingertips tracing the wine glass, and suddenly chuckled softly.

The cold, starlike light in his eyes shattered and then coalesced again: "A fifty-year alliance?"

It's as if they're in a hurry to shove the "key" into their hands, which is interesting.

Thinking about it, he looked at his daughter who was pretending to be stupid.

She was extremely anxious. Her father's precious daughter, please say something!

Ruyi, in the space, held a glass of red wine and swayed it, watching their varied expressions.

He joked, "Jin-jie, are you going to jump into this trap or not?"

Dongfang Jin ate without looking up, saying, "No rush, this pit is bottomless, I'm not a 'white-haired rat,' I'm not jumping in."

Ruyi pouted. This contract master was all talk and no action. "You are more precious than a golden-haired rat. Tell me, how dare those people even think about it?"

In this way, I feel that it suits my wishes.

Sister Jin, I can't wait any longer!

After saying that, he looked at his shrunken little body and felt a little distressed.

Dongfang Jin shook her head. "I think so too. They not only took the initiative to propose an alliance, but the 'hostages' they put forward were all of their direct lineage."

If I didn't know you couldn't leave the Realm of Wishes, I would have thought you'd been cursed by those people.

Ruyi was puzzled. "What is that?"

【What? 】

[Black magic.]

Dongfang Jin held up a plate of dried shrimp and demonstrated how to peel it for the Second Prince. "Oh, that's some kind of evil magic, like the Heart-Eating Pill described in the alchemy manual."

Ruyi suddenly realized, "So that's how it is."

It doesn't actually have that ability, but human greed remains as strong as ever.