The princess regretted it.

Chapter 251 The Prince's Plan

Jin An looked at Zhangsun Wuwang's hypocritical words with a frown on her face. She felt as if something was blocking her heart and she felt indescribably nauseous. She felt that all the care and concern shown by this person in front of her over the years seemed to be just a pretense, and she had been kept in the dark and foolishly believed it for so many years. When she thought of this, she felt an indescribable sadness and anger in her heart.

She let out a long, gentle breath, as if to release all the anger in her heart, and then looked at him with a sad face, her eyes filled with tears, as if they were about to burst out at any moment, making people feel very distressed. "Third brother, I already said that it was because I was young and ignorant that I made such a rude request."

Jin'an's voice trembled slightly, with a hint of suppressed crying, "And third brother, you knew that it was wrong for me to do that, but you didn't persuade me. Instead, you encouraged me to make the same mistake again. Third brother, don't you like me at all? Do you really want me to become an unfilial person and be despised by the world?" As she spoke, she gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve. Anyone who saw her eyes full of tears would think that she was extremely sad and suffered a great injustice.

Jin'an's words and actions made the Third Prince unable to cope. His face turned pale and blue, and he was extremely flustered. He had never expected that Jin'an would question him like this, and he was at a loss for a moment.

He quickly defended himself, "How could that be? Third Brother misunderstood your meaning. I just thought that as long as you were happy, I didn't think too much about it. After all, every time you were unhappy in the past, I felt bad too, so I just wanted to go along with you. I never thought it would be so inappropriate. Since you don't object, I won't worry about you anymore. You should have a good rest. Third Brother still has some matters that Father has asked me to take care of. I'll be leaving now."

After saying this, he didn't dare to look at Jin'an for another second, as if staying another second would drown him in the awkwardness and embarrassment that filled the room. He turned and hurried away. His hurried footsteps brought a gust of wind, blowing the curtains in the room gently. Only Jin'an was left sitting there alone, tears still wet in his eyes. He looked in the direction where the Third Prince had left, lost in thought. The sadness on his face gradually faded, replaced by a meaningful expression.

At this point, Jin An could already guess what the Third Prince was planning. A hint of sarcasm played at the corner of his mouth, but the smile never reached his eyes, instead revealing a hint of coldness. He had a brilliant plan. He was figuring that now that he was no longer controlling her, he wanted Jiaoyu to come out and fight her. After all, the Third Prince knew Jiaoyu's true nature. She was vindictive and vicious, unable to tolerate the slightest injustice. If she was not satisfied, she would do anything to seek revenge and compete with him.

Furthermore, given Jiaoyu's personality, once released, she would undoubtedly be unable to contain her resentment and would do whatever she could to retaliate against him, determined to regain her lost face and vent her anger at being confined. At that point, the Third Prince would wait for an opportunity, feigning an air of unwavering support and assistance, correcting Jiaoyu's faults. This would both build her trust and convince her that he was genuinely acting in her best interests, leading to gratitude and a willing support from him. At that point, he would have the Mu and Zhong families behind him as his support, enabling him to rival the Zhang family.

Secondly, it would also weaken the power of the second brother. After all, Jiaoyu was the second brother's beloved sister. If Jiaoyu made a big mistake again due to her rash behavior, the second brother would definitely be implicated, and his situation in the palace would become difficult. Then the third prince would have one less strong competitor to achieve his goals in the future.

This wishful thinking was indeed going well, but unfortunately, Jin An was not the kind of naive, soft persimmon that could be easily manipulated, so how could she easily fulfill his wish? Jin An narrowed her eyes slightly, a hint of interest flashing in them. Now that Jiao Yu had come out, she was very curious about her second sister's current situation.

She waved at Hongyu, signaling her to come closer and listen. Seeing this, Hongyu hurriedly took small steps forward, bent slightly, and leaned forward, putting her ear close to Jinan.

Jin An lowered his voice and whispered a few words into her ear. After that, Jin An calmly grabbed a handful of melon seeds from the plate on the table. Then she put the handful of melon seeds in Hongyu's palm and patted her hand, as if to cheer her up.

Hongyu carefully held the melon seeds in her hand, a confident and well-behaved smile appeared on her face, and she said with a smile: "Princess, don't worry, I will definitely understand her every move clearly, and I will never let you down. I will definitely get things done properly." After that, she bowed respectfully, straightened her body, turned around and walked out with light steps.

After Hongyu left, Jin'an lifted her embroidery frame and looked at her work, pouting unsatisfied. She tilted her head to look outside, peering through the half-open palace door and scanning the courtyard. But she didn't see Madam Zhao, only Han Shuang.

Her eyes rolled around, as if suddenly struck by an idea. A sly glint flashed in her lively eyes. Then, she gently set down the embroidery frame, stood up, and walked to the door, her steps as light as a nimble kitten. She whispered to Han Shuang, "Han Shuang, come out with me." Her voice was kept extremely low, fearing anyone else might overhear and ruin her plans.

Han Shuang saw her princess's behavior and knew the reason. Without any hesitation, she agreed immediately and said, "Yes, princess." After that, she took the cloak from the shelf with nimble hands and feet. The cloak was soft and embroidered with delicate patterns. She carefully put it on Jin An and carefully helped Jin An to tidy up the collar and corners of the clothes to ensure that it could resist the cold outside.

Jin An glanced around, looking like a child about to do something bad but afraid of being caught. But she couldn't find any trace of Madam Zhao, and finally felt a sense of relief. She gathered her cloak tightly around her, then hurried out, her eager steps hinting at an impatience to escape. Seeing this, Han Shuang hurried to follow, and the master and servant quickly left Feiyu Hall.