Chapter 258: Life Is Truly Unpredictable, Like a Big Sausage Wrapped Around a Small One

"Sister, how have you been lately?"

On a stone bench beneath a willow tree, the two women sat side by side, and Gao Yang spoke first.

Not understanding Gao Yang's motives, Li Lizhi answered honestly: "Quite well. You should know the life in the Imperial Palace very well; it's just like that."

"The life in the Imperial Palace…" Gao Yang seemed both nostalgic and reflective.

In any case, this was still the place she had lived in for a long time; though boring, ten years passed like one day, and with her temperament she longed to flee at every moment.

But after leaving, she would inevitably miss it.

Gao Yang then looked at Li Lizhi beside her and smiled faintly: "I know you've been to Weinan County many times, but it seems you never came to see me. Each time you only chatted with your husband in the house, then left in a hurry."

"Why do that?"

"Do you dislike me?"

"No, it's not." Li Lizhi quickly denied.

She wanted to explain, but didn't know how to start.

"Since it's not, then why didn't you come to see me?" Gao Yang, unruffled, asked again: "Do you feel guilty toward me?"

Li Lizhi fell silent.

Gao Yang knew she had hit the mark.

Li Lizhi was such an emotional person; perhaps she had changed a bit because of Chen Yan, but she was still the Li Lizhi she knew.

At the same time, Gao Yang became increasingly certain that Li Lizhi could not pose a fundamental threat to her.

Because she never intended to monopolize Chen Yan at all.

"Since you dared to do it back then, why feel guilty?" Gao Yang said calmly: "The matter has already happened; your husband accepted you, and the Crown Prince, Father Emperor, Mother Empress, and grandfather all stand on your side."

"You have already succeeded."

"I once claimed fair competition, and clearly you won, occupying half of your husband's heart. Do you think I'm the type who can't afford to lose?"

Hmm?

Li Lizhi blinked, and countless thoughts swept through her mind.

From Gao Yang's initial attitude and her current words, she felt Gao Yang was no longer so resistant to her, as if… preparing to accept her.

Perhaps she had the same plan.

"Ease the relationship between both sides!"

A conjecture arose; Li Lizhi breathed a sigh of relief in secret, becoming much calmer, no longer as at a loss as before.

Information is truly vital.

"Actually I didn't win either." Li Lizhi gazed at the distant figure that haunted her thoughts, murmuring: "There is only ever one winner."

"You are right." Gao Yang nodded in agreement, "You were definitely deceived before; your husband wasn't as good as you thought. He is a narcissistic, shameless, lazy‑to‑death, and extremely hypocritical bastard."

"I only realized it later. Back then we fought tooth and nail, and he knew everything, yet never said anything, neither stopped nor fanned the flames, just sat watching our quarrel."

"Then we both fell into his hands in a near‑free‑give manner, letting him enjoy the blessings of the Qi people."

"Free‑give?" Li Lizhi's eyes showed a hint of a smile. "That must be a phrase you learned from him, right?"

"He always says some odd, yet oddly fitting words, and those laugh‑and‑cry sayings."

"Your focus is strange." Gao Yang, having discovered something interesting, said clearly: "You seem to have realized your husband's original intentions earlier than I did, yet you don't care."

"Can you tell me why?"

"Eh?" Li Lizhi looked at Gao Yang in surprise.

"Don't look at me like that; I know what you're thinking. Once you marry over here and have been duped by Chen Yan for a long time, you can't help but be clever."

Li Lizhi: "......"

She smiled knowingly and replied: "So what if you realized it?"

"I try to forget but can't, I try to let go but can't; every day when I calm down his image inevitably surfaces, I have no other way."

"I see…" Gao Yang fell silent.

She suddenly understood Li Lizhi better, because when Chen Yan was not home, she was the same.

Obviously they quarreled when together, never had any warmth; after parting they missed each other, unable to control it.

Gao Yang couldn't help but think, if she were Li Lizhi, she probably wouldn't have given up Chen Yan back then.

No matter what, she had to fight for it.

"What a scoundrel." Gao Yang's expression was complex, "He makes the two of us fight over him, knowing his schemes, yet we end up devoted to him."

"I never said the wrong thing before, nor hit wrongly; he's not wronged."

Li Lizhi smiled faintly: "You don't need to think that way; if you stood in his shoes back then, you'd probably do the same."

"If I'm not mistaken, he might have used my help at the time to dissolve your marriage contract, since he hadn't fallen for me then, and likewise didn't care about you."

"At that time, what he most wanted wasn't to get both of us at once and enjoy the so‑called blessings of the Qi people, but to find a way to extricate himself from our conflict."

"Is that so?" Gao Yang frowned lightly, something she had never considered.

But she inexplicably felt it made sense.

Because Chen Yan is exactly that kind of person: he doesn't like anything, doesn't care whether you're a Princess, or whether you're beautiful.

If he liked someone, even if she were plain‑faced and of low status, Chen Yan would still cherish her like a treasure.

Obviously, at that time Chen Yan wouldn't even like her; he'd rather see her fall into a latrine that night and be unable to get out.

He had no special feelings toward Li Lizhi, perhaps not even a normal friend.

At this point, Gao Yang nodded, "You're right; I was the one digging a bull's‑horn corner."

"Just think it through." Li Lizhi first said that, then turned the conversation, smiling: "But what you just said is indeed correct; Chen Yan sometimes is truly shameless, taking on the title of bastard."

Gao Yang's eyes flickered as she examined Li Lizhi a few times, then asked abruptly: "When you went to Weinan County, what did you and your husband talk about in the house?"

Li Lizhi was slightly stunned, and her face instantly flushed.

"Hmph! You don't need to say it." Gao Yang said coldly, "I knew that bastard hadn't done anything good; he definitely took advantage of you, didn't he?"

Li Lizhi was truly shocked this time, unable to even mind the shyness in her heart.

Isn't it?

How on earth did you guess this?

Can a person really become this much smarter all at once?

It's simply incomprehensible......

Noticing her gaze, Gao Yang said indignant, "Don't overthink it, I'm just like you; before getting married I was also taken full advantage of by him."

Li Lizhi: "......"

No wonder you could guess it in an instant.

So it was also being taken advantage of, huh.

Tsk!

Life truly is fickle, like a big intestine wrapped around a small intestine.

"......"