Wen Xinya frowned slightly. Lin Yingxin had good intentions in plotting against her this time.
Although the Lin family was once a famous scholarly family in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, it has not been well-known in recent years, otherwise Lin Yingxin would not have gone north to study. Lin Yingxin first borrowed the Ye family to gain some fame in the circle of Beijing, and then used Ye Feiyu's cousin to become famous, but... these are not enough, she wants more, much more.
This is Lin Yingxin's second time attending the Qianjin Banquet. Using the second Qianjin Banquet to further enhance her reputation is Lin Yingxin's real calculation and ambition, because she knows better than anyone what fame at the Qianjin Banquet means.
Lin Yingxin was already a talented woman in Beijing, and her reputation was no less than that of many ladies of scholarly family. Not to mention facing hundreds of truly talented women at the Thousand Gold Banquet, she was not really sure that she could stand out again. Even if she was really sure, even if she defeated these women who were not as famous as her, it would be beneficial to her, but it would not achieve what she wanted.
And she, the "talented woman" created by Xia Ruya and Lin Yingxin, is the one who best meets Lin Yingxin's requirements.
Si Yiyan checked Wen Xinya's wound, and it had almost healed in just over a day: "Fortunately, it was just a minor skin injury, otherwise it would have affected your performance at the Qianjin Banquet."
Si Yiyan applied medicine on her wound and then bandaged it carefully.
Wen Xinya said unconvincedly: "It's not that serious. This little injury won't really affect my performance."
The wound doesn't hurt anymore, but there's still some slight discomfort. It's too late tonight, so I guess it will be fine tomorrow.
Si Yiyan said calmly: "Under normal circumstances, this minor injury would be fine, but at a banquet worth thousands of gold coins, a small mistake can lead to a huge loss. Since you want to perform well at the banquet, you must not be careless."
Wen Xinya pursed her lips. She felt a lot of pressure because Si Yiyan had the same confidence in her as her grandfather.
Si Yiyan knew what she was thinking and said sternly, "Xinya, you are so smart, you must have known it long ago. This banquet worth thousands of gold coins is probably not as simple as you think. Especially this Lin Yingxin, she has ulterior motives."
He had also done some research on Lin Yingxin. He was quite disdainful of her personality and the way she did things. She was another greedy and ambitious woman.
Wen Xinya said, "I know that Lin Yingxin is using me to gain fame, and she is more calculating than anyone else. This woman is as cunning as Xia Ruya, but compared to Xia Ruya's preference for manipulating people's hearts and hiding herself in the dark, Lin Yingxin's methods of dealing with people are more despicable, more bold and radical, and of course more direct."
Different from Xia Ruya who is selfish and wants to control everything in her own hands, Lin Yingxin's performance is more direct. She wants to take shortcuts and likes to play the role of a man who conquers the world by strength, while a woman conquers the world by conquering men.
What Lin Yingxin had planned was nothing more than to gain unparalleled fame at the banquet for a wealthy man, and then naturally marry into the wealthy family she had imagined, stand on the pyramid of high society, and become a woman like Teacher Zhou and Teacher Tang.
It would be easy for her to accomplish her plan, but she shouldn't have provoked her.
Si Yiyan said: "Since you know, then you should also know why Lin Yingxin chose you."
This is the real point.
Wen Xinya nodded and said, "Lin Yingxin chose me for only three reasons."
"First, with the Wen family's drama that is no less than the eight o'clock drama, and my grandfather's reputation, I have always been the focus of attention in Beijing. Add to that Xia Ruya and Lin Yingxin's malicious plagiarism, and you can imagine that almost everyone in the entire circle has their eyes on me. If Lin Yingxin can successfully step on me at the Qianjin Banquet, and use my shameful reputation to set off her reputation as a 'talented woman of the time', the positive and negative contrast will achieve a better effect."
“Secondly, my grandfather is a great scholar in the literary world, highly respected and admired. I have been deeply influenced by his teachings. If Lin Yingxin steps on me, others will think that even the granddaughter taught by Mr. Mo himself is not as good as her. Wouldn’t that show her outstanding talent even more!”
"Third, although I have been taught by my grandfather himself, I have only been back in the Wen family for three years. In the eyes of others, three years is not a short, but not a long time. However, in the eyes of Lin Yingxin, who is also learning the arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting, this time is still too short. Because Lin Yingxin knows better than anyone how difficult it is to learn the arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting. What can you learn in three years? Isn't it easy to beat me?"
"If others question how long I have spent learning these things, Lin Yingxin can explain that I was taught by Mo Song himself. Who is Mr. Mo? He is a great scholar in the literary world, admired by everyone. It is said that a word from a famous teacher is worth ten years of hard study."
Wen Xinya spread her hands, looked at Si Yiyan innocently and said, "Look, no matter what, scheming against me is beneficial to Lin Yingxin, and it will make it easier for her to achieve her goal. Why wouldn't she scheme against me?"
After understanding the Qianjin Banquet over the past two days, as well as her inferences about Xia Ruya and Lin Yingxin, she naturally had a thorough understanding of Lin Yingxin's little thoughts.
Si Yiyan smiled meaningfully and said, "Since you have thought it through, you should also understand that aloof and self-respecting women would not bother to attend a banquet worth a thousand gold coins. Most of the women who attend a banquet worth a thousand gold coins have something to ask for. If they have something to ask for, then they don't know that others may have the same idea as Lin Yingxin!"
Wen Xinya's eyes suddenly widened: "You mean..."
Si Yiyan smiled beautifully, with a hint of gloating: "At the Qianjin Banquet, your enemies are not just Lin Yingxin and Xia Ruya, everyone can be your enemy."
Wen Xinya really wanted to laugh at him, but after she figured it out, her expression completely fell, "I was wrong. Lin Yingxin is a judge, so it's impossible for her to challenge me to a duel from the beginning. So my biggest enemy is not Lin Yingxin, nor Xia Ruya, but everyone who attends the Qianjin Banquet."
This was probably the trap set for her by Xia Ruya and Lin Yingxin. It was indeed very clever!
There were hundreds of people attending the Qianjin Banquet. There must be many who had the same idea as Lin Yingxin, and there must be many who wanted to compete with her. No matter how confident she was, she might not be able to win against so many talented women. As time went on, she would face physical and mental fatigue, and she would have almost no chance of winning.
As long as she lost, Lin Yingxin and Xia Ruya would achieve their goal, and she would eventually fall into the other party's calculations.