My Aloof Lord Ex-Husband Begs for Remarriage
Chapter 498 Mutual Calculations

Chapter 498: Chapter 498 Mutual Calculations

Seeing Chu Nanli speak like this, Lu Xinyue’s interest instantly deepened.

"Really, can I? But I don’t know anything, won’t I hold you back?"

Lu Xinyue looked at Chu Nanli full of anticipation, seemingly very eager for Chu Nanli’s response.

"Of course, you can. All you need is a kind heart."

She just wanted to go to Jici Academy, and Chu Nanli had no intention of stopping her.

"That’s true. At first, I also didn’t know anything, but thankfully Nanli did not disdain me and taught me a lot. Now looking back, I did cause you quite some trouble at that time."

Lin Xuanxuan recalled the time when she first met Chu Nanli, from whom she truly learned many things.

Meeting Chu Nanli was indeed a fortunate event for her.

"You two have such a good relationship."

Envy was written all over Lu Xinyue’s face as she spoke indifferently, "Back in Lingnan, few people wanted to be friends with me. Even the concubine-born sisters in my family didn’t get along with me, and outside, people always said I bullied them."

"Really? I heard the Princess Consort of Lingnan is very strict; could such things still happen within the Lingnan Royal Residence?"

Her remark resonated with Lin Xuanxuan.

All her life, Lin Xuanxuan had been frequently harmed by Lin Fuying. If she hadn’t been so clever, she would have likely been utterly ruined by Lin Fuying by now.

"My mother is just superficially glorious," Lu Xinyue unintentionally brought up a sad matter, her expression also growing gloomier, "After all, my father is a man, and he surely cannot change the common failings of men."

"You have no idea how much I admired Madame Liu for daring to ask for a divorce from the Prime Minister."

Since it was related to the affairs of the King of Lingnan, Lin Xuanxuan knew she shouldn’t say too much.

But Lin Xuanxuan fully agreed with Lu Xinyue’s praise for her mother.

She nodded, "Thanks to Nanli, if she hadn’t enlightened me, my mother and I might still be living in the Prime Minister Residence!"

"That’s wonderful. If only I had met you earlier, that would have been even better."

Lu Xinyue appeared to be moved by the friendship between the two women, and her face involuntarily showed emotion.

The hidden meaning in her words was actually very deep, at least Lin Xuanxuan did not grasp the full implications.

Lin Xuanxuan simply felt that Lu Xinyue was purely envious and had no other thoughts.

"Actually, if you ask me, becoming friends is also a matter of fate."

She couldn’t help but continue along the subject, "Frankly, I never thought that I would meet Nanli, but perhaps when the time is right, people naturally come to know each other as friends."

"That’s why I say, between friends, what really matters is sincerity."

Lin Xuanxuan’s words were just a simple exclamation.

But falling on the ears of the ulterior-motivated Lu Xinyue, they seemed like sarcasm.

She couldn’t help but overthink it, wondering if Lin Xuanxuan’s words were meant to mock her for presumptuously wishing to be friendly with them?

Even before Lu Xinyue came to the capital, she had secretly inquired about events that had occurred over the past few months.

This trip to the capital had been long planned with her father, and naturally included the intention to get close to Chu Nanli.

Otherwise, why would she, the distinguished Commandery Princess Changping, stoop to ingratiate herself with a commoner?

Even Lin Xuanxuan, the Prime Minister’s daughter, was still insignificant in Lu Xinyue’s eyes.

Her expression quickly returned to normal as she smiled in agreement, "I feel the same way. It’s just a pity that I wasn’t able to make any true friends in Lingnan, and it’s even more the case now that I’m in the capital."

Given her status, she naturally couldn’t take the initiative to strike up a friendship, so she could only hint at it in conversation.

But Chu Nanli and Lin Xuanxuan, either did not understand the implications of her words, or pretended not to understand, and so the situation had not continued to develop as she had hoped.

Especially Lin Xuanxuan, who had been going on about her deep friendship with Chu Nanli since the beginning, which filled Lu Xinyue with immense irritation.

By the time they had finished everything, Lu Xinyue still hadn’t managed to befriend the two of them as she wished.

"Since there’s still time, may I join you in visiting the Jici Academy?"

Since her objective hadn’t been achieved, Lu Xinyue certainly was not ready to let things rest there.

Having said so much, she was certain that Chu Nanli and Lin Xuanxuan would not refuse her.

But Chu Nanli had never intended to refuse her in the first place.

Taking advantage of the early hour, the three of them left the city gates and went straight to the Jici Academy, located on the outskirts of the city.

Because of continuous events that occurred recently, Chu Nanli actually hadn’t visited the Jici Academy for quite some time.

The place had changed so much compared to when it first opened.

At the entrance, a few children around three or four years old were playing. Seeing the carriage arrive, they scattered in a fluster and ran inside.

As a Commandery Princess, Lu Xinyue had never been to such a modest place; she frowned immediately, hesitating to let her embroidered shoes touch the ground.

How would she deal with the dirt on the ground soiling her newly made dress?

As soon as the carriage stopped, Lin Xuanxuan had already stepped out ahead of them and gone in to find the manager.

Lu Xinyue’s subtle actions did not escape Chu Nanli’s eyes.

But she said nothing.

In the end, Lu Xinyue managed to compose herself and with the support of her maid, she stepped down from the carriage.

When the two of them entered, Lin Xuanxuan was already playing and frolicking with the children.

"Miss Chu, I heard that you were the one responsible for establishing Jici Academy?"

Lu Xinyue followed beside Chu Nanli, still not forgetting to ingratiate herself.

Her disdain for these children, which she thought she had concealed well, was actually quite apparent.

"I can’t take all the credit, I simply contributed some silver. Jici Academy’s current state is thanks to the efforts of many people," Chu Nanli said.

Not to mention, Lin Xuanxuan had put a lot of effort into this endeavor.

Chu Nanli deliberately sighed, "But now, it’s all just for show. After all, with so many children here and the need to hire people to take care of their daily needs, it’s like a bottomless pit. We still need to make new clothes for these children, which means another substantial amount of silver will have to be spent."

Lack of silver?

Upon hearing this, Lu Xinyue’s eyes lit up.

She had been worried about not finding an opportunity, and now wasn’t this chance delivered right to her door?

Lu Xinyue had never doubted that these words were deliberately spoken by Chu Nanli.

Firstly, her acquaintance with Chu Nanli was not long, and she did not know Chu Nanli’s character.

Secondly, with calculations in mind, Lu Xinyue was keen on befriending Chu Nanli.

In fact, she had never really viewed Chu Nanli as an equal, always regarding her with a degree of contempt from start to finish.