Yes, Lady Funina!

Book 1: Chapter 120 Richard's Harem Theory—Proposed by: Claude

"So, while Ningguang and I were watching the musical, Shen He showed up again?" Fu Ningna said, looking at the other two members of the tea-guarding team.

"To be precise, it was Ms. Xianyun who brought Shen He to our door," Claude corrected.

"Two still!" Funina's almond-shaped eyes widened.

“Well, I think Ms. Xianyun probably doesn’t have those kinds of feelings for Richard.” Claude recalled Xianyun’s attitude towards Richard at the time.

"The way she looked at Richard was like a vegetable farmer looking at a pig that's rooting up cabbages," Lynette described precisely.

Funinga pinched her chin with her hand and said through gritted teeth, "Liyue's cabbage is really too impolite."

Come to cheat! Come to sneak attack!

He actually tried to outmaneuver her! How despicable!

As for Shen He, Fu Ning Na did not overlook him, but this disciple of the Liyue Immortal was too mysterious, and there was no information about him at all. It could be said that her current understanding of Shen He was still limited to Richard's introduction when they met.

As for Shen He and Xian Yun's sudden attack, Fu Ningna didn't blame Claude and Linette for not stopping Richard from going to the appointment. After all, Richard was free, and Linette and Claude obviously had no reason not to let Richard see his old friends.

"How are things going on your end?" Claudia asked curiously.

Did they manage to slay Tianquan Xing?

"..." Fu Ningna did not answer. She had already managed to kill the man and hold the position.

It's fortunate that Ningguang is from Liyue and can't stay in Fontaine permanently. If she had stayed in Fontaine, there wouldn't have been any chance for them.

Seeing that Funina remained silent, Linette guessed that the so-called demonstration plan had failed and was far from its expected goal. Otherwise, given Funina's personality, she would have immediately announced her victory to them and asked to replicate these actions on Shen He.

"Could you tell me the specifics?" Lynette asked.

Funina briefly recounted her confrontation with Ningguang the previous night to her allies, emphasizing the drama and the jade pendant.

Even a brief explanation made Lynette realize how troublesome Ningguang was. Frynn's defeat was indeed justified; the opponent had just as many cards as they did.

After listening to Frynn's account, Claurind noticed a blind spot: "Where are the clothes?"

Why weren't the clothing cards played?

Upon hearing this, Funina sighed deeply. She hadn't wanted to bring this up, because in the first two matches, it could only be said that they were evenly matched, but only in terms of clothing, even someone as proud as Funina had to admit that she had indeed lost.

However, the problem wasn't the clothes, but rather the overall perspective.

It's true that Richard bought the clothes Frynn wore last night, but Ningguang told her that Richard has clothes she bought in his wardrobe.

That one sentence alone was enough to kill the game.

"It's not about how much the other person has given, but how much you've given to them, isn't it?" Linette understood. Sure enough, Funina was no match for her.

Despite having such a significant advantage as the first mover and the crucial home advantage, they still managed to tie the game.

While Ningguang's high skill level certainly played a role, the main issue was actually Funina's performance on the spot; she only possessed theoretical knowledge but lacked corresponding practical experience.

In conclusion, I have too little experience in palace intrigue.

Clarin was somewhat taken aback. Compared to this, she and Lynette were only facing a minor boss; the real main damage dealers were on Funina's side.

G…wait! Claude realized something: she wasn't like Frynn and Lynette who liked Richard; she was just lusting after his body. Why was she meddling in things she didn't want to do?

Isn't it better to just watch from the sidelines?

However, she quickly rejected this idea. Although the Li Army had fierce firepower, they had only been in Fontaine for two weeks!

Clarinde's desire to remain neutral depends on both sides maintaining a prolonged state of confrontation, but Ningguang clearly cannot sustain that. Given her status, she cannot stay in Fontaine and compete with Frynn for a man forever.

If Clarinde doesn't clearly state her position soon, she'll face retribution from Frynn and Lynette once Ningguang leaves.

"Clorind, you seem so engrossed in your thoughts. What are you thinking about?" Furina's gaze fell on Clorind, who had been lost in thought.

Seeing Clorinde so engrossed in thought, she assumed that her strategist had come up with another brilliant idea.

Little did she know that her strategist had just been thinking about how to choose sides so that he could always stand on the side of "justice".

Having learned her lesson from her previous slips of the tongue, Clarinde avoided making any basic mistakes this time, even though she was thinking about random things.

"I'm thinking, Lady Frinina, why are we fighting against Ningguang and the others instead of choosing to cooperate?"

"Cooperation?" Funina's almond-shaped eyes widened. She raised her hand and touched Clorinde's smooth forehead, thinking that the other party must have a fever, otherwise why would she say such a thing?

There's only one Richard. If he's going to team up with Ningguang, what will happen to Richard? He can't just be split in two and given to each person, can he?

"If we can't cooperate, then what are we doing now?" Clorind pointed at Lynette. If you really want to count, Lynette is also Frynn's rival, and she is half of her rival, but they are still cooperating now.

“It’s not the same.” Furlind felt that Clarinde was using a fallacy. The reason they formed a partnership was because they didn’t want Richard to leave Fontaine. How could that be the same?

Furthermore, Ningguang is from Liyue, while Clarin and Lynette are from Fontaine, and Ningguang herself is the water goddess of Fontaine. From a regional perspective, they are natural allies.

"This has nothing to do with people, Lady Frynn. Even if Richard leaves and goes to Liyue, whether it's Lynette or me, we can go with him. It's not a problem at all."

But I can't leave! Funina thought dejectedly.

She is the water goddess of Fontaine, and she bears a heavy responsibility. What will happen to Fontaine if she leaves? What will happen to the crisis?

"Of course, considering that you, Lady Funina, are the water goddess of Fontaine, you are not as agile as us in terms of movement, but have you ever thought about this?"

"what is the problem?"

"Richard isn't limited to having only one girlfriend; he can have multiple partners of the opposite sex. If he cares about the terms, then a girlfriend is a girlfriend, a lover is a lover, and a spouse is a spouse..."

"Pfft! Cough cough..."

Upon hearing this, even Lynette, who was secretly drinking tea nearby, was taken aback by Clorind's shocking and unconventional remarks.

What the hell? A girlfriend is a girlfriend, and a lover is a lover!

Clarinde, are you awake?

Do you want to listen to what you are saying?

“Are you surprised? As far as I know, this is very common among the upper class of Fontainebleau. In addition to their wives, noblemen or wealthy gentlemen often have one or more mistresses they cannot keep secret.”

“Hmm…this situation isn’t limited to men.” Linne nodded in agreement with Cloninder’s statement.

After all, as far as Lynette knew, many noble ladies often had their own lovers, and some even shared lovers with their spouses, both men and women.

It's a complete mess.

“But, but this is different…” Fryna had also heard about what Clorind had said. She had seen many such cases in the courtroom, from nobles and high-ranking officials to ordinary people. It might not be common, but there were certainly quite a few.

These are just the ones caught; some people choose not to marry at all in order to circumvent Fontaine's laws.

After all, Fontaine's laws only protect legal marriages, not common-law marriages.

"What's different?"

"That's too...too immoral! I can't accept it!" Funina's words were full of resistance. The kind of love she longed for was pure and innocent, a lifelong commitment to one person, not becoming someone else's wings.

"Let's look at it from another angle, Lady Funina. Have you considered what would happen if Richard chose someone else? Would you give up? Would you be willing to accept that?"

"I...I can endure it." Funina felt that if it really came to that point, and Richard really chose someone else, although she would be very upset, she could still refrain from disturbing him. This was her last bit of self-respect and dignity.

She is very good at enduring pain.

“Even if you can tolerate it, what about others? What if Richard ultimately chooses you, but Ningguang and Lynette refuse to give up?” Clarind said.

Lynette looked at Cloninder with an expression that clearly said, "Why don't you use yourself as an example?"

Furnessa looked at Lynette and asked, "Will you do that then?"

Lynette paused for a moment, then said, "I don't know."

This simple question, "I don't know," was enough to let Funina know her answer.

—I will do that.

“So what? Richard has already chosen me,” Funina retorted, trying to justify herself.

Clarinde shook her head. "Lady Frinina, what cat in the world doesn't steal fish?"

“I believe in Richard!” Funina said firmly, convinced that Richard was the special one.

"Lady Furina, even if Richard can resist all kinds of temptations, what if they try to seduce you?"

"What are you talking about! Am I that kind of indecent person?" Funina was very angry. Richard could resist all kinds of temptations for her, how could she not do the same?

“I’m not questioning your character. What I mean is that trust can be eroded. What if Ningguang orchestrates all sorts of coincidences to make you believe that Richard has ‘betrayed’ you? What will you do then?”

“I…” Funina wanted to say that such a situation was impossible, but reason told her that it was possible.

"Are you planning to forgive, or sever all ties immediately?"

"If you choose to forgive, and forgive this time, what about next time? And the time after that? What if they repeatedly fail to learn their lesson?"

Stop talking, she's already getting angry. Just thinking about that scene made Fulina feel terrible.

"Repeated compromises only led to the other party taking advantage of her. Love was worn away, leaving only suffering and torment. Finally, Ms. Funina, who could no longer bear it, had enough of Mr. Richard's philandering and decided to break up with him."

"The former losers were overjoyed and immediately filled the vacant seats. To prevent a tragedy like Funina's from happening to them, they not only turned a blind eye to Richard's actions but even offered to add a few more seats..."

"At this point, everyone got a satisfactory result, except for Funina, who couldn't stand it and stormed off the table."

Clarin watched as Frynn explained her analysis, word by word.

Furina fell silent. She knew very well that what Clarind said was possible, and the probability was not small.

"Of course, in reality, such a situation is highly unlikely to occur." Clarinde changed the subject, negating her own conjecture.

Hearing Clarinde's words, Furina raised her head and hope rekindled in her eyes.

To everyone's surprise, Claude said the next moment, "Because if Lady Frynn insists on your idea, then Richard will most likely not choose you."

"Why?" Furina asked defiantly. Even though you, Clorinde, have big breasts, you can't deny my charm, can you?

Why do you think Richard is unlikely to choose me?

"It's very simple, Lady Funina. Would you give up an entire forest for a single tree?"

"If you want to have it all to yourself, and someone with similar or even slightly less favorable conditions steps up to compete with you for it but is willing to share, who would you choose if you were Richard?"

"How could there be such a person!" Funina said angrily.

"Yes, there are many. You may not know that this behavior has a specific name, called 'involution'."

Claude then gave many more examples, such as merchants lowering prices to attract more customers, workers voluntarily working overtime to get promoted, and job seekers voluntarily accepting lower salaries for their ideal jobs...

There are countless examples like this. Is it really that hard to turn a blind eye to something for someone you like?

Okay, it is indeed difficult, but not impossible.

Anyway, Clarinde herself could accept it. Of course, this was mainly because, unlike her and Frynn Linette, she only desired Richard's body. As for who Richard liked or how many he liked, she didn't care... well, not entirely, but certainly not that much. It was within her acceptable range.

There's a saying that goes something like this: I just want to be the county magistrate's wife; I don't care who the county magistrate is.

Applying this to Clarinde, it means, "I only want Richard's body; whether that body belongs exclusively to her is none of her concern."

In response, Chlorine earnestly advised Frynn, "Lady Frynn, we need to broaden our perspective."

No, what we're saying is that while it's possible to open up new possibilities, you've gone a bit too far, it's outrageous!

Fryna was still somewhat unable to accept it, but that didn't mean that Clarind's words had no effect. After all, Fryna's attitude had clearly begun to soften compared to the beginning.

Lynette, however, felt that both Furnessa and Clorinde were overthinking things.

The pretty young woman holding the teacup slowly spoke up: "I think we should be more concerned about how to get Richard to find a girlfriend than how many girlfriends he'll have, right?"

Before even setting up the pot, you're already thinking about what dishes to make and how many dishes to cook. Isn't that a bit too ambitious?

Volume 1: Chapter 121 Ningguang: Sharing a Husband? I Don't Mind

It seems... Lynette is right?

Furna and Claurind exchanged glances. What was the point of them saying all this nonsense now? Richard had absolutely no intention of having that kind of idea.

Although Richard would flirt with them from time to time, he was a jerk; he only flirted and then didn't do anything else.

He makes people so eager that they're itching to get their hands on something, then just walks away without a care in the world—that's the guy for you!

It's really hateful!

“You’re right, let’s do as Clorind says,” Funina said listlessly.

She clearly realized that instead of competing with Ningguang and Shenhe, she should think of a way to make Richard 'normal'.

At least he should act like a normal man. He can't be surrounded by a bunch of stunningly beautiful girls every day and still have to abide by the rules and regulations like a virtuous monk and not be tempted by worldly desires, right?

With this in mind, Frynn approached Ningguang again, and her first words left Ningguang speechless.