The Phoenix is Back - Chapter 147

Chapter 147 Whoever Gets In
The smile on Xiao Xiwei’s lips gradually subsided as she stared at Lu Haiyang with a deep and complicated gaze. “Oh, I wonder what evidence Lord Lu is talking about?”

Lu Haiyang looked straight into Xiao Xiwei’s eyes, and a proud smile appeared on his lips. He slowly spat out three words from his mouth, “Ninth Princess.”

Xiao Xi’s eyebrows twitched slightly, and the light in his eyes that looked at Lu Haiyang also grew deeper.

Seeing Xiao Xiwei’s expression, Lu Haiyang’s smile deepened. “The Ninth Princess is the evidence.”

“Right now, the Ninth Princess’s life and death are unknown. I’m afraid she can’t testify for Lord Lu, right?” Imperial Concubine Yan coldly looked at Lu Haiyang and said.

Lu Haiyang smiled and raised his hand to bow towards Imperial Concubine Yan. “Your Highness is right.” After saying that, he turned around to face Xiao Xiwei again. “The Ninth Princess and Beimo He are very important. As the deputy commander of the Imperial Army, I will definitely not let anyone sneak out of the palace just in case I have already stepped up my guard at the palace gates.”

“What do you mean by that …”

“Your Majesty, I guarantee with my head that the Ninth Princess is still in the palace.” Lu Haiyang raised his hand to look at the Emperor and shouted. After thinking for a while, he added, “Hidden somewhere in the palace by Princess Yan.”

“You’re serious.” The Emperor stood up.

“I beg Your Majesty’s decree to allow me to bring people to search the palace.” Lu Haiyang said as he knelt down.

Xiao Xiwei’s eyes widened as he smiled at Lu Haiyang. “So Lord Lu was prepared. No wonder the Yu Li Palace fire broke out. Mother and I were extremely anxious. We were afraid that the Ninth Princess would make a mistake, but Lord Lu had a confident look on his face. It seems that Lord Lu had already concluded that the Ninth Princess was not in Yu Li Palace.”

“This lowly official believes that Princess Yan should know better than this lowly official whether the Ninth Princess is in Yu Li Palace or not.” Lu Haiyang raised his head to meet Xiao Xiwei’s gaze and smiled.

The gates of the Imperial City were tightly guarded. Although the fire in Yuli Palace could cause chaos in the palace, it also made the Imperial Army more vigilant. It would definitely not be easy to bring the Ninth Princess out of the palace at this time. Xiao Xiwei was a smart person. For the sake of safety, she would definitely hide the Ninth Princess in a corner of the palace. However, when the news of the Ninth Princess’ death came out, the palace relaxed its vigilance and found another opportunity to steal her out of the palace. This was indeed a good method, but unfortunately, it could not escape Lu Haiyang’s eyes.

Xiao Xi smiled, but did not accept Lu Haiyang’s words. “However, there’s one more thing I don’t understand. Even if Lord Lu finds the Ninth Princess in some corner of the palace, how can Lord Lu say that I hid the Ninth Princess?” Xiao Xiwei said with a smile, “Everyone in the palace knows that the Ninth Princess is a drunkard. She often hides in a corner of the palace to drink alcohol. Sometimes, she drinks too much and sleeps for a night. Just because the Ninth Princess is not in the Yu Li Palace, Lord Lu wants to slander this princess in front of the Imperial Court. Isn’t that a bit far-fetched?”

“Princess Yan is indeed clever.” Lu Haiyang smiled and said, “Of course, Princess Yan can’t admit what she did just because of this. But what if we find the Ninth Princess and Yu Li Palace finds the corpse of the Ninth Princess?”

He had to admit that Xiao Xiwei was really smart.

The only person in the palace who could leave the palace was the dead. If the Ninth Princess did not die, then Chu Zuizhi would never be able to’live ‘.

Xiao Xi’s eyes lit up and she looked at Lu Haiyang, but she didn’t say anything for a long time.

After experiencing two dynasties and rising and falling in the harem for so many years, Consort Yan was naturally able to remain calm. However, the purple smoke beside Xiao Xiwei lifted up her heart following Lu Haiyang’s words. Although she tried her best to remain calm, the anxiety in her eyes betrayed her thoughts.

The Emperor’s cold gaze swept across Xiao Xiwei, and an imperceptible smile flashed across the corner of his lips.

It seemed that everything was really developing according to Lu Haiyang’s plan.

“Since that’s the case, bring someone to search the palace immediately! You must bring the Ninth Princess back unharmed.” The Emperor ordered.

“Yes. This lowly subject obeys the decree.” Lu Haiyang bowed, then stood up and strode towards the door.

As he passed by Xiao Xiwei’s side, an extremely low voice pointed at his ear like the wind. “Does Lord Lu really think that he is winning?”

Lu Haiyang was stunned.

What did Xiao Xiwei mean by this? Could it be that she still had the last move? The thought flashed in his mind and he immediately denied it. Before this, he had already analyzed everything that would happen and would never give Xiao Xiwei any chance of escaping. The reason why Xiao Xiwei said this was because she was struggling to shake him.

Thinking of this, Lu Haiyang did not stop for a moment and walked out the door.

As soon as Lu Haiyang left, the room fell silent.

“Your Majesty, we haven’t figured out what happened yet. Should we let Xiwei sit down and rest first?” Imperial Concubine Yan stood up and blessed the Emperor.

The Emperor’s slender eyes swept across Xiao Xiwei and finally waved his hand.

Seeing this, Zi Yan hurriedly went forward to help Xiao Xiwei. As she supported him, she carefully said to Xiao Xiwei, “Princess, what should we do now?”

Xiao Xiwei reached out and held her palm, the corner of his mouth curved into a gentle smile.

There was never a shortage of people in the Imperial City who played chess, but it was hard to say who had entered whose chess game. One had to know that there was another word in this world———————————————–.

“Zi Yan, I’m a little thirsty.” Xiao Xiwei looked at Zi Yan and smiled.

Seeing Xiao Xiwei’s calm appearance, Zi Yanzi’s tense heart relaxed. She blessed Xiao Xiwei, then picked up the purple clay pot on the table and leisurely poured a cup of tea for Xiao Xiwei.

The thick purple sand teacup made Xiao Xiwei’s fingers as smooth and exquisite as sheep fat. The moment she lowered her eyes, her slender eyelashes trembled slightly. Her side face was as beautiful as a fairy walking out of an ink painting, and her entire body emitted a faint soft light. No man could help but feel pity for this scene, but in the eyes of the Emperor, there was an inexplicable trace of coldness and inquiry.

Even in such an unfavorable situation, she was actually able to drink tea leisurely as if nothing had happened. As long as she was calm and composed, I’m afraid none of his sons would be able to do so. No wonder Yanzhi and Xizhi took a fancy to her at the same time. This woman is really unusual.

Just as the cup of tea was finished, a series of footsteps sounded from outside Yi Kun Palace.

Compared to Xiao Xiwei’s indifference, Zi Yan’s eyebrows could not help but jump.

As the door was pushed open again, Lu Haiyang led a few people in calmly. One of them was obviously the Ninth Princess, Chu Zuizhi.

“This lowly official greets Your Majesty, Your Majesty …”

“Alright, alright.” Upon seeing Chu Zuizhi, the Emperor hurriedly walked over and pointed at her and said, “Tell me first, what’s going on?”

Chu Zuizhi’s entire body tilted to the body of a Imperial Army soldier. His face was flushed red, and his body smelled of alcohol. Obviously, he had drunk too much wine.

“Royal Father, Ninth Princess must be drunk.” Xiao Xiwei finished speaking and glanced at Zi Yan. “Zi Yan, hurry up and help the Ninth Princess sit down.”

Letting a guard support the drunken princess like this would damage the princess’ reputation and the royal reputation. Obviously, Lu Haiyang did not expect that the Ninth Princess he found had drunk too much. Otherwise, he would have brought the palace maids with him.

“Yes.” Zi Yan answered and hurriedly helped Chu Zuizhi to the chair beside him.

“May I know where Lord Lu found the Ninth Princess?” Xiao Xiwei smiled as he looked at Lu Haiyang.

Lu Haiyang’s expression stiffened slightly as he looked at Xiao Xiwei with a complicated expression.

The Ninth Princess was found in a fake cave in the Imperial Garden. At that time, she saw that she had drunk too much wine and fell asleep. There were several wine bottles scattered on the ground. It didn’t seem like that place was being hidden.

“What? Is it not convenient for Lord Lu to tell us where the Ninth Princess was found?” Xiao Xiwei said.

Before Lu Haiyang could speak, the Emperor’s face darkened.

“I asked you a question. Didn’t you hear me?”

Lu Haiyang pursed his lips and finally raised his hand. “The Ninth Princess was found in the rockery at the west corner of the Imperial Garden.”

As soon as Lu Haiyang said those words, the last trace of worry in Consort Yan’s heart disappeared completely.

She knew that the person she cherished would never be so reckless as to give such a big handle to the enemy.

“Imperial Garden, rockery? So, this princess has put in so much effort to burn down Yu Li Palace and resist the decree to bully you in order to hide people in the rockery of the Imperial Garden? Heh, this place is truly unique.” Xiao Xi smiled.

Lu Haiyang’s expression turned ugly.

Compared to Lu Haiyang’s expression, it was obvious that the Emperor’s expression was even uglier. His gaze towards Lu Haiyang was filled with not only reproach, but also disappointment.

He even said that he could take down Princess Yan in one fell swoop to threaten King Yan, but he didn’t expect such a mishap to occur.

At this moment, Lu Haiyang’s heart was so regretful that his intestines turned green.

If the people he had brought to Jie Palace were all his trusted aides, things like this could have been avoided. However, he thought that victory was in his hands and that Luo Xiao Xiwei’s refusal to give her the opportunity to quibble, so many of the imperial guards he had brought were the sons of Guixun in the capital. He had never imagined that this situation would be like this.

“Perhaps, Princess Yan thinks that the most dangerous place is the safest place.” Seeing that Lu Haiyang’s expression was not good, a trusted aide beside him hurriedly said.

Xiao Xiwei raised his slender eyebrows and looked at the man with his watery eyes. “Lord Lu is the one who wants to teach this subordinate.”

“Princess, please forgive me. This servant is upright. If you offended the princess just now, please forgive me.” The Imperial Army was a smart person. The moment Xiao Xiwei spoke, he immediately knelt down and pleaded. “Actually, just because the Ninth Princess was found in the Imperial Garden does not completely prove the innocence of the Princess.”

“Oh.” Xiao Xi smiled and looked at the Imperial Army. “Then according to what you said, how can I prove my innocence?”

“Didn’t Your Excellency say that you had a fake corpse and pretended to be the Ninth Princess in Yuli Palace? Now that the fire has been extinguished, you only need to send someone to the Ninth Princess’ bedroom to take a look.” The Imperial Army said in an orderly manner.

Xiao Xi slightly curled the corner of his mouth and raised his eyebrows to look at Lu Haiyang. “Is that what Lord Lu meant?” He said.

Lu Haiyang stared fixedly at Xiao Xiwei.

Xiao Xiwei’s mind was deep. Even if she was able to puncture her plan in front of her, she would still remain calm. However, the maidservant beside her did not have such thoughts. The nervousness and panic that flashed through her maidservant’s eyes just now made it impossible for him to be fake. Moreover, he admitted that his plan had not been leaked in advance, so it was impossible for Xiao Xiwei to have made a trap waiting for him here in advance.

He looked up at the emperor on the throne with a gloomy expression. Now that things had come to an end, he was already unable to ride a tiger, so he could only gamble.

“Naturally.” Lu Haiyang’s deep voice slowly rang out.