The Phoenix is Back - Chapter 221

Chapter 221 The Change of Imperial Concubine
Once this matter was settled, the Emperor naturally lost his mood. With the imperial edict, he immediately left Zi Chen Palace. The others seemed to have escaped death, and they didn’t dare to stay in the palace any longer. In a short moment, the originally noisy Zi Chen Palace fell into a deathly silence.

Suddenly, the sound of pearls colliding resounded in the deathly silence.

Xiao Xi raised her head slightly. Imperial Concubine Yan dragged her large skirt and supported Ruo Su’s hand as she slowly walked down from the hall. Just as she was about to brush past Xiao Xi Wei, Xiao Xi Wei’s voice suddenly rang out.

“Why?”

The sound of footsteps behind him suddenly stopped.

“You should ask yourself this question.” Imperial Concubine Yan’s cold voice slowly rang out.

“I didn’t get it.” A layer of water vapor suddenly appeared in Xiao Xiwei’s eyes, “Mother …”

‘”Pa!” An extremely crisp voice suddenly sounded in the deathly silent hall. Imperial Consort Yan’s eyes protruded, and the hostility between her eyebrows could not be concealed. She looked like she wanted to tear Xiao Xiwei into pieces.

This slap not only stunned Xiao Xiwei, but even Chu Yanzhi forgot to react.

A moment later, Zi Yan regained her senses. She hurriedly stood in front of Xiao Xiwei and frowned, feeling both heartache and puzzlement. She said to Imperial Consort Yan, “Your Highness, what are you doing?”

“Zi Yan, this palace knows that you were ordered to protect her by her side. However, now that she has betrayed Xi Zhi, do you still want to protect her?” Imperial Concubine Yan stared at Zi Yan sternly.

Zi Yan was stunned. She turned around and looked at Xiao Xiwei. Then she looked at Consort Yan again and said, “Your Highness, Consort Princess has her reasons. You, you should believe her.”

Imperial Concubine Yan suddenly raised her head and smiled. A few tears streaked down her cheeks. “Tianye was obviously killed by this animal, but instead of avenging Tianye, she pushed Tianye’s death onto Mu Zhi! She clearly disliked Tianye for interfering with her affairs and preventing her from getting along well with that animal!” As Imperial Consort Yan spoke, a terrifying hatred burst out from her eyes.

Zi Yan was stunned. Suddenly, she hesitated, “But, Little Prince is really infected with smallpox because of the handkerchief that Miss Gu sent …”

“Purple smoke!” Suddenly, Xiao Xi snapped out Zi Yan’s words.

Zi Yan turned around and looked at Xiao Xiwei, her eyes gushing out. “Princess, is what she said true?”

Xiao Xiwei did not reply. She only raised her eyes to look at Imperial Concubine Yan, her eyes filled with deathly silence. “Just because Imperial Concubine Mother suspects me, so … you want to kill me?”

Imperial Concubine Yan sneered and looked coldly at Xiao Xiwei without saying a word.

Xiao Xiwei took a deep breath and forced back the tears in his eyes. “There’s no one else here now. There shouldn’t be anything that Mother Concubine can’t say. I just want to know if it’s Mother Concubine you or His Highness Prince Qin who wants my life.”

“Sister-in-law, what do you mean?” Chu Mu Zhi’s eyebrows furrowed, his face clearly showing some displeasure.

“It’s this palace.” Imperial Concubine Yan suddenly spat out three words, bringing with it an icy chill as she pounced towards Xiao Xiwei.

Xiao Xiwei’s body slightly shook, but she quickly stood still. “Alright. Your Highness is indeed worthy of being called your Highness. It’s me … I, Xiao Xiwei, have miscalculated.”

Imperial Concubine Yan looked at Xiao Xiwei with contempt and snorted coldly, “Today is your lucky day, but we will be long in the future!” Imperial Concubine Yan finished speaking and turned to look at Zi Yan. “Zi Yan, are you going to follow her, or are you going to follow me?”

Zi Yan was stunned. She subconsciously turned to look at Xiao Xiwei and said, “I… I…”

“Off you go.” Before Zi Yan could make a decision, Xiao Xiwei’s cold voice suddenly sounded.

“Princess …”

“From today onwards, I will no longer be your princess.” Xiao Xiwei raised his eyes to look at Zi Yan, and the water vapor in his eyes gradually condensed into ice.

“Princess …” Zi Yan’s eyes turned red. “Your Highness, before you left, Your Highness told me to protect you properly.”

Zi Yan’s words made Xiao Xi’s eyes flash with a trace of an undercurrent, but very quickly, her eyes were once again covered with frost. “In the future, my safety won’t be troublesome for you anymore.”

“King …”

“I’m afraid the next time, the knife that stabbed me will be you.”

“Zi Yan, follow me back to Yi Kun Palace.” Imperial Concubine Yan glanced at Xiao Xiwei viciously and then walked towards the door with large strides.

Zi Yan looked at Xiao Xiwei and was still reluctant to part, but Dong Yue took Zi Yan’s hand and pulled her away from Zi Chen Palace.

Chu Muzhi frowned and looked at Xiao Xiwei with a complicated gaze. In the end, he didn’t say anything and left Zi Chen Palace behind Consort Yan.

For a time, only Xiao Xiwei and Chu Yanzhi, as well as Xiao Xiwei’s personal maids, Bi Yun and Hong Yu, remained in Zi Chen Hall.

“Miss.” Seeing that Zi Yan was dragged away, Bi Yun finally couldn’t help but walk in front of Xiao Xiwei, tugged at the corner of her sleeve, and cried out loudly.

Xiao Xiwei took a deep breath and turned to face Chu Yanzhi’s complicated gaze.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince is still not leaving. Are you looking at my jokes?” Xiao Xiwei raised his eyebrows as he looked at Chu Yanzhi and said with a cold expression.

Chu Yanzhi stared at Xiao Xiwei’s slightly red and swollen eyes. Suddenly, a self-mocking smile appeared on the corner of his lips. “Xiwei, don’t you think we can be considered to be in pity for each other now?”

“Oh?” Xiao Xi raised his eyebrows slightly.

Chu Yan smiled and said, “You were treated as a mother, while this palace was treated as a mother by my biological father. Isn’t this not sympathy for each other?”

Xiao Xiwei’s eyes moved. A moment later, she pursed her lips and said, “At this time, His Highness is still in the mood to joke.”

“What, you admit defeat?” Chu Yanzhi looked at Xiao Xi and smiled. Suddenly, he extended his hand to help Xiao Xi Wei close her temples behind his ears.

Xiao Xiwei’s eyes narrowed, “Your Highness seems to be in a good mood?”

“You can tell.” Chu Yanzhi’s eyes were filled with a smile. His rough fingers seemed to inadvertently cut across Xiao Xiwei’s delicate cheeks like sheep fat.

Although he had lost a Commander of the Imperial Guards, a Monastery Minister, and an Uncle Ping An’s mansion tonight, he had obtained something else. He suddenly felt that it was all worth it.

Xiao Xiwei looked at the undisguised smile in Chu Yanzhi’s eyes. She suddenly lowered her eyes and a cold smile appeared on the corner of her lips. “Do you know that before this, I didn’t mean to be with you …”

“I know.”

This answer caused Xiao Xiwei’s eyes to flash. After a long silence, she lowered her head and whispered, “Aren’t you afraid? Aren’t you afraid that I’ll betray you …”

Hearing Xiao Xiwei’s words, Chu Yanzhi reached out and gently stroked Xiao Xiwei’s cheek. His gaze was unprecedentedly solemn, “Xiwei, I thought that by today, you should be able to see who truly treats you.”

“Don’t treat me so well … I can’t take it … I can’t take it …” Xiao Xiwei’s tears gushed out as soon as she said this.

Looking at the string of falling tears, Chu Yanzhi only felt that his chest was sour and astringent. For no reason, there were waves of tenderness. He couldn’t help but raise his hand and hug Xiao Xiwei in his arms. “Fool, I will treat you well forever.”

It was only at this moment, when she was lying in his embrace, that he felt that his life was truly complete.

Imperial Concubine Yan had just stepped into Yi Kun Palace when she saw a few eunuchs standing outside Chong De Palace. The corner of her lips curved slightly and she walked in calmly.

Inside the room, the Emperor was sitting on the couch with his eyes closed while Zhang Shichang waited on him.

Seeing her enter, Zhang Shichang hurriedly saluted, “Your Highness.”

Imperial Concubine Yan smiled and calmly walked forward to bless her body. Then, she turned to Ruo Su and said, “Hurry up and make a pot of tea for the Emperor. Remember, ask for the Dragon Well.”

The Emperor slowly lifted his eyelids as if he had heard Imperial Consort Yan’s words. “It’s hard for you to remember that my favorite tea is Long Jing.”

Imperial Concubine Yan pursed her lips and smiled. She walked to the warm couch beside the Emperor and sat down. “Look at what Your Majesty said. All of your subjects and concubines have remembered about Your Majesty. I have never forgotten them for a moment.”

The Emperor imitated his eyes and looked at Imperial Concubine Yan’s exquisite face that couldn’t find the slightest trace of regret. Suddenly, a complicated smell surged out from his heart. “Xinrui, you’ve changed.”

“Oh?” Imperial Concubine Yan frowned slightly. Then, she reached out and stroked her temples. “Your Majesty, do you think your concubines are getting old?”

The Emperor’s eyes sank.

Imperial Concubine Yan smiled. She turned to look outside the door and said, “It should be the end of 11 o’clock now. Soon, it will be time for me … It’s time for me to watch. In the blink of an eye, a year has passed. Your Majesty, do you still remember how many New Year’s Eve I spent with you?” Imperial Concubine Yan suddenly turned around and smiled at the Emperor.

The Emperor’s eyes narrowed, and he didn’t know what Honored Consort Yan was suddenly asking about this.

Imperial Concubine Yan smiled. “Of course Your Majesty doesn’t remember. Your concubine entered the palace at the age of sixteen. It has been twenty-seven years since she entered the palace. She has been your Imperial Concubine for twenty-two years. During these twenty-two years, Your Majesty has accompanied your concubine for thirteen New Year’s Eve, but there has never been a single New Year’s Eve, Your Majesty.” At this point, the ripples in Imperial Concubine Yan’s eyes surged, and the smile at the corner of her lips became even more rippling. “Presumably, this year will not be an exception.”

“What are you talking about?” The Emperor frowned, his face already a little unhappy.

Imperial Concubine Yan smiled, but this smile was already bitter. “Of course, Your Majesty is impatient to hear this from your concubines, but if Sister Li were alive today, would Your Majesty be willing to listen?”

“You …”

‘”Your Majesty is said to be a seed of infatuation. You have always loved Sister Li deeply. Even though Sister Li has passed away for so long, you have never forgotten her. But now, it seems that the Emperor’s infatuation is nothing more than this …”

“Shut up! You don’t have the qualifications to mention her!” The Emperor suddenly stood up and grabbed Imperial Concubine Yan’s wrist, pulling her up.

“Is Your Majesty blaming me? But didn’t His Majesty call me back from Chao An Temple just to suppress the Crown Prince? All I did was follow Your Majesty’s wishes!” Imperial Concubine Yan fearlessly greeted the Emperor’s sinister gaze and slowly said, “Besides, Your Majesty, you have forgotten that the final decision rests with Your Highness! You have chosen all of this yourself, and no one has forced you to do so.”

The pair of once gentle phoenix eyes seemed to have been tempered with poison at this moment, flashing with a demonic light. In those eyes, he saw a twisted and twisted self …

The Emperor let go of her hand and took a few steps back, “You … you …”

However, Consort Yan did not seem to let the Emperor off. She approached the Emperor step by step, “Your Majesty, you chose the Emperor’s power, and you chose to make it difficult for Consort Li to stay under the Yellow Springs day and night. What, Your Majesty regrets it now? Or … Your Majesty, are you afraid that Consort Li will come to look for you at night …”

Suddenly, a string of fireworks suddenly lit up outside the house. Immediately after, two or three fireworks continuously rang out in the night sky.

The multicolored light gushed in from the window and hit Consort Yan’s snow-white face. With a cold voice and the strange gaze, the Emperor’s entire body suddenly trembled. Then, his feet slipped and he raised his head and fell to the ground …