The Phoenix is Back - Chapter 60

Chapter 060 Tamper With
Chu Xizhi’s eyes suddenly blossomed with a brilliant smile. He raised his hand to gather up Xiao Xiwei’s bangs scattered on his forehead and looked at her with a burning gaze. “What do you want to ask? Who is the woman in the painting?”

Xiao Xiwei blushed slightly and unnaturally turned his face away from him. “Although the Ninth Princess is greedy, why would she run to your study to find food? Furthermore …”

“And you were able to see that painting by such a coincidence, Father Emperor?” Chu Xizhi smiled and took the call for her. He stared at Xiao Xiwei’s exquisite and beautiful face, and the smile on his lips became even more intense. “Wei’er, how could you not be so smart? If not, how could Father know that I like you …”

Therefore, even if you like Chu Yanzhi in your heart, you still have to think about it before your father gives you a marriage. This was just in case.

As he spoke, the carriage arrived at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

“Seventh Prince, Second Miss Xiao, please follow me this way. His Highness the Eighth Prince and Young Master Xiao are already waiting for you at Xia He Zhai upstairs.”

“Then lead the way.” Chu Xizhi grabbed Xiao Xiwei’s hand and walked upstairs without caring about the gazes of the surrounding people.

Xiao Xiwei struggled for a few times, but his hand was tightly gripped. In the end, he could only let him go.

On the Xian Gathering Building opposite the Drunken Immortal Building.

A pair of deep eyes stared coldly at the figure that the two of them were carrying away.

“Looks like Zhongyong Marquis Mansion really got mixed up with Chu Xizhi!” Crown Prince Chu Jingzhi slammed the table forcefully and gritted his teeth as he said hatefully.

Chu Yanzhi slowly withdrew his gaze and silently raised his teacup and lowered his head to drink a mouthful of tea.

“Loyal Marquis Wu Cheng has 100,000 elite soldiers, and now Xiao Xiyang has been promoted to the Yan Cloud Guard by Father Emperor. Looks like Father Emperor wants to rope in the Loyal Marquis Manor for Chu Xizhi to contend with me!” The Crown Prince said with a serious face, “Speaking of which, what happened to you today? You recruited aggressively and didn’t retreat. In the end, it was fine if you lost to Chu Xizhi. You even let him seize this opportunity and lose the position of Deputy Commander of Yan Yunwei.”

Lu Haichuan and Zheng Lin glanced at each other and looked at Chu Yanzhi at the same time.

Today, Chu Yanzhi’s performance on the martial arena was not only strange to the Crown Prince, but also to them.

“Royal Brother, even without today’s matter, do you think that Father Emperor will not use this to take away my Yan Yunwei Deputy Commander?” Chu Yanzhi said coldly.

Back then, when the Zheng Clan helped the Emperor seize the throne, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Zheng was conferred the title of Empress, and the Crown Prince was born, the Zheng Clan’s power grew increasingly great. Although the Empress had passed away in the harem, the Empress’ twin sister, Consort Shen, was still in charge of the harem. In the court, the Zheng clan’s factions were everywhere, and even the horse market in the northwest was firmly held in the hands of the Zheng clan. The Zheng Clan’s power was truly monstrous, and they even had a faint tendency to suppress the power of the Son of Heaven.

There was no room for others to fall asleep beside the bed.

The Zheng Clan’s merits were high, and the Crown Prince’s nature was reckless. In the future, if the Zheng Clan wanted to replace him, it would be easy. It was precisely because of this that the Emperor was unable to accommodate the Zheng Clan. He was anxious to help a prince contend against the Crown Prince, and the seventh prince from Imperial Concubine Yan was his best choice.

‘”Pa!”

The Crown Prince threw the table on the ground fiercely and said with a ferocious expression, “They are also his sons! Why is he so biased!”

“Crown Prince, be careful that the walls have ears.” The Crown Prince of Zheng Kingdom, Zheng Lin, hurriedly grabbed the Crown Prince’s hand and whispered.

“Your Majesty is suspicious of the Crown Prince. Regardless of whether the Fourth Prince did anything wrong or not, Your Majesty will find an excuse to kick the Fourth Prince out of Yan Yun’s encirclement. There is no need for the Crown Prince to take it to heart.” The Crown Prince of Lu Kingdom, Lu Haichuan, also interrupted.

“Rather than being angry here, why don’t the Crown Prince think about what he should do next?” Zheng Lin said. “Looking at the Emperor’s intentions, it seems that he is going to promote Xiao Xiyang.”

As soon as the Fourth Prince left, the position of Deputy Commander of Yan Yunwei became empty. Eight or nine out of ten would be given to Xiao Xiyang. At that time, the hundred thousand Imperial Army of the Imperial City, coupled with the hundred thousand elite soldiers of Wu City, would have two hundred thousand troops behind Chu Xi Zhi, and would be on par with the Zheng Clan’s troops in an instant.

“What’s the use of saying this now? Xiao Xiyang’s entry into the Martial Guard Camp is a foregone conclusion!” The Crown Prince said angrily.

“Who says it’s useless! Although Xiao Xiyang has entered the Martial Guard Camp, it doesn’t mean that the Marquis of Zhongyong will definitely stand before the Seventh Prince.” Zheng Lin smiled coldly and slowly turned his gaze to Chu Yanzhi. “Hasn’t the other daughter-in-law of the Marquis of Loyalty already been pointed out to the Fourth Prince?”

“Do you mean that Third Miss Xiao? Ha, I heard that Third Miss Xiao is entangled with a young master of the Li Clan. Furthermore, she is not liked by Assistant Minister Xiao at all! I wonder why the Fourth Prince took a fancy to her at that time. If it was Second Miss Xiao who was referring to the marriage at that time, then all of this would not be a problem.” Lu Haichuan glanced at Chu Yan with a faint smile. He paused for a moment before continuing, “However, Brother Zheng, did you suddenly say this to get rid of Second Miss Xiao? Don’t forget, the Emperor is suspicious of us today. If something happens to Second Miss Xiao, I’m afraid we won’t be able to get rid of dry cleaning.”

“Naturally, it’s not appropriate for us to make a move. However, other people may not necessarily be able to do so.” Zheng Lin looked at Chu Yanzhi and the corner of his lips twitched. “I believe that Marquis Mansion will hold a celebration banquet for Xiao Xi Yang in a few days …”

Chu Yanzhi narrowed his eyes, and a trace of coldness flashed through his dark eyes.

In the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, the crowd chatted while eating. It took them half a day to get out of the pavilion.

Chu Xizhi insisted on personally sending Xiao Xiwei back to the manor. Chu Muzhi teased him a few times, but in the end, he still brought Chu Zuizhi back to the palace first.

Not long after the carriage arrived at the Marquis Mansion, Chu Xizhi held Xiao Xiwei’s hand and didn’t want her to leave.

“Wei’er, I really don’t want to let you go.” Chu Xizhi placed his forehead against Xiao Xiwei’s forehead and sighed faintly.

It was not easy to meet him once, but before he could say a few words, he was about to separate.

“Alright, stop messing around. Big brother is still waiting for me.” Xiao Xiwei raised his hand and pushed Chu Xizhi away a little.

He was so close to her that she could smell the faint smell of ambergris on his body and the steady and powerful heartbeat on his chest.

Chu Xizhi simply reached out and hugged Xiao Xiwei’s waist pitifully and said, “I’m not making any noise. I don’t know when I’ll be able to see you when I let go of my grip …”

“I wonder who always barges into my bedroom in the middle of the night.” Xiao Xiwei glared at Chu Xi. She didn’t even notice it herself, and her tone was a little spoiled.

“You mean … wait for me in the boudoir tonight?” Chu Xizhi’s eyes lit up.

“Nonsense! In the future … you are not allowed to touch it in the middle of the night!” Xiao Xiwei pushed Chu Xizhi away in anger and embarrassment. He hurriedly lifted the curtain and jumped out of the carriage.

“Little sister, what’s wrong? Is your face on fire?” Xiao Xiyang teased as he looked at Xiao Xiwei who had jumped down.

Xiao Xiwei glared at him angrily before leading the girl into the Marquis Mansion in a hurry.

At this moment, Chu Xizhi got out of the carriage and watched Xiao Xi enter the manor.

“I say, Zimu, what did you do to my sister? What, did you make her look like a rabbit with its tail stepped on?” Xiao Xiyang smiled and looked at Chu Xizhi.

Chu Xizhi rolled his eyes at him and said, “If you have time to care about this, why don’t you be careful over there? This time, they’ve suffered such a huge loss, so they definitely won’t let it go.”

Xiao Xiyang knitted his brows and sighed, “Why did you say that I got on your ship back then?”

Chu Xizhi raised his sword-like eyebrows, “You can go down, I won’t let you stay.”

“Yo! What is this called? Crossing a river and tearing down a bridge! Alright, if you have the ability, say it to my sister!” Xiao Xiyang said.

The corner of Chu Xizhi’s lips hooked up as he glanced up and down at Xiao Xiyang and said, “Do you think I have an elm bump head like you?” After he finished speaking, he got into the carriage without turning his head, leaving Young Master Xiao, who was so angry that he was in a mess in the wind.

After entering the Marquis Mansion, Xiao Xiwei naturally had to go to the Tranquil Garden to pay her respects to the Matriarch.

The matriarch was very happy to learn that her grandson had been personally promoted to the Yan Cloud Guard by His Majesty and that Yan Cloud Guard commander Gu An had personally taught him.

The grandchildren were talking and laughing when a loud noise came from outside.

“This servant has something important to see Old Lady Jun. Please pass it on to me, elder sister.”

The matriarch frowned and then winked at Nurse Liu. Nurse Liu blessed herself and hurriedly walked out. Not long after, she led a girl in a jade robe into the room.

“This servant, Cuizhu, greets Tai Jun.” As soon as Cuizhu entered the room, he hurriedly knelt down in front of the

Xiao Xiwei put down the teacup in her hand, and her eyes were somewhat surprised. “Cuizhu, why is it you?”

When Cui Zhu saw that Xiao Xiwei was also here, he hurriedly kowtowed to her again, “This servant asks the Matriarch and Second Miss to make the decision for my concubine mother!” As he spoke, he heavily kowtowed a few more times.

“What’s going on?” Xiao Xi frowned slightly.

‘”A few days ago, Concubine had been feeling unwell. After this servant reported it to Second Miss, she invited Doctor Wu from the Rejuvenation Hall to check Concubine’s pulse. However, she discovered that Concubine’s clothes and rouge had been tampered with.” Cui Zhu said in a trembling voice.

Xiao Xiwei’s eyes sank. “Cui Zhu, do you know what you’re talking about?”

Now that she was in charge of the Marquis Manor, could it be that Third Concubine’s sudden appearance made her unhappy and wanted to add to her obstruction?

Cui Zhu’s body trembled, and the blood on her face instantly faded. She hurriedly said, “No … Concubine mother definitely does not doubt Second Miss.” Doctor Wu found that the clothes that concubine mother had tampered with were all from last year, and that rouge was also left over from last year. The cloth for the clothes was dyed with safflower powder, and the popliteal fingers were also dyed with pomegranate seed powder.

Xiao Xiwei didn’t know what use the pomegranate seed powder had, but she knew exactly what use the safflower had.

Presumably, this was done by Madam Li again.

Looks like the awakening she mentioned to third concubine mother made her learn to be smart. Thinking about it, although father did not dote on third concubine mother very much, there were only a few women in the manor. One month, father would always rest in Luo Yu Xuan for a few days, but third concubine mother did not have any stomach movements since she lost that child. Now that she thought about it, it turned out that Madam Li had made a move.

“This bastard!” The matriarch slammed heavily on the table, then covered her chest and coughed violently.

“Grandmother, this matter hasn’t been decided yet. Please don’t get angry.” Xiao Xiwei hurriedly stroked the old lady’s chest and said, “Granny Liu, go to Grandmother’s invitation and get Doctor Zhang.”