Phoenix Reigns Over The Nine Heavens - Chapter 47

Xiao Yunheng did not speak again.

The pain in his body was intensifying once more. He had been standing outside the Qifeng Hall for so long, and now he was on the verge of exhaustion. His face was pale and drained, and he simply didn’t have the strength to say anything more.

Li Xue helped him all the way back to Qingchen Yard. Not only was Xiao Yunheng covered in cold sweat, but Li Xue too was tired, hot, and soaked in sweat.

But in order to maintain her virtuous image, she had to fetch water to wipe Xiao Yunheng’s body first.

The moment Li Xue stepped out with the basin, she wished she could throw the basin to the ground and stomp it to pieces!

Damn Yun Zishu, you little bitch.

Who did she think she was, treating them like her slaves or servants? Li Xue wished she could curse Yun Zishu to drop dead on the spot, struck by lightning, shattered by thunder!

Li Xue took a deep breath and turned around with the basin in her hands to go to the kitchen.

Xiao Yunheng lay alone on the bed, his mind filled with Yun Zishu’s cold and indifferent little face. He recalled the stubbornness and the detachment in her expression and felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity.

Yun Zishu and Li Xue were two completely different personalities.

One is aloof and indifferent; the other is kind and gentle.

One is a royal princess; the other is his cousin.

In the past, Xiao Yunheng only saw Li Xue’s gentleness, consideration, and understanding, but he did not see Yun Zishu’s compromises. However, when the person who had always yielded completely changed her attitude, he felt a little…

Xiao Yunheng closed his eyes and realized, to his surprise, that he was actually a little happy about Yun Zishu’s request that he divorce Li Xue—though he had no intention of actually doing so.

But this demand at least proves that she still cares about him.

Besides, he had indeed been at fault in the beginning. He only listened to Li Xue’s one-sided account without any evidence and made Yun Zishu suffer injustice. Anyone would find such accusations hard to bear, so it was natural for her to be angry.

Xiao Yunheng decided to go to her again tomorrow to apologize.

Women were made of water. As long as he is sincere enough, Yun Zishu would eventually soften towards him.

A burst of footsteps interrupted his thoughts.

“Wuwu, it’s really too much!” Li Xue walked in carrying a basin of water, her eyes red, her voice choked, and her face full of anger and grievance. “Are the people in the kitchen crazy about money? I just asked them for some hot water, and they even charged for hot water… Is this life still worth living?”

Xiao Yunheng opened his eyes and looked at Li Xue’s resentful face. In the past, he had found her delicate and pitiful, but lately, he saw many expressions on her face other than tenderness—anger, resentment, complaint, dissatisfaction, shame…

Yes, shame.

Every time she brought some food from the kitchen that she liked and he couldn’t eat, she would look at him with an innocent, pitiful, and ashamed look. Xiao Yunheng had seen too many of these expressions of hers in the past few days, and it seemed that he no longer felt the same heartache as before. Instead, he felt only endless annoyance and unspeakable frustration.

“Yun Zishu is deliberately making things difficult for us. She didn’t assign us any maids, and the food is so shabby that they barely have any oil or meat. It doesn’t matter if Xue’er eats or not, but Brother Heng, you’re injured. How… how can she torture you like this?” Li Xue didn’t notice Xiao Yunheng’s gaze, and she started crying again as she spoke. She raised her hand to wipe away her tears. “Leaving us here to fend for ourselves every day—she’s clearly taking revenge on us…”

Xiao Yunheng said, “It’s only right for her to seek revenge.”

“What?” Li Xue was stunned and turned to look at Xiao Yunheng in disbelief, tears still welling in her eyes. “Brother Heng?”

Xiao Yunheng stared at her face, which appeared as delicate and innocent as ever. “If you do something wrong, you should bear the consequences, shouldn’t you?”

Li Xue’s face paled, and she bit her lip. “But… but she…”

“She is a princess, and her status is indeed more noble than yours,” Xiao Yunheng calmly stated this fact. “If she really wants to take revenge on you, even if she sends people over to beat you, scold you, punish you, or even starve you for days, you would have to endure it, wouldn’t you?”

Li Xue’s face turned even paler. “I…”

“But she didn’t do any of that.” After saying this, Xiao Yunheng remembered that Yun Zishu had indeed never done anything excessive.

Although she had given him the letter of divorce, it was only done out of extreme anger and under desperate circumstances.

She had Li Xue sent to the Dark Shadow Pavilion, thinking that it would teach her a lesson, yet Li Xue emerged completely unscathed, without even a scratch.

She was only cold in her words, but her heart was not vicious at all.

On the contrary, he and his mother would scold and humiliate her every time, calling her a poisonous woman. When in reality, she had never done anything vicious and had endured suffering she did not deserve.

The reason why all this happened was because she was an unfavored princess, with no one in the royal family to support her.

Xiao Yunheng finally began to reflect on himself and decided to treat Yun Zishu well in the future.

“Xue’er, you should be more respectful to her in the future.” Xiao Yunheng said calmly. “She is a princess, and you are the daughter of a subject. She is the principal wife, and you are a concubine. Regardless of status, you should not be disrespectful to her.”

Li Xue clenched the towel tightly, feeling a surge of resentment.

Princess?

Is an unfavored princess still considered a princess?

So what if she’s the principal wife? After marrying into the family, she still spent nearly two months alone in her room. Her mother-in-law didn’t like her, and her husband didn’t love her. Even if she had the title of the principal wife, it was in name only.

But Li Xue couldn’t say any of this.

“I understand.” She bit her lip, her voice carrying a hint of suppressed grievance. “From now on, I will serve Princess Sister with respect, honoring her as my superior. I will not fight back when I am beaten, nor will I talk back when I am scolded.”

“Yun Zishu has never scolded you or struck you,” Xiao Yunheng frowned. “So you don’t need to worry about that.”

Li Xue’s face turned pale, and she couldn’t help but clutch the towel even tighter. Brother Heng was starting to speak for Yun Zishu? Why?

“Don’t think too much.” Xiao Yunheng said, noticing her pitiful expression again, and suddenly felt impatient. “As long as I am here, I will always protect you.”

Li Xue lowered her head; her eyes were cold and gloomy. She nodded gently and stepped forward quietly and obediently to help him undress and wipe his body.

With her aunt here, what could Yun Zishu do even if she returned to the Xiao family? Could she turn the world upside down?

Li Xue thought darkly that if ever Yun Zishu returned to the Xiao family, she would never have such luck to rise again. She would make sure that her aunt gave this bitch a good lesson so she would know who truly ruled the inner household of the Xiao family.

Xiao Yunheng did not know what Li Xue was thinking and was secretly pondering what method he should use tomorrow to soften Yun Zishu’s heart. His injuries were still healing, and using a pity play was within his tolerance. As long as he could soften Yun Zishu’s heart, bringing her back to the Xiao family would be within reach.

Time passed slowly, and the sky gradually darkened.

Li Xue had accompanied Xiao Yunheng in standing outside the Qifeng Hall for so long and then tended to him upon their return. At this moment, she was really exhausted and hungry. Although it was not yet time for dinner, she couldn’t help but want to go to the kitchen to find something to eat.

The evening meal was rather plain.

The loose change that Li Xue had brought with her was almost spent, and she was reluctant to take out the larger silver currency.  After a trip to the kitchen, she returned only with a plate of green vegetables and two steamed buns.

Xiao Yunheng looked at the bland food in front of him and really lost his appetite.

“Brother Heng, just make do with this meal.” Li Xue saw that he had a poor appetite and said weakly, “Although my aunt gave me a fair amount of silver, the expenses of the past few days have been a bit high. I… I didn’t expect the princess’s chef to be so greedy. Every time I want to eat meat, I have to pay for it myself. This…”

Her eyes flickered slightly, and she said tentatively, “Or I’ll go and inform Princess Sister that the kitchen staff are deliberately skimping on our food, and let’s see what Princess Sister says?”