Phoenix Reigns Over The Nine Heavens - Chapter 50

Si Cang was stunned. Meeting her smiling eyes, he momentarily lost his composure.

Yun Zishu turned around and sat down on the brocade couch and motioned for Si Cang to sit down as well. “Has the Crown Prince looked for you in the past couple of days?”

“The crown prince didn’t, but the imperial son-in-law, Xu, did.” When speaking of official matters, Si Cang quickly recovered his usual cold and calm demeanor. “Xiao Yuanting has been indifferent about Li Xuan’s matter, seemingly unconcerned whether he lives or dies. Madam Xiao, however, is running around, trying to rescue Li Xuan from the Dark Shadow Pavilion as soon as possible. For that purpose, she approached Princess Jinning.”

Yun Zishu picked up the teacup. “You didn’t pay her any mind?”

“No, I didn’t.” Si Cang’s voice was calm. “The relationship between the consort Xu and Princess Jinning is not very good, so he only came to me once as a formality.”

After saying that, his gaze fell on Yun Zishu’s face once again. “The grand princess of Jinning has also kept male concubines in her residence.”

Yun Zishu’s expression stiffened slightly. She slowly raised her eyes to look at him, her eyes thoughtful. “I am different from Princess Jinning.”

Si Cang hummed in acknowledgement and said, “I know.”

Yun Zishu felt that he was a little strange today. Why was he always entangled in the topic of male pets?

“Your Highness,” the matron came to report. “Imperial concubine Wu has sent someone with a command.”

A Command?

Yun Zishu smiled faintly. “Bring the person over.”

“Yes.”

Before long, a robust matron with an unfriendly expression walked over. When she saw Yun Zishu and Si Cang sitting together and talking, her expression froze slightly. Then she frowned and said in a particularly stern tone, “Your Highness, the Ninth Princess, how can you be in the same room with an unrelated man?”

Yun Zishu calmly drank her tea, acting as if she hadn’t heard her words.

This person was Granny Ruan, who was responsible for teaching palace rules to the young ladies-in-waiting in the palace. Deeply trusted by the noble concubine Wu and relying on her influence, she had practically been throwing her weight around the palace these past few years.

Not to mention the newly arrived palace ladies, even the imperial concubines and several princesses in the harem were all very polite to her, never daring to be arrogant or rude.

But Yun Zishu was not going to indulge her bad habits.

“Your Highness the Ninth Princess.” Nanny Ruan’s face was a little ugly. “Did Your Highness not hear what this old servant said?”

“Since you refer to yourself as ‘an old servant,’ why do you have no sense of propriety whatsoever, Granny Ruan?” Leng Yue walked over and looked at Granny Ruan up and down. “If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought you were the mistress here, scolding some lowly slave.”

Granny Ruan’s eyes narrowed. “You’re being presumptuous!”

Would Leng Yue be afraid of her?

“According to the rules, Nanny Ruan should first kneel down to the princess, respectfully kowtow, then explain her intentions and wait for the legitimate princess’s instructions.” Leng Yue’s tone was cold. “If Nanny Ruan doesn’t know the rules herself, how can she teach rules to others? I have every reason to report to His Majesty the emperor that Nanny Ruan is an evil slave who dares to bully her master, and she doesn’t take the princess seriously because of the concubine’s favor. I don’t know how Nanny Ruan thinks His Majesty will deal with you.”

Granny Ruan’s face changed suddenly. “I came here on the orders of the Noble Consort Wu.”

Leng Yue said, “Even the imperial concubine is not as noble as the princess.”

Granny Ruan almost let out a laugh when she heard this. The legitimate princess is noble? Where is the nobility?

Isn’t she just a fallen princess who lost her mother at a young age and whose father doesn’t love her?

How dare you call yourself noble?

How can she be compared with the Noble Consort?

However, she did not dare to say this out loud. Everyone knew that the identity of the legitimate princess was not worth taking to heart, but everyone also knew that some words could not be said out loud.

Yun Zishu took a sip of tea and turned her head to look out the window, feeling bored and impatient.

The rules in the palace are actually no different from those in the inner courtyards of ordinary noble families. Whoever is favored has the right to speak. Even a legitimate wife, as long as her mother-in-law does not like her and her husband does not love her, would have no status in the family.

As for these servants… It is their instinct to be sycophantic and to fawn over the powerful and bully the weak. They flatter whoever is in favor, and in their eyes a master who has lost favor is worse than a servant. How can you expect them to be respectful?

Unless she experiences a bone-chilling fear, it will be a pipe dream.

Seeing this, Nanny Ruan said coldly, “If the Noble Consort knew that the Ninth Princess was so arrogant and rude, I’m afraid she would not be pleased.”

“What does it matter to my princess whether she is pleased or not?” Leng Yue was even more arrogant than her. “Her Highness the Princess does not depend on the Noble Consort’s favor.”

Granny Ruan gnashed her teeth in anger. “Don’t you think it’s treasonous to say that?”

“It is indeed a great act of treason.”

“Then you—” Nanny Ruan was about to scold her when suddenly something flew towards her face. Before she could react, the thing had already flown into her mouth. She gagged and reached out to dig at her throat. “Ugh…”

“This is a poison specifically for those with loose tongues.” Si Cang stood up and walked over step by step. His feet, clad in black deerskin boots, were steady and powerful, just like his cold and intimidating aura. “Granny Ruan is so used to bossing people around in the palace that she has become so bold as to even disregard the princess.”

Granny Ruan looked at him, instinctively stepping back as fear flashed in her eyes. “You…”

What did he give her to eat?

Si Cang stood with his hands behind his back. “What did the imperial concubine ask you to say?”

Granny Ruan swallowed hard and said, “The Noble Consort has asked the Ninth Princess to enter the palace three days from now to attend the birthday banquet and to bring along the Young Master Xiao. The husband and wife should appear together.”

“This message could have been relayed simply, but you had to put on such a haughty act and show off your power first?” Leng Yue smiled sarcastically. “You should be glad that Leng Shuang is busy with other matters; otherwise, she would have given you a few slaps to let you know what the rules of the Princess’s Mansion are.”

Granny Ruan was furious, but she dared not vent her anger. Instead, she stared at Si Cang uneasily and asked, “What… what did you give me?”

“A small black bug,” Si Cang said coldly. “It won’t take your life, but it will activate for three days every month. During that time, the bug will gnaw at your internal organs, causing unbearable pain and making life worse than death.”

Granny Ruan’s face was as white as a sheet. “You… you…”

“Leng Yue has the antidote.” A chilling light appeared in Si Cang’s eyes. “After you return to the palace, you should be careful of what you should say and what you shouldn’t. Come to the princess’s mansion at the end of each month to receive your antidote—it will keep you alive. Otherwise…”

His voice paused slightly and then continued in an indifferent tone. “Granny Ruan has a son at home who is preparing to take the imperial examination. Why don’t I order someone to bring him here to meet you?”

Granny Ruan’s vision went dark, and she knelt down with a thud. “I know I was wrong. Don’t harm my son. He’s innocent! I promise I won’t speak carelessly or be disrespectful to the princess in the future. Your Highness, Princess! Forgive me, please spare this foolish servant!”

“Wouldn’t it have been better to behave like this from the start?” Yun Zishu said calmly, “Was it necessary to bring suffering upon yourself?”

Granny Ruan kept kowtowing: “This old servant knows her mistake, Princess; please spare me! Princess, have mercy!”

“This princess has no intention of making things difficult for you. You may go back.” Yun Zishu said, looking somewhat weary. “Be wiser, or you will definitely regret being born into this world.”

“Yes, yes, this old servant would never dare.” Nanny Ruan nodded repeatedly, “This old servant takes her leave; I will leave now.”

She got up and staggered to the door, but then she seemed to think of something and turned her head back. “Then… then will Your Highness bring Young Master Xiao…”