Phoenix Reigns Over The Nine Heavens - Chapter 62

Madam Xiao looked disappointed. “Aren’t you?”

“It’s not that I’m being heartless, but rather that Mother should stay away from the Li family.” Xiao Yunwu’s face was taut with tension, and her tone was displeased. “Li Xuan is a brainless person. Even if he is released this time, can Mother guarantee that he will not cause trouble in the future? Right now, with the imperial concubine and the crown prince in power, we should strike while the iron is hot. We need Father to work diligently for the crown prince, instead of indulging these brainless fools who go around stirring trouble.”

Madam Xiao looked at her, her expression gradually cooling, hardly being able to believe that these words came from her mouth.

Brainless fool?

Is this how she evaluates her own cousin?

Even if Li Xuan is impulsive and thoughtless, he is still her own nephew. How can she speak of her cousin with such scorn?

Madam Xiao had initially been dissatisfied with Yun Zishu taking back her dowry, but now she felt nothing but heartache—heartache towards her husband and daughter.

She had been managing the household for more than 20 years, believing that she had done her best for the Xiao family. Xiao Yuanting was focused on the military camp, and she was the one who managed all the big and small affairs at home. She had personally raised a pair of children all these years, only to be told by her husband that marrying her was the worst luck of his life. And now even her daughter was criticizing her actions.

Madam Xiao could not bear it.

She looked calmly at Xiao Yunwu, her eyes filled with disappointment. “You have already married into the Princess’s mansion, and you will be a member of the Xu family in the future. You don’t need to interfere in the affairs of the Xiao family.”

Xiao Yunwu was astonished. “Mother?”

Madam Xiao suddenly felt exhausted. She turned around and walked through the main gate. She no longer watched the guards of the Ninth Princess move the dowry onto the carriage. She just wanted to find a quiet place to be by herself.

These past few days had drained her completely.

With her nephew in trouble, her son injured, the Xiao family a laughing stock of the whole city, and even her daughter no longer close to her. Madam Xiao suddenly felt that all she had done for the Xiao family over the years had been for nothing.

“Mother.” Xiao Yunwu followed her in and hurriedly explained, “I said all of that for the sake of the Xiao family. You have always indulged Li Xue in the past, allowing her to do whatever she wanted in the Xiao family. That’s why my eldest brother favored his concubine. Otherwise, how could Yun Zishu have divorced her husband? How can Mother still—”

“Shut up!” Madam Xiao’s voice suddenly turned cold. “I don’t need you to teach me how to do things!”

Xiao Yunwu stiffened. “Mother?”

“If you came here today to lecture me, you can go back now.” Madam Xiao took a deep breath, not wanting to lose her composure in front of the servants, but her tone was already extremely cold. “Xiao Yunwu, it’s not your place to judge my actions.”

Xiao Yunwu bit her lip. “From the broader perspective, Mother has been too partial to Li Xue, which led to Li Xue overstepping her boundaries. If she hadn’t deliberately framed Yun Zishu, all these things would not have happened—Yun Zishu would not have divorced her husband, the Xiao family would not have become a laughing stock of the noble families in the imperial city, and Mother would not have to be so overwhelmed. You would not have to face your son being beaten and injured and your nephew being taken to the Dark Shadow Pavilion to be punished. After so many things have happened, does Mother still not realize she has to reflect on herself?”

“Get out of here! Get out!” Madam Xiao pointed at the door and roared in a rage, “Go back to your princess’s mansion!”

Xiao Yunwu looked at her without saying a word. Madam Xiao looked serious and stern, clearly beside herself with anger.

Xiao Yunwu turned around and walked out.

At this time, Yun Zishu was still in the carriage. The guards had moved the dowry properly and were conducting a final check against the inventory.

Xiao Yunwu walked up to the carriage, lifted the curtain, and looked at Yun Zishu coldly. “Your Highness, the Ninth Princess, you have made such a big show of taking back your dowry today. Are you truly determined to break off relations with the Xiao family?”

Yun Zishu was sitting in the carriage reading a book. She didn’t even raise her head when she heard the words and replied calmly, “The break already happened some time ago. The dowry is what rightfully belongs to me. It just so happens that I have time today to retrieve it.”

Xiao Yunwu looked at her in silence for a long time before saying coldly, “Breaking off relations with the Xiao family will not do the Ninth Princess any good.”

Yun Zishu said, “There won’t be any harm.”

“If I can get my brother to divorce Li Xue, would you be willing to change your mind?” Xiao Yunwu had always believed that Li Xue was the root of the problem, and Yun Zishu was just being ungrateful and making some outrageous moves. “Li Xue is a scheming woman. With her around, the Xiao family’s inner house will never know peace. As long as you are willing to return to the Xiao family and agree to reconcile with my brother, I guarantee that I will persuade my brother to divorce Li Xue and never let her enter the Xiao family’s gate again.”

Yun Zishu’s gaze remained fixed on the book in her hands. After a long while, she raised her head and looked at Xiao Yunwu. “Why do all of you so wishfully assume that this princess cares enough about Li Xue to let her affect my decisions?”

Xiao Yunwu’s expression darkened. “What did you say?”

Yun Zishu was too lazy to waste her breath on her. She reached out and lowered the carriage curtain, ordering calmly, “Return to the mansion.”

Leng Shuang stayed behind to direct the moving of the dowry, while Leng Yue sat in front of the carriage, holding the reins and flicking them. “Giddy up!”

The carriage started to move with a clatter, and the speed became faster and faster, leaving Xiao Yunwu behind.

Xiao Yunwu clenched her fists, staring at the departing carriage with a vicious look. Suddenly, she regretted not having someone forcibly bring Yun Zishu back to the Xiao family mansion earlier—if she had been trapped in the Xiao family, let’s see if she could have turned the world upside down.

Unfortunately, it was too late now.

……

The carriage quickly arrived outside the gate of the princess’s mansion. As soon as Yun Zishu got out of the carriage, a person rushed over and knelt down with a thud. “Your Highness!”

Yun Zishu took a step back, her eyes slightly cold. She looked around, causing the guards to be startled. They quickly pulled up Li Xue, who was kneeling on the ground, and dragged her back into the mansion.

“Your Highness, I beg you, please give Brother Heng a chance to live.” Li Xue struggled, crying out pitifully. “Brother Heng is your husband after all. How can you be so cruel? Even if he made a big mistake, Your Highness should give him a chance to repent and make up for it. Your Highness!”

Yun Zishu frowned slightly. “Leng Yue.”

“Here.”

“Do you think I’m being cruel to Xiao Yunheng?”

“Your Highness, compared to what the Xiao family did to you, what the princess did is insignificant,” Leng Yue said. “The princess repaid evil with kindness, providing Xiao Yunheng with food and drink and having the physician tend to his wounds daily. She did not take the opportunity to make his injuries worse. She is truly a bodhisattva. Li Xue does not know what is good for her and dares to accuse Your Highness. She is simply ungrateful and turns against her benefactor. Your Highness does not need to pay attention to her.”

Yun Zishu’s lips curled up slightly, and she raised her foot to step into the gate. “I do enjoy hearing you speak.”

“Naturally.” Leng Yue raised her eyebrows. “The Xiao family has done all kinds of bad things and never knew how to reflect on themselves. Now they are only suffering from such a small grievance, and they are crying out incessantly. People who don’t know the truth would really think that Her Highness the Princess is mistreating them.”

“Your Highness!” Li Xue was dragged away by force, unable to resist, and shouted hoarsely. “Brother Heng is your husband; you can’t treat him like this!”

Leng Yue waved her hand, signaling the guards to quickly take Li Xue away and not leave her here to disturb the princess.

Yun Zishu paid the commotion no more mind and turned around to walk towards the direction of the Qifeng Hall.