Demoting my wife to a concubine? After being reborn, I turned around and married into the imperial f

"Does my sister think I don't understand?" The Ninth Prince chuckled softly, his pink lips parting slightly, his tone tinged with tenderness and ambiguity: "Marrying my sister means eating meals with her, sleeping together with her, and smelling her fragrance..."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xunzhen's cheeks flushed slightly, and she couldn't help but chuckle.

Looking at Nangong Yue's handsome face, she subconsciously reached out to place her hand on his pulse.

"Does my sister want my hand?"

Nangong Yue spoke with delight. His face was still pale, but his earlobes were hot and flushed.

"May I?"

Chu Xunzhen countered with a question. She was very curious: what exactly was wrong with His Highness the Ninth Prince?

If it's poisoning, perhaps she can find an antidote.

Nangong Yue lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling slightly.

Looking at the girl before him, he desperately suppressed his inner excitement. He couldn't let her see. He couldn't let her know. He couldn't let her discover his feelings.

"Sister, someone's here. Go and rest. I don't want your reputation to be tarnished." Suddenly, Nangong Yue spoke. His eyelids were lowered, and his expression was inscrutable in the moonlight.

Chu Xunzhen had a gut feeling that something was wrong with his condition.

Her hand was about to land on his wrist when Eunuch Ankang's voice rang out from afar.

"Your Highness, the time has come."

Nangong Yue suddenly smiled and withdrew her hand: "Sister, I will come back."

In the blink of an eye, Eunuch Ankang led Nangong Yue away over the wall.

Chu Xunzhen: "!"

He truly deserves to be the top expert by His Highness the Ninth Prince's side.

He was skilled in martial arts and had agile movements.

"Guards, search the place!"

A long, narrow, and sarcastic voice rang out from afar.

Li Yi's voice arrived before he did.

Chu Xunzhen looked over.

She wore a dark blue brocade robe with gold trim, her eyes sharp as she scanned the surroundings, as if Chu Xunzhen were doing something shady here.

"Could there be a mistake, Mother? Perhaps the servants have misread it. Although my sister grew up in the countryside, I believe in her. She would never stoop to such a lowly position just because she doesn't want to be a concubine."

Chu Wanrou's soft voice rang out behind him.

As soon as Chu Xunzhen pushed open the door, she saw Li Yi, whose face was cold and stern, standing in front of the courtyard.

Behind her, Chu Wanrou wore a moon-white ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with a plain white sachet at her waist. The sachet was embroidered with a light pink lotus flower, which was lifelike. With each step she took, the light green tassels swayed slightly.

Four or five nannies and a group of maids and servants followed behind him.

A very large group of people.

"Madam, what brings you here so late at night, disturbing me?"

Chu Xunzhen raised an eyebrow and asked.

Veins bulged on Li Yi's forehead.

She was her biological mother. Yet she called her "Madam." Did she still care about her as her mother?

"Chu Xunzhen, do you have any sense of shame? You disrespect your own mother, willingly degenerate, and have secret rendezvous with men. Do you intend to ruin all the eligible marriageable women in the Marquis's mansion?"

"Madam, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. When have I ever had a secret rendezvous with a man?" Chu Xunzhen scoffed. "Besides, if a man really did enter the inner courtyard, it's your fault, Madam. The servants weren't keeping a close watch, and the mistress wasn't doing her job, which allowed the thief to take advantage of the situation and caused frequent incidents in the inner courtyard."

Chu Xunzhen specifically pointed out the phrase "frequent accidents," which reminded everyone of the incident earlier today when the two young ladies fell into the water.

Li Yi's eyes were like poisoned blades, her once relaxed brows and eyes now extremely sharp. She looked at Chu Xunzhen as if she were looking at a despised object: "Still dare to argue? Granny Zhou saw you having an affair. No matter how eloquent you are today, you won't escape family discipline."

Zhou, the old woman who was called upon by Li Yi, stepped forward.

She was tall and robust, even more so than Granny Hua. Dressed in a purple granny's robe, she looked at Chu Xunzhen, her eyes gleaming with shrewdness: "Young lady, I'm sorry, this old servant is only following orders. You are kind, I suppose you won't stop us from searching."

Chu Xunzhen's eyes flashed, and she suddenly laughed: "Granny Zhou, you've already disturbed the mistress of the Marquis's mansion by asking for my permission. If there really is an outsider, that's fine. But if there isn't, then it's a case of a servant abusing her master, concealing the truth from the mistress, and framing the legitimate daughter. Since Granny Zhou wants to search, then search. But if you can't find anything, you won't escape the crime of disturbing the mistress of the Marquis's mansion today."

Chu Xunzhen scoffed.

She wanted to see what they could find.

"Enough with the nonsense, Granny Zhou, Granny Li, go in and search."

Li Yi frowned, looking impatient, and with a command, everyone in the courtyard was driven out.

Granny Hua and Chunxi were awakened by the noise and came out one after another, looking at Chu Xunzhen with concern.

Granny Zhou, Granny Li, and two maids entered Chu Xunzhen's room.

After a quarter of an hour, none of them had come out, and suspicion began to creep into everyone's eyes.

Suddenly, the sound of ping-pong balls hitting the table and the cracking of porcelain came from inside the room.

Chu Xunzhen's lips curled into a sneer as he looked at Li Yi, who stood some distance away, and said mockingly, "If Madam couldn't tolerate me, why did she bring me back three years ago? Pretending to search for thieves, her real purpose was to smash up my room?"

"Nonsense! How could I possibly say such a thing?" Li Yi said angrily.

She is the matriarch of the household. Why would she deliberately vandalize her own daughter's courtyard?

Li Yi immediately strode towards Chu Xunzhen's room.

She wanted to see how the two old women were handling things. This room was so small; a few glances would have been enough to see everything, yet they had to search for so long.

As soon as she stepped inside, an embroidered brocade pouch came flying at her, hitting her squarely in the face.

A familiar fragrance wafted from the brocade pouch.

Li Yi was furious. The next thing she saw was Granny Zhou rummaging through the chests and cabinets, while Granny Li desperately grabbed her and shouted for her to stop.

"Stop! Granny Zhou, what are you doing?"

When Granny Zhou turned around, she saw it was Li Yi.

"Madam, save me! There's something strange about this room. This old servant can't control his hands; it's like he's possessed. Madam, save this old servant!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yi was so frightened that he retreated repeatedly.

She subconsciously turned her head and met Chu Xunzhen's mocking and indifferent dark eyes.

"It's you, you jinx, it's you."

Sixteen years ago, the imperial strategist predicted: This daughter is a jinx.

It can't be wrong.

"Mother, perhaps Granny Zhou isn't feeling well. Rou'er will go and check on her."

A fragrant breeze wafted by, and everyone felt refreshed and invigorated.

Chu Xunzhen raised an eyebrow, his gaze falling on the sachet at Chu Wanrou's waist.

As soon as one of them approached Granny Zhou, Granny Zhou suddenly stopped, as if she had come to her senses. She was covered in sweat and collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

"Granny, I'll take you out."

Chu Wanrou helped Zhou Mama up, and Zhou Mama looked at Chu Wanrou gratefully and said, "Thank you, Miss Wanrou."

The servants and maids, seeing this, began to whisper among themselves.

"Miss Wanrou truly lives up to her reputation as a lucky star."

"That young lady is truly a jinx. She's terrifying."

"The old woman just said that seeing a man outside might be an evil spirit, a malevolent spirit brought by a jinx."

Chu Xunzhen had already seen through the elaborate scheme that was unfolding today.

First, they'll say she's having an affair. If they find the man, it will solidify her guilt. If they can't find him, they can say it's an evil spirit, spreading the word that she's a jinx.

They smeared her reputation so that she could not marry another man and become his legal wife.

That's quite a scheme.

"Chu Xunzhen, from today onwards, you are confined here. Without my order, you are not allowed to leave for six months."

Half a year? Grounded? Maybe they're afraid she'll ruin Chu Wanrou and Gu Changfeng's marriage?

Li Yi turned away, flicking his sleeve. His bright face, which resembled Chu Xunzhen's, was now covered in frost, and carried a hint of apprehension and fear.

I disagree.

Chu Xunzhen suddenly spoke.