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

Li Yi looked at Chu Wanrou with a gentle expression and tender gaze, stroking her hair.

"My Rou'er, you are the apple of my eye. What decision do I need to make? My choice has always been only you."

Chu Wanrou threw herself onto Li Yi, wrapping her arms around her, her eyes filled with joy.

Seeing this, Chu Xunzhen's eyelashes trembled slightly, and her gaze dimmed.

But it became clear in an instant.

Li Yi completely treated Chu Wanrou as her own daughter. Even when Chu Wanrou burned down the courtyard because of her tantrum, resulting in Chu Mingyuan, who saved her, being disfigured and crippled, Li Yi, as her mother, still forgave her.

A snap.

It turned out that Chunxi, who was behind Chu Xunzhen, had accidentally stepped on a tree branch.

Chunxi turned pale with fright.

She didn't mean to.

She was shocked.

How could you say such a thing in front of the young lady?

How heartbroken the girl must be.

"Who? Who's outside?"

Li Yi's gaze turned cold as he suddenly looked in the direction where the two were.

Chunxi's face turned pale, and she subconsciously glanced at Chu Xunzhen, but Chu Xunzhen shook his head at her.

The next instant, Chunxi saw the girl pull her along, and with a swift dive, they moved swiftly along the wall in twos and threes.

The next moment, she was lifted onto the roof.

Chunxi: "!"

Her gaze was blank.

Is this still her daughter?

"Young lady, when did you acquire such skills?"

"Shh!"

Chunxi pointed down, and the two saw Li Yi hurriedly open the window and look around.

Seeing that no one was around, his face darkened.

"Rou'er, I'm going back to copy Buddhist scriptures now. That damned Chu Xunzhen actually tried to send me to the Mingshan Stone Temple. I almost let her succeed. Rou'er, you must get along well with the Third Prince. Although I've watched Gu Changfeng grow up since he was a child, and he's now a marquis of a manor, the Zhongyi Marquis's manor has a very weak foundation. I'm afraid you'll have to subsidize them in the future."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xunzhen recalled that in her previous life, Li Yi always said that she was right to subsidize her husband. When Li Yi came back to complain, she also said that she shouldn't have competed with Gu Changfeng, but should have supported everything he did.

Now that it's Chu Wanrou's turn to get married, she's giving her a lot of advice, afraid that she might suffer any loss.

Chu Wanrou was stunned upon hearing this.

"Mother, the imperial decree has been issued, and I will soon be married into the Marquis of Zhongyi's household. I will have no way to contact the Third Prince." Chu Wanrou said with a troubled expression. "Besides, I trust Brother Changfeng. I believe he will not let me suffer any injustice."

Li Yi smiled bitterly: "How can you be so naive? A man's heart can change in an instant. But if you can enter the inner sect of the Heavenly Sect, Gu Changfeng will definitely not dare to touch you in the future."

Chu Xunzhen didn't listen any further, and instead pulled Chunxi back to her own courtyard.

As soon as Chunxi returned, her eyes were red-rimmed. She said, "Miss, how could Madam think like that? You've been back for so long, and Madam hasn't cared about your food, clothing, or shelter at all. She eats the medicinal meals you cook for her every day, yet she still complains that you don't cook them well. Now that you're a county princess, she doesn't feel a shred of pride, only displeasure. Miss, why don't we go back to find our adoptive father?"

Hearing this, Chu Xunzhen's expression softened as she gently wiped away Chunxi's tears, saying, "Chunxi, I'm not money, how can I expect everyone to like me? If I'm sad and upset because of other people's dislike, isn't that just making myself suffer?"

Upon hearing this, Chunxi's eyes widened, and she asked in bewilderment, "But that's your birth mother."

"Blood ties cannot overcome affection. Just like Yunqi and me, although we are not blood siblings, we are closer than blood siblings."

Chunxi looked confused and asked, "Aren't you sad?"

Chu Xunzhen shook his head and said, "I was sad before because I kept them in my heart; now that they are no longer in my heart, I am naturally not sad."

Upon hearing this, Chunxi felt even more sorry for the girl.

She clearly remembered that on the day she returned to reunite with her family, the girl was also full of anticipation and joy.

She saw the girl injure her hand while cooking for the Chu family, saw the girl's sadness when she was falsely accused and questioned, and even more so, she saw the young master and mistress punish the girl without distinguishing right from wrong.

"Girl, Chunxi feels sorry for you."

Chunxi threw herself into Chu Xunzhen's arms and burst into tears.

Chu Xunzhen gently patted her back to comfort her.

An untimely voice suddenly shattered the warmth.

"Oh, what a deep bond between master and servant."

As the voices rang out, Chu Xunzhen looked up and saw Chu Wanrou and Li Yi in the distance.

Chu Wanrou was dressed in white, as if attending a funeral. Li Yi, on the other hand, wore a dark blue gauze dress, still looking like the high and mighty Lady Hou she had been before.

Weren't they plotting in the peony garden just now?

Why have we come here now?

Li Yi looked at his own daughter with disgust.

Chu Xunzhen's appearance was beautiful and elegant, making her Rou'er seem less flamboyant; her figure was graceful, making Rou'er's figure seem unremarkable.

Chu Xun is truly Rou'er's nemesis.

She glanced at Chu Xunzhen with disgust, her voice tinged with coldness: "I've brought you the letter of severance you requested. Do you dare sign it?"

Chunxi was stunned when she heard this.

"Madam, the girl is your own daughter! How could you really bring me this letter severing ties?" Chunxi asked in disbelief, her voice becoming shrill.

Upon hearing this, Li Yi smiled.

"The only daughter I've ever truly acknowledged is Rou'er. What is she compared to me? If I could, I would rather she had never been born."

The thought that Rou'er would shine brightly tomorrow and that those unbearable past events would eventually be erased made her feel better.

"Sister, please don't misunderstand. Mother is only temporarily severing ties with you. My reputation is bad, and I absolutely cannot let it affect you. If it causes you to be gossiped about, then Rou'er will be guilty even if she dies a thousand deaths." As Chu Wanrou spoke, a gentle breeze blew by, and her fine strands of hair swayed in the air, making her look innocent and pitiful.

"Oh? Then I should thank you?" Chu Xunzhen said with a half-smile.

Li Yi slammed his hand on the table, snorted coldly, and said, "How dare you speak to Rou'er like that? Today, this marriage is off whether you like it or not."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xunzhen chuckled, "Severing ties is fine. But if this severance agreement is only written in the mansion and doesn't have an official seal, it's not valid. After signing, Madam will take the severance agreement to the government office to have it stamped, right?"

"That's natural. As for Rou'er's mention of temporarily severing ties, it's just to avoid upsetting you. Rou'er is kind-hearted and can't bear to see you in pain and embarrassment, which is why she put it so nicely. If you have any self-awareness, then sign this severance agreement."

Li Yi's voice was icy, like frost in June, freezing people's hearts.

Chu Xunzhen suddenly spoke up and asked, "Does Father know? Madam just escaped a calamity last time, narrowly avoiding being sent to the Mingshan Stone Temple. If she angers Father again, she might be sent away and never come back."

"Insolence!" Li Yi roared, his eyes flashing with malice. "You dare curse me?"

Chu Wanrou's expression changed, and she spoke softly, "Mother, my sister must not want to sever ties with us, that's why she said that. Since my sister isn't afraid of her reputation being tarnished by me, shall we go back?"

"No! She must sign this marriage contract today."

Li Yi's face was contorted with rage as he spoke fiercely.

Suddenly, a hoarse male voice rang out from outside the courtyard: "This letter of severance cannot be signed."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed, and they subconsciously looked in the direction, immediately looking astonished.