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

Do they want to just leave like this?

She refused.

"Madam, as the mistress of the household, yet you allow your unruly servants to damage property and vandalize the eldest daughter's room. Doesn't Madam punish these servants?"

Chu Xunzhen's voice was as melodious as a nightingale's song, and his words were utterly certain.

"Young lady, please spare this old servant! This room of yours is truly eerie. Tonight, as I passed through the Chrysanthemum Garden, I heard crying and saw you talking to a dark figure. I initially thought it was a stranger, but it turns out to be an evil spirit. I will never dare to do it again, young lady, please let me go!"

"What nonsense are you spouting? Our young lady went to bed early tonight, and there was no shadowy figure at all. How dare you, as the mistress's maid, slander the eldest daughter of the Marquis's family like this?" Chunxi said angrily.

"This old servant saw something I shouldn't have seen. I beg you, young lady, please don't take your anger out on the madam and the second young lady. It's all my fault. Please, young lady, show mercy."

Granny Zhou knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face, kowtowing repeatedly, her expression filled with fear.

Springtime joy caused his blood to rush to his head.

What a vicious mind! If she is punished today, the young lady will surely be branded as guilty, unkind, and a jinx.

But if she isn't punished, where will the young lady's dignity be? A servant bullying his master only confirms her reputation as a jinx.

Chu Xunzhen scoffed, "What a grand display, Granny Zhou! I'm speaking to the mistress of the Marquis's mansion, and you, this unruly servant, dare to speak without permission? Do you even respect the mistress?"

Li Yi looked grim.

Granny Zhou's face paled, secretly cursing this little wretch for seeming to have changed her nature. Hadn't she always been completely subservient to her, treating her with utmost respect?

With a thud, Granny Zhou knelt down and said to Li Yi, "Madam is the mistress of the Marquis's mansion, this old servant dares not be disrespectful."

"So, you're saying you're disrespecting me, the eldest daughter of the Marquis's household? Was this your own idea, or the Marquis's mistress's? To allow you to be so disrespectful to your master?"

Granny Zhou cursed Chu Xunzhen inwardly for being so difficult, but quickly tried to cover it up: "This old servant wouldn't dare. This old servant is just too frightened. There's an evil spirit here, this old servant is terribly frightened."

"Oh? Or have I misunderstood you?" Chu Xunzhen said with a half-smile. "You said there are evil spirits here? What? Are these evil spirits specifically targeting you? Everyone in my courtyard is perfectly fine. Could it be that you, Granny Zhou, did something wrong, and someone you harmed is seeking revenge?"

It's just nonsense, like throwing dirty water.

They splash her dirty water, and she can splash it back.

Granny Zhou's expression changed. She knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly to Li Yi, saying, "Madam, this old servant dares not deceive you. I did indeed see a dark shadow. As for the servants in the Chrysanthemum Garden, they may have already been possessed by evil spirits. Otherwise, how could the dark shadow have disappeared so clearly?"

"Granny Zhou, you said I'm a jinx, that there are evil spirits in the courtyard, so why did Granny Li enter the room with you, but she was unharmed while you were in trouble?"

Everyone was taken aback.

Chu Xunzhen is right. The two entered the room together. Why was Granny Li alright, but Granny Zhou had something to do?

"I suppose it was when I saw the shadowy figure that I was struck by that evil spirit. Young lady, please forgive me. I will never dare to offend you again." Granny Zhou knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face, pleading desperately.

"Enough!" Li Yi's face was grim.

A jinx is a jinx.

However, even searching the courtyard would drive her nanny insane and cause her to act erratically. She should leave such a place immediately.

"This matter is over. Rou'er deserves a reward for saving Granny Zhou. As for you, Chu Xunzhen, you are confined here and ordered to copy 'Women's Virtues' five times a day. From today onwards, all your food, clothing, and daily necessities will be provided according to the rations for a third-class maid."

Chu Xunzhen took two steps in three quick steps and suddenly stood in front of Li Yi.

"Madam is unaware of the truth and has been deceived. If you don't explain yourself clearly today, don't even think about leaving."

Li Yi's eyes widened, his chest heaving with rage, and he roared, "Are you trying to rebel?"

Chu Xunzhen chuckled, then suddenly looked at Granny Zhou and asked, "You said you saw a dark shadow in my courtyard earlier, which was an evil spirit. You said you offended the evil spirit, which caused you to lose control and be controlled by it. Is that true or not?"

Granny Zhou was taken aback, then nodded and said, "Yes."

"You feel great when Miss Chu is near you, don't you?"

Granny Zhou nodded immediately and said gratefully, "Second Miss is a lucky star. When she came near, the evil spirits were driven away, all my illnesses disappeared, and I feel refreshed."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xunzhen's sneer deepened: "The old woman keeps saying that I bring evil spirits and am a jinx, while the Second Miss is a lucky star. If she's a lucky star, then I, the jinx, should be the first to suffer, and I should be the one who feels uncomfortable. Why should I bother with you?"

Granny Zhou paused for a moment, then said, "Perhaps this old servant stumbled upon an evil spirit, which then possessed me. Second Miss saved me with the heart of a Bodhisattva. Eldest Miss, why are you being so aggressive?"

"If you offended an evil spirit, why didn't it manifest earlier, but only in my room? The moment the Second Miss approached you, all your ailments vanished. Is it because she's a lucky star, or because of the sachet embroidered with blue lotuses at her waist?"

Chu Xunzhen looked at Chu Wanrou with a cold, mocking gaze.

The pattern on the sachet has changed; it now features twin light pink lotus flowers.

Chu Wanrou's face turned pale.

"Sister, you've misunderstood. Wanrou wears this sachet every day; it does indeed have an invigorating effect."

Chu Xunzhen chuckled and walked closer to Chu Wanrou.

"If I were a jinx, bringing evil spirits, why do I feel no discomfort at all when I'm near you, sister? Also, sister, could you explain why you changed into different sachets during the short time Zhou Mama searched your room? Why didn't you tie the sachet you were wearing just now back to your waist?"

As Chu Xunzhen spoke, he raised Chu Wanrou's hand, and her long sleeves fell down, revealing a plain white sachet embroidered with light pink lotus flowers, which then fell to the ground.

Chu Wanrou's face turned pale.

The servants and maids pointed and whispered.

The sachet on the ground and the one now adorning the second young lady are both plain white. Both are embroidered with light pink lotus flowers. The sachet she hid in her sleeve was embroidered with a single lotus flower, while the sachet she now wears at her waist is embroidered with twin lotus flowers.

"This..." Chu Wanrou stammered, her face pale. After a long while, she finally spoke, tears welling up in her eyes. "I thought I was wearing a lotus sachet before, but I realized I was wrong just now, so I changed into the lotus sachet that Brother Changfeng gave me. I didn't want to say it and make my elder sister sad. But now that my elder sister is questioning me like this, my heart is filled with grief."

"Rou'er, don't be upset, I believe in you." Li Yi immediately helped the swaying Chu Wanrou up, and looked at Chu Xunzhen with disgust. "Your sister is weak. If you cause any more trouble, I won't let you off the hook."

"The talk of a jinx damages the reputation of the Marquis's mansion. Since Sister Wanrou is innocent, why not have the mansion physician examine the herbs in these two sachets?" Chu Xunzhen chuckled, glanced at everyone, and said.

She was well-versed in pharmacology; with just a sniff, she knew the two sachets contained different herbs. The sachet embroidered with twin lotus blossoms was indeed calming, but the other sachet held a secret.

Li Yi frowned, about to refuse, but the next moment, Chu Wanrou's voice rang out: "That's exactly right. Mother, I don't want my elder sister to misunderstand me. Calling the family physician will clear my name."

Chu Xunzhen frowned.

This sachet is clearly problematic, yet she dared to have it examined by the imperial physician.

Could it be that there's another trick up their sleeve?