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

Inside the candle wick, which should have been dry, it was actually wet.

"No wonder I couldn't light those white candles no matter what I did. They must have been tampered with inside," Chu Xunzhen said quietly.

Everyone was shocked and exclaimed.

"So that's how it is."

"I thought it was really God who hated Miss Chu."

"I misunderstood just now. I was really afraid that the county princess was a jinx to the country. It was my fault."

......

Hearing the murmurs of the crowd, Li Yi's face darkened, but he still gripped his handkerchief tightly and spoke up, shouting, "Even if the candle wick is truly wet, it's not man-made, but divine retribution. Chu Xunzhen, you are a jinx that even Heaven cannot tolerate. The wet candle wick is Heaven's punishment for you."

Chu Xunzhen scoffed, "Is that so? Chunxi, go to ten candle shops outside the manor and buy them all white candles. I want to see if I'm truly being punished by heaven. If I am, then may the heavens prevent me from lighting those white candles."

With a bang, Chu Mingli slammed his hand on the table and said, "Why go to such lengths? There are still many white candles in the box in front of you. Just take them all out and test them."

Chu Xunzhen shook his head and scoffed, "Impossible. Who knows if someone in the manor deliberately framed me and tampered with those white candles?"

Chu Mingli's face flushed with anger, and he roared, "Who are you trying to imply?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Xunzhen smiled and said, "Eunuchs, come forward and light the white candles for me. If Heaven thinks I'm a jinx and is deliberately preventing me from lighting the candles, then surely these six eunuchs behind me aren't all jinxes, are they?"

Six eunuchs stepped forward and were about to pick up the candles and light them.

"Stop!" Li Yi, his face pale, suddenly stood in front of the box and shouted, "This belongs to my Marquis's manor! How can we waste it like this?"

Chu Xunzhen smiled and said to Chunxi, "Give Madam a thousand taels. That's enough to buy ten boxes of candles. Surely Madam won't refuse now?"

"Absolutely not! This is my Marquis's manor's flower-viewing banquet, and even more so, a sacrificial ceremony to 'question the heavens.' How can we allow a eunuch to come up here?"

As Li Yi finished speaking, the surroundings fell silent instantly.

The six eunuchs' faces stiffened, and they all retreated. Chu Xunzhen knew that Li Yi had already been resented by them.

They were indeed eunuchs, but it's one thing for others to know that. It's quite another for others to point at their heads and insult them to their faces, calling them disrespectable eunuchs.

"If that's the case, why don't I give it a try?" Nangong Yue chuckled, stepped forward, and looked at Li Yi with a sarcastic tone, asking, "Madam, is my status sufficient to use your white candle?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yi's face flushed red, but he still declined, saying, "Your Highness is a prince, and such a statement is truly unbecoming of us. It would be better if my son, Mingli, were to light candles in public to demonstrate the innocence of everyone in our Marquis's mansion."

"No, Chu Mingli needs to avoid suspicion. What, is Madam Hou being so hesitant? Could it be that you tampered with the white candles yourself, and you're afraid of being discovered by me?"

As Nangong Yue finished speaking, Li Yi cursed inwardly.

"Of course not," Chu Zhanpeng's obsequious voice rang out. "The lady was just worried that Your Highness would get tired, and didn't want to lower Your Highness's status. Your Highness, please don't take offense."

Nangong Yue stepped forward, picked up a pair of white candles, lit a tinderbox, and gently lit the candles. But the candles went out in the next instant.

After trying several pairs of white candles with the same result, Nangong Yue suddenly drew the sword from her waist and chopped down the candles.

Nangong Yue's gaze turned hostile as she stared coldly at Li Yi, asking, "Madam, could you explain why the wicks inside the white candles are all wet?"

Li Yi was both surprised and angry. Caught off guard by Nangong Yue's question, he replied, "The white candle must have gotten damp."

Chu Xunzhen suddenly spoke up: "Madam, Chu Wanrou just lit the candle by wiping it with her hand. Could it be that she has this ability even if you just give her a pair of white candles?"

Li Yi said, "This lady does not know either. How could a mortal like myself possibly comprehend the will of Heaven?"

Chu Xunzhen smiled, pointed to the pair of white candles on the incense burner, and said, "Pick up the white candles that Chu Wanrou just lit."

Li Yi was about to stop him, but Chu Mingyuan simply picked up the white candle and blew it out.

Before Li Yi could retrieve the candle, Chu Mingyuan touched it with his hand, and the candle spontaneously lit.

"Oh. Looks like I'm a lucky star too."

Chu Mingyuan gave a mocking smile.

This move drew cheers from the crowd.

He blew out the candle again and handed it to a servant standing nearby, instructing him to gently rub his hand on the candle, which then reignited.

"Give the candles to the county princess," Nangong Yue suddenly said.

Chu Xunzhen glanced at Nangong Yue and said softly to him, "Thank you, Your Highness."

"It's alright, I'd like to see if you can light the candles."

Chu Xunzhen took the white candle and blew it out. The next moment, she raised her right hand and gently touched the wick of the candle. The candle instantly ignited, and the bright flame flickered and swayed.

"Madam, if the candles you gave me before were damp, causing the wicks to become soaked, then how do you explain Chu Wanrou's pair of candles?"

As Chu Xunzhen spoke, he took out a dagger from his pocket and cut the candle in half with one stroke.

Upon inspection, everyone discovered that the candle wick had been mixed with fine saltpeter to start the fire.

Therefore, anyone can create the illusion of a spontaneously combusting candle by simply wiping it.

Chu Mingyuan picked up the candle that originally belonged to Chu Xunzhen, and gently sniffed it: "It smells like cold ash water. This isn't because it's damp; someone deliberately soaked the candle in cold ash water. No matter who tries to light it, they won't be able to."

Upon hearing this, the crowd erupted in uproar.

The ladies of the court were greatly impressed.

Chu Xunzhen's lips were pink; she gently licked them before speaking softly, "First, they poured 'Root-Destroying Water' near the plants I was around, creating the image of a calamity that could cause everything to wither. Then, they deliberately used a special scented incense to drive away all the birds that wanted to fly towards me. Finally, they even tampered with the prayer candles. This is clearly an attempt to kill me. Madam, do you know who in the manor hates me so much?"

Li Yi's forehead was covered in cold sweat. He looked at Chu Xunzhen as if he had seen a ghost.

Why is she so intelligent? Clearly, the Imperial Advisor told her all this in private.

Even Rou'er wasn't very familiar with these clandestine methods. How could Chu Xunzhen know?

Is she really that intelligent?

"No! If you're trying to harm me on purpose, this isn't enough." Chu Xunzhen laughed, a deep laugh. "You also need a statement to convict me."

As he spoke, Chu Xunzhen looked at the altar and immediately saw a porcelain jar behind it.

Upon opening the porcelain jar, we found a piece of paper inside.

Just as Chu Xun was about to open the note, Li Yi rushed over with a frantic look in his eyes and tried to snatch it away.

"Don't open it! Don't read it, it will offend the Emperor's grace!" Li Yi cried out.

However, the next moment, Chu Xunzhen still read the contents of the note aloud in front of everyone.

"Chu Wanrou: A lucky star descends from heaven, bringing lasting blessings; Chu Xunzhen: A calamity descends from heaven, it must be burned and utterly destroyed."

In that instant, Li Yi's face turned deathly pale, and he sat down on the ground.