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

All eyes were on Chu Xunzhen.

Especially the ladies of high society, who wore amused smiles on their faces.

The Empress wants to arrange a concubine for the Ninth Prince, and the Ninth Prince will certainly not refuse.

Nangong Yue's gaze fell on the Empress, and he said coldly, "Your Majesty, I will not take a concubine."

Upon hearing this, the crowd erupted in uproar.

Empress Ma frowned deeply, feeling utterly humiliated.

Her gaze was cold, yet her tone remained amiable: "Why not take a concubine? Is it because the Princess Consort is too fierce, and the Ninth Prince dares not take one?"

"No! It's my body that's not up to par. It has already taken a lot of my energy to satisfy the Queen."

As soon as Nangong Yue finished speaking, the entire Imperial Garden fell silent.

Empress Ma was completely dumbfounded.

What man in the world would willingly admit that he is incapable?

Even if it was the emperor, she would complain that he was too young, and she would say that the emperor was very powerful and majestic, which she could not handle and could not bear.

But Nangong Yue actually admitted in front of everyone that she was not good enough.

He's truly mentally impaired; that's why he said such things.

It seems there's no need to worry about the Ninth Prince regaining the Emperor's favor.

An incompetent prince cannot possibly inherit the throne.

Chen Lianxin suddenly cried out, "Your Majesty, His Highness is clearly in good health. He said such things because he dotes on the Ninth Prince's Consort. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly."

Upon hearing this, Empress Ma flicked her long sleeves and coldly said, "Gag Chen Lianxin."

She wouldn't believe that at all.

It's simply impossible for a man to say he's inadequate for a woman.

There is no such man in the world.

Nangong Qing knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. My daughter acted rashly in her haste, which is why she offended you. It's just that on the night of the Ninth Prince and Ninth Princess's wedding, His Highness called for water more than ten times. The whole Ninth Prince's residence is abuzz with the news. That's why Lianxin said His Highness was deliberately saying that to protect the Princess."

Empress Ma was shocked once again.

More than ten times water?

What does this mean?

Calling for water three times in one night is already extremely impressive, but calling for water six times in one night is even rarer. If the Ninth Prince and Chu Xun were truly newlyweds and he really called for water ten times, wouldn't that mean that Nangong Yue deliberately deceived and toyed with her just now?

Empress Ma's face darkened, and she was about to punish Nangong Yue, but Nangong Yue knelt down with a thud and said, "Mother, I am guilty. I shouldn't have asked for water so many times just to avoid being laughed at, which caused my cousin to misunderstand."

Empress Ma glanced at Nangong Yue, then at Chen Lianxin, and gave a cold laugh: "Guards, summon the imperial physician. I want to see what's wrong with His Highness the Ninth Prince."

Chen Lianxin stood beside Nangong Qing, staring intently at Chu Xunzhen.

My cousin is definitely fine.

She continued to treat him. How could she not know how strong he was?

The imperial physician has arrived.

Chu Xunzhen glanced at him and realized it was an old acquaintance—the old physician Li.

After taking Nangong Yue's pulse, the old man shook his head and sighed before kneeling down and saying to Empress Ma, "Your Majesty, the Ninth Prince is weak and unlikely to have children."

As soon as he finished speaking, the curious gazes of the many noble ladies immediately disappeared.

A prince, who had always struggled to have children, married him, only to find himself childless himself. What hope did they have for the future?

Empress Ma frowned and asked like a loving mother, "Imperial physician, is it possible to cure the Ninth Prince?"

"His Highness suffers from liver qi stagnation and kidney qi deficiency, resulting in impotence in certain areas. This can be treated, but it will take three to five years. As for the issue of offspring, His Highness damaged his health when he was young, making it difficult for his wife to conceive in the future."

Empress Ma gripped the glass cup tightly with her right hand, a subtle smile curving her lips.

"Thank you for your hard work, Imperial Physician. You may leave now."

After saying that, Empress Ma looked at Chu Xunzhen with a loving expression and said, "Good child, I'm sorry to have wronged you."

Empress Ma gave a look to her personal maid.

The maidservant presented a statue of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, who grants children.

"This is a Guanyin statue that the Empress Dowager gave me when I married His Majesty. Now, I, the Ninth Princess, hereby bestow it upon you, the Ninth Princess Consort."

Chu Xunzhen's eyes flashed, and she lowered her gaze to accept the Guanyin statue that symbolizes the granting of children, expressing her gratitude: "Xunzhen will certainly live up to Mother's expectations and will quickly produce offspring for the royal family."

The men's section.

Gu Changfeng raised the glass in his hand and took a full sip.

He roared inwardly, "Chu Xunzhen, now you must be regretting it, right?"

A woman without children is lowly and pitiful.

He gave Chu Xunzhen so many chances, but she still treated him like a monster.

Now everyone knows that Nangong Yue is no good. Chu Xun has truly lost face.

Princess Nangong Moli smiled at everyone: "I am honored that you all grace us with your presence today to participate in this flower-viewing and poetry gathering. I would like to invite you all to compose a poem on the theme of 'Peony.' I will use the hot spring villa on the outskirts of the capital as the prize; whoever wins will become the new owner of that villa."

The ladies' eyes lit up immediately.

The men were even more excited.

The second princess's hot spring villa is usually only open to high-ranking officials and nobles; it is an elegant place.

Now, the princess is even willing to use the hot spring villa as a prize.

Those who hadn't planned to participate in the flower-viewing poetry gathering have all started racking their brains, trying to write a poem to see if they can win back the hot spring villa.

"This humble woman is making a fool of herself."

Suddenly, Chen Lianxin spoke up.

Everyone instinctively looked at Empress Ma.

Seeing that Empress Ma did not pursue Chen Lianxin's past actions and dismissed her, the crowd became even more wary of Chen Lianxin.

Nangong Qing is quite an extraordinary woman.

She not only risked her life to save the Ninth Prince, but also risked her life to save the current Empress.

Unless Chen Lianxin committed a capital offense, Empress Ma would not hold it against her for saving her life, even if Chen Lianxin did something outrageous.

Princess Nangong Moli frowned, her voice somewhat casual, and said, "Miss Chen, please."

Chen Lianxin stood up and began to recite: "In the garden stands a peony, proudly perched on its branch. Morning dew condenses on its petals, and the wind carries its fragrance throughout the courtyard."

The crowd immediately began to whisper among themselves.

"Not bad."

"Closely adhere to the theme."

"Miss Chen is quite talented."

Chen Lianxin sat down, and several other young men from prominent families stood up and composed poems.

"One, two, three, four blossoms, each one a true national beauty. One, two, three, four petals, none can compare to the splendor of the peony."

"Peony petals clustered together, filling the garden with the fragrance of spring. Noble ladies laughed in groups, while gentlemen admired the peonies."

......

After one round, there was still no particularly good poem that could outshine everyone else.

Chen Lianxin glanced at Nangong Yue and found that he was actually looking at Chu Xunzhen.

Although it was barely noticeable, Chen Lianxin saw that the corners of her beloved cousin's mouth had turned up.

My cousin looked at Chu Xunzhen and actually laughed.

Jealousy burned fiercely in her eyes. Chen Lianxin's gaze turned slightly cold as she clenched her handkerchief tightly. She stood up again and said to Chu Xunzhen, "Ninth Princess Consort, I've heard that the Ninth Prince personally petitioned the Emperor for an imperial decree to marry you as his principal wife. I imagine you must possess extraordinary qualities. Today, everyone is in high spirits, so why don't you compose a poem to showcase the Prince's foresight?"

Empress Ma lowered her eyes.

Chen Lianxin is indeed a good knife, and she likes it very much.

Nangong Yue was anxious and was about to stand up. Chu Xunzhen shook his head slightly, signaling him with his eyes not to make any rash moves.

Anshun stood behind Nangong Yue, nervously watching his princess.

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, none daring to utter a word.

Everyone knows that the princess only returned to the Ping'an Marquis's residence from the countryside three years ago. They've heard she lived in a small village before; how could she possibly compose a poem on the spot?

Among the male guests, Chu Mingli looked at the speechless Chu Xunzhen with a look of satisfaction in his eyes.

I thought I would see Rou'er today, but I didn't. I guess I couldn't get into the palace.

It must be because of Chu Xunzhen.

Now that Chu Xunzhen is about to lose face, Chu Mingli wants to see if she can maintain her composure.

"Okay." Chu Xunzhen didn't stand up, but just answered casually. She pondered for a moment.

Chen Lianxin smiled and said, "If you can't do it, the princess only needs to say that she doesn't know how or is illiterate, and we won't make things difficult for you."

Chu Xunzhen stood up, took a step forward, and began to speak: "A peerless beauty stands before the courtyard, its fragrance subtly filling the garden. Without relying on the east wind, it surpasses all other flowers in a single bloom."

Everyone was stunned.

Chen Lianxin, in particular, froze with a smug smile.

The other noble ladies and gentlemen were even more shocked, staring at Chu Xunzhen in disbelief.

"In just four steps, the Ninth Princess composed a poem."

"The entire poem doesn't contain a single word about 'peony,' yet every single line is inseparable from it. I'm impressed."

"What a wonderful line, 'Without relying on the east wind, she still surpasses all others in one fell swoop.' The Ninth Princess has such a grand vision."

The noble ladies and talented men were in high spirits, discussing Chu Xunzhen's poems.

Men's seating area.

Chu Mingli stared blankly at Chu Xunzhen.

She actually wrote a poem?

Could it be that someone wrote the poem for her in advance, and she was simply memorized beforehand?

But if she cheated, she wouldn't have known that the princess would use "peony" as the topic.

So this poem really was written by Chu Xunzhen—his younger sister who was raised by a merchant?

Nangong Moli couldn't help but slap the table in admiration: "Excellent! What a wonderful poem! The Ninth Princess has composed a beautiful poem."

Empress Ma was determined to find fault, but the previous poems were just simple doggerel. Chu Xunzhen's poem not only described peonies, but also implied his own integrity.

Even if she wanted to say that Chen Lianxin's poems were the best, she couldn't do it.

Nangong Yue's eyes were filled with amazement, but this was followed by heartache.

His sister had only been back in the Marquis's mansion for three years. She should have been living a carefree and happy life, but she could speak with such literary talent so easily. One can imagine how hard she had worked and how much effort she had put in to achieve this level of talent.

"Anshun, help me investigate the Princess Consort's life in the Ping'an Marquis's residence over the past three years, down to the smallest detail. I need to know everything," Nangong Yue whispered in his ear.

"Yes."

Anshun nodded and respectfully agreed.

He looked at Chu Xunzhen with a complicated expression.

The princess is truly amazing.

The prince must be feeling sorry for the princess.

Chen Lianxin's face turned grim. She turned and bowed respectfully to the princess, saying, "Your Highness, I must accuse the Ninth Prince's Consort of cheating. These verses could not possibly have been written by her. How could a girl who grew up in the countryside possess such literary talent?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Nangong Yue's face turned ashen.

Chen Lianxin trembled, but she stubbornly endured it.

Today, she is determined to ruin Chu Xunzhen's reputation.

Empress Ma remained composed upon hearing this, but a hint of interest flickered in the depths of her eyes.

She looked at Chu Xunzhen and asked, "Ninth Princess Consort, what do you say?"