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

Chen Lianxin did not move.

Chu Xunzhen scoffed, "What? You don't want to?"

Chen Lian thought to herself, "Your Highness promised me that if I sign, you would be willing to tell my cousin about this and use all your connections to save my mother?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Xunzhen immediately addressed the eunuchs guarding outside, saying, "They are all your cousin's men. Your cousin is currently unwell and unable to go to rescue them. Informing him will only cause him worry. Shouyi, Shouer, Shousan, you three heard it just now. The Prince's aunt has been taken hostage by Nangong You and must be rescued. Shouyi, go and inform Anshun to come here."

"Yes."

Chu Xunzhen sat at the desk, picked up a wolf-hair brush, and started drawing on the rice paper.

Chen Lianxin glanced at it, then turned her head to look outside, waiting for Anshun to arrive.

Anshun arrived in less than fifteen minutes.

Relieved, Chen Lianxin bit her finger and pressed her fingerprint onto the indenture.

Chu Xunzhen put away the indenture.

Chen Lianxin looked at Chu Xunzhen, knelt on the ground and said, "This servant greets the Ninth Prince's Consort."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xunzhen raised an eyebrow.

Anshun's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

It wasn't that other women had tried to get close to the prince before, but every single one of them was tricked and taken away by Chen Lianxin.

Unexpectedly, the now high and mighty Chen Lianxin has been completely subdued by the Princess. It truly is a case of one thing subduing another.

Inside the side room.

Chu Xunzhen helped Chen Lianxin up, then looked at Anshun and asked, "Father-in-law, Madam Nangong has been taken away for drug testing. Are you confident you can go and rescue her?"

Anshun shook his head and said, "This servant is not very confident. The Third Prince has suffered a thunderous retaliation from our Prince, and now he will definitely vent his anger on Madam Nangong. The Third Prince must have already guessed that we will go to rescue him, and may have already laid a trap."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xunzhen said, "This is the defense map of the basement of Jishetang. Eunuch Anshun, please take a look. This is the prison where drug addicts are held."

Anshun was shocked.

He looked at the defense map in his hand, his eyes flashing with disbelief.

Anshun exclaimed in surprise, "Your Highness, you actually have such a confidential defense map?!"

"This is what I collected before. I don't know if the defenses are still in this state now. Lord Anshun, if the basement of Jishetang is still defended in this way, that would be excellent. But if not, it would be best to have a countermeasure."

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Anshun nodded and said, "This servant has remembered."

Chen Lianxin stared at the sheet of Xuan paper, her eyes wide.

She had just witnessed Chu Xunzhen drawing in the side room, and the ink on the Xuan paper was still wet.

Chu Xunzhen actually drew a defense plan of the basement of Jishetang?

Anshun's father-in-law went downstairs.

Chu Xunzhen looked at Chen Lianxin and said, "You should rest here for now. Wait until Anshun comes back to rescue your mother."

"This servant thanks Your Highness the Princess."

With a thud, Chen Lianxin knelt on the ground.

Seeing her face as white as paper, devoid of her former arrogance, Chu Xunzhen's expression was complex.

Even someone as proud as Chen Lianxin would lower her head because of her mother's vulnerability.

Chu Xunzhen left, leaving Shou Er to guard Chen Lianxin's door and monitor her every move.

The Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness's Residence.

Gu Changfeng was utterly exhausted.

Since the day he was put in a sack and beaten, he has suffered many hidden injuries all over his body.

But as if things weren't going to go wrong, he was kicked down by Rou'er in front of everyone and couldn't get up for a long time.

The doctor said his body was too weak and needed proper care. Otherwise, he might never be able to stand up again.

Lying on the couch, Gu Changfeng asked Qingsong, who was waiting beside him, "Where is Chu Wanrou?"

"Madam is in the small kitchen, cooking porridge for you."

Upon hearing this, Gu Changfeng's expression softened.

Thinking of the embarrassing incident that had happened to their Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness yesterday, he was filled with regret.

Perhaps Rou'er went out in the middle of the night because she had something important to do.

Rou'er has loved him so much in both her past and present lives, she will never betray him.

At the time, he heard his mother's report and was blinded by anger, which is why he slapped Rou'er. Rou'er's kick to him was definitely not intentional.

Gu Changfeng had just been helped up by Qingsong when he saw Lu Ruoying and Gu Songrong walk in looking as if they had lost their parents.

"What happened, Mother? Matsutake mushrooms?"

Lu Ruoying looked worried and said guiltily, "Mother has already given the money and arranged for commoners to queue up again to buy it, so that Changfeng can wear that health-preserving bracelet that can help you recover."

Upon hearing this, Gu Changfeng shook his head and said, "Mother, I'm sorry to have troubled you. I never imagined Chu Xunzhen would be so heartless, canceling our Marquis's order in public. If Nangong Yue dies, I'd like to see if she can still be so arrogant."

Gu Changfeng's face was gloomy, and he was already plotting how to kill Nangong Yue.

That bitch Chu Xunzhen really thinks she can be arrogant just because she's climbed up to the Ninth Prince.

He already had a plan for her, and the plan was in progress. He wanted to send her plummeting from heaven to hell.

"Mother, the Third Prince has instructed us to purchase more health-preserving bracelets from Wan Yao Ge. You should bribe some commoners to buy them. Alternatively, if you know any ladies, you can offer them a large sum of money to buy them. Only when the Third Prince is satisfied can the Marquis's mansion go further."

Lu Ruoying nodded, then asked, "Where is Chu Wanrou?"

"Mother, Rou'er went to cook porridge for me. She must have had something urgent to attend to last night. Rou'er is different from ordinary noble ladies; she is an outer disciple of the Heavenly Sect."

Upon hearing this, Lu Ruoying's face turned ugly.

"Changfeng, she left the manor in the middle of the night. If she is not severely punished, others will surely laugh at you in the future. The rules of this Marquis's manor will become meaningless."

Gu Changfeng shook his head and said, "Rou'er was in a bad mood last night. She probably wanted to go back to the manor at night, so she left in the middle of the night. Rou'er is very good to me. She wouldn't do anything to betray me."

Just then, Jinlan brought over the porridge.

Gu Changfeng's expression was grim as he asked, "Where is Madam?"

"Reporting to Master, Madam has returned to the Marquis of Ping'an's residence."

Lu Ruoying, her face contorted with anger, slammed her hand on the table and roared, "This is outrageous! Returning to your parents' home at the slightest disagreement is utterly disrespectful. If you'd known this would happen, you should have just married Chu Xunzhen!"

Gu Changfeng's expression changed, and he said, "Mother, what nonsense are you talking about?"

"Nonsense? Do you know that everyone in the capital is saying that the real lucky star is Chu Xunzhen, while Chu Wanrou is the jinx?"

Gu Changfeng's pupils contracted.

wrong!

There was no such rumor in my past life.

Rou'er has always been the lucky star; Chu Xunzhen is the real jinx.

Gu Changfeng said, "Mother, it must be those common people talking nonsense."

Lu Ruoying said helplessly, "Changfeng, how can rumors come from nowhere? Look at Chu Xunzhen, ever since he married Nangong Yue, he's not stupid anymore, and he's even gained His Majesty's trust. On the other hand, since you married Chu Wanrou, has anything gone smoothly for you?"

Gu Changfeng's eyes widened as he suddenly recalled everything that had happened recently.

He was sacked and beaten until his body was covered in bruises. The Third Prince no longer valued him as much as he had in his previous life. There were countless trivial matters in the manor, and the entire backyard of the Marquis's residence was in chaos. There was absolutely no order or discipline in the manor.

He couldn't understand why the wife of the Marquis of Ping'an, who doted on Chu Wanrou so much, must have taught her how to manage the household and how to socialize with other ladies. Yet, Chu Wanrou showed no consideration whatsoever when dealing with people inside the household, and was utterly foolish when dealing with outsiders.

In contrast, after she married Chu Xunzhen in her previous life, he enjoyed a smooth and successful official career.

Although her younger sister, Gu Songrong, initially took the wrong path, she ultimately managed to marry into a wealthy and influential family. The entire Chongding Marquis's mansion prospered, and her father eventually recovered enough to no longer need a wheelchair.

Now his mother's face is always frowning, and since he was stripped of his title as heir apparent, her temples have turned even whiter.

Fortunately, he had memories of his past life and made great contributions by knowing things in advance; otherwise, how could he be the Loyal Marquis now?

Even so, he will still be lonely.

Unlike in his previous life, he didn't even need to mention it; Chu Xunzhen could know his thoughts and solve everything for him, leaving him without any worries.

Could it be that Chu Xunzhen is the real lucky star?

"That bitch Li Yi must have deliberately concealed it. She's gone mad herself, doting on her adopted daughter, but she's not necessarily good to her own daughter either. She's ruined us all."

Lu Ruoying's words were full of resentment.

Gu Changfeng's head was throbbing from listening.

In his past life, Chu Xun was truly virtuous and kind, and his mother was also generous and poised. She never acted like a shrew and cursed.

"Mother, I want to rest."

"Alright then. Jinlan, you stay here and serve Changfeng."

"Yes," Jinlan replied sweetly, her heart pounding.

Gu Changfeng sat on the couch, while Jinlan carefully blew on the medicinal porridge, inadvertently revealing the scars on her arm.

Gu Changfeng frowned and asked, "What happened?"

He considered himself not a harsh or malicious person, and there were no evil people in his household.

Where did this girl get the injury on her arm?

You should know that in the previous life, when Chu Xunzhen was in charge, every servant was beaming with smiles and was very happy and content.

Why is the maid in front of me so terrified and bewildered?

"Sir, it's alright, I tripped and fell. You must be mistaken."

As Jinlan spoke, she hurriedly pulled her sleeve back behind her hand to cover the scars on the back of her hand.

Gu Changfeng's voice was slightly cold: "Has someone in the manor bullied you? Why didn't you tell Madam?"

Upon hearing this, Jinlan could no longer hold back and cried out, "Please, sir, save me! Please transfer me to the Marquis of Chongding's residence! I will never dare to serve in the Madam's courtyard again!"

Gu Changfeng was shocked.

Looking at the maid in front of him crying, for some reason, he felt that her features were becoming more and more like Chu Xunzhen's.

Meanwhile, Gu Changfeng took a liking to Jinlan. Chu Xunzhen, through the Zi Gu, learned that Chu Wanrou had returned to the Ping'an Marquis's residence.

At this moment, Chu Wanrou and Chu Mingli were lying on a couch, contemplating life.

Chu Xunzhen knew that she had obtained a method to delay the backlash at the Imperial Preceptor's mansion last night, but she had to share a room with someone else today in order to absorb their luck.

Chu Xunzhen summoned Granny Hua and instructed her to secretly deliver the note she had just written to Li Yi.

On this day, Li Yi had just woken up. As Li Mama was pressing on her scalp, suddenly, a line of tiny ants crawled onto the table, delivering a letter.

Li Yi opened it, his expression changing. After a long while, he finally put the note on the candle and burned it.

Granny Li asked curiously, "Madam, what happened? Is there anything this old servant needs to do?"

Li Yi rubbed his tired eyelids and said, "Go to Baiyun Temple and ask someone knowledgeable in feng shui and the five elements to take a look at this white jade Guanyin. Is there a problem?"