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

"Chu Wanrou, Lord Zhou is here. Didn't you say you had evidence to prove that I had already taken back the payment for the medicinal herbs?"

As Chu Xunzhen finished speaking, Chu Wanrou stared intently at her.

This madman actually dared to drag her to the government office?

"Lord Zhou, this matter was reported by Tinghan, a subordinate of the Crown Prince. You may summon Tinghan to inquire about the details."

Chu Wanrou looked shocked and angry, and immediately spoke.

Zhou Qing was the commander of the Five Cities Garrison, and he was in charge of all matters concerning the powerful and influential people in the capital.

He looked at the two women from the Chu family before him and said coldly, "Without evidence, you cannot arrest people arbitrarily. Since Tinghan is a follower of Prince Gu, today, I will summon Prince Gu Changfeng here."

Less than a quarter of an hour later, Gu Changfeng arrived, staring intently at Chu Xunzhen, and said loudly, "Have you made enough trouble yet? Perfect, you'd better withdraw the lawsuit today. Otherwise, once you're in the manor, this young master will make you regret it."

Chu Xunzhen didn't care at all and was too lazy to explain. She coldly said, "The young master took so many medicinal herbs from my Wanyao Pavilion without cause, yet he refuses to pay in full. He even had his fiancée, Chu Wanrou, spread rumors that I had already taken back the money. Does he have any evidence?"

Gu Changfeng was annoyed and immediately explained, "Matsutake has an upright character and would never take your medicinal herbs without reason. You and I were engaged, and you said that you could send someone to your shop to get medicine for my father to use to nourish his body and treat his illness."

Chu Xunzhen's gaze sharpened, a cold smile playing on her lips: "Uncle Gu is an upright and honest man. I, Xunzhen, voluntarily donated medicinal herbs to help him recover; it was my good intention. However, the Chongding Marquis's residence, taking advantage of the Marquis's serious illness, has been illegally obtaining large quantities of medicinal herbs, severely impacting market prices. Lixian County has just experienced flooding and needs a large supply of medicinal herbs. Although my Wanyao Pavilion's herbs are only a drop in the ocean, Gu Songrong has repeatedly resold precious herbs at exorbitant prices after bringing them back to the residence, making it impossible for ordinary people to buy them, and even if they could, the prices are astronomical."

"Our Chongding Marquis's mansion is upright and honest; how could we embezzle valuable medicinal herbs? Even if we were lucky enough to forget to pay for one or two herbs, it would absolutely not be the large quantity of medicinal herbs that Miss Chu claims to have embezzled," Ting Han chimed in.

Zhou Qing was dressed in a dark green official robe, and his face, which was over forty years old, showed signs of hardship.

His probing gaze lingered on Chu Xunzhen for a moment before he turned to the crowd and solemnly declared, "In that case, summon Gu Songrong. Furthermore, I have already sent people to the Marquis's residence to investigate and have also made inquiries in various places. Today, we will know the results. If no such matter is found, Miss Gu Songrong will be released immediately."

Less than fifteen minutes later, the person who had been checking the information returned.

He whispered a few words in Zhou Qing's ear, and Zhou Qing's face showed surprise.

Watching this scene, Chu Wanrou approached Chu Xunzhen and whispered sneer, "I understand that you hate me, sister, but the reputation of the Marquis of Chongding's mansion is damaged, which harms the interests of the heir apparent. Why are you so disregarding the heir apparent and insisting on making a scene? This matter could have been resolved privately between the two mansions, so why did you have to escalate it, causing us all to be splashed with molten gold yesterday?"

As soon as Chu Wanrou finished speaking, Gu Changfeng immediately recalled the events of yesterday.

Even today, after taking more than ten baths, he still feels that his whole body stinks.

The thought that this was all caused by Chu Xunzhen made Gu Changfeng's gaze towards Chu Xunzhen extremely cold.

"Chu Xunzhen, I know you love me to the point of madness, and you hate that I can't give you the position of my principal wife, but this time you've gone too far. When Songrong comes out later, apologize to her properly. In addition, you need to go to the manor to apologize to my mother and father, otherwise I will not welcome you into the manor in the future."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xunzhen's eyes lit up, and he immediately beamed with joy: "Then thank you very much, Your Highness. I hope you will not bother me in the future."

Chu Xunzhen remained calm and composed, while Gu Changfeng could not believe it.

How could she be so rational?

impossible.

Gu Songrong was released. When she came out, her hair was disheveled, and it was clear that she had suffered a lot inside.

"Brother, save me!" Gu Songrong saw Gu Changfeng at a glance and immediately said with tears in her eyes.

In an instant, Gu Songrong saw Chu Xunzhen standing next to Gu Changfeng. Her eyes immediately flashed with hatred, and she screamed, "Chu Xunzhen, you did this on purpose! You are the owner of Wanyao Pavilion. Don't you know what kind of distinguished guests are received on the second floor? You deliberately harmed me!"

Chu Xunzhen was speechless.

"Miss Gu, how would I know when you're going to my Wan Yao Ge? Besides, how could I know in advance that it's you going to Wan Yao Ge to fetch medicine for Uncle Gu? I've always told Ting Han to come to the shop himself to get the medicine. How could I possibly know who from your Chongding Marquis's residence is going to my shop to buy medicine in advance?"

After Chu Xunzhen finished speaking, Gu Songrong's expression was quite interesting.

"Even so, it's still your fault. The Ninth Prince is so close to you, and you, you shameless woman, haven't even entered the manor yet, and you're already flirting with other men. You've truly wronged my brother."

Gu Songrong was so angry that she spoke without thinking.

She has been staying in her cell for the past few days, not getting enough to eat or sleep in, and no one has come to visit her.

Last night, a mouse crawled across her leg.

"Miss Gu, don't you know that your brother has already broken off his engagement with me? Your future sister-in-law is Chu Wanrou, not me. From the day the engagement was broken off, every time your Gu family comes to Wanyao Pavilion to buy medicine, you have to pay. I've already instructed the manager to give your Chongding Marquis's family a 20% discount out of respect for Uncle Gu. But that day, you didn't want to pay, and you wanted the most expensive herbs, listing more than ten herbs costing over a thousand taels each. His Highness the Ninth Prince saw your unreasonable and arrogant behavior and refused to pay, so he handed you over to the authorities for a thorough investigation. Otherwise, if everyone acted like this, how could the people do business?"

"The young lady is right. That Gu Songrong often goes to Wanyao Pavilion to put on airs, acting all high and mighty, but he can't pay any money."

"What? The engagement has been called off, and you still want to freeload off their medicinal herbs? You look so handsome and talented, but I never expected you to be so despicable."

"How could the Marquis of Chongding's mansion embezzle someone else's precious medicinal herbs?"

The people were abuzz with discussion. This time, they supported Chu Xunzhen.

Ting Han's face turned deathly pale.

Does the young master have any backup plans? Otherwise, Zhou Qing will expose their embezzlement of hundreds of precious medicinal herbs in a little while.

How can this be good?

Gu Changfeng stood calmly in place, frowning as he looked at Tinghan and said, "Tinghan, what's with that expression? Lord Zhou Qing will naturally find out the truth and give our Chongding Marquis's Mansion justice. Chu Xun really thinks that she can use this to blackmail me and demand the position of my principal wife, but I will not give it to her."

Zhou Qing, who was sitting in the hall, suddenly spoke up: "The matter has been investigated and the truth of this matter is..."

Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded.

"His Highness the Ninth Prince has arrived. All unauthorized persons, please make way."