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

Chu Xunzhen stopped looking at the matsutake mushrooms and instead spoke to Zhou Qing.

"Lord Zhou, this letter is fake. All the Xuan paper I use is not the paper from the Marquis's residence, but the Wanbaolou paper that Chunxi bought for me outside. In addition, in all the letters I wrote to Prince Gu, the third character of my name was always broken because the tip of my wolf-hair brush was slightly broken, which caused the brushstrokes to break slightly when I wrote."

Chu Xunzhen asked Chunxi to bring out some of the calligraphy samples she had written.

Sure enough, in the signature section of each calligraphy copybook, the third character of Chu Xunzhen's name had a broken horizontal line. This was also due to the damaged brush tip.

"Chu Xunzhen, do you really not even care about your adoptive father and adoptive mother?" Gu Songrong asked in disbelief.

She dared to come today not because of this evidence, but because her brother told her that Chen Kangnian and Zhang Minlan were Chu Xunzhen's adoptive parents. As long as she could capture these two people, she wouldn't have to worry about Chu Xunzhen disobeying her.

Unexpectedly, Chu Xunzhen not only did not show any worry, but was also analyzing the handwriting.

Does she really not care at all?

Chu Xunzhen scoffed, "Lord Zhou, is Gu Songrong threatening me to your face?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qing gave Gu Songrong a warning look.

Seeing that the crowd was growing, Chu Zhanpeng said, "Regardless of whether it's a misunderstanding or not, let's not talk about it anymore. Xunzhen, go with Lord Zhou to the government office and negotiate with the Gu family."

Upon hearing this, Gu Songrong, who had been somewhat flustered, laughed: "Did you hear that, Chu Xunzhen? The Marquis wants you to follow Lord Zhou."

Chu Xunzhen turned her head and her gaze fell on Chu Zhanpeng.

Chu Zhanpeng frowned, feeling displeased, as if Chu Xunzhen had seen right through him.

"Lord Chu, neither witnesses nor physical evidence can prove that Miss Chu did it, so why do you insist on sending her to the yamen?" A familiar yet childish voice rang out from afar.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw it was Nangong Yue.

"Greetings, Your Highness the Ninth Prince!" the crowd shouted and bowed.

Nangong Yue approached and looked at Chu Zhanpeng with a puzzled expression.

Chu Zhanpeng was startled and immediately became even more respectful.

"Lord Chu, my father always says I'm not very bright, but I think you're even less so. Why would a young woman, having already proven her innocence, insist on going to the authorities? I don't recall there being such a law in this dynasty."

Chu Zhanpeng was frightened.

This is deliberately targeting him.

"Yes, Your Highness, I was confused," Chu Zhanpeng said, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

Before, Chu Zhanpeng only felt that the Ninth Prince had a slight sense of novelty towards Chu Xunzhen, but now, Chu Zhanpeng was certain that Chu Xunzhen had truly caught the Ninth Prince's eye.

Seeing Chu Xunzhen being protected, Gu Songrong couldn't believe it.

She said unwillingly, "Your Highness, the Imperial Preceptor's divination states that Sister Rou'er is a lucky star, while her sisters are harbingers of misfortune. Has Your Highness made a mistake? Are you actually here to see Sister Rou'er?"

Three black lines appeared on Nangong Yue's forehead.

"Insolence!" Eunuch Anshun immediately cursed. "His Highness is a prince, a descendant of the emperor. How dare you, the daughter of a disgraced official, question His Highness? Guards, drag her away and slap her!"

Nangong Yue gave Anshun an approving look.

An Shun silently stepped back, giving Chu Xunzhen a half-smile.

Chu Wanrou thought Gu Songrong was a fool. If she wanted to trample on Chu Xunzhen, she could do so, but why bring up her name and make her feel so embarrassed in public?

As Gu Songrong was dragged away, she looked at Nangong Yue with resentment.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, look at me! How dare this eunuch overstep his bounds and give you orders? He's disrespectful!" Gu Songrong cried out as she was being held captive.

Nangong Yue's face turned ugly. She said, "Gu Songrong, Anshun is my man. How dare you insult him like that? Such disrespect! Gu Songrong, anyone who dares to marry you is blind."

Even after the words were spoken, Gu Songrong was still screaming wildly.

Chu Xunzhen knew, however, that Gu Songrong was finished.

A woman rejected by the current emperor—whoever marries her will likely be ridiculed.

"Lord Zhou, do I still need to go back with you to be investigated?" Chu Xunzhen asked quietly.

"Of course not."

Zhou Qing gave Chu Xunzhen a deep look before leaving with his men.

The onlookers were filled with excitement.

"Miss Chu is truly amazing. If I were to meet Lord Zhou, my legs would go weak."

"From this day forward, the woman I admire has changed from the second daughter to the eldest daughter. Who wouldn't love her calm and composed demeanor?"

"Miss Chu is truly amazing. Why would Young Master Chu and Second Miss Chu become witnesses and persecute their own sisters? This Marquis's mansion is too wicked!"

.......

"Lord Chu, I have come to see Miss Chu today, and would like to invite her for a boat trip on the lake. Is that alright?"

"Of course." Chu Zhanpeng smiled at Chu Xunzhen. "Xunzhen, I didn't mean it just now. I was just trying to cooperate with Lord Zhou. Lord Zhou is a just man and will surely give you justice. Don't blame me. By the way, here's three hundred taels. Have fun."

Chu Zhanpeng immediately ordered the steward to give the money bag to Chunxi, so that she could accept it on behalf of Chu Xunzhen.

Chu Xunzhen smiled gently at Chu Zhanpeng: "Thank you, Father."

Turning around, she looked at Chu Mingyuan not far away, walked over, and said, "It seems that you don't care much about your appearance, brother. How many days has it been? Sister Rou'er still refuses to detoxify you? If you are left with scars in the future, how will you be able to take the palace examination?"

To participate in the palace examination, one must not have any scars on their face.

Everyone present knew this.

Chu Mingyuan, who was wearing a black mask, stiffened for a moment, then sneered: "You don't need to worry about that."

With that, he pulled off his face mask, revealing a scabbed face.

Although it still looks a bit scary, there are signs of improvement.

"Senior Brother Rou'er has arrived and has begun treating me." Chu Mingyuan sneered. "Chu Xunzhen, since you're going out with His Highness the Ninth Prince, don't cling to him like you did when you went out with Prince Gu before."

"Yes, sister. His Highness is not like the Crown Prince. If you force yourself to approach him, what if you offend him?"

With just a few words from Chu Wanrou and Chu Mingyuan, Chu Xunzhen was portrayed as a woman who lacked self-respect.

In the past, she would have been teary-eyed and argued her case, but now she couldn't be bothered to pay attention.

She tilted her head and asked Nangong Yue, who was waiting nearby, "Your Highness, my elder brother said I used to cling to Prince Gu. Do you believe that?"

Nangong Yue's eyes flickered, and after a long while, she smiled innocently: "Sister and Gu Changfeng were engaged before, so it was natural for them to be together. Is it really worth Young Master Chu saying something like this? A dignified young master like you shouldn't be focusing on your studies, but instead you're always concerned with these trivial matters. Marquis Chu, you should really do something about this."

"Yes." Chu Zhanpeng glanced at Chu Mingyuan, who was startled and immediately lowered his head.

Chu Xunzhen spoke again, "Your Highness, if I were to approach you, would it be offensive? Rou'er said I offended you, and I am terrified."

"Nonsense!" Nangong Yue suddenly turned to Chu Wanrou and said, "Who gave you permission to speculate on the prince's intentions? Chu Wanrou, how dare you! Anshun, slap her!"

"Yes." Eunuch Anshun grinned as he walked up to Chu Wanrou and raised his hand.

Just as the slap was about to land on her face, Chu Wanrou turned pale with fright, her delicate body trembling. She looked at Nangong Yue, tears streaming down her face.

But Nangong Yue showed absolutely no pity or tenderness towards her.

Swish! Anshun's palm swept downwards.

Just then, a powerful and authoritative shout rang out from the crowd: "Stop! Let's see who dares!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and their expressions changed instantly.