Chapter 117: Taking Action

After about an hour, Chu Jihan and the Emperor returned from the Imperial Study to the Phoenix Ritual Palace. Upon entering the Main Hall, they saw the Empress sitting upright in the main seat, and Su Ningxin, who was holding a large cloth bundle, at the lower seat.

After both sides exchanged greetings and sat down, Chu Jihan looked at the cloth bundle Su Ningxin was holding and asked with doubt, “What is this?”

Su Ningxin softly replied in a low voice, “The Empress’s reward.”

【 This old lady chose it with great effort. If I don’t take it, am I supposed to leave it for the Dog Emperor? 】

Chu Jihan silently swallowed, and secretly glanced at the Emperor who was talking to the Empress in a low voice. He relaxed only after confirming that the Emperor couldn’t possibly hear Su Ningxin’s thought.

This Madam of his really dares to think anything! But it’s also a good thing she thinks so much, otherwise how would he understand her?

The Empress then said some polite words to Chu Jihan, telling him to take good care of his Madam, and then let them leave the Palace.

The one who saw them off was still Eunuch Xia. After walking out of the Phoenix Ritual Palace, Chu Jihan wanted to ask Su Ningxin what she had talked about with the Empress, but considering there were others around, he couldn’t ask here, so he casually asked Eunuch Xia, “How long have you been in the Palace, Eunuch Xia?”

“In response to the Young Master’s words, this servant has been in the Palace since childhood.” Eunuch Xia replied with a wooden face.

“Haven’t you thought about leaving the Palace to look for your family?”

Chu Jihan swore he was just casually asking, trying to make conversation to avoid a too quiet atmosphere. Eunuch Xia was the Empress’s confidant, and it wasn’t unusual for a powerful eunuch in the Imperial Palace to return to his hometown in glory to find his family, so he asked.

As soon as he finished speaking, both Eunuch Xia and Su Ningxin stopped and looked at him with scrutiny—what was going on?

After looking at him for a moment, Su Ningxin retracted her gaze and slowly said, “If Husband is free, helping Eunuch Xia find his family is also possible.”

【 I thought you overheard me and the Empress talking, and knew that the Empress wanted me to take Eunuch Xia out of the Palace, but it turns out you just said it casually. 】

This time it was Chu Jihan’s turn to look at Su Ningxin with scrutiny. He knew that Su Ningxin knew the Emperor and Empress using the identity of Gu Ran, but he didn’t expect their relationship to be so good that they could casually give away a confidante eunuch?

Logically, he shouldn’t know about this yet, so he couldn’t ask. He could only endure and wait until Su Ningxin told him this news before asking.

After walking a distance forward, they saw someone with a group of servants waiting in the middle of the road. Upon closer inspection, it was Yan Diejiu and Su Lanxin. Judging by their appearance, Su Lanxin should have become attached to Yan Diejiu after entering the Palace.

The two sides looked at each other from a distance, and until they reached each other, they only looked at each other without any action.

In the end, it was Yan Diejiu who couldn’t hold back her anger first, and sternly rebuked, “Don’t you know how to pay respects when you see this Consort? It seems you haven’t learned the rules.”

Su Ningxin, wearing a veil, covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled, making Yan Diejiu feel offended, “What are you laughing at? Do you think you’re self-satisfied because you have a fox-like face? You haven’t even seen the Emperor’s face, and you’ve been given an Imperial Marriage to a sickly person.”

Hearing Yan Diejiu’s words, Su Ningxin coldly glanced at Su Lanxin. Only the Su Family Members knew about her appearance being similar to that of Imperial Concubine Chen. Now that Yan Diejiu said this, Su Lanxin should have told her something.

Ignoring Su Lanxin, who was dodging her gaze, Su Ningxin put away her smile and directly said, “I think it’s Consort Yan who needs to learn the rules. We are the Emperor’s personally appointed Young Master and Heir’s Wife, of Second Rank, and you are just a lowly Fourth Rank Consort. You don’t pay respects when you see us, are you not taking the rules of the Palace seriously?”

Speaking to the end, Su Ningxin’s tone was calm, but it gave off a dangerous aura, which intimidated Yan Diejiu.

“This…” Yan Diejiu was somewhat speechless.

Eunuch Xia, who was standing beside her with a wooden face, added, “Consort Yan, that is indeed the reason.”

“You…” Yan Diejiu trembled as she pointed at Su Ningxin with her fingers. In the end, she reluctantly performed the greeting in front of Eunuch Xia’s threatening gaze, and then fled in defeat after the greeting.

Su Ningxin didn’t take this matter to heart and walked straight ahead. When she passed Su Lanxin who was still in place, she whispered, “Sister Lanxin, why are you so anxious? Since you are not kind, don’t blame me for being unrighteous.”

After letting out a light snort, Su Ningxin left directly.

Walking on the exit tunnel of the Palace, Su Ningxin turned her head and looked at Chu Jihan, “Why didn’t you speak just now? Were you scared by Yan Diejiu?”

“It’s not that I was scared by that Consort, but that I was intimidated by Madam’s aura of sweeping everything away.” Chu Jihan’s eyes were filled with a smile, and he deliberately flattered her.

Su Ningxin chuckled, “Slippery Tongue.”

After they left the Palace, seeing Eunuch Xia followed and sat outside the carriage, she could finally speak and ask, “Eunuch Xia, what’s up?”

“Oh, the Empress said that I must understand the rules of the Imperial Clan since I am marrying into the Imperial Clan, and asked Eunuch Xia to teach me.” Su Ningxin stated the explanation she had prepared long ago.

【 Are you satisfied with the excuse I made for you? What if I said it was because the Empress was afraid of implicating Eunuch Xia and sent her out of the Palace first, and you noticed something and told the Dog Emperor? 】

What did the Empress want to do? Chu Jihan immediately had a big question mark in his mind. What would she do to make the Empress unable to protect even her confidante eunuch, was she going to rebel and Force the Emperor to Abdicate?

But the Emperor had no children so far. Even if the Empress succeeded in forcing the abdication, what could she do? Couldn’t she support a young son and instead ascend to become the Emperor herself?

Although he felt that forcing the abdication was impossible, Chu Jihan still decided to send more people to observe the movements in the Palace. However, with the Phoenix Shadow in the Harem, their Imperial Guard couldn’t openly interfere.

The next two days passed very peacefully. Su Ningxin spent every day at home playing chess and doing calligraphy with Princess An, and her mouth was as sweet as honey, making her Mother happy and laughing every day.

Whenever he saw this scene, Chu Jihan would strongly complain in his heart about this two-faced, stinky girl, who didn’t know how poisonous her mouth was, but what she showed was that no one could find any fault with her.

Chu Jihan also specifically sent people to watch Eunuch Xia. He was also staying in the Estate honestly and didn’t take any action, making him doubt whether he had misunderstood her meaning when he heard what Su Ningxin was thinking that day.

This day, Chu Jihan went out early, saying that the Emperor had newly acquired a Grassland hunting eagle and wanted him to go to the Imperial Palace to take a look. Actually, the Emperor was planning to find an excuse to punish the Grand Tutor. After all, the Grand Tutor had always considered himself as Pure Stream, and relying on his past as the Emperor’s Master, he opposed the Emperor everywhere. The Emperor was no longer going to tolerate him.

After sending off Chu Jihan, Su Ningxin slowly unfolded a small note in her hand. It was sent by Gu Mingxi, telling her that she could take action.