Chapter 154: Scare

Words : 1464 Updated : Sep 19th, 2025

Duke Mansion, Peony Garden. Princess Nanzhang sat on the Arhat Couch drinking tea, her chest rising and falling erratically. Xie Jinyu walked in, her steps disorderly, her delicate face full of anger. She hit the bead curtain of the bamboo room. The beaded curtain swayed, producing a crisp and pleasant sound. "Mother, if you don’t find a way to curb Eldest Sister-in-law’s arrogance, our Duke Mansion will truly become her and her servant’s territory!" Xie Jinyu said angrily. "I came from the garden, and all the maids and old women I met along the way were talking about how the Empress Dowager wouldn’t let Eldest Sister-in-law enter the palace, and in the end, Eldest Sister-in-law brought two Imperial Chefs out of the palace, they spoke with admiration!" Xie Jinyu stomped her foot. It wasn’t just Xie Jinyu, in fact, Princess Nanzhang was also angry about this matter. She knew the Empress Dowager’s temperament. That female bandit nearly turned the Imperial Palace upside down, causing the Empress Dowager to lose face, so the Empress Dowager would definitely not let her enter the palace again. But who would have thought that female bandit was so shameless. She wasn’t allowed into the palace. She insisted on going in. The Empress Dowager blocked the way, and she used the Emperor to clear the way. Such blatant reliance on the Emperor and opposition to the Empress Dowager, there was only one such person in the entire Capital City. No! It’s this family! The Empress Dowager and Duke Chong wield great power, those guards knew it well, but they wouldn’t dare to disregard the Emperor, could they dare to say such disrespectful things that the Empress Dowager is greater than the Emperor? They didn’t dare say it, they could only obediently clear the path. That female bandit, using the Emperor’s influence, harshly stepped on the Empress Dowager. She couldn’t imagine how angry the Empress Dowager would be now. "When she returns, tell her to come see me!" Princess Nanzhang said coldly. ... In front of the Duke Mansion. The carriage slowly stopped. Xie Jingchen dismounted and helped Su Jin down from the carriage. This time, she clearly felt the difference in attitude from the servants of Duke Mansion towards her. The gate servant greeted her warmly. The maids and old women, seeing her, no longer intentionally avoided her but came forward to pay respects. That admiration in their eyes, Su Jin seemed to see words carved on their faces: Does the Eldest Young Madam still need someone to hang on her leg? Xie Jingchen’s mouth twitched. Princess Shouning and the others had repeatedly helped her establish her authority, and it had been very effective. Their master and servants hadn’t taken over the entire Duke Mansion, but at least half. These maids and servants had already submitted in their hearts. His intuition told him this wasn’t a good thing. It wasn’t that he resented Su Jin for occupying the Duke Mansion, but because he understood the others in the Duke Mansion. Two tigers cannot share one mountain, how could Princess Nanzhang allow Su Jin to shake her household authority? The Second Madam, Third Madam, they wouldn’t allow the prestige of a newly married Eldest Young Madam to surpass theirs. Just after entering the second gate, a maid came forward and said, "Eldest Young Madam, the Commandery Princess asks you to go to Peony Garden to see her after returning to the mansion." Looking for her again? Su Jin rolled her eyes upwards. After a long and tiring day, she just wanted to go back and lie down. Su Jin looked at Xie Jingchen, "If I don’t go, would that break the family rules?" Xie Jingchen slightly nodded. Su Jin lifted her foot and headed for Peony Garden. Xie Jingchen accompanied her on the side. Peony Garden, main hall. Princess Nanzhang sat there, her face gloomy. Seeing Su Jin come in, her sharp gaze seemed to want to split Su Jin in two. Such undisguised anger made Su Jin wonder if she had committed murder or arson. She stepped forward to pay respects to Princess Nanzhang. But before she could bend down, Princess Nanzhang sneered, "You still know how to pay your respects. Apart from the Emperor, who else do you take seriously?!" Su Jin frowned, "Mother, I don’t understand what you’re saying." Princess Nanzhang slapped the table, "What good deeds did you do in the palace today, do you think I don’t know?!" Su Jin blinked. "Mother knows about me nearly being wronged by the Empress Dowager again in the palace? Mother’s news is really swift," Su Jin said with relief. "But mother doesn’t have to be so angry at the Empress Dowager, the main problem was with Nanny Li, the Empress Dowager has already punished her with thirty cane strokes to vent my anger," Su Jin said with a smile. "..." Xie Jingchen’s mouth twitched. This woman’s skills in playing dumb and feigning ignorance were exceptional, superb. How could Princess Nanzhang possibly be angry at the Empress Dowager? But if she insisted on thinking so, no one could stop her. Princess Nanzhang was almost exploding with anger. "Wronged?!" "Marquis Dongxiang beat up Duke Chong and General Zhongwu, snatched five hundred horses from Duke Chong, arrogant and domineering, the Imperial Chef wouldn’t dare provoke you even with borrowed courage, you poisoned the food, causing them to vomit and have diarrhea, the whole Imperial Palace had no chef to cook, even the Emperor only had five dishes to eat!" "..." Xie Jingchen was a bit shocked. He didn’t know about the Imperial Chef incident. He thought that Su Jin being able to bring two Imperial Chefs out of the palace was enough proof she hadn’t caused trouble in the palace. Unexpectedly—— He still underestimated her ability to resolve troubles. If it were someone else, it would never be possible to leave the palace so easily. Su Jin listened quietly, without interrupting Princess Nanzhang. Princess Nanzhang angrily said, "The Empress Dowager questioned repeatedly, the Imperial Chef confessed that you poisoned the food!" "So what?" Su Jin asked very calmly. "Go to the Buddhist Hall and kneel!" "Kneel until you admit your mistake!" Princess Nanzhang said coldly. Su Jin said lightly, "I’ll decide whether to kneel or not after I return from the palace." "You still dare to enter the palace?!" Princess Nanzhang’s eyes were cold. "Why wouldn’t I dare?" Su Jin asked in return. "When I was there, the Imperial Chefs admitted to the Empress Dowager that they didn’t want to follow me out of the palace and poisoned themselves, Eunuch Fu was there at the time and can testify for me, Nanny Li was also punished by the Empress Dowager because of it." "Unexpectedly, after I left the palace, the Empress Dowager kept asking again and again, the Imperial Chefs changed their testimony. Mother wants to punish me, I have to enter the palace and ask the Emperor to directly question the Imperial Chefs, to avoid this back-and-forth, which would never end." Su Jin stared directly at Princess Nanzhang. Her back was straight, fearless. Intimidating her? She wasn’t raised to be scared easily. If she really entered the palace, it wouldn’t just be vomiting and diarrhea for the Imperial Chefs. Princess Nanzhang was almost near burst from anger. With the Emperor backing her, she was so fearless! Su Jin was waiting to see how she would get out of the situation. Suddenly a maid rushed in and said, "Commandery Princess, it’s not good, the Old Madam started vomiting uncontrollably after taking the medicine, you should quickly go to Qihao Hall to see her." Su Jin was a bit depressed. The Old Madam’s vomiting couldn’t have been more timely, could it? Princess Nanzhang urgently left for Qihao Hall. As the granddaughter-in-law and grandson, Su Jin and Xie Jingchen, of course, had to visit. However, Su Jin was also a bit curious, was there something wrong with the Old Madam’s health? Xie Jingchen looked at her and said, "You don’t know?" "You didn’t know?" "You don’t know?" "During your absence, she has not been feeling well," Xie Jingchen replied. Su Jin looked at him, "You didn’t know?" "The Old Madam has been in poor health lately, not feeling well all the time, even reprimanding the Third Aunt a few times. When I left home, we were sending someone to look for medicine for her," Su Jin smiled. "... ." Xie Jingchen had nothing to say. Earlier, the mansion had given her fumigation prescriptions. With her vengeful nature, she certainly wouldn’t let it go at that. But why did you do this?" he asked. "The Old Madam—for what Nanzhang Princess has been doing?" "Because the maids might have made a mistake and delivered the wrong medicine," Su Jin smiled.

Chapter 154: Scare

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