The Pretty Wife of General Jinxiu Huanian

Chapter 80: Court Jealousy

Yunxi had just finished her simple breakfast and was sitting quietly in the living room, holding a medical book in her hand and reading it carefully.

At this time, Cui'er ran in hurriedly, her footsteps so fast that they brought up a gust of wind.

"Madam, this is bad, this is bad!" Cui'er yelled as she ran. When she reached Yunxi, she propped herself up on her knees and gasped for breath. "Just now, I went to the street to buy silk thread and heard some terrible rumors."

Yunxi gently put down the book in her hand, frowned slightly, and her eyes showed a hint of seriousness. "Speak slowly, don't be anxious, catch your breath first."

Cui Er straightened up, smoothed her chest with her hand, took a few deep breaths, and then said, "I heard that many officials in the court are jealous of the current glory of our mansion and have said a lot of unpleasant things behind our backs."

Yunxi's expression instantly turned cold, and he stared straight at Cui'er, "What did you say?"

Cui'er bit her lip, her face filled with indignation. "They say the prince's military achievements were due to luck, that you, Madam, are merely riding on the prince's influence, and that the glory of our mansion won't last."

Yunxi sneered after hearing this and folded his hands over his chest, "Humph, these narrow-minded people, they have no ability themselves, but they can't stand seeing others doing well.

We don’t need to pay attention to their nonsense.”

Yunxi snorted coldly: "These people can't stand seeing others doing well, don't pay any attention to them."

As they were talking, the housekeeper Li Fu walked in. He was trotting along, beads of sweat hanging on his forehead. He panted and saluted, saying, "Madam, there's news from the palace that you and the prince will be attending a banquet in the palace tomorrow."

When Yunxi heard this, her brows immediately furrowed, and her beautiful eyebrows twisted into a knot. She bit her lip lightly, a hint of worry in her eyes, and turned to look at the prince.

The prince looked calm, but he narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he was thinking about something.

Yunxi pondered in her heart: "Banquets in this palace have always been like a Hongmen Banquet. I wonder what is waiting for us this time."

The next day, Yunxi got up early and carefully selected her clothes and jewelry. She wore a gorgeous lavender dress embroidered with exquisite peony patterns, which made her look even more dignified and beautiful.

The golden hairpin on her head swayed gently with her movements, gleaming with dazzling light. The prince, dressed in a black brocade robe with a jeweled belt around his waist, looked majestic.

The two of them got in the carriage and headed towards the palace. Along the way, Yunxi clutched her handkerchief tightly, feeling somewhat uneasy.

When we arrived at the imperial palace, the towering palace and the vermilion gate made us feel majestic and solemn.

The palace was splendid and magnificent, with maids and eunuchs coming and going. Yunxi and the prince arrived at the banquet hall, only to find that many ministers had already arrived.

"Oh, aren't these the prince and his wife from the Marquis' Mansion? They are so glorious." The speaker was the Minister of Personnel, Lord Zhao. He smiled in a sarcastic way, with jealousy in his eyes.

His eyes were narrowed into slits, and the corners of his mouth were turned upside down, with a look of disdain on his face.

The prince remained calm and replied, "Master Zhao, thank you for your praise."

Yunxi bowed slightly as a gesture of greeting. She wore a perfectly composed smile, but her eyes held a distant look.

The banquet began. The emperor sat in his high seat, his face expressionless. The golden dragon on his robe gleamed faintly in the candlelight, making it difficult to look directly at him.

"Today's banquet is held, firstly, to reward the meritorious officials, and secondly, to have fun with all my beloved ministers," said the emperor.

Everyone raised their glasses and shouted "Long live!" The sound echoed in the banquet hall, deafening.

After three rounds of drinking, the Minister of War, Lord Sun, stood up. He shook himself, burped, and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to say."

The emperor nodded and said, "My dear Sun, please feel free to speak."

Lord Sun glanced at the prince and said, "Your Highness's military achievements this time are truly worthy of recognition.

But I have heard that Your Highness is acting arbitrarily in the army and does not follow the advice of the military advisor. This is not the way for a general to act."

The prince's face darkened: "Master Sun, where do you get this from?"

Lord Sun sneered, and the fat on his face trembled. "Don't worry, Your Majesty. Someone will naturally know about this military matter."

This Lord Sun has his eyes slanted and his lips curled up, and he looks so disgusting.

Yunxi thought to herself, this is clearly a deliberate attempt to pick a fight. She clutched the handkerchief tightly in her hand, her brows slightly furrowed.

At this time, another minister stood up. This minister, with a big belly, shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, the Marquis' Mansion is now full of glory, but the rules of this mansion may not be complete.

I heard that the servants of the Marquisate were bullying others outside, which really damaged the reputation of the Marquisate."

Upon hearing this, Yunxi stood up with a hint of anger on her face. "My Lord, I'm afraid you've believed the rumors. The Marquis' Mansion has always had strict discipline, so this is absolutely not the case."

The minister refused to give in, his eyes widening like bells: "Madam, your words are empty and without evidence, how can you convince others?"

For a moment, the atmosphere in the banquet hall was tense, with everyone preoccupied with their own thoughts. Some lowered their heads in silence, some whispered to each other, and some even laughed secretly.

Yunxi looked at the prince, who gave her a reassuring look. He sat there, his back straight, his expression still calm.

At this moment, the Prime Minister, who had been silent all this time, spoke up. He stroked his beard and said slowly, "Please don't argue here. It's disrespectful."

"Your Highness has made outstanding military achievements, and the honor of the Marquisate is well-deserved. But you must not harbor such jealousy."

The emperor nodded, his face expressionless. "The Prime Minister is absolutely right. Today is a banquet, don't let these things ruin your mood."

Everyone then quieted down and continued to drink and eat, but their eyes were filled with all sorts of thoughts.

After Yunxi sat down, she was still angry. She looked at the faces of those ministers and felt disgusted.

The prince seemed to be fine, eating and drinking as usual.

After the banquet, Yunxi and the prince took the carriage back to the palace. Yunxi didn't say a word along the way, and his face was very gloomy.

The prince looked at her, smiled and said, "Don't be angry, Madam. These clowns will never amount to anything."

Yunxi snorted, "Your Majesty, are we just going to let them go after they bully us like this?"

The prince patted Yunxi's hand and said, "Why rush? They won't be able to jump around for long."

Yunxi bit her lip and said, "I'm just so angry. We didn't do anything wrong, but they made up such a story."

The prince sighed softly: "This is how the officialdom is. People are treacherous. We must be careful in dealing with them."

Yunxi frowned: "What should we do next?"

The prince's eyes were firm: "If the enemy comes, we will fight him; if the water comes, we will block it with earth. It won't be that easy for them to plot against us."

Yunxi nodded: "Well, as long as we are united as husband and wife, we are not afraid of them."

The prince smiled and said, "Madam is right."

After returning to the Marquis' Mansion, Yunxi still felt upset.

The prince comforted her: "Don't think too much, go to bed early."

Yunxi rolled her eyes at him and said, "Of course I would. I was so pissed off at the banquet today."

The prince shook his head helplessly: "Alright, alright, don't get yourself hurt by being angry."

Yunxi sat down on the chair angrily: "My Lord, you are so patient."

The prince walked over to her and said, "What if you can't keep your cool? If you start arguing with them right there, they'll have something to hold against you."

Yunxi looked up at the prince: "But you can't just accept it like this."

The prince pondered for a moment and said, "Don't worry, I have my own plans."

Yunxi still looked worried: "I hope so."

The prince patted his chest and said, "Trust your husband."

Yunxi sighed: "Well, I hope I can get through this."

"Your Highness, today's incident clearly shows someone deliberately targeting the Marquis' Mansion." Yunxi said.

The prince clenched his fists and said, "Humph, these people can't stand seeing the Marquis' Mansion doing well. I will deal with them carefully."

The prince frowned, his eyes wide open, his gaze seemed to be able to spit fire, "These guys have always had bad intentions, and now they are even worse!"

He paced back and forth in the hall, his clothes swaying slightly with his movements.

After returning to the Marquis' Mansion, Yunxi and the Prince summoned their close associates to discuss countermeasures.

"Li Fu, has there been anything unusual outside the mansion recently?" asked the prince.

Li Fu hurriedly stepped forward, bowed his head and said, "Your Highness, no abnormalities have been found so far, but I will send someone to keep a close eye on it."

Li Fu was a stocky man with an honest face, and beads of sweat were oozing from his forehead.

Yunxi sat aside, her chin in her hand, her brows slightly furrowed. "Your Highness, I think we need to first find out the source of these rumors."

Her eyes were firm and revealed a sense of decisiveness.

The prince nodded and said, "Madam, what you said makes sense. I'll leave this matter to you."

Yunxi agreed and began to investigate.

She first called in some servants in the mansion to ask. The servants stood in front of Yunxi, lowering their heads and not daring to look up.

Yunxi listened to their answers carefully with a serious expression, asking follow-up questions from time to time. Afterwards, Yunxi sent a few clever servants to inquire on the street.

The servants ran around, trying to gather information everywhere.

After several days of investigation, we finally got some clues.

It turned out that these rumors originated from the residences of several ministers, who were jealous of the glory of the Marquis's residence and united to suppress it.

Yunxi told the prince the results of the investigation, and the prince slammed the table in anger: "These people are so audacious!"

The table shook with this slap, and the teacup on the table swayed a few times.

Yunxi said, "Your Highness, please don't get angry yet. We need to find a way to deal with this."

The prince took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. "What do you think, Madam?"

Yunxi smiled slightly, a shrewd look in her eyes, "Why don't we take the initiative and expose their conspiracy."

The prince nodded and said, "Just as my lady says."

So, Yunxi and the prince began to plan.