Chapter 1273

Chapter 1273 Who Did Consort Qi Meet Secretly

“What nonsense are you talking about? No one is allowed to see my inner room without my permission. Put the quilt here and leave!” Chu Liuzhou waved his hand and said with a gloomy face.

“Prince, but I’m your legal wife. Can’t even I see it?” Infanta Yuan’an asked in exasperation, unable to restrain her fury.

After Chu Liuzhou took a deep breath, his face softened a little. “Yuan’an, you have to understand it. Even if you are my legal wife, there are some things that you are not supposed to know. Help me manage my inner court well, and I will grant you what you deserve!”

Infanta Yuan’an was so angry that her face turned livid. Aside, She was about to lose her temper. Her trusted nurse, who moved here when she married, saw things going from bad to worse. In a hurry, she pulled her sleeve hard and whispered, “My Lady, Prince Zhou still has to handle official business here. It’s indeed improper for you to be here.”

She stressed the words “official business.”

With an effort, Infanta Yuan’an contained her irritation and slowly relaxed her clenched hand. “Since it’s inconvenient for you to show it to others, I’ll put the quilt here.”

“Thanks for that!” Chu Liuzhou said blandly.

Infanta Yuan’an asked the servant girl to put down the hamper and quilt in her hands and left. When she got outside, she looked coldly at the servant outside and asked, “Is there any woman coming here?”

“Your Highness, no woman is here. My master has been dealing with official affairs in the study!” The servant lowered his head. How could he dare to tell the truth?

Infanta Yuan’an snorted coldly. Knowing she couldn’t get anything out of him, she turned around and walked out. After walking for a while, she suddenly stopped and turned around. She seemed to go back and make trouble with Chu Liuzhou.

“My Lady, you have married. You are Princess Zhou now.” Her trusted nurse hurriedly stopped her.

“I am Princess Zhou, but who is the woman inside?” Infanta Yuan’an was so furious that her face turned livid. The more she thought about it, the more resentful she became. “When I married him, he devotedly attached to me, and we were quite pleased with each other. He would share everything with me. What’s going on now? He hid a woman in this mansion and warned me not to enter the inner room at will.”

Another woman entered the inner room and was more cherished than her, the legal wife. At this thought, Infanta Yuan’an couldn’t suppress the anger in her heart.

“In fact, it may not be another woman…” The trusted nurse hesitated and comforted her.

“How could it be? There must be a woman in the inner room. I smelled the lingering fragrance of a woman in his study. She must be in the inner room. I want to see who this bitch is.”

Infanta Yuan’an interrupted the trusted nurse in a sharp voice.

“Don’t be angry, Princess. Even if His Highness has another woman, so what? Two consorts and two concubines married him with you. There might be more women in the future. How could you deal with all of them?” The trusted nurse said meaningfully, trying to persuade her.

Chu Liuzhou was now Prince Zhou, the Emperor’s son. It was normal for him to have more women in his mansion. If he ascended the throne in the future, he would have more women around him. However, the trusted nurse didn’t think all this was a big deal. Infanta Yuan’an only needed to seize the position of the legal wife and be the future empress respected and esteemed by people all over the country.

How many women Prince Zhou had? Did he hide a woman in his inner room? None of these things mattered.

This woman had not been sent to Princess Zhou. It meant she had no status at all. Since she was just a cheap plaything, there was no need to take this matter seriously.

“You don’t understand. Chu Liuzhou may let this woman be his legal wife,” Infanta Yuan’an said with a sullen face.

“Princess, don’t be silly. No matter what he has done, he wouldn’t think so. You are his legal wife and the granddaughter of Ruiping Great Elder Princess.” Her trusted nurse appeased her, feeling that her master was overthinking.

Infanta Yuan’an knew her trusted nurse reminded her she had her grandmother’s support. But what if that was what he had in mind? Many empresses in the world had been dethroned, right? Every single one of them had an excellent family background, but in the end, they lost their envious position and were trampled on.

The more Infanta Yuan’an thought about it, the more uneasy she became. She felt she had to know who the woman was. Thus, she sent an astute old maid to wait at the study’s door. No matter what, she must find out who the woman was.

Infanta Yuan’an didn’t expect the old maid to be knocked out cold. She didn’t see anything and limped to her the next day to report.

Seeing the old maid like this, Infanta Yuan’an was more certain that Chu Liuzhou had hidden a woman there. Otherwise, the person she sent over would not have been discovered and battered unconscious.

Who on earth was it? She had to find out the answer.

Infanta Yuan’an felt uncomfortable and impatient as if being set on fire. As a result, she kept a closer eye on the other women in the mansion. In particular, she told her people to watch the few consorts and concubines more closely. When Infanta Yuan’an got married, she brought over many people. Though she could not go against Chu Liuzhou and was unfamiliar with Prince Zhou’s Mansion, she could deal with a few consorts and concubines…

At night, a servant girl carried a lantern and followed a person in a cloak to the back door. When arriving at the back door, they gave gratuities to an old maid there. The old maid opened the door, and someone outside was carrying a lantern. It was a man with a servant. When they met, they exchanged a few words and wanted to leave.

Suddenly, the clamors of the people bubbled up. With the light of the lanterns, a large group rushed out and surrounded the few people. The old maid guarding the door was so scared that she collapsed to the ground with a plop.

Infanta Yuan’an appeared in the light with a large group of servant girls and old maids. With a frosty look, she stared at the person coming out in a cloak and asked, “Consort Qi, who is the person you are meeting secretly at the back door?”

“Princess!” Qi Rongzhi took off the cloak on her head and timidly stepped forward to bow. Infanta Yuan’an had taught her a lesson a few days ago, so she didn’t dare to argue against her.

“How dare you have a secret date with another man? Consort Qi, how could you be so audacious? I’ve sent someone to Prince Zhou. Such a matter needs him to deal with,” Infanta Yuan’an said sarcastically with a faint curl of her lips.

Since Prince Zhou had been close to Qi Rongzhi these days, she was a little disobedient when facing Princess Zhou. But after Infanta Yuan’an seized a chance and punished her last time, she slightly restrained her behavior.

Infanta Yuan’an felt an overwhelming desire to find the woman hidden by Chu Liuzhou, but she didn’t expect to discover that Qi Rongzhi had a secret date with a man.

“Princess, this is my Eldest Brother.” Qi Rongzhi said. The man from outside took off his cloak and hat, exposing his handsome face — it was actually Qi Tianyu.

“Greetings, Princess!” Qi Tianyu came up and greeted her gracefully as if he was not surprised at all.

However, Infanta Yuan’an was startled. She looked at Qi Rongzhi and Qi Tianyu, frowning. “You are siblings, so why did you meet secretly?”

“Princess, my father was not feeling well and sent me a letter. I should tell my sister about it, so I sent a message. But my sister said there were many things in the mansion recently. Since she didn’t dare to trouble you, she asked me to wait at the back door. I planned to leave after telling her our father’s situation.” Qi Tianyu said calmly. Though he was caught, he didn’t seem worried at all.

“Do you think it’s easy to fool me? And I can let go of you after hearing such a shoddy reason?” Infanta Yuan’an sneered, “I don’t care about this matter. Prince Zhou will deal with you. You sneaked around at the gate of the backyard. Did you want to do something harmful to our Prince Zhou’s Mansion?”

“Princess, please be careful with your words!” Qi Tianyu no longer managed to keep a straight face. Lowering his head, he said.

“I want to be cautious with my words. But what about you, Lord Qi? I heard you were the Number Three Scholar three years ago. You met a woman late at night in the mansion of a Prince. Don’t you know you should avoid arousing suspicion even though the woman is your biological sister? Besides, there isn’t anything troublesome going on in our mansion recently. How could she say she didn’t dare to trouble me? Or do you and your sister have other plots?”

Infanta Yuan’an asked meaningfully, her eyes falling upon Qi Tianyu’s sleeve, “Haven’t your sister passed on any important but secretive messages to you?”

“Princess, my sister is so naive that she doesn’t understand these things. As for me, I am not the kind of bad person you have talked about.” Qi Tianyu explained.

“Then tell me, why would you stay outside my back door at this time?” Chu Liuzhou came and snorted. The crowd parted to let him through when he came from behind these people.

“Greetings, Prince!” Qi Tianyu stepped forward and bowed.

Chu Liuzhou narrowed his eyes and asked coldly, “Tell me, Qi Tianyu, why are you here? Don’t tell me those stupid lies you used to trick fools.”

Infanta Yuan’an’s face suddenly fee. “Did he mean I was an idiot?” She was simmering with rage. Gritting her teeth with hatred, she clenched the handkerchief in her hand. It was not the time for her to quarrel with Chu Liuzhou.

“Prince, I just told my sister some past things,” Qi Tianyu said.

“You don’t want to tell me the truth, do you? Well, take him away!” Chu Liuzhou said with a malicious face.

“Prince, I am also an official of the imperial court. We have to go to court tomorrow. If you lock me up, how can I go to court tomorrow?” Qi Tianyu had thought that Chu Liuzhou would not say anything. At most, he just needed to give him a casual explanation. Unexpectedly, there were a lot of secrets in Prince Zhou’s Mansion, and Chu Liuzhou acted arbitrarily. Eventually, he detained Qi Tianyu.

“Prince, my Eldest Brother didn’t do anything wrong. He just talked about my father’s health condition with me.” Qi Rongzhi rushed over and cried.

However, Chu Liuzhou didn’t want to talk to her and waved his hand. Then two guards came to pull Qi Tianyu away. Qi Tianyu tried to fight his way out, but two guards dragged him away by force.

“Prince, Prince…” Qi Rongzhi knelt on the ground in a panic. Previously, Qi Tianyu was there, so she was not very afraid. But now, she was so scared that her face turned pale. “Prince, it was nothing serious. Please let my Eldest Brother go!”

“Take her away too and let her know who this mansion’s master is,” Chu Liuzhou ordered coldly.

Infanta Yuan’an was satisfied with Prince Chen’s intention to teach her a harsh lesson. With a smile, she nodded and said, “Prince, you can leave now. Leave Consort Qi to me. I will punish her severely and let her know who her master is and whom she should listen to.”

She was worried about finding a chance to teach Qi Rongzhi a lesson. Much to her surprise, the opportunity came just at the right time.

Chu Liuzhou nodded and turned to leave. He was going to interrogate Qi Tianyu overnight. He always felt that it was not a simple matter. It struck terror into his heart. Somehow, he had a feeling that some people in the darkness were still watching Prince Zhou’s Mansion.

Someone was indeed watching Prince Zhou’s Mansion in the night. The person was on the big tree in the backyard of Prince Zhou’s Mansion. When everyone left, and this place quieted down, a black shadow flashed and disappeared into the darkness…