Chapter 169 - Was Xiao Huanxi Really Going to Have Sex with Chu Junyi by Force?

Shen Ninghua once again cleaned up the uncertain factors in the mansion. She would investigate the remaining people again and bring them into the new Princess Mansion only after she was sure that there was no problem with them. Only in this way could the Princess Mansion be turned into an impenetrable fortress that no one could easily put spies in.

Bai Ruo looked at the list in her hand and reported, “Miss, everything in the warehouse has been registered. You can check them at any time.”

Shen Ninghua flipped through the thick stack of sheets in her hand. “There are actually so many?” She only knew that there should be a lot of things in her warehouse, but she didn’t expect that there would be so many.

“Miss, you made nearly 40,000 taels of gold in succession by saving people with your medical skills. In addition to your mother’s dowry and His Majesty’s reward, the most important source is Huajun Pharmacy…”

Shen Ninghua nodded. With these, she would have confidence in everything she wanted to do in the future. After all, money makes the mare go. “Put all of these away…”

“Miss, Miss Xiao is here.” Hong Ling came in to report, interrupting her words.

“Xiao Huanxi?” Shen Ninghua’s eyes lit up. She had been waiting for Xiao Huanxi for a long time and she finally came. “Invite her in.”

“Greetings, Your Highness.”

“Miss Xiao is a rare guest. Are you well?”

Shen Ninghua looked at Xiao Huanxi with a trace of sarcasm in the depths of her eyes. When she saw Xiao Huanxi the night before yesterday, her entire body trembled and her face was pale because she had killed someone. But now, her face looked rosy and her expression was calm. She did not look as flustered as before. This person’s adaptability was really strong.

“I was unable to personally deliver the invitation card because of my health, so I come here today to invite you to my banquet to thank you for saving my life. Please let me have the honor.”

Shen Ninghua took the red invitation card and looked at it with a smile on her face. “Alright, I will definitely be there on time.”

Xiao Huanxi’s smile was gentle and perfect, which made her seem exceptionally courteous. “That’s great. I heard that your cousin, Miss Yang, is also in the mansion, so I wonder if I can pay her a visit now?”

Visiting Yang Yingxue? Shen Ninghua’s heart skipped a beat and she agreed, “Cousin should be free now. Bai Ruo, take Miss Xiao to my cousin’s courtyard. I won’t accompany her.”

“I don’t dare to trouble you, Your Highness. I’ll leave now.” Xiao Huanxi stood up and bowed respectfully before leaving.

Seeing Xiao Huanxi leave respectfully, Hong Ling couldn’t help but pout. “Miss, why did she suddenly become like this? What exactly was she planning to do?”

The smile on Shen Ninghua’s face faded. “She has really learned to be smart. Xiao Fengjue’s training methods are truly admirable. In a few days, Xiao Huanxi seemed to be completely reborn.”

“Then isn’t she getting harder to deal with? Miss, should we take the initiative to strike when she is on her way back and…” Hong Ling raised her hand and made a throat-cutting gesture.

Shen Ninghua glared at her. “If Bai Ruo sees your actions, she will drag you down to teach you a lesson. If I can directly assassinate her, why do I have to work so hard? The Xiao family’s position in the court is too important. From the looks of it, Xiao Huanxi is the weakest part of the Xiao family. With her being there, I can find tens of thousands of excuses to attack the Xiao family. Without her, the Xiao family will become impenetrable and I won’t be able to find any breakthrough, so Xiao Huanxi definitely can’t die. ”

Hong Ling suddenly realized. “No wonder you tolerated her many times. I thought it was because of Master Chu.”

“Chu Junyi is one reason, but not the decisive factor.”

Hong Ling secretly heaved a sigh of relief. In the past, when Miss was cold and emotionless, they were worried that she would die alone. Now that Miss had a sweetheart and had a bit more warmth, they were afraid that she would fall too deep into it and be hurt by it in the end. As servants, they had tons of worry.

Shen Ninghua did not want to see Hong Ling’s awkward expression, so she found her some work to do. “Xiao Huanxi has gone to Yang Yingxue’s courtyard. Follow her and take a look. If you can hear their conversation, come back and report it to me.”

“Yes, Miss.”

After about an hour, Bai Ruo and Hong Ling came back to report.

Bai Ruo said, “Miss, I brought Xiao Huanxi all the way to Cuizhu Pavilion. She did not look around or ask anything else, but after she entered Yang Yingxue’s room, she drove me to the door.”

Hong Ling was also curious. “Miss, I heard their conversation. Xiao Huanxi only gave an invitation card to Yang Yingxue. They didn’t say anything unnecessary. Then, Xiao Huanxi took a seat and stayed there for a while before leaving.”

Shen Ninghua’s eyes sank. “No abnormality is the biggest abnormality. She has spent a lot of effort scheming against me. It is impossible for her not to do anything.”

Shen Ninghua did not detect any abnormalities in the mansion in the following three days before the banquet. This made her relax slightly, and she thought that she might be a bit too paranoid.

Two hours before the banquet began, she brought Yang Yingxue with her to the Xiao Mansion.

This time, everyone treated Shen Ninghua with even greater respect. She used to be a prefectural princess, but now she was a real princess. The title was one word different, but the weight it carried was so much bigger. According to the etiquette, even important officials like Xiao Jingran had to personally greet her at the gate of the mansion.

Yang Yingxue followed behind Shen Ninghua. Feeling Shen Ninghua’s calm attitude towards the people who came to salute, she couldn’t help but admire in her heart. Noble but not distant, courteous but not alienated, affectionate but not disrespectful. Every action of hers was extremely beautiful. No wonder mother told her not to be jealous, because she didn’t have the qualifications to be jealous at all.

After everyone sat down, Shen Ninghua sized up the surroundings. The people who attended the banquet this time were exceptionally large in number. Basically, all the ladies of the various big families had arrived.

Seeing Madam Su sitting among the female guests, Shen Ninghua’s gaze paused for a moment. She smiled softly. Too many things had happened recently. It had been a long time since she had seen Madam Su.

The fall of the Shen family and the Second Prince’s setback had a great impact on her second uncle’s family. She heard that her second uncle Shen Liang was demoted some time ago. In addition, Shen Xuanhua was highly likely to be implicated because of his close relationship with the Second Prince. Therefore, she acquiesced to Madam Su’s estranged attitude. She did not expect that they would meet today.

Xiao Huanxi had prepared this banquet very thoroughly, and the dishes were exceptionally exquisite. The guests and hosts enjoyed themselves.

Chu Junyi sat in his seat. Beside him sat the Minister of Rites’ son, Wang Wei. Maybe he drank too much, this Young Master Wang actually brought a glass of wine to Chu Junyi and toasted, “Lord Chu, I’d like to toast you!”

Chu Junyi paused. Although he wasn’t happy about it, he did not directly refuse. “Young Master Wang, please.”

But Young Master Wang didn’t leave after finishing his toast. Instead, he directly approached Chu Junyi and said in a teasing voice, “Lord Chu, you will soon become His Majesty’s son-in-law. I really have to congratulate you.”

Chu Junyi was a little impatient. “Thank you.”

Young Master Wang lowered his head and chuckled twice. The wine in his cup was sprinkled out a little. “This Princess Zhaohua is really beautiful. Tsk, tsk, that face, that figure, and that bearing are truly unparalleled!” He looked at Shen Ninghua from head to toe in a sexually explicit way, and his expression was full of covetousness.

Killing intent flashed in Chu Junyi’s eyes. He picked up the wine jug and filled up his cup. He turned around and smiled at Young Master Wang. “I’d like to toast to you.”

Young Master Wang chuckled. “Haha, you agree with me too? My fellow man! Come, cheers! Haha!”

Chu Junyi’s lips flashed with a cold smile. Taking advantage of the chance when Young Master Wang raised his head to drink wine, he shot out the internal strength in his hand to hit the wine cup.

With a pow, the wine cup directly rushed into Young Master Wang’s mouth, firmly blocking his throat!

Young Master Wang was choked and rolled his eyes, which immediately shocked the people around him.

“What’s wrong? Why did you swallow the wine cup?”

Young Master Wang rolled his eyes on the ground and turned the table over. Wine and dishes were spilled all over his body. “Oh…Help…”

“What should we do? The wine cup blocked his throat. Get a doctor! Get a doctor!”

Shen Ninghua’s anger abated when she saw Wang Wei’s sorry appearance. She was very sensitive to people’s auras and she keenly sensed Young Master Wang’s explicit gaze. Just as she was thinking of finding an opportunity to take revenge, Chu Junyi helped her vent her anger. Seeing that it was almost time, Shen Ninghua looked at Chu Junyi as a signal for him.

If this banquet wasn’t held by the Xiao family, he would have choked Young Master Wang to death. Chu Junyi coldly glanced at Wang Wei who was in a sorry state. He stood up and walked to his back. He focused his internal force in his hand and directly struck him on the back.

“Wow!” Young Master Wang spat out the wine cup. His face was purple and his entire body was covered in dish stains. “Cough, cough…”

Xiao Huanxi approached to check on Young Master Wang’s condition, but she didn’t expect him to directly spit out onto her body, and her face immediately turned pale with shock.

Xiao Fengjue stood up and instructed the maids to clean up the messy grounds and ordered servants to take people whose clothes were stained to the backyard to change clothes.

Chu Junyi’s clothes were also stained, and he complained in his heart about the bad luck. He gave Shen Ninghua a comforting gaze and went to the backyard to change his clothes.

Seeing Xiao Huanxi and Chu Junyi walk out one after the other, Shen Ninghua picked up her wine cup and a cold smile appeared on her lips. She had thought that this was just a coincidence, but now it seemed that this was part of the plan. If she remembered correctly, Wang Wei’s mother should be Xiao Huanxi’s aunt.

What did Xiao Huanxi want to do by creating such an opportunity?

Xiao Fengjue saw that everyone now lacked appetite. He hurriedly said, “Sorry for my negligence to ruin the banquet. Now that flowers are blooming in the courtyard, you can take a walk in the courtyard to refresh your mind. When the hall is ready, I will invite you to return to your seats.”

Xiao Fengjue was a rising star in the court, the first-grade saber-armed imperial guard personally bestowed by the emperor. The guests definitely would like to do him the favor. Everyone stood up and walked towards the courtyard.

Just as Shen Ninghua walked into the courtyard, a maidservant quickly walked over and said, “Your Highness, our Miss let me bring you a message.”

“Xiao Huanxi asked you to bring me a message?” Because of her identity, no one in the surroundings came forward to disturb her. Therefore, the maidservant announced her errand directly, and she only lowered her voice slightly.

“Yes, our Miss said that no one can steal what she wants.” The maidservant smiled mysteriously, and her sleeves moved slightly, revealing a piece of cloth.

Shen Ninghua’s pupils contracted. The cloth was exactly the same as the clothes Chu Junyi had just worn, and there was even a trace of oil stain on it!

What was Xiao Huanxi going to do? Was her guess correct that Xiao Huanxi wanted to have sex with Chu Junyi by force?