Chapter 222 Severing Sibling Relationship

Chu Yanlu couldn't understand Xiao Qingxi's actions at all. She could win back her husband's heart if she dealt with Lin Rouxin, but she stubbornly insisted on maintaining her pride and refused to touch Lin Rouxin.

She wanted to say a few more words of persuasion, but then she heard Xiao Qingxi say, "Guards, tie her up and give her ten lashes. I want her to learn some manners! A concubine who can't even be brought into my courtyard to gossip and interfere in my marriage. She must be tired of living!"

Immediately, a maidservant stepped forward and pinned Chu Yanluo down, then tied her up with a rope without saying a word.

Chu Yanluo struggled desperately: "Princess! I am the Crown Prince's person. If you treat me like this, the Crown Prince will not let you off! He will kick you out of the palace!"

Xiao Qingxi sneered: "The Crown Prince is my own brother. Would he kick me out of the palace for a concubine? Even if he wanted to kick me out, he wouldn't be able to get past my father and mother!"

"I think you won't wake up unless I give you a good beating. My surname is Xiao, and the Ning Prince's Mansion is my home. What's your surname? How dare you say something like asking my brother to kick me out?"

"Luckily, you're not the heir apparent of the Ning Prince's mansion. If you were in charge, you probably would have kicked me out."

Xiao Qingxi's face darkened at the thought of this possibility: "What are you all standing there for? Beat them!"

The long whip quickly landed on Chu Yanluo's body, and she screamed in pain.

Hearing the noise, Xiao Qingyuan rushed in: "Stop it, all of you!"

He roared as he rushed forward and hugged Chu Yanluo. When he saw her swollen cheeks and miserable appearance, he angrily questioned Xiao Qingxi: "What are you doing? Wasn't picking a fight with Shen Wantang enough? Now you have to hit Yanluo too? Are you going to make a complete mess of the house before you're satisfied?!"

Xiao Qingxi said coldly, "I was just teaching a concubine who didn't know the rules a lesson. She came to my courtyard, made up an absurd excuse about being able to predict the future, and interfered in my marriage, saying that I would have a terrible future. Of course, I have to let her know the price of talking nonsense!"

"But you can't just hit people like that! Yanluo's health isn't very good to begin with. What if you make her sick? Will you treat her?"

"Dressed so filthyly, who knows who she's cursing to die? It's her own fault if she gets sick from being beaten! She's just a concubine, a plaything. Whatever her problems are, she doesn't need treatment, just bear with it!"

"Xiao Qingxi! Listen to what you're saying! Is this even human language? Yan Luo may be a concubine, but she's still a person, not some plaything! How can you, a young lady, speak so rudely!"

Xiao Qingxi's eyes reddened: "You're my brother, you should side with me, not with Chu Yanluo, an outsider! You think my words are harsh, but doesn't Chu Yanluo's are too?"

"I can tolerate you speaking up for Shen Wantang, after all, she was personally chosen by my mother to be the Crown Prince's consort, but I will never tolerate you speaking up for Chu Yanluo!"

"If you say another word in her defense, I'll sever all ties with you! From now on, you go your way, and I'll go mine!"

Xiao Qingyuan looked at her in shock: "Qingxi, Yanluo just came to talk to you, why did you have to make such a fuss? Am I not even allowed to speak a word of justice?"

Suddenly, Granny Kang spoke up: "Young Master, this matter is not the princess's fault. It was Concubine Chu who offended the princess first."

She repeated everything Chu Yanluo had just said, and then said, "A concubine who dares to talk nonsense about cooperating with the princess to drive the head mistress out of the palace—no family would let that go easily."

"I don't know who gave her the audacity to be so arrogant. She doesn't even respect the mistress of the house and thinks she can be on equal footing with the princess. When she sees the princess, she not only doesn't bow, but also points out the private affairs between the princess and her son-in-law. She is really unruly."

"This old servant would like to advise the young master to properly discipline this concubine. If she is really not disciplined, then the princess can step in to discipline her, so that this lowly concubine will not ruin the reputation of the royal family and disgrace the young master in the future."

Kang Mama's words were barbed and blunt, showing no mercy whatsoever. In any case, she was the princess's person, not the prince's, so it didn't matter if she offended him.

The important thing is that she has to protect the princess.

Xiao Qingyuan's face turned slightly pale at her words. He knew that Kang Mama was complaining that the concubine he had chosen was unruly. He also really didn't expect that Chu Yanluo would come to Xiao Qingxi to cooperate with her to drive Shen Wantang out.

Her actions made him lose all face and no longer dare to speak up for her. He couldn't even find a reason to punish Granny Kang.

On one side was his beloved younger sister, and on the other was the woman he had personally brought back. Xiao Qingyuan felt that this was impossible to balance. Seeing that his sister was about to sever their sibling relationship, he could only grit his teeth, pick up Chu Yanluo, and leave without saying a word.

In the past, he would have carried Chu Yanluo directly back to his own courtyard, but today, he carried Chu Yanluo to her Qingwu Courtyard.

His face was gloomy the whole way. After entering Qingwu Courtyard, he checked Chu Yanluo's injuries and, seeing that she was alright, said coldly, "Why did you go to find Qingxi? Can't you just stay in the courtyard and rest? Why did you have to provoke her?"

Chu Yanlu cried with tears streaming down her face, "Your Highness doesn't care about me at all now. I was beaten by the Princess, and you don't even feel sorry for me or seek justice for me. You just blame me."

"I do want to seek justice for you, but look at what you've done! You actually teamed up with Qingxi to drive Shen Wantang out of the Prince's mansion. You can keep such things to yourself, but how could you bring them up in public? Aren't you just asking to be caught red-handed?"

Chu Yanluo replied, "I don't have those ulterior motives. I'm just a straightforward and honest person. I say what I think and I never hide anything. Hasn't the young master always liked my personality? Don't you like it now?"

"You like a woman like Shen Wantang, who is two-faced and whose words are hard to understand? The Crown Prince promised me before that he would make me his Crown Princess. Now he not only gave the position of Crown Princess to Shen Wantang, but also wants to give her his heart?"

Xiao Qingyuan frowned as he looked at her. He used to think that everything Chu Yanluo said and did was very special and would move him. But now, he suddenly felt that she was just an ordinary person, no different from the jealous and scheming women in the capital.

Her ethereal beauty has long since vanished.

Disappointment flashed in his eyes: "Shen Wantang isn't as bad as you say, and you're not as honest and straightforward as you claim."

"You should take good care of yourself and stay in the courtyard as much as possible, lest you provoke Qingxi again. If you get beaten again, I might not be able to come to your rescue immediately. Qingxi has been in a bad mood these past few days, so don't provoke her."