Chapter 258 Shameless

Xiao Ji returned to the mansion under the continuous autumn rain. Looking at Qing Wu who had been waiting for him in the hall, he no longer had his previous dignity and strode towards the main hall. However, the moment he entered the main hall, he restrained himself and stopped.

He was still wearing his hard armor, which had been washed by the autumn rain and shone silver, but it was also very fishy and wet. He was afraid of choking her.

"I'm back."

In the end, Xiao Ji only said this one sentence. His voice was slightly hoarse, which showed the fatigue after shouting and killing all night, and also the sigh of sudden relief when he saw Qing Wu.

In fact, during the night fight, he thought of many things. Swords and knives have no eyes, and he was afraid that he would not have the chance to say them. He was also afraid that something unexpected would happen to Qingwu at home. But now he felt relieved, and those words quietly disappeared in his throat.

Qing Wu stood up almost as soon as she saw him. When Xiao Ji came in, she didn't rush over immediately, but her eyes eagerly scanned his body, carefully checking him from head to toe.

Seeing that although his armor was stained with blood and his face looked exhausted, he was still able to move without any problems, her heartstrings that had been tense all night suddenly relaxed, and her forced composure collapsed in an instant. She quickly stepped forward and hugged him.

The fishy smell of blood rain hit Qingwu's nose, but he could sense a sense of peace from it.

"I'm glad you're back..." Thousands of words finally turned into just this one sentence.

The two hugged each other for a long time, and only after their panic subsided did joy surge from their hearts.

"Grandma, is she really going to be the emperor?"

Qingwu still couldn't believe it. Anyone would find it hard to believe that her grandmother who had raised her since she was a child and had traveled with her through hardships would suddenly become the ruler of the world.

Xiao Ji rarely saw Qingwu with such an expression. His originally narrow and long eyes were now wide open, which made him laugh.

"Really? The Minister of Chancellery will lead all the officials to support Grandma."

As expected, at noon, Qingwu entered the palace and witnessed the entire scene.

The news reached Xi Qingtong's ears when Xi Jianan returned to the Xi family. "What? The Princess Zhenguo became the emperor?"

"Haha, the princess became the emperor..."

Xi Qingtong lay on the bed, feeling both ridiculous and unbelievable, and at the same time feeling relieved.

"A group of men can't even compete for an old woman. They are such losers. But being losers is good...haha, at least..." No, she will never be the queen.

Xi Qingbai, who was studying outside the capital, also hurried back to Beijing. After seeing that his family was safe, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he was quite unhappy about the princess ascending the throne, his eyes lit up when he learned that there were only three adult princes surviving in the court.

"Dad, this is an opportunity for the Xi family. The princess is from the Yang family, and Prince Zhao is also from the Yang family. The princess will definitely choose Prince Zhao to ascend the throne. By then, our Xi family will be the heir apparent, and Dad can also be named Duke Cheng'en."

Xi Jianan smiled at his son, whose face was full of self-interest, and suddenly asked, "Which sister of yours is this?"

Xi Qingbai's face suddenly froze. Only then did he remember that his two sisters had been swapped. From the tone of his father's voice, he knew about it already...

"Dad, Dad, please listen to my explanation..."

However, Xi Qingbai's begging did not move Xi Jianan's heart. Instead, he got two burly servants.

"Take my husband to the ancestral hall, punish him with thirty lashes according to the family rules, and ask for three months' leave from school."

Hearing this, Xi Qingbai's pupils shrank suddenly, and he hurriedly shouted, "Mom, Mom, come and persuade Dad!"

After thirty lashes of the cane, his buttocks would be broken and he wouldn't be able to get out of bed for at least a month!

But no matter how much he shouted, no one came to save him. It was then that he suddenly realized that since he returned home, his mother, Madam Zheng, had not yet appeared. If he returned home normally, Madam Zheng would be the first to greet him.

Since the father already knew about it and wanted to beat him with thirty sticks, what kind of punishment did the mother who was the decision maker in the exchange receive?

Xi Qingbai panicked, "Dad, where is Mom? What did you do to her?"

Xi Jianan's face was solemn. He looked down at his panicked son who was being held by the servants, and felt extremely disappointed.

"Your mother?" he said flatly. "She has failed in moral conduct and has gone to a separate courtyard outside the city to reflect on her past."

"A villa?!" Xi Qingbai exclaimed in shock, his face changing instantly. As a child of a noble family, how could he not know that this was a form of imprisonment!

"Dad! You can't do this! Mom is the mistress of the Xi family!" Xi Qingbai struggled and shouted, trying to impress his father with the family's interests.

"Even if the exchange was wrong, Princess Zhao is still a daughter of our Xi family. Why did it come to this? We should all work together to help Prince Zhao secure the throne."

Xi Jianan's eyes flashed with deep disappointment and ridicule when he heard this. He slowly took two steps closer and stared into his son's eyes.

"Do you think His Highness Prince Zhao is so easy to fool? Do you think he doesn't know what you've done? Do you think he'll give you a higher rank when he inherits the throne?"

Looking at his pale-faced son, Xi Jianan never felt for a moment that his son was a waste.

"If it weren't for your father and I correcting our mistakes in time, joining King Zhao's army, redeeming our crimes and making meritorious contributions, and if your sister Qingwu hadn't given us a favor, you would think that this would be enough to get away with it? Idiot!"

He waved his hand, unwilling to say more: "Take him away! Give him thirty strokes of the cane, not a single one less! Let him clear his head in the ancestral hall!"

The servant showed no mercy and covered Xi Qingbai's mouth as he tried to shout, then forcefully dragged him towards the ancestral hall.

Silence returned to the hall. Xi Jianan stood alone, watching the raindrops falling under the eaves. He raised his hand, rubbed his eyebrows, and sighed tiredly.

It is conceivable that it may be difficult to find descendants who can shoulder great responsibilities.

I wonder if Qingfeng can train one or two...

Xi Qingbai, who was beaten in the ancestral hall, still had a breath in his heart. Although his father was angry, he was the heir of the Xi family after all, and his father would definitely let him go after some time.

When his sister becomes the queen, and he says some nice things to her, can she really stop recognizing him as her brother?

This is how the aristocratic families in the capital are. As soon as the new emperor is appointed, they start thinking about the issue of the crown prince again. Especially since Xiao Yuluan is already old, the position of crown prince must be decided early to avoid past mistakes.

Xiao Yuluan's maternal family was the Yang family. For a time, the Yang family became the most prominent family in the Dayu Dynasty. Xiao Ji, whose mother was from the Yang family, was naturally tacitly regarded as the future crown prince.

For a time, the Zhao Prince's residence was nearly overrun with visitors, with anyone with some connections coming to make friends. This was the first time Qingwu, the Zhao Prince's wife, understood what it meant to be tiring to socialize.

Qingwu went to the palace to look for his grandmother in order to avoid being lazy. After just a few words, he heard the eunuch report: "Your Majesty, the Duke of Liguo requests an audience."

Before Xiao Yuluan could say anything, Qingwu stood up and hid behind the curtain.

She smiled helplessly and let Duke Liguo in.

"I wonder why the Duke has come here?"

Duke Liguo smiled innocently and said, "It's like this. When the late emperor was alive, he betrothed my daughter to Prince Zhao as his principal wife. Because my daughter was in mourning for her grandfather, the marriage never took place. Later, that incident happened, and the marriage was delayed. Now that the situation has been decided, I would like to ask Your Majesty to make the decision..."

Xiao Yuluan and Qingwu were both stunned.

How can there be such a shameless person?