Ex-Wife is a Big Villainess
Chapter 238 - 145: A Family Should Be All Together

Chapter 238: Chapter 145: A Family Should Be All Together

The death of Crown Prince Zhou Wei was a devastating blow to Consort Lan’s family.

Consort Lan herself suffered a mental breakdown and, losing her senses, went to wail and create a scene before the Emperor. Initially, the Emperor treated her with relative lenience, no doubt feeling somewhat guilty.

However, later on, the woman, for some unfathomable reason, even joined forces with a few officials to plead with His Majesty to appoint Zhou Kang, the Second Prince, as the Crown Prince, and even falsely accused the Third Prince, Zhou Yin, of plotting rebellion.

Thus, it came as no surprise when the mother of the former Crown Prince was banished to the cold palace.

The Second Prince Zhou Kang was dispatched to the west of Shu.

Although the little princess Zhou Xiyue did not suffer the repercussions, the Emperor’s affection for her naturally diminished, becoming much colder, and he even intended to marry her off to a son of some distinguished official to exchange for political resources.

After personally witnessing her brother’s death, her mother’s abandonment, and her own fall from favor in their father’s heart, the once willful young girl seemed to mature overnight.

Following the end of her brother’s funeral, she took the initiative to ask the Emperor for permission to go out and cultivate.

At first, the Emperor thought his little daughter was merely causing a commotion and didn’t take it seriously. But when he saw her kneeling outside for an entire day, after some hesitation and just as the people from the Yin Yang Sect arrived, he decided to casually hand her over to the Yin Yang Sect.

The Yin Yang Sect naturally did not dare to refuse, nor did they want to.

Firstly, Zhou Xiyue was still a princess, even if she had fallen out of favor, and she was a member of the royal family. Having this connection elevated the status of the Yin Yang Sect in the Jianghu as if it were covered with a layer of gold.

Over the years, the Yin Yang Sect had been working hard to recruit the children of court officials or royal relatives to forge good relations with the court and tightly bind their mutual interests together.

For example, the previous Nalan Xie.

After all, Jianghu is just Jianghu, always under the control of the dynasty.

With this amulet of the court, the Yin Yang Sect had more confidence in contending with other sects and even more pride to look down on others.

Secondly, the little princess’s talent for cultivation was not poor.

As a member of the royal family, even though she missed the optimal age for cultivation, she was nourished by the finest treasures since childhood and was never short of resources— even golden resources could leave behind a great number of naturally-gifted cultivators from humble backgrounds.

If Zhou Xiyue could truly achieve something in her cultivation, it would undoubtedly be the icing on the cake for the Yin Yang Sect and bring many benefits.

Inside the carriage, besides Zhou Xiyue, there was a man and two women.

The man was about forty years old, with a somewhat square face, wearing a Taoist robe embroidered with the distinctive pattern of the Yin Yang Sect, black and white intertwined, symbolizing the harmony of yin and yang, and the endless cycle of all living things.

This person was named An Jiubian, one of the four elders of the Yin Yang Sect.

This trip to the Capital was originally to investigate the disappearance of his eldest disciple, Qing, and although the clues found were few, he had an unexpected stroke of luck to take on the Dazhou Princess Zhou Xiyue as a disciple.

Even though the original intention of his journey down the mountain was not fulfilled, it could still be considered a fruitful trip.

He believed that once he returned, his status within the Sect would be elevated even further.

Next to An Jiubian sat a woman with scars on her face, named Weng Zhenzhen. She was An Jiubian’s second disciple, whose cultivation had already touched the realm of a Great Profound Sect Master.

By the side of the little princess was a young woman of ordinary appearance named Qi’er, the closed-door disciple of the highly skilled Ma Wu from the Imperial Household, who had already reached the realm of Great Perfection as a small Profound Sect Master.

This time, she was specifically following Zhou Xiyue to serve as her personal bodyguard, taking care of her daily needs and ensuring the safety and well-being of the Dazhou Princess.

"Princess, do you know that girl?" Weng Zhenzhen asked curiously.

Seeing Er Liang scurry away frightened, a shadow passed through Zhou Xiyue’s eyes.

She withdrew her gaze and said with a smile,

"Elder Sister, just call me Junior Sister. Now that I have joined the Yin Yang Sect, the identity of the Dazhou Princess no longer exists. That girl used to be a beggar. I originally intended to help her out of kindness, but she was ungrateful, and later on, there was some conflict with her master."

On hearing the address "Elder Sister," Weng Zhenzhen’s smile grew broader, warming up a few degrees to the little princess.

Initially, she had heard that Zhou Xiyue was extremely difficult, and she was worried that her master taking her as a disciple would threaten her own status. Now it seemed that the little princess was quite agreeable.

Weng Zhenzhen asked in surprise, "Her master is of high status?"

"Just a Liushan Division ’Dark Lamp’." Zhou Xiyue recalled the moment she was forced to apologize to Jiang Shouzhong, and her fists clenched slightly.

If it weren’t for the many incidents that had occurred in the Capital, she would have already chopped him up and thrown him into the Lion Garden. She had felt some regret leaving the Capital without dealing with him, but unexpectedly, she encountered his servant girl here.

She couldn’t help wondering if he was around too. If he was...

Zhou Xiyue’s eyes flickered slightly.

Weng Zhenzhen didn’t understand, "A ’Dark Lamp’ of Liushan Division is so bold to conflict with a princess?"

Zhou Xiyue shook her head lightly, "At that time, he did not know my identity. Afterward, some things happened in the Capital, and I didn’t bother with him. The ignorant are not guilty; let’s just let bygones be bygones."

Remembering the incident of the death of the former Crown Prince, Weng Zhenzhen did not dare continue the discussion and said coldly, "How can we let it go? Junior Sister is kind-hearted, but you are, after all, a revered princess. For someone to dare offend you, they should receive their due punishment. Leave this matter to me, Elder Sister; I’ll help you teach him a lesson!"

She turned to An Jiubian, "Master, what do you think?"

Though Weng Zhenzhen spoke of teaching a lesson, she did not dare make a decision and wanted to gauge her master’s reaction.

An Jiubian had no intention of getting involved in these trivial disputes, but considering that the princess had just become his disciple, he felt obligated to provide some care and said in an even tone, "Just handle it yourselves, but remember not to cause too much commotion. The... Crown Prince’s lockdown of the city must be for something important, and it would be bad if things got out of hand."