CHAPTER 48: CHAPTER 47: LET’S HEAR YOU CALL ME ROYAL AUNT!

Pei Yunzhi looked flustered, tears welled up in her eyes as she said aggrievedly, "Jiarou, I reminded you all, but you didn’t listen."

She had told them to be more lenient with Yu Nianzhao, but they still wanted to find fault, what could she do?

Xie Jiarou was furious, "I only made things difficult for her to stand up for Yunzhi. Since Yunzhi knows her identity, why didn’t you tell me from the start?"

It made her offend this vengeful prince and even got her possessed by a ghost.

Pei Yunzhi opened her mouth but dared not continue to explain; she could only look tearfully at Xie Yunzhe. Her appearance of wanting to speak yet holding back was pitiful, making others involuntarily want to feel compassion.

Xie Yunzhe understood a bit now, frowning, "Did you cause trouble for someone without knowing the details? Xie Jiarou, where did all the teachings go that were imparted to you usually? You still want to blame Yunzhi? This is your own issue, you need to reflect on yourself."

Xie Jiarou struggled out of Xie Yunzhe’s embrace, her anger transferring to Pei Yunzhi.

Now, her mind slightly cleared, and the more she looked at Pei Yunzhi, the more she resembled those concubines in the mansion, pretending to be innocent like a white lotus flower.

Pei Yunzhi quickly wiped her tears, "It’s all my fault, Yunzhe, don’t blame Jiarou!"

Xie Yunzhe said, "This matter isn’t your fault, Jiarou brought it on herself."

Xie Jiarou’s eyes widened, her heart filled with anger.

"Disrespecting the royal family should be punished!"

Yu Nianzhao glanced at the siblings, a gentle smile on her face, "So, has the Princely Heir of An Nan thought about it? What kind of punishment should be given to my sister?"

Xie Yunzhe’s expression stiffened, not expecting the words to come back to him so quickly. He pressed his lips together and said, "The royal uncle isn’t formally married yet, so Princess Consort Su shouldn’t be considered part of the royal family yet."

Xie Jiuxiao narrowed his eyes, "The Emperor has already decreed the marriage, are you ignoring both the Emperor and me? Xie Yunzhe, you’re getting bolder."

The cold evil qi rushed at him, if it weren’t for Xie Yunzhe’s protective aura, he would have almost knelt down again.

"I dare not defy, Jiarou is my sister, so I will accept the punishment on her behalf."

Xie Yunzhe looked at Yu Nianzhao, clenching his teeth before asking, "How does Princess Consort Su wish to punish? Direct it at me."

"Oh my, don’t make it sound like I’m bullying you."

Yu Nianzhao blinked, "Everyone heard it earlier, didn’t they? County Chief Jiarou said herself... her status is above mine, she can scold me anytime."

"I was wrong..." Xie Jiarou admitted her mistake with grievance.

"Am I so difficult to get along with? Since I’m going to be your future royal aunt, I won’t argue with you much."

Yu Nianzhao seemed very reasonable, and upon saying this, both Xie Jiarou and Xie Yunzhe breathed a sigh of relief, looking at her with much more favor.

"Then you will compensate me for mental damage, not much, just around ten thousand liang." Yu Nianzhao said leisurely.

"What? Ten thousand liang?" Xie Jiarou almost squealed like a pig.

"Ten thousand liang, are you crazy?" Lien Yanran, an observer, couldn’t help but exclaim.

Whew—

Pei Yunzhi suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that the hundred liang she gave earlier was not a loss, at least compared to ten thousand liang, that was nothing.

"What? Is ten thousand liang a lot?"

Yu Nianzhao glanced at Xie Jiuxiao; she had easily earned ten thousand liang just by expelling a ghost, she thought it was easy to make.

Xie Jiuxiao gave a sidelong glance, carelessly saying, "Well, not much."

Damn, not much at all!

Xie Yunzhe and Xie Jiarou almost spat blood; it was ten thousand liang! Although they were a princely heir and a county chief, where would they find that much silver coin?

Xie Jiarou, crying, said, "I don’t have ten thousand liang of silver."

Xie Yunzhe, gritting his teeth, "Can you ask for less?"

Yu Nianzhao was surprised, "What? Is the An Nan Royal Mansion so poor?"

Xie Yunzhe, "..."

Xie Jiarou: (ಥ﹏ಥ)

How to deal with this shame?

Xie Yunzhe took a deep breath, "Neither I nor Jiarou have that much silver coin. To afford this amount, we need to report to our father. Let’s not make this an issue that reaches him; please have mercy, Princess Consort Su, and ask for less."

"Oh..." Yu Nianzhao smiled, "Then call me royal aunt to hear it."

Royal aunt?

Xie Jiuxiao’s lips slightly curved upwards, clearly pleased.

Xie Yunzhe glanced at the much younger Yu Nianzhao, squeezing the words "royal aunt" out from between his teeth, utterly humiliated.

Xie Jiarou, her eyes reddened, also called out, "Royal aunt!"

"Hmm!"

Taking on the elder’s demeanor, Yu Nianzhao huffed softly, "Alright then, I’ll reluctantly forgive you. But formalities can’t be disregarded. Without ten thousand liang, jewelry or something similar should be enough to offset the debt; I’m not picky."

Such a non-picky person.

Xie Yunzhe gritted his teeth, "Fine, I’ll make sure a generous gift is prepared and personally delivered to Prince Su Mansion as an apology."

"Good, I’ll be waiting." Yu Nianzhao showed no hesitation.

Having chosen her clothing and gained an extra apology gift, Yu Nianzhao was in a good mood as she prepared to return to the mansion.

At the door, as if remembering something, Yu Nianzhao casually flicked at Xie Yunzhe’s chest, taking the qi surrounding him and letting Jiu Ying eat it, saving her the constant nagging.

Xie Yunzhe was startled by her actions, looking at Yu Nianzhao with some suppressed emotions.

Lien Yanran pursed her lips, "What exactly is Zhaozhao cousin doing? Now that she’s Princess Consort Su, why is she still acting like this with the Princely Heir of An Nan?"

Pei Yunzhi’s face turned somber, eyes filled with fear and murderous intent.

Yu Nianzhao claimed she had cut ties, so why was she still acting so frivolously with Xie Yunzhe?

She was indeed the true daughter of the Pei family, if Xie Yunzhe knew her true identity, would he choose her?

Just the thought of this happening in the future caused Pei Yunzhi to lose control of the murderous intent towards Yu Nianzhao within her heart.

Yu Nianzhao merely intended to grab some qi for Jiu Ying, not realizing the myriad of complexities in their hearts.

Once Yu Nianzhao and Xie Jiuxiao left, Xie Jiarou angrily confronted Pei Yunzhi, "I misjudged you, it seems. Despite seeing you as my future sister-in-law, I defended you in every way. This time, it was hard to bear her attitude towards you, so I stood up for you. Truly, my genuine feelings were fed to the dogs."

Pei Yunzhi cried, admitting to her mistake, "Jiarou, I truly didn’t mean it. You also saw it, Zhaozhao’s temper, even I can’t suppress it. With Prince Su supporting her, I too am in a difficult position, I hope you can understand my plight."