Chapter 237 - You Think Your Face Is Big Enough?

Shen Ninghua opened her eyes slightly and stroked her belly with her fingers. A cold light flashed in her eyes. “Foster father? How self-conceited he is!”

Hong Ling nodded fiercely. “That’s right, Miss. It’s better not to see him. Master has gone to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. I think he will be back soon. Let’s wait for him to come back.”

“Since he has come over with such fanfare, he must be prepared. At this time, Chu Junyi is probably trapped in the Ministry of Civil Affairs and cannot come back.” If Xiao Jingran didn’t have any plan, he would definitely not have come directly and claimed to be her foster father.

Hong Ling was anxious. “Then what should we do?”

Shen Ninghua looked at her and said, “Why are you so upset? Since Xiao Jingran wants to see me, I’ll go and see how overbearing this foster father is!”

“Miss, don’t be impulsive. You have our little master in your belly now.”

“No problem. You and Qing Que accompany me there.”

Seeing Shen Ninghua’s resolute expression, Hong Ling bit her lips and cursed Xiao Jingran several times in her heart. She secretly gritted her teeth and thought: If Xiao Jingran dared to play any trick, she would fight back even at the cost of her life! No matter what, she couldn’t let him hurt Miss and the little master.

When Shen Ninghua arrived at the flower hall, Xiao Jingran was sitting in the seat of honor with a gloomy expression. His eyes were filled with impatience.

Fragments of teacups mixed with tea were scattered on the ground. The scene looked extremely uncomfortable.

Seeing Shen Ninghua arriving, Xiao Jingran let out a disdainful snort from his nose. “What a noble princess. I’ve been waiting here for a long time.”

Shen Ninghua held Hong Ling’s arm and walked into the flower hall with a cold expression. Since they had already declared war, there was no need for her to act gently. The Xiao Clan had not taken action for a long time. It seemed that they wanted to take advantage of her pregnancy to cause trouble for her.

“Greetings, Old Patriarch Xiao.”

“Old Patriarch Xiao? Don’t tell me that you don’t know my relationship with your husband!”

Shen Ninghua raised her eyes and said with indifference, “What relationship? If my memory isn’t wrong, my husband has nothing to do with you. Oh, if there is some relationship, you two are colleagues in court.”

“Nonsense! Chu Junyi is my adopted son. Do you want him to go against filial piety?” Xiao Jingran pounded on the table and shouted with a frown.

“Adopted son?” Shen Ninghua sneered and turned to look at Hong Ling. “Hong Ling, do I have a bad memory after getting pregnant? Why do I remember that at the Nine-bowl Banquet on my wedding ceremony, Old Patriarch Xiao personally came and broke off relations with my husband?”

Hong Ling bowed her head slightly and said, “You are right. That’s true. At that time, Her Majesty and numerous high-ranking officials and officers were present, and many people can testify your words.”

Shen Ninghua looked up at Xiao Jingran and said, “Does Old Patriarch Xiao understand?”

“At that time, I just uttered those words out of anger. As juniors, do you really want to ignore my twenty years of efforts for nurturing him?”

“Oh, in that case, you want to rebuild your relationship with our Princess Zhaohua Mansion?”

“I never said that.”

Shen Ninghua raised the corner of her lips and sneered. “You don’t want to rebuild the relationship, but you want us to treat you as an elder. Xiao Jingran, where did you get such a big face?”

Xiao Jingran suddenly stood up and shouted angrily, “Shen Ninghua, are you mocking me, an important official?”

“Impudent!” Hong Ling took a step forward to stand in front of Shen Ninghua and shouted coldly, “Lord Xiao, are you openly disrespecting the princess?”

“What are you to dare to talk to me like this?”

Hong Ling abruptly pulled out the soft sword from her waist and injected internal force into it. The soft sword suddenly turned into a sharp blade. “I’m just an unimportant servant, but how can you call Her Highness by her name? Didn’t anyone tell you how to address a princess? Or do you look down on the royal family and disrespect their dignity?”

Shen Ninghua sat in the chair without any change in her expression. She picked up a snack and tasted it. After a long while, she said, “Too sweet.”

Hong Ling immediately turned her head and said with a smile, “Your Highness, since you don’t like it, I will instruct the kitchen to make some without sugar.”

Xiao Jingran was furious and he stared at Shen Ninghua and Hong Ling fiercely. The two of them actually joined forces to insult him!

“Good, really good. This Princess Zhaohua Mansion is really different from other places. Even a servant here dares to berate an important official of the Imperial Court. I have to go ask His Majesty and see where this logic comes from!”

Shen Ninghua raised her eyes, and her face did not show the slightest bit of emotion. “Are you done making trouble?”

“What?”

“I said, are you done making trouble?” Shen Ninghua said coldly. “You did raise Chu Junyi for twenty years, but you should know why you raised him! Don’t always use that as an excuse. If it wasn’t for your kindness to him, who knows whether the Xiao Clan still exists now.”

“What did you say? Shen Ninghua, do you want to go against the heavens?”

“Heh, what does it have to do with you if I’m going against the heavens? That’s also Father Emperor’s heavens, not your Xiao Clan’s heavens!” Shen Ninghua’s eyes shone brightly. “Old Patriarch Xiao, no matter how much you hate me because of Xiao Huanxi, I am a princess of the royal family. As long as my title is not revoked, you will not be able to flaunt your might in front of me. Not to mention that you have already severed your relationship with Chu Junyi, even if you hadn’t done it, you will still have to salute me!”

Xiao Jingran suppressed his anger. His face alternated between red and purple. He felt that all the blood in his body was gushing towards his head. He almost couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of blood. “Shen Ninghua, you…you really…”

“Old Patriarch Xiao, are you unable to find any reason to refute me?” Shen Ninghua raised her eyes and gracefully brushed her hair by her ear. “If there’s nothing else, please take your leave. After all, I’m pregnant now, and it’s not convenient for me to see a guest for a long time. If anything happens to my baby, it’ll be troublesome.”

“Stop!” The veins on Xiao Jingran’s forehead surged and he struggled to suppress the anger that had accumulated in his chest. The corners of his eyes twitched. “Today, I’ve come here to reconcile. I’m old, and now Xiao Fengjue is my only son. I really miss Junyi.”

Reconcile? Xiao Huanxi was dead, and Xiao Jingran must hate her and Chu Junyi to the uttermost. Why would he want to reconcile? Even a three-year-old wouldn’t believe him.

“Are you kidding me, Old Patriarch Xiao? You just said that you wouldn’t reconcile, and now you ask to reconcile. In less than fifteen minutes, you have already forgotten what you just said?”

Xiao Jingran ignored Shen Ninghua’s mockery and said arrogantly, “What, I personally came to ask for reconciliation, but Princess Zhaohua wants to prevent Junyi from returning to the Xiao family?”

Shen Ninghua paused. The Xiao Clan had nurtured Chu Junyi. This kindness could never be erased. Xiao Jingran came to reconcile today. If she refused, it would be a violation of filial piety. At that time, everyone in the world would point an accusing finger at her and Chu Junyi.

Xiao Jingran knew this, and that was why he came over with great fanfare today!

“Princess Zhaohua, have you decided?” Xiao Jingran looked at her with a cold smile. His eyes were filled with hatred. After several failures to hurt Shen Ninghua, he suppressed the hatred and waited for the right time. Now, it finally came.

A series of footsteps sounded from the door. Chu Junyi strode in and said, “Old Patriarch Xiao, if you want to reconcile, you need to ask if I agree or not, right?”

Xiao Jingran looked at Chu Junyi fiercely. His sharp gaze carried a cold light. “Chu Junyi, you disagree?”

Chu Junyi’s expression was cold as he walked to Shen Ninghua. “Yes!”

“What?”

Not only was Xiao Jingran surprised, but Shen Ninghua was also extremely surprised. Chu Junyi actually refused to reconcile?

Chu Junyi turned to look at Shen Ninghua and held her hand as a sign of comfort. He stood upright and looked at Xiao Jingran. “Old Patriarch Xiao, you should know the reason for Xiao Huanxi’s death, right?”

“You still dare to mention Huanxi?” The aura of resentment around Xiao Jingran was dark and dense.

“Why don’t I dare to mention that? Not only did Xiao Huanxi repeatedly pester me, but She also repeatedly framed Ninghua. In the end, she even wanted to murder Ninghua. If Ninghua wasn’t lucky, she would have died countless times. How could I easily forget this grudge?”

“Can’t my kindness of raising you for twenty years be exchanged for your forgiveness?”

“Unfortunately, no!” Chu Junyi straightened his back and spat out the words in a cold voice.

Xiao Jingran was so furious that he almost threw himself over. “Alright, what a cold-blooded and ungrateful monster! Since you said no, then let it be. I will show the world how cold-blooded and ungrateful you are!”

Chu Junyi’s expression turned cold. “Qing Que, send the guest off.”

Xiao Jingran stared at Shen Ninghua and Chu Junyi with a dark and gloomy gaze. The killing intent in his eyes was almost tangible as a blade. Then, he swung his sleeves and strode out.

Hong Ling bit her lips and followed out with Qing Que. Immediately, only Chu Junyi and Shen Ninghua remained in the hall.

The two of them did not speak, and the hall was completely silent.

After a while, Chu Junyi grabbed Shen Ninghua’s hand and said, “Ninghua, I just grabbed you too hard. Are you alright?”

Shen Ninghua shook her head. “It’s okay. I haven’t finished my breakfast yet. Why don’t you have some with me?”

Chu Junyi was stunned, then he smiled and nodded. “Alright.”

The two of them returned to Huajun Pavilion, quietly finished their breakfast, and sat in the warm pavilion to bask in the sun.

Chu Junyi hugged Shen Ninghua in his arms and stared blankly for a moment before saying, “Ninghua, what rumors do you think will be spread in the capital?”

“Whatever that is unpleasant to hear.” Shen Ninghua closed her eyes and replied.

“Our reputation is going to be damaged.” Chu Junyi sighed.

“A good reputation needs to be painstakingly maintained while a bad reputation drags you down. Reputation looks extremely important, but it’s actually the most useless thing. Let it be damaged. I abandoned my clan and severed my relationship with the Shen Family, which greatly damaged my reputation. But now nobody mentions it.”

Chu Junyi smiled and caressed her head. “Do you know why my foster father did this?”

Shen Ninghua opened her eyes and said, “To avenge Xiao Huanxi.”

“Ye.” Chu Junyi sighed. “He wants to use filial piety to put pressure on us. By repeatedly doing so, he hopes to harm our baby…”