Chapter 30: She Is Indispensable

The day Cheng Xi came out of the prison, she stopped concerning herself with the affairs of the Cheng Family; the grievances between them could be considered to have come to a complete end.

For a person like Cheng Zhouxing, once he became a commoner, it was no different from the punishment of scraping bone to the marrow; it was a fate worse than death.

He and Li Shi were tightly bound together, destined to torment each other for the rest of their lives.

Not two days later, the imperial decree for Cheng Zhouxing's dismissal from office came down; he had gotten out of prison, but his official position was gone.

Upon receiving the news, Cheng Laotaitai could not hold herself up and fainted; when she woke again, one side of her body could not move, and she was bedridden.

Cheng Xi was actually a bit surprised, but she did not pity her in the slightest; if Li Shi was the executioner, then Cheng Laotaitai was the guillotine. She disliked Du Shi's high birth, feeling inferior to her daughter-in-law, so she held onto her status as a mother-in-law to make things difficult for her everywhere and wear her down. After Du Shi gave birth, her body was weak, and it was also she who deliberately prevented her from recuperating properly, making her one of the culprits who caused her early death from illness.

Having such an end now is the cycle of karma.

The Blood Gu Insect case involved many, and the Empress Dowager took the opportunity to sweep up all the close ministers of the Li Taifei faction, causing turmoil in the imperial court.

The Little Emperor was excessively frightened and his body was weak, so the Regent took him to the Qinghe Academy to request the Dean to treat him; Li Zhi'an was ordered to guard the Imperial City, and the Tongtian Division Guards patrolled day and night.

At the same time, the Empress Dowager brought her son, who had been raised at Feng Taiyi's house, back to the palace, renamed him Li An, and enfeoffed him as King Jing.

Because King Jing pleaded for him, Feng Taiyi saved his life.

The entire layout of Jindu changed drastically because of this matter; because King Jing had been raised outside, the Empress Dowager felt she owed her son, so she built a grand Wangfu for him, and all sorts of treasures were sent into the King Jing Mansion like flowing water.

She even had a talent test performed for King Jing, but unfortunately, neither King Jing nor the Little Emperor had talent. Although the Empress Dowager was disappointed, she turned around and demanded that Li Zhi'an pull a team of Division Guards from the Tongtian Division to serve as King Jing's bodyguards.

Li Zhi'an refused directly; the Empress Dowager was furious, but Li Zhi'an did not back down in the slightest.

Because of this, the relationship between the Empress Dowager and Li Zhi'an became tense instantly.

As the Empress Dowager's own niece, and possessing talent, Yan Shengyu was deeply favored by the Empress Dowager; as the Empress Dowager held great power in the court, she instantly became the number one noble lady in Jindu.

The most awkward among them was Cheng Fenglan; Cheng Zhouxing was dismissed from office, Li Taifei and King Ke died, the Li Family collapsed, and the Duchess of Zhenguo sent Jiang Weiran out of Jingdu to recover from injuries. She had no idea where Jiang Weiran was, and the engagement between the two became a laughingstock among the noble ladies of the capital.

Cheng Zhouxing sold the house in the capital and wanted to take Li Shi and his old mother back to their hometown; Li Shi refused, and the two had another row.

Cheng Fenglan and Cheng Yunjian both had talent; if they returned to their hometown, what would happen to the two children?

Cheng Zhouxing had no official position and valued the silver in his hands more than his life; he counted on it to live out the rest of his days and refused to take it out to pave the way for Cheng Yunjian and his sister.

The couple often quarreled over this; although Cheng Laotaitai was paralyzed in bed, she still put on airs, ordering Li Shi around all day to serve her, treating her like a little maid.

Li Shi had enjoyed a life of comfort following Cheng Zhouxing for many years; how could she endure this suffering? After only a few days, she fell out with Cheng Laotaitai.

The news about the Cheng Family was specifically inquired about by Zhao Mama to tell Cheng Xi; Cheng Xi was sitting on a lounge chair under a tree soaking up the sun, and she had no reaction after hearing it.

Cheng Zhouxing was selfish and self-interested; at first, he abandoned Li Shi to marry Du Shi, then abandoned Du Shi for Li Shi, and later, after discovering the original owner had no talent, he abandoned the original owner to focus on paving the way for Cheng Yunjian and his sister.

Now that his official career was hopeless, it was actually not strange at all that he would abandon the future of Cheng Yunjian and his sister to hold tightly onto his money for his own sake.

Now that Li Shi and her children had become the abandoned party, this was the final result Cheng Xi wanted.

Only by experiencing the desperate situation of the original owner and her mother could they know what evil they had done in the past.

For these past few days, she had not allowed the Wooden Figurine to go to Li Shi's side at night; without this object of extreme Yin, Li Shi was now unable to sleep peacefully either.

In the early morning, birds chirped incessantly, the sun began to rise, and the servants of the Du Mansion moved through the corridors, sweeping and burning incense; the kitchen had lit its fires early, and the fragrance of food spread out.

Mulan carried a fruit platter to replace yesterday's fruits and vegetables, and Jinxiang led people to wipe the floor under the eaves clean.

A breeze blew by; Cheng Xi sat by the window in a bright purple dress, her left hand supporting her chin, her long skirt trailing on the ground, and the wind chimes hanging on the window made a crisp, pleasant sound.

Such a quiet and comfortable day was interrupted by the sound of hurried footsteps.

Zhao Kang arrived in a rush, holding an invitation in his hand, "Eldest Miss, a post sent from the Yan Family."

Cheng Xi reached out to take the invitation and opened it; it was Yan Shengyu inviting her to go hunting. She had no interest in it; a group of noble ladies gathered together, and while they called it hunting, they mostly talked about the gossip and scandals of the capital.

Especially the Li Family and the Cheng Family, who were currently at the center of the storm.

Yan Shengyu was actually kind-hearted; she invited her to go hunting to let people know that Cheng Xi had already severed ties with the Cheng Family, and how the Cheng Family fared had nothing to do with her.

However, Cheng Xi did not care about these things.

"I will write a reply, and you take it to the Yan Family."

Mulan immediately brought pen and ink; Cheng Xi wrote only that she was feeling unwell, politely declining the trip, and wishing Yan Shengyu a good time.

Before the post was finished, a little maid ran in hurriedly, bowed, and said, "Eldest Miss, the city has been sealed."

Cheng Xi was startled, the tip of her brush paused slightly, and ink dripped onto the post; this one was considered ruined.

She put down the brush and asked, "Do you know what is going on?"

"This servant does not know, but the people outside are in a panic and are all rushing home; I heard that quite a few people trying to leave the city have gathered at the city gates."

Cheng Xi looked at Zhao Kang, "Go and inquire to see what is going on."

"Yes." Zhao Kang turned and left.

Cheng Xi sat in deep thought without speaking; Mulan and the others looked at each other, all becoming somewhat uneasy.

Since the city was sealed, something major must have happened.

Cheng Xi was still waiting for news from Zhao Kang when Yan Shengyu arrived on horseback.

The gatekeepers recognized the Eldest Miss of the Yan Family; seeing her demeanor, they were shocked and hurriedly stepped forward to stop her.

Yan Shengyu waved her hand, "I have an urgent matter to find your Eldest Miss; go and report it quickly."

Cheng Xi learned she had arrived and walked through the corridor to the front courtyard, where she saw Yan Shengyu with a look of anxiety between her brows. She spoke, "I was just about to write a reply to you; why have you come in person?"

Yan Shengyu knew that Cheng Xi possessed great abilities; hearing her voice, her expression softened, and she strode forward, "Xixi, something major has happened."

"What major event?" Cheng Xi led Yan Shengyu to the study to talk.

"Last night, a Demon attacked King Jing; several people died in the King Jing Mansion one after another, each with a bizarre state of death, bleeding from the seven orifices. His Highness King Jing has been in a coma from the shock ever since. I am here on the Empress Dowager's orders to invite you into the palace to help look at King Jing's situation," Yan Shengyu said with her brows tightly furrowed.

Cheng Xi:...

"There are Imperial Physicians in the palace, and if that fails, there is still Master Ji of the Tongtian Division; why do I need to enter the palace?" Cheng Xi did not want to go and politely refused.

How could Yan Shengyu not hear the meaning in Cheng Xi's words? She sighed, "After the Blood Gu Insect affair, the Empress Dowager now only trusts you."

Cheng Xi lowered her eyes; this meant she had to go.