[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-phoenix-returns-to-rule-the-world":3,"chapter-the-phoenix-returns-to-rule-the-world-the-phoenix-returns-to-rule-the-world-chapter-31":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Phoenix Returns to Rule the World",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2353155,4602,"Chapter 31: The Jealous Lady Li","the-phoenix-returns-to-rule-the-world-chapter-31",31,"\u003Cp>In the Jun household’s second branch, as soon as Lady Li returned to her own courtyard, she began to curse with a sour, sarcastic tone: \"That second girl just has good luck. Who knows what vixen-like tricks she used to bewitch the Emperor and the Crown Prince, father and son, until they were spinning in circles? Even Lady Wu was hoodwinked into hosting a banquet specifically for her...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jun Zheng’s face turned cold: \"Shut your mouth. With that mouth of yours, you will bring disaster upon this family sooner or later.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Li snapped out of her daze, realizing she had been blinded by jealousy and had been babbling nonsense, criticizing the Emperor and the Crown Prince. She was so frightened she dared not make another sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jun Zheng’s expression softened:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Now that the second girl is in favor, you must be careful. Tell Zhidie to maintain a good relationship with her, and don't offend the eldest brother or the eldest lady either.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Li was unwilling, but could only nod, then continued to curse:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Speaking of which, that Lady Wu is even worse. If it weren't for her negligence, how could that scoundrel have done such a thing? That excuse about not knowing someone was in the room and entering the wrong chamber—it was clearly just a pretext...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jun Zheng’s brow twitched, and he roared:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Will you shut up!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Be careful that the neighbors don't hear you, or you'll have a bitter price to pay!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Lady Li would not have it. Her eyes widened in fury, and she lunged at Jun Zheng. Her fingers curled into claws, and she scratched fiercely at his face. Jun Zheng could not dodge in time, and blood immediately appeared on his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jun Zheng felt the pain, let out a miserable howl, and cursed:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You crazy woman, you are simply unreasonable!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You cursed me, you actually dared to curse me!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Li, acting as if she had gone mad, continued to attack him relentlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jun Zheng roared:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Enough! Stop hitting me!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that Jun Zheng was truly angry, Lady Li felt a twinge of fear and stopped. Jun Zheng covered his face, his eyes filled with rage:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is there nothing we can discuss properly? Must you resort to violence?\" Jun Zheng said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I am just unwilling to accept this. What kind of man are you? You can't provide us with a good life, and your wife spends her days bowing and scraping to other wives. When Zhidie was molested by that bastard, you didn't even dare to make a sound.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jun Zheng sighed, then lowered his voice to say:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Think of our Hao'er. The more of a scoundrel Cheng'cai is, the more our Hao'er will benefit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Li snorted, \"How will Hao'er benefit? By relying on you swallowing your pride every day like this?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jun Zheng ordered a servant to bring a chair, sat up straight, and explained in a low voice. Jun Zheng gave a cold snort:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Look at how absurd and degenerate Cheng'cai is; how will he be able to support the Jun family in the future? Big brother will eventually grow tired of him, and since big brother has no other sons, once Hao'er returns from his training, as long as we wait patiently for the right moment and let Hao'er show his worth before big brother, the day Cheng'cai is completely ruined will be the day Hao'er shines. The position of family head will be Hao'er's sooner or later. With the Jun family's vast estate, are you afraid it won't fall into Hao'er's hands? If we push too hard now, we will only anger big brother and end up harming Hao'er instead.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Lady Li’s face was still full of resentment, she felt there was some truth to his words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jun Zhihao, 15 years old, is the eldest legitimate son of the second branch, born to Lady Li, and ranks second among the male descendants of this generation of the Jun family. Because he was frail and sickly, he was sent to Mount Kunlun to study at a young age.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Li is a jealous woman who cannot tolerate a grain of sand in her eye. After marrying Jun Zheng, she did not have children for many years and once allowed him to take a concubine. Jun Zheng doted on this newly taken Concubine Tan immensely. Soon, both Lady Li and Concubine Tan became pregnant. Concubine Tan miscarried, and Lady Li gave birth to a son. Later, when a maid saw Concubine Tan meeting a man in private, Lady Li sent her to a temple to practice asceticism, where she later died of a sudden illness. Since then, Jun Zheng has not taken another concubine—not because he didn't want to, but because he truly could not handle Lady Li’s shrewish demeanor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jun Zijin selected 3 bolts of Cloud Brocade and 3 bolts of Shu Brocade, telling Hanxiao and Miaozhu to bring them along to deliver to the Old Lady later. People of advanced age have less energy and feel weary after lunch, so she had returned to Jingzhu Courtyard to rest before the banquet had even dispersed. The Old Lady had just woken up and was holding the Three-Flavor Tea that Jun Zijin had prepared for her. She had only taken a few sips when she saw Jun Zijin walking in with a smile, followed by Miaozhu and Hanxiao carrying the brocades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jun Zijin stepped forward quickly and asked Wang Mama with a smile:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Has Grandmother suffered from any headaches recently?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Mama replied respectfully:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thanks to the Second Young Lady's excellent acupuncture therapy, paired with the pills and the Three-Flavor Tea, the Old Lady hasn't had a headache in half a month. Just now, the Old Lady was praising how effective the tea you prepared is!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Three-Flavor Tea is a tea Jun Zijin prepared using red peony, achyranthes, and astragalus, primarily to assist in treating the Old Lady’s headaches, dizziness, and limb numbness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Old Lady then smiled and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don't worry, Second Girl, Grandmother is doing just fine!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Old Lady had always trusted Jun Zijin’s medical skills. Jun Zhengming, however, had been skeptical; he hadn't realized his second daughter could diagnose illnesses before, and yet her first attempt was so remarkable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Wu said that when things are abnormal, there must be something sinister, and Jun Zhengming had half-believed it, but the Old Lady said that the second girl had heard and seen much while following her maternal grandfather, so it was normal for her to know how to diagnose. The Old Lady had scolded Jun Zhengming, essentially saying he was not a competent father—not only did he not know his daughter knew medicine, but he also listened to the slander of others. One must know that with the second girl’s medical skills being so remarkable, it brings glory to the Jun family, doesn't it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jun Zhengming was filled with shame, felt the Old Lady’s words made sense, and stopped doubting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did Jun Zijin instruct Hanxiao and Miaozhu to bring the brocades over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Grandmother, these are the brocades the Emperor and the Crown Prince bestowed upon your granddaughter yesterday. These colors are the most suitable for you, so I brought them for you to have some clothes made.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Old Lady’s face was full of gratification, and she said with a smile:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Grandmother knows you are filial, but Grandmother is old and doesn't need such precious brocade. My granddaughter should be the one making more clothes for herself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Grandmother, these colors would look too old-fashioned on me; they are truly most suitable for you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Mama smiled:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Since it is the Second Young Lady’s filial heart, why don't you accept it, Old Lady?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did the Old Lady accept. The Old Lady was not being pretentious; she truly doted on Jun Zijin. Other young ladies dressed meticulously every day, while the second girl was so casual—the clothes she wore didn't look like those of a young lady at all. Knowing it must be Lady Wu intentionally making things difficult, the Old Lady had asked a tailor to make several outfits for Jun Zijin in the current style a few days ago, but she had only seen her wear them once before putting them away. She thought to herself that the second girl must be reluctant to wear them. These were rare Cloud Brocades and Shu Brocades; they should be kept for the second girl to make her own clothes. Her second girl should be dressed up properly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, it wasn't that Jun Zijin was reluctant to wear the clothes the Old Lady made; she was simply not accustomed to the complicated clothing of young ladies from high-ranking families, finding simple attire more refreshing and efficient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that she was not short of money, she planned to design a few sets of light and convenient clothing styles that would not lose their dignity—neither too complicated nor lacking in propriety when in public. After all, living in this large mansion, one cannot entirely ignore the facade of one's appearance.\u003C\u002Fp>",1518,"2026-06-21T03:35:39.629Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","92c89a249b998ce8b4ba910a9510d069d34180edc09ab79cc5ea99cb9b93308b","the-phoenix-returns-to-rule-the-world-chapter-32","the-phoenix-returns-to-rule-the-world-chapter-30",224,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-phoenix-returns-to-rule-the-world-cover.jpg"]