[{"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-33":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},2353157,4602,"Chapter 33: Trouble, Eldest Sister, be quick","the-phoenix-returns-to-rule-the-world-chapter-33",33,"\u003Cp>Lady Li was in a foul mood, and Jun Zhidie was equally so. Yesterday, seeing Jun Zijin receive so many fine things had made her mad with jealousy. Today, the First Lady was not only making Jun Yiyi vacate the Proud Snow Courtyard but also hosting a banquet for Jun Zijin, and that bastard Jun Chengcai had actually dared to peek at her while she changed clothes. Jun Yiyi was always surrounded by admirers, and now even that helpless Jun Zijin had turned her fortunes around, yet she, Jun Zhidie, had no prospect of success. Clearly, they were both legitimate daughters of the Jun family, yet she was barely better off than that concubine-born daughter Jun Shuyan. Why should she have to swallow her pride?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jun Zhidie dared not make a scene at the banquet, but as soon as she returned to her own courtyard, she headed straight for Lady Li’s room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Li was sitting before a desk, lost in thought after hearing Jun Zhengyuan’s words, when she saw Jun Zhidie storm in. Just as she was about to greet her, Jun Zhidie took two or three steps to her side, grabbed her arm, and yanked it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Can you still sit there? I’ve been bullied to this extent, and you’re still just sitting here?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Li was pulled into a stagger by Jun Zhidie, but she could only sigh helplessly. Her daughter’s temper was just like her own; she would suddenly lose control, and this wasn't the first or second time she had vented her anger on her. Strange things had been happening in the Jun family these past few days, and it was no wonder Jun Zhidie had reached her breaking point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Li also wanted to vent her anger, but at the thought of her son Jun Zhihao and Jun Zhengyuan’s words, she held it back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What can we do? We are merely a branch family; we still have to rely on them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So you’ll just watch your daughter act as a servant to someone else’s daughter every day? Don’t you know that while Jun Yiyi appears kind, weak, and pitiful on the surface, she is actually a vicious, predatory wolf at heart?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Terrified, Lady Li quickly stepped forward to cover Jun Zhidie’s mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you have a death wish? If someone hears this, will there be any way left for us mother and daughter to survive?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Li scolded in a hushed voice. Jun Zhidie shook off her hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hmph, even if I don't say it out loud, what way do we have to survive now? Living every day at their beck and call—I’m not reconciled to this.\" As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Li felt for her daughter, took her hand, and whispered, \"My good daughter, we are weak and isolated right now; we cannot clash with them head-on. Mother has a plan. As long as your brother makes something of himself in the future, we will be able to hold our heads high.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jun Zhidie sneered, \"Brother? What could he possibly amount to? He’s been away from home for so many years, I don't even know if he’s tall or short, fat or thin!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don't you dare talk about your brother like that!\" Lady Li’s face hardened. \"When your brother returns from his training, we won't have to suffer this indignity anymore.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jun Zhidie curled her lip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Jun Zijin has no mother and no backing, yet she can get all those good things. I want them too. Will I have them when Brother returns? I like the Crown Prince; will I be able to become the Crown Princess once Brother is back?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Li was helpless and said softly,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How old are you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m not young anymore. Jun Yiyi is younger than me and is already betrothed to the son of the Prime Minister. I’m already fourteen now; can’t you consider me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Li fell silent. It wasn't that she didn't consider it. To put it nicely, they were the legitimate wife and daughter of the Jun household, but to put it bluntly, they were merely a branch of the Jun family living in the Jun residence, having to watch everyone else’s expressions at every turn. To build momentum for her own daughter, the First Lady used the other young ladies in the house as foils. Her own daughter truly couldn't be described as gentle or virtuous, so good families wouldn't look at her. She would either end up a concubine for a wealthy family’s son or a wife for a minor household. How was she to consider her?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This night was destined to be a sleepless one for many in the Jun residence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The couple of the second branch had fought, the mother and daughter had a row, and the first branch was no better off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jun Yiyi had promised before her father and the entire household that she would move out of the Proud Snow Courtyard tomorrow. Thinking of this made her feel physically ill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The First Lady comforted her from the side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Child, as the saying goes, you have to lose a calf to catch a cow. It’s just a courtyard; it’s no big deal.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mother tells you, I have already made arrangements. Whether that little slut can even return after leaving is another matter. Even if she does, so what? Next month, if you succeed, never mind one courtyard—the entire Imperial Palace will be yours.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The First Lady had heard reports that Jun Zijin had left the city with her maid and nanny. She guessed she was going to fetch Nanny Dong. This little slut was actually playing mind games with her, but she was still too green. She had already made arrangements. Last time, it was her own carelessness that let the little slut escape, but this time, she had spent a fortune to hire people from the Bright Pavilion. She feared the little slut would not escape this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bright Pavilion was an assassin organization—the kind that worked for money. They did dark, dirty deeds, yet their name was \"Bright Pavilion.\" The name itself was full of irony. Clearly, everything they did was sinful and bloody, yet they insisted on calling themselves \"Bright.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But back to the matter at hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did Jun Yiyi reveal a smile. She buried her head in the First Lady’s bosom and called out a coy \"Mother—,\" the two short words twisted into eighty-one turns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The little maid standing nearby couldn't help but shudder at the stimulation, but she immediately realized her lapse in decorum. She snuck a glance at the mother and daughter, and finding they hadn't noticed her, she finally let her heart settle back into her chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next day, Jun Zijin rose early, preoccupied with the move. Aside from those dozens of bolts of brocade, there wasn't much else in the courtyard, but her bottles and jars could not be entrusted to others. Jun Zijin carefully wrapped them one by one and placed them in boxes. She called over Xiao He and Miao Zhu, instructing them to watch over them closely; these were the most precious items in her courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jun Zijin took her maid and nanny toward the Proud Snow Courtyard to personally urge Jun Yiyi to hurry up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as she reached the entrance of the Proud Snow Courtyard, she heard Jun Yiyi’s coy, petulant voice from inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh my, there are so many things, how am I supposed to pack them all?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A faint, ambiguous smile curled the corner of Jun Zijin’s mouth. Without calling for anyone to announce her, she walked straight through the gates of the Proud Snow Courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside, the maids and nannies were busy scurrying about packing, too occupied to pay respects to this unfavored Second Young Lady. Jun Zijin didn't mind; she looked around on her own. Just then, she saw a little maid holding a gold-threaded, hollow-carved, flower-mouthed vase, placing it into a chest. Jun Zijin’s eyes flickered. This vase was so familiar; she remembered that among her original self’s mother’s dowry, there was an identical porcelain vase. Jun Zijin reached out and took the vase from the chest, turned it over, and sure enough, the character \"Fang\" was clearly imprinted on the bottom. This porcelain vase had been custom-made by her maternal grandfather at the Ru Kiln, with the Fang family name imprinted on the bottom, and later brought to the Jun household as her mother’s dowry. Now, it was in Jun Yiyi’s hands. She had seen a bracelet belonging to her original mother in Nanny Liu’s hands last time. Jun Zijin’s gaze darkened. She calmly placed the vase back into the chest; this matter would require careful planning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jun Yiyi was already annoyed about having to move out of the Proud Snow Courtyard. Seeing Jun Zijin enter the courtyard without her knowing, she suppressed the anger in her heart and said with a smile,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Second Sister, why didn't you let the servants announce you when you came to my courtyard?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jun Zijin said sarcastically,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Has Eldest Sister forgotten that this is my courtyard? Do I need to notify Eldest Sister when I come to my own place?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"By the way, Eldest Sister, do keep a close eye on things and be sure to warn the servants not to take the wrong items.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the smile on Jun Yiyi’s face about to crumble, Jun Zijin dropped the line, \"I'll trouble Eldest Sister to be quick,\" and walked away without looking back, leaving Jun Yiyi, with nowhere to vent her fire, to unleash another round of beatings and scoldings on the maids beside her.\u003C\u002Fp>",1610,"2026-06-21T03:35:39.629Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","3466796a9760ddc027e8a2b1e86cb449acfb9249585dd9df4f1b761391e6af52","the-phoenix-returns-to-rule-the-world-chapter-34","the-phoenix-returns-to-rule-the-world-chapter-32",224,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-phoenix-returns-to-rule-the-world-cover.jpg"]