Chapter 38: Holding a Grudge
Her nephew had been completely ignoring her advice these past two days. She had told him to visit the princess more often, yet he just holed himself up in Langya Hall and refused to come out.
At this rate, when would their Fox Clan ever get to see little foxes and little phoenixes?
Li Xuanyue hadn’t expected Consort Lang’s aunt to be quite so enthusiastic. She offered a faint smile. “It’s nothing much. Just some talk within the clan that the Second Prince is returning to the Snake Clan.”
The Second Prince she was referring to was none other than Jun Mo, who was currently visiting the Phoenix Clan. Her people had already discovered that he and Li Qinghe had a massive argument in Chaoren Hall yesterday. While her spies didn’t know the specifics of the fight, they knew it was serious.
Shufen’s eyes widened. “Is that true?”
She had heard whispers about it but hadn’t paid them much mind.
It was just a political marriage; hardly unusual in her eyes.
But now that Li Xuanyue had brought it up, her interest was piqued all over again.
“No wonder I didn’t see him here today,” Shufen mused, her tone turning strange. “Don’t tell me Princess Qinghe has him detained somewhere?”
“Who knows,” Teng Luo, who was sitting nearby, chimed in. “Maybe he’s staying of his own free will.”
Today was the day they were all scheduled to depart.
But the fact that Jun Mo was absent from the hall, leaving only the other four clans, was bound to start wild speculation.
However, just as they were eating and chatting, a sudden commotion erupted outside the hall.
Li Feng immediately frowned. “What is going on out there?” she asked the handmaiden beside her.
The maidservant hurried out to investigate and returned just as quickly.
“Reporting to the Phoenix Empress, it’s Princess Qinghe and the Second Prince of the Snake Clan. They’re arguing.”
Hearing this, Li Feng’s expression instantly darkened.
“Let them both in.”
Li Xuanyue, meanwhile, sat sipping her drink, looking thoroughly entertained.
Her dear sister was probably at her wit’s end by now. She actually thought her little plan was seamless.
She clearly hadn’t considered that Jun Mo wasn’t someone she could so easily control.
Soon, Li Qinghe and Jun Mo walked in from outside the hall.
“Your child greets the Mother Empress.”
“Greetings to the Phoenix Empress.”
The two entered the hall and bowed to Li Feng.
“Be seated.”
Li Feng suppressed her displeasure and waved them off.
If she could, she would rather not see either of them.
But the argument had been loud enough to be heard in the Hall of Central Harmony. Even if she wanted to ignore it, she couldn’t.
“Qinghe, what were you just arguing about with the Second Prince of the Snake Clan?” Li Feng demanded as soon as Li Qinghe took her seat.
Logically, Li Qinghe had no reason to be at this event, but this messy situation had to be dealt with.
There were too many rumors circulating.
Everyone was saying Li Qinghe had plotted against the Second Prince, leading to this messy entanglement.
Li Feng couldn’t just pretend she knew nothing.
“Phoenix Empress, what happened between Princess Qinghe and myself was just a misunderstanding,” Jun Mo interjected before Li Qinghe could even open her mouth.
He looked desperate, as if terrified of being entangled with her any further.
Li Feng’s brow furrowed, and she felt a flicker of displeasure.
Her daughter, no matter how flawed, was not for someone else to look down on.
Jun Mo’s behavior, as if he found her daughter repulsive, was an insult.
“What exactly do you mean by that, Second Prince?” Her voice was inscrutable, betraying no emotion. “Are you saying you were not a willing participant?”
A flash of killing intent glinted in her narrowed eyes—it was gone in an instant, but Li Xuanyue caught it.
Jun Mo, however, was focused only on returning to the Snake Clan and failed to notice. “The princess and I are merely friends. Before I even came to the Phoenix Clan, I already had someone I loved.”
He spoke with grim determination. “I plan to marry her as soon as I return. I hope the Phoenix Empress can understand.”
“You’re lying!”
Li Qinghe shouted, cutting Li Feng off before she could speak.
“Mother Empress, I already had someone investigate. Jun Mo has no one waiting for him in the Snake Clan! He’s only saying this because he’s throwing a tantrum at me. He’s afraid I won’t let him return home!”
Jun Mo nearly choked on his rage at her shameless words.
That bitch! How dare she!
Li Qinghe met Jun Mo’s hate-filled stare without flinching. Acting as if nothing were wrong, she stepped forward to take his hand, but he recoiled violently, as if she were something filthy.
A flicker of stiffness crossed Li Qinghe’s face, but it vanished as quickly as it came.
“Jun Mo, please don’t be angry.”
She deliberately adopted a soft, placating tone in front of everyone. “I know you want to go back to the Snake Clan, but now just isn’t the time. How about we wait until after the wedding?
“I’ll even go back with you.
“But for now, let’s not disturb my sister and her guests, alright?”
Her sweet, understanding smile made Jun Mo want to rip her face off.
In fact, he lunged, but she caught his hand firmly before it could connect.
“Stop making a scene,” she whispered, her voice a low warning in his ear.
“Do you really want them to keep watching this spectacle?”
Jun Mo glared at her, seething.
“Enough. This is not the place for you two to make a scene.”
Li Feng waved her hand in annoyance. “Whatever you have to say, take it outside and say it properly. Stop this ruckus.”
She was getting older and had no patience for this kind of drama.
“Yes, Mother Empress.”
Li Qinghe grabbed Jun Mo’s hand and tried to drag him out of the Hall of Central Harmony.
But Jun Mo wasn’t leaving until this was settled. He yanked his hand free.
“Princess Qinghe, do not force me to strike you,” he snarled, his expression turning vicious.
He wasn’t striking her because he wanted to leave her with a final shred of dignity.
But if she was determined to throw that dignity away, he would gladly oblige.
The smile vanished instantly from Li Qinghe’s face.
“Phoenix Empress, what happened between Princess Qinghe and myself was, as I said, a misunderstanding,” Jun Mo explained, his voice formal and serious. “Someone plotted against me, which led to this entire situation.
“Right now… the seven-day visit is now over. I am willing to let the matter of being plotted against in your territory go, but I must return to the Snake Clan immediately.”
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