Chapter 21

'Through out the next few weeks, Shen Nuo was in a very bad mood. Not even Minghe dared to come near him after that day he saw him beating Jinyu with the kitchen broom for hiding the water bucket inside Shen Nuo's toilet...

No one knew why he was in such a bad mood and even Liyi didn't dare to ask. She silently bit her lower lip and observed. She wondered what must have happened that midnight her master returned to his residence in a daze, with bleeding lips and his dress drenched all over. (Don't worry, didn't happen anything)

And one morning, Shen Nuo woke up with a start, kicking the quilt off his bed. "@#$k!"

Liyi who was sweeping the chamber looked at Shen Nuo in amazement. "Master?"

Shen Nuo was speechless. How dare he dream about that dog? He saw a strange dream which seemed to have belonged to original Shen Nuo's childhood. He saw the smaller himself and the dog... He slightly remembered about a beautiful white jade tassel too. It was like they were arguing about something but the memories once he woke up was soon slipping away from his mind. He did not remember the dream clearly...

Shen Nuo stared around him annoyed for a while and then facepalmed. "Shit!"

Liyi leaned the broom onto the desk and sat by the side of her master, genuinely concerned. "Master, did you dream again? What did you see?"

Shen Nuo spat out disgustedly. "A dog..."

Liyi was stunned. Then she giggled. "A dog?" Then her smile disappeared immediately under the furious glare of Shen Nuo.

As if to anger him more, not even five minutes passed, Jinyu entered into the chamber saying that Shen Nuo was summoned by the Empress in the afternoon for a harem tea party.

@#$k the party! He knew it was definitely not something good. This woman was officially named as the mother of Prince Minghe. But she only took it for granted so as to keep her position as the Empress safe.

In her last life, after Minghe was murdered, Consort Lian took the chance to complain it was also the ignorance of the Empress that caused the death.

Sooner, even before Shen Nuo, the Empress died misteriously. Doctors who checked the corpse said she was poisoned by the venom of vipers through her meals. The final conclusion was that she poisoned herself in guilt. But Shen Nuo estimated that Consort Lian must have added snake venom to her meals.

But startling everyone, the Emperor prohibited from investigating the matter further so the murder case of the Empress was closed just like that. But why did the Emperor do so? Shen Nuo furrowed his brows. Things were getting even confusing. There were many unclear part that he had to work out soon.

That afternoon, he entered into the court yard of the Empress with his maid Liyi while Jinyu stood outside. Males weren't allowed inside. Though Shen Nuo looked like a handsome man, he was still a ger.

The court yard was well maintained with full of lemon grasses as the carpet and pots and beds of peony bushes full of colorful peonies. In the mid, many desks and seats were set neatly and many elegant ladies sat laughing and chatting with their lips behind their sleeves.

As soon as Shen Nuo stepped into the premises, a dead silence felled and almost every head turned towards the stranger dressed in red and black. Damn it! He looked like a man! But he was very handsome... handsome and beautiful than any of the girls present.

They couldn't believe their eyes. Shen Nuo used to wear layers of makeup and looked hideous. But why did he look this handsome without makeup? They couldn't veil their envy.

They immediately stood up in courtesy except the Empress. Shen Nuo was still high ranked than them consorts and concubines. His powers only subsided forth the Emperor and Empress.

Shen Nuo finally saw the so called army of the harem that was capable of turning the entire Palace upside down. He couldn't believe that such cute and innocent puppy faces held such capabilities...

The Empress was wholly dressed in red. She was beautiful but her face had a touch of cruelty within. Shen Nuo remembered well how Minghe explained how she had mistreated him.

Of course after Shen Nuo befriended Minghe, little he became Shen Nuo's WiFi. To tell the truth, Minghe was quicker than WiFi though... Whatever that happened in the harem was delivered into Shen Nuo's ears even before an hour was passed.

Minghe had the permission to enter into any palace in the harem under the high sounding excuse of going to visit his mothers...

According to Minghe, this vile woman of an Empress only loved him when his father, (the dog) was near. At other times, she never cared about his existence at all.

Minghe did not seem to like Consort Lian too. He had once told Shen Nuo that he doesn't like to hang around mother Lian too much because he always gets a bad feeling about a sly fox...

Shen Nuo had laughed that day. Really, though Minghe be the son of a dog, he was still an Imperial puppy. His senses were sharper than ordinary...

Looking around further, Shen Nuo saw a pair of twins identical to the last freckle. They looked very beautiful with curly black hair and dark brown eyes. He guessed they must be the twin Mongolian Princesses Khutulun and Sagangui.

There was also a foreign looking girl with fairer skin. She had beautiful brown hair, with light brown eyes and an elegant face that did not look like Chinese. It looked more into the western side.

If Shen Nuo was not mistaken, she was Lady Lillian, a famous princess from Constantinople who, now was a Consort of Li Yan.

He also identified Consort Xuanying who always dressed in light green. Other identical concubines were all dressed in pale flaxen and was hard to identify who were who.

Shen Nuo felt uneasy again. Ok! What happens when they greet him and he doesn't know their names to greet them back? Then suddenly he remembered that he had a terrible memory loss...

Consort Lian was also present, sitting closer to the Empress, with tearful eyes. Her face looked as if it had cured but it still had some unpleasant freckles and scars left. Her eyes were narrowed darkly as she stared at him without losing her innocent posture.

Ok! Why was everyone staring at him like they had never seen a man?

He looked around at the stunned faces and waved his hand uneasily. "Hi! Is...is there anything on my face?" He wiped his face vigorously and looked at Liyi. "Ok?"

Before Liyi could reply, the Empress who sat on the main seat slapped her palm upon the desk, angrily. "Ridiculous!"

Shen Nuo raised his brows. "What is ridiculous?"

"Did you forget, little brother? You should greet the Empress first!" Consort Lian reminded with some victory in her voice. Yeah, she wants a man to bow his head to a woman...

Shen Nuo smiled sweetly and lowered his head nearly to his knees in mock. "Is it enough, big sister?" He asked Consort Lian with his mischievous smile still in place. "Or do you want me to prostrate on the ground and burn some incense sticks for her?"

I would rather burn some paper money for you ghost!

However, the moment Consort Lian saw the frightening smile upon Shen Nuo's lips she shut her mouth quickly. She still remembered the last time she saw that same smile, while she was forced to drink that burning tea inside a pavilion one morning...

But that smile did not carry harm to others. For them it looked sweeter.

The Empress did not invite him for a seat. She raised her head proudly and looked at Shen Nuo as if he was dust. "Consort Shen, heard you felled into the Ice Lake and lost conciousness. Glad you're well!

Shen Nuo smiled sweetly. You must be glad that I walked out of that lake without dying to haunt your lives!

But the Empress did not know there was a ghost who wanted to haunt her life. "So? I happen to hear that you seem to have a temporal memory loss?"

Shen Nuo smiled even sweetly. You fucking think so! I even know how you're gonna die your miserable death one day! Go on dreaming!

There was only one empty seat beside the Empress but Shen Nuo had sharp eyes. That seat wasn't reserved for him. If he was not wrong, there's one Noble Consort missing - Di Lingxian...

She was unique and easy to identify with her dark green silk robes and loads of jewels she wore. But now there was no person like that...

Shen Nuo had a very bad feeling. Could this be a trap?

Consort Lian smiled innocently. "Little brother Shen, why don't you have a seat so that we can start the party?" Her eyes shone brightly and it couldn't hide the malicious light.

So this was indeed a trick. The seat was really not for him. She wants him to loose his face infront of the harem. Even the Empress did not say anything which taught Shen Nuo that the wolf and the fox were in cahoots. This was deliberately making things hard for him.

But Shen Nuo only looked at Consort Lian with an alluring smile. "It's good of you big sister that you think of this little brother so much. Little brother is honored!" He narrowed his eyes into beautiful curves broadening his adorable smile. "Little brother forgot to tell something. Big sister is really beautiful without makeup!"

Consort Lian felt like she was going to explode. There was an unpleasant silence that followed for a while. This was obviously embarrassing. Who doesn't know Consort Lian's face now? It was clear whether it was beautiful or not. The scars were really ugly and on top of that, her makeup all were taken away. She was speechless for a while.

Suddenly there was a scream. Everyone turned to look back at the seat closest to the enormous green watered lake. It was Consort Sagangui. Her low seat creaked and collapsed making her fall and cramp her foot. Her beautiful face wrenched in pain.

Several concubines gasped.

Sagangui, the eldest twin of the Mongolian Consorts was famous for being kind and lenient. She was definitely among the very few that were harmless inside the harem. Even while Shen Nuo read the novel, he had a good feeling about her. She once even saved Minghe's life with the risk of her life.

So Shen Nuo immediately hurried to her and knelt by her side. "Big sister, did you get hurt?" He pulled away her shoe.

There was nothing to ask. The cramp was heavy so once the shoe and the sock was pulled off, the fair skin was swollen red beneath. But by the next moment, Shen Nuo was stunned by what happened. Taking chance of the extremely close distance, Sagangui softly whispered in his ear.

"Little brother, make an excuse and immediately leave!"

Her concerned voice was seriously warning him. Shen Nuo was shocked. Did she intentionally fall off herself from her seat and hurt herself to warn him? Yeah, by the next moment, he realized she really did it to warn him.

She had once nearly beheaded herself from an opponent's sword while she tried to shield Minghe from a stab... Shen Nuo didn't say anything. He felt vulnerable. Yeah, everyone was thinking he was still that stupid Shen Nuo from before. And this weak woman was still trying to protect him...

He silently pulled out a little box of a light green translucent paste and applied it upon her swollen ankle. When he transmigrated into this world, he swore to himself he would protect the weak. It was his turn to protect her now... "Big sister, I'm a bit good at medicines. Let this little brother apply some medicine for you." He said casually.

Sagangui looked at him furiously. She spoke again softly without moving her lips. "They are going to push you into the lake!"

Shen Nuo smiled slightly and also spoke in a low whisper. "So what's wrong about getting a pleasant morning bath?"

Sagangui was speechless. "But they had poisoned the lake..."

Shen Nuo's eyes flashed. Suddenly he heard footsteps behind him. He was actually standing at the brim of the green watered lake by the side of Sagangui. A cold shudder ran down his back. He had to take a move immediately.

Meanwhile, the Empress and Consort Lian exchanged malicious smiles. Only they and a few evil concubines by their side knew why Consort Di was absent today. They watched the oncoming farce wth great interest.

Not every woman in the harem was wicked. There were also few powerless and innocent concubines and consorts siding with the twin Mongolian consorts. They actually knew what was coming. But what can a sheep possibly do amid a pack of hungry wolves?

But it did not take even a moment to reverse the entire situation upside down...

Consort Di came walking leisurely and elegantly by the banks of the green watered pool, towards the seats to join the tea party.

Shen Nuo was there half kneeling beside Sagangui, seriously paying his attention on checking the cramp on her leg. Sagangui was nearly about to cry. She just got injured to chase him away but he???

Shen Nuo saw her unease and smiled softly. "Relax. If someone wants to bath, can we stop it? No right? Why not let the nature take it's own course?"

He looked as if he had dropped his all guard down because of the serious attention he was paying to her leg.

And then there was a scene that while Consort Di came closer towards Shen Nuo who was turning his back to her, she smiled viciously and raised her foot to him. But Shen Nuo seemed not to notice...

There was something wrong with the way he massaged her ankle though... Wait! According to the way that leg was cramped, this shouldn't be the way he should be doing it. He changed his posture, unaware of the swift naughty leg that was swung past, completely missing the target.

The floor was moss clad and slippery. Shen Nuo knelt fully on the floor, pushing his legs to the back. Consort Di who was having trouble on balancing the only foot upon the mossy floor, did not see the additional foot that came in her way.

Even before the other leg touched the earth, she tripped her foot over Shen Nuo's calves. This happened at the speed of lightning and not even a single person saw what clearly went over there from beneath.

"Aaaaaaaaaah!" There was a thunderous splash. The others were stunned. Even Sagangui was shocked. Shen Nuo immediately stood and looked back looking politely bewildered. "Eh? Who felled in? How did she fell?"

To be frank, the moment Shen Nuo heard footsteps behind, he realized everything was planned beforehand. He verified the matter over Consort Lian's pale face after having their plan failed. He knew well that Di Lingxian and Shi Lianhua were best friends that committed many crimes together. This was deliberately trying to pull trouble.

But they just forgot that their opponent wasn't that weak Shen Nuo anymore. If they want to pull trouble, Shen Nuo will definitely help them search for it. He smiled sweetly and looked at the drenched figure in the waters. That grass otter dared!

Ok! You just patiently wait and come out!

Some consorts and concubines who needed Shen Nuo caught, seriously screamed, summoning Jinyu inside. Jinyu saw the woman in the lake and his eyes widened. He immediately jumped into the pool. "Wait for this servant!"

And Shen Nuo: "..." Holy cow! Are you serving me or her?

Jinyu fished the soaked woman out of the pool of lotus leaves and helped her to her legs with genuine concern. Shen Nuo looked at her with raised brows. "Sister, why did you fly away like that? You're not a fish like my goldfish! You don't have fins and gills either. You aught to be careful!"

But the woman however looked frenzied. "You intentionally pushed me in and now you say otherwise?" She cried out in agony.

Shen Nuo raised his brows even higher. "I pushed you? Why do you think I want to push you? Do you think that I'm itching somewhere?"

The woman blushed into a beet. "You! Don't say inappropriate things! You pushed me into the pool. No one was here near me when I felled!"

Jinyu scratched his head in confusion. What was happening? Then he started scratching his limbs. It was really itching...

Consort Di was restraining hard. She was the one who came up with the idea of spilling some itching powder into the pool to get Shen Nuo pissed off. Who thought she would be the one to swallow it all? Her skin had already reddened and was faintly itching. She bit her lower lip furiously.

The Empress finally gave a strained smile that looked vicious. "Consort Shen, she is weak. Do you think she's deliberately trying to frame you?"

"If not?" Shen Nuo said gloomily. "It's not like I'm secretly plotting to push every woman into - forget it!" He shook his head. "First thing, I didn't push her! Second thing, if I want to push her, I wouldn't do it like that!"

The Empress narrowed her eyes darkly. "Then which way would you do it, Shen Nuo?"

Shen Nuo directly kicked Di Lingxian's butt. She screamed and flew a several zhangs high before dashing right into the mid if the pool. Others gasped while the Empress looked speechless.

Shen Nuo smiled. "I would do it this way, Empress, are you impressed?"

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