Chapter 22

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

Shen Nuo directly kicked Di Lingxian's butt. She screamed and flew several zhangs high before dashing right into the mid of 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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The watchers were even horror-stricken. They subconsciously raised from their seats. Even the Empress' jaw dropped in half. She just didn't believe it when Consort Lian said he's not to be underestimated.

Di Lingxian struggled in the water for a moment before she waded out angrily. The water was very smelly. After being kicked into the pool twice, she was in a very bad mood.

Consort Lian, her best friend immediately hurried to her aid.

Shen Nuo knew what she was exactly doing. So he didn't care at all. He just folded his slender arms around his chest and watched with a suppressed smile.

Consort Lian pulled out her silken handkerchief and helplessly wiped Consort Di's chattering wet face covered with smelly slimy moss. There was even a curious frog on her head that croaked in confusion and jumped back to the pool, startling Di Lingxian to let out a horrifying scream. Jinyu had long disappeared into thin air the moment he saw Shen Nuo get possessed by the devil.

Consort Lian looked furiously at Shen Nuo. "Little brother! How can you do this to your elder sister?" Her face looked very weak and innocent.

Shen Nuo smirked. As if! She worthed the Noble Peace Price, really, the way she pretended to be so innocent and weak was... Shen Nuo kicked a nearby stone to suppress his anger. He couldn't forget the chapter in the book which explained how she murdered Minghe...

But it looked as if the nature had it's own plans. The amazing stone flew away and ended up hitting upon the Consort Lian's forehead.

"..."

The stone then slipped down through her dress and disappeared right in between her plumpy buns.

"!!!"

She was stunned. Her eyes went red at visible speed. She was speechless. Ok! The entire harem was present. Can she fish her hand inside and dig the stone out? Could she? Could she? Hahaha!

There were also a few consorts and concubines who happened to witness this unexpectedly. They were also speechless. Their faces couldn't help but blush. They lowered their blushing faces and pretended to be deaf and blind.

And on the other hand, Shen Nuo was shocked himself. He looked at his leg twice to make sure if it was his leg.

"Forget it!" Empress Qing said finally in a hard voice when she realized the situation was really running out of her control. But she was definitely not going to let go of Consort Sagangui for spoiling her plan.

She narrowed her eyes darkly. "Sagangui, my head hurts. Give me a good massage!"

Shen Nuo's eyes flashed. He looked at Consort Sagangui who was badly injured. She didn't say anything. As if this was something extremely normal, she pursed her lips and silently tried to get up. Her face was expressionless but her pain was obvious from her tightened lips.

Her twin sister Khutulun endured it all until now and couldn't bear it any longer. She suddenly stood and spoke to Empress. "Your Ladyship, let chen qie do it for you, ok?" She asked pleadingly. "Big sister is injured. She...she-"

"Shut up!" The Empress glared at her. "What right do you have to negotiate with me? Does not my words count anymore?"

Shen Nuo laughed gently. "Your Ladyship, Consort Khutulun just spoke for your good! How comes you didn't see it? What if news goes out that the Empress is seriously bullying a miserable injured consort?"

"You-!!!"

"How about I do it for you?" Shen Nuo didn't wait for her to speak and asked hiding his demonic smile. "I'm actually a doctor though I didn't expose myself before. I can cure you!"

Consort Sagangui gasped. "No! Chen qie will do it!"

But Consort khutulun was already looking at Shen Nuo pleadingly. "Your Ladyship! It's true! It's Imperial Noble Consort Shen who is making medicines for Consort Lian's skin allergy! He indeed is a good doctor! How about we let him do it?"

Sagangui glared at Khutulun. Khutulun shut her mouth immediately and looked down pouting her lips sadly. She knew her sister was a good person who didn't like the weak to get bullied. It wasn't only Shen Nuo that she was shielding. But she often tried to save the innocent consorts and concubines in the harem from the grasp of the Empress.

But it was that everytime she did it, she personally suffered a lot. She just endured it silently. Khutulun once tried to trespass out of the harem personally to inform the Emperor about this. But she even doubted if the Emperor knew he had a consort named Sagangui...

But today she clearly saw that Consort Shen was different. She did not understand how, but she had a strange feeling. She suddenly felt like believing Shen Nuo.

Empress Qing looked at Shen Nuo up to down with an inquiring look. Then her lips stretched into a smirk. Also good. She nodded proudly. "Alright! It's also your duty to serve me, your senior. Come!"

The consorts and concubines who were standing all settled down again, feeling relieved while Di Lingxian and Shi Lianhua tactfully left making an excuse for changing the dress (and digging the stone out).

However, Shen Nuo who went towards the Empress, did not get behind her to massage her forehead. Instead, he directly sat upon the desk of the Empress, causing the entire harem to gasp in shock. He pulled out a slender leg of his and folded it loftily on the desk.

Then he leisurely got the teapot of the Empress and directly drank tea from it. He smiled sweetly and looked at the Empress. "Good tea!"

The Empress was speechless. She stared at him in incredulous disbelief. Was he crazy? Yeah, not only she, everyone now stared at him as if he was crazy. But who cares?

Shen Nuo didn't mind at all. He threw away the teapot which shattered into many pieces. He patiently pulled out his little medicine pouch out of his chest lapels. Then he carefully pulled out a set of - needles!

They were the silver needles used in acupuncture! @#$k! Empress Qing's eyes widened in horror. "What are you doing!!?"

"I'm going to give you a good acupuncture." Shen Nuo said with a smile, purposely pulling the thickest needle off the pouch. "I happened to hear that it's my duty to serve the Empress? Or did I hear wrongly? Anyway, I should give Your Ladyship the best! Come! I'll cure your headache forever!" I won't stop it until I prick your head into a porcupine!

Others felt like fainting. Shen Nuo had been repeatedly provoking the Empress since he stepped into the court yard. Does not he want to live anymore? She wasn't only the Empress of Li Yang, she was also the beloved eldest daughter of the Prime Minister of the state. Is Shen Nuo tired of living?

But they could do nothing than to exchange nervous looks among themselves.

The Empress pushed away the medicine pouch angrily and the silver needles flew everywhere, dropping on the ground with little clinks.

Shen Nuo screwed up his face into an innocent cute puppy. It very much looked like he was being bullied so badly. "Empress? Are you not trusting this younger brother of yours anymore? He is trying to help you!"

He sadly got off the desk and picked up his needles one by one.

"Daddy Shen!" Suddenly a cute voice yelled in glee. A walking cabbage flew out like a headless fly out of nowhere and hit the butt of Shen Nuo. Shen Nuo was thrown several feet to the front in the pressure. If he had not skidded to a halt in time, he would have ended up right on Empress Qing's lap...

He laughed. "Dirty Cabbage, get lost!"

But the cabbage naturally would not get lost. Instead, the cabbage stretched out it's clingy tentacles and coiled them around Shen Nuo, hanging on him.

The Empress looked shocked. Did Shen Nuo call the Crown Prince a cabbage? And is this still the Minghe she knew? Minghe was a calm and a quiet child that almost never spoke. He would spend his time practicing martial arts or reading books and  never looked friendly when he was under her.

But now...

"Minghe!" She said in a hard and authoritative voice. "Fooling around without studying, are you?"

Minghe immediately hid behind Shen Nuo and nervously stole a glance from a side to look at his angry mother.

"Come here!" She said angrily. "Or do you want me to beat you with the discipline ruler again?"

Shen Nuo suddenly gave a thunderous slap across her face causing her to nearly fall off her seat. She gasped, stunned in incredulous disbelief. Minghe's eyes widened.

Almost every consort and concubine rose to their feet like arrows off a bow. They cried out in horror. Shen Nuo just slapped the Empress!

Shen Nuo looked at the Empress with a frightening smile. "An annoying mosquito!" He reminded in an assuring voice. "Since Empress asked this consort to serve you, of course, this consort won't even let a mosquito to get close to Your Ladyship!"

The meaning was clear. He indirectly reminded her that he didn't like her anywhere near the Crown Prince...

The Empress was already breathing hard, her inner demon returning to the self. She gave him a dangerous glare. "Did your brain get washed away after you felled into the lake?" She asked in a softer but more warning voice.

Shen Nuo shook his head genuinely. "No, it got badly drenched."

Empress narrowed her eyes darker. She raised a brow, gritting her teeth. "You dare! Aren't you afraid I'll behead you?"

"Can you? Aiya...what a pity, I suddenly have a memory loss." Shen Nuo leisurely stretched out his arms with a yawn. "You really can't blame me for forgetting who you are, eh, who are you?" He suddenly looked at her with big puppy eyes. "Ooooh, sorry!" He got up immediately and bowed. "I suddenly remembered! You're the Empress!"

Empress Qing was nearly eating her teeth in her suppressed anger. "Don't pull everything too hard. I have limits in everything!"

But suddenly Shen Nuo smiled. It was fearless and domineering. "Can you?" He asked in a challenging whisper, leaning forth closer to her face. "Just one sentence of mine is enough to get you and your bastard father the Prime Minister get killed along with your entire family!"

The Empress looked at him hatefully. "What do you mean, Shen Nuo?" She asked in a dangerous voice. "This Empress doesn't understand."

Shen Nuo smirked. "No, you know it well what I'm speaking about, don't you?" He asked in his frightening whisper. "Or should I tell the Emperor that your father that trustful Prime Minister is secretly digging a gold mine at Lixu to raise a personal army?

Suddenly the Empress went pale. She didn't loose her proud posture but it couldn't hide the sudden change of emotions in her eyes. She was shaking madly in anger. Her hands grasped tightly into her dress. "You really dare!"

"That depends on your performance, Qing Xianwei" Shen Nuo said, wiping his hands. "How about stop bullying your weak younger sisters here for a start? I'll bring up the other rules with time ok? As long as you listen to me I won't rat you out! But you must inform the good father of yours. He must take care! Or my tongue will slip..." He looked at her meaningfully.

Then he turned to the cabbage with a smile and messed his fluffy head. "Did you revise the English and Japanese lessons I taught you three days ago?"

The cabbage nodded repeatedly with an excited smile.

Shen Nuo smiled in satisfaction and stuffed the cabbage under his armpit loftily before winking at the Empress and leaving. "Time to test you on the lessons then!"

The Empress nearly had a Qi Deviation. Her face nearly dripped with blood. She narrowed her eyes into slits, almost shivering in wrath. "You really don't want your life! Let's see!"

And not far away, from the highest storey of the Ancestral Tower, a pair of cold phoenix eyes watched the farce below. He pursed his thin lips and didn't speak for a long time...

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Sorry if there are issues with grammar or spelling, I'm sleepy. I'll check for the issues and fix them later... Hope you'd enjoy...💕