Chapter 102: Consort Shu, Please Bear With Me

"Your Majesty~"

Shen Fuyu twisted and turned like a loach, looking entirely unwilling. "You are such a big liar! You promised to come see me and the baby. Why must we invite an outsider when it’s just the three of us?"

She was determined to exclude Noble Consort Shu from their family unit!

Shen Fuyu hugged Qin Zhiyi triumphantly and cast a provocative glance at Noble Consort Shu. *See that? We are a family of three. You, as an outsider, should go find somewhere cool to stay!*

Devoid of any genuine sentiment, she loved nothing more than tormenting those who pined for what they could not have. Even if she didn't love him, she had everything she desired, while the other woman, despite her deep affection, could never seem to grasp what she wanted.

Ah, the pain of youth! Once you stand on the opposite side of that pain, life is simply boundless joy!

Qin Zhiyi glanced at Shen Fuyu. This woman was truly a chaos-maker who feared the world might be too peaceful.

"I naturally remember our agreement," Qin Zhiyi said, pressing a hand on Shen Fuyu to steady her. "Running into Noble Consort Shu was purely coincidental. She said she was worried you might be lonely and came to check on you."

"I don't need that! I have Your Majesty." Did she bother to save face for Qin Zhiyi or speak a few polite words? Impossible!

Noble Consort Shu had never been so humiliated in her life. She had come to pay a visit, only to be insulted by the hostess right to her face! Where in the world was the logic in that?

"Isn't it a bit excessive for you to speak this way, Younger Sister..." Noble Consort Shu gritted her teeth, but she was trapped in a situation where she couldn't voice her grievances. She was so furious she could only clench her jaw, her eyes filled with a desire to kill Shen Fuyu!

"I don't think it's excessive at all."

Shen Fuyu was smug. If she had that kind of self-awareness, she wouldn't be Shen Fuyu!

Seeing Noble Consort Shu on the verge of exploding, Shen Fuyu was reveling in her triumph. Qin Zhiyi rubbed his temples and said, "That's enough."

Noble Consort Shu immediately reined in her anger, though she could not help but feel aggrieved. How she longed to expose the scene Shen Fuyu had caused at Jingrou Palace just moments ago! How she longed to!

But not only was she unable to speak, she even had to endure the mockery of this wretch!

"Consort Xian is pregnant; one's temperament often changes during pregnancy." Qin Zhiyi looked at Noble Consort Shu. To be honest, he didn't believe for a second that she had come to see Shen Fuyu out of genuine concern. In his eyes, neither woman was anything close to a saint.

Noble Consort Shu opened her mouth but dared not say anything. Qin Zhiyi, however, took Consort Xian's hand and said to her, "Regardless, your words were a bit harsh. Noble Consort Shu, please be a bit more tolerant. You are also a maternal figure to this child. I do not wish to see that attitude from you a second time."

"Yes, it was my words that were too harsh." Shen Fuyu looked as if she wanted to write the words "bitter and mean" across her face. "But who told me to be this kind of person? I just can't stand having outsiders around!"

"Oh my, how embarrassing. I forgot you were still here, Noble Consort Shu. My words just now were merely a joke; please don't take them to heart!" Shen Fuyu raised a hand to cover her mouth, not having bothered to wash the ink stains from her fingertips, deliberately flaunting them before the Noble Consort.

Yes, you aren't dreaming, nor are you hallucinating. The one who wrecked Jingrou Palace earlier was indeed her!

But you are stuck in a situation where you cannot voice your pain! You are like a mute person eating coptis—you have to swallow the bitterness yourself!

"Naturally, I wouldn't be angry with you, Younger Sister..." Noble Consort Shu was trembling as she spoke. "After all, since I was young, I was raised on the *Code of Feminine Virtues*. I have understood since childhood that as a woman, one should be magnanimous and generous."

"Speaking of which, what happened to your hand, Younger Sister?" Noble Consort Shu refused to give up. Her gaze turned cold as she looked at Shen Fuyu's hand. "How did you get stained with ink?"

"Isn't it because the Empress Dowager punished me by making me copy the *Code of Feminine Virtues* two hundred times?" Shen Fuyu curled her lip in disdain. "Earlier, you claimed to be magnanimous, but now that you say this, you're stabbing right into my heart! How truly chilling!"

"You!"

"That's enough. You've seen her, so that's that." Qin Zhiyi felt utterly annoyed. Where there are many women, there is much trouble—that saying was truly not false. "Noble Consort Shu, if you have nothing else, you should head back. Managing the inner palace is no easy task. Spend your efforts on those matters; Consort Xian does not need your concern."

At these words, Noble Consort Shu's face turned even paler. No matter how hard she racked her brain, she couldn't figure out how to expose the truth. She was terrified. Such an outrageous incident had occurred, yet she was the only one who knew about it. It felt so surreal that even she found it hard to believe; if she spoke of it, no one would trust her!

She had truly suffered a silent, crushing defeat!

With eyes reddened and filled with hatred and resentment, Noble Consort Shu left the String Moon Palace. Such humiliation had been constant ever since Shen Fuyu entered the palace!

Shen Fuyu waved unceremoniously at the Noble Consort's departing back. "I hope you run into a headwind!"

She was openly cursing her.

One had to say, half of her success was thanks to Qin Zhiyi. Shen Fuyu came back to her senses and looked at him, clicking her tongue. "Your Majesty, you are so heartless~!"

"I, for one, hope you'll discuss things with me in advance next time," Qin Zhiyi said. "You were in such a hurry to have someone fetch me. Did you calculate that Noble Consort Shu would come?"

Well... that was indeed true!

But she wouldn't share the credit for reaching level forty-three with Qin Zhiyi. Facts proved that even a man who seemed perfectly normal on a daily basis had the potential to be a complete scoundrel.

"Your Majesty, it's enough that you know it in your heart. Why say it out loud? I'll be embarrassed." Shen Fuyu pulled Qin Zhiyi into the room. "But look, Your Majesty, aren't I incredibly divinely clever? I calculated exactly that she would come."

"Spare me that act."

Qin Zhiyi shook off her hand the moment he entered. *Divinely clever?* Without even needing to think, this woman had absolutely snuck out of the String Moon Palace earlier! If others didn't know her, how could he not?

He glanced at Shen Fuyu, who was pretending as if nothing had happened, and looked at her suspiciously. "I suspect you ran off to Jingrou Palace earlier and did something bad that left the Noble Consort unable to speak of it, and her visit just now was likely an attempt to see if she could find any dirt on you."

In short, having known her for so long, how could he not understand her?

Shen Fuyu: "..."

That really took all the fun out of it!

"Your Majesty, you are such a buzzkill. Saying it so bluntly, what romance is left?" Shen Fuyu pouted.

Qin Zhiyi was incredulous. "What kind of romance is that? What couple talks like this to each other?"

Shen Fuyu didn't care. She was happy today because her space had leveled up again.

"By the way," seeing Shen Fuyu quiet down, Qin Zhiyi felt a sense of relief—it was rare for her to stop talking. "I remember your birthday is on the ninth day of the eighth lunar month. Do you want to celebrate it? Since you are under house arrest, it doesn't forbid others from visiting."

"Hmm... I suppose that's a thing." Shen Fuyu tried her best to recall. The original owner's birthday was indeed in the eighth month, right? There were simply too many details; having changed bodies and birthdays, she couldn't remember it all.

"How can you even forget your own birthday?" Qin Zhiyi felt another point of disbelief arise. "I have truly underestimated you."