Chapter 109: Actually, Your Servant Is a Spirit

Shen Fuyu gazed into the distance. "Well, to be honest, I am actually a spirit."

Qin Zhiyi: "..."

Could you tell if he believed her? Yet, it didn't seem entirely impossible. If she weren't something beyond human, how could she produce things that did not exist in the mortal realm? His entire worldview was suddenly under assault.

"I’m just joking." Shen Fuyu chuckled. She didn’t know about other things, but in this world she had arrived in, there were no supernatural elements. People believed in ghosts and deities but had never actually encountered them, so they simply attributed everything they couldn’t explain to the work of spirits and demons. Such fantasies about these unexplained phenomena frequently appeared in plays and storybooks.

"However, these medicines my master left me are indeed beyond the scope of human understanding." Shen Fuyu pondered. Being a "demon consort" was fine—she could at least shamelessly loiter in the palace—but if she were labeled a literal spirit, she’d likely be dragged off to be roasted. Her soul wouldn't die, but she’d never find another body this perfect!

Shen Fuyu cleared her throat. "It’s too complicated to explain. Why don't you try taking one?"

The medicines in her interdimensional space were quite miraculous; some were exceptionally practical, while others were utterly bizarre. The "Clairvoyance Pill" was one of the bizarre ones. Perhaps her space was truly the work of some deity-like existence, but aside from the space itself, she had never actually seen anything in this world that defied scientific explanation.

Two Clairvoyance Pills were placed before Qin Zhiyi and Rong Xuan.

"Swallow it, close your eyes, and think of the person you wish to see," Shen Fuyu instructed.

Rong Xuan took his pill first, popped it into his mouth, and closed his eyes.

"Can this really be achieved just by taking medicine?" Rong Xuan kept his eyes shut, deeply shaken.

"I'm not entirely sure. There are quite a few of these left by my master," Shen Fuyu replied, uncharacteristically honest; she couldn't afford any unnecessary trouble.

Qin Zhiyi also took the pill and closed his eyes. He saw Shen Fuyu’s face, looking smug and delighted; he saw Rong Xuan’s look of profound shock; he saw Long Yi, who had returned to the shadows outside, grumbling his dissatisfaction; he saw...

Damn it, he was being cuckolded again!

"Your Majesty, what did you see?" Seeing Qin Zhiyi’s expression sour, Shen Fuyu grew malicious. "You didn't end up wandering through a 'green prairie' on your head again, did you? Surely not?"

Qin Zhiyi: "Get out!"

Of course, he knew perfectly well about the situation with Jing Lanxi, but who would want that brought up by someone else? He recalled the very first day he had met Shen Fuyu.

"Your wife cheated on you!"

With the imperial physician and so many palace servants present, did he have no dignity?

"I suspect now that you were trying to anger me to death back then, weren't you?" Qin Zhiyi was genuinely furious. He had never dreamed that Shen Fuyu would pull such a stunt the moment they met!

"Was it that obvious?" Shen Fuyu was candid. This time, it was the truth; she had genuinely intended to shock him into an early grave. Who could have imagined that instead of dying from a burst of rage, the shock would clear his blood stasis and cause him to vomit out the toxins in his body? That was something she really hadn't expected! She had been hoping to kill him off quickly so she could drink her poison and switch identities.

"Get out! Now!" Qin Zhiyi didn't want to see her for even a second longer.

Shen Fuyu didn't hesitate. She was indeed sleepy, and since everything that needed to be said had been said, she might as well leave. She figured it wouldn't be long before Consort Shu came looking for her with a dark expression again. She couldn't keep picking on just one person, could she?

Happily, she climbed out the window. Catching sight of Long Yi squatting in the tree, she chuckled and, in a mocking tone, whispered, "Big idiot!"

She scurried away before Long Yi could react. Hehehe!

It probably wouldn't be long before she stopped seeing Long Yi anyway. Qin Zhiyi would handle everything. Her medicine had merely accelerated the process; it wouldn't be months before the Shadow Guards were completely overhauled, becoming a group of people Qin Zhiyi could truly use. But that wasn't for her to worry about. She should focus on how to plan her birthday banquet.

Under Qin Zhiyi's orders, Consort Shu arrived the next day, though she was clearly unwilling.

"Sister Xianfei, there are some things that I am not refusing out of spite, but rather because, given your status, they are simply inappropriate," Consort Shu said, sitting in a chair and sipping tea leisurely. "Besides, your birthday is just before the Mid-Autumn Festival. There will be many more expenses later on. You are favored, so you get whatever you ask for, but you should still have some sense of propriety. If you don't manage the household, you don't know the price of rice and oil. I’ve come here hoping you might understand a little."

"Why are you telling me this, Sister Shu?" Shen Fuyu looked puzzled. "If you’re out of money, find a way yourself. You know I don't manage the household. You come to me crying poverty, but you can't possibly be asking me to pay for it? It’s just a small banquet; how much could it cost? When the Empress managed the six palaces, I never saw such pettiness. How is it that now that it's in your hands, everything is being skimped on?"

Shen Fuyu’s words were sharp and unrelenting. The matter of the ledgers was far from over; Consort Shu had been running herself ragged between the various departments for days, trying to redo the accounts and audit them. She hadn't even finished that when Shen Fuyu suddenly demanded a birthday banquet, and the Emperor, in his favoritism, agreed to everything!

"The Great Xun promotes frugality, and the inner palace should be no different. Saving money allows us to prepare for emergencies," Consort Shu gritted her teeth. "I have no issue with you wanting a banquet, but such extravagance is absolutely forbidden!"

"Sister Shu, are you making excuses because you can't manage the six palaces properly?" Shen Fuyu didn't show any mercy; she wanted to give her more work while she was already overwhelmed. "I’m not even sure which part of my request exceeds the regulations for my current rank. Sister Shu, if you don't have the skill, don't take on the job. If you can't do it well, it's not me who will be embarrassed!"

"You!"

Consort Shu was filled with resentment, but she suddenly smiled. "Since you put it that way, I have nothing more to say."

"Why are you so angry, Sister? It was never a big deal to begin with." Shen Fuyu carelessly toyed with a strand of her hair. "It’s no wonder you don't understand, seeing as you aren't favored. I am favored, and I am with child. Our standing is simply not the same."

Counting carefully, Shen Fuyu was already over two months along. In less than two months, the child would be safely settled in her womb. Consort Shu couldn't hide the malice in her eyes. Staring fixedly at Shen Fuyu, she said, "You’d better take good care of your belly, then, lest some accident happens and you trip, harming the imperial heir inside."