Chapter 84: What Is House Arrest?

“So you mean Jin Lanxi is deliberately withholding my food!” Shen Fuyu planted her hands on her hips. Well, Jin Lanxi was smart enough to realize she couldn’t just hit her, so she resorted to this method to torment her instead.

But was Jin Lanxi out of her mind? Did she really think this could torment her?

The palace servants dared not utter a sound; Shen Fuyu paid them no heed. Useless bunch—none of them could be relied upon!

“Qin Shihuang,” Shen Fuyu called to her dog of a son.

“Woof woof!” Qin Shihuang trotted over to her side.

“Come, son, let’s go cause a stir in the imperial kitchen and snatch some food for ourselves.” Shen Fuyu marched forth proudly. “Help your mother carry a box, and later I’ll find you a wife!”

“Woof!” Qin Zhiyi perked up at the mention of a wife, his spirits revived and ready for action!

“Your Grace, please reconsider! The imperial heir in your womb is precious!” the servants pleaded.

Shen Fuyu ignored them and pushed open the grand doors of Xianyue Palace.

The palace guards were dutiful, spears held across her path. “Your Highness, please halt. You cannot go out!”

“Who are you to restrain me?” Shen Fuyu glared, then promptly kicked the two guards at the door several meters away.

It was liberating not to have to hold back from kicking Jin Lanxi—utterly satisfying!

“Your Empress thinks herself clever, as if such petty tricks could confine me?” Shen Fuyu calmly dusted her hands and, as an afterthought, knocked down several more guards who rushed toward her. “Not to speak ill, but your Empress is like a toad at the bottom of a well—narrow-minded and meddlesome. Ugly people always make trouble!”

“Your Highness, please reconsider. No one can protect you if you break palace rules!” The lead guard watched her warily. To fell five or six armed guards with bare hands—was this Xian Consort truly a noble lady?

“Reconsider? What gives you the right to tell me to reconsider? Are you, a mere palace guard, fit to address me so?” Shen Fuyu strode past, delivering a blow that sent the squad leader clutching his stomach and kneeling in pain. Shen Fuyu smiled wickedly, like a villain. “Go tell your Empress: ugly people should not stir up trouble. All I did was neglect to pay her respects, yet she flies into a rage—unfit for her position!”

“Unlike me.” Shen Fuyu, with Qin Zhiyi following, walked away, narcissistically caressing her face. “Born beautiful, and always approachable. I never use rules to oppress others.”

Her style was always direct.

Or she simply cursed outright.

She’d never had the heart to punish White Lotus or Green Tea!

“Oh, how is it that such a good woman as myself exists in this world? To be a mere concubine is truly an injustice.” Shen Fuyu was serious about being the ultimate contrarian—she exuded an aura of annoyance from head to toe!

She swaggered out of Xianyue Palace, Qin Shihuang trailing behind and wearing a look of disdain.

If not for the promise of a wife, he’d really rather not go out with such an embarrassing master.

The guards never expected Xian Consort to be so bold—violating palace rules and assaulting people. And with the imperial heir in her womb, she was already a person with nothing to fear; now, she was even more reckless!

The guards Jin Lanxi sent were all her own trusted men, but their master had been insulted, and as subordinates, they felt deeply humiliated and furious.

“Go report to the Empress…” Several guards struggled to their feet, glaring fiercely at everyone in Xianyue Palace. “Just wait. Defying authority will bring none of you any good!”

“Wait, good sir!” called a young lady as she hurried out. Her appearance was striking, and people tend to let their guard down around beauty.

“Xian Consort has always had such a temperament. I apologize on her behalf for any harm caused,” Shen Tangyu said, full of remorse, holding several bottles of medicine for wounds. “Back when we were in the manor, I, as the elder sister, failed to properly guide my younger sister, leading to her disrespect toward the Empress today…”

Her words soothed the crowd somewhat and eased their anger, though the humiliation hardly diminished.

But Shen Fuyu was back.

“Well, aren’t you the perfect sister, always siding with outsiders?” Shen Fuyu crossed her arms, sneering as she watched Shen Tangyu hand out medicine to the guards. “In all my years, never have I seen a sister badmouth her sibling behind her back and shamelessly cozy up to the enemy. Shen Tangyu, what is your surname again? Did I bring you into the palace just to disgrace me by currying favor everywhere? Shameless!”

“How could you say that, Fourth Sister…” Shen Tangyu felt wronged. Shen Fuyu’s words laid bare her intentions, and her face flushed with shame and anger. “I did it for your own good… Must you always oppose the Empress? You can think whatever you want, but I won’t let you drag the Shen family down with you!”

“Oh, please, you speak so righteously, yet you’re like a dog groveling before a foreign Empress. So, how much filth did she promise you? Is that why you try so hard to please her?” Shen Fuyu knocked the medicine from Shen Tangyu’s hands. “But of course, a lapdog licking a toad in a well who thinks herself noble—it’s all wishful thinking, truly disgusting. Go ahead and hand out medicine to curry favor, let the world see how the esteemed eldest Miss Shen lowers herself to flatter the Empress by ingratiating herself with lowly palace guards. Such ladylike poise!”

Qin Shihuang bit at Shen Fuyu’s skirt in protest. As a dog, he refused to eat filth!

Shen Tangyu’s face flushed and paled by turns, her hateful gaze fixed on Shen Fuyu. Why did this wretch always spoil her plans? Was it wrong to respect the Empress? Why must she be insulted like this?

“There, there, I know you don’t eat filth,” Shen Fuyu said, hugging Qin Shihuang and giving him a kiss, then casting a sidelong glance at Shen Tangyu. “Only those who look human but act like dogs like to eat filth and pick at scraps.”

It wasn’t just Shen Tangyu who was furious; the dozen guards who had been knocked down were equally enraged. Though they were palace guards, they held rank and many hailed from noble families—they weren’t mere servants. Why should they be humiliated like this?

“Fourth Sister, you hate me, but must you speak so snidely to everyone? The others have done nothing to offend you,” Shen Tangyu bit her lip, her voice full of grievance, as if Shen Fuyu’s conduct stemmed from nothing but hatred for her, thus winning sympathy from the crowd.