Chapter One Hundred Ten: Deliberately Bringing Misfortune Upon Me

Wretch! It’s just that she has a child—what’s so impressive about that!

Consort Shu left with gritted teeth, seething with hatred. Since she insisted on flaunting it so openly, then she would gladly lend a hand to push Shen Fuyu even further down!

She was no one to sit idly by. Having lost to Shen Fuyu several times, she had finally seen the truth: she could never confront such a shameless wretch head-on. Such a despicable creature wasn’t worthy to be mentioned in the same breath!

Leaving Crescent Moon Palace, she spotted a figure struggling to move some belongings. Consort Shu focused her gaze and immediately felt triumphant. Look at this—wasn’t this a chance handed right to her?

“I had thought, if fate allowed, we could gather once more like sisters from the past. Yet here we are today, meeting again under such circumstances.”

The woman dressed as a second-class palace maid was none other than Shen Tangyu. In just a few days, her delicate hands were covered with blisters, worn raw and ragged; her entire person looked haggard and sullen, sustained only by sheer willpower.

Shen Tangyu glanced up and sneered coldly, “Linyun Ya, there’s no need for your mockery. Three years in the palace, and haven’t you gained nothing as well?”

“Even as a palace maid, you remain in this pitiful state!” If anyone truly knew Shen Tangyu’s true nature, besides the matriarch Gu of the Shen family, it was Consort Shu.

They had once been rivals of equal standing. The Shen and Lin families were both great noble clans of the Daxun region, and the two women, both legitimate daughters, often competed fiercely without a clear victor. Two proud women, once as resplendent as peacocks, now both brought low by a previously unremarkable Shen Fuyu!

“Enough,” Consort Shu sighed. “If you have time, why not come visit me at my palace?”

Shen Tangyu bit her lip but said nothing.

In this palace, with her current status and no one to rely on, it was indeed difficult for her to rise again. Shen Fuyu, that wretch, had done her countless wrongs, and she vowed to repay each one in kind. Consort Shu was not a bad choice; after all, an enemy’s enemy is a friend. First, they would eliminate Shen Fuyu and the wretched child in her womb, and then everything else could be negotiated.

Inside the room, Shen Fuyu was still calculating her fury level.

Level forty-three. It seemed unchanged. Every time the space unlocked a new feature or item, it never came with a fixed level. Trying to rile Consort Shu had only increased her fury bar slightly. Shen Fuyu sighed; the goal still felt distant and unattainable.

“Your Highness, the little eunuch just said Consort Shu spoke with Tang’er,” Yinzling hurried in, speaking seriously.

“Oh.”

Shen Fuyu nodded. “Didn’t I tell you not to pay attention to her?”

Why bother? How could she possibly gain more fury value by attending to her?

This girl was so stubborn!

Time passed leisurely in Shen Fuyu’s life, but right before the birthday banquet, Consort Shu was utterly overwhelmed, her hair falling in clumps from stress.

“Hm? Consort Shu is going bald?” Shen Fuyu blinked.

“Yes. The Imperial Medical Court said Consort Shu has been working day and night and is exhausted, which leads to hair loss. They brought some ginger and hair growth pills from the hospital for her.”

Shen Fuyu understood well; everyone desires to be beautiful. There was no need to mock or attack just yet. By the afternoon, the Shen family members would be granted audience; that evening was her birthday banquet. Normally, consorts were forbidden from meeting their families so frequently, but Shen Fuyu didn’t care. Her very existence was to break the rules.

She would have the Shen family come into the palace just to hear her scold them!

“Fourth Sister.”

Shen Liyu’s voice broke her out of her thoughts. Shen Fuyu lazily looked down and smiled. “Eighth Sister, why are you here now?”

Shen Liyu smiled shyly, hands behind her back, and then took out a small embroidered pouch from behind her. “I have nothing worthy to offer at the banquet, so I won’t embarrass myself. This is handmade by me. The embroidery isn’t perfect, but inside are some herbs good for your health. I hope both you and the dragon child in your womb remain safe and sound.”

“Eighth Sister’s kindness is the best gift,” Shen Fuyu said, taking the pouch and smiling before handing it to Yinzling. “Tie it to the head of my bed.”

Seeing this, Shen Liyu smiled in relief and said a few words before withdrawing. The Shen family would soon enter the palace, and Shen Liyu needed to be there to greet them.

“I’ll do it. Yinzling, you stay by Your Highness’ side.”

Suddenly, Green Tea snatched the pouch from Yinzling’s hand. Since Shen Tangyu became a palace maid, these two fair-weather friends had returned to fawn over Shen Fuyu again.

“Yinzling, go tie it,” Shen Fuyu called back to Green Tea. “You’ve taken the sterilizing medicine and can’t have children. Women who can’t bear children carry bad luck. If you tie this, are you trying to bring misfortune to me and the dragon child?”

Unspoken, but once mentioned, Green Tea ground her teeth in anger. That sterilizing medicine was forced on her by Shen Fuyu! She had no children because of Shen Fuyu!

It was heartbreaking—both had taken the medicine, yet why was Shen Fuyu unharmed and carrying a child, while she had unbearable pain and was declared barren forever?

“Go serve outside!” Shen Fuyu waved her hand dismissively. After a few days apart, this girl’s temper had grown. Shen Fuyu had spent so long disciplining these maids, but after being duped by Shen Tangyu, they had improved?

Well, as long as the fury level increased, Shen Fuyu could be magnanimous toward anything.

The birthday banquet was small in scale, but though modest, it was a rare favor. In Daxun, apart from the Empress Dowager and the Empress’s grand celebrations, other consorts were generally forbidden from holding such open birthday parties.

To receive such favor, not only the consort but her maternal clan would also share in the grace.

Yet when the Shen family arrived, their expressions were far from pleasant.

The Shen family had some presence in the palace, being a noble clan. It was not impossible that one of their own could become a noble consort or even empress. Those present not only passed messages but also supported their daughters.

Among them, Matriarch Gu’s face was the darkest. Her legitimate daughter was punished to be a palace maid, while a lowly concubine daughter stood high, barking orders at her own flesh and blood. What mother could accept such a scene?

“Tang’er, what’s wrong with you today? Can’t even serve properly?” Shen Tangyu stood beside Shen Fuyu. Once the eldest lady of the Shen family, she now performed palace maid duties openly.

“Didn’t I serve you well enough?” Qin Zhiyi pretended not to see the Shen family’s sullen expressions. He was now applying what he learned from Shen Fuyu: as long as his skin was thick enough, it was others who should feel ashamed.

In spirit, he would never lose first.