Chapter 146: Cuter Than You

"How boring..."

Shen Fuyu sat on horseback. The accompanying imperial concubines had all scampered off early, and not a single one of them was willing to pay her any mind. As for heading back, there were only those two cheap, witless fools—the white lotus and the green tea. They were hardly capable of generating any more anger points, and she had no desire to waste her breath on such simpletons.

"Your Majesty, why don't you take me out to play?" Shen Fuyu blinked her eyes.

In times of crucial need, it was still best to cling to Qin Zhiyi.

Qin Zhiyi replied, "I don't want to."

"Oh, come on!" Shen Fuyu dismounted, grabbing onto Qin Zhiyi and refusing to let go. "What's so fun about hunting? Even if you win the grand prize, the reward isn't going to be given to yourself, is it? It's not going to get you a promotion either!"

"I just don't want to face you!" Qin Zhiyi tried laboriously to pull his hand away. "Just what on earth were you raised on? Why are you so freakishly strong?!"

"Your Majesty, I am merely slightly proficient in martial arts," Shen Fuyu said with extreme modesty. "Just a tiny bit, that's all."

Qin Zhiyi's entire face practically spelled out the three words: *I don't believe you.* He looked as though he wanted to carve them onto his face for Shen Fuyu to see!

What kind of person was she? 'Slightly proficient' meant she could effortlessly beat up a dozen imperial guards? She could train her dog to be more formidable than a human? Could her words possibly sound any more obnoxious?

Truly, comparison with others could drive a person to despair!

And so, Qin Zhiyi very 'willingly' accompanied Shen Fuyu for a stroll deep into the mountain forest.

His mood along the way was quite simple.

A squad of imperial guards trailed behind them, silently protecting the safety of these two unhinged masters. Fortunately, although the Lingsheng Mountains were lush with foliage, the terrain was gentle. As long as they didn't burrow into overly dense thickets, there shouldn't be any major issues.

"Your Majesty, do you think there might be any danger in these deep, old mountains?"

"Are you someone who fears danger?" Qin Zhiyi retorted directly. "I think *you* are the greatest danger of all."

"Tsk!"

Shen Fuyu couldn't help clicking her tongue. Why was he already showing such disdain for her? Was she the type of person to run off by herself in a moment of crisis?

Having lived as a non-human for so many years, she was naturally a dog that would run off by herself in a moment of crisis!

"I must be out of my mind to actually accompany you for a walk out here." Qin Zhiyi pushed aside the tree branches brushing against his head. Next time, he would definitely find an excuse to trap this woman inside the palace. As long as he couldn't see her, at least she could go torture someone else and give him a break!

Take Imperial Noble Consort Shu's receding hairline, for instance—he wouldn't care about that anymore. From now on, he would just pretend he couldn't see a thing.

She was truly a mobile nuisance! Wherever she went, someone was bound to suffer!

"The imperial guards are following right behind us. What on earth goes through your head every day?" Qin Zhiyi lifted a layer of leaves, clearing a path for Shen Fuyu. "You've had your walk, you can head back now."

"Hey, this concubine refuses!" Shen Fuyu squeezed her way through. Seeing that Qin Zhiyi was standing frozen in place with a look of absolute determination to turn back, her eyes rolled and she shifted her tactics. "Your Majesty, you wouldn't be afraid of getting dirty and refusing to come in, would you? Surely not?"

Meeting Shen Fuyu's arrogant and gloating gaze, Qin Zhiyi's face darkened. If he said he was afraid, all those imperial guards trailing behind would hear him. But if he said he wasn't, then he would have no choice but to follow Shen Fuyu in!

Damn it!

Life is full of hardships everywhere!

"That belly of yours certainly hasn't affected your ability to walk." Qin Zhiyi gritted his teeth and squeezed through after her. "The one thing I admire about you is that you're so recklessly bold that no one even suspects you."

"Your Majesty was also quite bold the time you brought me to morning court to burn the memorial documents," Shen Fuyu blinked. "When doing bad things, daring to do them is the most important thing of all."

"Skewed logic."

Qin Zhiyi followed behind Shen Fuyu, yet he had to admit that it made a strange kind of sense. Sometimes, blindly pushing forward in a single direction yielded no progress at all; change your perspective, switch your angle, and things suddenly became clear and enlightened.

Shen Fuyu hummed a light little tune. The trees here were dense and somewhat difficult to traverse, meaning very few people probably ever came this way. As they ventured deeper, faint sunlight could be seen ahead, suggesting they were nearing the end of the path.

"Wow!"

Passing through the long, narrow forest trail, sunlight suddenly streamed in, blinding them for a brief moment before the view abruptly opened up. It was an empty clearing about thirty square meters in size. The lush branches seemed endowed with intelligence, stopping short right at the edge of this spot. Frost hadn't yet descended upon the capital, making it a rare treat to see a verdant green lawn in the autumn air. Unnamed autumn wildflowers bloomed amidst the grass, swaying gently in the breeze. It was a rare and picturesque sanctuary.

This place immediately lit up everyone's eyes. Venturing further forward, they found a small precipice. With the heavy mist rising from the valley below, gazing out into the distance revealed a stunning view of rolling clouds and mist. Looking at all this, Qin Zhiyi suddenly felt his mood vastly improve.

"How is it, Your Majesty? This is a fine spot I found purely through my intuition!" Shen Fuyu looked extremely pleased with herself.

Qin Zhiyi replied, "If you would just stop talking, I'd also think this is a fine spot."

It wasn't that the scenery wasn't beautiful; it was just that there was always someone eager to ruin the atmosphere.

Shen Fuyu covered her mouth with a chuckle, but this truly was a wonderful place. Sitting right here on the ground with the autumn breeze brushing past—such a peaceful and quiet moment was exceptionally precious to her. Once she maxed out her spatial realm in the future, she would definitely use her final chance at resurrection to wander around freely, soaking in the beauty of the world before leaving it behind.

Imitating her, Qin Zhiyi sat down as well. The beauty of nature could empty the mind; freed from having to ponder court affairs for a moment, he felt the burden on his shoulders lighten considerably. Of course, it would be even better if Shen Fuyu weren't lying down right next to him.

"Your Majesty, do you think if we both lie here, we might snap the cliff edge and fall down?"

"I want to throw you off the cliff. Is that acceptable?"

"You can't do it."

"Shut your mouth!"

"Hmph, you really are a sore loser."

"I am a sore loser!"

She was so utterly annoying!

At some point, a few birds began circling in the sky overhead. Glancing straight up at them, Qin Zhiyi couldn't help remarking, "Even if those birds were to shit right on top of my head, they'd still be infinitely more lovable than you."

*Splat...*

A dollop of bird droppings landed squarely on Qin Zhiyi's shoulder.

"Are they really that lovable?" Shen Fuyu asked, looking at Qin Zhiyi while suppressing a laugh.

"Tsk!"

"It doesn't matter how much Your Majesty dislikes this concubine, this concubine still likes you!" *And look at those generated anger points.*

The more she leveled up, the more the gap in anger points generated between people became apparent. Qin Zhiyi consistently remained the one who provided the most. Even when he was merely feeling slightly annoyed, it was still far higher than ordinary people flying into a rage.

Suddenly, a strange feeling welled up in Qin Zhiyi's heart. He didn't believe it—to be honest, he simply didn't believe it. Which person in this world could claim to like someone, to love someone, yet constantly push that person to the brink of fury?

He had never seen such a thing!

Therefore, this was definitely something Shen Fuyu was just saying to infuriate him!

"Your Majesty, don't you think this bird looks a bit strange? It keeps having diarrhea right above your head." After a brief silence, Shen Fuyu suddenly opened her eyes and looked upward. Pulling a hair-pin from her hair and palming a pearl, she flicked it straight up into the sky!

Accompanied by a squawk, several plucked feathers, and a bird dropping in a straight line, a bird plummeted directly downward, smashing right into Qin Zhiyi's face.