Chapter 156: The Imperial Guard is a Bunch of Trash

"Your Majesty, you must punish them severely when we return! They are utterly useless!" Shen Fuyu chattered endlessly in Qin Zhiyi's ear as they walked.

"Noble Consort, your subordinate begs to say something uncalled for," an imperial guard captain could not help but interrupt.

"Knowing it's uncalled for, why are you still running your mouth?"

Shen Fuyu found it hard to believe; he knew it was uncalled for, yet he still insisted on speaking? What kind of person was this?

"What do you want to say to me? Are you here to boast that compared to those captured traitors, you didn't betray the Emperor and the country?" Shen Fuyu chuckled, "Or are you boasting about your dereliction of duty, letting martial arts assassins slip right in through your blind spots? Or perhaps you're showing off that capturing a live prisoner required you to rely on a mere woman of the inner palace?"

"I called you all a bunch of pigs and rice buckets. What, do you have a problem with that?"

Shen Fuyu let out a light snort, "A pack of trash."

"I will handle this matter myself," Qin Zhiyi listened to these words, engraving every single one of them deeply into his mind. "My beloved consort, rest easy. It is indeed true that they are incompetent."

Incompetent indeed. The imperial guards of the capital, the protectors of the imperial city—they were paid by the state, yet they failed to fulfill their basic duties. A portion of them ate the food provided by Great Daixun while committing treason against the country, while another portion, though ostensibly dutiful, lacked ambition and indulged in gross negligence. The fact that martial arts assassins managed to infiltrate this time might not solely be due to traitors within the imperial guard.

This only strengthened Qin Zhiyi's resolve to thoroughly reform and cleanse everything.

Prince Ping stood waiting at the top, and upon seeing Qin Zhiyi and Shen Fuyu return alive, his old eyes instantly welled up with tears as he launched into an unprompted display of melodramatic relief: "Your Majesty, seeing you return safely finally sets this subject's mind at ease!"

"Rise, Uncle. You have worked hard today," Qin Zhiyi exchanged a couple of routine pleasantries with him.

"I have injured my leg; let us return first and speak of this later."

Qin Zhiyi was in high spirits; had he not mentioned it himself, Prince Ping might not even have noticed that he was injured.

Shen Shucheng stood to the side, looking Shen Fuyu up and down. Annoyed by his gaze, Shen Fuyu said, "The imperial heir is completely fine."

"That's good! That's wonderful..." Shen Shucheng finally set his mind at ease. "It is truly fortunate that the Consort's pregnancy is already four months along. Otherwise, I fear..."

"If Father has the time to worry, why not spend that energy investigating who is pulling the strings behind the scenes?" Shen Fuyu glanced at him, directly dumping the task onto Shen Shucheng. "After all, this is the greatest threat to the Shen family."

"What the Consort says is true," Shen Shucheng nodded, while secretly marveling that Shen Fuyu had grown up. "It is truly wonderful that Your Ladyship can let go of past grievances and not hold them against this subject."

"I won't hold it against you," Shen Fuyu glanced at Shen Shucheng, thinking: *After all, you aren't her real father anyway.*

She was still plotting to take the lives of the Shen family members in the future.

With that said, Shen Fuyu rode on the same horse as Qin Zhiyi, led at a very slow pace by the imperial guard captain who had just been chewed out by Shen Fuyu until his face turned ashen.

"Your Majesty, are you hungry?" Shen Fuyu rubbed her stomach. "This concubine is hungry. Can we have roasted venison for breakfast?"

Qin Zhiyi: "No, you don't."

As if the imperial physicians would ever let you eat something like that! What kind of pipe dreams are you having?

Meanwhile, back at the temporary imperial residence, word had already arrived that Qin Zhiyi and Shen Fuyu were safe. At the same time, news of the martial arts assassination organization quickly spread, prompting everyone to congratulate themselves on their own survival, acting as if they were the ones who had been reborn from the jaws of death.

"It is truly wonderful that His Majesty is safe. This concubine could not sleep a wink yesterday," Lady Chu said, pressing a hand to her chest.

"Sigh, well, as long as His Majesty is safe, nothing else matters," Lady Zhao lifted her eyelids and said. "Though I did hear... that someone hired assassins, specifically targeting our dear Noble Consort, who holds the favor of all six palaces."

"If His Majesty hadn't been accompanying her at the time, I suppose this whole trouble wouldn't have happened," Lady Zhao shook her head. Shen Fuyu truly had a cat's nine lives; even under such circumstances, she still hadn't died!

"Does Elder Sister Zhao mean to say that this incident is Noble Consort's fault?" Cui Yingsu's brows knitted together, her pretty young face full of displeasure. "How novel. Sister suffered an assassination attempt and is pitiful enough, yet instead of blaming the perpetrators, Sister Zhao blames Sister Consort."

"No matter what, it implicated His Majesty! As imperial concubines, our duty is to prevent that! Could it be that one can cause trouble for His Majesty and simply get away with uttering the word 'innocent'?" Lady Zhao sneered, entirely unafraid of Cui Yingsu. "Lady Cong, you suck up to the Noble Consort so much—did she give you some kind of benefits?"

"Sister Zhao, do not be angry. Lady Cong is young and doesn't know any better. Being duped by a few sweet words and foolishly believing someone is being kind to her—isn't that the most normal thing in the world?" Beauty Xie pulled Lady Zhao aside to speak. "Let us not talk of such ominous things; it's all in the past now."

"Indeed," Lady Zhao smiled, her lips curling upward. "I heard she fell right off a cliff. What do you all say—do you think the imperial heir that our Noble Consort flaunts about all day long is still intact?"

Lady Zhao and Beauty Xie chuckled in unison. Lady Chu awkwardly lifted the corners of her mouth to follow suit, while only Cui Yingsu sat silently in her seat.

"With how haughty and arrogant she used to be, her good days should be coming to an end now. I simply cannot stand her arrogant demeanor! If she loses her child, she thoroughly deserves it!" Lady Zhao sneered, holding her teacup in disdain.

"Lady Zhao, a day apart, and I see your brain is still as utterly useless as ever!"

The door was suddenly shoved open, and Shen Fuyu and Qin Zhiyi stood strikingly on the threshold.

The four imperial consorts instantly rose to their feet, dropping to their knees to salute: "Greetings to Your Majesty!"

Lady Zhao panicked instantly. Could every single word she said just now have been overheard?

"Lady Zhao, take a guess—did His Majesty and I hear anything just now?" Shen Fuyu began tap-dancing all over Lady Zhao's nerves. "Would you like to take a guess?"

Lady Zhao's face turned instantly white with panic. Although Shen Fuyu looked rather disheveled, her protruding belly was still very much there...

Her child was actually still alive!

She raised her head with difficulty, as if wanting to say something: "Your Majesty, this concubine..."

"Lady Zhao has committed an offense against her superiors, insulted the Noble Consort, and cursed the imperial bloodline. With her wild babbling and venomous heart, drag her out and give her thirty blows with the paddle, and demote her to a Third-Class Attendant."

Qin Zhiyi issued the command directly, punishing Lady Zhao—now Attendant Zhao—on the spot!

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, this concubine didn't mean it!" Attendant Zhao finally began to panic. "This concubine was only worried about Your Majesty, this concubine truly didn't mean it!"

Accompanied by Attendant Zhao's desperate pleas for mercy, palace guards dragged her straight out, and the next sounds to echo through the room were her blood-curdling screams!

"Oh my, what a truly delightful and melodious sound!" Shen Fuyu looked at Beauty Xie. "Beauty Xie, wouldn't you agree?"

Beauty Xie trembled visibly and said, "What... what Your Ladyship says is true..."

"Sister, you're finally back!" Cui Yingsu finally seized the opportunity to rush forward eagerly. "Susu was worried sick! It's such a relief that Sister is alright!"

Her eye rims were still red. Without the system's anger-value record, who could possibly suspect such a delicate, helpless little rabbit of a girl?

"His Majesty is rather seriously injured, and I also need to change my clothes. I will chat with you younger sister another time."