Chapter 160: She Endorses Attendant Zhao

"Your Ladyship, Green Tea has been trying her absolute best at embroidery, please spare her," Bailian said as she walked over with a cup of tea, unable to bear the sight of Green Tea weeping pitifully.

Hearing this, Shen Fuyu looked up and promptly drove a needle straight into Bailian's hand as well.

"Ah!"

Shen Fuyu beamed with delight. "There, now both of you have been poked! That way, neither of you will feel unfairly treated!"

Just look at that! Wasn't she just the epitome of fairness?

These two fools had bodies that were well-maintained and tender, and she, Shen Fuyu, simply adored poking tiny holes in such delicate skin.

After both of them had received their share of needles, neither dared to utter another word.

However, this did not stop Shen Fuyu from taking a jab at their bottoms whenever she felt the atmosphere was a bit too quiet. As a dignified Imperial Noble Consort, finding an excuse was a piece of cake for her.

"We should be heading back tomorrow."

Having played enough and grown bored of it, Shen Fuyu tossed the embroidery needle aside, stood up, and lazily remarked on the matter. She had a strong premonition that something even bigger was going to happen once they returned.

Wonderful. She simply loved walking a tightrope right on the edge of a blade!

After enjoying a simple, all-meat lunch, Shen Fuyu drowsily crawled into bed to rest.

About an hour later, she was rudely awakened.

"So, Junior Official Shen, have you finished searching?" Shen Fuyu asked, sitting in a chair and yawning.

"No trace of the intruders," Shen Lin-yu said after searching everywhere with a look of frustration. "However, I must ask Your Ladyship to have your servants check through your belongings to see if anything is missing."

Shen Fuyu nodded. Yinling led several palace maids to conduct another inspection. Habitually, Shen Fuyu placed a hand over her abdomen, smiled with a trace of amusement, and said to Shen Lin-yu, "This has caused quite a commotion again. Did Junior Official Shen leave any guards by the woodshed?"

"Rest assured, Your Ladyship, I have left more than enough men behind. They will certainly not give those people another opportunity," Shen Lin-yu replied mechanically. Interacting with Shen Fuyu, he showed not a shred of familial warmth; he sounded far more like a subject addressing his sovereign. "Still, there is no guarantee that a thief sneaking in again isn't an accomplice of that lot. Since someone was spotted slipping into Your Ladyship's tent, a thorough investigation is only prudent."

"The mastermind behind all this isn't actually that hard to find. Wave after wave of intruders coming at us ultimately proves that the other party is acting with absolute impunity," Shen Fuyu gracefully picked up a cup of tea, continuing to subtly indoctrinate the Shen family. "Junior Official Shen understands better than this concubine that when the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. If we want to survive in the long run, our first priority is simply to stay alive."

As long as Great Xun survived, the Shen family survived.

Traitors and fence-sitters never met a good end—this was common knowledge.

Though the Shen family was driven purely by profit, they were not brainless. Even though Shen Lin-yu loathed Shen Fuyu, he understood the logic behind her words. It was just that Shen Lin-yu was still young after all. "Does the Emperor... discuss these major court affairs with Your Ladyship?"

"Why ever not?" Shen Fuyu curled her lips into a smile. "Could it be that in the eyes of the Shen family, this concubine relies solely on her looks to win the Emperor's favor?"

Shen Lin-yu did not dare to answer, but truth be told, regardless of the methods used, all the Shen family wanted was a favored consort. They cared only about the results, not the process.

"This concubine imagines that Junior Official Shen feels somewhat unsettled inside, but surely you are more clear-headed than Shen Tangyu," Shen Fuyu said. "What Shen Tangyu dared not do, this concubine has done. By the same token, whatever she manages to achieve, this concubine will likely not fall short of."

"Whichever member of the Shen family enters the palace, the outcome is the same. I have already proven through my actions that my desire to see the Shen family prosper is no different from yours."

"It was this subject who was narrow-minded," Shen Lin-yu lowered his head. "Yet in terms of blood ties, Tang'er is my full sister by the primary wife. I cannot simply stand by and watch her come to harm."

"I have already said, I will not harm the Shen family."

Shen Lin-yu looked up. She appeared somewhat resolute, as if she were using this very demeanor to fight back against the unfairness the Shen family had once inflicted upon her. The once-obscure girl who had been completely overlooked by the Shen family had suddenly grown strong, unexpectedly stirring a trace of guilt deep within his heart.

Perhaps he should also advise Tang'er. Even if she wished to become an imperial concubine, reason and logic dictated that she should no longer move against Shen Fuyu.

After all, this neglected daughter of the Shen family had now done so much for them.

After Shen Lin-yu departed, Yinling approached with some hesitation and asked, "Your Ladyship... Junior Official Shen still does not regard you as a true sister. Why on earth did you say all that to him?"

"Your brain still needs some polishing," Shen Fuyu shook her head. "Once someone firmly believes in something deep down, that mindset is extremely difficult to change."

"A shred of sympathy is still sympathy. Sooner or later, it will blossom outward because of some event."

Shen Fuyu set down her teacup. Though she was utilizing the Shen family for Qin Zhiyi's sake, she herself was also deeply looking forward to the sheer hatred the Shen family would feel when they were cast into the abyss. She wondered how many levels that could help her level up!

Shen Lin-yu was still young. Unlike Shen Shucheng, who was devoid of emotion, Shen Lin-yu was right at that hot-blooded age. Playing upon these emotions skillfully would make the Shen family even more blindly devoted to believing that she would lead them to the peak of glory.

The Shen family thought they had struck gold, but after all, who was really using whom?

Softly humming a little tune, Shen Fuyu was utterly delighted. She watched happily as Yinling directed a group of palace maids to pack their luggage. They would be setting off to return early tomorrow morning. Taking advantage of this quiet and pleasant afternoon, why didn't she go pay a visit to Lady Zhao?

After all, that woman had incurred the Emperor's wrath, had her rank demoted, and had even suffered flogging with boards. As the number one philanthropist of the inner palace, naturally she ought to go check on the woman, right?

Truly, there was simply no one kinder in the entire world than her!

Snatching a few edible treats from the lunch table, Shen Fuyu happily led Yinling off to visit Lady Zhao.

Times had changed. The consequence of provoking Qin Zhiyi was that there wasn't even a single palace maid left to serve outside the tent; only a few imperial guards stood watch with grim severity. Shen Fuyu walked over, gave a slight nod, and swaggered inside just like an executive on an inspection tour.

This was the imperial palace, after all—playing the wind's direction and beating a dog that was down were the most common and ordinary of plays. In the past, Lady Zhao had been a high-ranking consort with plenty of people sucking up to her, and there had always been those eager to fawn upon her. Now that she had been reduced to a mere Lady of lower rank, even the single palace maid left to wait on her had bolted off God knows where.

Right now, Lady Zhao was lying flat on her stomach, completely unable to move, sweating all over from the sheer agony.

With exquisite grace, Shen Fuyu sprinkled a handful of salt right over Lady Zhao's wounded bottom.

Amidst Lady Zhao's earth-shattering shriek of agony—one that threatened to flip the tent over—Shen Fuyu calmly pulled over a small stool and sat down, looking down with a beaming smile at the pain-awakened woman. "My, how desolate Lady Zhao's quarters are today. Back when you had a full palace of people waiting on you, not a single shadow of them is to be seen now."

To commit such a grave offense as cursing the royal bloodline meant that even if Lady Zhao hadn't been completely stripped of her status, she was practically no different from a deposed consort. To make matters worse, upon raising her eyes at such a moment, the very person she saw was the one she hated most in the world, instantly igniting the raging fury within Lady Zhao's breast!

"Bitch! No matter how fallen I am, it is not your turn, Shen Fuyu, to mock me!" Lady Zhao wished she could leap up right this instant and tear her apart. "You venomous-hearted bitch! How could you ever be fit to carry the Emperor's child!"