Chapter 462: Don’t be too polite

"How dare you!" Qiu Sui stepped forward, frowning and scolding, "Women in the harem should kowtow to the Empress when they see her!"

[This is forcing me to be arrogant.]

Kneeling was impossible. Chu Liuzheng raised his eyebrows slightly, trying to make his expression closer to that of the arrogant concubine.

"Your Majesty has allowed me to walk freely in the palace without having to perform formalities. I don't even kneel when I see Your Majesty. Does that mean the Empress is more honorable than Your Majesty?"

Qiu Sui was annoyed by her smug look, but she didn't dare to respond.

The whole world belongs to the emperor, how can the queen be compared with the emperor?

She looked at the queen for help, hoping that her queen could teach Chu Liuzheng, the complacent villain, a lesson.

Queen Zhong raised her eyes and looked at Chu Liuzheng seriously for the first time.

When Chu Liuzheng was a palace maid, she preferred to dress plainly, and she still did so now. It wasn't because she wanted to avoid attracting attention, but because she had been used to it for so many years that she just dressed how she felt comfortable.

The weather was hot, so she had her hair tied up, secured with two white jade hairpins, a jade comb inserted diagonally, and adorned with silk flowers. Her face was bare, yet it looked even more rosy and healthy than if she had applied makeup.

Today she was wearing a light cloud-colored long skirt with two layers of cloud-gauze wide-sleeved shirt on the outside. The light blue made her skin look like jade, and it complemented the ice jade auspicious cloud pendant hanging around her neck.

Although the outfit was plain, with Empress Zhong's keen eyesight, how could she not recognize that the jade on Chu Liuzheng's neck alone was worth the entire outfit of many people in the harem?

She remembered that this piece of jade was a treasure from Xiao Jingfan's private collection. Concubine Wen, Concubine Rong, and Concubine Chun did not have it, but now it appeared on Chu Liuzheng.

Queen Zhong's heart was in turmoil, and she reached out to pat the baby in the cradle beside her as a disguised gesture.

"Since it is Your Majesty's grace, then you don't have to kneel when you see me." She gestured for Qiu Sui to leave, with a faint smile on her face. "I would like to invite Miss Chu into the pavilion for a cup of tea. I wonder if Miss Chu would be willing to do me the honor?"

This was outwardly polite, but in reality, it was a reference to the fact that Chu Liuzheng had been with the emperor for so long and still had no status or position. If it were anyone else, they would probably be nauseated, but for Chu Liuzheng, she didn't care at all.

Whether it's a concubine, a noble concubine, or an imperial noble concubine, in theory, they are all concubines. If she is angry because the emperor didn't give her the title of concubine, isn't she crazy?

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I don't want any tea. Goodbye."

[Taking care of these women in the harem is a tyrant's job, I'm not up to it. Slipping away~]

She raised her hand to signal Chen Xing and Si Yue to leave, but the palace servants blocking the way refused to let them.

Chu Liuzheng looked back at the Queen, "It seems I can't leave without drinking this cup of tea from Her Majesty."

Empress Zhong did not comment, but only ordered someone to serve tea.

Seeing her determined behavior, Chu Liuzheng suddenly felt that one should not be too polite. She had to learn from the Queen.

Then, she touched her upper and lower lips together and said, "Hit me."

Chen Xing, who had been eager to try, rushed out and knocked down all the people who blocked his way in almost the blink of an eye.

Everyone else was stunned.

Just hit and beat people like this?

"Let's go." Chu Liuzheng waved to Chen Xing and left with the two of them in a swagger.

The backs of the three men appeared extremely arrogant in the eyes of the Queen and her companions.

In the pavilion, Qiu Sui was so angry that her lips were trembling. "My Queen, she actually dared to hit one of our people. This is outrageous!"

Empress Zhong half-closed her eyelashes, her gaze fixed on the teacup opposite her. After a long pause, she said, "Your Majesty is the heaven."

Qiu Sui was stunned. Does the Queen mean that everything is His Majesty's fault?

Yes, if it weren’t for His Majesty’s protection, how could Chu Liuzheng dare to attack the Queen’s people?

Even the favored Concubine Wen didn't dare to be so presumptuous in front of the Empress. Where did Chu Liuzheng get the confidence from? Did she expect the Emperor to protect her forever?

She was indignant: "My Lady, are we just going to let this matter go?"

Empress Zhong glanced at the swaddling clothes beside her and said, "Send someone to report this matter to His Majesty and let His Majesty handle it."

Qiu Sui said cautiously, "What if Your Majesty doesn't deal with it?" Wouldn't that make others laugh at their Changchun Palace?

Upon hearing this, a cold light flashed in Queen Zhong's eyes. She raised her hand and waved at her, whispering a few words in her ear.

Qiu Sui was delighted and hurried to do it.

Here, there was no need for Queen Zhong to send anyone to report, as Chu Liuzheng told the Queen herself about what happened in the Imperial Garden, and she did not forget to mention the beating incident.

After hearing this, Xiao Jingfan said "hmm" and his men continued to review the documents.

Chu Liuzheng stared at him, "Don't you want to say something else?"

Xiao Jingfan looked up in confusion: "What did you say?"

"That's right..." Chu Liuzheng emphasized, "I asked Chen Xing to beat up the Queen's people. Don't you think there's something wrong?"

【That’s the queen.】

"That's not right..." Xiao Jingfan frowned and thought for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "There is indeed something wrong."

Chu Liuzheng: "Where?"

"I forgot to issue an imperial decree telling everyone in the palace that you no longer need to bow to anyone." Xiao Jingfan said seriously, "I'm sorry that you were wronged today. It was my negligence."

Chu Liuzheng: “…”

[What kind of foolish statement is this? Could it be that the tyrant is possessed by some evil spirit?]

[No, no, Chu Liuzheng, you should know what's right and wrong. The tyrant is protecting you!]

[Wait a minute, so unprincipled, it seems the tyrant likes me more than I thought. Being liked by a beautiful woman, hehehe... No, no, Chu Liuzheng, you can't be complacent. Love is something that gets you high quickly and goes down even faster. Please stay sober!]

Chu Liuzheng woke up.

Xiao Jingfan: ...headache!

*

When the people from Changchun Palace came to Wenhua Palace to report, Chu Liuzheng was sitting aside eating ice cream and listened to the whole process of Gao Yongfu filing a complaint on behalf of his own queen.

Xiao Jingfan only replied with four words: "I understand."

According to the procedure, the emperor should then say what to do, and Gao Yongfu bowed and waited.

After waiting for a moment, the emperor's puzzled voice came, "What are you still doing here? Does the queen have anything else to tell you?"

Gao Yongfu: "..."

Gao Yongfu: "..."

He looked up at the emperor, then glanced at Chu Liuzheng who was eating intently beside him. He really wanted to ask, "Are you not going to punish me at all?"

Not only did Xiao Jingfan not punish him, he also issued an imperial decree that Xu Chuliuzheng would not have to perform formalities in the palace in the future.

The imperial edict was issued, which was like a loud slap in the face of the empress. Qiu Sui was upset for her own queen, but Empress Zhong did not react at all. She only asked her, "How is the matter going?"

Qiu Sui immediately bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, it has been completed. Your Majesty, just wait for good news."

Empress Zhong nodded slightly, a smile on her face, and asked, "Where is Yan'er?"

Qiu Sui checked the time and said, "The little prince should be awake by now."

"Bring him here," said Queen Zhong, "I'll take him for a walk in the garden."

Qiu Sui immediately ordered someone to bring the little prince over.

At night, Chu Liuzheng suddenly had a stomachache and his face turned pale because he had eaten too many cold drinks during the day.

(End of this chapter)