Chapter 4 Chapter 4 - The Domineering Social Animal and the Overbearing Boss

On May 23rd, the weather was fine and sunny. It was the fourth day of Li Siyan's reign as emperor and also my first day at work.

Early in the morning, Aunt Suxing pulled me out of bed.

This woman was originally a female official cultivated by the previous emperor. For some reason, she surrendered to Li Siyan. Her greatest strength is her loyalty, as loyal as a pug. She is currently the most powerful person in the Purple Palace besides the emperor.

However, at this moment, the lady official looked at me with an expression of despair, as if she was looking at a pile of hopeless garbage.

This rubbish stared at him arrogantly and refused to give in.

It all started because I refused to wear that extremely ugly palace dress, refused to apply that osmanthus-scented hair oil, and made extremely harsh remarks about her strange hairstyle.

Through a series of provoking behavior, I hope to let her understand that I am different from those obedient little palace maids under her command. I have a bad temper and am not easy to mess with. If you make me angry, I will even dare to touch the emperor's reverse scale. What can a little steward like her do to me?

History tells me that low-intensity resistance is the best way to fight for welfare. If we want to have a better life in the future, we must actively test the bottom line of the dog emperor.

Su Xing saw that I was acting so unruly, and her face turned pale and green, which was very interesting. She was the head of the palace maids and a respectable person, but she had no way to deal with a reckless shrew like me.

These women in the deep palace have no creativity. When they encounter someone they can't deal with, they just complain to their superiors.

She gave me an angry look and turned to go into the dog emperor's study.

I made an extremely insulting face at her.

Not long after, Pug's face was filled with excitement and pleasure. He carefully took out a jeweled whip from the cabinet and slowly walked towards me.

She held up her dignity and said, "Madam Shen, I didn't mean to embarrass you, but the palace has its own rules. I cannot allow you to disregard the law and offend His Majesty. His Majesty has specially allowed me to use this whip to correct your mistakes. Today I will...ah!"

I suddenly jumped up, snatched the whip from her, and whipped her buttocks cleanly.

She screamed in pain and was completely dazed. She fell to the ground for a long time and didn't get up. Her lips were trembling and she raised her hand and pointed at me tremblingly.

I held the fancy whip in my hand and laughed, "It's a useless thing, not convenient at all. Aunt Suxing, I've been wanting to say this for a long time. You really look like a pug. Without a tail, you always feel like you're missing something, incomplete."

"Chen Ying, you crazy woman!" She turned pale with humiliation from me, and she climbed up to tear my mouth. I let out a "hey", and took deep breath, and rushed forward, and with a backhand grab, I knocked her to the ground again.

──I can beat up three of these lazy ladies from the Daming Palace at once without taking a breath. When I was a child, I was known as the Iron Fist Bully of Anyifang. I also saw the ups and downs of life with a smile.

"Catch her!" Su Xing couldn't beat me, and shouted angrily to the guards outside.

I didn't intend to argue any further, so I threw down the whip and surrendered.

A guard immediately rushed over, handcuffed my hands behind my back, and raised them high above my head.

I obediently let him hold it up, thinking that this guard was quite considerate and gentle, much more gentle than the one who took off my arm in Xuan Zheng Hall that day.

"The Zichen Palace is a restricted area, you are not allowed to act recklessly!" Unfortunately, the gentle guard brother's words were not gentle at all.

Seeing that Su Xing still wanted to pick up the whip, I glared at her fiercely. She was stunned for a moment, then her eyes became fierce. She gripped the whip handle tightly and pretended to hit me. I was restrained and had no way to dodge. I narrowed my eyes and bared a row of ferocious little white teeth.

The two women breathed at each other like two wild animals.

At this time, the door of the study was opened from the inside, and an old eunuch holding a whisk walked out.

The eunuch had an indifferent expression, sparse eyebrows, and drooping eyes, like an old dog with flabby skin.

He lifted his eyelids, glanced at me, and said coldly, "Shut up, you noisy thing! His Majesty allowed you to serve in the Purple Palace, not to be a rooster crowing."

He looked familiar to me, and after some careful recollection, I took a deep breath. Isn't this the old eunuch who took away my father, second uncle and brother the day before yesterday?

The old eunuch lowered his eyes again and said, "Su Xing, please step aside. Captain Wu, bring Chen Ying in. His Majesty wishes to see her."

After saying that, he turned around and went back to the study, leaving a large group of guards and two vicious women staring at each other in the hall.

Su Xing glared at me unwillingly, then limped away angrily.

"Madam Shen, I'm sorry." After receiving the order, Captain Wu bowed to me and shouted to his guards, "Search her!"

Because of my criminal record, he was surprisingly meticulous and cautious, even checking the wooden hairpin I used to tie my hair.

"What's so good about this?" I said. "What am I going to use to tie my hair?"

Captain Wu said woodenly, "Just in case."

I could only let him pull out my hairpin, muttering, "Oh, how could I possibly have the guts to kill the king? I only agreed to be a lord to protect my family. If I really attacked him, would they still be alive?"

I dare not say anything about others, but my aunt will definitely be the first one to blow my head off on the road to the underworld.

Li Siyan dared to keep me by his side, probably because he knew that although I said harsh words, I didn't have the courage to kill him because I was concerned about the lives of my family.

However, in Captain Wu's eyes, I have no credibility at all and am a demon that stands in the way of his corporate life.

After checking me three times inside and three times outside, he handcuffed my hands behind my back again and threw me into Li Siyan's imperial study.

When the guard threw me in, Li Siyan was doing his morning work.

He seemed to have just gotten up, casually wearing a turquoise robe with the belt untied, revealing his moon-white undershirt underneath. He was sitting at the desk in an unruly posture that was extremely inconsistent with his status as an emperor, with a mountain of memorials piled around him.

The first thing he said to me was, "Mr. Shen, is your whip handy?"

He didn't seem angry, and was still looking at the memorial with a normal expression. The fingers holding the pen were slender and clean, which made people feel very sorry. How could such a pleasing hand grow on a beast?

I answered honestly, "It is flashy but not substantial. Things are what they are to their owners."

“Well,” he smiled grimly, “What a true example of a creature that follows its own kind.

He asked, "Why don't you wear the clothes Su Xing gave you? If you don't like them, why don't you ask Su Xing to change them for you?"

"You appointed me a sixth-rank attendant, so I should wear a malachite green official uniform and a rhinoceros-shaped cap with a rhinoceros horn buckle. What the hell is that thing she made me wear?"

"What should I do? I don't have any official uniforms for women."

He smiled even brighter. "Since you don't like palace clothes, I won't force you. You can just not wear anything at all. Su Xing, come here, strip off her clothes and burn them, leaving only her undergarments."

I flew into a rage and shrieked, "Very well! You can tease me all you want. I will wear my underwear and accompany you to court today. I'll show all the officials that their new emperor is a tyrant who doesn't even provide clothes for his attendants!"

He put the pen aside, clasped his hands together and rested them on his chin, saying leisurely, "You're right. I'm a tyrant, unmatched in my time. I'm utterly evil. Not only do I love killing historians, I also don't like to dress the attendant. What are you doing standing there? Take off her underwear too."

I was horrified and roared at Su Xing, who was eager to try, "How dare you touch me!"

Li Siyan said coldly: "If Mr. Shen doesn't like Su Xing, then let the guards in front of the palace do it. The time for court is almost here, don't make me wait too long."

I clenched and unclenched my fists, my vision went dark, and the wound on my forehead hurt again - I was angry at Li Siyan.

When it comes to shamelessness and disrespect, no one in the world can surpass the audacious Li Siyan. In his eyes, all the benevolence, morality, and kingly etiquette are bullshit.

He seemed to particularly enjoy watching me get mad and frustrated. He put down his pen and concentrated on admiring my embarrassment. His fox eyes narrowed happily into slits, and he made sarcastic remarks while admiring me: "Mr. Shen, do you think my Purple Palace is your family's history museum and you can do whatever you want? I said, the more violent your temper is, the more I want to crush your pride. But, you are so full of energy now, which is much more interesting than the half-dead look you had a few days ago. I like it."

"Li Siyan, you...you bastard." I gritted my teeth.

"Well done," he clapped his hands in praise. "It makes me feel refreshed, like I'm hearing heavenly music. If you curse a few more times, I'll frame it on the wall. I'll look at it morning and night and feel refreshed."

I stood there gasping for breath for a long time. Not only my forehead hurt, but my chest also hurt.

I wanted to pounce on him and twist his head off every moment, but when I thought of my aunt and Xiaochuan, I could only suppress my hatred and anger and try to calm myself down.

Amid the dog emperor's hearty laughter, I surrendered and let the palace maids stuff me into a gentle and obedient palace dress with countless fluttering silk ribbons.

The me in the bronze mirror looks completely hopeless.

My second uncle once said that etiquette is a rule, and formal wear is a cage that frames people tightly within the fabric. Doing this every day is more grinding than shackles.

The palace dress restricted my stride, forcing me to take only small, childish steps. I glanced at the palace maid holding a mirror beside me in confusion and unconsciously asked her, "Sister, how can you work in this dress? Won't it get torn?"

I asked sincerely, but the palace maid thought I was teasing her, her face turned pale, and she left.

Me: ...Okay.

When I came to work in small steps, dragging my cumbersome skirt, Li Siyan was wearing his court robes.

Faced with the emperor's court robes with their complex structure and layers, he looked even more annoyed than I was.

I burst out laughing, feeling gloating.

He shook his sleeves, turned around casually, and saw me standing at the door.

He was obviously stunned for a moment, a strange look flashed in his eyes, and he slowly walked over, pinched my chin and looked at me carefully.

A finger brushed across the corner of my lipstick-coated lips, and even rubbed it intentionally or unintentionally.

I was so disgusted that I turned my head away.

"Not bad." He wiped his index finger with his handkerchief, leaving a hint of crimson on the plain white handkerchief. He then tucked the handkerchief back into his arms and nodded, commenting, "It's true that clothes make the difference. With your average appearance, if you tidy up a bit, you can look a bit like a court lady."

This was the first time he saw me in my normal state. The previous few times, I either had disheveled hair and looked like a mad dog, or was wrapped in bandages and looked like a female ghost. Only this time did I barely look like a human being.

I touched my human-like face, and accidentally picked off the flower ornaments on my face.

Very embarrassing.

The palace maid who was putting makeup on me turned her head away in despair.

Li Siyan happened to see it, reached over, and tore off the flower ornaments on my other side as well, throwing them on the table and saying, "This thing you put on is really ugly, you might as well not put it on at all."

This may be the first human words Li Siyan said to me today.

"Grab your pen and ink, and follow me to court." He glanced at me and sneered, "Mr. Shen, aren't you from a family of historians, and are you exceptionally talented? Then you must write down everything I say. If you dare miss a single word, you will be the one to pour out all the night incense in the Purple Palace tonight."

Here it comes, here comes the trouble.

"Okay." I agreed briefly.

Li Siyan is a very vengeful person. The day before yesterday, I called him a night-time incense-dumping person in the palace of Xuanzheng Hall, and he remembered it. Today, he used this to deal with me.

Maybe I agreed too readily, which made him unhappy. His face suddenly became extremely gloomy. After a while, he snorted, took a step with his long legs, and walked past me arrogantly.

I rolled my eyes without hiding it.

Bah, the moody dog ​​emperor.

There are usually two attendants around the emperor, the left historian to record words and the right historian to record events. However, Li Siyan has only been in office for a few days and the staff is not yet complete, so now there is only me, who has to take care of both words and events, and do double work for one salary.

I sighed with hopelessness, glanced at the civil and military officials sitting in the hall in front of me, and my heart began to feel suffocated again.

I thought that one day I would join the court meeting as an editor, but I never dreamed that the first time I entered the Xuan Zheng Hall, I angrily cursed the emperor in the court, and the second time I entered the Xuan Zheng Hall, I sat in the position of the recorder and wrote the daily notes for the dog emperor whom I had cursed the day before.

What kind of fucked-up life is this?

Besides, writing daily notes for Li Siyan was a very tough job. He had a quick mind and spoke fast, like a rapid-fire crossbow, which made the old officials in the court sweat profusely. Everyone was angry but dared not speak out.

This is the purpose of bringing me to court. I am like a ready-made killing stick placed next to the dog emperor. When the ministers see me, they will think of the dog emperor's bad behavior of killing three historians in a row to establish his authority. Even if they want to disobey his wishes, they have to think about it in their hearts first.

He didn't even let a young lady go. How petty is this emperor!

In addition to serving as a warning to others, I am also an emotionless dictation tool. I sit aside and write quickly, writing down all the nonsense the dog emperor says.

The farts that the dog emperor lets out are so smelly and long that my wrist hurts from writing them.

But as I kept remembering, I found that the words Li Siyan used in his speech were quite vulgar, and he occasionally used some modal particles that I had never heard of before. According to my analysis, they should be not very clean words.

I guess he may not have received a proper education as a prince during the years he was in the palace. Even though he tried hard to catch up later, his language habits still subtly hinted at his humble origins.

Now that such a person has become emperor, I think the dynasty is doomed.

After court, Li Siyan came to check my homework first.

When he was in the morning, he frequently turned his head to observe me. It seemed that he was very much looking forward to my going to pour night incense in the Zichen Hall tonight.

Without saying a word, I handed him a stack of cursive writing.

He took them and looked through them one by one.

"What are you writing? I never said those words." He raised the manuscript and criticized, "A family of historians seems to be no more than this."

I was planning to have some breakfast after get off work, but when I heard this, I lost my appetite.

This is outrageous. You can insult me, but you can never insult my business ability.

I stood up immediately, pointed at the paper, and argued, "If I remember correctly, it was you who said to the Prime Minister, 'Okay, let's call Zhang Li, right? I see there's still a position in the Ministry of Personnel, so let him fill the vacancy of the Minister of Personnel.'" There was no problem with me writing, "The Emperor said: Good, Zhang Li is approved to be the Minister of Personnel."

Li Siyan was calm and composed. He used his handsome fingers to exert a little force, tearing the page I had written with great effort into pieces and throwing it into the wastebasket casually.

"I said so much, but you only remembered these few words. You cut corners and your attitude is not right. Rewrite it and remember not to miss a single word."

I stared blankly at my writing brush being torn into pieces, then falling slowly like snowflakes. I looked up in disbelief, then suddenly came to my senses and angrily said, "Didn't you ask me to write the diary? Why did you tear it up?"

"I told you to remember every word. Since you don't follow the rules, of course I have to tear it up," he said lazily.

I was so angry that I blurted out, "Who writes history in plain language? Li Siyan, have you never been to school in the imperial court? You're a prince after all, how could you not even know this?"

As soon as he heard the word "Ye Ting", Li Siyan's leisurely expression suddenly disappeared, replaced by a gloomy face.

He grabbed the front of my collar, slowly lifted me up, and said calmly, "Shut up."

The palace dress was already tight, and I was struggling to breathe, but I insisted on rubbing salt into his wounds: "Have you read the Four Books and Five Classics? Have you read the History of Thirteen Dynasties? The words you said in court sounded like those of a vulgar street thug. How can you be asked to memorize every word? Aren't you afraid that if it is passed down, future generations will laugh at you?"

He leaned close to me and said with a smile, "My words are vulgar and make people laugh. It's a pity that your father and brother read thousands of books, but still met their end at the hands of a rough man like me."

This was my most painful new wound. I had finally managed to form a little scar, but he ripped it off again. I hated him so much that I squeezed out a few words from between my teeth: "You don't want to hear it, right?... I have to say it... the dog emperor who killed innocent people indiscriminately, the guilty woman in the palace..."

As I said the word "Ye Ting", my trembling lips suddenly stopped, and the rationality that I had just lost surged back into my body like a tide.

I remembered that when my aunt was saying goodbye to me, she sighed and told me not to mention his mother in front of Li Siyan again. This was his Achilles' heel. If he got mad, our whole family's lives might be in danger.

In a split second, I stopped myself and forced myself to swallow the bastard born by the guilty woman in the palace.

But it was too late, he guessed what I wanted to say, and the hand that was strangling my neck gradually tightened. Amid my labored breathing, he approached me expressionlessly, his eyes full of uncontrollable hostility, and in the center of that hostility was reflected my painful face.

He held my breath tightly and whispered, "Chen Ying, I've been too indulgent with you, allowing you to say whatever nonsense you want."

My consciousness was already a little unclear. When I was on the verge of death, my whole body burst out with amazing strength and I struggled desperately. He was kicked by me, but he didn't care and didn't loosen his hand on my neck at all.

"Do you think I don't know what you're thinking? You've been making a fuss time and again since this morning, just testing my limits, trying to see how much I can tolerate you, right?"

I stopped struggling and stood there stunned as if struck by lightning.

He smiled, his fox eyes narrowed slightly, but his voice was still as cold.

"I originally wanted to let you do as you please, but now I don't want to. Since you like the Palace so much, I will send you there to experience it. Let the high and mighty Editor Shen also have a taste of what it feels like to be inferior to others and have filthy hands."

After saying that, he loosened his hands and added coldly: "When we go to the palace, I'll ask Xia Fugui to arrange a job for you as a night incense pourer, so that you can also be a vulgar person, so that our master and servant can be a good match."

As soon as he finished speaking, he finally withdrew his hand. The shackles on my neck were removed, and a lot of fresh air returned to my lungs.

My legs went weak and I knelt on the ground, covering my throat and coughing violently like a drowning man until my face turned red.

Physiological tears blurred my eyes, and I gradually couldn't see Li Siyan's expression clearly.

I said hoarsely: "...you..."

The dog emperor pointed directly outside the door, lowered his eyes and said, "Alright, get out of here while I still have a breath left for you."

As soon as they heard his order, two guards who had been waiting on the side quickly picked me up and dragged me out of the Zichen Hall like a sack.

Through tearful eyes, I unconsciously looked at Li Siyan and saw him striding back into the hall. He stood quietly for a while, then suddenly grabbed a porcelain bottle and threw it hard on the ground.

As I coughed, I could clearly feel that this person seemed to be irritated by me.

Just like that, in the anger of the dog emperor, I was punished and sent to the palace.

Ye Ting, whose full name is Ye Ting Palace, is also notorious for being the first labor camp in Chang'an and a base for sheltering out-of-date concubines.

Now I am considered a celebrity. Everyone in the Ye Ting has heard of my glorious deeds: the Shen family, which has been historians for generations, gave birth to a fierce young lady. She cursed the current emperor in the Xuan Zheng Hall and was punished by the emperor to keep a record of his daily life for fifteen years. She was not allowed to leave the palace unless she died. As a result, on the first day of her tenure, she angered the emperor and was punished to serve in the Ye Ting as a night waiter.

The palace maids and eunuchs all sighed: This little girl is really miserable, but she is really seeking death.

The guards carried me into the steward's room and asked the little servant to call the steward.

The little servant boy was nimble and nimble, and soon he brought over a well-dressed eunuch.

The little servant boy was extremely flattering and kept saying, "Master Xia, please come in."

Lord Xia was very pleased. He responded with a "hmm" and stepped into the house. Suddenly, he saw my face, his foot slipped, and he almost fell to the ground.

I rolled my eyes. Wow, Xia Fugui, it’s this bastard again.

"Ying... ahem, isn't this Mr. Shen Qiju? Why did you suddenly come to my palace? Your Majesty, what's going on..."

He stared at me, hesitantly asking the two eunuchs behind me whether they should help me up.

The eunuch behind me briefly recounted my suicidal behavior.

Just a few sentences contain an astonishing amount of information.

The more Xia Fugui listened, the more shocked he became. In the end, his mouth was so big that an egg could fit in it, and the hand he stretched out to support me also retracted smoothly.

"...Your Majesty means that you should let Mr. Shen stay in the palace to reflect on his thoughts until he has figured it out. The specific arrangements will be decided by Lord Xia." said the guard.

"I decide?" Xia Fugui was flattered.

"Oh, I see." He was an expert at adapting to the situation. He immediately patted his chest and said indignantly, "...This bitch dared to offend His Majesty. She is truly audacious. It is only thanks to His Majesty's kindness that he allowed her to come to the Imperial Court to reflect on her past. My two lords, rest assured. This offended woman has come to my Imperial Court. I will not allow her to stir up trouble again!"

"That's very good." The guard bowed and said, "Now that the person has been brought here, we will not disturb you any longer. We will take our leave now."

"Have a nice trip, both of you." Xia Fugui waved his handkerchief.

After seeing off the two guards, Xia Fugui and I stared at each other for a long while.

Finally, Xia Fugui dismissed the servants and said to me dryly, "Sister, what are you doing?"

I frowned and said, "Who is your sister? I am your ancestor."

Xia Fugui has a good temper and readily accepts advice: "Okay, you are my ancestor."

I was so angry that I opened my mouth to say, "You are so shameless that you can even call me ancestor. You really deserve to be Li Siyan's good servant."

Xia Fugui knew I was a bad mouth, but he didn't get angry. He untied me and said, "My dear little aunt, it's okay if you're angry with me, but why bother to provoke that guy in the Purple Palace? When he was in the Imperial Court, he was always vindictive. Now that he's the emperor, he's even more unpredictable. If you provoke him, you'll end up in trouble. Serving the emperor is like serving a tiger. Just control your temper, okay?"

I also understood that he was trying to persuade me because he wanted me to live a better life, but I still couldn't swallow this anger. I said bitterly, "The dog emperor bullies people. How can the bullied in this world please the bully?"

Xia Fugui was frightened and said, "Keep your voice down, it would be terrible if someone heard you!"

He sighed again, "Yingying, you've never been inside the palace, so you don't know. Once you enter that door, all worldly principles cease to apply. No one can live with their backs straight. Even the prime minister has to kneel when he meets the emperor, but you want to stand? How can such a good thing happen to you?"

I turned my head away and said, "I've tried my best to be patient, but he tore up my diary and made things difficult for me, so I couldn't help it..."

Xia Fugui was anxious: "Just for this? My dear sister, you really can't stand the slightest bit of grievance!"