The Empress Dowager sat on the throne with a gloomy face, not uttering a word, while Shen Mingzhuang knelt on the ground without saying a word.

Yin Rong is probably waiting for her to speak so that she can be punished for disrespect.

It's a pity that she didn't have many special skills; practicing Tai Chi was one of them.

If the Empress Dowager wants to play games with her, she's probably mistaken. Shen Mingzhuang isn't afraid that she'll make him kneel for a long time.

You should know that what Jiang Wang is worried about, the Empress Dowager is also worried about. One is not her biological son, and the other is not her birth mother. If the Empress Dowager is harsh on her, the censors of the Censorate will have something to do tomorrow. If the Empress Dowager is not punished, she can wipe out the entire Censorate.

She couldn't! So even the Empress Dowager had her reservations.

"Stop right now!" Aunt Shuangxi went to order the palace maids carrying out the punishment to stop, but the maids were terrified: "This is His Majesty's personal order. Not a single one of the twenty strokes of the cane can be missed. If any is missed, I will lose my head."

The palace maid looked at Aunt Shuangxi, who showed no sign of being convinced.

This is the Hehuan Palace, and the Imperial Study is right in front of it. It's far from the Empress Dowager's Cixi Palace, where they all only listen to His Majesty.

Yin Rong was surprised that her head maid was contradicted by a lowly maid who did menial tasks. Her face darkened, and she sneered at Shen Mingzhuang on the ground, "You're really something! You don't respect me, and neither do the maids in your palace. Fine!"

Shen Mingzhuang stammered that he dared not, keeping his head down as if he were terrified.

Empress Dowager Yin considered herself a survivor of the grueling life of the inner palace, having seen all sorts of monsters and demons. Anyone who tried to fawn over her was crushed under her feet. What was this Shen Mingzhuang compared to her?

Now, just because he's pregnant with the emperor's child and has been made a concubine, he thinks he's suddenly risen to a high position and can disregard her?

Yin Rong sneered. Since she wanted to put on a submissive act, then she would grant her wish! "Consort Ming, starting tomorrow, come to my palace to serve your medicine. His Majesty is still young, and you are carrying the royal bloodline. Young couples are often inexperienced, so I will take this opportunity to personally teach you some things, lest you harm the royal offspring."

Shen Mingzhuang repeatedly expressed his gratitude and said with a smile, "It is a blessing for Tianzhong that the Empress Dowager is like this. With the Empress Dowager here, the imperial heir will surely be born safely."

Yin Rong was no stranger to people; she could easily tell that Shen Mingzhuang's words had a hidden meaning. She was certain that Yin Rong wouldn't dare to harm her and would even protect her.

"Return to the palace," she coldly ordered, turning and leaving.

At this time, Shen Mingshu's punishment was over, and several palace servants from Cixi Palace worked together to carry her away.

The Hehuan Palace was quiet again, and Shen Mingzhuang finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Ah—!" A sharp wail came from the side room behind Cining Palace. "You lowly servant, are you trying to kill me with pain by touching me so roughly?"

Shen Mingshu was furious at the moment. When the palace maid who came to apply the medicine to her applied a little too hard, she didn't care who it was and started cursing.

The palace maid was not one to be trifled with. Upon hearing this, she placed the small ceramic container of medicine on the bedside table and sneered, "In that case, please accompany me to apply the medicine yourself."

She was someone who served the Empress Dowager; it was already a blessing for her that someone could help apply medicine to her. Yet she dared to yell at her. Did she really think this was her home, where she could do whatever she wanted? The palace maid snorted twice and turned to leave.

Shen Mingshu really didn't want to stay in this awful place for even a day longer, and she shouted loudly that she wanted to go home.

At this time, the Shen family was also in turmoil.

Inside Shou'an Hall, an unusual flush appeared on Old Madam Shen's face. Granny Tian kept patting her back to help her calm down, saying that the old lady should calm down.

The three daughters-in-law knelt before Madam Shen, each remaining silent and not daring to speak.

"Now you've all become mute. When the Shen family benefited from the Duke's mansion's influence, not a single person stood up to say that the Lu family's affairs had nothing to do with the Shen family. Now that the Lu family is in trouble, you're all busy protecting yourselves, and you've all forgotten the kindness you showed us back then!"

When she got angry, Madam Shen coughed violently again, and she couldn't even catch her breath.

Madam Lin couldn't help but grumble to herself, "What use are they? A married daughter is like water spilled from a cup. Who would want to deal with such a mess, especially not for the sake of in-laws?"

However, this matter started with Zhao's unintentional remark that the Shen family was currently in a precarious situation and difficult to manage. The old lady was angered, which led to them all being reprimanded as well.

Lin felt she had been made an accomplice and cried out in her heart that she was wronged, but Gu kept her head down and looked like she was obediently admitting her mistake. How could she dare to say anything? Today, her daughter and Shen Ming'e from the third branch of the family went to the palace to see Shen Mingzhuang.

Before going, the old lady specifically instructed Shen Mingrong to mention the Rongguo Duke's Mansion to Shen Mingzhuang when he entered the palace, hoping that the Emperor would take some consideration of the family ties and deal with it leniently.

But when Shen Mingrong returned, he said he hadn't found an opportunity to discuss the matter. The old lady was so angry that she made Shen Mingrong kneel in the ancestral hall without saying a word.

Normally, Mingrong was the old lady's favorite girl, always by her side and obeying her every word. But unexpectedly, the old lady punished her so severely without any explanation. Mingrong had been weak since childhood, and she couldn't bear to kneel in the ancestral hall. Gu Shi felt heartbroken just thinking about it.

Madam Shen had been so preoccupied with this matter these past few days that she had completely lost her mind. After scolding her daughters-in-law, she forced herself to get up and ordered Granny Tian, ​​"They're all useless now. You, go and find my official robes. I'll go to the palace myself to beg for them!"

The three Zhao women immediately changed their expressions, repeatedly apologizing and urging the old lady to reconsider. But the old lady had already made her decision, and no matter what they said, she was determined to do so, leaving her daughters-in-law with no way to change her mind.

At the appointed time, the palace was already locked, but inside the Hehuan Hall, life was in full swing.

After a passionate encounter, Jiang Wang kissed Shen Mingzhuang's earlobe with satisfaction. His hot breath brushed against her ear, making Shen Mingzhuang's flushed cheeks even more beautiful.

She gave a couple of gentle reminders and turned over, her voice slightly hoarse from the pleasure of their lovemaking. Jiang Wang felt a wave of pleasure wash over him, and he let out a long sigh, relaxing as he pulled Shen Mingzhuang into his arms.

"Fortunately, the medicine in the palace is effective, otherwise I'm afraid I would have had to go to bed early tonight." Jiang Wang chuckled softly in her ear, his voice exceptionally gentle.

Shen Mingzhuang's face turned even redder. She gently pinched the soft flesh on Jiang Wang's waist and said coquettishly, "Don't talk nonsense."

How could he dare to say such shameful things? He should have just said that he was still in pain and told him not to do anything reckless.

After a good night's sleep, the next day Jiang Wang went from Hehuan Palace to the front hall for court. Before leaving, he affectionately kissed Shen Mingzhuang's forehead and said with some concern, "Let her do whatever she wants, don't wrong yourself."

He buried his head in the crook of her neck and took a deep, greedy breath. "It's so nice to be in a gentle embrace. If only I didn't have to go to court."

Shen Mingzhuang chuckled and gently pushed him, "I know, you should go to court now, or the ministers will say I'm a troublemaker and that the emperor is neglecting his morning court."