Chapter 208 The Threat from Prince Ding

After Shen Ning entered the palace, she was taken directly to the Imperial Garden by the palace maids of the Empress Dowager Cining Palace. At the same time, Empress Dowager Zhou was sitting in the pavilion beside Tianxing Lake in the Imperial Garden.

There was an ice basin at each corner of the pavilion, with the ice cubes inside hissing and emitting white steam. A palace maid was slowly fanning behind the ice basin to blow out the cold air.

Empress Dowager Zhou drank some iced juice with a cold expression while being served by the nanny.

Beside them, the nanny whispered, "Madam, how long should we let that Shen girl kneel in the sun?"

This was Empress Dowager Zhou's original plan: to set some rules for the girl from the Shen family as soon as she entered the palace.

However... plans cannot keep up with changes. Last night, the Queen Mother received a secret letter sent by her unfilial grandson, the seventh son Xiao Nanchen.

The letter said that he was grateful for his grandmother's decision to discipline his future princess, and in return, he planned to create opportunities for Zhou Anduo, who was in the army, to kill the enemy and gain merit...

The only one left in Empress Dowager Zhou's family is her nephew Zhou Ping. Zhou Ping suffers from tuberculosis and has a short life. Fortunately, he had an affair with a maid when he was still young and left behind his bloodline Zhou An... Now, Zhou An is like the apple of Empress Dowager Zhou's eye.

I definitely can't keep my nephew. If anything happens to my nephew, the Zhou family's incense will be cut off!

But Zhou An refused to be content and insisted on joining the army, so the empress dowager had to arrange a sinecure for him, which only allowed him to have fun but never gave him the chance to fight and take risks.

As a result, this rebellious grandson, the Seventh Old Man, actually threatened her Zhou An... What made her even more infuriating was that even though she was the Queen Mother, she couldn't do anything about the domineering Seventh Old Man.

The seventh child has been bold and disobedient since childhood. Empress Dowager Zhou was very sure that if she tortured the daughter of the Shen family, her poor Zhou An would not be able to live in peace!

That unfilial seventh brother actually threatened her, his grandmother, for this girl from the Shen family... At this moment, Queen Mother Zhou could no longer imagine that the seventh brother's previous offer to marry the girl from the Shen family was not to help her out of trouble.

She was actually tricked into arranging a marriage for them and helping those two people get together... How hateful!

Originally, she had summoned him to the palace to discipline him and establish rules, but now, things had gotten so bad that they were neither here nor there. Empress Dowager Zhou was filled with rage but had to suppress it temporarily. She said solemnly, "Don't meddle with me."

The nanny took a few steps back in response.

A moment later, Shen Ning, Xu Wanqing and Shen Nian arrived one after another.

Seeing Shen Ning, Shen Nianyingying stepped forward, her voice as soft as ever: "Sister... I haven't seen you for a few days, and you are becoming more and more dazzling. The two of us are really ashamed to stand in front of you."

Xu Wanqing's expression immediately turned ugly.

Chen Ning smiled and said, "Others may not know that you, an illegitimate daughter with evil intentions who has gone to great lengths to share a husband with your former sister... you should be ashamed of yourself."

Shen Nian's smile froze slightly: "Sister is still so aggressive."

Shen Ning threw down a sentence and walked forward: "Are you considered a human being?"

The three of them were led to the Queen Mother by the palace servants and bowed in greeting. Shen Ning was ready to be harassed on their first meeting. Beside them, Xu Wanqing and Shen Nian were also full of gloating and ready to watch the fun.

Unexpectedly, the empress dowager sitting at the top just glanced at the three of them and then asked them to stand up.

Xu Wanqing was suspicious. Could it be that her aunt was wrong? The Queen Mother asked Shen Ning to enter the palace not to blackmail her or make things difficult for her... That was impossible.

Perhaps because today was her first day in the palace, the Queen Mother didn't want to be too obvious.

In short, everyone knew that the Queen Mother hated Chen Ning, and once she entered the Cining Palace, Chen Ning would definitely not end up well.

The original plan of beating and setting rules was temporarily out of the question. Empress Dowager Zhou also lost interest and raised her hand to be supported by the nanny as she stood up. "Alright, come with me... From now on, you will be serving this boring old woman like me."

Shen Ning and the other two naturally said that it was their honor.

A group of people accompanied the empress dowager to the Cining Palace, and all the palace servants they met along the way bowed respectfully.

When we were almost at the Cining Palace, the surroundings suddenly became quiet. The Empress Dowager liked quietness, so the nearby palaces were deserted.

Although it is quiet, it also seems a bit deserted.

Just then, a few cat meows were heard, and then a few cats jumped out from the high wall above their heads.

The cats were fighting, and one of the black cats accidentally fell down. The palace maids nearby screamed and slapped it to drive it away, but the black cat was frightened and its fur stood on end. Its four claws flew around, climbing and jumping. It jumped over the head of a palace maid, and in panic, it screamed and pounced on the empress dowager.

Seeing the black cat with sharp claws pouncing towards her, Empress Dowager Zhou fell back in shock. The nanny beside her was horrified and wanted to fight for her life, but she was too old and stiff to react quickly. She could only scream and watch the black cat pounce on her.

It's over, the palace will be flooded with blood...

Queen Mother Zhou subconsciously closed her eyes, ready to be scratched by the beast, but at this moment, a person suddenly appeared next to her, snatched the flying tray from the maid's hand, and swung it at the black cat with his backhand.

The black cat that pounced over was scratched by Shen Ning's back of the hand and then knocked away by the tray. It screamed and fell outside the crowd, then escaped into the crack of the wall while being chased by the guards.

Here, the maids and palace maids, still in shock, surrounded the empress dowager, checking her from head to toe: "Empress Dowager, are you hurt? Are you hurt?"

Queen Mother Zhou was also a little shocked, but after all, she had experienced many storms, so she quickly calmed down: "I'm fine... Go and see Chen Ning to see if she is seriously injured."

Shen Ning wiped the blood off the back of her hand with a handkerchief: "It's okay, Queen Mother, as long as you are not injured."

She looked the same as always, smiling, not caring about her injuries at all, and showing no sign of taking the opportunity to act pitiful and seek credit.

The Queen Mother paused for a moment, then snorted, "Call the Imperial Physician to take a look... You got hurt on your first day in the palace. If you didn't know better, you'd think I was being mistreated."

I hope that brat Lao Qi will blame poor Zhou An for this.

Empress Dowager Zhou paused and added, "Go to the small storehouse and get the best medicine for your wounds. Don't leave scars..."

Shen Ning immediately thanked her: “Thank you, Queen Mother.”

"What are you thanking me for? You saved me. I'm not old and confused yet. Stop pretending to be so arrogant."

After saying that, Queen Mother Zhou was supported by the nanny and walked forward, and Shen Ning didn't care to follow.

Xu Wanqing and Shen Nian had just hidden aside with their heads in their arms for fear of being scratched and disfigured, but they saw that Shen Ning actually got the opportunity to protect the Queen Mother and showed her face in front of the Queen Mother.

Both of them felt a little annoyed, but at this moment, seeing that the Queen Mother still looked down on Shen Ning and had no intention of praising or rewarding her at all, they were filled with gloating.

After entering the Cining Palace, the palace servants took the three of them to settle down.

Originally, Queen Mother Zhou planned to arrange the most cramped, damp and dim palace for Chen Ning, intending to torture her... Even when threatened by the unfilial grandson of the Seventh Prince, she had no intention of changing Chen Ning's place.

If you can't do it openly, there are many ways to do it secretly.

As a result, the wild cat incident happened.

The imperial guards in the palace quickly began to clear out the stray cats in the vacant palaces in the harem. As for the Cining Palace, the empress dowager could no longer accommodate anyone in that small, dilapidated house.

Even though she had offended her before, it was true that the Shen girl saved her today and injured her arm.

Empress Dowager Zhou had also seen the scar that the imperial physician had treated just now. It was thin and deep, and there was some redness and swelling around it. The weather was hot, and if the scar was not healed well, she would be branded as ungrateful and tormenting.

In this way, Shen Ning was settled in the most spacious and comfortable Wangyue Pavilion. The Queen Mother even had someone send an extra portion of ice to her residence with a cold face to cool her down.

Finally, the Queen Mother said to her personal attendant, Nanny Gui, "It's not that I've changed my mind about her... I just don't want her to get into trouble with her hands and have the Seventh Prince come and cause trouble with me."

Nanny Gui murmured in agreement, then said carefully, "From my observation, Miss Shen doesn't seem cunning or hypocritical... Today, those two hid with their heads in their hands. I could clearly see that Miss Shen was anxious to protect you, the Queen Mother."

Queen Mother Zhou snorted, "Isn't it her duty to protect me?"

After a pause, he added, "Forget it, give her two boxes of the beauty cream... so people won't say I'm stingy."

The beauty cream is a palace secret recipe, made with extremely precious and rare medicinal materials. It can protect the skin and leave no scars on the wounds.

Aunt Gui smiled and replied, "The Queen Mother is the most benevolent and loving..."

In Wangyue Pavilion, Qiyue pursed her lips and looked at the wound on Chen Ning's hand: "Why did you signal me not to come closer just now, if not for this, you wouldn't be able to hurt me."

Shen Ning smiled: "This little injury is nothing, a little injury can save a lot of trouble, it's very cost-effective."

In fact, she could have avoided being injured just now, but at that moment, she deliberately exposed the back of her hand to the wild cat's claws.

This small injury can temporarily prevent the Queen Mother from targeting her. At the same time, she can also use the injury on her hand as an excuse to avoid being dragged to the palace for medical treatment by someone with ulterior motives and getting into trouble.

Killing two birds with one stone, why not...

In the afternoon, the Cining Palace prepared some wine and food for Chen Ning and the other two, and asked them to rest early after the meal. However, not long after Chen Ning returned to Wangyue Pavilion, a palace servant came to the door.

"Lord Chen, I am from Kunning Palace. The Queen wants to see you..."