Immediately afterwards, a sharp pain spread from the tip of Shen Yunxi's nose. She gasped and instinctively covered her nose and looked up.

Jun Xuan stared at Shen Yunxi with a half-smile, "What, Miss Shen, don't you watch where you're going?"

Shen Yunxi was furious at such a smile, and when she recalled Jun Xuan's incoherent words earlier that day, she became even angrier.

“You are not as meticulous as His Majesty, who watches every step of the way carefully, for fear of making a mistake.” Shen Yunxi retorted directly, showing an attitude she had never shown towards Jun Xuan before.

However, at this moment, Shen Yunxi's nose was slightly red and her eyes were filled with tears. She looked a little aggrieved, yet also pitiful.

Upon hearing this, Junxuan was stunned for a moment. He hadn't expected Shen Yunxi to be so energetic. She was clearly just a timid and submissive young lady from a prominent family, with no temper at all.

For some unknown reason, Junxuan suddenly bent down and approached Shen Yunxi, carefully examining her slightly red nose and her tearful eyes.

It's clear that the girl was hit quite hard; I wonder what she was thinking just now, that she was so careless.

At this moment, Junxuan did not realize that his dislike for Shen Yunxi had dissipated considerably, and he even felt a little concerned about her. However, he did not think much about it, so he could not notice.

"Oh? So Miss Shen knows me so well. I had no idea." Jun Xuan smiled, then changed the subject, leaning closer to Shen Yunxi and whispering, "However, if you think you can get closer to me this way, you are sorely mistaken. You should understand that I have never had any feelings for you. The so-called marriage bestowed by the late emperor was nothing but a joke."

Junxuan has no idea how much blood and tears he will have to pay for those words in the future.

After saying that, Junxuan straightened up, staring intently at Shen Yunxi, not missing any reaction on her face. He wanted to see what she would do now that things had come to this point.

Shen Yunxi smiled bitterly, gently rubbing her nose before lowering her hand. "Your Majesty is overthinking it. I understand that Your Majesty may not believe my purpose in entering the palace to accompany you, but I believe Your Majesty will see the truth in time. I only hope that during my time in the palace, Your Majesty and I can coexist peacefully. Of course, please rest assured, Your Majesty, I am not one to go back on my word. Now that I have made things clear to Your Majesty, I will keep my promise. As for entering the palace this time, whether Your Majesty believes it or not, I must say that it was not my own choice to enter the palace."

Originally, Shen Yunxi did not want to say these words to Junxuan, but his reaction was so infuriating that she did not want to wrong herself.

She had wronged herself so many times and for so long in the past, and now she just wanted to be herself and didn't want to suffer Junxuan's temper for no reason anymore.

"So, it seems I've wronged you," Jun Xuan said with a forced smile.

It has to be said that Shen Yunxi's words made him quite angry, as if he were judging others by his own petty standards, which Junxuan found hard to accept.

Shen Yunxi sneered, "I dare not accept such praise. As the ruler of the country, Your Majesty can say that what you say is the truth. I am but a woman, how could I possibly influence Your Majesty's thoughts? If Your Majesty believes that I did it on purpose, then so be it, I will plead guilty. However, I would like to remind you that if Your Majesty dislikes someone, there is no need to put on an act. Wouldn't it be better to just say it directly? With your status, no one would dare to do anything. Why make things difficult for innocent people and resort to the tactic of collective punishment? I didn't expect Your Majesty to be so adept at it!"

Jun Xuan's expression changed, and he suddenly raised his hand and grabbed Shen Yunxi's neck.

Not far away, palace maids and eunuchs were walking around. When they saw Junxuan's actions, they all lowered their heads and pretended not to see him, not daring to look at him for long.

The emperor held great authority in the palace, and no palace maid or eunuch dared to defy him. He was far less temperamental than the previous emperor.

Shen Yunxi was having some difficulty breathing. Junxuan gripped her neck with just the right amount of force, enough to make her have trouble breathing but not to kill her immediately.

"Your Majesty, has this humble woman touched upon some of your secrets?" Shen Yunxi coldly snorted, her face pale. "Judging from Your Majesty's reaction, do you intend to kill this humble woman to silence her? In that case, Your Majesty may proceed with your plan. This humble woman is merely the daughter of a court official; having offended Your Majesty, she deserves to die."

After saying that, Shen Yunxi closed her eyes.

Although she knew that Junxuan wouldn't actually kill her at the Empress Dowager's palace gate, it was impossible for her not to be afraid at all, especially since Shen Yunxi had already died once and naturally didn't want to die a second time at this time.

But if Junxuan decides to kill her regardless, then it's just her bad luck.

At worst, she could just pretend she was in a pack of wolves and Junxuan didn't save her. Anyway, she's lived for so many years, so all in all, she's the one who gained and lost!

The veins on Junxuan's neck were bulging. No one knew how much willpower he had used to control himself from strangling Shen Yunxi to death. Shen Yunxi's words had just hit his weakest spot.

If it weren't for the lack of evidence, she thought the Empress Dowager would still be safe and sound.

Even though he didn't know how Shen Yunxi found out, or whether he figured it out himself, Junxuan didn't want her to have any chance to hinder him.

The best and safest way is to just kill her!

Even if someone sees it, it doesn't matter. They can easily find an excuse or reason to suppress the matter. Zhong Chen wouldn't dare to confront him directly, so he can only suffer in silence.

But when it came to actually doing it, Junxuan felt a pang of reluctance for some reason and was unwilling to exert any more force at the last moment.

A moment later, Junxuan released his hand and looked at Shen Yunxi with a cold gaze.

"I do not wish for this matter to be spoken of by you. If I hear about it from anyone else, not only you, but your entire Shen family will cease to exist," Jun Xuan warned.

Shen Yunxi gasped for breath, looking at Jun Xuan's sarcastic face and hateful eyes, "Your Majesty, rest assured, this humble woman values ​​her life."

Ultimately, it was all too impulsive. Those words shouldn't have been said. Saying them now would only alert the enemy and make it harder to investigate what actually happened.

But in the end, it all comes down to Jun-hyun not knowing how to speak!

At this moment, Shen Yunxi was even more furious with Jun Xuan. If it weren't for the fact that the person in front of her was the emperor, she would have definitely slapped him long ago.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I understand," Shen Yunxi replied coldly.

Junxuan glanced at Shen Yunxi, his expression equally unpleasant, and then turned and left.

Shen Yunxi did not follow them. She stood at the entrance of the Empress Dowager's palace and waited until Jun Xuan's figure disappeared before turning back. However, her neck was still burning. Not wanting the Empress Dowager to see her neck, she went back to her room first.

The Empress Dowager didn't think much of it, simply assuming that she had gotten up too early and was now going to rest. She even instructed Granny Tian to spread the word that the sweeping and cleaning should be done in a quieter manner so as not to disturb Shen Yunxi.