Noble Concubine Li was so angry that her nose was about to smoke. She put her right hand on her forehead, her eyes were dull, and she looked extremely weak.
"Your Majesty, look at Princess Chang'an. She has no manners at all."
Zhou Zhaonuan glared at her angrily but didn't salute again. Shen Nian'an kept winking at her, but Zhou Zhaonuan seemed to have given up and didn't say a word.
"Zhou Zhaonuan! I asked you to bow to Imperial Noble Consort Li. She is now Imperial Noble Consort, with the same status as the Vice Empress. Bow to her and she can handle it."
Zhou Beichen blinked as he spoke and winked at the little girl, but Zhou Zhaonuan didn't appreciate it. The little girl twisted her body and pouted.
"I won't, Daddy. You once said I was your daughter, the most noble princess in the world. You said I could not do anything I didn't want to do, but now, how can you go back on your word?"
"What's more, you said that Nuannuan is a princess of the first rank with a title. When meeting the concubines in the harem, as long as they are not the queen or her mother, Nuannuan does not need to perform formalities. Why are you going back on your word today?"
"Zhou Zhaonuan!"
Zhou Beichen scolded her in a deep voice, and Nuannuan suddenly became alert, obviously startled. She raised her head again, still looking at Zhou Beichen with a pair of stubborn eyes, her cherry lips pouted high, silently expressing the little girl's unwillingness to accept.
For a moment, Zhou Beichen's heart softened uncontrollably for the umpteenth time.
He slowed down his voice, not for anything else, but just to give the little girl a way out and not embarrass him.
"Nuannuan, no matter what, she is still your stepmother, and now she is also your co-consort. You should listen to your father and pay your respects to her properly. Let's just let today's incident go, okay?"
Yuantuanzi's eyes suddenly glared and he even stomped his feet in anger. Finally, under Zhou Beichen's stern gaze, he actually ran to Concubine Li on the spot, stomped on her feet, and twisted them hard.
How much strength could a five-year-old child have even if he used all his strength? Imperial Noble Concubine Li stared with her beautiful eyes wide open, revealing a hint of fear in her surprise.
"ah......"
She screamed and fell on Zhou Beichen, fear revealed in her eyes and voice.
"Your Majesty, I am afraid and in pain. Your Majesty, please stop asking Princess Chang'an to pay her respects to me. I cannot bear it."
Zhou Beichen's eyes became stern, "Zhou Zhaonuan, admit your mistake!" Zhou Zhaonuan stepped on him a few more times before moving the little feet away. When she looked at him again, the little girl's eyes were red and she spoke in a choked voice.
"I won't, I won't. You clearly said that Nuannuan doesn't have to bow to anyone except the Empress, Mother, and the Empress Dowager. You lied to me. Imperial Noble Consort Li is so mean. She framed me and bullied me before, and now you're bullying me too. You want me to bow to her? Father, will you stop liking Nuannuan after having Consort Li's child?"
Zhou Beichen closed his eyes and looked at his daughter lying on the ground again, frowning.
"Nuannuan, Imperial Concubine Li is pregnant, so it's inappropriate to get angry. Now, you, immediately, admit your mistake to Imperial Concubine Li. Don't challenge my bottom line again and again, otherwise..."
It was not known whether he was trying to scare her or was serious, but Zhou Beichen blinked and raised his big hand where Concubine Li could not see.
"I'll drag you out and beat you."
"snort!"
Nuannuan took a step back and swallowed fearfully.
"I don't want to. I won't admit my mistakes to this beast in human form. She doesn't deserve it."
Xiao Yuantuanzi spoke word by word, ran to Shen Nian'an, and spoke in a lost and distracted manner.
"You are not my father anymore. You don't love me anymore. You only love the baby in Concubine Li's belly. Mother, wah wah wah..."
Nuannuan couldn't help it, so she crawled into Shen Nian'an's arms and cried.
"Mother...Mother, Daddy lied to me. He doesn't like Nuannuan anymore. Before, he clearly said that Nuannuan was his favorite daughter."
Zhou Zhaonuan cried so pitifully that Zhou Beichen couldn't bear it. In the eyes of Concubine Li, she was just arrogant because of her favor. She pointed at Zhou Zhaonuan with her fingertips trembling.
"Your Majesty, I truly did not force the princess to do anything. The princess is not young anymore, and she is simply being spoiled. Look at what she said, as if Your Majesty had wronged her greatly."
"Your Majesty, ah..."
Concubine Li's beautiful and domineering face kept changing expressions. Finally, she leaned on Zhou Beichen's chest, covering her stomach, and her face distorted.
"Your Majesty, I... it hurts. My stomach hurts so much."
Imperial Noble Consort Li was pouting and gasping for breath with every word, looking extremely pitiful.
Looking at his daughter who had just been punished and finished crying, and was standing in front of him again, but was still stubborn and didn't say a word, Zhou Beichen scratched his nose helplessly. He gently patted Concubine Li's back and spoke softly.
"My dear, it's okay. Don't be angry. Didn't the imperial physician say that this is your first child, and as long as you don't use force, you'll be fine. Deshun, call the imperial physician."
"Mother, Mother, are you okay?"
Zhou Bihe quickly ran over, took hold of Concubine Li's hand, and kept asking about her well-being. Although she was small, her eyes were full of experience and maturity.
"It's okay, mother is fine, He'er don't worry."
Imperial Noble Consort Li gave Zhou Bihe a weak comforting smile and rubbed her head. To outsiders, it looked like a scene of loving mother and filial son.
"He'er, you've taught her to be very polite and sensible. She's much better than... Nuannuan."
Zhou Beichen paused and finally said this without looking at the expressions of Zhou Zhaonuan and Shen Nian'an.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. This is all thanks to me. Without your constant guidance, who knows what this girl would have become."
Zhou Beichen neither nodded nor shook his head. He looked at Zhou Bihe with a light tone.
"He'er is a good kid."
She was delighted, and the next moment, all of it showed on her face. Zhou Bihe ran over and bravely hugged Zhou Beichen's thighs.
"Thank you, Father."
This time, Zhou Bihe closed her eyes, her heart was beating fast, and her eyelashes were trembling slightly. It felt like only a very long time had passed. Zhou Bihe did not wait for Zhou Beichen to kick her away. Instead, a big hand stroked her head. Zhou Zhaonuan was overjoyed, raised her head, and smiled.
"Father, He'er loves you the most."
Before Zhou Beichen could say anything, Imperial Noble Consort Li frowned and lectured him.
"What nonsense are you talking about, kid? You just said you had rules, but now you have no rules."
Zhou Bihe imitated Zhou Zhaonuan's previous behavior and stuck out her tongue, which made Zhou Beichen laugh.
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