Chapter 180 - Beginning of Nightmare! (2)

Xiao Huanxi felt that her clothes were ripped off, and she struggled fiercely. “Who are you? How dare you treat me like this? I am the Xiao family’s legitimate daughter. How dare you!”

A nurse who was taking off Xiao Huanxi’s clothes sneered. Her wrinkled face looked a little gruesome. “I’ve inspected women of all identities. Not to mention the legitimate daughter of a minister, even if you are a princess, I will still do my inspection.”

“You…” Xiao Huanxi struggled and cried, “You bold slaves, let go of me!”

“Looks like Miss Xiao is still not obedient. You guys, teach this young lady some rules.”

The nurses who were holding onto her hands and feet immediately laughed sinisterly. They each spared a hand to ruthlessly pinch Xiao Huanxi in the body.

“Ah!” Xiao Huanxi only felt that her flesh had been pinched off, and her entire body was covered in cold sweat from the pain.

After about half a quarter, the leading nurse said, “Alright, we can go back and report to Her Majesty.”

Xiao Huanxi’s face was pale as she lay on the bed. Apart from the slightly red skin, she seemed all fine, but the pain almost penetrated her bone marrow.

The maidservant who was kept out of the room hurriedly entered and knelt on the ground to help Xiao Huanxi get dressed.

Xiao Huanxi was alarmed. She got up and hid in a corner. “Don’t touch me. I’m the Xiao family’s legitimate daughter. I’m the eldest young lady. You are not allowed to touch me.”

“Miss, what’s wrong with you? Are you alright?”

“Don’t touch me. Get lost! All of you, get lost!”

“Miss, what’s wrong with you? Help!”

Inside the imperial palace, Shen Ninghua sat in the Imperial Study, holding a chess piece and thinking about what to do next. With great difficulty, she landed a piece, and Baili Qingcang laughed loudly. “Haha, Ninghua, you can’t regret after you landed the piece on the chessboard. Are you sure you won’t think twice?”

Seeing her half lost battlefield on the chessboard, Shen Ninghua said angrily, “Your Majesty, you clearly know that I’m not good at chess, but you actually let me play chess with you!”

“Haha, alright, I won’t laugh at you anymore.”

Baili Anning came over with a cup of tea and poured some tea for Baili Qingcang. “Your Majesty, this is the first time I’ve seen you play chess. I didn’t know that your chess skills were so superb.”

Baili Qingcang smiled even more happily. “It’s not that I’m good at chess, but that Ninghua is too stupid. I’ve taught her for a long time, but she hasn’t improved at all.”

Baili Anning looked at Shen Ninghua, only to see that she was happily eating a piece of dessert and clearly did not take Baili Qingcang’s words to heart at all. Baili Anning was immediately shocked. She was worried that Baili Qingcang would get angry when he saw her like this. She hurriedly wanted over and intended to say a few words to ease the tension. However, Baili Qingcang didn’t mind at all, and he laughed even more happily.

“Haha, every time you lose, you always use this move. If you keep doing this, you will eat all the dessert in my palace.”

As he said those words, he naturally handed a teacup to Shen Ninghua. “That dessert made by the Imperial Kitchen is too sweet. Drink some tea and don’t choke yourself.”

Shen Ninghua did not refuse. She directly picked up the teacup and took a sip. “Your Majesty, don’t worry. If I ate everything in the Imperial Kitchen, I would offer my own purse to you to guarantee that you can have dessert every day.”

Baili Qingcang glared at her. “Alright, hurry up and leave. Don’t tease me anymore.”

Shen Ninghua smiled. She took out a bottle from her sleeve and handed it over. “Your Majesty, this is the medicine I have made recently. You can eat some to recuperate your body. You need to have more rest and avoid working too late.”

“Alright, alright.”

After leaving the Imperial Study, Baili Anning glared at Shen Ninghua in surprise.

Shen Ninghua slightly turned to look at her. “Why are you looking at me like this? Is there something on my face?”

“I thought that His Majesty dotes on me, but today after seeing the way you and him get along, I know the difference.”

Shen Ninghua smiled and did not reply. Actually, all of these princes and princesses wanted something from the emperor. Since that was the case, they naturally could not treat him with an ordinary mind. She just happened to appear at the right time.

Not long after the two of them took a few steps, a palace maid quickly walked over and said, “Greetings, Princess Anning. Greetings, Princess Zhaohua.”

Shen Ninghua stopped and Baili Anning nodded slightly. “Aunt Fang Xue, why are you here?” Fang Xue was the empress’s most trusted servant. Even she as the princess had to be very respectful to her.

Fang Xue had a decent smile on her face and bowed once again. “Your Highness, Her Majesty heard that Princess Zhaohua entered the Palace, so she sent me to invite Princess Zhaohua over.”

Shen Ninghua’s eyes moved as she smiled and said, “Since Her Majesty invites me, I have to go. Please lead the way.”

“Please go ahead, Your Highness.”

Baili Anning was a little worried. She wanted to reach out and hold her back, but she saw Shen Ninghua shaking her head, so she could only watch the two of them leave.

From afar, the Qifeng Palace seemed to be built on the clouds above a sea of flowers with all kinds of flowers in full bloom, making people feel fascinated.

After entering the main hall, Shen Ninghua slightly raised her eyes and saw Zhao Huiying standing in the front. She did not wear a formal attire, but she simply wore a red palace dress. She was holding a trimmed flower branch and inserting it into a vase.

“Ninghua, you’re here?”

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

“As you were.” The empress carefully sized up the vase and nodded her head in satisfaction. She took the handkerchief from a palace maid and wiped her hands. She instructed, “Send these flowers to His Majesty. He has been having a lot of annoyance recently. Appreciating flowers may help him relax a little.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After wiping her hands clean, the empress sat on the seat at the top and looked at Shen Ninghua, who was standing in the hall. “Do you know why I called you here today?”

“Ninghua is too stupid to know.”

The empress chuckled. Her eyes were clear and penetrating. “Although I live in the harem, I know a little about the outside world. Over the years, the aristocratic families have paid more and more attention to the upbringing of their children. The women of Da’an have also received quite a lot of praise from other countries.”

“Your Majesty has set an example for all women in the world. With Your Majesty here, it’s natural that everything is going on well.”

“That’s too much an exaggeration. In the past, I thought that I did well, but now it seems that I am far from being good.”

Shen Ninghua lowered her eyes and remained silent, quietly waiting for her to continue with her speech.

Zhao Huiying gently leaned back in her chair. The nine-tailed phoenix hairpin on her head shone brightly.

“How did Xiao Huanxi’s matter start? Why did it turn out like this…I won’t say anything else now. Ninghua, you are a smart person. His Majesty dotes on you, and I can tolerate many things, but don’t go too far! The legitimate daughter of an important official of the Imperial Court is not a chess piece to be played with casually!”

Zhao Huiying did not have any anger on her face, and her tone was extremely calm. However, what she said made people feel overwhelmed.

Shen Ninghua’s expression remained the same, without the slightest change. “You are quite right, Your Majesty. The young ladies of aristocratic families and daughters of important officials are naturally of high status. Who has the ability to treat them as chess pieces?”

Zhao Huiying’s eyes were cold. After carefully examining Shen Ninghua, she said, “Today, I sent nurses to the Xiao Mansion to inspect Xiao Huanxi. She is still as clean and chaste as before. This incident has hurt her a lot. If anything happens to her, Patriarch Xiao will definitely feel uneasy. I’ve decided to restore her reputation in a few days.”

Shen Ninghua’s gaze trembled. “Your Majesty has a kind heart. I think Miss Xiao will be extremely grateful.”

“As a princess, you will soon get married. When you assist your husband and bring up the children in the future, the most important thing is that you should be tolerant. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I will remember Your Majesty’s instructions in heart.”

“Alright, you can leave.”

Shen Ninghua lowered her eyes and bowed. “Then I’ll leave.”

After leaving Qifeng Palace, Shen Ninghua couldn’t help but raise her head to look at the tall plaque. A cold light flashed across her eyes. The empress actually wanted to help Xiao Huanxi, and she even warned her to be tolerant. It seemed that she supported Xiao Huanxi’s marriage with Chu Junyi. Haha, the empress really deemed herself too important. She and Chu Junyi weren’t married yet, but the empress couldn’t wait to interfere!

Fang Xue brought a cup of tea to Zhao Huiying and said, “Your Majesty, have some tea.”

Zhao Huiying looked at the entrance of the palace. Her gaze fluctuated. “Shen Ninghua really looks more and more like Xia Jingyan.”

Fang Xue’s heart skipped a beat. “Your Majesty, I think you’re thinking too much. Although Shen Ninghua is a little clever, she is still far inferior to that person. Furthermore, you defeated her and ran the harem for many years. Shen Ninghua only knows some tricks and is just an ignorant bumpkin.”

Zhao Huiying rubbed her forehead and said, “Five days later, I will host a palace banquet. You will personally bring my reward to Xiao Huanxi and stop the rumors.”

“Your Majesty, that Xiao Huanxi is clearly no match for Princess Zhaohua. Besides, she is also a member of the Xiao family. Why do you care so much about her?”

Zhao Huiying’s face flashed with coldness. “Xiao Huanxi was originally insignificant, but she framed Shen Ninghua many times, and has already become a thorn in her heart. Since this thorn has already pierced into Shen Ninghua’s heart, I should help her anchor deeper.”

As soon as Shen Ninghua left the Palace, Qing Que and Bai Ruo came forward. “Miss, what’s wrong with you? Why is your face so pale?”

“Qing Que, keep an eye on the Xiao family. We absolutely cannot give Xiao Huanxi any chance to turn the tables.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Bai Ruo was shocked. “Miss, did someone want to help Xiao Huanxi?”

“The empress just called me to her palace to warn me.”

“She wanted to interfere in this matter?”

Shen Ninghua sneered. “Chu Junyi became a first rank official of the Imperial Court. The empress has always been hostile to me. How can she remain indifferent?”

“Then doesn’t this mean that Xiao Huanxi has the possibility of staging a comeback?”

Shen Ninghua’s expression sank. “I’ve trampled her under my feet. How can I allow her to stir up trouble again!”

At night, Xiao Huanxi was sleeping when she felt a chill in her body and abruptly opened her eyes. Then, she cried out in alarm, “Ah!”

A woman in the dress of a maidservant looked very scary. Particularly, she had a deep scratch on her forehead. “Miss, I died so miserably!”

“You…get lost, get lost!” Xiao Huanxi was scared out of her wits as she wrapped herself in the quilt and kept shrinking into the corner.

“Miss, my forehead hurts so much…”

“No, don’t blame me. You gave me such an awkward suggestion and asked me to have a rest. It was all your own fault that you died.”

“Haha, miss, the moat is so cold. I came to find you to be my companion…” Blood continuously dripped down, and a pale face slowly lifted up.

“Ah, ghost, get lost!” Xiao Huanxi screamed and her voice was hoarse. Seeing that the maid grabbed her ankle, she finally fainted from fear.

Lv Shu slowly raised her head and wiped away the dripping blood on the ground. She sneered, turned around, and jumped out of the window.

Early the next morning, another rumor quickly spread.

Xiao Huanxi, the eldest young lady of the Xiao family, became mad!