Chapter 57 – A Boundless Future

Ever since Shen Qing transmigrated, she’d endured a lot. She had to kneel, got tormented by Consort Yu, and suffered countless humiliations. But this—getting slapped across the face—was the first time.

The moment she was slapped, rage overwhelmed all that so-called etiquette and palace rules in her mind.

Without hesitation, she raised her hand and smack!—returned a slap to Noble Lady Lin’s face.

Still not satisfied, she followed up with another slap to the left side.

It had been shocking enough that Noble Lady Lin slapped Shen Qing. But Shen Qing slapping her back—not once but twice—was even more unbelievable.

Noble Lady Lin was stunned. The palace maid beside her was stunned. Even Chunhua was stunned.

This concubine had guts.

Clutching her face, Noble Lady Lin stared at Shen Qing in disbelief. “You dare hit me?!”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Shen Qing’s innate aura of a noble daughter instantly surged forth.

Though her body and face were soft and seductive by nature, the sharpness in her expression at this moment made her presence overpowering. She stared coldly at Noble Lady Lin. Perhaps it was because of that quick, decisive slap earlier—Noble Lady Lin’s face still throbbed with pain, and she subconsciously took a step back.

That step back put her at a disadvantage. Gritting her teeth, Noble Lady Lin tried to recover her pride and raised her hand again to strike.

But Chunhua was alert this time. She immediately grabbed Noble Lady Lin’s wrist, not allowing her to touch Shen Qing again.

Noble Lady Lin’s palace maid reached forward to push Chunhua, and the two sides stood in a standoff.

“You still dare to be so arrogant,” Noble Lady Lin seethed, furious at the deadlock. “What do you think you are? You’re just a Liangren, and yet you dare slap the Emperor’s face? You’re definitely going to fall out of favor!”

“I may not be a true master of the harem, but you’re just a Noble Lady. As for whether I lose favor or not, that’s not for you to decide,” Shen Qing sneered. “What? Do you think you can bypass the Empress and deal with me in His Majesty’s place? Why don’t we head over to Fengyi Palace right now and pay the Empress a visit—do you dare?”

Noble Lady Lin was startled. “You wouldn’t dare!” If the Empress found out she deliberately provoked someone like this, she wouldn’t be able to walk away unscathed.

For the first time, real fear flickered in her eyes.

But she was stubborn. “Even if you don’t dare, the Empress will still punish you.”

“Oh? And what makes you think I wouldn’t dare?”

At this moment, even the palace maid beside Noble Lady Lin was overwhelmed by Shen Qing’s powerful presence. This woman—wasn’t she the one bold enough to defy the Emperor himself? Who would dare say she wouldn’t confront the Empress too?

Panicking, the maid pulled on Noble Lady Lin’s sleeve. This whole encounter had already crossed the line. If it truly escalated to the Empress, even if Shen Liangren did fall out of favor, Noble Lady Lin would be in even more trouble.

It wasn’t worth it.

Noble Lady Lin was fuming. But Shen Qing, with her “barefoot isn’t afraid of wearing shoes” aura, genuinely rattled her. That fury, stuck in her chest, wouldn’t come up or go down. She had come here to vent her anger, but in the end, Shen Qing had made her feel even worse.

But even if she was foolish, Noble Lady Lin still knew that the Empress would never take her side. Gritting her teeth, unable to utter a word, she suddenly flung her sleeve. “You—you just wait!”

With that, she didn’t even pretend to go to the Empress. She turned and fled in panic.

Even her palace maid was exasperated hearing that. They had come here to stir up trouble, and now they were retreating with their tails between their legs? How did they end up with such a useless and troublesome mistress?

Beside her, Chunhua anxiously supported Shen Qing. “It’s this servant’s fault. I let you get hurt.”

“It’s also a lesson learned,” Shen Qing said coolly. She had never taken Noble Lady Lin seriously. Who would have thought her first slap in the palace would come from her? What a joke.

Chunhua added, “That Noble Lady Lin is just a paper tiger. All bark and no bite. But now that you’ve scared her off, she might try something again.”

“There won’t be a next time,” Shen Qing sneered. “Say what you will—her timing was actually perfect.”

And indeed it was. Shen Qing had originally planned to stop while she was ahead. She’d made enough noise. After all, Emperor Xuanyuan Ling was the Son of Heaven, and everything had to have its limits. She had just wanted to shake him up a little so he wouldn’t treat her lightly again. She couldn’t let him toss her a few rewards and expect her to come running. But she didn’t really want to throw her life away either.

Noble Lady Lin had just happened to walk into her trap.

“Liangren?” Chunhua asked hesitantly.

Shen Qing glanced at her. “Go find Xiao Chunzi.”

When Xiao Chunzi saw Chunhua approaching, he felt an unexpected sense of relief.

Chunhua slipped him a silver ingot. “Many thanks, Eunuch. Our Liangren is fully recovered now.”

Wang De had already instructed people to keep an eye on Zhaohua Palace. Now that Chunhua had come over, it clearly signaled that Shen Qing’s little tantrum was settling down. Xiao Chunzi gladly accepted the silver and went off to report to Wang De.

When Wang De heard the news, he also let out a sigh of relief. “Finally backed down. That Shen Liangren has one hell of a temper. We never saw it before.”

Compared to her, Consort Yu’s domineering behavior didn’t even seem that bad—after all, Consort Yu wasn’t bold enough to go up against the Emperor.

“But now that she’s backed down, will the Emperor take her back?”

Wang De mulled over it. That’s the real question. Slapping the Emperor’s face that blatantly—would the Emperor really just let it slide? Even though he’d seen Xuanyuan Ling’s attitude earlier and didn’t think Shen Qing would completely fall from favor, the Emperor couldn’t possibly let her get away with it so easily, right?

With these thoughts in mind, that evening, Shen Qing’s green name plaque was placed back on the table.

When it came time to select a consort for the night—

Xuanyuan Ling really did spot her name plaque. Raising an eyebrow, he asked Wang De, “Shen Liangren’s health has recovered?”

Wang De promptly replied, “Chunhua from Zhaohua Palace came personally to say that her lady is fully recovered.”

He gave all the details. Xuanyuan Ling immediately understood—Shen Qing had taken the initiative to soften her stance. A wave of relief passed through him.

She looked delicate and gentle, but she really had quite a temper—didn’t even give him face. But then again, he had indeed forced himself on her that night while drunk. Still, as Emperor, his pride wasn’t something easily trampled. Even if she’d relented, he’d need to make sure she was properly “taught a lesson.” He couldn’t just pick her card immediately and let it go.

And so, with a cool and dramatic “the emperor’s face has been slapped” attitude, Xuanyuan Ling flipped Shen Qing’s name plaque.

Wang De: “……”

When Wang De stepped out, Xiao Chunzi went to deliver the message as usual. But Wang De glared at him, “This errand isn’t yours. I’ll go myself.”

Xiao Chunzi was stunned. “His Majesty…”

Wang De said, “Didn’t you see? The moment her card was put out, His Majesty flipped it. From now on, treat this mistress with respect. If she makes it through this storm, she’ll be in a whole different league from now on.”