Chapter 9: Things Are Different Now

"Get out of the way, you little dog slave!"

Outside the Fanghua Palace, there was constant shouting.

Xia Zhi insisted on breaking into Fanghua Palace without notifying anyone, but as the eunuch in charge of Fanghua Palace, how could Fuan let her in directly?

Fuan smiled apologetically and said, "Miss Xiazhi, we are all servants, so why do you have to embarrass me? Please, Miss Li, let me in, oh..."

In the afternoon, the sun is at its hottest.

All the way from Chenglu Palace, Li Changzai had already become impatient.

“Summer Solstice!”

Li Changzai frowned, and Xia Zhi immediately pushed Fu'an with both hands, causing him to fall to the side.

"Who are you? You dare to stop my young mistress? When I see Lady Shu later, I will make her punish you!"

Xia Zhi glared at Fu'an with an arrogant look, then turned around and helped Li Changzai up the stairs with a flattering look.

"Really? My dear young master, you came to visit her out of kindness, but this dog slave actually dared to stop you outside. I must punish him severely later!"

Just one step away, Xia Zhi was supporting Li Changzai and was about to enter Fanghua Palace when a graceful figure suddenly came into view.

"Miss Xiazhi, why are you so angry?"

Xia Zhi was stunned when he suddenly saw Shen Qingtang in such a state, and the same jealousy as Li Changzai appeared in his eyes.

They were all slaves together, so why did Shen Qingtang become a noble while she was still a slave serving others?

Xia Zhi was angry and dissatisfied.

"Things are different now. You are now Lady Shu, very majestic. My young master came to see you out of kindness, but this dog servant actually dared to stop her. It's really abominable."

Fu'an, who failed to stop Xia Zhi and his servant, knelt on the ground with a pale face when he heard Xia Zhi reporting him.

"My lord, please understand. This servant——"

"If you don't distinguish between the high and the low, then in your opinion, how should they be punished?"

Shen Qingtang raised her hand lightly, her face showing no emotion, and Fu'an fell silent upon seeing it.

...My Lord, you are not really going to punish him? !
Compared to Fu'an's uneasiness, Xia Zhi immediately raised his chin proudly.

"For your sake, I'll slap you in the face!"

Shen Qingtang raised his lips and smiled, "Okay!"

Looking at the elegant and noble Shen Qingtang in front of him, Xia Zhi couldn't help but sneer in his heart.

As long as Shen Qingtang really punishes this dog slave, I'm afraid the people of Fanghua Palace will lose their morale!
A master who cannot protect the people around her will have no one loyal to her in the future, no matter how high her status is.

Xia Zhi looked at her master as if to seek credit, and sure enough, Li Changzai gave her an approving look.

For a moment, Xia Zhi straightened his back even more.

Not only that, even the way she looked at Shen Qingtang was filled with contempt!
So what if a sparrow turns into a phoenix? She was still easily controlled by a little servant like her and lost face.

Under Xia Zhi's contemptuous gaze, the smile on Shen Qingtang's lips became a little subtle.

"amber."

Amber came out in response to the call.

"The servant is here."

As the faces of the palace servants in Fanghua Palace changed several times, Xia Zhi glanced at Fu'an who was kneeling on the ground with his head down, and gave a sarcastic reminder to Amber who was walking towards him.

"No need to punish him severely, just teach him a lesson. After all, he still has to serve in front of others, and if he gets his face bruised, then -"

Snapped!
Xia Zhi's face twisted, with a red and swollen slap mark on her face, and she looked at Fu An in confusion.

...What's going on? ?

Hiss——my face hurts!

Realizing that he was beaten, Xia Zhi raised his head and screamed angrily. "You dare to hit me?!"

"No matter how high or low you are, I'm going to hit you!"

Amber moved quickly, slapping Xia Zhi twice in the face with both hands.

"Who would dare to tell you that? My lady is the noble lady appointed by the emperor himself. How dare you, a mere servant, boss the noble lady around? You are so brave!"

After the summer solstice, Amber shook her numb right hand and quickly called Fu'an.

"My young master has always been clear about rewards and punishments. You did nothing wrong, so why would I punish you? Hurry up and get up. Please invite my young master Li into the hall for tea!"

Fu'an got up and was about to invite Li Changzai into the hall when Xia Zhi suddenly covered his face with his hands and made a sharp explosion.

"Ahhhh!!!"

Xia Zhi fell to his knees at Li Changzai's feet with a thud, filled with grief and anger.

"My lady, you have to make the decision for me. When Lady Shu gained power, she ignored the sisterly love we had in the past and allowed her maid to slap me. My face is now swollen from her beating."

"Okay, okay!!"

Li Changzai, who had been sitting there watching her servant slap Shen Qingtang in the face, was so calm and collected that she suddenly came to her senses with a look of disbelief when she saw Xia Zhi being beaten and then kneeling at her feet.

Looking at Xia Zhi's red and swollen cheeks, Li Changzai felt a surge of anger in his chest, unable to move forward.

"It's really different now than it was in the past. My sister is in power now, so she uses her former sisters to establish her authority. What a good trick!" Li Changzai has a knife in her eyes. How dare she, a lowly foot-washing maid! !

Li Changzai hated her to death. When he looked at Shen Qingtang again, he shook his head at her repeatedly, as if he could not hear the sarcasm in her words.

"Sister, you are wrong!"

As she spoke, Shen Qingtang looked at Li Changzai with pity. The look in her eyes, as if she was looking at a fool, made Li Changzai furious.

"I am a big slave and I am bullying my master. Today, Xia Zhi dared to be disrespectful to me. In the future, he will dare to bully me. I am kind enough to help discipline him, but I don't appreciate it. I blame you. Could it be that -"

Shen Qingtang raised the last syllable of her voice, and under Li Changzai's cold gaze, her red lips curled up slightly.

"Xia Zhi is disrespectful to me. Did my sister instigate this?" This is just a way to scare the tiger.

"Shen Qingtang!" Li Changzai raised his eyebrows.

Shen Qingtang smiled softly, "My sister is here, may I ask what you can do for me?"

Shen Qingtang pretended to be docile and well-behaved, which made Li Changzai so angry that he fell backwards.

"Sister, you are indeed very clever. I, as your elder sister, underestimated you." Li Changzai looked at Shen Qingtang with a cold gaze. "Let Xia Zhi forgive me for my mistakes today. I hope that in the future, sister can still be as majestic and domineering as she is today!"

"You are such a disgrace, get out of here!"

After saying that, Li Changzai glared at Xia Zhi, then turned away in anger.

"My dear, my dear..."

Xia Zhi, who originally wanted his mistress to seek justice for him, saw that Li Changzai had abandoned him. He immediately chased after Li Changzai with grievance and pitifulness and disappeared in Guanju Palace.

As soon as Li Changzai and his servant left, the Fanghua Palace became eerily quiet.

Shen Qingtang stood at the gate of Fanghua Palace, looking at the wide-open gate of Guanju Palace, and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

"Interesting~" Shen Qingtang's eyes curved, "I guess after today, everyone in the harem will tell you how sharp-tongued and arrogant Concubine Shu is..."

Who would care about a superficial beauty who has no scheming and no ambition?

"Fu'an, although the fault is not yours, it is because of you that I have a grudge against Li Changzai. If I punish you now, are you willing to accept the punishment?"

Shen Qingtang lowered her eyes and looked at Fu'an who was looking at her with admiration. After just a few words, Fu'an's expression changed several times, and finally he lowered his head in self-blame.

"I will leave it to you, my master."

Shen Qingtang burst out laughing and laughed happily.

"Then I will punish you. Invite the guests from outside into the Fanghua Palace. You have made a fool of yourself for such a long time. Do you think you deserve the punishment?!"

(End of this chapter)

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