After the emperor read her mind, the salted fish concubine effortlessly won the title of empress.

Chapter 45 Getting Beaten

Just then, a splash of water was heard, and a head popped out.

"Consort Shen, quick, you must get Consort Shen out of here!"

The skilled eunuchs swam quickly towards Shen Shixi, who dove in and resurfaced at the emperor's feet. She reached out her hand to him, "Your Majesty, pull me up!"

The emperor, his face grim, pulled her up, held her in his arms, wrapped her in his cloak, and demanded sternly, "What happened?"

Over here, Yang Tingyue leaned against the Empress Dowager's chest, sobbing uncontrollably. The Empress Dowager's face was also very grim. Now that the person had been rescued, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let's go back to my palace first and let the two of them change their clothes. Even though it's summer, the lake water is too cold for young girls; it will harm their health in the future."

When Shen Shixi and Yang Tingyue finished washing up, the main hall was full of people, and the two of them looked like criminals being tried by the three judicial authorities.

Shen Shixi was fine; she was a tough nut to crack anyway, so she didn't care. But Yang Tingyue felt extremely ashamed and glared fiercely at Shen Shixi, feeling that she was the one who had caused all this trouble.

Shen Shixi said in a low voice, "If you dare to glare at me again, I'll gouge out your beautiful eyes and use them as a football!"

Unable to win an argument with Shen Shixi, Yang Tingyue resorted to violence, raising his hand to strike her. Tears welled in Shen Shixi's eyes as she ran to Li Yuanke, hiding behind him. "Your Majesty, Yang Tingyue is going to hit me again!"

Li Yuanke grasped her hand that was resting on his shoulder, only to find it a little cold.

The imperial physician said that she had some cold uterus and irregular menstruation, which would hinder her ability to conceive.

Yang Tingyue stormed up to the Empress Dowager and complained aggrievedly, "Aunt, she insulted me. She said she would gouge out my eyes and use them as a ball."

The Empress Dowager was speechless. "How dare you point your finger at the Emperor!"

Yang Tingyue quickly withdrew her hand, her fingers trembling as if they had been severed from her. She lowered her head, looking utterly aggrieved. "Shen Shixi hits me every time he sees me!"

The Empress Dowager retorted angrily, "How do you know it wasn't you who struck first! You've always disliked her; do you think I didn't know that!"

The concubines were quite speechless. Yang Tingyue was the Empress Dowager's niece, yet the Empress Dowager favored Shen Shixi.

"Yuan Yin, you tell us!"

Li Yuanyin was also quite helpless. He stepped forward and recounted what had happened. "It was Tingyue who first insulted... Consort Shen. It was also Tingyue who first hit Consort Shen. My son was standing by and couldn't really stop them. The two of them fell into the lake while they were fighting."

"How can I possibly say anything to you!"

The Empress Dowager poked her niece's forehead and said to the Emperor, "It was indeed Tingyue's fault today, and I will punish her myself. Consort Shen has also been wronged. These days, she has been diligent and respectful in copying Buddhist scriptures for the late Emperor, and I have long wanted to reward her."

"I think it would be better to promote her rank and bestow upon her a title. What does the Emperor think?"

"Everything is at Mother's discretion!"

The Empress Dowager then symbolically asked the Empress, "What is the Empress's opinion?"

The Empress said, "I have heard that Consort Shen has been serving Your Majesty very diligently in the Hall of Joyful Longevity these days. She is very clever and her cooking is delicious. I was just thinking about how to reward her. Your Majesty's words have really touched my heart."

"Your Majesty, I will have the Imperial Household Department draft a few impressive titles."

The other concubines were green with envy. After entering the palace, it was very difficult to get promoted after the initial title. Although the emperor was generous in giving titles, he was also very generous in demoting them in the past month.

Lin Guiyou had finally managed to obtain the title of Consort Jin, but in one fell swoop, she was demoted to a prehistoric level.

After everyone left, the Empress Dowager sent her niece to reflect on her actions by facing the wall. She then spoke to her youngest son, saying, "I originally thought that since Tingyue would have no one to take care of her in the future, entrusting her to you would be the best course of action..."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanyin was at his wit's end. "Mother, what grudge do I have against you? Tingyue likes my brother, wouldn't it be better to let her enter the palace in the future?"

"You've seen her personality. Even though I'm there to look after her in the palace, look at all the women in your brother's harem. Which one of them is a good person? Perhaps only Xi'er is somewhat straightforward."

Li Yuanyin smiled, "With Consort Shen's personality, even when she does evil, she does it ostentatiously, which makes her seem like a good person!"

The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "Never mind, this is just my opinion. Since Tingyue is unwilling, I can't interfere with how she chooses to walk her own path in the future."

Li Yuanyin scratched his head. Now that he knew his mother had this idea, he would stay as far away from Yang Tingyue as possible in the future. It was terrifying.

Let's leave these kinds of people for Shen Shixi to deal with!

In Peach Blossom Village, Li Yuanke slapped Shen Shixi hard across the thickest part of her back. Shen Shixi, straddling his leg, howled in pain, almost crying, "Are you crazy? Why did you hit me?"

She used one hand to support herself on the ground and the other to climb onto Li Yuanke's shoulder as she got up. "It wasn't that I wanted to fight her, she just charged at me like a mad dog and bit me. You even hit me, I almost drowned!"

Li Yuanke took a deep breath and slapped him again. Shen Shixi was not to be outdone and bit his shoulder. The pain was intense, but he did not move.

"Do you know how deep that lake is? You think you can dodge the eunuch just because you know a few doggy paddles? Do you want to die?" Li Yuanke was truly enraged, gritting his teeth.

Shen Shixi leaned on his shoulder, "I was wrong, I know I was wrong, okay? Brother Yuan Ke, please forgive me this once!"

Li Yuanke's heart skipped a beat. "Don't call me that now. Get down. I'll have someone beat you. If I don't punish you severely, I don't think you'll ever learn your lesson."

Shen Shixi clung tightly to his neck, refusing to let go.

"Brother Yuan Ke, I didn't mean to scare you. As soon as I heard your voice, I rushed out of the water. I was so angry, and you still want to hit me."

Shen Shixi released him and accused him, "Did you say something about me to Consort Rong when you went to her palace yesterday?"

Li Yuanke was somewhat bewildered. "What did I say about you to others?"

"Those two lines of poetry I gave to Consort Rong, did you tell her to order me to write the rest for her?" Shen Shixi angrily pulled away from him.

"You're so annoying! Why are you talking about me with your women? Whether I write to her or not is my business. If you're so capable, then give me an imperial decree!"

The turn of events came too quickly, and Li Yuanke was caught off guard.

Bai Ping brought over some ginger soup. "Master, drink some ginger soup to ward off the cold. The lake water is icy cold; be careful not to catch a chill."

"I won't drink it, take it away! Humph! So what if I catch a cold? I'll die of it!"

"Shut up!" Li Yuanke took the ginger soup, pulled her into his arms, and said, "Drink!"

"I won't drink it!" Shen Shixi turned her face away.

"Stop trying to shift the blame onto me! You know perfectly well that I won't talk about you to others. I didn't even remember those two lines of poetry she recited, and I just said I didn't know them, without saying a word. Yet you use that to attack me. Your ability to evade the question has certainly improved."

He shoved the bowl in front of Shen Shixi. "Drink! Don't think you can get away with this!"

Shen Shixi felt dizzy from the smell of the ginger soup, frowned, and said, "I'm not drinking it! You can kill me then!"