Zhao Ming sighed as she was fed up dealing with Wen Xu and Xiao Li. Can't she have a single peaceful day in this palace?

" Empress Dowager, neither Minister Yu Shao's removal from his position has nothing to do with me nor yours and consort Xiao Li. All decisions have been taken by his majesty, so if you have any problem then you can talk to him directly."

" I am not involved in these decisions in any way, so please don't put all the blame on me. Also, I request you to be mindful of your behavior. You did it today, but I won't be tolerable if you hit my people again. Lu Shi is my maid, not yours. So you have no authority to hit her or order her around especially when she didn't do anything wrong." Zhao Ming said sternly while looking into Wen Xu's eyes without blinking away.

Wen Xu pursed her lips and chuckled, " Really? Do you think I am afraid of you? Zhao Ming, you're nothing but a cheap slut who is only good in bed. How dare you threaten me? I am the Empress Dowager. I don't need your permission on how I should treat servants."

Zhao Ming's eyes darkened when she heard Wen Xu's dirty words. She pursed her lips and closed her eyes for a moment.

But when she opened her eyes again, she chuckled and smiled brightly.

" You're right. If a woman is not good in bed then how can she be able to satisfy her husband? I am good in bed that's why His majesty never went to any of his other consorts. Because of this your dream to make Consort Xiao Li, an Empress Dowager will always be a dream." she laughed lightly.

" Because it seems like you will soon become a grandmother and I will be the mother of future Emperor of Ji Dynasty," she said while flipping her braid back and caressing the purple marks on her neck as if flaunting them.

At first, she felt annoyed and angry when she heard her words. But when she thought about it, she started to feel that it's more like a compliment rather than an insult. After all, being good in bed is a great skill that not anyone can have.

She should be proud of this fact and not get agitated about it. So she didn't back away and teased her using her own words.

Wen Xu gritted her teeth when she heard Zhao Ming's shameless response. In the past, she could never dare to give such shameless responses but now she acted like that it was a compliment and not an insult.

" You...You...Are you even hearing what you're saying? How can you say such shameless words as the Empress of the Ji Dynasty? Do you have any shame left in you or not?"

" So you know that I am the Empress of the Ji Dynasty and yet you are spouting such dirty words for me? If I am the Empress then you're also the Empress Dowager. How can the Empress Dowager use such cheap words for the Empress?"

" I think you need to learn manners more than me because you lack the basic manners, not me," she said while folding her hands in front of her chest as she stared at her domineeringly.

" You...Bitch.." Wen Xu bellowed and dashed towards Zhao Ming angrily and held her hand tightly and gave her a tight slap on the face.

Zhao Ming, who was not interested in talking to her and had just turned around, Wen Xu walked to her angrily and slapped her on the face. She was caught off guard as she was not expecting her to resort to physical violence.

The slap was tight and hard which left a clear hand mark on her face. She felt a stinging pain and pursed her lips tight.

She had the strong urge to hit her back but clenched her fists tightly as she couldn't do so. After all, Wen Xu has the same face as her mother. She can do anything but couldn't hit her back because of her face as her mother.

Wen Xu's lips curled up in a smug smile seeing Zhao Ming standing there without doing anything. She thought that she finally learned her place and couldn't dare to do anything.

After all, she is the Empress Dowager. What can she do?

" MOTHER..!!"

Wen Xu's expressions froze when she heard Ji cheng's voice. Her body shivered when he called out to her in anger.

Wasn't he in the court? How can he be back?

Wen Xu came here to talk to Zhao Ming knowing that Ji Cheng will not be there. But how come he is back so early?

Ji Cheng clenched his palms in a fist tightly and walked towards Zhao Ming in long strides. He walked past Wen Xu and looked at Zhao Ming worriedly.

He has seen what Wen Xu had done just now. He felt so annoyed and frustrated that if he had come a minute earlier then she wouldn't have gotten slapped by his mother.

" Show me," he said in a gentle voice and tugged at her hand which was on her cheek.

Her body was shivering a little as she was still in shock because it's been years since anyone has slapped her. The last time she was slapped by her father was when she was 15 years old and that too because of what happened in the school.

Ji Cheng removed her hand from her face and was shocked to see the red marks on her face. Her skin is so white that red marks were clearly visible on her face. His heart ached as he reached out to touch her face.

She flinched a little when his palms touched her cheeks, he could feel how hot her face was. The slap must be so hard resulting in her cheeks being so hot.

Yet she wasn't crying. Her eyes were welled up in tears but she was gritting her teeth trying hard to not cry. She doesn't want to cry in front of Wen Xu, even if it hurts like hell.

It would only hurt her pride if she cried just because Wen Xu slapped her. She hated being portrayed as weak in front of others, especially in front of those who look down on her.

##

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