After Chu Liuchen and Shao Wanru bowed to her, the Empress said with a smile, “Empress Dowager and I are both relieved to see that Prince Chen married a beautiful lady. I hope that you can live a harmonious life in the future. It is also one of the Emperor’s wishes!”

They were very kind words that the Empress as an elder should say, but Shao Wanru could hear some other meanings in them.

She slightly bit her lip, lowered her head with shyness, and nodded. At this time, as a newly married bride, she did not need to say anything in reply.

“Thank you, Your Majesty!” Chu Liuchen answered gently. Shao Wanru bowed sideways with shyness.

“I need to visit Imperial Grandmother, so I have to take my leave now!”

Did Chu Liuchen mean that they wanted to leave as soon as possible? The Empress’s face darkened, because she felt humiliated by him in front of so many imperial concubines.

“Why all this hurry? Why don’t you stay for a bit longer? Among the princes, you are the first to get married, Prince Chen. I want to talk with Princess Chen a bit longer. Could it be that you are not willing to give us such a bit of time, Prince Chen?” the Empress said with a smile and glanced at Shao Wanru’s lowered face gently with intimacy.

Shao Wanru took a step towards Chu Liuchen in silence and stood close to him.

On this occasion, it was inappropriate for her to say anything. Fortunately, she was covered by the identity of a newly married woman. Of course, she believed that Chu Liuchen would handle it well and would not let the reputation of Prince Chen’s Mansion be damaged.

“I’m indeed a little reluctant, Your Majesty. Imperial Grandmother has sent her order early in the morning. She asked us to come to visit her soon after we finished our visit here, saying that she has a big gift for me. I really can’t wait to see my gift!”

Chu Liuchen replied to her with an elegant smile and calm eyes.

His beautiful and handsome appearance speeded up all the imperial concubines’ heartbeats. And they started to become jealous of Shao Wanru. How lucky she was to marry such a handsome prince, who was powerful and influential for being favored by both Empress Dowager and the Emperor!

Why was Princess Chen so lucky to marry such a fairy-like man, who was handsome, talented and powerful, and even friendly and gentle in attitude? Such a man was like an angel from heaven. How could Princess Chen be favored to marry such a good person?

In the past, there were rumors that Prince Chen was moody. It was sure enough that they were incredible.

“Your Highness, since the Empress wants to chat with you and Princess Chen, why don’t you stay a little longer? Empress Dowager is not in such a hurry!”

Because of Chu Liuchen’s kindness and gentleness, some imperial concubines couldn’t help talking to Prince Chen with a charming smile.

Shao Wanru raised her eyes slightly and caught sight of a bright face. She looked pretty among those imperial concubines. She seemed to be favored by the Emperor now; otherwise, she would not be daring to cut in the conversation between Chu Liuchen and the Empress.

“Your Majesty, who is this?” Chu Liuchen raised his eyes to look at the woman opposite him. She was about 17 or 18 years old, and she was dressed gorgeously. When she saw Chu Liuchen looking up at her, she made eye contact with him tenderly, with her hands pinching a handkerchief tightly.

She stared at Chu Liuchen obsessively with bashful and charming eyes, which were even with a bit of seduction. That made her look quite attractive.

“This is Beauty Wu, who has just been conferred by His Majesty and moved in the Imperial Palace. Among this batch of conferred beauties, His Majesty favored Beauty Wu the best,” the Empress said with a dignified and decent look.

Since Beauty Wu stood up for her, she naturally introduced Beauty Wu and helped show her status. Others probably didn’t know about Chu Liuchen’s personality, but the Empress did. She was afraid that Chu Liuchen would do something out of line again, and it would be difficult to deal with him at that time.

She was the master of the harem, so the Emperor would come to her as long as anything happened in the harem.

“Nice to meet you, Your Highness Prince Chen!” On hearing the Empress’s words, Beauty Wu immediately stood up and said in a sweet voice. Then she took a bow to him, which showed the charming curves of her figure.

Beauty Wu was indeed a good-looking girl. The clothes she wore matched her figure very well. Her chest looked plump with her slender waist tightly tied. In addition, she was extremely beautiful. She looked at Chu Liuchen with her big watery eyes, which made her more attractive.

“Beauty Wu, you are from a humble family, aren’t you?” Chu Liuchen asked in a gentle voice but his words were very mean.

Beauty Wu was stunned. She didn’t expect the gentle Prince Chen would ask her such a question about her origin.

She was indeed not from a noble family. She was just a daughter of an inferior official and his concubine, who came from a remote place. She didn’t know Prince Chen well. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have stood up and said that just now.

“Your Highness…” she said in a sweet voice with tears in her beautiful eyes, which made her look very grieved.

Such a beauty was the most attractive when she was silent with grieved tears in her eyes. Even a man with a heart of stone would feel pity for her. But when she looked at Prince Chen, she was enchanted by his gentleness and handsome appearance and almost forgot her identity as an imperial concubine. All her mind was occupied by Prince Chen. The longer she stared at him, the more handsome and charming he became in her eyes.

The Empress’ face changed as she had a bad feeling.

“Your Majesty, she is my uncle’s imperial concubine, so I should have respected her. But she keeps staring at me with such indelicate eyes. She is no different from those palace maids and Misses who bumped into me on purpose in the past. It is hard for me to show respect to her!” Chu Liuchen’s face suddenly changed from gentle to cold, and his pretty eyebrows were covered by a gloomy aura. His eyes were also gloomy and cold.

Other imperial concubines who had fantasies about him just now were also shocked by his words, and their expressions changed a lot. They seemed to be in a warm spring just now, but the next second they were swept into an ice cave. Moreover, Chu Liuchen’s words were so sharp and frank that they indicated Beauty Wu wasn’t virtuous and even wanted to seduce him.

The Empress was angry and resentful. She was pissed off by Beauty Wu, who forgot herself and seduced Chu Liuchen. It was well known to everyone in the Imperial Palace who were familiar with Chu Liuchen that he was cold-blooded. Those servant girls, who bumped into him on purpose and intended to seduce him, were all sentenced to death.

On the other hand, those Misses from aristocratic families who did the same didn’t lose their lives, but they didn’t have a good end. They often ran away in tears after being sneered at by him.

The current situation was very difficult to deal with. Chu Liuchen accused Beauty Wu of seducing him in front of so many imperial concubines, which made the Empress, the master of the harem, feel very awkward.

After she came to her senses from her shock, Beauty Wu knelt to the Empress and explained with anxiety, “No, Your Majesty. I didn’t… I just…”

She had stood up for the Empress before, so the Empress didn’t want her to be bullied. Otherwise, no one would stand on her side in the future.

The Empress coughed in a low voice and then showed a gentle smile on her face. “Prince Chen, don’t be angry. That is what Beauty Wu is like. She talks to anyone in such a manner. It’s not only because of you!”

“Oh, really? Beauty Wu always becomes affectionate when talking to any man? Then you have to check it out, Your Majesty, to see who else Beauty Wu has talked to like this. If they are merely her father and brothers in the family, it will be fine. But if they are other men…” Chu Liuchen said with a sneer and stood proudly in the main palace with his hands clasped behind his back. His eyes were cold, and anyone could see that he was angry.

Of course, he meant that Beauty Wu was impure.

“Your Highness…” Beauty Wu collapsed to the ground. Others only heard his doubts, but she knew what she had done in her heart.

Before Beauty Wu entered the Imperial Palace, she did have an affair with her cousin. Although they had not broken through the last layer of ethical constraint, they had done everything a couple would do. Her cousin always liked charming women, so Beauty Wu made use of her beauty to flirt with him.

However, to live a glorious and luxurious life, she broke up with her cousin and entered the Imperial Palace.

“You’d better do more investigations in case the reputation of our royal family is ruined and it brings shame to my uncle, Your Majesty!” Chu Liuchen said coldly in a lazy tone, but his words were as sharp as thorns.

At this time, the Empress was also very anxious. She must stop Chu Liuchen from saying more. She clenched her teeth to suppress her anger and forced a smile. “Thank you for your reminder, Prince Chen. I’m afraid that Empress Dowager can’t wait to see you. You’d better go there now in case she becomes worried.”

She had to give up her plan of oppressing Shao Wanru with the help of those imperial concubines. She just wanted to send the troublemaker away. With just a few words, Beauty Wu had been knocked out! The Empress felt indescribably aggrieved.

In fact, Beauty Wu was a smart girl. Although she had been favored by the Emperor since she entered the Imperial Palace, she had always been very respectful to the Empress and stood on her side. She was a sharp-eyed person, anyway. Moreover, she had made a good impression on the Emperor. The Empress naturally took her as a henchman.

However, she didn’t expect Beauty Wu would be knocked out like that.

The Emperor would definitely know what had happened here today. In fact, the Empress was very sharp-eyed too. She had discovered that Beauty Wu was not well-educated, so she had had the suspicion before that Beauty Wu might have an affair with other men before entering the Palace. So it didn’t matter whether the investigation was done or not. If the Emperor became suspicious of Beauty Wu, she must be out of favor no matter how good she was.

“Thank you, Your Majesty. You are considerate. Then I will take my princess to visit Imperial Grandmother now!” Chu Liuchen smiled slightly, and his face relaxed. Then he took a bow to the Empress.

Shao Wanru also followed to bow.

“Well, go now!” The Empress waved her hand gently, behaving like a motherly elder.

Chu Liuchen nodded with a smile and walked out with Shao Wanru. But after taking a few steps, he suddenly turned around and looked at Beauty Wu, who was still kneeling on the ground. He said to the Empress again, “Your Majesty, you have to look into it. Not everyone can enter the Imperial Palace at will, not to mention that this is related to Uncle the Emperor!”

“I will find out the truth. Thank you for your concern, Prince Chen!” The Empress squeezed these words from the gaps between her teeth.

Chu Liuchen turned around with satisfaction with the Empress’s answers and returned to be gentle and elegant as he had been when he just entered the hall. He left with Shao Wanru, leaving the hall in dull silence…