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Two female officials bowed their heads, left and right, and pushed open the door of the side chamber. Only then did the owner of the voice leisurely step inside, her pace elegant and unhurried as she strolled over to Zhu Bafu, looking down at her from on high. The Gold-Threaded Phoenix Crown upon her head cast a dazzling brilliance with her contemptuous gaze. "Where is that lowly woman?"

One of the emperor's three imperial consorts—Consort Pan?

"This humble scholar greets Consort Pan." Bound to the ground, she had no choice but to lower her head in a bow. "Forgive this humble scholar's presumption, but for Your Lady to treat a subject with such 'courtesy' is truly lacking in decorum."

Consort Pan's pretty eyes shifted slightly, and a sneer surfaced on her brilliantly painted lips. One Gold-Threaded Phoenix Embroidered Shoe lifted slightly, and the next moment, it stamped heavily upon Zhu Bafu's face—

"It's you pedantic scholars who incited His Majesty to frequent those base, frivolous places, and now you have the nerve to talk to me about decorum? Ha?"

The shoe, scented with elegant fragrances, stepped heavily again and again upon her cheek, grinding until it burned with pain. This imperial consort had completely lost the noble dignity she wore while sitting grandly in her phoenix sedan chair during her first visit to Dongxu Mansion, and a foul aura of aristocratic bullying poured forth.

"Older Sister! Please don't be angry. This fellow is, after all, an official appointed by the emperor himself. It doesn't matter how you trample him flat, but don't anger the emperor."

"Hmph!" Withdrawing the force from her feet, Consort Pan flicked the phoenix-tail hem of her skirt and seated herself upon a chair brought over by a female official. She accepted the tea offered by the