Smack!
With one slap, Liu Ling'er sent Shi Feifei spinning three times on the spot!
A bright red handprint appeared on Shi Feifei's face!
"How dare you strike the principal consort? You've gone too far!"
Nanny Xu knew Liu Ling'er was no weakling, but with her mistress struck, she had no choice but to steel herself and step forward.
"You have no right to speak here!"
Liu Ling'er swept her arm again, and a vast surge of invisible force swept Nanny Xu up and sent her flying.
How overbearing!
Su Ying and the other secondary consorts scattered, falling silent as cicadas in winter!
Once their shock passed, they all began to gloat over the misfortune!
Su Ying most of all!
Su Ying had been slapped by Liu Ling'er herself and had also seen Nanny Xu get beaten!
She had thought Liu Ling'er would never dare lay a hand on the principal consort. She had never expected it to actually happen!
Liu Ling'er, you were far too impulsive!
When you hit Nanny Xu, Shi Feifei could still swallow it, but now that you've hit Shi Feifei herself, not only will she never let you off, but neither will the king!
"Mother, well done!"
Still in Hong San's arms, Lin Heng waved both arms vigorously, clapping and cheering!
"Consort Liu, calm down!"
Hong San quickly recovered his senses and spoke up to persuade her.
He was deeply astonished!
It was shocking enough that Consort Liu had dared to strike the principal consort, but with one wave of her hand, she had sent Nanny Xu, a Martial Emperor Realm cultivator, flying a great distance. She clearly had a cultivation of at least the Martial Emperor Realm!
Consort Liu was at the Martial Emperor Realm?
Hong San could hardly believe it.
Back when he was still at the Quasi-God Realm, he had checked Liu Ling'er's cultivation realm before. It had clearly been very low!
Just then, Xi Zhaoqu returned!
"His Majesty's verbal decree: Consort Liu previously conducted herself improperly in the Ancestral God Temple. Now that she has safely given birth, her contribution in bearing a prince shall spare her the death penalty, but she cannot escape punishment. She is hereby stripped of her status as a secondary consort, reduced to a commoner, and ordered to leave the palace on a date to be chosen!"
Everyone's eyes fell on Xi Zhaoqu again.
Xi Zhaoqu thought their looks were strange and could not help feeling utterly baffled.
What had happened here?
He looked around and saw the handprint on the principal consort's face.
He did not think much of it, nor did he dare to.
Turning his gaze back to Liu Ling'er, Xi Zhaoqu said displeasedly, "Consort Liu, why don't you hurry up and give thanks for His Majesty's grace?"
"Get out, all of you!"
Liu Ling'er waved her hand and lay back down on the bed.
"How dare you, Consort Liu! No, you're no longer a secondary consort!"
Xi Zhaoqu was furious. "You insolent commoner, Liu Ling'er! How dare you-"
"I told you to get out. Can't you hear me?"
Before Xi Zhaoqu could finish, Liu Ling'er cut him off impatiently.
"Fine, fine, fine. I won't hold it against you. I hope you live to a ripe old age after you leave the palace!"
Xi Zhaoqu left with a venomous look on his face.
As he saw it, Liu Ling'er must have lost her mind after hearing that she had been stripped of her title and was to be driven out of the palace!
"Why are you still here?"
Liu Ling'er swept another glance over the group of consorts.
"Liu Ling'er, you've already been stripped of your title. You'd better be very careful living outside the palace!"
Only after saying this did Su Ying turn and leave.
"Let's go!"
Su Feifei chose to swallow her anger and leave, taking Nanny Xu, who was still coughing up blood, with her.
The other consorts were even less inclined to stay another moment.
"Consort Liu..."
"I'm no longer Consort Liu."
Hong San had just opened his mouth when Liu Ling'er interrupted him. "I'm a little tired. Eunuch, please put Heng'er on the bed and let the two of us rest for a while."
"All right!"
Hong San put Lin Heng down. Knowing Liu Ling'er did not want to talk further, he tactfully withdrew without a word.
After leaving the Heartwarming Pavilion, Shi Feifei did not make a scene over the matter.
She even sternly warned Su Ying and the other secondary consorts that no one was to speak of what had just happened in the Heartwarming Pavilion!
Indeed, to her, it was a humiliation beyond compare!
Even so, everyone could see that Shi Feifei was about to explode with rage. The day Liu Ling'er left the palace would be the day of her death!
The Hall of Longevity.
Lin Changqing sat upright on the royal throne, his expression grave.
The birth of a prince today should have been cause for celebration, but neither he nor the Chishui Royal Clan could feel the least bit happy.
The Chishui Kingdom did not border the Devil Race's territory. A stretch of unclaimed desert lay between them.
That desert was so barren that even the Devil Race had no desire to occupy it.
But more than ten days ago, news had come from that direction: a Devil Race army had appeared in the desert!
The Devil Race army was still gathering, and its numbers were enormous!
Even a person using their toes could guess that the Devil Race was about to attack the Chishui Kingdom!
Of course, the possibility that the Devil Race was once again feinting in one direction to strike in another could not be ruled out.
The Chishui Royal Clan had already conveyed this dangerous news to the Great Xia Imperial Clan.
The Great Xia Imperial Clan had replied that they should first wait and see how things developed.
The Devil Race had just suffered a defeat and was unlikely to start another war. They were probably after something else.
Yet today, news had come from the border that the Devil Race army had already poured out of the desert and fought its way into the Chishui Kingdom!
Then another piece of bad news arrived!
The Demon Race in the south had also made its move!
South of the Chishui Kingdom lay the Nanhua Kingdom, whose southern border adjoined the Demon Race's territory!
The Demon Race army had invaded the Nanhua Kingdom. If it fell, the Demon Race army would reach the Chishui Kingdom as well!
With the Demon and Devil Races acting together, the situation was as perilous as a stack of eggs!
The Chishui Kingdom needed reinforcements, and so did the Nanhua Kingdom!
Since the Demon Race was stronger overall and its offensive was fiercer this time, the Great Xia Imperial Clan had already informed the Chishui Royal Clan that, for now, they could only send all their reinforcements to the Nanhua Kingdom!
The Great Xia Imperial Clan had, however, said they would send one God Realm expert over.
A single God Realm expert could activate the Devil-Sealing Grand Formation in Chishui Royal City, which should hold off the Devil Race army for a while.
"All we can do now is hope that God Realm expert gets here as soon as possible!"
Lin Changqing sighed bitterly.
If they could not withstand the Devil Race army's attack, he would probably have to flee again like a stray dog!
"Your Majesty, perhaps that God Realm expert is already in our royal city!"
Su Song said, "Wasn't that goddess who helped kill the three Devil Race Quasi-Gods last time sent by the Great Xia Imperial Clan?"
"I asked the Great Xia Imperial Clan. They said she wasn't."
Lin Changqing shook his head. "They even suspected I was deliberately playing dumb. They said we were deliberately concealing the fact that the Chishui Kingdom had a newly ascended God Realm expert!"
"Isn't that bullshit?"
A Royal Clan expert said indignantly, "If we had a newly ascended God Realm expert, we'd want the whole world to know, so we could raise our standing among the human race. Why would we deliberately hide it?"
The others chimed in.
"Talking about this is useless. The Great Xia Imperial Clan intends to concentrate its forces on defeating the Demon Race army first. On our side, we can only pray for our own good fortune!"
Lin Changqing said helplessly, "In the past, many kingdoms and royal clans have been sacrificed for the sake of the overall war or to lure the enemy in deep. Let's hope we can hold out this time!"
Though he said that, in truth, he had no confidence at all.
With only one more God Realm expert, the Chishui Kingdom had no chance of victory against the entire Devil Race, nor was it likely to hold out until the main human forces defeated the Demon Race army.
This was a war destined to end in crushing defeat before it had even begun!
Over the next two days, the Devil Race army swept toward Chishui Royal City in overwhelming force. The people in the city had long since begun to flee.
If he were not the king, and if the Great Xia Imperial Clan had not issued an imperial decree ordering him to hold the city, Lin Changqing would probably have fled as well!