gry.She could feel the hands behind her, that had been pressed against her waist and hips, growing increasingly bold.With a jerk, Zhao Qinglan grabbed Li Chen's arm, intending to shake off the hand th...Chapter 2: Prince, You Are Being Outrageous

Chen Zhi gritted his teeth, anger surging through him. His body trembled slightly, his hand clutching the hilt of the knife so tightly that the veins on his arm stood out, a clear sign of his extreme fury.

"Dare you If you dare not, get out! Retreat five steps from this palace. Step down from the platform. If you dare to take even a single step onto the platform, you will be killed without mercy!"

Li Chen watched Chen Zhi with a dark face, retreating in humiliation until he reached the bottom of the steps. He stopped and sneered before turning to enter the hall.

Staring at Li Chen's back, Chen Zhi's chest was filled with hatred that almost drove him insane.

"Li Chen, you wait for me! Once the Grand Preceptor and Empress's scheme comes to fruition, I will ensure you meet a gruesome end!"

Back in the hall, Li Chen saw Empress Zhao Qinglan gently comforting Zhao Rui, who was crying inconsolably in her arms.

Although Zhao Qinglan had no experience in romance, she could tell by Zhao Rui's appearance and the blush on the bedsheets that something had happened.

As a woman, she could relate to it the most.

"Prince, how dare you!"

Seeing Li Chen come in, Zhao Qinglan immediately reprimanded him.

Li Chen, however, merely smiled faintly, staring at Zhao Qinglan with a playful expression and said, "Your Majesty the Empress, how have I been presumptuous"

For some reason, Zhao Qinglan always felt that Li Chen's gaze was greedy at this moment, completely unlike his usual timid and fearful appearance.

"Treating Ruier like this, and you still want to argue" Zhao Qinglan said angrily.

"Your Majesty Empress, Zhao Rui is the Concubine of the Crown Prince. I am the Crown Prince. She is my concubine. It was natural for me and her to be intimate together. How can this be argued against How can it be considered outrageous"

Li Chen let out a light chuckle and strode to the bedside, looking down at the two women, one sitting and one lying on the bed.

The candlelight was dim, and Zhao Qinglan was breathtakingly beautiful in this dimly lit bedroom.

That maternal and imperial bearing, unique in the world, is unmatched by any other.

Li Chen's fierce words made Zhao Qinglan widen her eyes.

She looked at Li Chen in disbelief, as if seeing him for the first time.

"You, you wretch! How dare you utter such vile words!"

Shocked and furious to the extreme, Zhao Qinglan raised her hand as if to slap Zhao Yun.

Li Chen let out a cold smile and reached out to grab Zhao Qinglan's wrist.

With gentle fingers tracing the delicate skin on the inside of the Empress's wrist, Li Chen whispered, "Empress, are you so angered because I have struck a nerve"

Zhao Qinglan exclaimed in surprise, her face flushed with both shame and anger, opening her mouth to reprimand.

"Your Majesty."

Li Chen calmly stated, "Outside, your Zhao family's dog, Chen Zhi, is here with a group of people. Could it be that Her Majesty the Empress wants them to see this scene"

Before he could finish his sentence, Li Chen had already pulled Zhao Qinglan into his arms and embraced her.

A strong masculine scent surrounded her. Zhao Qinglan had never experienced such a thing, and she was even a little flustered by Li Chen's boldness.

"This, this is asking for beheading! Are you crazy" Zhao Qinglan gritted her teeth.

"To die under the peony flowers, even as a ghost is a romantic."

Li Chen gently sniffed the hair at the side of the Empress's ear, and murmured: "Does the Empress also wish to die with this palace"

Such close proximity with Smola left Zhao Qinglan flustered.

She instinctively wanted to retreat, but her slender waist was held tightly in Li Chen's embrace.

"Including Zhao Xuanji, all of you are waiting for the Emperor's demise. Once he passes, you will seize power, usurp the throne, dethrone me, and install your own puppet."

"But if at this juncture, word were to spread of the Empress consorting with me in such impropriety, Zhao Family's decades of meticulous planning would be utterly ruined. At that time, all under heaven would clamor for their extermination."

Li Chen chuckled evilly, "Empress, is it you who dares to make this move, or is it this palace"

A flash of fear crossed Zhao Qinglan's eyes.

Li Chen's words tightly grasped Zhao family's Achilles' heel.

She didn't expect that the usually useless Crown Prince would actually have such intelligence.

At this moment, Li Chen's large hand had already traveled to Zhao Qinglan's waist.

Zhao Qinglan didn't know what to do.

She never expected that she, who came to save Zhao Rui, would end up in such a predicament herself.

Li Chen glanced at Zhao Rui, who lay in bed like a wooden statue, and the evil fire in his heart almost burned through his whole body.

Tonight, why not the two of you accompany this palace and go together to seek bliss.

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhao Rui and Zhao Qinglan's faces changed dramatically.

At that very moment, a commotion erupted outside, followed by the eunuch's loud proclamation.

"Your Majesty the Empress, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the Emperor is vomiting blood, the situation is critical, please return to the palace at once!"

A sudden voice from outside the palace abruptly changed the atmosphere within.

Zhao Qinglan didn't know where she got the strength from, but she pushed Li Chen away with all her might and gasped for breath.

"Today, I won't hold you accountable for tonight's events, but there will be no next time. If you dare to push your luck further, I will not let you off!"

After Zhao Qinglan said this, he was about to flee in disgrace.

"Queen."

Li Chen called out to Zhao Qinglan, "Your clothes are scattered."

Zhao Qinglan looked down at her disheveled clothes. Her white and tender body was partially exposed, causing her great embarrassment. She quickly straightened her clothes, then left with a cold face.

"Wait here patiently for this palace to return."

Li Chen said a word to Zhao Rui, who was deeply shocked, then turned and left.

The moment Zhao Qinglan stepped out of the palace, she had already resumed her imperial bearing as Empress and the dignity that came with it.

"Return to the palace."

He coldly uttered two words, causing the surrounding guards and maidservants to kneel on the ground. Zhao Qinglan quickly strode toward the phoenix carriage, and a young eunuch immediately knelt down, allowing Zhao Qinglan to step onto the carriage by standing on his back.

After Zhao Qinglan got into the sedan chair, a small eunuch was about to stand up, but a large foot directly stepped on him, causing him to fall back to the ground.

"Boldness! How dare you ascend the Empress's palanquin!"

Chen Zhi, who had been staring intently at Li Chen as if he had grasped some handle, immediately shouted.

Li Chen stomped on the phoenix chariot with one foot and the other on the back of that little eunuch. He turned his head, looked coldly at Chen Zhi, and said, "The emperor's condition is critical. This palace must immediately go with the Empress to see him. If anything delays this important matter, you won't have enough heads to be chopped off!"

From the phoenix carriage came Zhao Qinglan's voice, laced with impatience.

"Let's return to the palace first, a major matter mustn't be delayed."

Chen Zhi's anger was building up inside him, unable to find an outlet. He felt like it was going to explode, making him sick with frustration.

But at this moment, Li Chen had already slipped into the phoenix carriage.

Chen Zhi gritted his teeth, the anger and hatred in his eyes almost bursting out. Finally, he squeezed out a few words from between his teeth: "Set off, return to the palace!"

Inside the phoenix palanquin, the empress's reliance was naturally spacious. Let alone two people, even more wouldn't be a problem.

But Li Chen unexpectedly sat down beside Zhao Qinglan.

"Just now, Empress Xie saved the day." Li Chen said with a smile.

Zhao Qinglan looked at Li Chen coldly and said, "This palace is not for you. Don't be self-willed. This palace is just afraid of delaying important matters."

"I know, I know."

Li Chen's tone was like coaxing a little girl, and he naturally reached out to hold Zhao Qinglan's willow waist.

Zhao Qinglan was as if struck by lightning. She hadn't expected that inside this phoenix sedan, surrounded by a large number of guards and maidservants, Li Chen would still dare to be so bold.

"You are outrageous!"

Zhao Qinglan was furious and shouted.

"Does this Empress need to be more blatant, Your Majesty"

Li Chen whispered in Zhao Qinglan's ear.

Feeling the heat from Li Chen's breath, Zhao Qinglan got up and moved away from him.

He could have stood up, but instead, Li Chen took advantage of the situation and pulled her into his arms.

"Ouch!"

Zha Qinglan let out a soft cry.ing us outside, there's no way to escape. Holy Maiden, my time is running out. Why don't we go to the city gate I can fight those soldiers to the death, buying you time to escape.'"The Saintess peered...