"Where did this rogue come from, daring to cause trouble in the harem?" The alluring woman's mood already seemed sour, and when she suddenly spotted an unfamiliar young man shaking his head and curling his lip, it was like he'd handed her the perfect outlet for her frustration.
Jiang Chen furrowed his brow and turned to ask Xia Ting, "Who is this idiot woman?"
Xia Ting's jaw dropped as though someone had stuffed a goose egg into his mouth. His face was a picture of shock and bitter amusement, and he stammered, momentarily at a loss for words.
"Well, you little rogue, who exactly are you calling an idiot woman?"
"Who else but you?" Jiang Chen's temper flared at being called "rogue" twice in a row. "If I'm not mistaken, I already told you last time to have Eastern Zhiruo stop her martial cultivation!"
"I'd like to ask who placed such an idiot around the princess!"
"If I have to repeat such elementary common sense over and over, then I may need to reconsider whether you should find someone else for this consultation!"
"And you, you idiot woman, stop putting a sword to the princess's neck at the slightest provocation. Fright agitates the spirit, and an agitated spirit leaks vital energy. The princess's qi is already extremely weak—do you want her to die any faster?"
"The most idiotic thing of all is that the wooden sword you're using is made of Mystic Cloud Original Wood. This wood is yin in nature and will stir the princess's Taiyin sinister energy. Is everyone in this entire palace an idiot?"
The woman had been charging in with full fury, but Jiang Chen's barrage of insults stopped her in her tracks. She was especially startled when he identified the Mystic Cloud Original Wood at a single glance.
Eastern Zhiruo, meanwhile, came running over with a cheerful, girlish pout, tugging at Jiang Chen's sleeve. "All right, all right, Brother Jiang Chen. Auntie Gouyu just got back from an adventure outside this morning—she doesn't know anything about my situation yet. Just forgive her this once, okay?"
"Hold on a second!" The alluring woman called Gouyu snapped back to her senses. "Zhiruo, you explain this to me right now. Who asked this… this brat to forgive me? What did I do wrong? And who is this kid anyway? How can he just waltz into the harem?"
"I call you an idiot and you can't even admit it? You think I actually want to come to your precious harem?"
"Kid, say 'idiot' one more time and I swear I'll beat you until you can't even wipe your own backside!"
"Tch. Trying to intimidate me? Save it—your little moves aren't worth my time." Jiang Chen was thoroughly dismissive.
Meanwhile, the eunuch Xia Ting used the opportunity to slink away unnoticed. He'd realized things were spiraling in a direction he hadn't anticipated, and he had no desire to be stuck in the middle of this mess. He'd brought the man here—that was his job. Whatever chaos followed was beyond his jurisdiction.
Poor Eastern Zhiruo was left trying to put out fires on both sides.
Jiang Chen grabbed Eastern Zhiruo's hand. "Come on, little girl, take me to your chambers so I can take a look."
The moment those words left his mouth, the woman called Gouyu was incandescent with rage. She whipped the wooden sword around and bellowed, "Rogue! Do you really think I won't cut you down?"
"Are you out of your mind, woman? I came here in good faith to consult on Princess Zhiruo's condition, and you keep interfering over and over. Believe it or not—"
"Believe it or not, what?" Gouyu sneered.
"Forget it. A real man doesn't waste his time fighting with women. Princess Zhiruo, is she your martial arts instructor? You should fire her. With someone like her around, you won't live past sixteen."
Gouyu's fair face darkened instantly, and her voice turned cold and hard. "Boy—say what you just said again. I dare you."
Eastern Zhiruo saw the murderous look on Gouyu's face and realized she was truly furious. She hurried to intervene. "All right, all right, Auntie—both of you, stop. Let me explain. This is Jiang Chen. Father invited him to be my imperial physician. Auntie, don't underestimate him! He's incredible—he figured out that I'm not sick at all, but that I was born with a Taiyin Constitution. I can't practice martial arts; training only puts more strain on my meridians and drains my vital energy."
"Imperial physician? This kid?" The arrogance on Gouyu's face was now mixed with open disbelief.
"Auntie, his name is Jiang Chen—don't just call him 'this kid,'" Eastern Zhiruo said with a giggle. "Brother Jiang Chen, this is my auntie, my father's own sister. You should call her Princess Gouyu. Please don't call her an idiot woman or a crazy woman anymore. It sounds terrible!"
"Auntie?" Jiang Chen paused. That was unexpected—he'd assumed this fierce woman was some kind of female martial instructor.
But even if she was family, that made her behavior worse, not better. "Your own aunt? Is this how an aunt treats her niece? Do you have any idea that everything you just did was pushing her closer to death? Don't think being a princess gives you the right to be stupid and self-righteous!"
Princess Gouyu's eyes blazed with killing intent, and her delicate hand unconsciously tightened around the sword hilt.
Their eyes locked. Jiang Chen's gaze was calm and clear, without fear or malice. With a clear conscience, he felt no dread beneath the murderous glare of Princess Gouyu.
"Kid, I don't care who you are. Today you've called me an idiot five times and a crazy woman once. You'd better remember: women have very long memories."
"You're Jiang Chen, right? The little marquis?" Gouyu's lips suddenly curled into an odd smile, as though she'd just snagged hold of some leverage over him.
Jiang Chen shrugged. "There's a lot I'm afraid of, but being threatened by a woman isn't one of them. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to conduct my consultation on Princess Zhiruo. You're not welcome here."
"Not welcome? On what grounds?" Gouyu's irritation deepened. "This is my home, in case you've forgotten!"
"What? Are you telling me you're not even married yet? Please—how old are you? Your niece is practically ready to get hitched, and you still have the nerve to call this your home? Are you that desperate to find a husband? Is it really that fun being an old maid?"
If it weren't for Eastern Zhiruo's condition, Gouyu would have chopped Jiang Chen down on the spot and dragged his corpse outside to feed the dogs.
The hatred burning in her eyes made that perfectly clear.
"Fine, you little brat—congratulations, you've successfully been etched into this princess's memory. I'm going back to change first. And if I find out that this whole consultation for Zhiruo is some kind of scam, you'll discover just how horribly you can die."