Rebirth: So what if my husband is a little crazy? He loves me.

Chapter 44 Madam Gu is still too spoiled.

"But why would His Majesty suddenly change his mind? Is there something fishy about Lord Shen's entry into the cabinet?" Zhou Qianqian tried to redirect Li Heng's anger towards the Shen family.

"What's the use of saying all this now?" Li Heng was annoyed by her tendency to make excuses whenever things went wrong: "Why don't you go and find out from the Empress Dowager?"

"Yes, I will go right away." Zhou Qianqian quickly bowed and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute." Li Heng narrowed his eyes and said, "Should we focus on asking if there have been any suspicious people around the Empress Dowager recently?"

Zhou Qianqian was taken aback for a moment, then realized it herself.

Such an important event as the Empress Dowager's birthday could not have been decided by His Majesty on a whim; he must have listened to the Empress Dowager's opinion. So why did the Empress Dowager suddenly change her mind?

Zhou Qianqian felt a chill in her heart, and her expression became more serious: "I understand, I will go now."

Li Heng remained quiet in the hall for a while, and after a long while, he sighed deeply. He was in a passive position now, and the more he did, the more mistakes he would make. It would be better to leave the matter to the censors.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Miss, someone from the Empress Dowager's palace has arrived." Peony hurriedly walked in while Shen Li was eating breakfast.

Shen Li was slightly surprised. The Empress Dowager did not often see outsiders. She had gone to pay her respects once since entering the palace, but the servants said that the sentiment was enough, so she returned.

The same thing happened in her previous life; she went to the palace but didn't see the Empress Dowager. Why does she suddenly want to see her now?

"Please come in quickly." She rinsed her mouth and stood up to greet her.

The woman who arrived was an elderly nanny named Zhang. After bowing to Shen Li, she said, "Madam Gu, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager has recently acquired a fine piece of calligraphy and would like to invite you to appreciate it."

"I wouldn't dare, please wait a moment, Granny. I'll wash up and then go." Shen Li winked at Shaoyao before entering the inner room.

"It must have been hard for you, Granny, to travel such a long way." Peony handed over a silver note: "Please keep it for your tea."

"That won't do," Granny Zhang quickly declined.

"This servant knows you don't care about this, it's just a small token from our mistress. If you don't accept it, she'll feel uneasy." Peony was quite adept at this kind of thing.

Granny Zhang reluctantly accepted the silver note, and then she started talking non-stop.

"It was a piece of calligraphy sent by Princess Yi a few days ago. The Empress Dowager had it opened today and found it to be quite good, so she took a liking to it and summoned the Princess, your wife, and the young lady from the Lin family."

"The young lady from General Lin's mansion?" Peony asked again.

"Yes, that Miss Lin has been staying in the Empress's palace recently. She has accompanied the Empress to the Empress Dowager's palace several times these days. The Empress Dowager thinks that she is also literate."

"I see." Peony nodded.

"As for that princess, the Empress Dowager doesn't think much of her, but it wouldn't be right not to invite her since she sent the calligraphy." Zhang Mama also mentioned things she hadn't asked about, leaving no detail unmentioned.

Shen Li, who was inside the room, heard all of this clearly. Her focus was on Lin Wan'er, and she never expected that she would meet the person she had wanted to see since her rebirth at this time.

When Xia Shiyin came out, she saw Shen Li waiting in front of the door. Shen Li's lake blue dress was very eye-catching, and when she looked at her own gorgeous light gold dress, she felt that it was a bit tacky.

But she thought she looked good before she went out. Strangely enough, every time she stood next to Shen Li, she regretted choosing the wrong clothes.

It's probably because there aren't enough clothes. Tomorrow she must make more gorgeous and beautiful ones, and she refuses to believe she can't overpower Shen Li.

"Greetings, Your Highness." Shen Li bowed slightly as the person approached, performing the proper lady-in-waiting greeting.

Xia Shiyin raised her chin and slowly walked forward, giving her maid Lianxin a wink.

Peony followed suit and bowed, but after squatting for a while, she still couldn't hear anyone say "no need for formalities." She thought to herself, "This Princess Yi really changes her face quickly. I've never seen her like this when she's begging for help."

As she approached, Xia Shiyin finally spoke: "No need..."

"Ah..." Lianxin suddenly cried out, pointing at the palace gate: "Snake...there's a snake..."

Peony pulled the whip from her waist with one hand, and as she turned around, she had already exerted force on her wrist. As soon as she saw the snake whip, it would be there in an instant.

"Catch the snake!" Lianxin shouted and ran forward. Taking advantage of everyone's panic and turning around, she slammed her shoulder into Shen Li and pushed her hard with her hand.

Shen Li was in a half-squatting position, and this bump and push was enough to make an ordinary person lose their balance. Shen Li's eyes moved for a moment and then she fell down.

Lianxin succeeded, and the people behind her swarmed forward, trying to trample over Shen Li.

"You're asking for death!" Peony reacted extremely quickly. Seeing that there were no snakes, she turned around and, without dissipating the force in her wrist, lashed out with her whip at Lianxin and the others.

This whip strike was incredibly fast and so powerful it felt like it could cut a person in half at the waist.

Lianxin and the others were terrified and instinctively lay down, but because they were rushing forward so fast, they didn't have time to lie down and could only kneel down.

"Thump, thump!" The palace servants tumbled together, each one grimacing from the fall, and some of the faster ones had blood on their knees.

Xia Shiyin turned pale with fright when she saw the whip, but luckily she was a little further away.

"Miss, how are you?" Peony helped Shen Li up from the ground, patted the dust off her body, and hurriedly asked.

"Madam Gu, are you alright?" asked Zhang Mama, who was standing nearby.

Everything happened so fast. Everyone was terrified when they heard about the snake. By the time they came to their senses, Shen Li had already fallen, and it looked like she had fallen quite hard.

"It's nothing, just a little frightened." Shen Li looked at Xia Shiyin as she spoke: "Is this how the Princess teaches her servants manners?"

"It was just an accident. Everyone has moments of panic." Xia Shiyin quickly recovered and snorted, "I think Madam Gu is too pampered. She'll fall over at the slightest touch."

"You..." Peony was furious. How could her young lady fall over with just a touch? Who knows how much force the other party used?

"Alright." Shen Li interrupted Shaoyao, her voice extremely calm: "The Empress Dowager is still waiting for us. Let's go quickly and leave the whip behind."

Peony was furious, but she still obediently did as she was told.

"Your master is much more sensible. If you were a palace maid with that kind of temper, you'd probably be beaten to death in less than three days," Xia Shiyin teased.

She felt that she might have been mistaken last time. Shen Li was still the same Shen Li she used to be, someone who would consider the bigger picture and wouldn't make a fuss over trivial matters.

That's why they're easy to bully.

Peony didn't dare to talk back, but she stubbornly glared back.

Lianxin, on the other side, was not to be outdone. She looked at her with the air of a victor, thinking, "So what if she deliberately bumped into me?"

Peony was seething with anger. If this were in the martial arts arena, she would have torn these two people to pieces.