"Stop there!"
All of the girls stopped simultaneously and put both hands together on their right hips then bent their knees downwards gracefully to salute the emperor. However, there was one who still walked forward blankly. Who else if not Shao Chen.
"You over there! I said stop!" Liang Hu ordered in a louder voice.
However, Shao Chen still stepped forward. His ears could not accept anything from the outside world because they were too focused on the voice inside him. His brain was working hard, looking for a good way to get revenge. But, he realized something that made him wanted to curse his stupidity even more.
'What is revenge?!' He even did not know what this term about!
The girls, who already saluted, glared at him but Shao Chen kept walking without noticing anything. Feng Meifeng looked at Shao Chen anxiously. She wanted to shout at him to make him stop but she did not dare to be so bold in front of the emperor.
Liang Hu became furious. He shouted even louder, "STOP!"
This time, his voice finally reached Shao Chen.
Shao Chen was startled and automatically turned his head toward the shout. However, his steps did not stop and kept moving forward while his eyes were searching for the source of the furious shout. He did not realize the stairs in front of him which were leading to the throne seat.
"Ouch!" Shao Chen yelped in his real voice which was slightly deeper. He tripped over the stairs and lost his footing. His body began to fall.
Shao Chen reflexively closed his eyes.
Suddenly, someone seized his left arm until his body straightened back up. He was too hasty to put back his footing without paying attention to the position of his feet properly so that his legs were a bit straddled as if he was about to pee.
He opened his eyes and immediately met a pair of black eyes that were piercing at him like a knife.
Shao Chen blinked, did not understand the situation.
"Miss, you are not allowed to walk up to the throne altar. Your place is there so turn around and get back," Chen Liqin said coldly while pointing at the place where the girls stopped. He was the one who had caught Shao Chen's arm.
Without changing his rude posture, Shao Chen followed the direction of Chen Liqin's finger and found the girls that had come with him, bowing gracefully a few meters from them.
Shao Chen was dumbfounded. His brain was loading while looking at the group and Chen Liqin alternately.
Looking at Shao Chen that did not have any signs of moving, Feng Meifeng mustered up all of her courage and exclaimed, "Shao Chen! That is His Majesty Emperor!" She guessed that Shao Chen did not know how was the emperor looked like which was true.
Shao Chen's eyes widened in shock. 'I must not catch the emperor's attention!'
Unfortunately, he had done it and it was no use crying over spilled milk.
Shao Chen shook off the emperor's grip then ran back to the group.
Liang Hu could not help to be infuriated at Shao Chen's rudeness. Not only ignoring the order but also did not apologize. He wanted to scold Shao Chen but Chen Liqin prevented him with his gaze.
The emperor did not want to prolong this kind of unimportant matter because he had had enough headaches from it. Even though he was a bit offended and annoyed by Shao Chen's behavior but he decided to let it be for the sake of his inner peace.
Shao Chen had backed to the line but still did not know what to do. At last, he just stood there in confusion.
All of the girls, the officials, and even the emperor could not help but glare at him. Feng Meifeng became anxious. Shao Chen was really like a 5 years old kid. No, maybe 5 years old kid was smarter than him!
The girls had wanted to kill Shao Chen because they had held their salute position for too long that their legs had already trembled. They could not hold the position for any longer.
"Shao Chen, do as what we do now!" Feng Meifeng whispered.
Shao Chen looked at the girls beside him and for the first time, he realized the weird position they did.
Obediently, he copied their position. Because he was not used to it, he managed to do the position with both legs shaking violently till the other could see it clearly.
'What did this girl mean by her behavior? Did she want to insult His Majesty?' The officials thought that Shao Chen had a bad intention.
Chen Liqin himself had the same thought. His face was already bright red because of anger but he tried to control his emotion and restored his inner peace by thinking about his empress, Ming Yu.
Forcing a thin smile, Chen Liqin said, "Welcome. You will be guided to the pavilion in the harem block now. Have a good rest."
The girls, who looked at the emperor full of hope, soon became disappointed. They had held their graceful salute position for a long time until broke out in a cold sweat just for hearing three brief sentences from the emperor before being sent away.
They shot a murderous glare back at Shao Chen. 'This is all because of you!'
Shao Chen immediately stood up and followed the eunuchs to the harem block. Without realizing it, he had made 18 enemies – except Feng Meifeng – on his first day in the palace.
****
After welcoming all of the harem members, the emperor trotted out from his throne room. He did not go back to his private room instead, he went to another block that had a beautiful wide yard and a luxurious pavilion. This was The Lotus Pearl Pavilion where his empress, Ming Yu, lived.
Actually, Ming Yu had not officially become his empress. For Ming Yu to be able to become the empress, Chen Liqin's parents had to give their blessings then performed the official wedding ceremony.
'Before that, I have to finish the task from father!'
Ming Yu's private maidservants and eunuchs saluted upon discovering the emperor's arrival. Chen Liqin told them to stand up then knocked at the pavilion's door. Happiness had come back to his face.
"Come in, Your Majesty," the tender voice said from inside the pavilion.
Chen Liqin opened the door and immediately found Ming Yu, who was wearing thin clothes, sat on the side of the bed. His smooth chest was a bit exposed, making Chen Liqin's eyes gleamed with lust.
He cleared his throat to suppressed his desire.
Not far from Ming Yu, a maidservant was pouring the tea. Her face was slightly red and her breath was heavy.
Chen Liqin frowned. "Are you okay?" he asked the girl, a bit worried. He was a type of man who was friendly to anyone regardless of their social status.
"Yes, Your Majesty. This servant was grateful for Your Majesty's attention," the maidservant answered with a slightly hoarse voice.
She immediately gave the glass of tea to Ming Yu then got out of the room after saluted to them.
Chen Liqin was still a bit worried. "She did not look good. You have to give her a rest."
Ming Yu smiled. "Don't worry. She told you the truth. Her face was originally red like that."
"There are not any normal humans that had a very red face all the time." Chen Liqin was a bit angry at Ming Yu's ignorant.
Ming Yu stood up and embraced his husband-to-be. "I'm sorry. I will tell her to take a rest so don't be angry, ok?" he begged with puppy eyes.
Chen Liqin could not keep getting angry after being showed by this cute face. All of his burdens were cleared, replaced by a colorful flower field. He kissed Ming Yu's lips passionately.
"I was really worried when I heard about the harem!" Ming Yu exclaimed sullenly after their lips parted.
After talking with his father, Chen Liqin hurriedly came to Ming Yu's place to give an explanation until Ming Yu felt relieved and safe.
"I'm sorry. I promise I will immediately resolve the case and make you my empress," Chen Liqin patted Ming Yu's head affectionately.
He did not tell Ming Yu about the detail of the case because this was the most secretive case in the kingdom that could not be casually told to anyone, even to his loved one.
Ming Yu embraced Chen Liqin again then rubbed his head against the emperor's chest. "I'm waiting for the good news," he said with a bit of impatience.
His naughty hands started to touch Chen Liqin's sensitive parts until the emperor could not hold his desire anymore.
They were making love all night like the nights before. This was also one of the sources of Liang Hu's headaches because Chen Liqin never sacrificed his time to work overtime while the problems that need to be solved were increasing every day, just for having a private time with Ming Yu.