Luna was completely stunned by what Ivy Shen just said. She turned to stare at Ivy, refusing to believe those words actually came out of her mouth.
"What are you staring at?" Knowing Luna was shocked, Ivy didn’t bother hiding her real personality—instead, she snapped right back. This was exactly the effect she wanted. Soon, she’d be using Luna’s hand to put on a spectacular show.
"You... do you even know who you’re talking to? Huh?" Ever since she started following the Empress, everyone in the palace treated Luna with over-the-top respect. Even minor officials would fawn over her and put on a flattering smile—some would even bow and scrape just to curry favor! And now, what the heck? A mere little palace maid dared talk to her like this?
"Of course I know who I’m talking to. Aren’t I just talking to you, a palace maid?"
"You... You’ve got some nerve!" Luna was shaking with anger at Ivy’s words. She reached out, wanting to slap Ivy and teach her a lesson, but Ivy caught her wrist before she could.
"You, an old woman, think you can just yell at me? Save it!" Ivy snapped and shoved her away—though she only used half her strength. She couldn’t let anyone know she could fight yet.
"Old woman? You... you actually called me an old woman? I... I won’t let you get away with this!" Luna sputtered, stomping off in a huff.
Old woman? She was only thirty-five! The Empress treated her so well, gifting her all the best beauty products—by rights, she should look like an eighteen-year-old girl! How dare Ivy call her an old woman?
Outrageous. Absolutely outrageous! Later, she’d make sure to smear Ivy in front of the Empress—she wanted Ivy dead and buried!
Ivy watched Luna storm off ahead, a sly smile curling at her lips. This lapdog had been at Cao Wan’er’s side for so long, she’d forgotten her own place. Ivy was going to teach her a lesson today.
Shou’an Hall.
"Your Majesty, the palace maid Chloe Chung is here," Luna announced, looking thoroughly annoyed.
Seeing this, Cao Wan’er frowned slightly at Luna. "What’s wrong? Why do you look so upset?"
"Your Majesty..." Luna squeezed out a few fake tears. "Your Majesty, Julia Shang was right—this maid is way too bold and reckless, she doesn’t care about any rules at all!"
"Exactly! That maid is totally arrogant just because the Crown Prince favors her," Julia Shang chimed in, eager to back Luna up.
At that moment, Chloe Chung entered, led in by the palace maids.
"Wow, this place is pretty nice. The Empress lives here?" she said with a cold smirk, clearly not impressed by anyone.
Luna immediately barked, "How dare you! You’re just a lowly maid—how can you not kneel before the Empress?"
"Kneel? I kneel to heaven and earth, and to my parents. Who are you, exactly? Why should I kneel to you?" Ivy shot a cold sideways glance at Cao Wan’er sitting above.
"Mother, see? See how arrogant she is!" Julia Shang had worried Sherry might try to talk her way out of trouble, but instead she was so cluelessly bold—maybe the heavens were helping her out!
"You’re Chloe Chung?" Cao Wan’er was visibly annoyed by her brazenness, but as Empress she forced herself to stay calm—she wanted to see what tricks this maid would pull.
"Old demon hag, you called me?" Ivy raised an eyebrow at Cao Wan’er.
"Outrageous! What did you just say?" Cao Wan’er had known Ivy was unruly, but hadn’t expected her to be this defiant. She finally lost her temper.
"What? You’re so old—if I don’t call you ‘old demon hag,’ should I call you ‘little sister’ instead?" Watching Cao Wan’er’s face turn purple with rage, Ivy felt extremely satisfied.
"You... you’ve got some nerve!"
"Yep, I’m not big on anything—except guts. What, you want some?" Ivy shrugged helplessly. "Too bad, for a beast-in-human-skin like you, you don’t even have a heart, so where would I install the guts if I gave them to you? Right?" She grinned smugly.
"You... you witch, what nonsense are you spouting? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Julia Shang was stunned—she couldn’t believe Ivy was dumb enough to say all that. Was she really trying to die?
"Shut up. Do you even know you have bad breath?" Ivy shot Julia Shang a glare and snapped back.
Julia Shang froze. She’d never seen anyone glare so sharply—she was so scared, she had no idea what to do.
"Hmph, such nerve—just because Jue’er favors you, you think you can act out? I’m not dead yet, you know. Did you really think you could stir up the harem?" Cao Wan’er was so furious, it looked like steam was coming out of her nose.
"Oh, you’re not dead? I thought you were! Hurry up and die already—once you’re gone, I can be the Empress! I swear, I’d never be as heartless as you. If I ruled, the whole realm would be happy forever! Haha!"
With a loud smack, Cao Wan’er slapped the armrest and roared, "Guards! Slap her mouth!"
"Yes, ma’am!" Instantly, several palace maids rushed forward, ready to teach Ivy a lesson.
But Ivy darted around like a slippery little fish—one second here, the next there—making it impossible for them to catch her.
"Outrageous! Guards, teach this witch a lesson!" Cao Wan’er shouted, her fury blazing—she’d never been this infuriated in all her years.
"Ouch!" Suddenly, something fell out of Ivy’s sleeve, and everyone froze.
"Your Majesty..." Everyone gasped—the thing lying on the ground was a whip.
"Wicked girl, what are you doing bringing a whip in here?" Luna snapped.
Ivy sneered, "I brought it to whip you old demon hags to death."
"Seize her!" Luna barked, and a crowd of guards rushed in. Honestly, Ivy could’ve handled them easily, but she’d already timed everything—so she let herself get caught.
She knew getting caught would be brutal, but whatever—real pain doesn’t come from your skin, it comes from inside. A few wounds were nothing. What she wanted was for Cao Wan’er to truly hate her, to suffer for real.
"Your Majesty, this witch is too much! Just kill her already!" Julia Shang urged, seeing the guards had Ivy in hand. She kept thinking about that note—she wouldn’t be satisfied until Sherry was gone for good!
"No rush. If she’s not afraid of dying, then..." Cao Wan’er smiled coldly, her sinister expression saying it all.
Luna, who’d served her for years, instantly got the message. Once the guards had Ivy tied up, she sent them away.
"You planned to whip us to death with this?" Cao Wan’er stroked the black whip, her voice icy.
Ivy grinned, "Yep, I wanted to whip you to death. So what?"
"Wretch! Still mouthing off when you’re about to die!" Luna cursed.
"Good. Very good!" Cao Wan’er smiled slightly. "Luna!"
"Your servant is here."
"Oh, she loves this whip so much? Then let’s make her dreams come true—give her a good thrashing with it! Don’t hold back, beat her till she’s half-dead if you want!" Empress Wendy Cao hissed, her voice colder than an icebox.
"Your wish is my command, Your Majesty!" Luna flashed a wicked grin—payback time for all the humiliation Ivy had just served her.
Luna went full Hulk mode, swinging the whip with all her might at Ivy’s body. But Ivy—aka Sherry—didn’t even blink. She shot back, "That’s it? Old granny, is that all you’ve got? Did you skip breakfast or something?"
"You—!" Luna was so shook she forgot how to breathe. But hey, rage powers activate—she just whipped Ivy faster and harder, like she was trying to win a speedrun.
Empress Wendy Cao cackled, "Julia, didn’t she just tick you off? Go on, show her how it’s done!"
"Thanks for the green light, Mother!" Julia Shang beamed like she’d won the lottery, then dove in to yank Ivy’s hair and claw at her face like a cat on catnip.
It didn’t take long before Ivy’s clothes were shredded like cheap tissue paper. (Pro tip: she’d already loosened all the seams with a needle and thread, just so her outfit would explode on cue and those wounds would look extra dramatic.)
"Your Majesty, uh... her body—" Luna froze mid-whip, eyes bugging out at all the bloody stripes on Ivy’s skin.
"What’s the holdup, losers? Is that all you’ve got? Listen up—if you don’t finish me off today, I swear I’ll come back and make sure none of you or your ancestors have a whole corpse left!" Ivy (still in Sherry mode) roared, mostly to keep Luna from chickening out.
"Hit her! Don’t go easy! Let’s see if this demon girl can keep running her mouth!" Empress Wendy Cao yelled, practically foaming at the mouth.
"Yes, ma’am!" Julia and Luna doubled down, whipping Ivy like they were training for the Olympics.
Already battered, Ivy gritted her teeth through the pain. Compared to what her sister Lacey had suffered, this was baby stuff. Then—wait, was that the sound of carriage wheels outside? Ivy managed a wobbly, triumphant grin. Song Zhijue, you seriously nailed the timing!