Zhao Ming gritted her teeth while trying hard to not show her disgust to the man. She smiled and knitted her brows as if she was upset and said, " Brother, what are you saying? Aren't all these items from the palace? I heard that these items are made by the royal consorts themselves. Shouldn't their prices be lower than the normal ones?" She blinked her and complained.

  The man raised his brows and licked his lips lewdly while staring at her, " Ah? So you know that these things are made by consorts themselves and yet you're saying this? These things are from the palace and are out of reach of the common public but here I am selling all these items. It means you won't be able to find them anywhere only here. I have already reduced its price for you. If you don't have money, then get out from here." he shooed them away and turned to his friend.

  " But I heard that there are other stalls as well who are selling the goods from the palace. Are they selling at the same price or less than this? If they are selling cheaply then we will go there and buy it. Even if it is far away, we w?ill better go there and buy it." Zhao Ming said while waiting for his response.

  The man frowned but laughed the next moment. " Haha. You can go there but there is no way you will get these items at less price. All the stalls are selling the items at the same prices because these are the prices set by Her Majesty and Head Consort. If you want to fight over price, be ready to argue with Her Majesty."

  Zhao Ming furrowed her brows hearing his words. He was blatantly lying about it.

  Jia shi pursed her lips and said coquettishly, " Brother, this is such a beautiful anklet, can't you give it to us for 10 coins? We don't have 45 coins that you're asking for." She pouted after saying this.

  "-_-"

  Zhao Ming was speechless seeing Jia shi acting like this. It was her first time seeing Consort Jia shi act like this. She really……looks cute. Even she as a woman can say that she looks really cute and charming while acting like this.

  "Ahem*……if you want them, you can take it. But in one condition." The man stared at Jia shi and said after hearing her desperate plea.

  " What condition?" Zhao Ming asked while trying her urge to punch the man on the face seeing his disgusting expressions. His eyes were lingering on both of them and she wanted to wipe that disgusting smile off his face. However, she controlled just for the sake of her plans.

  She started to sell these items in the market because this way not only Consorts can earn extra budget for themselves but also it will give them a sense of satisfaction and independence in the palace. However, it was her first time coming out and inspecting one of the stalls which were selling these items. She was shocked to know that people are taking advantage of this and were selling at high prices not only that they are spreading the wrong image of the palace among people.

  " You can take it if you agree to serve me tonight. I can give you two other items for free as well. I don't give such a profitable deal to everyone but you are really pretty, so I am making an exception for you guys."

  "Especially you! You have a perfect figure. I wonder how soft you….Ah!" The man pointed at Zhao Ming and was looking at her disgustingly when a painful shriek could be heard.

  Zhao Ming was shocked when Ji Cheng came out of nowhere and punched the bulky man on the face. He walked towards the other side of the stall and kicked him on the stomach and shouted, "How dare you! How dare you to say such disgusting things about my Empress? You Bastard!" Ji Cheng punched the man ruthlessly causing him to fall on the ground, with blood on the corner of his lips.

  Feng Ju was also shocked when Ji Cheng suddenly got out and went to beat the man. He soon followed and tried to stop him and leave the man to him but he was so enraged that he didn't even listen to his words.

  He punched and kicked the man until he was like a dead pulp. His friend was standing on the corner in fear. He didn't dare to step in and save his friend.

  "Emp…… Empress?" he was in a daze and couldn't understand who this man who came out of nowhere and was now beating his friend.

  Before the man could even understand what's happening, synced urgent footsteps could be heard and when people looked behind, they saw tens of guards coming out of nowhere crowding the market even more.

  They walked towards them when Feng Ju grasped the man by his collar and threw him at the head guard while the other guard held onto the other man.

  " What are your orders, Your Majesty?" the head guard bowed in front of Ji Cheng who was flaring up in anger.

  " Take them and throw this man in the dungeon. However, make sure that he will be alive. I will deal with him in tomorrow's court. Do anything, just don't kill. He should not die so easily. He doesn't deserve to get easy death."

  Zhao Ming stared at Ji Cheng and shuddered to see his dangerous and dark expressions. She never saw him this angry before. He was way angrier than ever.

  The head guard bowed and left the area with those two men and a few guards, while others stayed to escort the Emperor and Empress back to the palace.

  Zhao Ming stood there in a daze and mumbled, " Dungeon?" She has only heard about dungeons in stories and last time he didn't give that many strict punishments to Hao Mei and Yu Kang, so she assumed there is no such place here. Though there is a confinement room, she has seen it once but it was not so scary and was pretty much like jails in her time which she had seen on TV of course.

  But it seems like she was wrong.

  Ji Cheng turned around and saw Zhao Ming standing there in a daze and was little startled. He walked to her and pulled her in his embrace.

  Zhao Ming was startled when he suddenly hugged her and that too in front of everyone. This world is not that open-minded when it comes to skinship but he seems to not mind everyone's stare. Everyone was staring at them but his focus was only her right now.

  "His Maj…"

  " You must be scared, right? I am sorry I let you hear such disgusting things. You don't need to do such things in the future. There are many servants and guards for that, anyone can do that. You…"

  " Shh. I am fine. I am not scared. Your Empress is not that weak that she will get scared of these few happenings. Moreover, I know you are watching over us. How can something happen to us?" Before he could continue, she wrapped her hands around his waist and rubbed his back while trying to soothe him.

  Rather than her, he seems to be more affected by everything.

  [ Read this novel on W e b n o v e l . c o m ( remove spaces). If you are reading this elsewhere, then this novel is pirated. Support the original author, not the thieves, and get the latest updates. Follow the author on Instagram: kamlyn_love. Regards Kamlyn]