Page 232

Thinking it over, it couldn’t be that simple.

Lian Hua lowered her head to look at the tea cup and then raised her head to look at the hairpin atop the Noble Consort’s head.

She suddenly understood and nodded her head brightly.

It dawned on her, and she conveyed an "I understand" look to the Noble Consort.

Everyone was puzzled. Could it be that this Beauty Lian could guess what was on the Noble Consort’s mind?

The Noble Consort saw her look and felt a sense of dread before she could react. Sure enough, she heard her ask:

"Consort, are you running short of silver?" The tea was so weak, and no pastries were served, only a single hairpin was worn—each sign suggested that the Noble Consort must indeed be running out of money.

The Noble Consort felt like spitting up blood—in fact, when Beauty Lian first sat down, her gaze was just like one who saw a fallen household!

She, Xue Wanjun, came from a noble family, her father was the Minister of Revenue, and her cousin was an Imperial Merchant. She had never been short of silver.

Even though her cousin was not currently in the capital, he would regularly pull strings and send someone periodically with silver for her to spend; she had never lacked silver!

It was such a humiliation!

She denied vehemently, "You are overthinking it, my palace has enough silver," emphasizing "enough" with a gnashing of teeth.

The others looked on with faces full of shock and uncertainty. They had never thought this way before, but without the signs, Beauty Lian wouldn’t have said so, would she?

Seeing the Noble Consort deny it, they felt somewhat wavering.

The Concubines in the harem loved to compete with each other, and their expenditure on clothing and jewelry was significant.

Relying solely on the palace allowance was not enough, especially for the Noble Consort, who was generous on ordinary days and wanted the best for everything she used.

It was possible that she was strapped for cash temporarily.

But such an embarrassing matter was definitely something the Noble Consort would refuse to acknowledge.

Thinking this, it truly seemed possible. Beauty Lian’s observations were meticulous and not to be underestimated, no wonder she was so favored by His Majesty.

But how could one speak of such things in public? Wouldn’t it embarrass the Noble Consort?

Lian Hua shook her head feelingly, thinking that too many people in this world would rather suffer than lose face, puffing themselves up to appear prosperous.

If there were difficulties, why not speak of them?

So many here saw her struggles and professed to be the Consort’s sisters; wouldn’t they help her out?

However, it was also good that the Noble Consort denied it, lest everyone later dig into their purses to donate to her, which would include her as well.

She was unwilling to do that, not wanting to give even a single tael of silver. She would rather reward Xiao Linzi than give any to the Noble Consort, letting her get stuffed and look for trouble with her.

Lian Hua nodded and followed up, "Yes, what Consort says is right," but her face clearly showed disbelief.

The Noble Consort felt so angry her chest heaved. She wanted to curse her like a shrew and have someone bring several hundred or thousand taels of silver to throw in Beauty Lian’s face, to show her:

What it means to be rich and noble!

What it means to have the foundation of a great noble family!

What it means to be a miss from a great noble family!

The Noble Consort had always been strong-willed and proud, accustomed to being high above, looking down and pitying others. No one had ever treated her so shabbily, belittled her, especially this person she hated most, a vulgar person, even worse than Liu Lingyi!

Her head began to throb faintly, and a sweet, metallic taste surged in her throat, but she forcefully suppressed it.

Now she didn’t even want to pretend anymore, as she truly felt unwell. Her eyebrows knotted together, looking even more like she was laden with heavy worries and unease than before.

The others sensed that something was wrong and asked with concern, "Consort, are you all right?"

The Noble Consort’s hands trembled slightly, tightly gripping the armrests of the throne. Startled by the question, she nearly forgot her original intent in her anger.

"It’s nothing." She weakly waved her hand, took a sip of tea to soothe the itch in her throat, and regained her composure.

"Sister, I thank Sister Lian for all her kind intentions. However, there’s another matter that has been weighing heavily on my heart, causing me to wake from my dreams in alarm, and I feel so guilty and unsettled. "

So there really was something bothering her. Lian Hua, with a surprised "Oh," blinked and thought, The Noble Consort looks to be in so much pain—what grave matter could it be?

She should pretend to care a bit then and just as she was about to ask about it,

The Noble Consort, fearing Lian Hua might say something startling again, didn’t give her a chance and directly said, "Seeing the sisters distressed on my behalf, I am greatly comforted. You are the people I value the most. This matter is of great importance and closely tied to all of you as well, so I won’t keep it secret any longer, but once you leave, you must act as though I had never spoken of it. "

While saying that, she paused, glanced around the room, and her gaze lingered on Lian Hua. Seeing Lian Hua’s eager expression, a murderous intent flared in her heart, and she silently vowed to make today’s visit difficult for the one in Canglan Court!

The audience straightened up and sat at attention, echoing in unison, "Consort, rest assured. We will listen with reverence and act as though we have heard nothing once we leave."

Only after observing the other concubines’ agreeable responses, did the Noble Consort begin to speak with a troubled tone, "I should not be the one to speak of such matters, but with no reigning empress in the harem and after receiving His Majesty’s profound grace, I dare to overstep and speak out. "

"His Majesty has been on the throne for over a decade, yet has no children to show for it.

This is our negligence, our fault. I am a useless person; during my previous pregnancy, I was showered with love and attention but failed to preserve it.

I could not give birth to an imperial son for His Majesty and even damaged my health.

Whenever I think of this, I feel restless and overwhelmed with guilt. "

Her intention with these words was to plant a thorn in the mind of the one at Canglan Court, hinting that like her, she once had a pregnancy and was similarly favored.

By putting herself in their shoes, she made Canglan Court consider that her current favor might be due to a pregnancy, and hinted that even with all that favor, the child might not be safe, causing her to panic first.

After announcing the pregnancy through official channels, she’d push harder to imply to His Majesty that his favoritism was solely due to her pregnancy, driving a wedge between them. She hoped that Canglan Court’s greed would lead to a dispute with His Majesty, causing him to tire of her.

With this thought, the Noble Consort lowered her lashes, feigning a sorrowful demeanor.

Hearing the Noble Consort speak in this way, everyone’s mood became downcast; they too wanted to bear sons and daughters, especially a prince, to have someone to rely on in the future or perhaps even gain stature through their offspring.

Murmurs of lamentation began among them. It wasn’t that they didn’t desire such things, but they were simply not favored enough to conceive.

Concubine Fang Pin dabbed her tears and said softly in a frail voice, "It’s all because I’m weak—if only..." Then she sobbed, unable to continue.

The atmosphere in the hall had become exceedingly strange, and Lian Hua felt weird.

The Noble Consort’s incessant talking seemed to be directed at her, bringing up past pregnancies and her inability to carry to term.

Ah, that was a cautionary tale for her; she would need to be more careful in the future.

But mentioning her injuries now, was the Noble Consort seeking sympathy from her?

Uh, she couldn’t bring herself to express care; at the moment, she harbored no affection for the Noble Consort. Maybe she should see how others responded first? Could she then mimic them and say a word or two?

Decided, Lian Hua resolved to listen to the rest of this ’play’, and as long as her name wasn’t called, she would remain silent.