Page 276
The Noble Consort smiled as she raised her hand, "Sisters, please rise. Today is the joyous festival of Mid-Autumn, a day of celebration and reunion. There is no need for such formalities among sisters; relax. Tonight, let us drink to our heart’s content and admire the moon before we return joyfully. "
"Yes," everyone responded in unison.
The Emperor had not yet arrived, and she was the most important person in the harem at this moment, a feeling she quite enjoyed. Naturally, it would be even better if she could advance one step further.
With lotus-like steps, the Noble Consort gracefully and composedly walked to the seat of honour and sat down.
She glanced over the crowd and then saw Lian Hua lowering her head; the Noble Consort’s smile slowly widened as she said to Lian Hua:
"Sister Lian, have you been well lately? I heard you invited the Imperial Physician, is there anything serious? The last time I invited you to Huaqing Palace, my hospitality was lacking, and you were wronged, Sister Lian. I apologize to you here and hope you can forgive me."
"Ah?" Lian Hua, who had been counting the sweets on the table, was caught off guard by the call and looked up blankly toward the seat of honour.
Huh... The Noble Consort is indeed adorned in gold and embroidered with splendor today, surrounded by jade and pearls. Just look at all the hairpins in her hair.
Lian Hua looked on with some pity and inwardly clicked her tongue. The last time she saw the Noble Consort, she was wearing a single old hairpin, and now she was adorned with so many. Hm... it was quite unusual; did she wear everything she had?
When she entered the hall earlier, some people had already arrived, and after exchanging a few pleasantries, she went to take her seat.
In reality, the pleasantries were few, for people were avoiding her. After greeting each other, they each found a place to stay.
Lian Hua had unapologetically taken her seat first, not wanting to wait as before. Since the people who had arrived earlier were not of her rank, it was not impolite for her to sit, and even if it were, she wouldn’t have been afraid; she had backing.
When the Noble Consort entered, she stood up with the others to pay their respects and then sat down together without raising her head, until the Noble Consort mentioned her name, and only then did she look up.
After contemplating what the Noble Consort had said, Lian Hua thought for a moment and replied, "Thank you for your concern, my lady. I’ve been quite well, eating heartily and sleeping soundly, not wronged in any way.
My health is excellent. The one who was in trouble last time was Daying Jia, have you forgotten? "
Having finished speaking, she stared at the gems on the Noble Consort’s body and head, subconsciously touching her own hairpin, and looked at the Noble Consort with sympathy, sinking into her gaze.
The hall fell silent as everyone present felt uneasy.
What happened last time was something that everyone wanted to forget. It was truly a case of mentioning exactly what should not be mentioned!
The Noble Consort only meant to exchange pleasantries and turn conflict into peace, not really wanting to bring up the details.
The Consort’s words should have let the situation kindly taper off, allowing everyone to save face. So why was Lian Hua bluntly mentioning Daying Jia, who had been demoted? Was she showing off her power to them?
Huddled in a corner, Daying Jia was panicking, wishing she could hide herself and reduce her presence.
Since entering the hall, she had not spoken much, only wanting to pass her time quietly without drawing attention to herself.
Ever since the last incident, Talented Lady Jia had had a difficult time. Her father felt disgraced when he heard about her demotion, and her maternal aunt took to scolding or beating her, even cutting off her allowance of silver.
Now, she had been fined and confined by His Majesty, living on a tight budget, relying on the silver she had saved before.
But she had always been extravagant and had hardly saved much silver, so she secretly traded some of her personal jewelry for silver to spend.
Talented Lady Jia had been specially pardoned to attend the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet today, but after the festival, she would have to continue her confinement.
When she arrived, others avoided her as if she were the plague. Those who used to call her sister were now mocking her behind her back, scoffing at her audacity for coming and considering her bad luck.
Now that Lian Hua had publicly mentioned her, Daying Jia was terrified, losing all of her former arrogance, fearing that provoking Lian Hua might even result in losing her position as Daying.
Noble Consort watched Lian Hua’s expression, a sense of weirdness rose in her heart. It somewhat resembled the feeling from the past small banquet, yet it wasn’t completely the same, but it similarly irked people.
She smiled while keeping her composure, only her eyes were very cold. She, the Noble Consort, had lowered her head time and again, while this Beauty Lian had not given her a shred of respect, time and again slapping her in the face. How utterly delightful.
Well, they were already mortal enemies anyway. She had done enough with her courteous gestures, now it was a good time to let her guard down.
The Noble Consort took a sip of her tea, hiding the chill in her heart, and with the tea set down, she reverted to a smile, "If Sister Lian is untroubled, that is good."
Looking around the palace, the Noble Consort then said, "It’s still early, and some sisters haven’t arrived yet; let’s wait a little longer before starting the banquet. Sisters, there’s no need to be reserved, let’s chat."
At the Noble Consort’s invitation, the palace began to buzz with lively conversation and unceasing praises for one another.
Gradually, the remaining concubines arrived and began to take their seats.
Lian Hua felt somewhat bored. She had no one to talk to, people deliberately or inadvertently ignored her, and she also had little interest in speaking with or listening to them.
She propped her cheek with her hand and gazed towards the entrance. Why hadn’t Sister Zhaoyi arrived yet? Ah, how boring.
At this moment, everyone in the palace began to flatter the Noble Consort:
"One could only admire the bracelet on Her Highness’s wrist," someone praised.
Another chimed in, "Indeed, so translucent, delicate, and vibrantly colored. Only Her Highness could complement such shades."
With a slight smile, the Noble Consort caressed the bracelet, "This ice flower lotus jade bracelet was gifted to me by Little Sister Zhou at my last birthday celebration. I am quite fond of it and often wear it on my wrist. This bracelet is not only attractive but also nurturing."
Changzai Zhou stood up and gave a curtsy, smiling, "It is my honor that Her Highness cherishes the bracelet. I am overjoyed."
"And thank you for the gift, sister. This bracelet has become a favorite of mine, so none of you should think about it. Even if you did, it wouldn’t work," the Noble Consort said teasingly.
Others joined in the laughter, "How could Her Highness know what we desire? We might have wanted to trick it from you later in a game of toss-the-arrow, as a prize for winning. Alas, Her Highness saw right through us..."
Laughter arose from the crowd once again.
Hearing the words "toss-the-arrow," Lian Hua pricked up her ears and wondered in surprise, "Eh, there’s a game of toss-the-arrow? And prizes too?"
Just then, the Noble Consort said sentimentally, "Speaking of my birthday celebration, that was the first time I saw Sister Lian. Sister Lian left me with such a deep impression then, truly a beauty to behold, stunningly beautiful. In this palace, I regret that we met so late."
Then someone interjected, "Not only that, Beauty Lian exuded an admirable noble pride back in those days."
Laughter followed, though mouths were covered.
Lian Hua turned her head in surprise towards the center of the palace. How had they gotten to praise her while chatting?
There was something incongruous about being described as both "stunningly beautiful" and having "noble pride."
For the Noble Consort to suddenly compliment her, she couldn’t help feeling a sense of revulsion, worse than when a teacher praised her. It set her skin crawling.
She always knew when a teacher praised her, it was either sarcastic praise or scolding, it was not a good sign.
Her wariness heightened, and it showed on her face, as she waited for what would be said about her next.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161
- Page 162
- Page 163
- Page 164
- Page 165
- Page 166
- Page 167
- Page 168
- Page 169
- Page 170
- Page 171
- Page 172
- Page 173
- Page 174
- Page 175
- Page 176
- Page 177
- Page 178
- Page 179
- Page 180
- Page 181
- Page 182
- Page 183
- Page 184
- Page 185
- Page 186
- Page 187
- Page 188
- Page 189
- Page 190
- Page 191
- Page 192
- Page 193
- Page 194
- Page 195
- Page 196
- Page 197
- Page 198
- Page 199
- Page 200
- Page 201
- Page 202
- Page 203
- Page 204
- Page 205
- Page 206
- Page 207
- Page 208
- Page 209
- Page 210
- Page 211
- Page 212
- Page 213
- Page 214
- Page 215
- Page 216
- Page 217
- Page 218
- Page 219
- Page 220
- Page 221
- Page 222
- Page 223
- Page 224
- Page 225
- Page 226
- Page 227
- Page 228
- Page 229
- Page 230
- Page 231
- Page 232
- Page 233
- Page 234
- Page 235
- Page 236
- Page 237
- Page 238
- Page 239
- Page 240
- Page 241
- Page 242
- Page 243
- Page 244
- Page 245
- Page 246
- Page 247
- Page 248
- Page 249
- Page 250
- Page 251
- Page 252
- Page 253
- Page 254
- Page 255
- Page 256
- Page 257
- Page 258
- Page 259
- Page 260
- Page 261
- Page 262
- Page 263
- Page 264
- Page 265
- Page 266
- Page 267
- Page 268
- Page 269
- Page 270
- Page 271
- Page 272
- Page 273
- Page 274
- Page 275
- Page 276 (Reading here)
- Page 277
- Page 278
- Page 279
- Page 280
- Page 281
- Page 282
- Page 283
- Page 284
- Page 285
- Page 286
- Page 287
- Page 288
- Page 289
- Page 290
- Page 291
- Page 292
- Page 293
- Page 294
- Page 295
- Page 296
- Page 297
- Page 298
- Page 299
- Page 300
- Page 301
- Page 302
- Page 303
- Page 304
- Page 305
- Page 306
- Page 307
- Page 308
- Page 309
- Page 310
- Page 311
- Page 312
- Page 313
- Page 314
- Page 315
- Page 316
- Page 317
- Page 318
- Page 319
- Page 320
- Page 321
- Page 322
- Page 323
- Page 324
- Page 325
- Page 326
- Page 327
- Page 328
- Page 329
- Page 330
- Page 331
- Page 332
- Page 333
- Page 334
- Page 335
- Page 336
- Page 337
- Page 338
- Page 339
- Page 340
- Page 341
- Page 342
- Page 343
- Page 344
- Page 345
- Page 346
- Page 347
- Page 348
- Page 349
- Page 350
- Page 351
- Page 352
- Page 353
- Page 354
- Page 355
- Page 356
- Page 357
- Page 358
- Page 359
- Page 360
- Page 361
- Page 362
- Page 363
- Page 364
- Page 365
- Page 366
- Page 367
- Page 368
- Page 369
- Page 370
- Page 371
- Page 372
- Page 373
- Page 374
- Page 375
- Page 376
- Page 377
- Page 378
- Page 379
- Page 380
- Page 381
- Page 382
- Page 383
- Page 384
- Page 385
- Page 386
- Page 387
- Page 388
- Page 389
- Page 390
- Page 391
- Page 392
- Page 393
- Page 394
- Page 395
- Page 396
- Page 397
- Page 398
- Page 399
- Page 400
- Page 401
- Page 402
- Page 403
- Page 404
- Page 405
- Page 406
- Page 407
- Page 408
- Page 409
- Page 410
- Page 411
- Page 412
- Page 413
- Page 414
- Page 415
- Page 416
- Page 417
- Page 418
- Page 419
- Page 420
- Page 421
- Page 422
- Page 423
- Page 424
- Page 425
- Page 426
- Page 427
- Page 428
- Page 429
- Page 430
- Page 431
- Page 432
- Page 433
- Page 434
- Page 435
- Page 436
- Page 437
- Page 438
- Page 439
- Page 440
- Page 441
- Page 442
- Page 443
- Page 444
- Page 445
- Page 446
- Page 447
- Page 448
- Page 449
- Page 450
- Page 451
- Page 452
- Page 453
- Page 454
- Page 455
- Page 456
- Page 457
- Page 458
- Page 459
- Page 460
- Page 461
- Page 462
- Page 463
- Page 464
- Page 465
- Page 466
- Page 467
- Page 468
- Page 469
- Page 470
- Page 471
- Page 472
- Page 473
- Page 474
- Page 475
- Page 476
- Page 477
- Page 478
- Page 479
- Page 480
- Page 481
- Page 482
- Page 483
- Page 484
- Page 485
- Page 486
- Page 487
- Page 488
- Page 489
- Page 490
- Page 491
- Page 492
- Page 493
- Page 494
- Page 495
- Page 496
- Page 497
- Page 498
- Page 499
- Page 500
- Page 501
- Page 502
- Page 503
- Page 504
- Page 505
- Page 506
- Page 507
- Page 508
- Page 509
- Page 510
- Page 511
- Page 512
- Page 513
- Page 514
- Page 515
- Page 516
- Page 517
- Page 518
- Page 519
- Page 520
- Page 521
- Page 522
- Page 523
- Page 524
- Page 525
- Page 526
- Page 527
- Page 528