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nPaying respects to the empress was a duty of the imperial concubines. In Zhuang Laoyan’s opinion, the sole sense of accomplishment for an empress was to see the concubines crawl out of bed and pay respects to her, no matter if it was summer or winter.

nAs the empress watched Noble Consort Xian and Zhuang Laoyan enter together, her smile grew all the more gentle. After Zhuang Laoyan had finished paying respects to her, she quickly gave her a seat. A look of deep concern on her features, the empress said, “Xianrong Zhao’s body is still unwell. Why have you come so early to pay respects?”

n“Responding to Your Majesty the empress, this concubine was like this in the past. It’s just that Your Majesty is paying special care for my body. On the road here, this concubine encountered Noble Consort Xian and Zhaorong Xu. Thus, this concubine isn’t that early after all.” Zhuang Laoyan glanced at those present, a smile on her lips.

nThe empress nodded. “Noble Consort Xian typically arrives early as well.” In the past, Noble Consort Xian had been the first to arrive. Now, she arrived with Zhuang Laoyan. The empress’ words held another meaning.

nOnce Noble Consort Xian had heard such words, the smile on her face stiffened. At once, she said, “Eldest Prince and Second Prince had a fight early this morning. As such, compared to the past, this concubine was late in coming here.”

n“It indeed is difficult for you to take care of two imperial princes.” The empress glanced at the Liangyi Hu standing in the corner. “That Second Prince is still young. You should be more patient.”

n“This concubine will do as Your Majesty says. This concubine also thought the same. Once the children have grown, they should understand my intentions,” said Noble Consort Xian, smiling. “At the very least, Second Prince would know what is good and what is bad.”

nNoble Consort Xian had said such words in a careless manner, as if there had not been another meaning. But the Liangyi Hu in the corner lifted her head and glanced at her. And everyone around her seemed to look at her with ridicule. Liangyi Hu lowered her head again, expressionless. Her knuckles and joints glowed white from clenching her fists too hard.

nWhat the harem lacked the least was people stepping on others when they were down. This was the reason Zhuang Laoyan did not give Hu Caixuan any trouble. Without her lifting a finger, there would be many people rushing to step on her. And Zhuang Laoyan could appear kindhearted in front of the emperor.

n“Humans are innately good. Second Prince is intelligent by nature. He surely wouldn’t cause Noble Consort Xian to waste too much energy,” said Noble Consort Shu in a normal tone. “Noble Consort Xian has to raise two princes, so it’s better if you don’t worry too much or exhaust yourself. If we women work too hard, we will grow thin and pallid quicker.”

n“I can’t compare to Younger Sister and Noble Lady Qian in being naturally beautiful. I have to work hard,” said Noble Consort Xian, before purposely sizing up Noble Lady Qian. “Such an appearance is the best in the six palaces.”

n“Your Highness is praising this concubine too much. This concubine is merely a willow withering at the approach of autumn, and doesn’t dare to be compared with Noble Consort Shu.” Noble Lady Qian rose to her feet. Cutting a respectful figure, she said flatly, “This concubine’s appearance cannot compare to a tiny sliver of Noble Consort Shu’s.”

n“Noble Lady Qian is truly too modest. You and Noble Consort Shu have your own merits. This is very good.” The empress smiled faintly. “Isn’t many flowers blossoming together what the harem needs? This palace finds this great.”

nAn insincere smile on her lips, Noble Consort Shu glanced at the empress. She nodded. “Your Majesty the empress’ words are polite. This concubine also thinks Noble Lady Qian is a rare beauty.”

nZhuang Laoyan lifted her teacup and drank a sip, hiding the yawn that nearly left her lips. At this moment, although the empress and Noble Consort Xian were starting to grow hostile to one another, they had the same position when it came to Noble Consort Shu. What a pity that Noble Lady Qian became the weapon used by both sides to harm the other.

n“As many flowers blossomed together, each had their own preferences.” All of a sudden, the empress shifted her gaze to Zhuang Laoyan. “Does Xianrong Zhao agree?”

nZhuang Laoyan set down her teacup. Her line of sight fell upon the empress’ chin. “Regarding the phrase ‘as many flowers blossomed together, each had their own preferences,’ this concubine doesn’t know much about flowers. Every one of them looks beautiful to me.” She wasn’t the emperor or a man. Even if there were many beauties here, it’s not like she could do anything with them.

n“Xianrong Zhao is right. We women of the harem only need to serve the emperor well, and give him a place where he can relax. Doing so would be great.” The empress did not insist on involving Zhuang Laoyan in this topic. She went to chat with the other imperial concubines.

nAfter paying respects to the empress, the imperial concubines left together. Consort Rou looked at Zhaorong Xu, who was closeby to her. “Has Zhaorong Xu recovered a little from your illness?”

n“This concubine is already fine. Many thanks for Your Highness’ concern.” Zhaorong Xu saluted Consort Rou. Perhaps it was because she had been ill for so long, but her bearing wasn’t as similar to an immortal’s as in the past.

n“If anything is bothering you, you have to let it go. Your health is more important. Nothing else is as urgent.” Consort Rou glanced at Noble Lady Qian, who stood behind her. “Don’t harm your health because of a trivial thing.”

n“This concubine doesn’t understand Your Highness’ words. This concubine merely caught a cold a few days ago,” said Zhaorong Xu at a normal pace, expressionless. “This concubine is still being punished, and will retire first.”

nConsort Rou’s expression grew cold. She watched with a frigid gaze as Zhaorong Xu left in a hurry. Was she reminding her of what had occurred not too long ago? But if so, so what? She wasn’t as unlucky as Zhaorong Xu.

nShooting a glance at the Noble Lady Qian who was standing there like a block of wood, Consort Rou snorted coldly before climbing aboard her sedan and leaving.

n“She’s merely a plaything. How is she worth being mentioned by you in this palace’s face?” said Noble Consort Shu, using Lingsha’s hand as support as she left from Jingyang Palace. A smile on her lips, she said to Lingsha, “In the future, when more of these people arrive, just pretend they don’t exist. You don’t have to waste energy on them.”

n“Your Highness’ teaching is correct. This slave will remember,” replied Lingsha with her head lowered. “It’s just that this person appears often in front of this slave. As such, this slave wanted to mention it to Your Highness.”

n“You’re always this softhearted. Are you going to worry about every insignificant person?”

nZhuang Laoyan watched as Noble Consort Shu and her first-ranked palace maid finished talking and took their leave from Jingyang Palace. Then she also left, using Yunxi’s hand for support, a smile on her lips. When she passed by Noble Lady Qian, the latter saluted her in a well-behaved manner.

n“Noble Lady Qian need not be so courteous.” Zhuang Laoyan reached out and beckoned for her to stand.

n“Etiquette must be followed.” Noble Lady Qian raised her head and looked at Zhuang Laoyan. Then she lowered her head again deferentially. “Your Highness is kind, but this concubine must abide by protocol.”

nSmile blooming on her lips, Zhuang Laoyan was about to say something when Noble Imperial Concubine Jiang said from behind her, “Your Highness’ complexion has improved greatly these days.” She went forward and saluted Zhuang Laoyan. “This concubine heard that the Yulan magnolias and tree peonies are blooming beautifully in the imperial gardens. If Your Highness is in the mood in the future, you can go for a look.”

n“Just a while ago while passing through the imperial gardens, I saw Yulan magnolias in bloom.” Zhuang Laoyan smiled. “I ought to find a time to look at them properly.”

nNoble Lady Qian curtsied toward Noble Imperial Concubine Jiang. “Yulan magnolias are not only beautiful flowers. They can also be made into a soup with a distinctive flavor.”

n“If that’s the case, I want to have a taste,” said Zhuang Laoyan, walking farther from Jingyang Palace with Yunxi’s support. Noble Imperial Concubine Jiang and Noble Lady Qian followed after her.

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n“No matter how beautiful these flowers are, once they hit boiling water and are cooked in it, they would be a very ugly sight for the eyes,” said Noble Imperial Concubine Jiang, glancing at Noble Lady Qian. Today, Noble Lady Qian wore a light blue dress with wide and hanging red sleeves. The color scheme wasn’t sharp, but on her body, it seemed to suit her very well. Indeed, she was a rare beauty that attracted people’s attention. Luckily, the emperor wasn’t amorous. Otherwise, her good looks would make her the most favored in the harem.

nAs her thoughts came to this point, Noble Imperial Concubine Jiang could not help but look at the Zhuang Laoyan who was walking ahead. When it came to appearance, Xianrong Zhao wasn’t the most beautiful in the harem, but after she had gone through so many things, she grew more and more favored. It was clear that the Heavens sympathized with her. But it went to show that Wanyi Kong’s words were completely correct: if they relied on Zhuang Laoyan, they could take revenge for those events in the past.

nZhuang Laoyan didn’t know what Noble Imperial Concubine Jiang was thinking. These past few days, the other party had been very close toward her. Even during the time when she had still been under investigation for the peacock tail kite, Noble Imperial Concubine Jiang sent her servants to visit Xihe Palace.

nIn the imperial harem, no one would treat another person good for no reason. Noble Imperial Concubine Jiang’s manner toward her was definitely because she had helped summon an imperial physician for Imperial Concubine Wang in the past. However, since the other party did not directly tell her why she treated her so well, Zhuang Laoyan could only feign ignorance.

nWhen the group had not traveled far from Jingyang Palace, two court eunuchs rushed their way, before dropping into a kneel in front of them. “Paying respects to Your Highness Xianrong Zhao. Greetings to Noble Imperial Concubine Jiang and Noble Lady Qian.”

n“No need to stand on ceremony,” said Zhuang Laoyan. She noticed that the eunuchs seemed to be from Qianzheng Palace. “What’s the matter?”

n“Responding to Your Highness, His Majesty said Your Highness is fond of swing dances, and so summoned the dancers to Qianzheng Palace. After your honored self has taken the noon meal, please head over to Qianzheng Palace to watch the performances together with His Majesty.” Then the little eunuch curried favor by saying, “His Majesty also said that should Your Highness feel unwell, there is no need to attend. Once your honored self has recovered completely, an even more wonderful dance will be prepared for you to watch.”

n“How could I reject His Majesty’s great suggestion? Tell His Majesty that I will go over after finishing the noon meal,” said Zhuang Laoyan with a smile. “I have troubled His Majesty greatly.”

nA complicated expression on her face, Noble Lady Qian looked at the two eunuchs kneeling before Zhuang Laoyan. When Noble Imperial Concubine Jiang looked at her, Noble Lady Qian could not hide the frustration in her eyes.

nIn a somewhat ridiculing manner, Noble Imperial Concubine Jiang glanced at Noble Lady Qian. Previously, she heard that Noble Lady Qian had been unwilling to enter the palace. But now, after the emperor had visited her a few times at night, she was no longer the same. It was really laughable. And she had even thought Noble Lady Qian was special. Now it seemed she wasn’t any different from the other imperial concubines.

nShe fell in love with the emperor so easily, yet wasn’t able to hold onto his heart. And she even revealed such a frustrated expression in front of a favored imperial concubine. Truly simple-minded. Or was this lonely look intentionally shown to the emperor’s two eunuchs?

nZhuang Laoyan also noticed the jealousy and envy in Noble Lady Qian’s eyes. Shock struck her at once. It’s only been a short while, yet Noble Lady Qian already fell in love with the emperor?

nFor a moment, Zhuang Laoyan felt somewhat doubtful. Could it be that she was overthinking about Noble Lady Qian? That she wasn’t actually that complicated?

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