Palace Fighting Naive Concubines’ Ascent to Power
Chapter 276: Saying the Opposite

Chapter 276: Chapter 276: Saying the Opposite

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.