Chapter 249: Part 2

Chapter 249: Chapter 203: Part 2

‘Noble Consort Rong, on the other hand, is the other extreme—even harder to deal with than the Emperor.’

Jiang Xian didn’t just think it; she said it out loud. When Noble Consort Rong heard Jiang Xian say she was more difficult to communicate with than the Empress, her eyes reddened with fury. She was about to rise and storm off, but then Jiang Xian continued, “Then I figured it out. It’s because the Empress and I are partners. We share a mutual respect, the kind of bond comrades-in-arms have. But you… you are my dearest friend.”

…

Noble Consort Rong sat back down. “Hmph.”

‘Actually, I had originally just wanted to say ‘friend.”

‘But I felt that word was a bit too plain and was afraid Noble Consort Rong would misunderstand, so I leveled it up a notch.’

‘I just don’t know if she’s satisfied with that explanation.’

Jiang Xian looked up at her and saw her face was red as she sat in silence. After a moment, the consort finally asked, “So compared to the Empress, I am closer to you?”

Jiang Xian nodded.

“Since you’ve said that, I won’t pay any mind to all the recent rumors,” Noble Consort Rong said, clutching her hand warmer. She paused, a worried look finally clouding her features. “I can’t interfere in the affairs of the court… It’s not that I haven’t tried, but I failed. I even angered the Emperor and drove him away. In the heat of the moment, I said many things that can’t be taken back. He most likely will never see me again.”

She didn’t shed a tear when she mentioned the Emperor.

A chill flashed through her eyes, like the surface of a frozen lake cracking silently in the dead of winter.

“These past few days, I’ve been so scared. Scared that something would happen to my family, that I wouldn’t be able to protect my father and brothers. And I was scared that we would listen to the gossipmongers and our friendship would end.”

Noble Consort Rong looked up at her, forcing back the tears that threatened to spill. She fought them so hard that the muscles in her cheeks began to twitch. “If even you were to abandon me, what meaning would there be in my days in this harem? All I could do is summon those Noble Ladies and Changzais to boss around and pass the time.”

…

‘Peace in the harem relied entirely on the Pure Consort.’

Noble Consort Rong rarely revealed her true feelings. After speaking, she fell silent out of sheer embarrassment. Her pearl and jade hairpins refracted the candlelight, creating a dazzling shimmer that blinded the eye.

The Imperial Palace was too big.

The road from Bihua Palace to Zhaoyang Palace was so long and so cold. It would be easy to get separated along the way.

“That won’t happen. How could our bond be affected by mere rumors? Haven’t you always protected me? If anyone said a bad word about me to your face, you’d slap them without a second thought. How you treat me is how I’ll treat you.”

…

The next morning, having already been seen out and about, Noble Consort Rong could no longer use illness as an excuse to skip paying her respects at Jianzhang Palace.

The other concubines expected to see a listless, haggard Noble Consort. To their surprise, while Noble Consort Rong’s complexion wasn’t perfect, it was no different than usual. Nor had she deliberately dressed in opulent attire to flaunt her status. She simply took the most senior seat to the Empress’s left with steady composure, ignoring everyone.

But since she wasn’t speaking, the concubines of lower rank dared not strike up a conversation with her.

Aside from the Empress, the only one present with the standing to speak to her was Princess Consort Zhang.

But Princess Consort Zhang was merely qualified; she didn’t have a death wish.

Finally, Guo Xiao Yi could no longer hold back and fired the first shot. “I heard that the first thing you did after recovering yesterday, Lady, was visit Bihua Palace. The friendship between you and Lady Shufei is truly unaffected by worldly affairs. It makes me quite envious.”

In other words:

‘Your families are at each other’s throats in court, but it doesn’t stop you from being all sweet and friendly in the harem. How impressive.’

The others couldn’t help but hold their breath upon hearing this.

It was a custom in the harem for anyone who fell from favor to be on the receiving end of passive-aggressive remarks. But no one had ever imagined that one day, Noble Consort Rong would receive this “special treatment.” They sighed at how the tables had turned and were astonished that someone would actually dare to provoke the Noble Consort for a moment of verbal satisfaction.

At her words, Noble Consort Rong deigned to give her a look of utter surprise. “Guo Xiao Yi, you certainly hear a lot of things. They say you must stand high to see far. Your eyes are as small as your rank—the size of sesame seeds—yet you seem to see so broadly. Impressive.”

Guo Xiao Yi’s eyes were indeed on the smaller side.

She was particularly sensitive about this, as it made her look unrefined. She never expected Noble Consort Rong to launch a personal attack in front of everyone and was instantly wounded. Lu Ronghua, sitting beside her, interjected with false sincerity, “Oh, my Lady, how can you expose someone’s flaws when you scold them? Guo Xiao Yi’s eyes may not be large, but they have their own unique kind of beauty.”

‘Her ‘unique kind of beauty’ just meant ‘not beautiful.”

Lu Ronghua disliked both Noble Consort Rong and Guo Xiao Yi, so this was a perfect chance to annoy them both at the same time.

“I’m merely stating a fact. You call that scolding? But then again, when I scold someone, I always aim for their biggest insecurity. And when I hit someone, I only aim for the face…”