Chapter 288

"Pay respects to Noble Consort Wei," Consort Jia strictly adhered to the customary practices. She indicated who held the highest rank here by showing deference to the other party first, and then to Noble Consort Wei.

This was a true slap in the face. Even the other furens exchanged glances, knowing that Noble Consort Wei’s reputation would surely be tarnished after the banquet.

Noble Consort Wei was aware that her actions had been exposed and directly attacked. Though Consort Jia had said nothing, this was a blatant display of reproach. If Consort Jia were of a lower status, she might have listed out punishments in detail. It was no surprise that Consort Jia had severely punished her court lady.

Though Noble Consort Wei wanted to humiliate and help her court lady out of spite, she knew she couldn’t! Consort Jia’s reputation was too good in everyone’s eyes. She needed to strip off that mask first. Once Consort Jia’s reputation was tainted, people would trust her less!

It wasn’t just Mu Yueqian that she wanted to destroy. The consort of the Second Prince was another target she aimed to eliminate! Even though the Wei family sided with the Second Prince and the Jia family was crucial for securing the throne, it wasn’t only the Jia family they could rely on. Many other families were also available. If it hadn’t been for the Wang choosing Consort Jia... it might have been another family that she could control.

"Now that everyone is here, please take your seats. Oh... could you change the seating arrangement for me? I understood that Furen Mu had just given birth and might not attend, so I arranged a substitute seat. Now that she is here, let her take the chief seat."

Noble Consort Wei addressed the seating arrangement first to save face, pretending it was unintentional. She then had her court lady explain that she didn’t know the other party would come, so she was initially startled and didn’t rise to greet her as she should have.

However, Yueqian didn’t play along with her script. The beautiful woman smiled slightly before responding playfully, though her eyes gleamed with mocking disdain.

"Noble Consort Wei, there’s no need to change my seat. The seat should be reserved for the Empress. Even if you’re unsure whether Her Majesty will attend, etiquette dictates that once the invitation has been sent, the seat should be prepared. If the Empress arrives and finds no seat, she might think that you, Noble Consort, don’t truly wish to welcome her."

Yueqian spoke as if she were a friendly acquaintance, her tone and flowery language mirroring Noble Consort Wei’s earlier speech. However, each sentence was filled with clear reproach.

If Noble Consort Wei had only made one mistake, it might have been forgivable. However, this was her second error. She claimed she didn’t expect Yueqian to come, so she hadn’t prepared a seat, and now she wanted to change it for Yueqian to sit as the chief. What if the Empress arrived then?

As the noble consort, how could she host such a grand banquet without inviting the Empress? Even if the Empress, who didn’t get along with Noble Consort Wei, might find various excuses not to attend, it was still a matter of etiquette to show respect towards the Empress, wasn’t it? She couldn’t simply take the Empress’s seat for herself!

"Ah, it seems I was thoughtless once again. Thank you, “Furen Mu,” for “instructing” me. Next time, I’ll be careful not to make such mistakes." Noble Consort Wei responded through gritted teeth, her tone no longer the same as before.

She felt as if she had summoned these people just to repeatedly humiliate herself. However, Noble Consort Wei tried to remind herself of her true purpose. Otherwise, it would cause even greater damage. For this reason, she kept smiling as if nothing had happened.

"In that case, arrange the seating as Furen Mu suggested," she told her court lady, before finally inviting everyone to sit.

While waiting for the court lady to rearrange the seats, Yueqian turned to greet Consort Jia warmly, showing how the two had grown closer over the past few days.

"Consort Jia, I must thank you for all the nourishing gifts you sent, and the adorable baby clothes. The fabric you gave us made my son sleep so comfortably. He loves it because it retains warmth much better than regular cloth."

"Xiao Hao likes it, that’s good. This fabric comes from the northern tribes; they really have great skills," Consort Jia was happy upon hearing this. It could be seen from her eyes when she said it. It seems that, underneath her calm demeanor, this woman truly had a fondness for children.

"Consort Jia, you like young children, don’t you? When will you allow a little one in the palace?" Yueqian couldn’t resist teasing her.

Since she gave birth, the person who visited most frequently was Consort Jia. She came to the manor almost daily, sometimes early in the morning, sometimes later, and sometimes both in the morning and evening, just to play with Xihao without any other purpose.

"I... I’ve been trying, but..." Consort Jia was at a loss when asked. Her face turned as red as a young maiden’s. It seemed her expression wasn’t always so composed.

Yueqian looked at the tsundere lady before her with affection. A brief examination revealed no issues, so it was just a matter of time and effort. Still, Yueqian felt the urge to help.

"Knowing this puts my mind at ease. I have a small way to help you. If you come to play with Xiao Hao tomorrow, could you call for me as well? I’ve been staying up late and waking up late, so I often miss you," Yueqian whispered, her tone conspiratorial.

Consort Jia tried to maintain her composure, but but it was clear she was quite interested.

"Alright, I’ll call for you tomorrow," the other party didn’t say much more, only one sentence was enough to understand. Yueqian nodded in satisfaction, feeling like she was about to help a close friend conquer a dragon.

Their affectionate conversation was noticed by everyone. Noble Consort Wei clenched her fists, now certain that Consort Jia was supporting Furen Mu and perhaps even conspiring against her. Consort Jia could no longer be tolerated; she would surely become an enemy in the future."Th-That..." While Noble Consort Wei was glaring at her two enemies with hatred, she didn’t realize that there was a third enemy already present at the banquet!

"Noble Consort, the Empress has arrived!" The court lady by Noble Consort Wei’s side quickly informed her. Ignoring Yueqian’s status was one thing, but the Empress could not be disregarded.

When everyone learned that the Empress was attending the banquet, they scattered like a disturbed beehive. Everyone had to come forward to pay respects to her; otherwise, it would be considered an insult to the Mother of the Nation! It was punishable by death!

"Greetings to the Empress. May Your Majesty live for ten thousand years," the furens, young misses, and concubines greeted the Empress in unison.

"At ease," the Empress said with a slight wave of her hand, showing little concern. She walked the entire way with her mouth covered by a white cloth embroidered with a phoenix.

"Dear Noble Consort Wei, I actually had my court lady inform you that I felt too weak to attend today. However, I heard that you had prepared a seat for me. It would have been ungracious of me not to come, since you have been so good to me, sister. Even though I am unwell, I will attend the banquet you have arranged."

The Empress arrived and immediately spoke with flowery language, but it was a flower with thorns sharper than scissors, slashing at Noble Consort Wei. The wound, already bleeding, deepened into a larger gash.

What was meant by "refusing to attend but rushing over at the mention of something interesting"? And what did "I heard you prepared a seat for me" imply? Was it not that she heard about Noble Consort Wei’s seating mishap and rushed over to humiliate her further? And the comment, "You have been so good to me, sister," was she mocking her to the point of wanting her dead? If preparing a seat was being good to her, what did it mean if she hadn’t prepared one?

Wasn’t the Empress here to "kill" someone?

The ladies who heard these words shivered in fear. Ultimately, in the inner palace, there were no true friends! Even families supporting the same prince vied for the Empress’s position, let alone those supporting different princes.

It seemed that the struggle between Noble Consort Wei and Furen Mu was actually creating opportunities for others to undermine the faction of the Second Prince!

Even Noble Consort Wei realized that she had made a misstep. Having lived in the inner palace for some time, she knew who was the most formidable. Initially, she sent the invitation to the Empress first to prevent any claims of disrespect or lack of regard for her status. After all, the Empress was the head of the inner palace, and no actions could be taken without informing the head.

However, after the notification was sent, the Empress responded that she did not wish to attend, as she knew that the event was hosted by Noble Consort Wei. Attending would be akin to admitting inferiority in ability. Thus, in the end, the Empress claimed she could not attend due to health reasons.

But her words changed entirely when she saw an opportunity for something entertaining, like humiliating Noble Consort Wei and turning the event into a hot topic. This was indeed a move that disregarded the usual rules.

Today, Yueqian had the chance to witness the mother of the Crown Prince and an opponent of the Second Prince. Perhaps now she understood why this woman became the Empress and managed to push her son to become the Crown Prince.

It was because the Empress was skilled and knew how to play the game! Regardless of which side swung the sword, as long as it served her benefit, she didn’t care. She felt no shame in using someone else’s sword, as long as it was stabbing the enemy’s chest.

Such a person was dangerous but also easy to deal with!

This was because as long as someone made a mistake, the Empress would immediately jump in to exacerbate the situation. But the reason she was easy to handle was that... people like her often believed they were the smartest. Every time they acted, they sought only victory. Since they never started their own moves, how could she know that the move others are making, and the current peril they were facing, wasn’t a trap set to lure the moths in?!

So far, no one had played this way, but Yueqian saw that Noble Consort Wei was certainly capable of it. She just needed to wait for the right time—wait until she had a "pawn" in hand.

As long as Noble Consort Wei had a son, she could deal with the Empress at any time. But for now, she wouldn’t take decisive action, as keeping the Empress around was more beneficial.

Even though the Wei family currently supported the Second Prince, wasn’t he old enough to no longer need a stepmother? So would Noble Consort Wei’s status stop at being just a Noble Consort? Absolutely not.

As long as there is an opportunity, every family wants to have an "Empress" within their ranks. With the status of being the Dragon’s Mother, who would ever let that go?!For now, it was best to act like a pig following dirty food, to lay the pieces and wait for the right moment. After that, both the Crown Prince and the Second Prince would be knocked off the board completely!