Do Not Offend the Reborn Wicked Wife-Chapter 170: Consort Xue and the Mandarin Duck Pot
The first time entering the palace, Long Yue couldn’t dress too poorly, or else she’d be laughed at.
The women in the palace especially loved to compete with each other. If one was glanced at by the Emperor, she’d be happy for days, and if one received gifts from the Emperor, she’d wish everyone could see it.
Moreover, Consort Xue was hosting a banquet, and there would surely be others attending, including the families of the courtiers.
It’s common to have a few adversaries present.
Fortunately, the General Mansion lacked no fine clothing.
Long Yue stood in front of the wardrobe, picking and choosing for a while, eventually selecting a light purple floral dress, draping a plain white shawl over her arm, wearing a simple jade hairpin and dangling two pearl earrings, applying a bit of makeup to her eyebrows, and thus simply exited the door.
At the palace gate, the guard asked for her invitation, verified her identity, and let her pass.
A eunuch then came to guide her, during which she also saw a few women heading to the banquet, but she hardly recognized any of them, as they were all married.
Long Yue had a thought: this banquet only invited women who were already married.
What was Consort Xue planning?
On the way, she encountered no hassles, it was exceptionally smooth, yet when things are abnormally quiet, trouble is sure to follow; the calmer the start, the bigger the issue later!
She pondered how Consort Xue might frame her, maybe accusing her of theft, or making her lose face in front of everyone, or something else?
Recollecting all sorts of tricks in her mind, she arrived at the Imperial Garden.
"Imperial Concubine, it’s my life’s fortune to attend your banquet! One glance, and it’s clear you are a kind and virtuous person! Hehehe..."
"Indeed, not only is the Concubine good-hearted, but also beautiful, like an eighteen-year-old girl making people’s hearts flutter, no wonder the favor never fades!"
"..."
From the Imperial Garden came bursts of soft laughter, all words of flattery.
Among them were also laughs from some concubines.
In court, the Crown Prince Faction and the Third Prince Faction were fighting fiercely, the Empress and Consort Xue didn’t get along well either. Out of courtesy, Consort Xue invited her, but the Empress declined, citing illness.
This situation was expected by everyone, no surprise.
Passing through the dense sea of flowers, Long Yue saw the crowd outside the pavilion.
Consort Xue, in a bright red long dress, wearing a phoenix crown with three feathers, her jewelry and tassels shimmering, sat elegantly in the pavilion, occasionally admiring her newly painted nails with almond dye.
On the stone table were various pastries and fruits, beneath the pavilion were exquisite tables, where concubines and ministers’ wives were seated, talking and laughing, their words never straying far from praising Consort Xue.
"Imperial Concubine, Lady Jiao has arrived!"
The eunuch stopped at the pavilion threshold, bowing and announcing.
Long Yue followed the eunuch forward, paying respects according to etiquette to Consort Xue.
Consort Xue Chang Ruxue was busy admiring her slender fingers, ignoring Long Yue’s greeting, not speaking nor offering a seat, continuously inspecting her nails.
This was an insult!
Long Yue squinted her eyes; she clearly saw Consort Xue had ordered seats for several concubines and ministers’ wives, but not for herself, deliberately embarrassing her!
Yet if she wanted to humiliate her like this, it wasn’t enough.
Long Yue gently bowed, taking a deep breath, mustering her strength: "Imperial Concubine!"
"Ah!"
Most women in the palace were timid. Long Yue’s shout was akin to a lion’s roar, especially so close to Consort Xue; caught off guard, Consort Xue was startled, nearly jumping.
She felt her ears buzzing, almost deafened.
She glared angrily at Long Yue, sharply yelling: "Presumptuous!"
"Concubine, I was paying respects, noticing your unresponsiveness, I thought perhaps your hearing wasn’t working well, so I shouted a bit louder. If it startled you, I apologize!"
"You..."
Consort Xue pointed a slender finger at Long Yue, her face pale with anger.
This woman’s words left no room for retreat; if she denied hearing her earlier, it would mean admitting to deliberate insult, either way, she was in the wrong!
The key was that this woman was the Emperor’s appointed Sixth-rank Imperial Decree Lady, bestowed the name ’Jiao’. Unless she committed a grave mistake, punishing her would show disrespect to the Emperor.
This was truly infuriating!
"Lady Jiao, the Imperial Concubine just lost focus, you could have simply asked gently, why shout so loudly? Were you intentionally scaring people? Oh dear, my poor heart was quite startled!"
As Consort Xue felt she might be driven mad by Long Yue, a concubine intervened to ease the situation, with biting sarcasm, mocking Long Yue.
Long Yue didn’t retort, just smiled softly as she returned the gesture: "I admitted my mistake earlier; if I startled the Concubine, I truly apologize!"
"Hmph!"
The concubine snorted coldly; since Long Yue had already admitted fault and bowed in return, if she continued to hold on, she’d appear petty.
Being petty was undesirable; it suggested jealousy, and such a reputation wouldn’t earn her higher status from the Emperor, lest the harem fall into chaos.
Most women in the harem desired to climb higher, which fueled the endless power struggles there, and this concubine was no exception; she wouldn’t let herself be caught out.
Seeing the other side silent, Long Yue just chuckled, turned and said: "Imperial Concubine, I offer my greeting?"
"Hmph!"
Having suffered a setback, Consort Xue glanced coldly at Long Yue, took a deep breath, and after a long pause, finally said, "Someone, give Lady Jiao a seat!"
Long Yue was seated next to a minister’s wife, who appeared about her age, very shy.
"Lady Jiao, this is the daughter of the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, now the wife of Imperial Censor Su, Su Yang, Zhuoya."
"Greetings, Mrs. Su!"
"Greetings, Mrs. Li!"
The two ladies exchanged courtesies and sat down.
Long Yue searched her brain for information. For the past few days at the General Mansion, aside from designing that dress with Yun Niang, she spent her time memorizing the information in that box.
The couple took turns teaching and testing each other, quite content.
This Yang Zhuoya was the illegitimate daughter of the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, born of a concubine; although not favored by the mistress of the household, the old lady treated her quite well, matching her with an Imperial Censor of equal status.
This Imperial Censor Su grew up with her, childhood friends, deeply affectionate.
This Imperial Censor Su was a talented young man, third in his family, and upright in character, disliking factionalism, thus remaining neutral in the fight for succession.
However, being favored by the Emperor, some speculated he might become Imperial Censor, and various factions wanted to recruit him.
Sorting through these details in her mind, Long Yue began chatting with Yang Zhuoya.
She was a gentle lady, her conversations soft and comfortable, without any acridness.
The two exchanged a bit, most invited concubines and ministers’ wives arrived, and Consort Xue slowly rose from the pavilion.
"Everyone, the holiday feels lonely, so I’ve invited sisters to keep me company. Don’t be restrained, enjoy yourselves!"
"Sister Xue is too kind, calling us here, if you need anything, just say so."
"What needs are there, just chatting, some intimate talks, have a seat; in this winter, showing talent is difficult, so let’s indulge in food and drinks, hehehe!"
Consort Xue covered her mouth giggling, suddenly clapped: "Ah, I just remembered, a few days ago brother sent a jar of fruit wine, it’s delicious, quickly, bring it for everyone to taste."
As soon as Consort Xue spoke, a eunuch immediately brought out the pots of wine.
Long Yue, upon seeing the pot, her eyes widened!
That pot, if she wasn’t mistaken, was a Mandarin Duck Pot!
