Chapter 102 Upon hearing Wang Mama's words...
Upon hearing Wang Mama's words, Xiao Yan Hui's relaxed mood, which had eased since leaving the Empress's palace, immediately tightened again.
If the Empress and the Prince Cheng's Mansion have no conflict of interest, and could even seek opportunities to cooperate, then the antagonistic relationship between Consort Shu, the mother of the Second Prince, and the Prince Cheng's Mansion is merely a last veil of pretense.
To be more precise, this hostility didn't even stem from the rivalry between the Second Prince and Qin Ji, but rather from the rivalry between Consort Shu and Consort Chun many years ago.
Oh, Consort Chun is the title of Qin Ji's birth mother. Ironically, this title was issued a few days ago along with the imperial decree conferring upon her the title of Princess Consort of Cheng County.
Thinking of this, Yan Hui almost wished he had the chance to spit on that scumbag emperor. He really was a scumbag to the end. He said he loved and cared about true feelings, but in all these years, he had never given him a proper title.
The more I learn about her, the more I feel sorry for the woman who is far away in Jiangzuo, who has been sometimes lucid and sometimes insane for many years. She was a girl who was pampered and spoiled since childhood. She was gentle and beautiful, and her family doted on her. If she hadn't met that scumbag emperor, she would never have ended up like this.
Consort Shu also contributed a lot to this. Xiao Yan Hui did not forget that the poisonous snake she caught from her mother-in-law's side before coming to the capital was a thorn planted by Consort Shu back then.
The fact that Consort Shu's head maid was here now meant she was most likely there for her. Xiao Yan took a deep breath and comforted herself: at least Consort Shu probably wouldn't dare to do anything to her openly now; this was probably just a pretext to summon her to her palace to test her.
"Is that Princess Consort of Cheng County ahead? This servant is Caiwei, a palace maid from Wanxiang Palace." Sure enough, Xiao Yan had only taken a few steps when the head palace maid and another palace maid beside her came forward with smiles.
"Her Highness Consort Shu learned that the Princess Consort of the County was entering the palace today, and she has been waiting for her since early morning! Her Highness said that she has been familiar with all the princess consorts of the princes in the capital since childhood, and she cannot be unfamiliar with only you."
If you don't recognize Princess Cheng when you see her in the future, please don't make a fool of yourself. Since you're entering the palace today, it's a good opportunity for you to get to know her. That's why I hurriedly sent this servant to wait here.”
This woman named Caiwei is very articulate. Her words sound polite and intimate, but upon closer inspection, they have a hidden meaning.
What do you mean by saying that we've seen other princesses since we were little, but we just don't know you! Isn't this a veiled criticism of the vast difference in status between Xiao Yan Hui and Consort Shu, and specifically pointing out that she is the lowest-ranking princess among the princes' consorts?
If it were someone who was overly sensitive, they might have started to feel resentful just from hearing these words.
Caiwei stole a glance at the recently famous Princess Consort of Chengjun, hoping to glean some information, but she was disappointed to find that she simply smiled and said politely, "Miss Caiwei is right. We're all family, we can't pretend not to know each other when we meet."
I had originally planned to meet with Her Majesty the Empress today, and then request an audience with the other ladies-in-waiting in the palace a few days later. I never expected that Consort Shu would summon me first; it was my fault for being so impolite.”
You mocked my low status, so I'll say in front of the Empress's palace that you, Consort Shu, are lacking in manners. How can a consort like you block the Empress's way? Don't you have any sense of hierarchy?
Sure enough, as soon as Xiao Yan Hui said this, the palace maid obviously understood. Her smile froze for a moment, and she was about to say something when Xiao Yan Hui interrupted her with a gesture of raising her hand.
"Please lead the way, Miss Caiwei." The sarcastic remark she made earlier was to express her stance; she didn't want people to think she was a pushover or a fool who wouldn't listen to reason. But for a princess consort, that was the limit. It would be too unbecoming of her to argue endlessly with a senior palace maid.
Moreover, she was genuinely unaccustomed to this veiled way of speaking, even though she had been somewhat prepared before entering the palace. Well, actually, it wasn't just mental preparation; she had secretly consulted Qin Ji about the art of speaking in the palace, only to be thoroughly amused by him.
After laughing, Qin Ji even rehearsed the possible scenarios with her. However, the guy's expression was strange the whole time, and Xiao Yan Hui suspected that he was deliberately teasing her.
Putting aside these little incidents, everything went smoothly when she was with the Empress. She thought that the elaborate palace intrigues in the drama were just her imagination and that reality wouldn't be like that. But she didn't expect that she would use them as soon as she left Luanfeng Palace.
"Well..." Xiao Yan glanced at Wang Mama beside her with slight displeasure. Just now, she had been subtly mocked by this head palace maid named Caiwei. It should have been Wang Mama, her personal nanny, who spoke up, but she remained silent.
At this moment, Xiao Yan Hui regretted only bringing Wang Mama with her to the palace today, instead of her trusted confidantes Mao'er or Zhu Yue. Originally, she had considered that these two were still young and had not fully learned the etiquette for entering the palace, fearing that bringing them in might cause some problems.
Wang Mama, after all, was an experienced nanny who had worked in the palace for many years, making her more reliable.
Unexpectedly, it was too safe. Perhaps it was because she used to serve the Dowager Consort. When she encountered someone of high status, she would suffer a little loss, be bullied a little, or be criticized a few times. It was nothing to worry about. She could just endure and listen to it, as long as she was safe and sound.
But at this moment, she was the Princess Consort of Chengjun, representing the dignity of the Prince's Mansion. Even if the other party was Consort Shu, or rather, precisely because the other party was Consort Shu, she could not show a weak posture.
After her mistress spoke, Granny Wang immediately realized that using her usual approach today was a huge mistake. Especially after being glanced at by the Princess, she broke out in a cold sweat.
Unexpectedly, this person, who was usually so easygoing, was now so imposing that just one glance made her heart tremble. Gritting her teeth, Wang Mama straightened her back, which had been somewhat hunched since entering the palace.
She now clearly realized that she was no longer someone close to the Dowager Consort; she had a new master. But because she had almost caused her mistress to lose face today, such a thing must never happen again.
For palace maids, it wasn't easy to enjoy a peaceful old age and spend their later years with a good mistress. Judging from the way this woman treated her dowry maid, she knew she was a good mistress, and she needed to seize this opportunity.
She knew better than anyone that her mistress had been observing them, the newcomers to her side, all these days. Today, her stoic behavior had undoubtedly lowered her standing in her eyes. Now she could only hope that this wasn't the only chance she could have.
Thinking of this, Granny Wang changed her completely indifferent attitude from before. She looked at Caiwei with a smile and said, "Miss Caiwei, you must be tired from your journey. I vaguely remember that at this time, Consort Shu was having a small gathering with the other ladies. I wonder if my princess would disturb you if she went over at this time?"
Although they are called "Empresses," they are actually just some low-ranking concubines who used to flatter Consort Shu. If they were also present, and most of them were supporters of Consort Shu, it would be difficult to deal with if one or two of them were to use their mistress as a pledge of allegiance.
Caiwei glanced at the old nanny. Judging from her words, she seemed to know a bit about the palace. However, she couldn't recall anyone from her memory. But since the old nanny was now the personal nanny of the Princess Consort of Cheng County, she couldn't very well not answer the question. "Unfortunately, the ladies of the palace are absent today. Otherwise, the Princess Consort could have recognized them all at once, which would have been quite convenient."
This statement implies that Consort Shu is currently the only person in her palace. In truth, Consort Shu is also worried about the same thing. With more people around, if someone harbors ill intentions or takes advantage of her presence to do something malicious, she might not be able to control them.
Although their relationship was merely a facade, now was not the time to unveil it. Consort Shu wanted to test the princess whom the sixth prince was determined to marry, and preferably embarrass her further, but she did not want the situation to spiral out of control.
“Miss Caiwei is joking. When we come to pay our respects to Her Majesty the Empress next time, we will naturally be able to see the other consorts. My master is not in a hurry…” After bringing up the Empress again to put down Consort Shu, Wang Mama, who had been silent before, had been talking non-stop the whole way, constantly trying to find topics to ask questions. Although Caiwei did not want to answer, she had no choice but to.
After several rounds of back and forth, Consort Shu's Wanxiang Palace was finally in sight.
"We've arrived. This servant will inform you. Please wait a moment, Princess Consort." Caiwei hurriedly left; that talkative old hag was really annoying.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com