"Hehehe..."
Jing'er suddenly laughed. She glanced at A'ge with a playful look and said, "Consort Ge is quite the metaphorist. She actually compares a living person to a flower. In that case, tell me what kind of flower I am like."
“Uh…” Ag was a little stunned. For a moment, she didn’t know how to make a comparison, especially when facing Jing’er. No matter what flower she mentioned, she was afraid that Jing’er would find fault with it.
Seeing this, Wan'er slowly stood up. "In my opinion, Your Majesty the Empress is like a rose." She wasn't trying to help Agge out of a predicament; she had her own plans.
"How do you know?" Jing'er asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Rose may be beautiful, but it is covered in thorns. Just a touch will draw blood. Isn't Your Majesty the Empress the same?" Wan'er teased.
These words immediately sparked a flurry of discussion among the crowd.
"Wow, has the Imperial Noble Consort gone mad? How could she describe the Empress like that?"
"Yes, the Empress already harbored resentment towards her, and now she's saying such things. Does she really think she can disregard the Empress just because she's favored by the Emperor?"
...
The chattering noise reached Wan'er's ears, causing her to frown: "So noisy! I really want to shut you all up with some super glue."
Seeing that Wan'er was truly annoyed, Jing'er quickly smashed the teacup beside her on the ground and roared angrily, "Shut up! Anyone who dares to say another word will have their tongue pulled out!"
The room fell silent, but they all assumed she was angry with Wan'er.
Jing'er turned her gaze to Wan'er, "Since I am the Rose, then what are you, and what are the other concubines?"
Wan'er smiled and said, "My face is my own body, and I only know my appearance when I look in the mirror, so it's naturally hard to describe."
“Since you can’t describe yourself well, then you should describe other people well!” Jing’er said.
"Alright!" Wan'er agreed, and then sincerely said to everyone, "These are all my personal opinions. You sisters can just listen to them for fun, but please don't take them seriously."
Seeing Wan'er's sincere appearance, the concubines with a conscience all said, "It's alright, Imperial Noble Consort, please speak frankly. We won't take it to heart."
“Alright!” Wan’er nodded, sat down, drank a bowl of tea, and then began to describe the people in order of rank.
Consort Tong is like a lily, pure and innocent; Consort De is like an autumn chrysanthemum, elegant and fragrant; Consort Li is like a peony, beautiful and alluring; Consort Hui is like a crabapple, reserved and elegant; Consort Lan is like a rose, noble and aloof...
They were even pleased to hear this, but seeing Jing'er there, they couldn't show it.
When only Agge and Consort Zhang remained, Wan'er changed her previous words of praise.
“Consort Ge does resemble a celestial being.” She glanced at A’ge.
Age had never heard of the name "Celestial Fairy," but upon hearing it, she assumed it was a compliment. "Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness," she said shyly, lowering her head with two blushes rising on her cheeks.
Unexpectedly, Jing'er burst into laughter, "Consort Ge, you are really stupid. You don't even know what a Celestial Fairy is, and you still hurriedly thank Dong E Wan'er."
She finished speaking and then burst into laughter again.
Upon hearing this, Ag's face turned pale instantly. "Your...Your Highness, Imperial Noble Consort...Does this flower not mean what it literally means?"
"Of course not." Before Wan'er could answer, Jing'er interrupted, "This flower is not only incredibly ugly, but also poisonous. The Imperial Noble Consort is describing you as ugly and wicked, only your outward appearance is as pleasant as the flower's name!"
Upon hearing this, Ag was furious, but she had to hold back her anger. With tears in her eyes, she said to Wan'er, "Your Highness, Imperial Noble Consort... am I really that worthless?"
Wan'er smiled and said, "This flower does have this meaning, but in my hometown there is another interpretation."
"Please enlighten me, Your Highness," Ag said.
"It is resilient and easy to raise; it can also be used to describe a person's strength, resilience, and tenacity in adversity..."
Before she could finish speaking, Jing'er interrupted her, "No matter how you describe it, it's an undeniable characteristic that makes her ugly."
Ag's chest heaved with breath. Even if she wasn't as beautiful as the others in the harem, she wasn't ugly. Besides, she was indeed quite pretty.
Unfortunately, the two people who spoke ill of her were the supreme Empress and the favored Imperial Noble Consort, so she could only swallow her anger and suffer in silence.
"There's only one left," Jing'er quickly reminded Wan'er, afraid she might forget.
Wan'er smiled and turned her head toward Consort Zhang, "You do resemble a geranium."
"Is it ugly?" Consort Zhang asked curiously, her limited knowledge preventing her from understanding the meaning of her words.
“Not ugly, but very beautiful,” Wan’er replied.
"Really?" Consort Zhang was overjoyed, her smile stretching almost to her ears.
But Jing'er was not as happy as her. She mocked, "It's a pity that this flower is not only poisonous but also smells bad. It smells like a dead fish. Imperial Concubine, you are describing your poisonous heart and foul mouth."
"Dong'e Wan'er!" Upon hearing this, Consort Zhang's face turned a deep shade of liver, and she wished she could rush over and tear Wan'er's face apart immediately.
She was naturally not as composed as Ag.
Seeing Consort Zhang's furious expression, Wan'er teased, "We agreed beforehand that this was a joke. Why is Consort Zhang so angry? It's not funny to be so serious."
"You're clearly targeting me." Consort Zhang gritted her teeth and glared at her fiercely.
Wan'er said calmly, "You've misunderstood me. Look at Consort Ge. I described her even worse than you, and she's not this angry."
“You…” Consort Zhang was so rebuked that she couldn’t say a word.
"Alright, Sister Zhang, there's no need to be angry. Just consider it an apology from me," Wan'er said gently.
In comparison, Wan'er was much more well-mannered than Consort Zhang, and some of the concubines began to change their opinion of Wan'er.
But Consort Zhang persisted, "If I stab you in the heart and then apologize, would you forgive me?"
"This... seems to have no connection! And you are still standing safely in front of me."
"snort!"
No matter what Wan'er said, no matter how nice her words were, her anger had not subsided. Seeing the other concubines pointing and whispering about her, she curtsied and said, "This concubine is not feeling well, so I will take my leave now."
Without waiting for Jing'er's consent, he hurriedly left.
Wan'er watched her furious back as her smile deepened.
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