"Your Majesty, Imperial Noble Consort Tong invites you to Jingren Palace to admire the flowers tomorrow."
Enjoying flowers at this crucial moment of talent show? I wonder if we're admiring the flowers in the yard, or if the person is more beautiful than the flowers.
The Imperial Noble Consort Tong invited her, and Youqing, who was healthy and without illness, could not refuse, so she went.
On the day of the flower viewing, Youqing dressed casually, not in a grand manner, but with her good skin, she only drew her eyebrows and applied lip rouge, and her complexion was exceptionally good.
The flower viewing spot was in the pavilion in the courtyard of Jingren Palace. Only ladies of the rank of concubine or above could come here. The pavilion was not small and must have been specially built. There were many ice basins inside, but they were not very useful. After all, it was outdoors, and ice basins were not very effective.
People in the palace dress very formally, and almost everyone wears several layers of clothing. It's really hot, so admiring the flowers is quite a hardship.
Youqing was unbearably hot on her way here, so she specially exchanged some heat-relieving pills from the farm shop. After taking one, the heat inside her body lessened considerably.
With a calm mind, Youqing felt much better. She fed one to Sangzhu and Chengying, saying it was a mint candy. She had made quite a few of these pills when she was bored a few days ago, and the taste and appearance of the pills were quite similar to mint candies. Neither Chengying nor Sangzhu suspected anything.
It was still hot, but compared to the "sisters" next to her who were fanning themselves and still sweating profusely, she felt much better; at least she wasn't sweating.
Moreover, in the summer, the concubines in the palace loved to use perfumes to cover up the smell of sweat. Normally, they were indoors with ice basins, so they didn't feel anything was wrong. But outdoors, with sweat pouring down, the smell of sweat mixed with the smell of various perfumes was simply unbearable.
Youqing found it extremely difficult to endure; even torture on the nose couldn't be more unbearable.
In fact, it wasn't just her who was suffering; everyone else was also having a hard time, even Consort Tong. She regretted it, but it was too late.
Youqing's clean and tidy appearance stood out, but everyone only dared to feel secretly annoyed.
In less than a quarter of an hour, Consort Yi couldn't help but speak up: "Your Highness, the Imperial Noble Consort, has become more and more cunning these past few years. It's really something else to gather all of us sisters here under this scorching sun in this sweltering heat. Those who know better understand that you are very kind to us and specially invited us to come and enjoy the flowers. But those who don't know better would think that you disapprove of us sisters and make us suffer here."
Consort Yi came from a good family, had given birth to a son, and held the rank of Consort, so she was not afraid of Imperial Noble Consort Tong. Therefore, her words were not very pleasant.
Her words expressed what everyone was thinking.
Consort Tong also felt that she had miscalculated today. She usually stayed indoors and did not expect it to be so hot outside.
Despite this, she still disliked Consort Yi's bluntness, which was no different from slapping her in the face, but she really couldn't do anything to Consort Yi.
Consort Tong said coldly, "What Consort Yi said was indeed something I hadn't considered. We've seen enough of the flowers, so please come inside with me to talk, ladies!"
At this moment, the usually inconspicuous Consort Duan spoke up and flattered her, which restored some face for Imperial Noble Consort Tong. This made Consort Yi secretly roll her eyes. She was quite bold. Her family was powerful, so she dared to do this. The key point was that Kangxi did not punish her for it.
The concubines entered the room where ice basins were placed, and only then did they feel alive again.
After a few casual words were exchanged in the room, the Imperial Noble Consort Tong's nanny suddenly spoke up: "Your Highness, the young ladies-in-waiting, come and pay your respects."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Youqing, clearly understanding that the main course of the day was about to arrive.
Youqing could naturally sense the malice in those gazes, and even those without malice were eager to see a good show.
Consort Tong did not immediately agree, but said, "The young ladies have been in the palace for many days now. There are quite a few outstanding young ladies this year in terms of appearance and talent. I think there are a few that are quite good. Why don't you all take a look together? Maybe we'll all become sisters in the future."
At this point, the crowd, eager to see a good show, naturally chimed in.
"Why isn't Consort Shu saying anything? Are you feeling unwell?"
Youqing smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am perfectly fine."
She looked quite well, without any makeup, and looked better than everyone else present. But they didn't believe her, thinking she was just putting on a brave face. They looked at her with pity and a "don't pretend" look, which really upset Youqing.
Youqing couldn't just yell at them, "I'm perfectly fine!" or "Don't look at me like that!" You can never wake someone who's pretending to be asleep.
Amidst the varied gazes of the crowd, Consort Tong smiled with satisfaction and then ordered, "Let the ladies-in-waiting come in."
There weren't many girls present this time, only four. Two of them were princesses from prominent Manchu families, so Consort Tong naturally had to give them face.
There were two others from less prominent families. One was Lin Miaoting, and the other was a girl surnamed Yang. Both of them were from Han Banner families, and their family backgrounds were even lower than Youqing's. Neither of their fathers held positions in the capital.
The two girls from the Han Banner Army looked more charming than the girls from the Manchu Banner Army. When they stood in the room, they were graceful and elegant, making the room feel much more refreshing. However, this was only at first glance.
If you look closely, there are actually some flaws. For example, she sweated a lot along the way, so her makeup, while not completely ruined, isn't quite perfect.
After the four young ladies entered, they bowed and greeted everyone in the room. Consort Tong smiled and offered them seats. At this moment, everyone's eyes were on Youqing and the young lady named Lin Miaoting.
After looking them over, their smiles vanished.
Lin Miaoting is only fifteen years old this year. She is young and her face has not fully matured yet. She has the appearance of a young girl and is beautiful even without makeup. However, she was able to come here today because she looks somewhat similar to Youqing, so she wore a lot of makeup.
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