FVN Chapter 296
Chapter 296
after walking some distance, cheng yuan turned back to look at concubine cheng's chambers one last time. the ferocity in his eyes had faded, replaced by deep concern.
"my lord..." the servant boy stepped forward, "you clearly... why were you deliberately so harsh with the young miss?"
cheng yuan sighed, reluctantly continuing to walk away as he replied wistfully, "don't forget whose service i'm in."
the servant was about to say something when suddenly two men dressed as household guards in black clothing approached from the corridor: "lord cheng, our master secretary requests your presence."
...
"hahaha..."
"serves her right... ouch... ah, that hurts!"
when noble lady liu heard that concubine cheng had been beaten, she was so delighted she almost jumped out of bed. she still held a grudge from when the emperor had lost face over concubine cheng.
"she dared mock me for being bedridden here at the summer palace. now she'll be lying down too. acting so noble, hah, i spit on that!"
noble lady liu spat before asking, "yan'er, why hasn't concubine ye been serving me these past few days? does she think i can't do anything to her just because i'm injured?"
yan'er thought to herself that it was true - they really couldn't do anything now. the other woman was now a noble lady herself and had gained the powerful backing of imperial noble consort. why would she still pay any attention to her mistress who held the same rank?
but she obviously couldn't say that.
yan'er lowered her head and replied, "she's no longer just concubine ye. after she was falsely accused of drugging his majesty, imperial noble consort helped clear her name. to make it up to her, his majesty elevated her to noble lady. these days she spends her time playing cards and chatting with imperial noble consort and noble lady jiang!"
noble consort ye used to bow and scrape to curry favor with noble lady liu, but when noble consort ye fell from grace, noble lady liu never spoke up for her. she must have seen through it all - no matter how much she tried to please noble lady liu, it was pointless. better to align herself with imperial noble consort instead - at least that way her rank would improve.
"she was made a noble lady?"
now thoroughly provoked, noble lady liu lost her composure: "my grandmother served the late emperor and was graciously allowed to leave the palace by his imperial decree. she was at least a palace official! what is she compared to that? how dare she be ranked equal to me?"
but what could be done about it?
imperial favor, whether harsh as thunder or gentle as dew, was still the emperor's to give. it's not like they could go curse at his majesty for his poor judgment.
noble consort ye watched low level consort yu's dismissive expression and became extremely alert.
noble lady jiang was right - low level consort yu now resembled those stubborn villains who wouldn't believe until they saw their own coffin.
it seemed imperial noble consort still had tricks up her sleeve.
noble lady jiang was like a raccoon in a melon patch, eating the fruit the servants had cut while watching jiang xinyue and low level consort yu bicker - it was absolutely delightful.
she wondered why she hadn't realized earlier that once you stopped pursuing the emperor's dispensed affections from on high, and the palace ladies learned to coexist peacefully, life became so much more interesting.
"don't move, pair of twos, i'll take that."
after winning three or four hands in a row, low level consort yu became even more arrogant, looking at jiang xinyue like she was a complete novice: "oh my! your humble servant is so sorry, i've won again! looks like imperial noble consort won't be able to slap my face after all!"
noble consort ye had been observing and noticed something interesting - people's card-playing styles seemed to perfectly match their personalities.
that being the case, imperial noble consort must not be simple at all.
aliali: 674939efc4f3f33ac483eddf
she had originally planned to side with low level consort yu against jiang xinyue, but in the end, she followed noble lady jiang's example and chose to watch the tigers fight instead.
her last-minute defection earned her a glare from low level consort yu, but she didn't care. she was certain to win today anyway - she had beaten all three of them, wasn't she impressive?
jiang xinyue calmly fed her cards, letting her appetite grow bigger and bigger, until later she seemed to be seeing red, insisting on betting even more.
it was time to close the net.
this fish, low level consort yu, had been fattened up enough.
"alright, let's make a big bet then."
imperial noble consort's lips curled into a smile as she threw all her silver notes onto the center of the table: "one hand to decide it all."
although low level consort yu had reconciled with jiang xinyue, she still harbored some resentment, always secretly competing with her.
if she wasn't mistaken, low level consort yu's father would soon meet with great misfortune, and the biggest beneficiary would be jiang xinyue's uncle.
before that happened, she needed to make low level consort yu completely submit to her, so her uncle's path to becoming governor-general of the two guangs would be smoother.