I See the Noble Consort's Charm - Chapter 36:
Chapter 36:
Su Qingyao pondered left and right, truly unable to fathom why His Majesty had bestowed so many books upon her. It was Liuqin who comforted her, saying, “After all, these came to us freely, and you enjoy reading, Junior Mistress. Let’s just consider it a good thing.”
Speaking of which, Liuqin was actually more clear-headed. Su Qingyao had a habit of overthinking, always feeling there were no such things as free blessings falling from the sky.
Once she reasoned it through, Su Qingyao set her mind at ease and began preparing for her birthday.
With only a few days left until her birthday, Su Qingyao made a list that included snacks like candied fruit, preserved fruit, melon seeds, and peanuts, along with a few simple dishes—that should be about enough.
After being busy for less than two days, before Su Qingyao had even sent out the invitations, an unexpected visitor came calling.
Su Qingyao had just risen from her afternoon nap when Liuqin entered to announce, “Junior Mistress, there’s a young palace maid upfront who says she wishes to see you.”
Su Qingyao asked, “Which palace is she from?”
Liuqin replied, “She seems to be from Consort He’s palace. Liulv is questioning her about the reason for her visit.”
The matter involving Consort Yi and Consort He had passed in a flash, and the palace had been peaceful for several days since.
During this time, Consort Yi had been confined to her palace reflecting on her mistakes. With nowhere to go, Consort Hui had become rather irritable. Su Qingyao and Consort Sun both avoided provoking her, simply living their lives within their own palace.
She couldn’t understand why Consort He would seek her out now. Su Qingyao repeatedly recalled the incident, feeling she hadn’t acted particularly remarkably when it occurred, and her conduct before the Empress Dowager shouldn’t have been known to outsiders. She wondered why Consort He had taken notice of her.
After washing up and settling on the reclining couch to drink tea, Liulv entered the bedchamber and reported to Su Qingyao, “Junior Mistress, it’s a servant from Consort He’s palace. She says Consort He wishes to invite you over for some fruits and hopes you can spare the time to attend.”
As a principal consort of a palace, if Consort He wanted to see a mere Talented Lady, she only needed to send someone to summon her—there was no reason for her to visit in person.
Considering she had no plans for the day and was curious about Consort He’s secrets, Su Qingyao smiled and said, “If Her Highness invites me, I must go even if I’m busy. Have her wait a moment; I’ll change clothes and leave shortly.”
Once properly dressed, Su Qingyao asked Liuqin to bring one of the wisteria oil-paper umbrellas and cheerfully left her bedchamber.
The young palace maid waited dutifully at the door. Seeing Su Qingyao arrive, she quickly smiled and curtseyed, “Greetings, Junior Mistress.”
Su Qingyao nodded and walked with her toward the side gate. After exiting Azure Cloud Palace, they needed to pass through Lane of Intertwined Trees and proceed all the way to the front lane of the Eastern Six Palaces before reaching Consort He’s primary residence, Moon Gazing Palace.
Among the current four consorts, aside from Consort Hui who resided in the Eastern Six Palaces, the other three all lived in the Western Six Palaces. As a third-rank consort, Consort He naturally occupied the main hall of Moon Gazing Palace.
In her previous life, Su Qingyao had only been invited to Moon Gazing Palace twice. As it was so long ago, she couldn’t quite remember what the palace actually looked like. Now, observing it carefully, she could appreciate its subtle elegance.
Currently, only Wu Jieyu lived in the rear western side hall of Moon Gazing Palace. All other main halls, side halls, and corner rooms belonged to Consort He. Consort He had put considerable effort into it, not only creating a pond and flower hall in the front courtyard but also specially planting several peach trees, making the summer scene lush and green.
As Su Qingyao looked up at those peach trees, Consort He personally came out to greet her: “Does Sister Su like peach trees?”
As the mistress of a palace, Consort He held a position far superior to Su Qingyao, who was merely a Junior Mistress. There was no reason for them to address each other as sisters. Seeing Consort He personally welcome her, Su Qingyao couldn’t help but appear flustered and hurriedly performed a salute: “Greetings to Consort He. May Your Highness be blessed with great fortune.”
Consort He beamed with a smile, stepped forward to take her hand, and led her toward the flower hall. “Younger Sister Su, you’re being too formal. I’ve always felt a connection with you, so there’s no need for such politeness.”
Su Qingyao insisted on declining, saying, “We must not disrupt the rules. My status is lowly, and I do not deserve to be called ‘younger sister’ by Your Highness.”
Consort He had no choice but to drop the matter. She led Su Qingyao to sit on the reclining couch before beckoning to Head Maid Ling Yin. “Bring the newly tributed Cloud Mist Tea. I wish to share it with Younger Sister Su.”
She was referring to one of this year’s newly tributed light teas. As a palace mistress, even if not particularly favored, she still received a share of various tributes—something Su Qingyao’s palace lacked.
Su Qingyao quickly smiled, appearing deeply grateful. “How could I trouble Your Highness to go to such expense?”
Consort He sat opposite her across the small tea table, patting her hand in a show of intimacy. “Good things should be shared with those close to you. How could it be considered an expense? Younger Sister, you must not be so distant.”
Su Qingyao blushed at her words and shyly lowered her head.
Uncertain what Consort He was scheming, Su Qingyao dared not blindly accept her flattery. Unwarranted kindness often hid ulterior motives. Recalling Consort He’s hidden secrets, Su Qingyao’s heart tightened, and she remained vigilant.
However, Consort He said nothing more. She waited until the tea arrived, had Ling Yin brew it, and then pushed a cup toward Su Qingyao. “Younger Sister, try it quickly. Do you like it?”
Since she had been invited, Su Qingyao wasn’t afraid of being poisoned. She picked up the teacup and took a careful sip.
She had often drunk this tea in the past and didn’t find it particularly special, but now she no longer had such privileges. She made an effort to appear surprised and, after drinking half a bowl, immediately said, “This is my first time tasting the tributed Cloud Mist Tea. Its aroma is indeed rich and delightful—truly delicious.”
After speaking, she gave Consort He a sweet smile, looking utterly pure and adorable.
Consort He studied her carefully for a moment before lowering her gaze and sighing softly. “Younger Sister, you are so charming. No wonder His Majesty dotes on you.”
Su Qingyao smiled shyly and remained silent.
She herself didn’t know whether the Emperor truly favored her, so it was best not to answer and instead play dumb.
Consort He didn’t know her well enough to discern whether she was being shy or cautious. After a pause, she continued, “Younger Sister, look how desolate my Moon Gazing Palace is. His Majesty seldom remembers me. Could you tell me what kind of woman His Majesty prefers?”
Su Qingyao hadn’t expected such directness and was momentarily stunned. Given Consort He’s insistence on addressing her as “younger sister” and offering tributed Cloud Mist Tea, she couldn’t refuse too harshly. Instead, she said, “Your Highness is too modest. If His Majesty did not favor you, why would he promote you to the rank of Consort? Moreover, tributes never cease during festivals—how could His Majesty forget you?”
Without waiting for Consort He’s response, Su Qingyao added, “Look at the elegant simplicity of Your Highness’s Moon Gazing Palace and this Cloud Mist Tea. Your Highness should set your mind at ease and not indulge in unnecessary worries.”
Su Qingyao had defined Consort He’s situation: she was not unloved but overly sentimental—a matter Su Qingyao could not remedy.
Consort He hadn’t expected Su Qingyao to be so articulate, immediately realizing she wasn’t truly that naive and easily deceived. Her heart sank slightly as she forced a smile: “What my sister says is quite right. I was too impatient.”
With these words, the atmosphere became somewhat stiff.
Su Qingyao hadn’t interacted much with Consort He and had no idea about her preferences. Unable to find a suitable topic, she finally managed: “There are so many peach trees planted in this courtyard. Does Your Highness like peach blossoms?”
Consort He turned to look at the courtyard. This season, the peach blossoms had already faded, leaving only tender green leaves. She said: “It’s merely that I enjoy tending to flowers and plants.”
Su Qingyao found herself at a loss for words again.
Perhaps because she hadn’t managed to obtain any information from Su Qingyao, Consort He’s attitude wasn’t as warm as before, though she didn’t appear particularly angry either. After urging Su Qingyao to drink tea several times and asking whether she had adapted to palace life, she readily let her go.
This time, she didn’t personally see her out.
Su Qingyao didn’t feel embarrassed. As Liuqin supported her out of the flower hall, they happened to see Consort He’s chief maid Ling Yin walking in. Su Qingyao nodded in greeting, and as they passed each other, she caught a faint scent from her.
The fragrance seemed both familiar and unfamiliar. Su Qingyao couldn’t immediately recall what scent it was and unconsciously furrowed her brows.
Liuqin supported her out of Moon Gazing Palace, holding an umbrella while quietly asking: “What’s wrong, Junior Mistress?”
Su Qingyao remained silent until they returned to their own eastern side hall. Then she asked Liuqin: “Did you smell the fragrance on Ling Yin earlier?”
Liuqin thought carefully, then shook her head blankly: “I didn’t notice.”
That made sense—the scent on Ling Yin was extremely faint. Unless one was familiar with it or had encountered it before, one naturally wouldn’t pay attention. But Su Qingyao must have encountered this fragrance in her previous life, immediately recognizing it.
However, considerable time must have passed, and Su Qingyao truly couldn’t recall it. So she set aside these tangled thoughts and went about her daily life.
Days flowed by like water, and in the blink of an eye, it was the seventh day of the seventh month.
Since there was no official Empress in the palace and the Empress Dowager didn’t wish to host various palace banquets that might trouble His Majesty, the Double Seventh Festival was no longer celebrated with banquets in the palace.
Nevertheless, the Empress Dowager was quite benevolent, granting rewards according to rank, which pleased all the women in the palace.
Su Qingyao scheduled her banquet for noon. Xie Cai Ren and Consort Sun had accepted the invitation early and arrived one after another almost as soon as the snacks were laid out.
For her seventeenth birthday, Su Qingyao had dressed up specially, wearing a new summer outfit made by the Bureau of Palace Affairs. The water-red short jacket complemented Su Qingyao’s complexion perfectly, making her peach-blossom face appear fair with a rosy glow, increasingly fresh and adorable.
Xie Cai Ren, a few months older, carried herself somewhat like an elder sister. Upon seeing her today, she laughed: “I’ve always said my sister is a beauty, though you never admitted it. Dressed up like this today, you’re truly lovely.”
Su Qingyao, teased by her, remained unflustered and smiled: “So are you, sister.”
Xie Cai Ren came over and pinched her cheek, saying to Consort Sun: “Look at her—after her birthday, she’s grown much thicker-skinned.”
Consort Sun wasn’t as familiar with Xie Cai Ren and merely smiled faintly without replying. Su Qingyao quickly invited them both to sit in the main hall and called for tea sets, saying they should first have tea and chat.
Among the three of them, Consort Sun actually had the best temper. Due to her timid and cowardly nature, she found it difficult to become close with others and maintained a lukewarm relationship with Xie Cai Ren. If not for Su Qingyao mediating between them, she and Xie Cai Ren might not even have been able to hold a conversation.
Xie Cai Ren didn’t mind, though. She could tell at a glance what kind of personality Consort Sun had and didn’t press her, only engaging in conversation with Su Qingyao.
Su Qingyao skillfully managed both sides while brewing tea, her movements flowing smoothly and gracefully, a sight both elegant and refined.
After a moment of silence, Xie Cai Ren suddenly asked, Did Consort He invite you over a few days ago?
How did you know, sister? Su Qingyao raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Xie Cai Ren gave a strange smile. She has this habit. Zhang Shunu was just invited recently.
What habit? A penchant for inviting others for tea?
Before Su Qingyao could ask, Xie Cai Ren continued, Whenever someone gains favor for a couple of days, she invites them over to ask, ‘What exactly does His Majesty like?’
Xie Cai Ren spoke while laughing, but her laughter was cold.
As if everyone else is a fool.
Author’s Note:
Xie Cai Ren: Teaming up, sisters? A weakling has come knocking on our door!
Su Qingyao: Sure thing, sister! Mwah, mwah, sister~
Consort Sun: You two charge ahead, I… I’ll cheer you on, sisters!