Chapter 38

Ning Zhaorou had noticed these past few days that whenever she saw His Majesty, he was always sitting down. Her curious eyes darted around, occasionally stealing a glance at him, then quickly withdrawing before anyone noticed.

She felt the emperor was rather fair. She had been punished to kneel in the ancestral hall all night, and he also made His Majesty kneel a whole night as well.

Just as she was lost in thought, she heard His Majesty ask her a question.

“Is Zhaorou’s illness better?”

Ning Zhaorou lowered her head and replied obediently, “According to Your Majesty, your daughter is already better.”

“On the day of the Sacred Longevity Banquet, follow your mother in the palace and don’t wander off again.”

His tone clearly carried displeasure, as if reminding Ning Zhaorou of the trouble she caused earlier at Lian Guang Temple.

Ning Zhaorou glanced at Madam Wu beside her and answered evenly, “Your daughter will obediently follow madam.”

Since the banquet was soon, Ning Wanqing had already ordered clothes to be prepared early on. She was not in the main hall at this moment, or she would definitely have scolded Ning Zhaorou again.

Ning Zhaorou did not care at all. She simply couldn’t sleep at night. Thinking about attending the Sacred Longevity Banquet, meeting the Empress Dowager, and after that becoming one of His Majesty’s consorts, her heart raced and her mind was sharper than anyone else’s.

The weather had fully turned cold in November. By December, snow would start falling in the imperial city. Her thoughts drifted again to what His Majesty had said to her in the attic.

He said he wanted to warm her feet.

Perhaps it was just a casual remark, but now that she thought about it, her hands and feet felt increasingly warm.

On the day of the banquet, what would the Empress Dowager say? Would she like her?

The two palace maids newly assigned to attend Ning Zhaorou had good judgment and early on burned incense to soothe her spirit. Even though at first she had trouble sleeping because of anxiety, drowsiness gradually overtook her, and her eyelids drooped, sinking into a deep dream.

Early the next morning, a knock came at the door, and Shuangwu woke her.

After waking and washing up, Ning Zhaorou finally felt alert. Sitting at her dressing table, she placed her hand on her chest and felt the slowly easing nervousness. She exhaled softly.

She had never met the Empress Dowager before, but thought it was never wrong to dress neatly and sweetly.

So she put on a snow-blue embroidered butterfly silk brocade dress, adorned her hair with a turquoise hibiscus pearl hairpin, and wore purple jade earrings. Fearing the colors might be too bright, she did not let Shuangwu apply any floral makeup.

Compared to her, Ning Wanqing wore a more showy dress in tender yellow.

At the hour of Chen (around 7–9 AM), the Marquis’ carriage began heading toward the palace.

Because it was going to the palace, the Marquis’ household only sent two carriages. The Marquis of Anping was to attend the front hall. The remaining female relatives could only ride in the same carriage.

Ning Zhaorou did not speak from the moment she got in the carriage. Unless necessary, she didn’t want to hear Madam Wu and Ning Wanqing talk.

Sensing her sullen mood, the other two chatted briefly and then stopped paying attention to her. When the carriage entered the palace, the interior fell completely silent.

The palace’s rules were strict; even a careless word could cost one their life.

The carriage entered the palace gates, and from there palace attendants guided them along the remaining path. They passed through the palace corridors and a corner of the imperial garden, finally arriving at Guanghua Hall where the Sacred Longevity Banquet was to be held.

Guanghua Hall was elevated, with a straight wide path leading out to the palace gate. On both sides flowed streams with artificial rockeries and picturesque scenery. Fish swam freely in the ponds, surrounded by bright red maple trees in full autumn color. Behind Guanghua Hall was a lotus pond encircled by long corridors, with wooden bridges spanning the water. Even in the cooling late autumn, lotus flowers still floated on the pond.

Inside the hall, it was lively. Ning Zhaorou immediately saw several consorts seated at the front.

It had taken some time to enter the palace, and when they arrived at Guanghua Hall it was already early in the hour of Si (around 9–11 AM).

Madam Wu led them forward to pay respects to the consorts seated above.

Consort Liang glanced down and was quite surprised to see Ning Zhaorou. She smiled and called her to rise, but her words were sharp: “At Mount Eming Palace, people said these girls were pretty. Today, seeing them, it turns out the two young ladies from the Marquis’s household really are quite charming.”

Consort Li, listening beside her, smirked inwardly at Consort Liang’s petty attitude—still holding grudges over something from so long ago, and now having to be wary of this little girl in front of her.

Madam Wu nervously praised the consort’s kindness, knowing that Ning Zhaorou had offended Consort Liang before. She immediately pushed Ning Zhaorou forward: “Earlier, the young lady of the Marquis’s household offended Princess, so please forgive her, Your Highness. It is also our fault for being negligent in guiding the two young ladies.”

Consort Liang’s smile grew, but before she could reply, a eunuch announced outside the hall that the Princess Royal had arrived.

The Princess Royal entered alone. She gave a slight nod to the standing consorts as a greeting, then moved to take her seat, but showed some displeasure at what Madam Wu had just said.

“Madam Marquis’s words are incorrect. If there was offense, it was clearly the young lady who offended the princess. His Majesty has already ruled in favor of the young lady, so how come Madam Marquis’s words are the opposite?”

The Princess Royal wore a bright scarlet robe, her hairpin adorned with gold. Her tone carried considerable authority as she turned to Consort Liang and asked, “Consort Liang, what do you say?”

Consort Liang had already heard that the Princess Royal favored Ning Zhaorou somewhat, so this did not come as a surprise.

Not wanting to lose face in front of the Princess Royal, she could only mutter agreement, her expression cooling as she fell silent.

Madam Wu hurriedly followed the Princess Royal’s words: “Your Highness, what I said was nonsense.”

“Since you know it was nonsense, you’d better say less, so you don’t say any more foolish things later.”

“Yes, I will remember that.” Madam Wu turned away with a sour expression as she went to her seat, still forcing herself to keep a low profile since this was the Empress Dowager’s banquet.

Ning Zhaorou watched this little drama with some admiration for the Princess Royal.

She recalled how His Majesty had once said she was useless. If she could speak with the Princess Royal’s boldness, others would think twice before bullying her.

Outside, another eunuch announced the arrival of guests from the Ministry of Personnel’s residence.

After this announcement, Ning Zhaorou noticed the consorts’ eyes sharpen slightly. Though their expressions remained polite, an invisible tension formed around them until An Yunwei stepped forward to pay respects to the consorts and the Princess Royal seated nearby.

For a moment, the hall fell silent. Finally, Consort Li broke the silence and called for An Yunwei to rise.

Many in the hall had heard rumors that Miss An would be entering the palace, though no official edict had yet been issued. So this matter was not considered certain, and no one was eager to bring it up.

Still, many were sizing up An Yunwei.

The young lady was delicate and beautiful. If she really entered the palace, His Majesty would not ignore such a beauty.

It was thought the harem had calmed down recently: consorts with sons competed for positions, and those without sons kept peace among themselves. But this calm was about to be shattered by a newly entered consort, stirring up great upheaval.