Chapter 28 – Lacking Tact

Shen Qing could practically roll her eyes. She had originally been walking by herself just fine, but now that Noble Lady Lin had shown up, she had to salute her according to rank.

Still, with someone standing right in front of her, she had to maintain appearances.

“Noble Lady, I hope you’re well. I know the Imperial Garden well enough, but this sun is far too harsh today. I usually enjoy reading medical texts, and they say that people—especially women—should avoid too much exposure to the sun during summer. It darkens the skin, and once it’s darkened, it’s more likely to wrinkle. So I haven’t gone out for over half a month now.”

Noble Lady Lin had no choice but to believe her. Shen Qing’s stunning beauty was plain to see.

From her perspective, unless someone had exceptional skincare methods, it was impossible to look that beautiful—her skin was as delicate as a freshly peeled egg.

As Shen Qing spoke, Chunhua, always quick-witted, took the opportunity to open a parasol she had kept hidden and held it over Shen Qing to shield her from the sun.

Noble Lady Lin was immediately struck.

What woman doesn’t care about beauty? In an instant, she lost all interest in visiting the Imperial Garden. Right now, all she wanted was to return to her palace. After all, there would be more chances to “bump into” the Emperor.

However, she had now found a new pretext to visit Shen Qing often in the future: “I’ve long heard that Younger Sister is quite knowledgeable in beauty and skincare. Hearing you speak today has proven it true. I didn’t bring a parasol today, but I’ll definitely come another day to seek your advice on these beauty methods.”

She was already calling her “Younger Sister” now.

Seeing no one else around, Chunhua quietly said to Shen Qing, “That Noble Lady Lin has only served in bed twice and is not favored. Now that she’s deliberately approaching you, it’s clearly with an agenda.”

Everything in the harem revolved around gaining favor. Without it, Lin was nothing—and stepping on Shen Qing to steal a bit of the Emperor’s favor was one way to climb up.

Chunhua sounded a little worried. “She’s still a Noble Lady.”

Exactly. That’s what made things tricky. Even if they knew she was coming with ulterior motives, given Shen Qing’s low status, she couldn’t just refuse her outright.

“It doesn’t matter,” Shen Qing replied calmly.

She had enough confidence for this much. If Xuanyuan Ling could be lured away from her by someone like Noble Lady Lin, then that would just mean she lacked skill.

Besides, if Xuanyuan Ling truly came seeking her but was instead charmed away by Lin, then he was already fickle to the extreme. If he was that easy, Shen Qing wouldn’t even need to work on winning his heart—just flaunting her looks would do the trick.

So Shen Qing didn’t give Lin another thought. On the other hand, Lin certainly had Shen Qing on her mind.

The next day, she actually showed up at her door bright and early.

“Your palace is truly far away,” she remarked. Any farther and it would be the Cold Palace.

Noble Lady Lin hadn’t been here before, and now that she had, she was shocked. Living somewhere this remote and still managing to gain favor—clearly, it was all due to her looks.

“After hearing you talk yesterday, I really believe what you said makes sense. I came today specifically to learn from you.” Lin put on a very earnest and humble expression.

“Tea for the Noble Lady,” Fangyun offered respectfully.

After sipping some tea, Lin turned to Shen Qing eagerly.

Shen Qing smiled. “What are you saying, Noble Lady? Chunhua, bring the recipe and give it to her.”

Chunhua promptly handed the beauty recipe to Lin.

Lin had assumed that such a valuable recipe would not be given up so easily. But to her surprise, one glance showed it was quite detailed and complete.

And Shen Qing showed no reluctance at all—she had clearly prepared it in advance.

Only now did Lin start to catch on. Could it be that Shen Qing had already guessed her intentions and was trying to hurry her along?

The thought made her feel embarrassed.

Sure, she had come with an ulterior motive, but being exposed was another matter. Lin considered her own status higher than Shen Qing’s, who came from a humble background. Yet now she was here trying to borrow her favor. She felt both awkward and eager to leave.

And as fate would have it, Xuanyuan Ling arrived.

He hadn’t expected anyone else to be there—he never had someone announce him when he visited Shen Qing. But today, he saw Noble Lady Lin.

To Xuanyuan Ling, Lin was no different than Beauty Wang—he had only slept with her twice and didn’t remember her clearly. He only knew she was one of his women, though he couldn’t quite recall who she was.

Still, when he arrived, everyone had to perform the formal greetings. Xuanyuan Ling didn’t mind not remembering—he simply said, “You may all rise.”

He wasn’t familiar with Lin, and given that she was there, his attention naturally shifted to Shen Qing, his tone softening.

In his mind, he had already made peace with the idea: any words between him and Shen Qing were private. It wouldn’t be proper to let outsiders hear them or even witness them.

So he asked, “It’s rare to see you with guests today.”

“Your Majesty,” Shen Qing replied, “Noble Lady Lin heard that I have some insight into skincare and beauty. She came specifically to discuss those matters with me.”

“Oh? I remember you’ve always liked reading medical books,” Xuanyuan Ling said. After all, it had started with her treating her mother’s illness.

“Yes,” she replied. “I’ve come up with several beauty treatments from my studies.”

Lin, who had been silent ever since Xuanyuan Ling appeared, had originally hoped to get some face time with him. But now she found herself unable to even get a word in.

At last, she managed to say, “Younger Sister is so generous. She even copied the beauty recipe for me.”

“Mm.”

That was all Xuanyuan Ling said.

If Lin had any sense, she would take the hint and excuse herself. After all, this was Zhaohua Palace.

But she was too nervous and failed to notice. She kept rambling on and on.

Finally, she concluded, “Just yesterday, Younger Sister said that too much sun darkens the skin and leads to aging. Now that I have this recipe, I’ll make sure to use it diligently.”

Xuanyuan Ling was speechless.

Was there really a consort this utterly lacking in tact?

Shen Qing had said nothing the entire time.

Lin was desperately trying to find topics to talk about.

Xuanyuan Ling’s face grew darker and darker. He glanced at Shen Qing and saw that she remained calm and unmoved. At last, he could bear it no longer and said, “I have matters to attend to.”

And left.

Once he was gone, Lin finally relaxed. At the same time, she was overjoyed. She had managed to talk to the Emperor for so long! Surely he would remember her now.

She had been planning to leave in embarrassment, but thankfully she hadn’t. Still, with the Emperor gone, she had no reason to stay either and promptly took her leave.

“Goodness, that Noble Lady Lin is just infuriating!” Fangyun burst out. “His Majesty clearly came to see you, and she still had the nerve to hog the moment like that!”

She had heard from Chunhua about Lin approaching Shen Qing the day before.

It was just too aggravating.

But Shen Qing only laughed. “I’m sure His Majesty will remember her now.”

Of course, remembering someone in a good way and remembering someone as annoying were two very different things.

Chunhua finally understood Shen Qing’s meaning and chuckled too. “But… do you think His Majesty will be angry? Will this affect you?”