"Your Majesty, Eunuch Wang has arrived. He says the Emperor summons you to Chengqian Palace and requests that you bring the phoenix seal as well."
Why bring the phoenix seal?
Jiang Xinyue was puzzled internally, but she didn't hesitate for a moment. She instructed Xi Que to fetch the phoenix seal from inside, along with its box. Then she boarded the sedan chair and hurried to Chengqian Palace.
At the same time, Consort Yu and Consort De were also invited to Chengqian Palace.
The Emperor, dressed in a majestic dragon robe, sat solemnly on the main seat in Chengqian Palace. To his right was an empty seat, but the Empress's phoenix robe and court dress hung beside it.
Xie Chenghui had been passionate about painting before. Until he was sixteen, he had traveled the various states with famous masters, appreciating landscapes. He returned to the capital at seventeen and, following his family's arrangements, entered the imperial painting academy as a court painter.
He had never seen the living Empress, but a few days ago, when drawing the funeral ceremony, he had seen the deceased Empress. So now, even without looking at the person, he could paint the Empress exactly as she was.
However, painting the Emperor and Empress was a great honor. The painters of the academy repeatedly instructed him to be extremely cautious, so this painting could not be completed in a day.
The Emperor spent most of his day discussing affairs with court officials or reviewing memorials. Any extra time was spent maintaining relationships with the imperial consorts.
There wasn't much time left for him to pose for paintings.
"Young Painter Xie's work is truly beautiful. When you have some free time, paint one for me too!" Consort Yu looked at the handsome youth who had put down his brush with admiration in her eyes. No matter how she looked at it, the uncolored portrait of the Empress seemed to have come to life.
Especially those eyes, showing authority mixed with a hint of kindness, exactly as the Empress had been when alive.
"If Your Highness wishes to be painted, you can find Painter Li in the painting academy. He is also excellent at portraiture."
Consort Yu seemed to have heard something she shouldn't have: "You're unwilling to paint for me?"
Xie Chenghui raised his hands in a bow: "This humble servant does not paint portraits."
He always felt that painting portraits required careful observation of a person's every move and expression. It was best to live with the subject for a while, understand their personality, and then start painting. Only then could the portrait possess the soul he wanted to capture.
If it weren't for the Xuanwu Emperor's order to paint the imperial couple, he wouldn't have wanted to take on this task. Not only did it go against his wishes, but it also upset Painter Li.
Consort Yu was about to say something more when Wang Dequan's voice sounded from outside: "Your Majesty, Noble Consort Jiang has arrived."
The sunlight at the horizon was gradually setting. Chengqian Palace had many large windows, with excellent lighting. Even at sunset, warm light poured in from all directions.
Jiang Xinyue wore a moon-white robe embroidered with sky-blue epiphyllum patterns. Her face was free of makeup, accentuating her inherent purity and beauty.
A faint halo of light fell on her face and body, coating her in a soft, warm orange glow.
Her exquisite beauty was her least remarkable quality. There was also her demeanor - both delicate and pure, ethereal yet alluring. If there were a prototype for a worldly beauty or a heavenly fairy, it would be her.
Xie Chenghui had never seen Noble Consort Jiang before. He had only heard his father describe her as a "beautiful trouble-maker."
At that time, he had only thought Noble Consort Jiang must be another Consort Li.
But he never imagined that Noble Consort Jiang's face would be... would be exactly the kind he liked.
He didn't paint portraits because his master had told him that outside of official duties, he was only allowed to paint the most beautiful things in the world.
Jiang Xinyue curtsied to the Emperor, then her gaze fell on the handsome youth behind the desk.
Noble Consort Jiang... and his clothes looked like a matching set.
Why were his ears turning red?
His neck too?
Was this person having an allergic reaction?
The Xuanwu Emperor took her hand: "Chenghui, let's stop here for today. Can you come back to paint tomorrow?"
The Emperor had a weakness for good looks and was always more lenient towards handsome officials. Moreover, Xie Chenghui was not only good-looking but also his favorite court painter.
So even though he noticed their matching outfits, he wasn't too angry.
Xie Chenghui dared not look at the captivating Noble Consort Jiang again. He lowered his head, responded with a "Yes," and hurriedly packed up his things with his apprentice and left.
Consort Yu was seething with anger. A mere painter dared to refuse to paint her portrait.
What did he mean by not painting portraits?
Weren't the Emperor and Empress people too?
Having the three most powerful consorts of the harem together, especially when they were at odds with each other, was already exciting enough to watch.
The battlefield between women was always one without smoke.
While the Emperor went to the back hall to change into casual clothes, Consort Yu glared fiercely at Xie Chenghui's retreating figure before casting a sidelong glance at Consort De, bringing up the most sensitive topic: "These past few days, I've been busy arranging the Empress's funeral affairs and haven't had time to visit the Third Prince. I heard from the Grand Princess that the Third Prince has lost his ability to speak. Has sister Consort De found out what happened?"
Stung by this, Consort De dropped her pretense of virtue: "The Emperor has entrusted the palace affairs to Noble Consort Jiang and you, Consort Yu, yet a prince has been poisoned within the palace. It's understandable that Noble Consort Jiang, having entered the palace recently, might not be able to investigate thoroughly. But Consort Yu, you've been in the palace for over a decade. How is it that you can't even find out who poisoned the Third Prince? I heard that Consort Yu even summoned the managers of the Internal Affairs Department and Imperial Kitchen for an audience. I thought you had the entire harem under your control!"
This was clearly an attempt to drive a wedge between Jiang Xinyue and Consort Yu.
Consort Yu nervously glanced at Jiang Xinyue: "You... Sister Consort De, are you dissatisfied with His Majesty taking back your golden tally because you're so concerned about how I manage palace affairs?"
Consort De looked at her with disdain: "The golden tally isn't yours, nor is it mine. It belongs to the future Empress."
She looked meaningfully at Jiang Xinyue, hinting to Consort Yu that the Emperor's favored choice for Empress was right here!
Jiang Xinyue hadn't said a word, yet Consort De kept trying to redirect Consort Yu's hostility towards her. It was truly despicable.
She turned her clear, piercing eyes towards Consort De, saying nothing, just staring at her with that sharp gaze.
Consort De touched her face: "Noble Consort Jiang, is there something on my face?"
"You're very noisy. Can you shut up?" Jiang Xinyue blinked coldly. "You're in such a hurry to make me a target. Are you afraid that once I become Empress, you won't have any good days left? Well, your worry is quite justified."
Consort De was left speechless by her retort.
Jiang Xinyue was too direct.
In this palace, everyone spoke in roundabout ways. Even if they hated each other to the bone, they would still smile face to face.
The previous Jiang Xinyue had been like that too.
But after becoming Noble Consort this time, her entire approach had changed.
She had become a sharp knife that hurt people.
She displayed her likes and dislikes openly, no longer playing tai chi with people.
This left Consort De, who always pretended to be virtuous and righteous, at a loss for how to respond.
Seeing Consort De at a disadvantage, Consort Yu, for once, didn't contradict Jiang Xinyue.
Soon after, the Emperor came out wearing an apricot-colored robe embroidered with light blue cloud patterns.
Wang Dequan glanced at Jiang Xinyue's moon-white robe embroidered with blue epiphyllum patterns and thought to himself: And they say he's not jealous!
They had even changed into similar outfits.
