Xuanwu Emperor gently rocked the Sixth Prince in his arms, then stopped and frowned disapprovingly at the pavilion, as if blaming the woman for raising her voice and startling the child.
"Sister Liu, what's wrong with you? Yesterday, we were still rehearsing the song together. Why did you suddenly lose your temper?"
Jiang Xinyue, standing to the left of the Xuanwu Emperor, leaned forward to look out. Upon seeing the figure in the pavilion, she couldn't help but turn to glance at the Xuanwu Emperor.
What a coincidence!
In the pavilion were Liu Xiaoxiao and Cheng Nianhe, whom Jiang Xinyue had met in Chuxiu Palace not long ago. Back then, the two were good sisters helping each other, but now, their relationship had deteriorated to the point of animosity.
It seemed that after the Xuanwu Emperor's visit to Chuxiu Palace, the un-favored maidens there had already started to turn against each other.
"What's wrong with me?"
Liu Xiaoxiao, with a fiery demeanor, put her hands on her hips. "Ye Qiang'er is right; you're using me to highlight yourself. Every time you play the zither, you call me along. The butterflies only fly around you. Originally, the Emperor liked me more, but now his eyes are always on you. I've become your backdrop. Do you deserve that?"
Cheng Nianhe had a delicate and pretty appearance, not exactly a stunning beauty among the many beauties in the harem, but her gentle and demure demeanor made her stand out.
In contrast, Liu Xiaoxiao was the most beautiful among the maidens, and her temperament was also the most fiery.
Cheng Nianhe was about to explain something when Liu Xiaoxiao slapped her across the face.
"How dare you!"
The Emperor covered the Sixth Prince's ears and shouted angrily, "Who allowed you to strike a concubine in the palace?"
Both of them were Palace Ladies, with no one being superior to the other.
Jiang Xinyue followed behind the Xuanwu Emperor and witnessed the Emperor helping Cheng Nianhe to her feet. Cheng Nianhe looked at the Emperor with a mixture of surprise and joy, then glanced at Jiang Xinyue, as if fearing the gaze of the Imperial Noble Consort, and shrank behind the Xuanwu Emperor.
A straightforward man might not notice that she was looking at Jiang Xinyue, assuming she was afraid of Liu Xiaoxiao.
But women are sensitive to such glances, and Jiang Xinyue, being a psychologist, was even more perceptive.
The seemingly harmless Cheng Nianhe seemed to harbor a deep hostility towards her.
Why?
She hadn't done anything to wrong her.
Liu Xiaoxiao was already kneeling on the ground, trembling: "Your Majesty, I... I pay my respects to Your Majesty and the Imperial Noble Consort."
The Xuanwu Emperor looked at her impatiently: "You said Cheng Nianhe is not worthy, right? From today onwards, Cheng Nianhe is Cheng Palace Lady. Is she now qualified to be your backdrop?"
Liu Xiaoxiao bit her lip: "I dare not!"
Cheng Nianhe's eyes were filled with tears, and she sobbed as she pleaded for Liu Xiaoxiao: "Your Majesty, Sister Liu... Liu Palace Lady didn't mean it. She was instigated by someone with ill intentions. Please don't blame Liu Palace Lady."
The one with ill intentions was none other than Ye Qiang'er, the Ye Palace Lady, whom Liu Xiaoxiao had mentioned earlier.
Cheng Nianhe's double-edged arrow was truly well-aimed!
On one hand, she showed the Emperor Liu Xiaoxiao's arrogance, and on the other, she exposed Ye Qiang'er's hypocrisy.
She had dealt with two rivals in one go, winning the race from the starting line!
Especially with her face turned up, showing the red mark from the slap, it made men feel even more protective.
Before the Xuanwu Emperor could speak to comfort her, Jiang Xinyue walked over directly: "Your Majesty, you should stay here and listen to Cheng Palace Lady play the zither. I'll take the Sixth Prince for a walk."
Jealous!
The Xuanwu Emperor quickly took a step forward to distance himself from Cheng Nianhe, refusing to let go of the Sixth Prince: "I promised to go flower-viewing with you and the child. How can I break my word?"
He chuckled ingratiatingly, one hand holding the Sixth Prince and the other reaching out to Jiang Xinyue, but she turned away as if she hadn't seen his hand.
The Xuanwu Emperor followed behind with the child in his arms: "Xinyue, are you angry?"
"How dare I be angry?"
Jiang Xinyue said with a forced smile: "I'm not as passionate as Liu Palace Lady, nor as gentle as Cheng Palace Lady. Today you listen to Liu Palace Lady play the pipa, tomorrow you watch Cheng Palace Lady play the zither and attract butterflies. I can only eat, I can't do anything else. How can I dare to be angry? I really must congratulate Your Majesty on gaining two more beautiful ladies."
She didn't stop walking and even picked up her pace, saying she wasn't angry, but the Xuanwu Emperor could see she was about to explode with anger.
He sighed, turned back, and handed the Sixth Prince to Nanny Xiang. Just as he let go, he heard Xi Que and Shuang Jiang exclaim: "Your Highness!"
"Ouch—"
It turned out that Jiang Xinyue, in her anger, had rushed into a pebble path, and the uneven stones caused her to fall to the ground.
"Your Highness, your foot is sprained."
Shuang Jiang and Xi Que supported her on either side: "Your Highness, can you still walk?"
Jiang Xinyue's face was filled with pain, and before she could speak, the Xuanwu Emperor lifted her horizontally from behind, speaking with a tone of helpless affection: "You're already a mother, how can you still be so reckless? If you get hurt, won't I be heartbroken?"
Jiang Xinyue snorted and turned her head away: "There are so many concubines in the harem. Today you're heartbroken for this one, tomorrow for that one. How can you ever stop being heartbroken?"
"Tsk..."
The Xuanwu Emperor chuckled lightly: "Wang Dequan, do you smell that?"
Wang Dequan hurried over, sniffed, but dared not say anything, only looked at the Xuanwu Emperor with a curious gaze: "Your Majesty, this servant is ignorant."
The Emperor laughed heartily: "What a strong smell of vinegar! It's almost overpowering the fragrance of the Imperial Garden."
Jiang Xinyue's jealousy made him happy, as it meant she cared about him.
A little quarrel was good for the relationship, and he enjoyed it.
As the Emperor and the Imperial Noble Consort's figures disappeared around the corner, Liu Xiaoxiao stood up, brushed off the non-existent dust on her knees, and looked at Cheng Nianhe with increasing hostility: "Pretentious, humph... In the Emperor's heart, you can't even compare to a single finger of the Imperial Noble Consort. Don't think that just because the Emperor made you a Palace Lady today, you've won. Offending the Imperial Noble Consort, do you think you'll live long?"
Cheng Nianhe's lips curled slightly: "Then it's not your concern, Liu Palace Lady. Remember to pay your respects to me next time you see me. I'm now a Palace Lady of the ninth rank."
As the lowest-ranked Palace Lady of the tenth rank, Liu Xiaoxiao had no right to make demands in front of Cheng Nianhe.
No matter how the Imperial Noble Consort might deal with her in the future, that was between her and the Imperial Noble Consort. Liu Xiaoxiao wasn't qualified to worry about her.
Liu Xiaoxiao, furious, turned and smashed Cheng Nianhe's zither to the ground, regardless of her anger, and stormed back to Chuxiu Palace with her maid.
Cheng Nianhe's maidservant was startled and picked up the broken zither, noticing the scent from the broken edge and quickly covered it: "My lady, what should we do?"
