Chen Yanqiao covered her slapped cheek with one hand and looked at Su Yuewu with surprise upon hearing her words.
Even though she had expressed her stance yesterday, she hadn’t expected the other to stand up for her.
Su Yuewu was indeed not standing up for Chen Yanqiao.
She had no interest in the affairs between these two and didn’t want to meddle as a do-gooder. Her intervention was solely because, as the mistress of the palace and a relative of the Empress Dowager, she absolutely could not watch someone from her own palace being publicly dragged away and humiliated by another consort without reacting.
If she truly allowed that, she would have no authority in others’ eyes thereafter.
Upon hearing her words, Lin Yue was so furious she almost immediately retorted: “What do you know? Chen Yanqiao is just my dog! I can treat her however I want. Did you see her complain even half a word when I slapped and scolded her earlier? Why are you meddling in this nonsense?”
“How dare you! What if I intervene?”
A gentle yet displeased female voice came through. Lin Yue’s arrogance faltered, and she turned along with everyone else to see Empress Tao, dressed in a phoenix robe, dignified and poised.
The gold-embroidered phoenixes on the robe shimmered brilliantly under the sunlight. The newly entered consorts immediately understood the identity of the person before them and hurriedly knelt to pay respects.
“Your humble consort/Your humble servant pays respects to Empress. May Empress enjoy boundless fortune and peace.”
Empress Tao did not immediately allow them to rise. Instead, she first walked to Su Yuewu and spoke calmly: “You are Consort Su, Yunshu’s cousin, right?”
Though phrased as a question, it was already confirmed.
Su Yuewu looked at the magnificent robe hem sweeping across the ground. She wasn’t worried about being reprimanded or punished, but her voice remained reverent: “Your reply, Empress, I am.”
The next moment, a fair and delicate hand suddenly appeared before her, accompanied by Empress Tao’s gentle voice: “Don’t be afraid. You rise first.”
It was to let her rise first, not to allow everyone to stand.
Su Yuewu could feel the surrounding gazes converging upon her—some astonished, some jealous.
She stared at that hand for a few moments, then gently placed her hand into it, using the support to stand up.
“Thank you, Empress.”
Su Yuewu seized the opportunity to quickly observe Empress Tao.
She had mentioned her cousin Su Yunshu earlier; in others’ eyes, it should be due to her cousin’s influence that she received such special treatment.
But Su Yuewu herself knew that she and that cousin were far from harmonious. If Empress Tao truly had a good relationship with her cousin, she shouldn’t be so affectionate toward her.
Empress Tao gazed at her, her eyes very gentle.
“What happened earlier? Consort Su, you tell me.”
An inappropriate thought emerged in Su Yuewu’s mind.
Truly worthy of being the mother of the nation, Empress Tao really resembled a mother.
When she was young and suffered grievances, her mother would also coax her like this, letting her slowly explain who had bullied her.
Su Yuewu quickly lowered her gaze: “Your reply, Empress, earlier Consort Lin and Agreeable Lady Chen had a dispute. As Agreeable Lady Chen’s mistress, I had to intervene to mediate somewhat. Consort Lin then felt I was meddling unnecessarily.”
Lin Yue instinctively wanted to glare and refute.
What mediation? That was clearly biased intervention!
But as she opened her mouth, she saw Chen Yanqiao kneeling not far away seemingly unintentionally touch her cheek.
Lin Yue recalled that she had slapped her earlier and suddenly felt somewhat guilty.
She was accustomed to ordering Chen Yanqiao around, treating her like a servant, so she momentarily forgot that this was the palace with strict rules.
Fortunately, Su Yuewu was foolish enough not to bring up that matter, otherwise she would have been in the wrong.
Thinking of this, Lin Yue swallowed her retort with relief.
A moment later, Empress Tao’s gentle voice, tinged with a hint of approval, sounded: “Consort Su has just entered the palace, yet she already knows to fulfill her duty as the mistress of her palace, protecting those under her from injustice. This is commendable.”
After a pause, she turned to the others still kneeling and said, “Enough, all of you may rise.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty!”
Empress Tao’s voice grew slightly more solemn: “Now that you have entered the palace and will serve His Majesty together, I do not demand that you become as close as sisters, but at the very least, you must understand the rules and coexist harmoniously. From Consort Su’s account, I have understood today’s incident. While it was indeed the fault of Consort Lin and Agreeable Lady Chen, you were not entirely blameless either.”
The group was immediately confused.
“When Consort Lin and Agreeable Lady Chen quarreled, you should have stepped forward to mediate, just as Consort Su did, rather than standing idly by. If everyone in the rear palace remains indifferent and watches from the sidelines, how can we speak of unity in the rear palace?”
Among the consorts, some accepted these words, while others did not—the latter being the majority.
What unity? It was all just empty talk. Could the honor of favored consorts be shared with those who were not favored?
And Consort Su—always showing off. Did she think everyone had an aunt who was the Empress and a cousin who held the rank of Consort?
If they meddled in others’ disputes, they would only bring trouble upon themselves.
“Thank you for your guidance, Your Majesty. This humble one will certainly keep it in mind!”
The speaker was Selected Lady Jiang, the one who, on the day of entering the palace, had discussed with Lady Wu at the palace gate her dissatisfaction with Su Yuewu being granted the rank of Consort.
She suddenly knelt down, her voice loud and filled with a profound sense of reverence for the Empress. Everyone couldn’t help but glance at her, then reluctantly followed by kneeling and echoing: “Thank you for your guidance, Your Majesty. This humble one will certainly keep it in mind!”
Only then did Empress Tao’s expression soften. She said gently, “Very well. Consort Su had the courage to speak up when she witnessed injustice, and Selected Lady Jiang acknowledges her mistakes and strives to improve—both are commendable. With such examples, I believe today’s incident will not repeat itself. Now, it is hot outside. The Palace of Earthly Tranquility has prepared chilled tea. Let us all go inside.”
Selected Lady Jiang stood there in a daze, overwhelmed with excitement.
The Empress had praised her, and more importantly, the Empress actually knew who she was!
It was no surprise that she knew Su Yuewu, but she was merely a lowly Selected Lady.
Could it be that during the Imperial Selection, the Emperor or the Empress Dowager had mentioned her in front of the Empress?
“Wen Yin, what are you doing standing there? Hurry up and rise. Almost everyone has gone inside.”
Selected Lady Jiang suddenly snapped back to reality and saw Lady Wu frowning at her.
She murmured a few distracted “ohs,” pushed herself up from the ground, and saw that Lady Wu had already walked ahead.
Selected Lady Jiang immediately pursed her lips in displeasure.
She didn’t even wait for her. Hadn’t she heard the Empress praise her just now?
Inside the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, the newly entered consorts, under the varied gazes of the older ones, performed the grand ceremony of three bows and nine kowtows to the Empress.
After Empress Tao gently offered a few words of advice, she instructed her personal maid, Qingdai: “Distribute the gifts I prepared in advance for the new sisters.”
Qingdai curtsied and replied, “Yes,” then led two maids carrying trays forward, distributing the items on the trays one by one to the newly entered consorts.
The tray held boxes of various sizes, colors, and shapes, with no indication from the outside of what they contained.
Consort Zhang Xian remarked with a hint of envy, “What has Her Majesty the Empress sent that is so mysterious? If we, your humble servants, are not to receive any, can we not at least feast our eyes on them?”
Empress Tao smiled and said, “A Ping, have I given you so little? If you’ve taken a fancy to anything in my palace, just tell Qingdai and take it yourself.”
Hearing this, Consort Zhang Xian immediately relaxed, even pursing her lips into a smile as she swept a triumphant glance over the newcomers.
Compared to the emperor’s cold and stern demeanor, she much preferred the Empress’s open and blatant favoritism toward her.