As soon as the Crown Princess arrived, everyone immediately stood up and gracefully bowed to Lin Shiya.
Among the crowd, Lin Shiya precisely locked her gaze onto Shen Zhi, who was sitting in the furthest corner.
“You may rise,” Lin Shiya spoke, gesturing for everyone to take their seats.
It was only then that Liu Yan slowly walked in from outside the door, supported by Lianxin. The moment she entered, her eyes fell directly on Shen Zhi.
Seeing Shen Zhi sitting on her chair, slowly eating pastries with faint bags under her eyes but looking otherwise in good spirits, Liu Yan’s eyes darkened.
Moreover, Shen Zhi had done her own makeup today—a natural, minimalist look, but with a touch of blush on her cheeks that made her look exceptionally radiant. Her lips were painted a bright, watery red, resembling ripe cherries. Wearing a goose-yellow, high-waisted ruqun with her glossy black hair pinned up and adorned with a few hairpins, she looked entirely playful and lovely.
One look and it was obvious she had been well-favored last night.
That miserable wench actually got her way.
Shen Zhi finished the small pastry, quickly picked up her teacup, and took two gulps of water to wash it down. The pastry was delicious, but it was a bit choking to eat.
“Greetings, Crown Princess,” Liu Yan walked to the center of the hall and bowed to Lin Shiya.
She was dressed magnificently; her clothes and hair ornaments almost eclipsed those of the Crown Princess sitting in the high seat. One look was enough to tell that she did not respect the Crown Princess at all. Although she was bowing, her posture, expression, and even her voice carried an undeniable reluctance.
Lin Shiya looked at her, then offered a gentle smile and inquired, “I heard Sister Liu’s old illness flared up again last night. I wonder if you are feeling better now?”
“Do you need this Palace to call the imperial physician to check your pulse again?”
Liu Yan was still bowing. Since the other party had not told her to rise, she did not dare to stand up on her own. If she stood up abruptly and word got out, people would say she disrespected the Crown Princess, which would damage both her reputation and that of the Liu Ministry Mansion.
Thus, while Liu Yan cursed Lin Shiya furiously in her heart, she forced a strained smile onto her face and said, “Thank you for your concern, Crown Princess. This concubine feels much better today.”
“Since you are feeling much better, make sure not to be as late as today for future morning greetings. If this were to be spread by those with malicious intent, they would say the daughter raised by the Mansion of Minister Liu has no regard for hierarchy and respect.”
Only after saying this did Lin Shiya smile and say, “Sister Liu, please take your seat.”
Liu Yan stood up straight and sat in the seat right below the Crown Princess. As long as she sat in this position, she would always be a head lower than that wretched woman, Lin Shiya.
Fuming inside, she immediately directed all her anger toward Shen Zhi the moment she sat down.
“Sister Shen is truly blessed. You actually charmed His Highness into spending the night at your Lanxin Pavilion.”
“I suppose it won’t be long before the eldest son of the Eastern Palace is born.”
“Then I must truly congratulate Sister Shen.”
Currently, there were no children in the Eastern Palace. Pei Lian and Lin Shiya had been married for over a year, but Lin Shiya’s womb showed no signs of movement. This made the Empress rather anxious, as Pei Lian’s first child absolutely had to come from Lin Shiya’s womb. The status of the eldest legitimate grandson was extremely important.
Therefore, the Empress would summon Lin Shiya to the palace every few days, subtly and overtly pressuring her to get pregnant as soon as possible without delay.
Yet no matter how much she urged, it was useless against the fact that, aside from the mandatory days Pei Lian spent with Lin Shiya to maintain her dignity, he spent the rest of his time either studying with the Grand Tutor or running off to Liu Yan’s quarters.
Lin Shiya wanted to give birth to this child, but without the Prince’s cooperation, there was nothing she could do.
As for Liu Yan, she was practically a toxic executioner. Whenever any concubine caught Pei Lian’s eye or spent a few nights with him, Liu Yan would view that person as a thorn in her side. Afterward, she would covertly use underhanded tricks to either kill the person or teach them a harsh lesson.
By bringing this up in front of so many people today, wasn’t she explicitly trying to turn Shen Zhi into everyone’s target?
Shen Zhi caught her underlying meaning, but she was too lazy to defend herself. She simply smiled and accepted it, saying, “Thank you, Side Consort Liu. Matters regarding children cannot be rushed; it all depends on fate.”
“I believe you will definitely have a child of your own as well, Side Consort Liu.”
Shen Zhi meant this sincerely, but to the other woman’s ears, it sounded like pure mockery.
Who didn’t know that half a year ago, Side Consort Liu had suffered a miscarriage and failed to save the child in her womb? Hearing Shen Zhi’s words now, wasn’t it a direct taunt about her inability to protect her child?
Liu Yan’s bright and beautiful face instantly darkened. “Sister Shen is indeed quick-tongued.”
“Having received His Highness’s favor, your temper has become quite a bit grander than usual.”
“As for children, being able to conceive is nothing. Being able to give birth safely—now that is real capability.”
Liu Yan spoke slowly, lightly propping up her head, her words carrying both a warning and a threat.
Everyone present was a shrewd operator; they all understood that Liu Yan was displeased with Shen Zhi and was warning her. Furthermore, no one knew what kind of methods Shen Zhi had used to keep His Highness from returning to Lanyue Pavilion even after hearing that Liu Yan’s old illness had flared up. He clearly held a fair amount of affection for Shen Zhi.
However, after listening to Liu Yan’s words, Shen Zhi merely smiled and replied, “Indeed, Side Consort Liu is correct. The birth mother of His Highness’s eldest legitimate son naturally cannot be someone of low status like myself—a mere, minor Fengyi of the lowest ninth rank.”
“The mother of the eldest legitimate son should naturally be the Crown Princess.”
Back and forth, it wasn’t you, and it wasn’t me; it could only be the Crown Princess.
Shen Zhi even followed up with a question: “Side Consort Liu, don’t you agree?”
Hearing this, Liu Yan was so furious she nearly ground her silver teeth to pieces. This wench was truly sharp-tongued. She wondered if the girl would still be able to smile like this in a few days.
Everyone’s eyes fell upon Liu Yan. Even Lin Shiya set down her teacup and looked toward her, waiting for her answer.
With an extremely forced smile on her face, Liu Yan said, “That goes without saying.”
Hearing this response, Lin Shiya’s eyes curved into a smile, feeling quite pleased in her heart.
“That will be all for today. Everyone may return.”
With the morning greetings concluded, everyone stood up to bow to Lin Shiya before departing.
Leaving the Yichun Hall, Suwen supported Shen Zhi, her steps hurried as she wanted to return quickly.
Yet, someone still called out to stop them. “Sister Shen, where are you going in such a rush?”
The one who called out to Shen Zhi was the Prince’s Liangyuan, Jiang Nanxi.
She was the daughter of the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments. This woman before her was not one to be easily trifled with.
“Greetings, Liangyuan Jiang,” Shen Zhi and Suwen could only halt their steps and bow to her.
“May I ask why Liangyuan Jiang has called for this concubine?” Shen Zhi looked at her, inquiring with a faint smile on her face.
“Do you know that the words you spoke today have completely offended Side Consort Liu? You are not far from death,” Jiang Nanxi said with blunt directness.
Shen Zhi was naturally well aware of this in her heart. That woman was going to frame her in a few days anyway, but so what? She would scheme her schemes, and I would eat my food; we wouldn’t interfere with each other. At worst, the outcome would just be starting over again.
On the surface, however, she still put on a look of confusion.
“This concubine does not understand what you mean, Liangyuan Jiang.”
“Could I trouble Liangyuan Jiang to explain it in more detail?”