Amidst a sea of scorching gazes, Su Tuan’er walked in slowly, passing through the flock of brightly dressed women with an air of a crane standing among chickens.
Today’s attire was the most unremarkable among the crowd, yet it was precisely this unique elegance that made the others seem to have tried too hard. Even though the consorts had all dressed with great care, they suddenly lost all their appeal.
The consorts were stunned by her delicate beauty, but none were willing to admit it. Each felt uneasy inside, and their looks toward Su Tuan’er grew increasingly hostile.
Su Tuan’er knew they were all here for her today—every single one of them had a belly full of grievances.
The Empress Dowager had worn a sour expression ever since Su Tuan’er entered, and especially upon seeing her face, her displeasure only deepened.
Su Tuan’er had been kneeling in greeting for quite some time, yet the Empress Dowager still did not bid her to rise, leaving her to kneel there in the center of the hall.
The consorts watched as if enjoying a good show, covering their smiles with handkerchiefs and exchanging knowing glances.
Su Tuan’er was not flustered in the slightest. What was a little extra kneeling? No matter—Yongshou Gong had carpets laid out, and kneeling was actually quite comfortable.
“Guifei has only just arrived at this hour. Could it be that she was too tired last night?”
A thin, drawn-out voice fell with studied nonchalance, the words laden with meaning—clearly an attempt to stir trouble.
Su Tuan’er looked toward her.
The woman wore a light purple palace gown, her cloud-like hair combed at an angle, adorned with a white magnolia hairpin. Her features were exquisitely delicate.
She had the look of someone who should be gentle and mild-mannered, but her sharply upturned brow tips and the aloofness in her eyes made her seem far too proud.
Though she was speaking to Su Tuan’er, her gaze was coldly averted elsewhere.
On the way here, Su Tuan’er had already done her homework through Bagua Cui, digging deep into the backgrounds of all the consorts in the palace.
So, based on this woman’s attire and the expression on her face as she spoke, she could already tell this was the palace’s ice beauty—Consort Shu.
Consort Shu was usually a woman of few words, but whenever she did speak, her words were always sharp enough to wound.
And indeed, because of Consort Shu’s suggestive remark, the already scorching gazes burned three degrees hotter, and the consorts’ eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
“It’s my body that’s being uncooperative. On the way here, I had to stop and rest several times, so I ended up delaying quite a while.”
Su Tuan’er spoke in a faint, breathy voice, making herself appear as weak and harmless as possible.
Consort Shu said nothing more, lowering her head to fiddle with her handkerchief, a slight smile curling at the corners of her lips.
She only needed to light the first spark—the rest, someone else would surely take care of.
Sure enough, once Consort Shu fell silent, the other consorts could no longer sit still.
“She clearly just overslept—what excuse is she making up? I heard Guifei slept until the sun was high in the sky,” Consort De gave a cold snort. “You should know, this is the imperial palace, not Jiangjun Fu. You can’t go on being as undisciplined as you were at Jiangjun Fu.”
Consort De’s tone was flat, but her words were grating to the ear.
This speech not only mocked Su Tuan’er but also took a jab at Jiangjun Fu, indirectly implying that the household lacked proper upbringing and that Su Tuan’er was ill-bred.
As Consort De’s words fell, the consorts’ expressions all turned smug.
In this palace, Consort De had the sharpest tongue. That little vixen would surely be crying any moment now.
The more the consorts thought about it, the more gleefully they smiled, no longer bothering to hide their amusement.
Look at that, look at that—the little vixen has nothing to say.
Serves her right, serves her right, serves her right. Who told her to shamelessly seduce the Emperor!
The room was filled with gloating glances that wove together into a dense net, trapping Su Tuan’er firmly within, leaving not a single gap for her to catch her breath.