Chapter 8: Enduring Cold Stares

Chapter 8: Enduring Cold Stares

Upon hearing this, Song Zhao turned around and was struck by the grandeur of the approaching figure.

A stunningly beautiful woman, dressed almost as lavishly as the Queen herself, surrounded by twenty or thirty palace attendants.

Among her close attendants, two held a canopy over her to shield her from the sun, another two stood on either side fanning her, and several others in front held trays filled with ice blocks.

The mist rising from the ice blocks created a cool, ethereal effect in front of her, offering a visual relief from the heat.

Song Zhao quickly glanced over the woman, noting her appearance.

Her phoenix eyes slightly upturned at the corners, sharp and penetrating, with a crimson mole at the end of her right eye, which softened the intensity of her gaze and added an indescribable charm.

Having seen many consorts in the palace, this woman, in terms of beauty, undoubtedly stood out the most among them.

Coupled with her luxurious attire and accessories, her eyes and brows exuded a hint of arrogance,

It wasn't hard to guess that she was the much-envied and resented Chen Consort of the harem.

Song Zhao immediately performed a respectful salute and said, "I am Attendant Song of the Song family, greeting Chen Consort. May Your Highness be blessed with peace and prosperity."

Chen Consort glanced at her briefly and, without allowing her to rise, asked her attendant Ying Xiang, "Attendant Song?"

Ying Xiang replied, "Yes, Your Highness, she is the daughter of the Protectorate Duke's family, who entered the palace yesterday along with three other ladies."

Hearing this, Chen Consort said, "Ah, the daughter of Song Shicheng. Rise."

After Song Zhao expressed her gratitude and stood up, Chen Consort continued, "Your father has some private connections with my father. Although you are a concubine-born daughter, you need not belittle yourself. When you have free time, do visit my palace more often; surely, there will be benefits for you."

Forming cliques among the consorts was highly frowned upon in the harem,

Yet Chen Consort, speaking these words openly near the Queen's palace, showed her audacity and defiance, completely disregarding the Queen.

Chen Consort was extending an olive branch, but Song Zhao dared not accept it.

With so many palace attendants passing by, it was uncertain who might be allied with the Queen,

If Song Zhao agreed to Chen Consort's proposal, the Queen would undoubtedly have an opinion about her,

Yet, if she didn't agree, Chen Consort stood right there, watching her intently,

Caught between a rock and a hard place, she could afford to offend neither.

Song Zhao's mind raced, quickly forming a plan.

Yunshan stood by her side, and Song Zhao pretended to bow again to Chen Fei, subtly nudging Yunshan's left hand, which held a box of pearwood.

The pearwood box dropped to the ground with a clatter, and Yunshan immediately bent down to pick it up,

Song Zhao adopted an expression of joy, respectfully saying, "I am deeply grateful for the favor shown by Chen Fei, I..."

"What's that?" Chen Fei's attention was drawn to the pearwood box on the ground. Interrupting Song Zhao, she leaned forward for a closer look.

Items from the Empress's palace all bore the phoenix emblem.

Chen Fei paused upon seeing the phoenix emblem, then scoffed lightly,

"Ah, the Empress really doesn’t mind that you're merely a Daying, showing you such high regard."

She stepped closer to Song Zhao, lifting her chin with her hand.

The cold armor of her fingernail almost embedding into Song Zhao's skin, Song Zhao hurriedly explained:

"Her Majesty the Empress and Chen Fei are both very considerate towards us new palace ladies. Concerned about the rash and redness on my face, fearing it might frighten His Majesty during my palace service, Her Majesty specially gifted me this box of Zijin blood-activating ointment."

Chen Fei snorted, "Hmph, since you’ve received such a grand gift from the Empress, you’d better appreciate it."

With that, she flicked her hand away and brushed her hair, "I still need to pay respects to the Empress and have no time for idle chatter with you. You may leave now."

Song Zhao bowed again to Chen Fei and quickly left with Yunshan.

Once they were at a distance, Yunshan finally let out a breath she’d been holding, "That scared me to death. Chen Fei’s demeanor just now seemed like she wanted to devour Miss alive."

Song Zhao remained calm and indifferent, "She doesn’t have time to devour me; she’s only interested in devouring those who share her favor. With Lady Li stealing the show today, how long do you think it will be before we hear of her serving in His Majesty's chamber?"

Yunshan said, "Tonight, the Ceremony Office will present the green nameplates of Miss and Lady Li to the Emperor. Within the first month of new beauties entering the palace, they are likely to be favored by the Emperor. Lady Li, having won the Empress’s favor today, will probably be commended by Her Majesty to the Emperor as well."

Song Zhao smiled, "Yes, we should certainly congratulate her wholeheartedly."

"You also need to heal the wounds on your face quickly. You are more beautiful than all of them. I believe that when the Emperor sees you, he will be extremely pleased!" Yun Shan shook the pearwood box in her hand and added:

"Although this purple-gold blood-activating ointment is good, the master said that the hearts of people in the palace are unpredictable, and anything taken internally or applied externally must be examined by the royal physician first. Liu, the royal physician, is one of our own. I will go to the Royal Hospital later to have it checked..."

"No need to go." Song Zhao took the pearwood box and played with it in her hands, "Whether it is examined or not, I won't use it anyway, so let's not bother."

*

In the blink of an eye, nearly a month had passed since Song Zhao entered the palace.

By all accounts, the red, swollen rash on her face should have healed long ago, but when she went to pay her respects every day, people looked at her just as they did when she first entered the palace, with no difference.

When the Empress asked, she explained: "The other day, I was greedy and ate two extra pieces of fresh flower cakes. Only later did I realize they contained peach blossom pollen. It was my own foolishness..."

Hearing this, the Empress shook her head helplessly, "You know your own body's condition. You should have been more careful. A month has passed, and while those who entered the palace with you have already served the Emperor, you haven't even seen His Majesty's face. This cannot continue."

Indeed.

In this month, Lady Li, Xiao Changzai, and Liu Changzai each enjoyed the Emperor's favor once,

But Song Zhao had not even seen Xiao Jingheng's face.

Without the Emperor's favor, life in the palace was extremely difficult.

Not only was the Imperial Household Department negligent in assigning her duties in the palace, but Xiao Changzai and Liu Changzai, who entered the palace with her, often ridiculed her, not to mention the currently favored Lady Li.

One day, Song Zhao was leisurely flipping through a book in her bedroom, Zhihua was sweeping the hall, and Xiyin found a cool spot outside the door to relax.

Someone from the Imperial Household Department came with a message, coincidentally encountering Xiyin slacking off at the door, and said:

"The monthly allowance has been distributed. Come with me to collect it."

Upon hearing this, Xiyin was unwilling, "I clearly saw you just deliver the allowances to Lady Li and Consort Yao. Logically, you should have brought ours too, as it's on the way. Instead, you're asking us to fetch it ourselves?"

The eunuch, not indulging her, retorted, "Oh, what audacity you have! Do you know the status of Lady Yao and Lady Li? You can take or leave your monthly allowance!"

The argument outside the door was clearly heard by Song Zhao and Zhihua inside the sleeping chamber.

Song Zhao's expression remained calm, but the speed at which she flipped through her book noticeably slowed.

Zhihua noticed this and whispered a word of comfort, "Miss, don't take it to heart. The servants of the Imperial Household Department always behave like this. Once you serve in the Emperor’s chamber, they’ll be rushing to please you."

Song Zhao raised an eyebrow and nodded with a smile at Zhihua.

Outside, the commotion between Xiying and the eunuch grew louder.

Unable to bear it any longer, Zhihua hurried out, stuffed a rag into Xiying’s hand, saying:

"Enough already. If you don’t want to go, then don’t. I’ll go with the eunuch. There are still two flower vases in the chamber that need cleaning. You go in and finish the work."

Xiying then grudgingly snorted at the eunuch, took the rag from Zhihua, and reluctantly entered the sleeping chamber.