Her elegant, delicate face was lightly powdered, concealing the haggardness between her brows. But the thin silk jacket couldn’t hide the gauntness of her figure.
It was Su Ying.
Su Ying followed beside Madam Su, smiling as she greeted everyone one by one. In recent years Su Ying had been the talk of the town, renowned as the capital’s foremost talented beauty. Everyone had assumed she would marry into the Crown Prince’s household and become the Crown Grandson’s consort. Yet in the end, it had all come to nothing.
In the eyes of those watching Su Ying, there was an unmistakable trace of pity and regret, mixed with no shortage of gloating glances eager to watch the show.
These strange, prying looks made Su Ying deeply uncomfortable.
Ever since the Crown Grandson had become engaged to Jiang Rongyue, she had stayed in the Su household, unwilling to go out, simply because she didn’t want to face everyone’s mocking, derisive looks. But today was New Year’s Day, and there was no avoiding it — she had no choice but to grit her teeth and follow her mother into the palace.
As expected, that was exactly what happened.
Especially when she exchanged greetings with Jiang Rongyue — the people gathered around widened their eyes and pricked up their ears, afraid of missing even the slightest bit of drama.
“Sister Su,” Jiang Rongyue said, as warmly affectionate as ever, “It’s been quite a while since I last saw you.”
Su Ying smiled faintly. “After winter set in, I caught a chill, and it’s been on and off ever since. I’ve been recuperating at home this whole time, so I haven’t been out and about. I’m sorry to have worried you, Sister Jiang.”
Both of them knew perfectly well what was really going on. But in front of everyone, the performance still had to be put on.
Su Ying exchanged a few more composed pleasantries with Jiang Rongyue before walking over to Ling Jingshu’s side.
“Sister Ling, it’s been a long time,” Su Ying said with a smile, betraying not the slightest hint of anything amiss.
Ling Jingshu replied with a smile, “Once the weather turned cold, I’ve been too lazy to go out myself, and I’ve stayed in my chambers these past days. Come to think of it, it really has been quite a while since I last saw Sister Su.”
The side hall was now packed with people, so finding a quiet spot for a private word was out of the question. Many eyes, whether intentionally or not, kept glancing their way. Ling Jingshu naturally wouldn’t put Su Ying in an awkward position, so she chatted about a few trivial, inconsequential matters for a while.
The attention focused on Su Ying gradually faded.
Su Ying let out an almost imperceptible breath of relief and shot Ling Jingshu a grateful glance.
Ling Jingshu smiled faintly.
Between clever people, there was no need for many words — some things were simply understood without being said.
“In previous years when I came to the palace, I never once saw any ladies from the Ling family. I didn’t expect all of you to be here today,” Su Ying probed delicately.
Ling Jingshu didn’t hide it. “Our Ling family received Her Majesty the Empress’s phoenix decree just yesterday — that’s the only reason we have the chance to come to the palace today.”
Su Ying immediately understood.
In just a few short months, Ling Jingshu had entered the palace several times and had won considerable favor from Wei Jieyu and Princess Anning. Word had it that Empress Xu also regarded her with special favor — not only had she personally summoned Ling Jingshu for an audience, she had even bestowed gifts upon her.
This matter had already spread throughout every household in the capital, and Ling Jingshu’s name had become known to all. It was clear that the Ling family’s ladies were able to enter the palace for an audience only thanks to the reflected glory of Ling Jingshu.
The two of them continued making idle conversation on and off, while more and more titled ladies kept arriving in the side hall.
Soon, a palace maid came to relay Empress Xu’s verbal command, summoning the Duchess of Yingguo into the main hall for an audience.
Being the very first to be summoned by Empress Xu was proof enough of just how powerful the Yingguo Duke’s household had become. Even though the Yingguo household firmly stood on the Crown Prince’s side, Empress Xu still couldn’t afford to show them the slightest neglect, at least not openly.
Amid the envious gazes of everyone present, the Duchess of Yingguo led Jiang Rongyue to the main hall.
A short while later, the palace maid came again to summon the Duchess of Pingguo.
The legitimate daughter of the Pingguo Duke’s household was now Princess Yan. The Duchess of Pingguo and Empress Xu were proper in-laws by marriage, so it was only natural that she be received second.
After that came Madam Su and her daughter.
…
One by one, the ladies in the side hall went to the main hall. The order in which Empress Xu summoned them clearly revealed the relative rank of each titled lady. And even among ladies of the same rank, there was an unspoken hierarchy.
Everything proceeded in perfect order, without the slightest confusion.
Although Sun Shi had come to the palace under the phoenix decree, her rank was simply too low. She could only watch wistfully as everyone else went to the main hall one after another. After waiting for more than two hours, only the three of them remained in the side hall.
Empress Xu still hadn’t sent anyone to summon them, so the three of them had no choice but to keep standing and waiting.
It was nearly noon now, and after standing for so long, their legs ached and their stomachs had begun to growl with hunger.
Ling Jingyan couldn’t help but say in a low voice, “Mother, how much longer do we have to wait? I’m so tired and hungry.”
After waiting for so long, the excitement and anticipation in Sun Shi’s heart had nearly been worn away. She soothed Ling Jingyan in a low voice. “Don’t worry, it’s just us left now. It should be our turn after just a little longer.”
Ling Jingshu stood off to the side, silent.
Empress Xu was clearly deliberately leaving the Ling family waiting. Otherwise, she could have had them summoned long ago.
Her earlier suspicions had been correct — Empress Xu had harbored ill intentions from the very start. She had a feeling that this petty difficulty was only the beginning, and who knew what else might happen today…
After waiting roughly the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the palace maid finally arrived. “Madam Ling, please bring the two Ling young ladies to the main hall for an audience with Her Majesty the Empress.”
Sun Shi let out a breath of relief and quickly answered with a smile.
The three of them followed the palace maid to the main hall.
The main hall, spacious enough to hold a hundred people, was already filled with attendees. Seated upon the phoenix chair, Empress Xu wore radiant makeup, dignified and graceful. The ranked consorts of the palace sat in chairs arranged on either side of her. High-ranking titled ladies, such as the Duchess of Yingguo and the Duchess of Pingguo, were also seated in order of precedence.
Everyone else had no choice but to stand.
Even the esteemed Crown Princess could only stand to Empress Xu’s left today, in her capacity as a daughter-in-law. Beside the Crown Princess stood a young woman of about sixteen, with a refined and dignified appearance — clearly the recently married Princess Yan.
To Empress Xu’s right stood Princess Changping and Princess Anning.
The moment Sun Shi and the others stepped into the main hall, everyone stopped talking and turned to look at them.
Dead silence!
The gaze of a hundred people, all at once!
This kind of pressure, this kind of spectacle, truly tested one’s nerve. A single misstep would mean public humiliation in front of everyone. Never mind young, inexperienced Ling Jingyan — even Sun Shi felt her mouth go dry and her limbs go weak.
Ling Jingshu sneered inwardly.
Empress Xu, who ruled over the entire harem, was most skilled at manipulating people’s minds. This little show of intimidation had clearly been prepared specifically for the Ling family. No matter who slipped up, the Ling family would lose all face in front of everyone today and become the laughingstock of the entire capital.
This was a silent contest, and no matter the reason behind it, she had no intention of losing!
Ling Jingshu kept her head slightly lowered as before, but her back remained perfectly straight as she walked in, neither too fast nor too slow.
Her composed, unhurried manner had a calming effect on Ling Jingyan.
Ling Jingyan forced down her wildly pounding heart, steadied herself, and followed along.
Sun Shi walked at the very front and couldn’t easily turn to look back, but she could sense the calm composure of the two Ling sisters behind her. The tension and anxiety she had originally felt eased considerably as a result.