Chapter 20: Each More Difficult to Approach Than the Last
In the past, whenever she had given gifts to the consorts in Li Xuanyue’s palace, they had all either groveled at her feet or expressed endless gratitude.
Li Qinghe had benefited greatly from this.
That was why she had chosen the same method to win the favor of these five new consorts, hoping to leave a good impression on them.
But to her surprise, these five consorts of Li Xuanyue’s were each more difficult to approach than the last.
Was she using the wrong approach?
“Princess, since this Consort Zhong is so ungrateful, I think we should just leave,” Ruyue whispered in Li Qinghe’s ear.
In her eyes, the fact that the princess had personally come to deliver gifts was already a great honor for them. And now, they actually dared to refuse.
Did they not consider how noble the princess was? Was she someone they could even hope to associate with?
Li Qinghe shot Ruyue a look, the meaning clear: shut up.
After receiving the glance from Li Qinghe, Ruyue immediately straightened up and closed her mouth.
“Consort Zhong, are you afraid that my sister will scold you for accepting my gift?”
After thinking it over for a long time, Li Qinghe finally came up with this reason.
“The matter with Consort Wen was indeed a misunderstanding. But I can assure you, there was absolutely nothing between Consort Wen and me.”
The implication was that Li Xuanyue was a petty person.
Even though she knew nothing was going on between her and Consort Wen, she insisted on slandering them.
“Besides, you must know that my sister has been unwell lately, always staying alone in Fenghua Hall. It’s inevitable that her thoughts might wander at times.”
“As her younger sister, I can naturally understand this. It’s just a pity about Consort Wen.”
“A pity about what?”
The moment Li Qinghe’s words fell, Li Xuanyue’s weak voice drifted in from outside Wutong Hall.
“Greetings, Princess.”
Zhong He and the others quickly bowed.
Li Qinghe’s body stiffened, and she immediately stood up.
“Sister!”
Li Xuanyue didn’t even glance at her, directly taking the seat of honor with Yin Xin’s support.
Although her face looked pale, there was still a strong spirit in her eyes. It was like the final flare of a dying candle.
“Consort Zhong, what were you and Princess Qinghe just discussing?” Li Xuanyue asked, already knowing the answer.
The moment Li Qinghe had set out with gifts for her consorts, she had known her sister’s intentions.
She had experienced this trick in her past life.
Back then, every consort in her palace had been grateful to Li Qinghe, eventually even groveling before her and selling their lives for her.
To think that in this new life, her tactics hadn’t changed at all.
Had her previous consorts given her a taste of success, making her want to see it through to the end?
She wouldn’t even consider whether I would give her the chance in this life.
Zhong He glanced in Li Qinghe’s direction. “Princess Qinghe said she had prepared a gift for this subject.”
“Oh?”
Li Xuanyue was immediately interested.
Her gaze fell instantly on the gift Ruyue was holding.
“Then bring it over at once and let me have a good look.”
She wanted to see just how precious a gift her dear sister had brought for Zhong He.
Before Ruyue could retreat, Xiao Han swiftly snatched the exquisitely wrapped gift box from her hands.
“A Tianshan snow lotus?”
Li Xuanyue frowned. “This is indeed a very precious gift.”
Her sister was certainly willing to spend lavishly.
“Consort Zhong, since this is a kind gesture from Princess Qinghe, you should accept it.”
Although this item wasn’t unheard of, it wasn’t common either. The fact that Li Qinghe was willing to part with it proved she must have something even better in her possession.
“Yes!”
Since Li Xuanyue had given him an out, Zhong He certainly wasn’t going to refuse.
It just so happened that his mother could use this as a medicinal ingredient to nourish her body.
“Alright, now that the matter of the gift is settled, shouldn’t we discuss other things?”
Li Xuanyue dismissed the gift-giving with a few words. “Qinghe, you just said it was a pity about Consort Wen? A pity about what?”
“Do you feel that what I did was wrong?”
Li Xuanyue’s words hung over Li Qinghe’s head like a sharp blade.
Her face turned shades of green and white. She had never dreamed that she would be caught bad-mouthing Li Xuanyue by the woman herself.
It was like being seen stark naked.
An overwhelming sense of unease washed over her.
“No, sister!”
Li Qinghe bit her lip and quickly denied it.
The air of princely superiority she had just displayed before Zhong He vanished completely.
All that remained was a tense anxiety.
“Consort Wen failed to understand his own status and position. It was only right that he was punished by you, sister.”
“But just now, your words sounded as if you were accusing me of being petty.”
Li Xuanyue had no intention of letting Li Qinghe off the hook.
She continued to press her.
“Do you think that after being sick for three months, I’ve become a fool sitting in Fenghua Hall?”
To speak ill of her in front of her own man.
Did she really think she was still the same fool from her past life, ignorant of everything?
Letting her spread slander behind her back?
A wave of panic hit Li Qinghe. She didn’t understand how Li Xuanyue had become so aggressive.
Before, they had always shared a deep sisterly bond. Li Xuanyue had always spoken to her politely, sometimes even with a hint of eagerness to please, afraid of making her angry.
But now, her words were like daggers, piercing straight to the heart.
Could it be that the torment of her three-month illness had caused such a drastic change in her personality?
“Also, it’s been three or five days since you were released from your confinement, hasn’t it?”
Seeing that she wasn’t answering, Li Xuanyue paid no mind to her thoughts and continued in a slow, leisurely tone. “Instead of coming to see me, your older sister, you immediately run around with gifts to visit my consorts. Do you think I, your sister, am less important than these consorts?”
Li Qinghe’s head snapped up. “That’s not it at all.”
She explained, “Sister, you’ve misunderstood. The reason I didn’t come to Fenghua Hall to see you right away was because I heard from the servants that you were ill and not receiving visitors.”
“That’s why I didn’t want to disturb you.”
As she spoke, Li Qinghe covered her face and began to cry.
Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought Li Xuanyue had struck her or wronged her in some way.
Li Xuanyue’s brows furrowed. “That’s enough. I’m not dead yet, what are you crying for?”
“People who don’t know any better will think I’ve been mistreating you.”
What she hated most was Li Qinghe’s petty, small-minded act.
In her past life, she was always bursting into tears in front of her.
And she had been foolish enough back then not to realize Li Qinghe was doing it on purpose.
She had actually thought she had done or said something wrong to hurt her feelings.
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