Hustle Queen in the Harem: My Consort Won't Stop Grinding

Chapter 66: Chapter 52: Laning

As soon as Guo Cairen said this, He Xiang’s heart sank.

She had once encouraged her mistress to vie for imperial favor and surpass her rivals. But the more she got to know Chen Daying, the more she reconsidered. Given her mistress’s intellect, every appearance before the Emperor just increased the risk of execution.

But pride is what keeps a person going. Guo Cairen was mocking her for fawning over Noble Lady Gu, a blatant attempt to drive a wedge between them. If her mistress distanced herself from Noble Lady Gu because of this, she would be falling right into Guo Cairen’s trap.

He Xiang could see Guo Cairen’s attempt to sow discord.

But she was afraid her young mistress wouldn’t see it. After all, Chen Daying looked like the type who would easily fall for a ploy.

"Mr. Liang, you won’t turn around and report what I say here to the Emperor, will you?"

Chen Daying didn’t respond to Guo Cairen immediately. Instead, she turned her head to ask Liang Yuyin. Liang Yuyin sighed in resignation. "My lady, the Emperor is very busy. I would never dare disturb His Majesty with such trivialities. As long as you aren’t spouting treason, why would I trouble myself to gossip about this in front of him?"

The implication was clear: She was worrying for nothing. She wasn’t important enough to be mentioned to the Emperor.

"That’s good, then."

Even though it was a sarcastic barb, Chen Daying laughed happily. She turned back to Guo Cairen and said, "You adore the Emperor, yet you do things that make him despise you. I, on the other hand, please Noble Lady Gu. She shares her delicacies with me, keeps me company every day, and stands up for me when there’s trouble."

To have been selected for the palace, Chen Daying was, of course, a beautiful girl. As she spoke of Jiang Xian, her eyes sparkled and her cheeks flushed, like a fangirl from a later era talking about her idol. Her unabashed showing off was enough to infuriate Guo Cairen.

This wasn’t a hint, it was a blatant declaration!

’Jiang Xian is so good to me, aren’t you envious? Aren’t you jealous? You treat the Emperor like a treasure, but he treats you like dirt. I treat Jiang Xian like a treasure, and she treasures me right back. It’s so much better than being the ditch the moon happens to shine upon.’

"You... you..."

Guo Cairen was speechless with rage. "To not be ashamed is one thing, but how can you be proud of it?"

"It’s only natural for low-ranking concubines in the palace to serve their superiors. Yizhu Pavilion has no official head, so I’ve chosen Noble Lady Gu in advance. I believe she has a bright future, and by staying close to her, I might even receive rewards from the Emperor."

That was sound reasoning.

Sometimes, if you served your superior well, it was common to be promoted.

Take He Cairen of Changchun Palace, for example. In order to please Princess Consort Zhang, she ate spicy hot pot with her despite preferring plain congee and vegetables. She even forced herself to play with the consort’s cat, despite her own fear of them. Princess Consort Zhang, having no children of her own, loved hearing people praise her cat, Coalball, for being charming and cute. By currying favor in every possible way, He Cairen ensured she could live a little better in the palace. The servants, seeing her relationship with Princess Consort Zhang, wouldn’t dare to be too harsh or skimp on her rations, even if she had no imperial favor herself.

Chen Daying’s tone shifted. "Zhang Changzai was always by your side, wasn’t she? What did she get out of it?"

Before Guo Cairen could reply, Liang Yuyin once again spoke up to remind her, "My lady, speak with caution. Zhang Changzai has been demoted to the rank of Daying."

It wasn’t that he wanted to take sides.

In the palace, rank and hierarchy were paramount. If he didn’t point out the error and Chen Daying was later blamed for it, it would be his dereliction of duty.

At these words, Guo Cairen’s bluster deflated.

When Noble Princess Consort Rong had made things difficult for her, Zhang Daying had chimed in to help and was punished alongside her. She had been both a sister and a lackey. But unexpectedly, they had hit a brick wall in Jiang Xian. Zhang Daying was demoted, and now, who would dare to associate with her?

Chen Daying was delighted.

A gentle, virtuous lady should smile without showing her teeth. She raised a hand to cover her mouth, trying to hold it in, but her blinking eyes gave her away. In the end, she couldn’t resist. "I’m sorry... No, I mean, I don’t usually laugh. Unless I can’t help it."

Seeing the look in Guo Cairen’s eyes, He Xiang instinctively stepped forward to shield her mistress.

’If my mistress continues to be so brazen,’ she thought, ’I’m genuinely afraid Guo Cairen will risk being sent to the Cold Palace just to lunge forward and beat her.’ Her prediction was right. Overcome with rage, Guo Cairen raised her hand to slap Chen Daying.

But who would have expected Chen Daying to react even faster? Not only did she block the slap with her palm, but she also twisted around and seized Guo Cairen’s wrist.

"Guo Cairen, such a show of force," Chen Daying laughed. "You may not know this, but we at Yizhu Pavilion exercise for half an hour every day. This paltry strength of yours is hardly enough to show off in front of me."

They exercised for half an hour because that was all she could endure.

In Jiang Xian’s eyes, Chen Daying would collapse on the couch right after she herself had just finished warming up.

But competing in strength with a sheltered lady was basically bullying. Unable to bear the humiliation, Guo Cairen snatched her hand back, covered her face, and cried, "I’m going to tell the Emperor!"

"What is she going to tell the Emperor?" Chen Daying asked He Xiang.

"I don’t know. Probably that when she tried to slap you, my lady, you didn’t stand still and let her hit you!"

"Then I am truly guilty," Chen Daying said, perfectly composed. She then asked, "How long are you planning to stand in front of our Yizhu Pavilion?"

"I’m waiting for the Emperor to come out. You have no right to make me leave."

Guo Cairen glared at her.

"I’m not making you leave. Why would I do that?" Chen Daying beckoned to a little eunuch standing nearby, pretending to be invisible. "Bring me a stool. I’m going to sit here and watch Guo Cairen."

The little eunuch didn’t dare to refuse and quickly brought out a stool.

And so, Chen Daying sat down, then asked He Xiang to bring her snacks and tea.

Guo Cairen was practically choking with rage. "What are you doing here?"

"I’m sitting in front of my own Yizhu Pavilion, eating snacks. What business is it of yours? Mr. Liang, does a Talented Woman’s authority extend this far? Is there a Palace Rule that says a lady can’t sit in front of her own palace gate?"

After receiving Liang Yuyin’s confirmation, Chen Daying was satisfied.

Guo Cairen’s eyes were practically shooting fire.

A mere Daying was sitting while she had to stand. "Bring me a stool too."

"Um..." The little eunuch looked like he was about to cry.

"I’m so sorry, Guo Cairen, but we have no extra stools at Yizhu Pavilion. If your legs are giving you trouble, you should hurry back to Zhongcui Palace!"

"Such a huge Yizhu Pavilion, and you don’t have a single spare stool?!" Guo Cairen was clearly incredulous.

But her disbelief was useless.

Because Liang Yuyin wouldn’t let her enter, fearing she would disturb the Emperor, she could only fume outside Yizhu Pavilion’s gate.

Guo Cairen waited and waited, stubbornly staying until nightfall, but she never saw the Emperor emerge from Yizhu Pavilion.

It wasn’t snowing today, but the weather was still cold. Even though she was dressed warmly, her face was numb. If Chen Daying hadn’t been sitting right in front of her, she might have slunk away in defeat. But with Chen Daying watching her without blinking, she couldn’t back down.

Meanwhile, in the warm inner hall, after lulling the Emperor to sleep, Jiang Xian heard the report from her palace maid, Zhenqiu, and smiled. "Chen Daying is angry. Let her vent. But it’s cold outside. Try to persuade her to come back in. If she insists on sitting there until Guo Cairen leaves, then move a charcoal brazier over to her. And bring her a hand warmer and some ginger soup. We can’t have her leg injury getting worse while she also catches a cold."

And so, just as Guo Cairen was freezing and miserable, she saw Jiang Xian’s palace maid bring a hand warmer and ginger soup to Chen Daying.

Chen Daying accepted only those two items, politely refusing the charcoal brazier.

’I can enjoy these two things by myself, but a brazier would inevitably warm up Guo Cairen too.’

’I’m not about to let that nasty woman benefit from Jiang Xian’s kindness to me.’

The contrast was maddening.

Ignoring the eunuchs’ attempts to dissuade her, Guo Cairen stubbornly stood from dusk till dawn. By the end, she was clinging to a single, irrational thought: ’I’ve been wronged so terribly and humiliated by Chen Daying. I refuse to believe the Emperor will only listen to Mrs. Jiang!’