A Foodie Transmigrated into the Palace

Chapter 537 Looking for Trouble

"Yes!" Zi Yue and Tan Xiang immediately stepped forward to tidy up.Xia Ruqing and Consort Xian Pin exchanged glances, both sneering. The implication was: nothing from others is good enough? Arriving only to shoo people away? Even the Empress wouldn’t dare do such a thing. Consort Ning truly is... rather full of herself!

The cups, plates, and bowls on the stone table were quickly cleared, and Lan Xiang, Consort Ning’s attendant, brought over a food basket, placing items on the table one by one.

Xia Ruqing merely glanced at them and chuckled inwardly. This... is considered good stuff? The osmanthus cakes were mostly crumbs, with hardly any whole pieces. A single look revealed they contained few osmanthus flowers and were mostly flour. And that plate of lily crisps—please, where were the lilies? On the entire plate of pastries, one could only spot two or three petals. These two rather labor-intensive pastries were thoroughly unimpressive. As for what followed, Xia Ruqing couldn’t bear to look. Things like mung bean cakes and stuffed glutinous rice balls—she had lost interest in such common fare long ago. If the pastries were like this, she had even lower expectations for the tea.

Consort Ning sat there, radiating a mysterious sort of pride. She felt that presenting so many pastries at once was a grand gesture. Her allowance as a consort was greater than theirs, entitling her to eight types of pastries. Those of concubine rank only received six, and those of lower ranks even fewer.

When Lan Xiang had finished arranging a multitude of pastries on the table and stepped aside, Consort Ning put on an air of magnanimity and said, not without a hint of showing off, "Everyone, please try some. These were all freshly made by the Imperial Kitchen today. There’s so much, I can’t possibly finish it all myself!"

One glance was enough to make Xia Ruqing lose her appetite. There was certainly a lot, but as for the quality... it was nothing to write home about.

Consort Hui Pin, however, was more composed. She smiled, offered a few words of praise, and began to eat.

Xia Ruqing had no choice but to pick up a piece and pretend to taste it.

"Truly delicious!"

"This mung bean cake is so flaky and fragrant!"

Xia Ruqing thought that if lying could summon lightning, she would have been struck dead long ago.

Consort Hui Pin smiled faintly and echoed a few compliments.

Flattered, Consort Ning gradually cheered up.

"Yiming, take your younger brother and sister to feed the fish. Remember, you are the Eldest Princess; you must behave like an older sister!" With that, she gave the Eldest Princess a little push. The Eldest Princess, however, was a bit timid and instinctively tried to hide behind her Wetnurse Nanny, making Consort Ning sigh in frustration at her daughter’s lack of fortitude.

"Go on! Yiming, hurry now..."

"I wish to speak with Consort Hui and Consort Xia for a while!" She forced a smile, but her eyes held a veiled threat.

Yiming knew she had no choice but to go. Trembling, she turned.

Consort Ning finally breathed a sigh of relief and then smiled. She looked for all the world like a domineering matriarch.

「 」

The world of children is extremely simple; unlike adults, they are not burdened with numerous considerations. Thus, when faced with people they dislike, they don’t overthink it. Instead, they reject them outright.

Princess Yi An didn’t like playing with her elder sister because she found her too dull. Her timid and hesitant demeanor wasn’t fun at all. Princess Yi An thoroughly disliked it.

Little Bun also disliked Yiming, for a very important reason: she had a wicked mother. Whenever her mother (Consort Ning) arrived, she would drive away his (Little Bun’s) mother (Xia Ruqing) and Consort Hui Pin. She would make Sister Zi Yue and Sister Liang kneel on the ground and kowtow to her. Moreover, this woman was fierce and would glare viciously at him. Therefore, Little Bun also disliked the Eldest Princess.

The three children simply couldn’t play together. The Eldest Princess stood alone to the side, ignored by everyone.

Seeing this, Consort Ning seethed with suppressed anger. Yet, she couldn’t say anything. The two children—one four years old, the other not even one—were both the Emperor’s imperial offspring. What could she do? So, even as Consort Ning’s face flushed then paled with rage, she could only hold it in.

Little Bun and Princess Yi An were grabbing fish food to feed the fish, their play growing increasingly joyful. The Eldest Princess stood nearby, wanting to join in. So... just as she stepped onto the small rug, intending to sit beside Little Bun, who would have thought! Little Bun suddenly looked up, saw her approaching, and struck Princess Yiming on the leg with his tender little fist.

Then, Little Bun turned and crawled over to sit on Princess Yi An’s other side. Princess Yi An even straightened the mat for him. But she completely ignored Princess Yiming on the other side.

Consort Ning felt like her lungs would explode with anger. Her face alternated between red and white.

Xia Ruqing was rather speechless. "Son, why are you so petty? The Eldest Princess is your older sister too. Even if you don’t like her, you can’t hit her!"

Consort Hui Pin was also extremely embarrassed. She knew her daughter disliked the Eldest Princess, so she usually tried to keep the two children apart to avoid conflict. But who knew... today, they had ended up together anyway.

The entire scene was filled with an awkward, speechless atmosphere. The only ones who could still laugh at this moment were the two young children. The joyful laughter of the two children felt like sharp little blades, slicing into Consort Ning’s heart, making it drip with blood. The most agonizing part was that she had to maintain her smile throughout. This truly was... Official source ıs Novᴇl_Fire(.)net

After enduring for a while longer, Consort Ning simply couldn’t bear it anymore. Her eyes darted around, finally landing on Zi Yue, who stood behind Consort Xian Pin. She thought, if I can’t touch the masters, then these servants... I can certainly do something about them.

Consort Ning smirked coldly. She coughed lightly twice, then ordered, "Lan Xiang, I suddenly feel a bit cold. Go... fetch me a cloak!"

"Yes, Your Highness!" Lan Xiang acknowledged and departed.

Having sent Lan Xiang away, Consort Ning glanced at her teacup with feigned surprise. "Oh dear, how is it that my tea... is gone..." She then looked towards Zi Yue. "They say the maids attending Consort Xian Pin are all skilled at brewing tea. Why not... let Lady Zi Yue demonstrate her abilities for me?"

Xia Ruqing sneered and was about to refuse directly, "Your Highness Consort Ning, you overestimate them... It’s better not to..."

"Oh, what does it matter? I happen to have no one attending me at the moment. Just come and brew a pot of tea for me!" Consort Ning insisted shamelessly.

Xia Ruqing had no choice but to concede. However, knowing Consort Ning was up to no good, she cast a worried glance at Zi Yue. Zi Yue nodded back, signaling her not to worry.

Zi Yue rolled up her sleeves and added two lumps of charcoal to the tea stove. She placed the teapot on top and added some tea leaves. Then, she began to brew the tea.

Before long, the water boiled. Zi Yue arranged the teacups neatly, preparing to step forward and pour tea for the consorts.

Unexpectedly... as she passed Consort Ning, her foot suddenly caught on something.

"OUCH!" Zi Yue cried out in pain and the teapot, filled with boiling water, flew from her hand, landing right near Consort Ning’s feet.

"AAAAH!" A bloodcurdling scream, like that of a slaughtered pig, pierced the air.

Xia Ruqing quickly ran to Little Bun, picked him up, and covered his ears. Consort Hui Pin did likewise, swiftly pulling the Little Princess into her embrace.

Only a few of Consort Ning’s Second Class palace maids rushed forward in concern.

"Your Highness Consort Ning, what’s wrong?"

"Your Highness Consort Ning?"

The palace maids chattered as they hurriedly tried to remove her slippers. But Consort Ning suddenly erupted in fury, shoved them aside, and pointed menacingly at Zi Yue. "You black-hearted palace maid! Are you trying to scald me to death?"