Chu Lian had been in the middle of leisurely drinking some nine-flower honey water that a palace servant had poured out for her. The moment she heard that announcement, she almost choked on the water and ended up coughing intensely.
What? How could the winner of the competition be House Jing’an?!
Fortunately, they were seated far away from the main center of attention, so her moment of inelegance hadn’t been noticed by many.
Xiyan quickly passed a handkerchief over to Chu Lian, worriedly whispering a question into her ear, “Third Young Madam, are you alright?”
Chu Lian waved her hand, indicating that she was fine.
By this time, most of the noble madams had turned to look in the direction of House Jing’an’s ladies. After a moment’s pause, some noble madams started giving their congratulations to Matriarch He.
Matriarch He had been stunned for a few seconds. However, she reacted just in time to lead her two granddaughters-in-law in graciously accepting the congratulations headed their way.
Lady Pan was seated at a table right in front of them. Sharing her table was the wife of one of her husband’s colleagues in court: Lady Yang.
Lady Pan’s table was currently frozen in the midst of an awkward atmosphere.
Just now, before the court lady had started announcing the winner, the madams at this table had already started congratulating Lady Pan. However, now that the winner wasn’t the Pan Estate, their words had turned into slaps on Lady Pan’s face.
Each of the madams who had spoken up too early all had their heads lowered and their mouths tightly shut. They were trying their best to disappear into the ground.
Only Lady Yang remained calm with a smile on her face.
Lady Pan’s warm and ever friendly face had lost its modest and amiable air, and was currently as black as the bottom of a pot.
She looked up at the main seats in the hall in disbelief. Everything had been arranged beforehand, how had everything changed just like that? How could it be House Jing’an that had won?!
Unable to hold back her rage, she stood up and took in a few deep breaths before she could manage to bring out a smile. She turned to the table that Matriarch He was seated at and said, “Matriarch He, that’s quite the talent you’ve hidden away. I wonder if I might have the luck to taste the round cakes you’ve offered up today?”
Chu Lian’s brows furrowed together. However, Matriarch He was the most senior member of the family present right now, so it wasn’t her place to speak as a granddaughter-in-law.
Lady Yang also stood up. However, she didn’t say a word and simply continued looking in the direction of House Jing’an with a smile in her eyes. When she looked at Chu Lian, her expression turned especially warm and kind.
Lady Pan refused to believe that House Jing’an’s round cakes had managed to win the competition!
The others might still be in the dark, but she knew for a fact that House Jing’an’s round cakes had been stolen away by someone when they had entered Ninghe Palace!
If some random replacement cakes from who knows where could win the competition, it would be a slap in the face to all the noble participants here!
She was going to expose House Jing’an’s tricks today, right in front of the Emperor! Let’s see how they’ll be able to hold their head up high in the capital from now on!
Imperial Concubine Wei was seated diagonally across from the tables where all the noble titled ladies were. She happened to glance over curiously at the area where House Jing’an’s table was situated. When she saw that some noble madams had stood up and seemed to be fighting, the corners of her eyes tilted upwards in a subtle display of her inner joy. If they didn’t start fighting by now, that would have been a waste of this whole play she had arranged!
When the Chengping Emperor cast his gaze sideways, he noticed that Imperial Concubine Wei’s expression was all smiles. He took up his wine cup for a sip, using that movement to follow where her gaze was directed at. He suddenly spoke up, “Concubine, it seems like you’re rather happy today?”
Imperial Concubine Wei froze for a moment before quickly discarding the out-of-place expression on her face. She replied in a coquettish manner, “Your Majesty, this lovely Mid-Autumn Festival only comes around once a year. How could your humble concubine not be joyous?”
The Chengping Emperor turned his gaze onto her and set down his wine cup, uttering an ambiguous, “Is it so?” in reply.
“Of course, how could your humble concubine dare to deceive Your Majesty?”
Royal Princess Duanjia had also noticed the commotion. When she saw that Chu Lian seemed to be in trouble, she quickly stood up, wanting to go over to help. However, she was held back by Princess Wei.
“Mother! Don’t stop me, I want to go over to take a look. That idiot Chu Liu is getting bullied again!”
Princess Wei glared at her. “You’re forbidden from going there! If you go there now, you’ll just be adding to the trouble. Jinyi isn’t as stupid as you might think. If she really didn’t have a way to deal with them, she would naturally have sent someone to us for help.”
“But…”
“No buts. Stay here and watch. Who knows if the bully will end up getting their way?”
After Princess Wei had given her orders, Royal Princess Duanjia could only sit down and watch the situation over there with a face full of anxiety.
Matriarch He had been socialising for years with these noble madams since she was a young lady herself. So of course she wasn’t someone to be bullied so easily. Lady Pan’s forceful request to take a look at House Jing’an’s round cakes had clearly come out of her disbelief that they could win the competition, and she was clearly looking to make some trouble for them.
When Matriarch He noticed the confidence in Lady Pan’s expression, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. That mysterious attacker who had stolen away their estate’s round cakes definitely had something to do with this Lady Pan.
Although Matriarch He was already getting on in age and her hair was completely white, her eyes were still sharp and she still had her wits about her.
Matriarch He didn’t back down one bit. Instead, it was Madam Zou who shrunk back upon facing the eyes of all the other noble madams around them. She shuffled behind the matriarch in an attempt to hide herself.
She had completely forgotten her jealousy of Chu Lian taking her place to offer up the round cakes, and was simply relieved that this had nothing to do with her.
Chu Lian was standing by Matriarch He’s side and holding onto her arm. When she saw that Matriarch He hadn’t backed down and had even straightened up, Chu Lian felt like she had grown a few inches taller.
“Lady Pan, are you purposely trying to trouble this old woman? The round cakes have already been offered up to the Empress Dowager. If Lady Pan would like to taste them, then I’m afraid you’ll have to ask for that favour from the Empress Dowager herself!”
