Mercenary Princess - Chapter 72
"Huh? So, is that fox spirit... beautiful?"
"What do you think? If she weren't beautiful, would His Highness have been captivated?"
"Oh my god, does that mean we're going to fall out of favor?"
"It's more than just falling out of favor! Who knows, one day she might whisper something in His Highness's ear, and apart from that older sister in the East Garden who has already been made a concubine, we concubines who can barely be associated with the Madam will only have the chance to pack our bags and get out!"
"No way..."
"What refined taste you ladies have!" A gentle, sweet voice suddenly rang out from the side, startling the four beauties.
She quickly separated their huddled heads, stood up, and bowed respectfully: "Greetings, Consort Sister."
Shi Yuchou glanced indifferently at the four flustered people, but did not tell them to get up and refrain from formalities. Instead, she moved to the stone table and sat down gracefully.
After a long while, just as those frail beauties were about to collapse, she coldly said, "Get up, all of you."
With a sigh of relief, the beauties straightened their legs shakily, occasionally glancing at the concubine peeling oranges, wondering what she was thinking.
"Sister Concubine, if there's nothing else, we..." The beauty who was about to speak was caught in her throat by Shi Yuchou's glance.
With graceful movements, she picked up a segment of orange and put it in her mouth, chewing it. The sweet orange juice instantly slid down her tongue and down her throat, making her squint her eyes in pleasure. Her slender fingers picked up a second segment of orange, and as it approached her cherry lips, she asked casually, "What interesting things were you sisters talking about? Why don't you tell your older sister some of them, so I can have a laugh too, hmm?"
The four beauties turned deathly pale, standing there trembling and silent.
Why are the younger sisters so quiet? Do they have a problem with me, their older sister?
The cold words intensified the four beauties' fear. They hurriedly shook their heads and waved their hands to show that they had no such intention.
"Did you really think I wouldn't know about your outrageous remarks just now if you didn't tell me? You dare to gossip about His Highness's affairs and make unwarranted criticisms. I think you really don't know what's good for you." Shi Yuchou spoke slowly and calmly, fiddling with an orange segment. Her calm tone made it sound like she was talking about something insignificant, but the four beauties broke out in a cold sweat.
Seeing the situation was turning sour, the big-eyed beauty on the far left knelt down with a thud, sobbing as she defended herself: "Sister Consort, it has nothing to do with me... It was all said by Greenie, I didn't say a single word that was bad for His Highness!"
Seeing this, the other two beauties also blindly echoed, and together they pointed the finger at the greenery.
Greenie's delicate face instantly turned deathly pale. Her body trembled violently, and she could barely speak: "Sister Concubine..."
"Alright, you can all leave now, Greenery stays."
The three beauties felt as if they had been granted a pardon. They hurriedly performed their farewell ceremony, lifted their skirts, and rushed out of the Flower Calyx Pavilion with small, impatient steps.
The remaining greenery, however, seemed to have received a death sentence. Trembling, she lay on the ground, breathing rapidly, her lower lip tightly bitten, daring not to utter a word.
Just as she was gripped by fear and panic, a pair of soft, boneless hands touched her shoulders: "Sister, get up quickly, the ground is cold, don't hurt yourself."
Raising her head in surprise, Lüyi stared in astonishment at the smiling Shi Yuchou: "Sister Consort, you..."
"Get up quickly," Shi Yuchou said, helping her up and playfully tapping her forehead. "Silly girl, I was just putting on an act for them!"
Seeing Shi Yuchou's face change so drastically in the blink of an eye, Greenie's heart trembled, and a chill inexplicably crept into her heart...
She affectionately took her arm and pulled her to a stone bench next to her: "I heard from you, sister, that His Highness came out of the West Wing Pavilion yesterday morning?"
Not knowing what she meant by that question, Greenie, feeling like she was sitting on pins and needles, swallowed hard: "It's a lotus... I saw it with my own eyes... Hmm, maybe she's mistaken... maybe..."
A flicker of darkness crossed her narrow, slanted eyes. Releasing Lvyi's arm, Shi Yuchou picked up the oranges from the plate again, her tone cool: "If His Highness were to find out about this matter concerning my sister..."
"Please have mercy, Consort!" Greenie cried out in terror.
"Showing mercy isn't out of the question..." Shi Yuchou said with a faint smile after swallowing the orange pulp, "but..."
"From now on, Green Will will follow Consort Sister's lead without question, serving her faithfully and without complaint!"
"You said it yourself." A mysterious smile appeared on her face. "It just so happens that I need you to do a small favor..." Although His Highness had managed to silence the gossip about his duel with Jian Xiaosan over this woman, how could he possibly escape Shi Yuchou's notice? That woman named Yuyan seems to hold a significant place in His Highness's heart...
Seeing Shi Yuchou's smile, Luyi felt an even greater chill in her heart...
...
For several days in a row, in the court, whenever there was an opportunity, Liu Zhiyi would subtly and overtly give Rongyue meaningful glances. Those meaningful and threatening looks truly disturbed her, but at the same time, they also caused a slight wavering in her heart. Undoubtedly, Liu Zhiyi's earlier discourse on power had a profound impact on her, unknowingly planting a seed in her heart, which was gradually taking root…
After court, Rongyue asked the Second Prince for leave and returned to her residence. She casually tossed her outer robe behind the screen, and exhausted, she sprawled on the bed, closing her eyes to force herself not to think about those troubling things...
The more she tried to suppress it, the stronger the rebound became. Slamming her hand hard on her head, which was now a complete mess, Rongyue sighed deeply, opened her almond-shaped eyes helplessly, turned her head, and wearily called out to Yuyan, who was sitting on the edge of the bed with her back to her, "Yuyan, make me a cup of hot tea. These past few days have been absolutely exasperating..."
Yu Yan responded softly and got up from the bedside. A moment later, a steaming cup of oolong tea was handed to Rong Yue.
Sitting up straight, Rongyue lifted the lid of the cup, blew on the rising steam, took a sip, and sighed, saying, "Yuyan, have you been bored these days? Sigh, don't be annoyed. After some time, once I've sorted out these worries, I'll take you for a stroll around the capital."
After waiting for a while without hearing Yu Yan's reply, Rong Yue asked in confusion, "Yu Yan? Yu Yan?"
"Um."
"Oh, I was saying, how about we wait a couple of days and go to the city to take a look?"
"Um."
“Then…” Rongyue then realized something was wrong with Yuyan. Setting down her teacup, Rongyue put her arm around Yuyan's shoulder and forcefully turned her around—
Two prominent five-fingered mountains on her fair face were a shocking sight!
After her initial shock, Rongyue's eyes flashed with fury, and the teacup in her hand suddenly flew through the air: "Who hit this?!"
...
In the Flower Calyx Pavilion not far from the garden, Tuoba Chen and Shi Yuchou leisurely admired the colorful flowers in the garden. When Tuoba Chen was in high spirits, he would recite a few poems or compose a short essay, which would always make Shi Yuchou clap her hands and cheer, her eyes sparkling with admiration and love.
Upon seeing the crimson peach blossoms in the distance, Tuoba Chen put down his wine cup. Just as he was about to utter the poem he had prepared, a sudden burst of noise disturbed his concentration.