CHAPTER 738: CHAPTER 738: HOW DARE I, HOW DARE I

Asked if she was afraid, she would certainly have been in the past, for she was not a fool. But now she was not afraid; she had so many backers, and she had said nothing wrong nor done anything amiss. Here, no one could do a thing to her.

Moreover, she saw quite clearly that the Noble Consort had long wanted to kill her and would take action if the opportunity arose. Since this was the case, there was no point in trying to ingratiate herself. It would be good enough if she didn’t infuriate the Noble Consort to death.

She muttered to herself, wondering where the Noble Consort’s great enmity for her came from. But never mind that, better to focus on earning golden melon seeds.

Thinking this, her eyes gleamed with anticipation. She hoped the Noble Consort would leave in a huff. Oh no, she meant leave in a fit of rage.

The Noble Consort’s fury reached new heights at the sight of her gaze. With a cold laugh, the Noble Consort said repeatedly, "What a clever mouth you have, so sharp-tongued. I underestimated you in the past, very good, very good indeed!"

Lian Hua replied with swift politeness, pouring another bucket of oil on the fire: "How dare I, Consort, your praise is too generous."

Her heart bloomed with joy; oh my, she’s about to explode with rage, then why not leave quickly, hey, hey, hey, still staring at her, as if it would cost the Noble Consort a piece of flesh. Uh... something seems very wrong with the Noble Consort.

As she continued to watch, Lian Hua grew suspicious; this expression...

The Noble Consort’s head throbbed faintly, a surge of brutal rage boiling within her. Her eyes turned deep red and her vision was obscured with a layer of blood mist. A voice in her head raged on, urging her to exterminate everyone with reckless abandon.

Cai Xia, who noticed that something was amiss, had completed the punishment of Cui Laner and was standing by, ready to report. She happened to glance at the Noble Consort digging the Armor into the bandaged wound of her little finger, scratching ferociously until blood ran freely, as relentless as if facing a mortal enemy.

She was horrified and, despite her own racing heart, quickly raised her voice, "Consort, this servant has completed the punishment of Talented Lady Cui."

Actually, this was not the first time she had seen the Noble Consort in a strange state. Ever since the Consort had visited Consort Liu, she had been acting very strangely, first laughing hysterically outside, then growing increasingly somber. On one occasion, Cai Xia had seen the Noble Consort strangle a sparrow that had accidentally landed by the window, her eyes filled with bloodthirsty madness. At that time, she had chalked it up to the Noble Consort being tormented by a headache, but today, could it be the headache acting up again?

Cui Laner was unaware of the situation above but upon hearing the words, readily chimed in to please, "Many thanks to the Consort. I have learned my lesson and will surely be more cautious with my words and deeds in the future."

As the crimson faded and her mind suddenly relaxed, the Noble Consort came to her senses with a start. When had she become so irritable and impatient?

Her mouth was filled with the strong taste of blood, and, surprisingly, she did not know when she had bitten her tongue. A pain from her little finger commanded her attention. She looked down to find the wrapped wound soaked with blood, a realization that startled her even more, as she had not felt the pain at all before...

She looked up and saw Lian Hua staring intently at her hand. Pretending nothing was amiss, she hid her injured hand in her sleeve and with a faint sneer said, "If you truly regret your actions, then rise. Apologize to Beauty Lian, and we shall consider the matter closed."

Her heart was in turmoil, yet she did not forget to make things difficult for others.

Even if she regained favor, it was only as a Beauty. She would lift her up high and let her down gently, so what could she do with her!

Seeing that the Noble Consort had returned to normal, Cai Xia heaved a sigh of relief. Out of reflex, she glanced at Cai Qin on the other side, who stood as rigid as wood with her head bowed, her face etched with an expression of perennial indifference to joy or sorrow, as if oblivious to everything. A trace of doubt crossed Cai Xia’s mind; was she overthinking it?

In a corner unnoticed by others, a fleeting, almost invisible smile crossed the lips of Changzai Zhou.

"Yes, I shall obey the order," responded Cui Laner upon hearing the Noble Consort’s words, quickly understanding. Causing trouble for others was something she often did and was very adept at.

She stood up and deliberately walked in front of Lian Hua, lifting her head and smiling contentedly as she curtseyed: "This consort offers an apology to Beauty Lian, and henceforth, I shall never dare to offend Beauty Lian again."

Xiao Jizi slightly raised his eyes, and his face immediately turned cold as frost. Just as he had expected, Cui Laner, who had been slapped twenty times, only had a bit of redness on her face but no swelling. Relying on the Noble Consort’s presence, she even dared to provoke his master.

Lian Hua simply uttered an "oh" to acknowledge, not even casting a glance at her. She had beaten plenty of dogs when she was younger; a few barks didn’t bother her. The next time she’d beat them... however...

She lowered her head and contemplated the scene she had just witnessed. The Noble Consort had looked like a ghost just now—how creepy. Was this some new scare tactic designed to frighten her?

That wouldn’t do; she was raised amongst scares, and moreover, she had come out on this occasion to be the one scaring others. How could she be afraid?

She wanted to take another look to be certain. When she came back to her senses, she saw Shaded Eyes still standing in front of her. Impatient, she waved her hands as if shooing away a fly: "Oh dear, good dog... cough, you’re not even pretty, blocking my view of Noble Consort’s elegance. Step aside first."

What a sight Shaded Eyes was, nowhere near as lovely as the Noble Consort’s phoenix eyes. The sheer shamelessness!

The atmosphere around relaxed, and muffled laughter could be heard from all corners.

Cui Laner’s face instantly turned the color of a pig’s liver. She might not possess the beauty of Beauty Lian or the grace of the Noble Consort, but she was not ugly either. How could they say she was unattractive? Beauty Lian, using her beauty to humiliate her in public like this, was truly unbearable!

Feeling extreme shame and anger, she stamped her foot, turned, and ran crying towards the exit. She had only taken a few steps when she heard a muttered comment from behind: "Such a crybaby, not even half as lovely as Consort Fang Pin when she cries. Forget it, forget it. She’ll be leaving the palace soon, and we won’t see her anymore."

The suppressed laughter around her grew louder. Cui Laner was overcome with grief and anger. Clutching her handkerchief and shedding tears, she wanted to hurry away, but she stopped when she heard the last part of the sentence.

Yes, she was leaving the palace. With Beauty Lian there to whisper sweet nothings into His Majesty’s ear, how could she possibly stay?

At this thought, Cui Laner was stunned. She turned her head and caught a glimpse of the Noble Consort through the corner of her eye, suddenly remembering that she could beg the Noble Consort to devise a way to keep her in the palace. The Noble Consort was the leading woman of the harem; she certainly had a way for her to stay. She would do anything for the Consort.

The Noble Consort closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm down. This fool was utterly useless, not even good for a bit of annoyance.

She no longer cared about this mess and coldly commanded: "Return to the palace." She needed to rest and recuperate.

From beginning to end, her feet did not touch the ground.

The four eunuchs immediately lifted the palanquin and proceeded to leave. They had only gone a few steps when someone called out loudly from a distance: "Noble Consort, please wait. This consort presents her regards."

Everyone looked over to see Consort Xu De approaching with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, striding forward confidently.

Cui Laner shivered, shrinking to the side and hiding. The embarrassment she had felt just now seemed irrelevant. She heaved a sigh of relief internally that her matter was settled but felt a twinge of regret that she had not left sooner.

The Noble Consort signaled to halt and looked down from her high position at the approaching figure, a cold light flashing in her eyes.

Lian Hua’s eyes brightened. She hadn’t seen Sister Consort De in a long time and missed her quite a bit. Seeing her radiant appearance, could it be that there was some good news?