This was different from before. Lu Liangwei was personally selected by His Majesty. He had taken it upon himself to propose marriage and the Empress’ betrothal gifts were two times more than what was dictated in the rules and regulations.
The most shocking thing about this was what her father had told her. On the last day of the arena held to choose Lu Liangwei’s bridegroom, someone had seen His Majesty nearby. As for the person who had been declared the winner continuously for the past few days, it was none other than His Majesty’s personal guard, Chu Yi.
With such careful planning, it showed that His Majesty truly cared about Lu Liangwei.
Ji Linghui’s eyes filled with tears at the thought of this. Her entire body was shaky and she did not hear the Virtuous Consort’s words.
The other three lost some respect for her, seeing this.
Ji Linghui’s one trick was to act fragile, just like how she was doing now. They were sick of it.
When the Virtuous Consort saw that she was immersed in her own world of sadness, she stopped bothering with Ji Linghui and turned her gaze towards the n.o.ble Consort, who had yet to speak.
The n.o.ble Consort had always been cold and arrogant. She never took things too seriously, which made it difficult for others to guess her thoughts.
However, the Virtuous Consort knew very well that though compared to herself and Ji Linghui, who could never hide their love and admiration for His Majesty, the n.o.ble Consort was just infatuated —but simply better at hiding it.
The Virtuous Consort had been aware of the n.o.ble Consort’s true feelings for quite a long time.
She had been in the Palace for so many years and had gotten to know all three of them very well as a result.
The n.o.ble Consort’s feelings for His Majesty were no less deep than her’s and Ji Linghui’s. The n.o.ble Consort had always thought the world should fall at her feet, so she had never made much effort to try attracting His Majesty’s attention as the rest did.
She might have believed His Majesty would notice her one day and fall in love with his cool steeliness. Unfortunately, the n.o.ble Consort was about to be greatly disappointed.
The Virtuous Consort laughed in her heart. What a funny situation, indeed.
That was just the way the n.o.ble Consort was. She thought that all the women of the world were not as outstanding as she was, which was why she was never anxious.
How did she feel now?
The Virtuous Consort’s gaze turned toward the n.o.ble Consort’s furrowed brow. She looked calm like she always did, but there was finally a crack in that solitary arrogance of hers now.
The Virtuous Consort felt pretty happy at the thought. She smiled as she looked at the n.o.ble Consort. “n.o.ble Consort, is there anything you’d like to say?”
The n.o.ble Consort darted her eyes to the woman addressing her. “What does the Virtuous Consort want to hear me say?”
The Virtuous Consort lazily caressed the superior-quality jade cup in her hand. She did not mind the n.o.ble Consort’s sharp reply, which only made it clear that the Virtuous Consort was right. “There’s nothing we can do if the n.o.ble Consort is determined to pretend nothing is happening. Either way, His Majesty has decided to marry the Second Miss of the Lu family, so shouldn’t we, as the seniors of the Palace, invite the future Empress here and let us all get to know one another?”
The Pure Consort’s eyes lit up. She was supportive of this idea. “That’s a good idea! We are the seniors, after all, and it is only right for us to invite the future Empress into the Palace. We should have a good chat so that we won’t be strangers when she starts living here.”
The Prudence Consort had a hesitant look in her eyes, but did not voice any opinion, neither agreement nor objection.
The n.o.ble Consort gave all three a look as she mocked them in her head. What a bunch of nonsense, ‘befriending each other’. What they really wanted was to intimidate Lu Liangwei.
However, she did not object to it either. She stood up and said, “She is nothing but a child.”
With that, she did not stay but quickly left n.o.ble Fragrance Palace.
Ji Linghui did not stay long after this either. She said her goodbye to the Virtuous Consort and walked out of n.o.ble Fragrance Palace slowly, as if still weak.
Only the Virtuous Consort and Pure Consort were left. They looked at each other and knew what was to be done.