Favored Intelligent Concubine

Chapter 25

Noble Consort Finding Faults

 

Ling Feng Palace, in front of Lan Qin Yu’s room.

 

She sneers as she looks at the couple of women who are staring at her like tigresses.  The entourage is not small!  The maids and eunuchs in front of her are twenty in number, almost like an entire class.  Even the Noble Consort has come!  Xiu Er once said that there are two Noble Consorts in the palace, one is Noble Consort Yu and the other is Noble Consort Shu.  The one in front of her who is standing nobly while being surrounded by people is Noble Consort Yu.

 

From what Xiu Er whispered to her just now, the one on the left-most side is Yun Pin, next to her is Liang Fei, Noble Consort Yu, and next to her is Mei Pin and the useless and game-overed Prince’s Consort Liu.  And amongst them is the Noble Consort Yu who is the mother of the eldest prince.  She can be considered a fine beauty.

 

“Your Ladyship, it is her!” Consort Liu points at her as she speaks to the emperor’s concubines.

 

Mei Pin eyes Lan Qin Yu up and down before saying, “She didn’t look that great!  Even her clothes is extremely common.  Just one look and I can tell she isn’t a maid from respectable families.”

 

Compared to their flashy appearance, her clothes did look a little plain.  But, a respectable family’s……. maid?  Granted, she wasn’t wrong, but still……

 

Humph!

 

Upon hearing her sneer, Xiu Er suppress a shiver, her palms sweaty.  Since she served Lan Qin Yu, she knows what it means when she sneers.  If she is unhappy, it is better for people to stay far away from her to avoid stepping on landmines.

 

Unfortunately, there are people who are not observant enough to know that.

 

“You are right!  I don’t know why the second prince would even allow this kind of person to stay by his side!”  Yun Pin agrees.

 

This kind of person?  Stay by his side?    What do they take her, Lan Qin Yu as?  An escort?  She herself isn’t capable enough to rise to be a Fei and yet she dares to find somebody else’s flaw?

 

“All aunties, I wonder why you all are visiting my place today?” Lan Qin Yu twirls her hair spontaneously, her emotions unreadable.

 

“A-Aunties?!  You actually called us aunties!” the first one who spoke up was Liang Fei.  Even Noble Consort Yu is frowning.

 

So she is actually capable of making an expression.  Lan Qin Yu originally thought she was just there to watch the show to pass time.

 

The thing women fear the most is ageing.  After all, who wants to be called old by others?  “The empress told me she plans to confer me the title ‘princess’, so calling you all auntie didn’t seem very appropriate!”  She props her chin and tilts her head, “Oh right, should I be calling you stepmothers then?”

 

This kid….  Her mouth is really competent.  Noble Consort Yu gives Yun Pin a look while Lan Qin Yu watches their interaction quietly.  Wants to play dirty?  Dream on!  Sure enough, while Mei Pin and Liang Fei are busy criticizing Lan Qin Yu, Yun Pin approach her and raise her left hand high-

 

Translator’s Note:

Noble Consort is a really really really really high position in the palace.  It’s pronunciation is Guifei (remember Yang Guifei?).  If we go according to Qing Dynasty’s system, they are only second to the Empress.  Below them is ‘Fei’.  And below ‘Fei’ is ‘Pin’.  ‘Pin’ itself is a high rank.  I chose to address Fei and Pin in the romanized version instead of their English terms because they can be pretty vague.  So basically;

EmpressNoble Consort (there can also be Imperial Noble Consort, Huang Guifei, one step higher than Noble Consort, but they are very rare)FeiPinA couple of ranks below.