Chapter 97 - 80: A Poisonous Heart
The nanny received her orders, taking the Buddha Rice Jiang Xian had sorted into an adjacent room to inspect it with a palace maid.
It was perfectly normal for concubines to be unskilled at sorting Buddha Rice.
For example, Noble Princess Consort Rong picked slowly and occasionally included a flawed grain, but the Empress Dowager wouldn’t make a big deal of it. After all, her true intention was merely to keep the two who monopolized the Holy Favor confined to Changle Palace, forcing the Emperor to distribute his favor more evenly.
However, Noble Lady Gu’s speed displeased her. Believing the concubine was being perfunctory, the Empress Dowager decided on a strict inspection. The nanny, having served the Empress Dowager for years, naturally understood her intentions. She informed the palace maid that finding a flawed grain of rice would come with an extra reward, then paused. "But no foul play."
The palace maid curtsied in assent.
But after the nanny and the palace maid repeatedly checked the rice twice, they were stunned to find not a single flawed grain.
"Nanny, we’ve checked twice and can’t find any. What if..." the palace maid hinted softly.
All one had to do was press a fingernail into a grain to create an indentation, and a flawed piece of rice would be ready-made.
But the nanny shook her head. "I already said no foul play. The Empress Dowager isn’t targeting Noble Lady Gu. She just wants to know if she took Her Ladyship’s words seriously."
Seeing the reward was now out of reach, the palace maid couldn’t help but look disappointed.
Since the sorted rice was confirmed to be flawless, the nanny had no choice but to bring a new bowl of uncooked rice and an empty bowl to Jiang Xian. When she saw the nanny had nothing to report, the Empress Dowager realized there were no errors to be found, and a flicker of surprise crossed her face.
Jiang Xian didn’t think much of it.
’If the Empress Dowager is going to let me farm points, then farm I will.’
Picking one grain every ten seconds meant 360 Palace Fighting Points per hour. She was enjoying the grind so much that she actually triggered a system warning.
System: [What is the host doing?]
Jiang Xian: [I am praying for the Yan Chi Dynasty, currying favor with the Empress Dowager, and laying a solid foundation of connections for future palace fighting.]
System: [But my sensors indicate that the Empress Dowager is utterly speechless at your actions...]
Jiang Xian: [The greatest love is unspoken. She’s madly in love with your host.]
Jiang Xian: [Now go scan Noble Princess Consort Rong. Isn’t she just wishing I’d drop dead? It’s good that she wants me dead. The more my enemies hate me, the more it proves I’m on the right path.]
The naive system was once again bamboozled by the cunning human.
But she was mistaken about one thing.
Noble Princess Consort Rong had originally seen her as a thorn in her side, believing she was an expert at fawning over superiors and bewitching the Emperor.
At first, watching her sort the rice so quickly had annoyed the Noble Consort.
But after watching for a while...
Well, how to put it?
It had become something of a magnificent spectacle.
She now found herself wanting to see just how long Jiang Xian could keep it up.
「One hour later」
The Empress Dowager was the first to give in. She called for a meal and granted the two special permission to not rise and serve her. As she disliked having other concubines present while she ate, she had them dine in a side hall.
After thanking the Empress Dowager for her grace, the two went to the side hall to await their meal. Noble Princess Consort Rong was a picky eater; her face fell upon seeing a table full of vegetarian dishes, and she was reluctant to pick up her chopsticks. She glanced up at Jiang Xian, only to see her letting a palace maid place food directly into her mouth. She couldn’t help but sneer, "Has Noble Lady Gu lost the use of her hands?"
Having a Palace Attendant place food on your plate was proper etiquette.
But having a Palace Attendant feed it directly to your mouth?
The rules didn’t forbid it, but it looked rather strange.
"My wrists are trembling with fatigue; I can no longer hold my bowl. I hope Your Ladyship understands."
Jiang Xian had a look of utmost sincerity on her face.
Hearing this, Noble Princess Consort Rong stared at her in disbelief. "So you *can* feel tired? If you’re so tired, didn’t you think to slow down? The Empress Dowager won’t be terribly fond of you for this little act." She paused, then added sarcastically, "The Empress Dowager would only like you if you got pregnant as frequently as you sort Buddha Rice."
A truly clever person in the palace would never have bothered to "enlighten" Jiang Xian like this.
But Noble Princess Consort Rong valued the pleasure of a sharp retort above all else.
"This concubine prays for Buddha’s mercy, and not simply to please the Empress Dowager."
"The Emperor isn’t here. If you’re not putting on this act to please the Empress Dowager, who else could it be for?"
Noble Princess Consort Rong scoffed, her gaze haughty.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Xian cast a hauntingly alluring gaze upon her, her eyes sweeping meaningfully across the Noble Consort’s lovely face. "Couldn’t it be that this concubine is doing this... to win Your Ladyship’s favor?"
"..."
In the next moment, Jiang Xian learned just how many rich emotions a person’s expression could convey—
In just a few short seconds, Noble Princess Consort Rong’s face twisted slightly in embarrassment, followed by a mixture of disgust and shock, mingled with a touch of stunned bashfulness. The combination resulted in a complex emotion of being flustered and utterly speechless. Even the normally sharp-tongued and biting Noble Consort could only, after a moment of astonishment, spit out, "Noble Lady Gu, your heart is truly venomous! This Consort already had little appetite, and now you’ve ruined it so completely that I don’t want to take a single bite."