Reborn: Femme Fatale First Daughter (PART 1)

Chapter 157

Chapter 157 The Contest Between the Imperial Concubines and the Competition at the Banquet

The Empress Dowager would naturally not turn up.

Those at the women's table were mainly the Empress, Imperial noble consorts Su and Wen. Imperial noble consort Su was especially highly regarded because she was King Chu's mother. Meanwhile, Imperial noble consort Wen gave birth to the Sixth Princess. Even though she was of the same rank as consort Su, she was not as highly regarded. Furthermore, she did not seem to be in good health. The sixth princess, who sat beside her would show her concern from time to time.

The Empress sat in the middle. Imperial noble consort Su was seated on her right, and to consort Su's right, was the Fifth Princess, who had an arrogant expression on her face. On the Empress' left was Imperial noble consort Wen, and on her left was the Sixth Princess.

The Empress seemed like an overly stern woman. She sat in the middle and did not smile. Her eyes swept down the table and landed on the faces of noble ladies present who all trembled in fear. Fortunately, she did not look at them for too long. A faint smile appeared on the Empress' face and she appeared to be kinder. She smiled and turned to speak with Imperial noble consort Wen.

Imperial noble consort Wen's health was poor. She laughed a little and then started coughing softly, covering her mouth with a handkerchief. The Sixth Princess handed her some tea and she only stopped coughing after taking a few sips.

On the other side, Imperial noble consort Su had no intentions of entertaining anyone. She looked at the Empress and the Fifth Princess seated next to her and felt bored. She leaned against the large rosewood chair and smiled slightly as she looked at the faces of the noble ladies, looking rather thoughtful. Her eyes shone, and no one knew what she was thinking, but she seemed rather kind.

Everyone stood up and curtsied to the Empress, who waved her hand and gestured for everyone to sit. No one dared to move if the Empress did not.

"Mother, get them to eat first. Today is Grandmother's birthday and New Year is coming. It is really bustling and they are still going to the lantern festival later. This is my first time seeing the lantern festival in the palace." The Fifth Princess said cutely to her mother. She felt excited when she thought of the sea of lantern Feng Yuran designed. There were tens of thousands of lanterns in various shapes. There were even shapes that the Fifth Princess had never seen before.

"It is not time yet. Your Father said that we can only go at a certain time. It is said that the lanterns will suddenly light up then and it would be beautiful. It is still early, and you are a royal princess. Look at all the noble ladies down there. They are all more mature than you." The Empress stretched over Imperial noble consort Su and patted the Fifth Princess' hand with a slight smile.

"Your Majesty, you mustn't say that of the Fifth Princess. She is an honorable lady, can she be compared to the girls down there? She is unique in the palace. His Majesty dotes on Fifth Princess the most and even I can only hope to have a daughter like her." Imperial noble consort Su smiled as she spoke. She reached out her long, slender and soft hands for a teacup on the table and sipped at it.

The noblewomen and their daughters seated at the front all lowered their heads, pretending not to have heard what consort Su said. The ministers all knew that the Empress and consort Su pitted against each other. One of them was the Empress of the palace, the mother of the nation while the other had given birth to the gentle and elegant First Prince. No one dared to interrupt them. Even the usually arrogant Fifth Princess heard the underlying currents and only harrumphed coldly. She turned around and ignored them.

All the women in the palace wanted to give birth to sons. If they had a son, they would not have to worry for the rest of their lives. They would enjoy an unmatched status. So what if girls were obedient? They would still be married off. The fact that she had no sons was an eternal wound in her heart. If she had a son, would there be so much trouble in the palace?