Scent Of Time

Chapter 4

“Hua Meiren’s worries were too much. You could have talked to me nicely. Why do you need to be so secretive?” I spoke coldly.

Hua Meiren froze. Then, she said courteously, “This harem was too crowded, and there are some things that I still need to trouble my sister to report back to the Hua Minister ……”

“Ridiculous!” I endeavored to take out my most overpowering aura to admonish her, “Is it possible that Hua Meiren has lost her brain? Why should my Father know about the harem?”

Seeing my righteous appearance, Hua Meiren was stunned. She smiled, looked satisfied, and walked closer, “I’ve taken care of everything here. No one will pay attention to it. Princess Consort Jin can rest assured.”

— How could she survive in the harem with this kind of IQ? In the novel, she weathered until the Hua Family sank. The Emperor must indulge her to use her to trap the Hua Family. Otherwise, how could she have survived for so long?

“I don’t understand why Hua Meiren said this. Is there something that you have to cover up?” I pretended to be confused, and with this countenance of Hua Qian, I did look innocent.

Hua Meiren’s anger rose a few points of my playing dumb repeatedly. She said sarcastically, “Princess Consort Jin is forgetful. When Hua Xiang sent me to the palace and nurtured me, is it not for me to help him in this harem?”

Hearing these words, I — was surprised and doubtful: “Are Hua Meiren really confused? You want to enter the palace, but your Father can’t do anything about it because of his low official position. My Father only helped due to his brotherly love. How did it become my Father’s way of climbing the ranks?”

Hua Meiren was shocked by my ‘superb’ acting skills, so I tried to make a more distressed look, not waiting for her to reply: “Considering that you are my cousins, this fall into the water, I will not tell the others. I hope that Hua Meiren won’t use this trick anymore, hurting the past relationship.”

Who can’t distort the truth, ah. I’ll take this opportunity to cut off the connection with her. Indeed, Hua Mansion has sinned, and Hua Xiang was awful, but they couldn’t let me, this villain, become an accomplice.

“Princess Consort Jin, are you crazy? If it wasn’t for your obsession with King Jin, why did Hua Xiang send me to the palace to pave the way for him?” Hua Meiren finally opened her mouth in irritation after being snubbed by me several times.

I was covering my heart to make a hurtful appearance, playing Hua Qian’s white lotus image to the extreme: “Hua Meiren’s words are so hurtful, ah. My heart is indeed only have King Jin. But if my Father wants to arrange henchmen in the harem, the Hua clan has so many beautiful women, why would Father choose you? You once said that you are obsessed with the Emperor. Father is concerned about his brotherhood and make an exception to help you. Poor Father! You had misinterpreted his good intention.”

Hua Meiren’s face reddened with anger because not only did I turn black and white upside down, but I also called her ugly.

Not waiting for her to retort, I spoke again solemnly. “In the future, I will tell Father not to make exceptions again because of brotherly love. Hua Meiren, since your infatuation with His Majesty is unchanging, don’t put your heart elsewhere. This truth, I don’t need to come to say and teach you, right?”

After I said my words, I went out to find a maid to groom my hair. I wore my cloak and walked extremely fast, not giving her time to react.

Having just left the door, I vaguely saw a bright yellow shadow in the corner. I just wanted to check when I heard a maid call me. Oh, well. After my righteous performance, I didn’t need to worry about someone eavesdropping. Hence, I pretended not to know and followed the maid to arrange my hair.

After combing my hair, I followed the maid back to the Empress Dowager’s palace. After stepping over the threshold, a tall figure rushed in front of me, and at the same time, a pair of hands held my shoulders.

“Are you alright?”

Seeing Zhong Yelan’s gaze full of concern sweeping me from head to toe, I silently recited in my mind:

This is the female lead’s man. This is the female lead’s man.

……

After washing my brain, I pretended to bow my head shyly to cover my uncaring eyes and said, “Your Highness, don’t worry. I’m fine.”

The words already came out of my mouth before I realized that was wrong. ‘I’ is too comfortable to say. I should call myself ‘concubine.’

But no one raised the issue of how I improperly addressed myself. Even the strict Empress Dowager smiled and said: “If I hadn’t stopped him, I’m afraid that Lan’er would have to run to the side hall to look for his consort, which is troublesome for me.”

Zhong Yelan was not polite and said in a half-complaint, “She was fine when I handed her to mother, but in less than half a day, something had happened. How can I be assured of this?”

“Heartless! It was correct you would forget your mother if you had a wife.” Empress Dowager pretended to be annoyed but without anger in her eyes. Her gaze toward me also softened a little. Sure enough — I made the right bet.

“Why is it so lively? Did I miss something?”

Zhong Xiwu opened the curtain and walked in. A crowd of people rushed to kneel. His demeanor didn’t look like an emperor’s. He smiled and waved his hand, sitting next to the Empress Dowager.

“Saying that your royal brother only has his dainty wife in his eyes, starting to lecture me, this middle-aged woman.” The Empress Dowager smiled and said to Zhong Xiwu.

Zhong Xiwu looked towards me, his gaze pausing for a while before retracting, while I followed Zhong Yelan to his seat.

After the Empress Dowager laughed and joked for a bit, she waved at me, “Qian girl, come to me.”

The atmosphere in the room froze, and many people, including Zhong Yelan, looked surprised, curious as to why the Empress Dowager was suddenly so close to me.

I obediently walked over.

After approaching, the Empress Dowager suddenly took my hand. She removed a white jade bracelet from her wrist and put it on me, saying, “This is what the late Emperor had rewarded me with. Now, I’m giving it to you.”

I was shocked and hurriedly resisted, “How can I dare to ……”

The Empress Dowager held my hand tightly before I could withdraw it, and she added, “I know you are a sensible and resolute child …… Since I have given it to you, you must accept it.”

Raising my eyes to meet the Empress Dowager’s eyes filled with deep meaning, my heart jumped. She patted her wrinkly hand on the back of mine as if patted on my heart, and it felt extra heavy.

That was a gesture of goodwill but also — a warning. Sure enough, the matter of falling into the water was not simple.

“Mother has some good intentions. Princess Consort Jin should accept it.” Zhong Xiwu said.

I can only bow my head and respond, obviously feeling the different gazes cast over, making my spine stiffen with a thin layer of sweat.

After having lunch in fear, the Empress Dowager did not say anything more before we left the palace.

On the carriage.

Zhong Yelan suddenly said, “The Empress Mother seems quite pleased with Ah Qian today. I had never seen the Empress Mother treating you this intimately.”

I froze. Does this mean he has always known that the Empress Dowager doesn’t like me? That’s why he sensed it when the Empress Dowager treated me better today.

I thought he didn’t say anything when he saw the Empress Dowager lecture me because he didn’t know about her hostility towards me, but actually, he knew about it.

You can see the gap at once. Indeed, as the second female lead, she must handle things by herself.

Although Zhong Yelan claimed to love Hua Qian, he could tell from the nuances that something was wrong.

I felt that Hua Qian’s blackening was because of Zhong Yelan’s attitude.

Frankly meeting his probing gaze, I forced myself to hold back my goosebumps and softly spoke, “It should be because of Your Highness, Empress Mother loves you.”

Perhaps Zhong Yelan noticed his slip of the tongue, so he did not pursue the question. He smiled and held my hand to comfort me: “Why is it for me? Ah Qian is so pleasing. Other people should understand after knowing you.”

The back of my hand stiffened, trying not to shake off his hand and revealing a white lotus flower’s standard smile.

The second step of the vicious female second life preservation strategy is to endure things that ordinary people cannot.