The Battle of the Noble Ladies (Book 2)

Chapter 33 - Acting

"What's going on?!" First Lady Song visibly appeared anxious, hurriedly standing up. She hesitated for a moment, glancing at Noble Consort Song. "Is your heart condition acting up again?"

Noble Consort Song had a heart condition, but it rarely flared up. Her family had only discovered this ailment just before she entered the palace. However, she had taken good care of herself over the years and had never had any significant problems.

Zhuying shook her head, carefully taking the water handed to her by a palace maid and bringing it to Noble Consort Song's lips, glancing at her with a look of hesitation.

Old Lady Song, however, fixed her gaze on Noble Consort Song for a moment before turning to look at Song Chuyi, her expression somewhat complex.

Noble Consort Song didn't respond, and Old Lady Song surprisingly fell silent. First Lady Song noticed that something was off, glancing around before lowering her head—this was the deep palace after all, and even a child like Song Chuyi was probably more perceptive and clever than she was. Sometimes, if it wasn't the right time to ask, it was better not to ask; she understood this principle.

The vast and splendid hall immediately fell silent, so quiet that one could hear their own breathing. Outside, the occasional sound of ice shards hitting the ground was particularly jarring in such a tranquil environment.

Noble Consort Song lifted her head, raising and waving her hand that rested on her chest. The palace maids, except for Zhuying and Zhuyi, exited in an orderly fashion.

Song Chuyi couldn't help but glance at Noble Consort Song—this older sister, whom she had never met in her previous life and was meeting for the first time in this life, had an exquisite appearance with smiling eyes, making her feel as if she were basking in the spring breeze, though it was easy to overlook the chill in her gaze.

As she watched the door slowly close and the remaining palace maids bowing their heads in silence, she suddenly chuckled—how could she have thought that this older sister, who could firmly hold the reins of Fengzhao Palace and leverage the Empress to eliminate numerous obstacles, was the one who was confused?

Noble Consort Song slightly raised her phoenix eyes to look at her, finally showing a hint of a smile. "Xiao Yi, what are you laughing at? Big sister is surrounded by crises at this moment; why do you seem so happy?"

The First Lady listened as if she were in a fog, feeling completely bewildered. However, seeing that Noble Consort Song no longer seemed uncomfortable, she could only force herself to relax a little.

Old Lady Song finally turned her head, clasping Song Chuyi's hand in hers, and looked at her with a serious expression, her gaze sharp: "Xiao Yi, I remember that apart from your elder brother and your own matters, you also mentioned your elder sister to me before."

At that time, she had said that after Song Jue's death, the Song family was thrown into chaos. Noble Consort Song had a miscarriage, and Song Chengru was also framed, accused of embezzling military funds from the northwest and colluding with the Tatars to assassinate the Crown Prince...

Now, several matters had been avoided, but one thing had been completely forgotten—according to the timeline in Song Chuyi's dream, Song Chuchen should have been pregnant with the Emperor's child by now.

Noble Consort Song's gaze, following Old Lady Song's, landed on Song Chuyi. The smile and teasing on her face finally faded, replaced by genuine surprise. She exclaimed, "What dream? Why do you bring me up again?"

With an unmentionable secret in her heart, she wanted to reveal the secret she had kept hidden for over a month to her grandmother and mother. Yet, at that moment, she was astonished to realize that her grandmother seemed to know everything in advance—this was clearly impossible; she had kept it so well hidden that even the Eleventh Princess remained in the dark...

Old Lady Song fixed her gaze on her stomach, her demeanor returning to the calm and composed state from before. She lifted her chin and asked, "Has Your Highness reported this yet?"

Noble Consort Song finally could not hold it in any longer. She bit her lip, staring helplessly at Old Lady Song, and after a long pause, she let out a deep sigh.

She had thought that once this news was spoken, even her usually composed grandmother would be taken aback, but now it seemed that Old Lady Song clearly did not find this shocking news surprising at all, and it even seemed like she had expected it. Why did Old Lady Song possess such extraordinary insight? Even her own mother, the First Lady, had not noticed anything unusual...

Noble Consort Song's gaze fell on Song Chuyi, and a flurry of thoughts flashed through her mind—what dream had Old Lady Song just mentioned? What was so special about this little girl? Was it really because she had pushed Song Chuyi away to protect this secret that it had drawn such great anger from the elders of the Song family?

"Yesterday, the Imperial Physician just diagnosed it, and the Empress has already confirmed it," she suppressed her surprise and shock, quickly shifting to a smiling demeanor. "What a pleasant surprise! After so many years without any news, I really didn't dare to hope anymore. Who knew that unintentional efforts would yield such results..."

Finally, catching on to the hints, the First Lady's eyes widened in shock as she stood up, trembling as she asked, "What? Your Highness actually..."

Noble Consort Song faced the First Lady, but her eyes remained fixed on Song Chuyi, and she slowly nodded.

The First Lady was instantly filled with joy, so elated that she didn't know what to do with herself. She repeatedly exclaimed words of congratulations, momentarily at a loss for anything else to say.

Noble Consort Song had been hoping for this child for who knows how long—living in the deep palace was always fraught with anxiety, and having a prince by her side was certainly better than the lives of those consorts without children. This was especially true for Noble Consort Song, who had entered the palace at a young age and was not particularly close to the Emperor.

She had been anxious about this for who knows how long, praying and seeking divine help everywhere. Now that her wish had finally come true, she felt an overwhelming joy and hurriedly took out a handkerchief to wipe away the tears that were about to spill.

Noble Consort Song turned to the quietly seated Song Chuyi, who had just been smiling, and asked, "Xiao Yi, what were you laughing about? You haven't told your sister yet."

Calling herself "sister," Song Chuyi readily changed her words: "In response to my elder sister, I was just laughing at how capable the Old Lady is."

"Oh?" Noble Consort Song placed her hand on her belly, seemingly intrigued. Seeing Old Lady Song with a beaming smile, she asked, "What made you think of this all of a sudden?"

Aside from Song Linlang, who had turned out poorly, everything Old Lady Song taught had been good. Noble Consort Song's delicately maintained hands were like the finest mutton-fat jade, shining in contrast with the two jadeite bracelets on her wrists.

Song Chuyi lowered her eyes and adopted a respectful demeanor: "The Old Lady is capable, which is why she could teach an intelligent person like my elder sister."

In the past, Song Chuyi had always been puzzled about why Noble Consort Song would do something as foolish as pushing someone out to take the blame in order to avoid trouble. If it had been the First Lady doing this, it would have seemed more reasonable, given her background and experiences. However, Noble Consort Song, who had been taught by Old Lady Song and had spent more than a decade in the deep palace, should not have acted so rashly.

Now it seemed that this elder sister's acting skills were truly top-notch.