Flowing Viewing

Cloud Viewing Pavilion and Haunting Fragrance Pavilion were of similar size, but the former was situated at a higher elevation. The naming of the palaces and pavilions followed a certain pattern; if it was at a lower altitude, then it would not be called "Cloud Viewing”. One had to climb high to gain a distant view, and the name gave an indication of that.

Xie Ning arrived neither too early nor too late. If she came too early, everyone would feel awkward sitting there without anything to say, and if she came too late, people would think she was putting on airs.

Lady Liu of Talents and Selected Lady Sun had already arrived, and Beauty Liang was accompanying them, sipping tea and chatting. When Xie Ning entered, Lady Liu of Talents’ eyes lit up and she hurriedly stood up to greet her. As Selected Lady Sun had a lower rank, she too had to stand up to show respect.

Liang hesitated for a moment. Her status was higher than Xie's, and according to etiquette, she didn't have to stand up to greet her. But since she had invited Xie Ning over today, it was appropriate to show her the proper courtesy.

However, before she could make up her mind, Xie Ning had already entered the room and was standing in front of her. Liang remained seated, and Xie Ning smiled and bowed, "Greeting, Liang Jiejie."

Liang felt as if she had been pricked by a needle and got up in a panic to return the greeting: "Xie Meimei (refers to younger sisters, females who are younger in age or with lower status), you have arrived. Don't be so formal, we are all sisters here."

Lady Liu of Talents, who was standing beside them, saw everything clearly and her estimation of Beauty Liang dropped another notch.

What kind of sister sat there so nonchalantly and waited for people to greet her? What was so special about a Beauty? Everyone knew that the emperor had long forgotten about her and had not summoned her for over a year. Now, she was eagerly inviting people to come and see the blossoms, yet she still put on airs.

Was this how she planned to reconcile with people?

Liu couldn't help but think that Liang was blessed with a lovely face though, her dullness and obtuseness were the reason why the emperor had lost interest in her.

After Xie Ning took her seat, Lady Feng of Talents arrived, and everyone exchanged polite greetings once again.

Among the five people in the room, Beauty Liang was the most striking, with her exquisite appearance and perfectly chosen attire. She wore a hairpin with a tassel that swayed back and forth near her face.

Xie Ning disliked wearing such things, as she felt that the tassels and dangling pearls obstructed her vision and made her feel irritable. She had even accidentally struck herself in the face with a tassel before.

Talking about the most unremarkable one, it was Selected Lady Sun without any doubt. Her rank was the lowest, with an unremarkable facial structure, a fleshy nose, thick lips, and a slightly shorter stature. Her skin should have been delicate and tender, but it's all hidden by the thick powder puff. She wears a high-waisted Ruqun without any curves to accentuate her waist, and it's hard to find any advantages from head to toe.

The other three people are all dressed similarly, and Xie Ning is no more conspicuous than the others.

Lady Liu looked at Xie Ning, silently judging her for a moment, and finally came up with the words "pleasant to the eye."

Lady Li of Bright Countenance arrived late, and the people in the room all stood up together to welcome her in. Her rank was the highest, and she was clearly no longer in the same class as the people in the Back Garden. The person with the highest status always arrives last, and it is natural for others to wait.

"I am late, my Meimei, please do not be offended," Lady Li of Bright Countenance said. Everyone exchanged polite words. The titles of Jiejie(older sister) and Meimei(younger sister) in the palace are not ranked by age, but by status and qualifications. Li is older than Xie Ning and Sun in terms of birth year, but younger than Liang and others. But so what? Liang still had to obediently call her "Li Jiejie," right? If someone's rank was two levels higher than yours, would you dare to go up and call her "Meimei"? That would be foolish.

Therefore, Li has the confidence to call them Meimei, and they must respectfully call her Jiejie.

Beauty Liang brought out her camellias. The flowers were quite good, arranged in a row of four on a low table in the corridor. Xie Ning didn't know much about flowers, but it didn't prevent her from enjoying them with everyone else.

Lady Li of Bright Countenance took advantage of the flower appreciation to also observe the people. She had heard that there was a Lady of Talents named Xie in the Back Garden who had been summoned for favour. Xie? The only Lady of Talents surnamed Xie that she knew was Xie Ning, who had lived with her in the same room when they first entered the palace. However, it had been quite some time, and her earlier impressions had become blurred. They were not particularly close back then, but she remembered her as quiet, with a gentle smile on her face. She was not eye-catching, but rather pleasing to look at.

Now, looking at her, his eyebrows and eyes were still the same as before, but compared with that young girl, she had grown a bit longer. Her skin was smooth, like pure white Xuan paper, with a light ink-bent eyebrow and a pair of water-cut pupils that looked as if they were drawn with a brush. She had also applied a bit of rouge on his lips, which were evenly distributed in shades of red, like the enchanting peach petals crushed in March, very attractive to the eye. Looking at her was pleasing to the eye, suggesting the soft and warm scenery of spring waters and green mountains.

Lately, Lady Li had also fallen out of favour, and as a result, couldn't help but look at Xie Ning with a hint of subtlety in her eyes.

To be honest, she didn't come here today to enjoy the flowers; she only came because she heard Xie Ning was here. It would be beneath her status to flatter a mere Lady of Talents, but know yourself as well as the enemy was always beneficial. By seeing what qualities Xie that had attracted the emperor, she could better understand her own situation.

There was a time when everyone in the palace was imitating Handsome Fairness Chen because she was favoured by the emperor. Whatever she wore, whatever perfume she used, whatever tea she drank, others followed suit, thinking that the emperor would appreciate these things.

Lady Li, on the other hand, did not. Each person has their own unique appearance and personality, which cannot be replicated. Just as Chen liked to wear deep cherry-red lipstick to make her lips look watery and plump, someone with a large mouth would look bleeding and terrible if they tried to apply the same lipstick. That was something one-of-a-kind and unforgettable which could not be easily copied.

The relationship between Beauty Liang and Lady Li was a bit tense. Liang was the first to be favoured among their group when they entered the palace, but Li soon surpassed her. Liang couldn't help but feel that Li had taken her favour away from her. Not to mention that Liang was only given the title of Beauty, whilst Li had been elevated to the title of Lady of Bright Countenance.

They appeared to be polite to each other when they met, but their inside feelings were complex and difficult to express.

But now, seeing each other again, both were yesterday's news. This unassuming Lady Xie of Talents was the new rising star. Beauty Liang didn't expect to accomplish anything with just one meeting. At first, she was a bit arrogant, thinking that she was born with a silver spoon and ahead of everyone else. However, after sitting on the bench for two years, her arrogance had been worn down and she had to lower herself and seek another way out. She planned to befriend Xie Ning first, and as time went by, there would always be opportunities.

The decision was made, but the action was not going smoothly. When Xie Ning came into the room earlier, she didn't handle it well. And now, during the flower viewing, there could not be a better opportunity to talk. But she hesitated.

Lady Li of Bright Countenance was the highest-ranking person there and it wasn't good to leave her out. There was Lady Liu of Talents and Selected Lady Sun sticking close to Xie Ning, and she felt like she couldn't get close enough. On the other hand, she didn't have much to talk about with Li, and she felt like she was stuck in the middle and couldn't decide.

Lady Liu of Talents asked eagerly, "Xie Jiejie, which flowers among these do you like?"

Xie Ning replied politely, "This white one is not bad, what do you think, Lady Liu?"

Lady Liu smiled and said, "I prefer this red one."

All four camellia flowers were in good condition, and the one on the far right was even bicolored. It was like someone had painted it with a brush, half yellow and half red, which was quite unusual.

However, Xie Ning still preferred the white one, with tea-cup sized flowers, pure white and fragrant, making it look so graceful and clean.

Selected Lady Sun, who had been following quietly by the side, had hardly said a word from beginning to end, and her quietness almost made the rest of them forget her existence.

After admiring the flowers for a while, Beauty Liang invited everyone to have tea. The tea was good, but Lady Li only soaked it lightly, and Xie Ning only took a small sip.

Even with just that one sip, Qinghe, who was standing by, became nervous.

Everyone in the palace was cautious and would never eat or drink casually in an unfamiliar place. Before the gathering, Qinghe wanted to remind her lady to be careful, but then she thought that her lady should already know, so she refrained from saying anything more.

Who knew what was in Liang’s mind? Jealous people were prone to doing crazy things, and it never hurt to be extra careful. Especially when it came to things that were ingested, one had to be even more vigilant.

But now, in front of everyone, Qinghe couldn't stop her. Fortunately, her lady only took a small sip and had no intention of drinking the whole cup. Looking at the others, only Sun and Feng seemed to have actually drunk the tea, while the others' cups remained mostly untouched.

"Thinking back to when we first entered the palace to learn the etiquette, I remember that Li Jiejie was the quickest and best learner."

"Don’t mention it," Lady Li replied humbly, "I remember that Liang Meimei was much more proficient in reciting those rules than I was. As for Selected Lady Sun, she was always at the bottom and was often reprimanded by the Chief Palace Attendant."

Sun responded slowly, unable to even come up with a polite remark. Beauty Liang cursed inwardly at her dullness and didn't bother with her anymore.

At that time, all these women had fought their way out of a tough selection procedure. Each province and county had sent a number of beauties, with the oldest being seventeen and the youngest only twelve. There were around seven or eight hundred of them in all. Those who were unattractive, clumsy, or dull-witted had already been eliminated during the preliminary selection. In the end, the remaining contestants were still able to distinguish themselves from one another. Selected Lady Sun was among the bottom tier, with an unremarkable appearance and an unimpressive wit.

Lady Li had already achieved her goal of visiting Cloud Viewing Pavilion, but Beauty Liang was getting anxious. She had hoped to talk to Lady Xie and get closer to her, but so far, there had been no progress. She realized that it would have been better to just invite her alone, and maybe one companion at most. With so many people present, it was inconvenient to do anything. The carefully planned flower viewing event had been in vain. How could she accept this?

As she was pondering over what else to do, a palace maid suddenly came in to report that Handsome Fairness Chen had arrived.