Gu Qianying performed a deep bow to the Empress, then said respectfully, "Reporting to Your Majesty, my grandfather once told me that you, Your Majesty, in your compassion for the hardships of the soldiers on the front lines, donated all your personal jewelry so that they could eat well and dress warmly.
You also once held a memorial service for soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country, and my grandfather said that Your Majesty manages the inner palace impeccably, with clear rewards and punishments, serving as a model for all of you.
Today, I, Qianying, am dressed in plain clothes, wishing to emulate Your Majesty. If I cannot achieve a tenth of what Your Majesty has done, it would be my honor to achieve a thousandth."
As Gu Qianying spoke, she removed several pearl hairpins and some jewelry she usually didn't wear from her hair, placing them in her hands and offering them with both hands. "I am clumsy and merely imitating. I hope Your Majesty will not laugh."
The words fell.
The ladies who had been mocking Gu Qianying had faces as colorful as a palette.
Compared to Gu Qianying's actions, their own luxurious attire seemed overly extravagant, and they showed no understanding of the hardships faced by the soldiers on the front lines.
This was a direct slap in the face, a painful one at that!
Gu Mingyue's complexion was no better than theirs.
She glared fiercely at Gu Qianying.
That damned wench, when did she become so glib?
It seemed she had escaped another ordeal today.
"Very good, very good, Qianying, you have done well. I am very pleased." The Empress was amused by Gu Qianying's words.
Her intention to deal with Gu Qianying on behalf of the other concubines vanished. She immediately raised her hand slightly and said, "Qianying, come, sit beside me."
"Yes, your humble servant obeys."
Gu Qianying rose respectfully and walked towards the Empress.
Having lived two lives, how could she not know the Empress's disposition? Whether it was the Empress or other concubines, everyone liked flattery.
From the moment she became the center of attention, she had planned to please the Empress and offend the other concubines.
In the inner palace, the Empress was supreme. Even if she became a thorn in the side of many concubines, as long as she clung to the Empress's support.
She figured that her future days of enjoying flowers and attending banquets with these other ladies would not be too bad.
As for what Gu Mingyue had said about the "ladies from @ Tower" and their attire, no one present was foolish. Since the instigator herself had not brought it up, the imperial consorts and noble ladies would naturally not compare themselves to the ladies from @ Tower.
Gu Qianying had taken this step very steadily.
It was a great honor for a young lady of the household to be favored by the Empress.
There were not a few envious eyes among the ladies of the boudoir, but most felt only admiration and jealousy.
Of course, even if they had thoughts, they dared not express them.
Who would dare to be presumptuous in front of the Empress!
The First Madam was both happy and worried for Gu Qianying, as her daughter had gained the Empress's favor.
Being favored by the Empress was a good thing, but it would also offend many people, and the path ahead would likely be difficult.
As for the other three young ladies of the Gu household, because their elder sister was summoned by the Empress, they also gained the goodwill of other young ladies from different households.
Consequently, more people spoke to them.
Gu Qianying only sat by the Empress's side for a short while before returning to her original seat.
She knew very well that the Empress was merely maintaining appearances, outwardly showing great favor towards her.
She naturally understood the principle of knowing when to stop.
The trivial matters that occurred among the ladies drew even more attention to Gu Qianying from the princes present.
Especially Crown Prince Nan Rongqi, who sat at the very front of the princes.
His gaze lingered on Gu Qianying for a long time.
The young eunuch serving him said, "Your Highness, Miss Gu is exceptionally intelligent and beautiful. I believe she would be a suitable Crown Princess."
Nan Rongqi picked up a grape, put it in his mouth, chewed it slowly, and spat the seeds into the young eunuch's hand before saying, "Indeed, the young ladies of the Gu household are all good-looking. It would be excellent to take them all into the palace."
Nan Rongqi's gaze swept over the young ladies of the Gu family one by one, and finally, his eyes settled on Gu Qianying.
Individually, their appearances were all good, but when compared, the eldest young lady of the Gu household had a slight edge.
Nan Rongqi raised his hand slightly and pushed a cup of tea in front of him. "Go, bestow this cup of tea from my palace upon Miss Gu."
As the Crown Prince, anything he bestowed upon his subordinates, even just a cup of tea, was considered a great honor, and everyone understood his intentions.
"Yes, Your Highness."
The young eunuch carried the tea and walked with small steps to Gu Qianying's front, saying with an arrogant tone, "Miss Gu, this is tea bestowed upon you by our Crown Prince. Our Crown Prince said that your words just now were very brilliant."
Being bestowed tea by Crown Prince Nan Rongqi caused a small stir.
After all, not everyone could receive the Crown Prince's commendation, even if it was just a cup of tea.
Immediately, the jealousy and envy of the ladies surged once more.
Not far away, Gu Mingyue was so angry that she wished she could rush over and knock the tea from the eunuch's hand.
That damned Gu Qianying, how dare she attract the Crown Prince's attention!
This shameless wench! Why should the Crown Prince favor her! Why!
Gu Ziran and Gu Yumei, the sisters, one was happy, the other jealous, their thoughts were varied.
The First Madam beside them began to worry about Gu Qianying again.
First the Empress, then the Crown Prince, her daughter had truly become the "public enemy" of the ladies!
What was to be done?
Everyone's thoughts were in disarray.
Only Gu Qianying, who remained seated and did not rise, had endless hatred hidden beneath her composed and natural expression.
The memories of Crown Prince Nan Rongqi's actions towards her in her previous life surged like a tide.
She would never forget being pierced by an arrow in the prison, her brother being made into a corpse, and her mother's head being severed!
Nan Rongqi!
Gu Qianying fiercely clenched her palm, unaware that it was bleeding.
The young eunuch, seeing Gu Qianying's inaction, frowned and said unpleasantly, reminding her, "Miss Gu, this is tea bestowed by the Crown Prince, why are you..."
Before he could finish his words, suddenly, a figure in pink rushed forward.
"Oh dear!"
The little palace maid accidentally bumped into the young eunuch, and the tea cup in the eunuch's hand flew out. The tea within was scattered in the air, spilling onto the ground.
The eunuch beside Nan Rongqi was also bumped by the palace maid. As the little palace maid fell to the ground, she grabbed the eunuch's head, making the eunuch her human shield.
The eunuch yelled, cursing, "Who is it, so careless! Get up quickly, you cur, you're crushing me."
The little palace maid deliberately lingered on the ground for a while before slowly getting up and apologizing to the eunuch, "Eunuch, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Are you alright?"
As she spoke, the little palace maid bowed to help the eunuch, but before her hand could reach him, she received a slap.
"You cur, are you blind to have bumped into me? Do you not want to live?"
As the eunuch raised his hand to deliver a second slap, Gu Qianying, unnoticed, picked up a melon seed from the banquet table and shot it towards the eunuch's knee.
"Ouch!"
The eunuch fell in a comical posture and instinctively grabbed the little palace maid's skirt. The little palace maid leaned back, and her straight body directly landed on the eunuch's head.
Ugh!
The eunuch was almost suffocated.
A flicker of shock crossed the little palace maid's eyes. She quickly looked towards Gu Qianying. Upon meeting Gu Qianying's gaze and seeing her hand, which was about to be withdrawn, she understood.
To prevent anyone from noticing Gu Qianying's actions, the little palace maid sat firmly on the eunuch's head twice more.
All the ladies present were focused on the little palace maid, so no one paid attention to Gu Qianying.
Gu Qianying scanned the little palace maid, then straightened her posture, her expression composed.
Her jade fingers lightly tapped the table, her gaze falling on the tea cup that had fallen to the ground.
If she guessed correctly, this little palace maid had acted deliberately, helping her.
But who was helping her?
Her grandfather? Her elder brother?
She thought not. Her grandfather and elder brother were accompanying the Emperor, so they would naturally not know what was happening here.
Then, who was helping her?
Gu Qianying decided not to dwell on it if she couldn't figure it out.
When she came back to her senses, the eunuch beside Nan Rongqi, after being scolded by the little palace maid, reprimanded the little palace maid again, then turned and ran to Nan Rongqi's side to explain the entire incident.
Upon hearing this, Nan Rongqi hit the eunuch a few times, then put the remaining few grapes he hadn't eaten into a jade plate and had the eunuch carry the plate to Gu Qianying.
For the first time, failing to deliver the Crown Prince's gift due to an error, this time, the eunuch protected the few grapes very well, and finally, conveyed the Crown Prince's intentions in the same tone.
The ladies' gazes towards Gu Qianying changed again.
Gu Mingyue's hatred deepened in her eyes.
At this moment.
Gu Qianying saw the few grapes on the jade plate, and it was like seeing Nan Rongqi's ugly face, making her feel disgusted.
But Nan Rongqi was the Crown Prince. If she refused to accept these grapes, others would think she was disrespecting the Crown Prince, which was a grave offense.
However, she would rather die than touch anything Nan Rongqi had touched.
Thinking thus.
Gu Qianying gave a slight bow to the eunuch, "Qianying thanks His Highness the Crown Prince."
Placing the jade plate of grapes before her, Gu Qianying glanced sideways at Gu Mingyue and said, "Second sister, you always loved eating grapes the most. I will offer this as a gift and give the Crown Prince's bestowed grapes to second sister."
Gu Qianying did not even reach out, directly asking Luzhu to bring the jade plate to Gu Mingyue.
Gu Mingyue was stunned for a moment. She had been resenting Gu Qianying, but now, holding the grapes as if they were pearls, she forgot everything else.
That damned Gu Qianying was so foolish as to give the Crown Prince's bestowed gift to her.
Hmph! It was only natural that only someone as beautiful and intelligent as her deserved the Crown Prince's bestowal.
The eunuch beside Nan Rongqi, seeing Gu Qianying's lack of appreciation, frowned displeasedly, "Miss Gu, that is something bestowed upon you by the Crown Prince. How dare you..."
Gu Qianying coldly interrupted him, "Since it is bestowed upon me, I naturally can bestow it upon others. Do you have any objections, Eunuch?"
"You... you..." The eunuch was choked by Gu Qianying's words and immediately turned to leave to report back to Nan Rongqi.
Upon hearing that Gu Qianying had given his bestowed gift to Gu Mingyue, the second young lady of the Gu household, Nan Rongqi's face immediately darkened, "This woman, hmph, incorrigible!"
Nan Rongqi was in a very bad mood. He glanced at Gu Qianying several times.
Conversely, Gu Qianying never paid him any attention.
This made Nan Rongqi even more determined to have Gu Qianying.
No woman dared to refuse him, the Crown Prince!
Among the ladies, upon seeing Gu Qianying give the Crown Prince's bestowed gift to her sister Gu Mingyue, some said it was sisterly affection, while others said Gu Qianying was foolish.
Jealousy, mockery, and whispers made the banquet quite lively.
Suddenly, everyone at the palace banquet fell silent.
A figure in white robes entered everyone's sight.