Dual Queens GL - Chapter 10

“The East Palace Empress is the paragon of the Six Palaces. It is only right for this subject to learn from her. Moreover, even if this subject wished to learn from her, I could only capture a fraction of her essence,” Su Qingqing immediately said, feigning an air of humility and apprehension.

“That’s true. Although Hua Chao confines herself tightly, she naturally possesses an attractive charm and is very lovely. It’s true that ordinary people can’t imitate her, so it’s better not to try.” Liu Hening agreed with her, admitting that she still preferred Hua Chao a little more.

Su Qingqing thought to herself, Is Liu Hening implying that I am engaging in an imitation that only highlights my flaws? Liu Hening’s trick of boosting one person while subtly putting down another was skillful. She was clearly praising Ye Guichen while subtly belittling her, and praising herself while subtly belittling her. But the other person was the Emperor’s new Empress. What could she, a lowly Lady of Cultivation, do? Naturally, she could only patiently endure it.

“Your Ladyship’s admonishment is right. This subject will be more careful next time,” Su Qingqing said, appearing very respectful on the surface.

“Qingqing, are you misunderstanding something? I didn’t mean to admonish you.” Liu Hening felt that before she entered the palace, people understood whatever she said, but after entering the palace, these beauties always seemed to misinterpret her words. Qingqing didn’t look very happy either. She truly hoped that everyone could show their genuine nature in front of her. She disliked them maintaining a respectful facade with no sincerity.

“It must be Your Ladyship who misunderstood something!” Su Qingqing said with patience. Look at Liu Hening’s harmless face, feigning an innocent expression—it looked quite convincing.

“Never mind, it must be my fault for saying something that upset Qingqing.” Liu Hening, without any Empress-like airs, immediately apologized and admitted her mistake.

This surprised Su Qingqing. After all, Liu Hening didn’t need to curry favor with her, a minor Lady of Cultivation. Was this new Empress truly too casual, or was she feigning it? Su Qingqing was unsure.

“Your Ladyship, you humble this servant. If there is any mistake, it must be this subject’s fault,” Su Qingqing said, acting humble and fearful. How could she dare accept Liu Hening’s apology? The more she thought about it, the more she felt this person was giving her a show of dominance. She felt Liu Hening was harder to serve than Ye Guichen. No, Ye Guichen prided herself on being virtuous and dignified and would never do such a treacherous thing.

Liu Hening also realized that it was one thing for Hua Chao not to be close to her, but now Qingqing also didn’t want to be close to her. It must be her own problem.

“Well, let’s just assume neither of us made a mistake. Oh, right, I want to give Qingqing something. I think it will look especially beautiful on her. Yan, go find that string of Eastern Pearls in the pile of things Jun Shen sent,” Liu Hening said to Liu Yan.

“Alright.” Liu Yan immediately went inside to find the string of Eastern Pearls.

“What is your name again?” Liu Hening asked Lady Li, who was sitting next to Su Qingqing, gloating and watching the commotion. Suddenly being called out, Lady Li was caught off guard. She thought, Is this new Empress going to give a show of dominance to all of us, one by one?

“This subject is Li Lian, daughter of the Minister of Works, Li Zhaoran,” Li Lian quickly replied. She hoped the new Empress would not make things too difficult for her, considering her father was the Minister of Works, even though she was an unfavored illegitimate daughter.

Li Lian’s birth mother was a courtesan. Coupled with Li Zhaoran’s philandering, not counting the legitimate daughters, he had eight or nine illegitimate daughters alone. Because of her background, she was looked down upon by her other siblings. So, her mother encouraged Li Zhaoran to send her daughter into the palace, hoping that once she gained power, the mother would become honored through the daughter. Not daring to hope for too much, if she were to bear a dragon son, her daughter could become the mother of an imperial prince, and then who would dare look down on them? Her mother had no other talent except singing little tunes and serving men, and under her mother’s subtle influence, Li Lian’s voice was like a nightingale’s, able to sing beautiful songs that could completely ensnare a man’s soul.

If Su Qingqing was described by the word “seductive,” then Li Lian was described by the word “sultry.” Although not exceptionally beautiful, every movement she made carried an air of sultriness, a kind of allure that seemed ingrained in her bones.

“What a lovely voice,” Liu Hening praised. Her voice was like sticky silk, clinging to a person. If she sang, it would definitely be beautiful.

“Your Ladyship, you don’t know, the Emperor loves to listen to the songs sung by Lady Li the most,” Lady Wang, who was on bad terms with Li Lian, spoke up at this moment. She had always looked down on Li Lian’s courtesan-like manners, but unfortunately, men fell for it. She thought Liu Hening, being of respectable birth, would surely also look down on a temptress like Li Lian.

Lady Li disliked Wang Suzhi the most. She resembled the sisters in her family who looked down on her. It serves her right that she’s not as favored as I am, she thought, with that sharp, mean look.

“Really? Then Lian’er, sing a song for me later too,” Liu Hening said very happily. Sure enough, the women in Jun Shen’s harem all had their own outstanding qualities.

Lady Li was also stunned to be called “Lian’er.” In the palace, besides the Emperor, no one else called her that. Seeing the joy on Liu Hening’s face, which didn’t seem fake, she thought, Does this new Empress perhaps like women? After all, her mother had seen a lot during her time in the pleasure quarter and had told her some stories. She said the most popular courtesan in her establishment had actually fallen in love with another courtesan. One of them, for the sake of the other, was unwilling to leave even when someone offered to redeem her. But later, their ending was reportedly not good. Her mother also suspected that the Madam of her family and her personal maid were having an affair. Although it was never confirmed, the two did seem very close. Thus, Li Lian also had her suspicions. After all, the Madam was from an official family, not jealous, and considered very virtuous, but her appearance was quite ordinary. Since men married for virtue and took concubines for beauty, Li Zhaoran taking a bunch of beautiful concubines meant that the plain-looking Madam had inevitably slept alone for many years. It was quite reasonable for her to have an affair with the personal maid she brought from her maternal home.

Of course, Li Lian wouldn’t conclude that Liu Hening was attracted to women just based on a title. She was just puzzled that Liu Hening, as Empress, showed absolutely no hostility or contempt towards her. Her mother had to fight for the Emperor’s favor among several concubines, and she had to fight for attention among her siblings. She had been very sensitive to the hostility of women since she was little. For instance, her family’s Madam truly held no hostility toward her and her mother, otherwise, she wouldn’t have allowed the concubines and their illegitimate children to flourish like mushrooms after the rain, one after another. Also, take Ye Guichen: no matter how well she concealed it, Li Lian could still sense that she disliked them, the consorts. It was probably because she was of noble birth and self-possessed, too proud to engage in petty competition or use underhanded methods against the favored consorts. Having such an Empress was a blessing for them, the concubines. They didn’t have to guard against the main wife making trouble, only against the petty scheming of the others. But who knew that the Emperor would suddenly appoint a new Empress? She was initially worried that if the new one was petty and sinister, they wouldn’t have any good days. Now that she had seen the new Empress, she was not one of the conventional women she had met. Li Lian had no idea what kind of person she was. This was not a woman she could figure out at a glance.

“If Your Ladyship wishes to hear it, this subject will certainly sing it for Your Ladyship,” Li Lian said respectfully, her eyes downcast. Her voice, however, carried the same seductive charm as when she spoke to Yang Zhao. While speaking, Li Lian secretly observed Liu Hening.

Wang Suzhi thought, This little flirt is acting seductively toward the Emperor, fine, but using this tone with the new Empress too? She’s not afraid of annoying Liu Hening? She waited to see Li Lian become a joke. So, Wang Suzhi observed Liu Hening almost at the same time as Li Lian.

“That’s wonderful,” Liu Hening said with undisguised delight. There was nothing unusual about her. Her gaze towards Li Lian was very clear. Li Lian saw no abnormality in Liu Hening’s expression. She felt the new Empress didn’t particularly dislike her, but she wasn’t interested in women either, as she had guessed earlier.

Wang Suzhi was puzzled, seeing no change in Liu Hening’s expression. Doesn’t Liu Hening feel any aversion towards Li Lian’s seductive manner?

Liu Hening assumed Li Lian always spoke this way. Although she did find it seductive, it was too seductive. It was like a dessert: the sweetness should be just right. If too much is added, it becomes too sweet, too cloying. Liu Hening felt that when Li Lian spoke normally, it was just right, but at this moment, she felt Li Lian was trying too hard, overdoing it.

Just then, Liu Yan brought a string of Eastern Pearls and handed it to Liu Hening.

“Qingqing, this string of Eastern Pearls will look exceptionally beautiful on you,” Liu Hening handed the pearls to Su Qingqing.

“This subject dare not accept!” Su Qingqing was terrified and immediately knelt down, thinking, Is Liu Hening trying to harm me?

“Why?” Liu Hening asked, puzzled.

“These were specially made for Your Ladyship. Consorts cannot use them casually; it violates the rites,” Yu Zheng, standing nearby, was also startled. Giving away imperial gifts could lead to decapitation if the Emperor blamed them. So, she quickly reminded her.

“I see. The number is wrong. That’s easy to fix. Yan, go get a pair of scissors and a thin string that can hold these,” Liu Hening thought. She would just cut them and restring them. Changing the quantity would be simple.

“Your Ladyship, this is an imperial gift; it cannot be damaged casually,” Yu Zheng quickly advised.

“Jun Shen gave it to me; it is mine. I can dispose of it however I wish,” Liu Hening said completely unconcerned. She thought Jun Shen would never punish her over trivial objects, and besides, the people she was giving gifts to were all women he favored. Liu Hening thought she was merely borrowing flowers to offer to the Buddha.

Although Liu Yan also felt her Miss was being reckless, she obediently went to fetch the scissors and thin string, knowing that if she didn’t go, her Miss would go herself. No one could stop her Miss once she decided on something.

After Liu Yan brought them, Liu Hening cut the string of Eastern Pearls. The individual pearls fell into a jade plate. Then, master and servant, as if no one else were present, began stringing them again.

Su Qingqing, Li Lian, and the others were dumbfounded. This new Empress is simply too bold! And too… too willful!

Liu Hening converted the one string of Eastern Pearls into two: a bracelet and a necklace. After stringing them, she gave them to Su Qingqing.

“This subject still dares not accept!” Su Qingqing felt like the pearls were a hot potato and didn’t dare touch them.

“I am the Empress, right? You have to listen to me, right? Then if I tell you to accept, you must accept. Don’t worry. If Jun Shen blames you, I’ll take the responsibility.” Liu Hening asserted her status as Empress.

Only after Liu Hening said this did Su Qingqing timidly accept the two extremely precious strings of Eastern Pearls.

They realized this was just the beginning. Liu Hening recognized every single consort and gave each beauty a gift. They were all sorts of rare treasures.

Initially, Su Qingqing, Li Lian, Wang Suzhi, and the others were very uneasy. But after seeing everyone receive a gift, they felt somewhat relieved, thinking that the law doesn’t punish a multitude. Several women had never seen such treasures in their lives, as they were only fit for an Empress. They secretly rejoiced, thinking this new Empress was truly generous and willing to give away such treasures.

It took over an hour for Liu Hening to get to know all the beauties and act as the “Wealth-Scattering Child” (someone who gives away treasure). She had originally wanted to keep these beauties for lunch, but they were clearly intimidated by her behavior and insisted on going back to their own palaces to eat. Liu Hening could only let them go.

“Miss, you gave treasures to everyone, but why didn’t you give one to the East Palace Empress? People who don’t know might think you’re buying popularity!” Liu Yan asked, puzzled. Also, why did she secretly say bad things about Ye Guichen in front of so many people? Even if it wasn’t entirely bad, those words would probably be unpleasant for Ye Guichen to hear.

“Hua Chao grew up in the palace. What kind of treasures hasn’t she seen? She definitely wouldn’t care for these vulgar things.” Liu Hening believed that Hua Chao, like herself, would surely dislike these common objects.

“Whether she cares for them or not is secondary. Giving a gift at least shows sincerity!” Liu Yan said. When it came to conducting herself, sometimes her Miss seemed very insightful, but other times she seemed confused.

“Of course. I’ve already decided what to give Hua Chao. Yan, go fetch my new painting of Guanyin and send it to Hua Chao’s palace. I think she will definitely like it.” Liu Hening said to Liu Yan. How could she forget to send a gift to Hua Chao? This would truly show her sincerity.

“Miss…” Liu Yan hesitated. Not everyone liked a painting of Guanyin, and she hadn’t heard that Ye Guichen was a devout Buddhist. Moreover… Forget it, she thought. It is indeed Miss’s sincere intention.