Guests crowded the great hall of the Prince's Mansion, their laughter and conversation filling the air.
Maidservants brought dishes in an endless stream. The wives of the nobility savored the delicacies, occasionally offering the Princess Consort a few flattering words.
From beginning to end, no one pleaded on behalf of Concubine Zhao or Wang Xifeng.
One had been a maid, while the other was a junior without the title of an imperially invested lady. Who would offend Her Highness the Princess Consort for their sake?
The two stood in the hall, far from the banquet tables and braziers, until their hands and feet slowly turned ice-cold.
Wang Xifeng's face was pale, a fire of anger bottled up inside her. She had always been fierce and sharp-tongued. How could she endure such crushing humiliation, let alone the mocking looks aimed at her from every direction?
"Your Highness, I am feeling weary and will return home first." Taking Concubine Zhao by the hand, she turned toward the doors.
Bang!
The smile on the Princess Consort's face vanished. She slammed her teacup onto the table and spoke coldly:
"You dare disrespect me? Do you harbor resentment against me? Or does the Rongguo Mansion fail to teach proper manners? Leaving early from a banquet hosted by a princess consort-what an inflated opinion you have of yourself!"
The hall fell utterly silent, its atmosphere rigid as iron.
"If you dare step through that door, I will certainly lodge a complaint against you with the Empress Dowager!"
For all her graceful bearing, the Princess Consort's tone was forceful and brooked no argument.
She had arranged this banquet to humiliate a lowly concubine, partly to stand up for an old friend and partly to advance her younger brother's prospects.
It had nothing to do with the daughter-in-law