In the midsummer of July, the sky was clear and the clouds were clean. Flowers were blooming in this season, and the Imperial Garden was full of fragrance and beautiful flowers.

In the spacious pavilion beside the koi pond, a long table had been set up early, on which were exquisite incense, teapots, and desserts.

When the hour came, the concubines gathered around the table in order.

Where there were women, there were intrigue and controversy. Concubine Xu walked into the pavilion when the eunuch announced her arrival. She greeted the other concubines after paying respect to Noble Concubine Wan.

Gu Yunxi stood behind Concubine Xu's seat respectfully with a lowered head, and glanced at the long table.

She only knew three of these beautiful young women here, and the others were all strange to her.

These three women were Noble Concubine Wan, Gu Yunjin, and Sun Shengsheng who entered the Palace at the same time as Gu Yunxi.

Gu Yunjin's situation was quite different from what it was a year ago. After Ming Lan's training, Gu Yunjin seized the opportunity and successfully attracted the attention of Emperor Jingxiao. She gained the favor of the emperor, and at this time she had been promoted from Cairen to Jieyu. Everything was not what it used to be.

She was wearing a spring peach-colored blouse with flowers on it and a pleated skirt which swept the ground. She wore her hair up in a high bun with a cluster of beautiful hairpins on it, looking bright and charming.

Sun Shengsheng's seat was next to Gu Yunjin. She was very honored to be invited to meet the Imperial Noble Concubine and celebrate the Girl's Meeting with all the concubines in the imperial harem when she had been in the Palace just for a short time.

This day, she got up early deliberately, dressing up carefully.

She was wearing a red silk blouse with confederate roses on it and a water-wave skirt, and her hair was in a high bun, decorated with many hairpins.

A precious hairpin swayed its long tassels by her temple. When it was swinging, three bunches of golden threads and white beads were shining brightly, serving as a foil to her fair and fascinating face.

The Imperial Noble Concubine, Wan Yuyao, sat at the main seat of the long table, who was wearing a sunset-colored blouse and a purple skirt which swept the ground. A red hairpin with jade drops on it hung on her crossed bun, decorated by several colorful bead flowers.

She looked beautiful and dignified, and even her unmoving sitting posture was silently revealing her natural nobility. Her beautiful eyes were bright and cold, and her eyebrows were long and thin. People would feel shuddering when they looked into her eyes with natural dignity in them.

After looking at the three women, Gu Yunxi carefully searched the seats for two more times, but she did not find Gu Yunyao and her maids. There was only one empty chair beside the table, which made her surprised.

This was strange. How could Zhaoyi Yu be absent on such an important day?

Could it be that she...

When she was guessing, Jinzhu had already handed the food box to Lihu, the chief maid of Noble Concubine Wan.

"Sister, this is the cheese cake in your palace? How is it different from the one you gave me last time?"

Wan Yuyao asked in an indifferent tone, while her expression looked a bit sharp.

Anyone could hear the great displeasure through her sharp ending sound.

There was immediately a murmur.

"Oh, what is this?"

"It looks fresh, but it doesn't look like a dessert or a glutinous rice ball..."

"Hope that Your Grace won't get angry, otherwise there will be a good show for us then."

When Gu Yunxi heard it, she hurriedly gathered her wandering thoughts, and looked at Concubine Xu quietly.

Concubine Xu got up calmly, and said in a gentle tone after bowing to Noble Concubine Wan.

"Your Grace, this ice-dessert is called 'ghee hill'. It's not the kind of pastry like cheese cakes."

"Your Grace, I know you like cheese, but it is July now. It's so hot in summer, so I used cheese as the main ingredient to make an ice-dessert for you to relieve the summer heat."

"Please taste it first, Your Grace. If you don't like it, I will ask the maids to remake some cheese cakes."

"Ice-dessert?"

Wan Yuyao raised her curved eyebrows, and her sullen eyes swept towards the sharp hill on the dish with lotus leaves on it.

No matter how she looked at it, this dessert with peculiar appearance couldn't be compared with the few desserts on the long table in Wan Yuyao's opinion.

Wan Yuyao was puzzled at the moment, thinking that Concubine Xu was a delicate-minded person, and she was always careful with her, so she wouldn't just offer the dessert which was pleasant to the eye but of bad taste to her so curtly this day.

So, she would taste it first. If it tasted bad, she would have something on her then and she could make difficulties for her at will.

She had done something secretly for several times before, but she just failed to prevent Concubine Xu from giving birth to her son. It still rankled with Wan Yuyao.

This day, Concubine Xu's ice-dessert might help her have something on her then.

"Since you said so, I will taste this 'ghee hill'."

When Wan Yuyao finished speaking, Lihu, her chief maid, stepped to the table and took the jade bowl spoon to dig a spoon from the 'ghee hill'. She put it into the emerald bowl together with the bright red cherry, and put the bowl carefully beside Wan Yuyao's hand.

There was no sound in the pavilion. So many eyes were watching Wan Yuyao's every movement, and all the concubines were curious and inquiring.

As for Gu Yunxi and Concubine Xu, at this moment, they were so nervous.

Everyone knew that Noble Concubine Wan was temperamental. They wondered what face she would put on after tasting the "ghee hill".

Wan Yuyao grabbed the handle of the spoon lazily, and sent a little food into her mouth. Her lips moved, and then she swallowed it.

The careless expression on her face instantly froze, and there was no change for a while.

The concubines were shocked, and some hot-headed concubines whispered immediately.

"Your Grace, are you okay?"

"Is the food bad?"

Sun Shengsheng immediately echoed with desire to stir up trouble.

The several concubines' remarks made Lihu puzzled on the spot. She bent down to look at Wan Yuyao who was still in a daze, and called her in a panic.

"Your Grace..."

Concubine Xu paled in shock, her heart undulating, her white forehead sweating slightly.

Standing behind, Gu Yunxi ignored the rules of the Palace and raised her eyes to look at Wan Yuyao in a panic.

When everyone was at a loss, Wan Yuyao slapped the table fiercely, and declared her praise quickly.

"Great! So great! The milk is sweet and cool. It's really delicious! Sister Xu, there are so many fresh things in your palace!"

All the concubines were stunned. Concubine Xu got up from her seat again, bowed to her, and got relieved finally.

"Your Grace, you're flattering me. In such a hot season, you still have so much work to do for the Girl's Meeting. It's my honor to offer the ice-dessert to you to help you relieve the heat. I just hope you will like it."

"Of course, I like it. Just sit down."

It was really delicious food for Wan Yuyao. The amazing light in her moisty eyes flickered frequently, and she praised Concubine Xu repeatedly.

"In terms of ice-dessert, the Concubinary Kitchen just make some green bean paste or plum juice every year. And they will cloy. Sister Xu, the people in your palace are really the most ingenious. They should have made such a delicious and unique ice-dessert!"

Turning her eyes slightly, Wan Yuyao looked at Lihu and ordered.

"Distribute the dish of 'ghee hill' to all the sisters. Let's alleviate the heat together."

Lihu followed her words, walked to the seats of each concubine, and put a spoon of "ghee hill" into their bowls one by one.

Because it was praised by the Imperial Noble Concubine, all the concubines looked at the ice-dessert in their bowls and echoed.

"It is indeed exquisite! The white and soft look makes people appetite."

"It's delicious. It's really delicious. I eat ice-dessert out of cheese for the first time!"

They always knew that their survival in the Palace depended on whose side they were on. No matter what Noble Concubine Wan did, they just had to follow that, which could show their determination to stand by her for their safety.

Wan Yuyao took a sip of tea calmly, but her sharp eyes were looking at the whispering concubines, who were all smiling and charming.

There was no shortage of young and beautiful women in the imperial harem. She had been as young and immature as they were, and she had also gained all the favor of the emperor once.

At this time, she was in the high position. Looking at the countless beautiful ladies, she had an indescribable feeling.

Lihu returned to Wan Yuyao after walking round the table, saying in a low voice and lowering head.

"Your Grace, I have distributed the 'ghee hill' to all the ladies. But Zhaoyi Yu in Xiaoye Chamber hasn't come yet."

Wan Yuyao's face suddenly turned sullen. She glanced at the empty seat with a cold smile and sharp eyes.

"After all, she has been greatly favored by the emperor, so she must be more delicate than us. Sister Yu has been resting for almost half a year out of indisposition, and this time she even doesn't come for the Girl's Meeting hosted by me. It seems that she is so seriously-ill that even my words don't work then."

Silence reigned.

Gu Yunxi's face changed. While she was just a servant, so she didn't dare to talk. She could only clench her slender hands into fists, worrying for Gu Yunyao secretly.

Her eyes flickered. Inadvertently, she saw Gu Yunjin, whose eyes were cold and who showed a faint and sinister smile.

Next to her, Sun Shengsheng said eloquently with her chest out.

"Zhaoyi Yu is really off-key. The annual Girl's Meeting is an important day in the Palace. Anyway, even if she can't come here, she should send a maid here to report. She just ignores Your Grace now!"

Her loud voice caused the concubines to talk again.

"Yeah. She is so disrespectful!"

"Obviously she just ignores Your Grace!"

Gu Yunxi stood silently behind Concubine Xu. Her sharp eyes swept across the women, trying to firmly engrave their ugly faces in her heart.

In the chaos, Sun Shengsheng ignored Wan Yuyao's increasingly gloomy face and looked at Gu Yunjin who was next to her.

To be honest, Sun Shengsheng had not been in the Palace for a long time. But because his father was a second-rank official who had a prominent position, she was granted the fourth-rank title of Jieyu as soon as she entered the Palace.

Within a few days in the Palace, Sun Shengsheng had already got the information of the family background of all the concubines by buying off others with money.

She knew that Gu Yunjin, who was sitting next to her, was born in the Garden, and she was an adopted daughter of the former governor of the Garden when she was young. Only because she had been in the Palace for a long time and she used some unspeakable means to confuse the emperor, she climbed to the position of Jieyu then.

How could such a humble woman sit on the same level as her, the daughter of the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi?

Sun Shengsheng smiled sinisterly, turned her head to look at Gu Yunjin, and said.

"Jin Jieyu, you have the same surname as Zhaoyi Yu, and your names have only one different character. It is said that you are both the daughters of the former governor of the Garden, and you have been sisters for more than ten years. Since Zhaoyi Yu is so arrogant and defiant, you should have known that already as you are her sister, right?"

Sun Shengsheng's question was nothing but to remind everyone present that Zhaoyi Yu who was absent and Jin Jieyu were sisters. Since the elder sister was disrespectful, naturally the younger sister couldn't get rid of that. So, while attacking Gu Yunyao with words, she also wanted to get Gu Yunjin involved.

No matter how stupid Gu Yunjin was, she had been in the deep Palace for two years, so how could she not understand what Sun Shengsheng meant?

Her face changed immediately with her heart hanging, and she looked at the cold people present with extreme anxiety.

She stood up quickly, bowed deeply to Wan Yuyao and said.

"Before entering the Palace, even though both I and Zhaoyi Yu studied in the Garden, I was adopted by the former governor, so we didn't have much contact with each other in private."

"I've also heard that Zhaoyi Yu was not in good health for nearly half a year, and she seldom appeared in the harem. As for why she is absent from the Girl's Meeting today, I have no idea. Your Grace, please do justice to me."

Before Wan Yuyao spoke, Sun Shengsheng said again.

"What a good sister. You've left yourself so innocent!"

"You..."

Gu Yunjin was so embarrassed and angry. When she was about to fight back, she was interrupted by Wan Yuyao.

"Well, we are all sisters. Don't hurt each other with such trivial matters. Since Zhaoyi Yu can't come here out of her bad health, forget her then."

Sun Shengsheng was startled. She looked at Wan Yuyao who sat in the main seat in confusion, and then immediately put on a smiling face.

"Your Grace, you are so generous to forgive these affected people."

After speaking, she raised her eyebrows and looked around, looking forward to receiving Wan Yuyao's praise.

Although the Imperial Noble Concubine was not the master of the Eastern Palace, she was second only to the Empress and she was in charge of all the affairs of the imperial harem. It would be great if she could use the incident this day to curry favor with Noble Concubine Wan.

Wan Yuyao's eyes were no longer sharp. She lowered her eyes slowly, holding a tea cup in her hand, and her white index finger gently stroked the rim of the gold cup.

Cold light burst out from her bright eyes. She then sized up Sun Shengsheng's delicate and tender pink face quietly, and then her exquisite costumes.

The same red brocade dress was really eye-catching when it was worn by a young girl.

Governor Sun really had a rich family. Not to mention the hairpins Sun Shengsheng wore, even her red palace dress was so expensive. No wonder that this charming beauty was used to being willful and arrogant.

Her face, her temperament, her sharp mouth, and her bold dress...

Wan Yuyao's eyes looked dim and cold, and she let out a deep and cold snort then.

The chief maid knew that the Imperial Noble Concubine was angry when she saw her holding the cup and spinning it lightly. She then observed the concubines present, waiting for the Imperial Noble Concubine's next order.

The long voice of the eunuch outside sounded suddenly, breaking the cold silence in the pavilion.

"Zhaoyi Yu from Xiaoye Chamber arrives!"