Glancing at the Empress, her expression was indeed quite grim.
Although Xia Ruqing disliked the Empress, she couldn't openly fall out with her, could she? After all, the Empress still held power. A complete fallout would benefit neither her nor Little Bun.
So, after some thought, Xia Ruqing simply nodded indifferently. "Thank you for the compliment, Noble Consort!"
And then, that was it.
The atmosphere became a bit awkward.
Seeing this, Consort Hui Pin hurriedly changed the subject. "Today, the tea at Her Majesty the Empress's residence is truly fragrant! To me, it tastes like this year's new Mingqian Longjing!"
The Empress glanced at Consort Hui Pin, her expression softening slightly. She forced a smile. "It's just some tea leaves, nothing so rare! If you like it, I'll have Yu Lan send you some later!"
Consort Hui Pin smiled. "I wouldn't dare trouble Lady Yu Lan. I'll have Xiang Tan come to fetch it instead!"
The Empress nodded. "Very well!"
