Her elder sister steals her husband? She marries the God of War and is pampered beyond measure!

Chapter 20 Consort Shen deliberately made a mistake

Inside the hall, everyone harbored their own thoughts and secretly observed each other.

The Empress suddenly remembered something and smiled at Su Mowan and the other two, saying, "I almost forgot the important matter. Come, come, let me introduce you. This is Consort Xiao, and that is Consort Shen."

She first pointed to the left, then to the right.

Both imperial concubines wore polite smiles.

The three of them quickly bowed again.

The Empress continued, "The lady seated below is the Crown Princess. You will inevitably have dealings with her in the future, so I specially invited her here to introduce you."

The three said in unison, "Greetings, Crown Princess."

The Crown Princess nodded slightly, a faint smile on her face.

Su Mowan's heart was pounding, but seeing that the Crown Princess looked at her with normal eyes, she was slightly relieved.

"My two sisters, this is our Murong family's new daughter-in-law. Huayue, come and pay your respects to the two imperial concubines." The Empress beckoned to Su Huayue.

Su Huayue responded softly and stepped forward. Immediately, a palace maid brought a teacup to her.

This is the time to perform the tea ceremony.

One must kneel to serve tea to the Empress, but this is not necessary when serving tea to a Consort.

Su Huayue held the teacup with both hands and respectfully offered it to the Empress. The Empress accepted it, took a sip, and then presented her with a jade ruyi. Next was Consort Xiao.

This is Su Huayue's real mother-in-law, and Murong Jin's biological mother.

Su Huayue respectfully served tea, and Consort Xiao smiled and bestowed upon her a jade bracelet. Then it was Consort Shen's turn, and she was given a jade pendant.

What followed proved to be a real challenge for the Empress.

Su Mowan and Shen Muyue are both concubines and entered the household on the same day. Who should come first?

Just then, Consort Shen beckoned to Shen Muyue and said, "What are you standing there for? Come and serve tea to Her Majesty the Empress."

Shen Muyue was taken aback at first, then realized what she meant and said, "Let Sister Su go first."

Consort Shen exchanged a glance with her, coughed lightly, and said nothing more.

Upon seeing this, the Empress smiled with satisfaction.

Su Mowan frowned slightly and stepped forward to serve tea as required by etiquette.

The Empress's reaction was noticeably colder, a stark contrast to her treatment of Su Huayue. After receiving her reward, Su Mowan turned to Consort Shen.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Consort Shen touched the teacup, the cup began to fall uncontrollably.

This sudden change caught everyone off guard.

Consort Shen exclaimed in surprise, and even the palace maids serving her were startled.

With quick eyes and hands, Su Mowan extended her slender foot and landed the teacup steadily on the embroidered shoe without spilling a drop of water!

"Your Highness, please don't be angry. It was my oversight. Please allow me to pour you another cup."

After saying that, she took another cup from the maid and respectfully handed it to Consort Shen.

Everyone present clearly saw Su Mowan's quick thinking just now.

The Empress remained expressionless, Consort Xiao seemed lost in thought, while Consort Shen gritted her teeth and reluctantly accepted the teacup.

After drinking, Consort Shen only gave a faint reply and did not bestow anything upon her.

Su Mowan didn't care about this, but silently kept in mind Consort Shen's deliberate slip-up.

Consort Xiao, however, was surprisingly kind and approachable. With a smile in her eyes, she happily sipped the tea that was offered to her, and then took off a red gold pine and crane hairpin.

"Take it. You are Huayue's sister, and this small gift from me is something I can easily afford."

Upon hearing this, Consort Shen's face immediately darkened, and she glared at Consort Xiao with displeasure.

Su Huayue was even more unhappy.

The hairpin that Consort Xiao bestowed upon Su Mowan was clearly much more precious than the jade bracelet she received!

Those were picked by the Imperial Concubine herself!

Ignoring the piercing gaze behind her, Su Mowan obediently accepted the hairpin.

It was Shen Muyue's turn to step forward.

With a gentle smile on her face, she first offered tea to the Empress, and then to Consort Shen.

As expected, Consort Shen took off the begonia-colored jade bracelet from her wrist and handed it over.

Shen Muyue accepted the jade bracelet with a smile.

Seeing that only Consort Xiao had not yet tasted the tea, Shen Muyue carefully picked up the teacup and walked toward her with bated breath.

The next instant, a crisp cracking sound rang out in the hall.