Palace Fighting Naive Concubines’ Ascent to Power
Chapter 137: I Want to Give You a Gift (Part One)

Chapter 137: Chapter 137: I Want to Give You a Gift (Part One)

The Emperor looked at his mischievous Little Concubine and pinched her nose, teasingly asking, "Why have you stopped talking?"

Lian Hua’s eyes flitted about, and she started to stutter, "Oh, well, I was bored in the room and missed His Majesty so much, I just went out for a little while, and His Majesty just returned~~"

The Emperor raised an eyebrow, had this little rascal started to sweeten her lies now?

But he was rather pleased inside and didn’t expose her. He went along with her and said, "Is that so? It was I who delayed our time, should I punish myself by giving Xiao Lian Hua a kiss, would that be good?"

His Majesty hadn’t noticed; that was close, hehehe!

Lian Hua felt a little urge to laugh, and with her eyes shining, she looked at His Majesty somewhat bashfully and nodded almost imperceptibly.

Actually, she really liked it when His Majesty kissed her, oh my, just thinking about it made her blush.

The Emperor’s gaze suddenly turned deep, and he wrapped his arms around her waist and slowly leaned down to kiss her lips, savoring the taste.

Lian Hua couldn’t help but close her eyes, her ears turned red, and her hands climbed around His Majesty’s neck as she softly responded.

The candlelight was hazy, casting a gentle glow.

...

Under the dim light, a haggard woman leaned against the bed.

A Palace Maid knelt before the bed, reporting something.

When she had finished reporting, the woman on the bed lifted her eyelids, a faint smile on her lips, and spoke softly, "Let it be known over there too, let them be aware."

The Palace Maid respectfully acknowledged the order, not daring to say more.

The woman took a handkerchief and gently wiped the traces of blood from her lips, speaking slowly, "The play is about to begin; debts owed must sooner or later be repaid." After speaking, her smile deepened, and her entire being fell into memories, her eyes flashing with a trace of malice.

The bedroom was dim and obscure, not a single face could be clearly seen, and heavy curtains hung all around, not even a breath of autumn wind could stir them.

Inside Huaqing Palace.

The Noble Consort waved off the Palace Attendants, staying alone and quietly, leaning her head on her hand, her expression distracted.

Ever since receiving the news, she had sat alone in the palace for nearly a day without touching food or water.

The night had deepened, and Cai Qin came in once to persuade her to eat something, but was refused. She had come in again to add water and ask about food, but was still refused.

What she liked most about Cai Qin was that she never spoke too much. She always knew what to do and what not to do. Knowing that she wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone today, Cai Qin didn’t allow anyone to disturb her.

Without looking in a mirror, she knew her complexion was terrible, perhaps even desiccated. Her lips had become so parched that they had started to crack and peel.

She couldn’t remember how long it had been since she last felt like this, there was one time, many, many years ago, when she heard that the candidate for Crown Princess Consort was not her...

Many years ago, while she was still waiting in her maiden chamber, her father had told her the Former Empress Dowager intended to select her as the Crown Princess Consort, and she had been overjoyed to hear it.

Others might have feared the complicated environment of the Late Emperor’s harem and found it difficult to cope after becoming the Crown Princess Consort, but not her. She was confident in her intelligence and her ability to stand by his side.

She had already seen him by then and still remembered how, while she and her sisters were out on an excursion, she had been chatting and laughing softly in the carriage when suddenly the horses were startled, causing panic amongst them.

It turned out their carriage had come around a corner and nearly collided with him as he galloped by, whipping his horse and startling theirs.

Once the carriage stabilized, she cautiously lifted a corner of the curtain to see who it was, and saw him riding atop a tall horse, seemingly returning from outside the capital, covered in dust and grime, his face an expressionless mask of breathtaking beauty.

His subordinates asked a few questions of her, and seeing that they were unharmed, he quickly left with his subordinates on horseback, as if in a hurry to continue on his way.

In a fleeting glimpse, her heart fell for him from just one look, sadly she did not get to hear his voice at the time.

Later, she found out that the person she encountered was the Crown Prince, and learning news from her father, how could she not be elated?

Her talents were second to none in the capital, she always believed that only she was worthy of him, to stand by his side as an equal, yet to her greatest surprise, the position of Crown Princess Consort was snatched by a daughter of a minor official. The woman was both foolish and muddled, not to mention frail, how could she be suitable?

If it were not for the Late Emperor’s Consort Mei making trouble, she would have become the Crown Princess Consort long ago, and upon his accession to the throne, she would naturally have become the Empress. Why should she have to settle for being a Noble Consort now?

Back then, her father told her that the choice for the Crown Princess Consort had been made, and it was not her, by the order of the Late Emperor, but the Former Empress Dowager still favored her and asked if she still wished to enter the Eastern Palace.

At that moment, it felt like a thunderclap on a clear day, the world spinning around her. She sat silently through the night, and the next day, she replied to her father that she was willing.

She truly could not accept it, she had to enter the Eastern Palace, she had to marry him.

She sent people to investigate the daughter of the minor official and learned that this woman had a very provincial air and was extremely frail, which only solidified her determination to enter the Eastern Palace. She believed, with her intelligence and tactics, that even if she was not the Crown Princess Consort, she would be his wife sooner or later!

As she expected, that daughter of the minor official was not suitable to be a Crown Princess Consort at all, making foolish mistakes frequently, being manipulated by others. She watched coldly as the woman self-destructed, even giving her a slight push, and eventually, as she wished, she became the Noble Consort.

But what she could not understand was, why even after so many years without an Empress, he was willing to grant her the position of Noble Consort, allowing her to manage the harem well, but why would he not elevate her to Empress?

She never regretted her initial choice, as long as she could marry him, be by his side, then the position of Empress was hers and hers alone, no one could snatch it away, not even the current Beauty Lian!

At this memory, the Noble Consort closed her eyes, and when she opened them, a new determination shone within her gaze.

What of Daying Lian, and Beauty Lian, in the end, their fate will be the same: anyone who stands in her way shall die!

...

Within Canglan Court.

After bathing, Lian Hua sat in front of her dressing table, fiddling with something.

When the Emperor returned from his bath, he saw her sitting on the dressing stool, turned toward him, with her hands clasped behind her back, the corners of her mouth lifted, her eyes smiling without blinking, watching him enter.

This behavior suggested she had something in mind.

The Emperor approached, pinched her cheek, and asked directly, "What’s this about?"

Lian Hua’s eyes were moist and shimmering, and she bit her lip, shyly saying, "Your Majesty, I want to give you a gift."

The Emperor was a little surprised and somewhat pleased; his Little Concubine had actually taken the initiative to think of giving him something?

Cough, the last time that handkerchief, through a series of coincidences, had led to some complications, and he hadn’t experienced her giving him something personally, so that didn’t really count, and the experience this time was completely different.

The Emperor couldn’t help but ask, "What do you want to give me?" his tone full of expectation.

Lian Hua sat up straight, a mixture of nervousness and solemnity in her voice as she said, "My lord, I must clarify first, even though you have seen many precious things, what I am about to give may not compare, but it is my most prized and cherished possession, the most valuable thing I have. Please don’t dismiss it."

The Emperor gently smiled, took her shoulders in his hands, and said earnestly, "Whatever my Xiao Lian Hua gives me, I would be too happy to accept. How could I possibly dismiss it?"