Palace Fighting Naive Concubines’ Ascent to Power
Chapter 142 Repayment

Chapter 142: Chapter 142 Repayment

Xiao Jizi, observing the situation, hurriedly said, "Master, let your servant do it?" How could such a demeaning task be done by the master? Better to let him do it!

Lian Hua, in a daze, handed over the gold and said blankly, "Oh, try biting it to see if it tastes like gold?" Can this be a dream? She hadn’t come back to her senses yet.

Zhang Qing watched with a smile as the master and servants of Canglan Court went about their actions, standing aside and remaining silent. He had come to understand that Master Lian was truly genuine, straightforward, and endearingly sincere, doing whatever came to mind without any thought of disguise.

Serving such a master wouldn’t be too tiring; at least there was no need to guess and interpret hidden meanings. Understanding the words at face value was the way to go, complicating things would only lead to misunderstanding.

Zhang Qing felt emotional. His Majesty had gone to great lengths to win Master Lian’s affection. Although the Gold-threaded Eight-treasure Hairpin was indeed very valuable, no matter how valuable, it couldn’t be worth that much gold. The most crucial point was, who would dare to make a deal for it? Imperial court creations, unless one wished to throw their life away!

Not everyone is like Master Lian, who had "sold" the hairpin directly to His Majesty. No, no, no, it was His Majesty who eagerly "bought" it, and even paid many times its price.

When Lian Hua had calmed down, she repeatedly confirmed with Zhang Qing, "Is the Gold Hairpin really worth that much?"

Zhang Qing simply nodded with a smile, of course, he couldn’t tell Master Lian the truth—this was His Majesty’s direct instruction.

After Lian Hua received confirmation, she was at ease and simultaneously felt an indescribable surge of emotion. Happy to obtain the Gold Ingots, but what made her happier was the thoughtfulness of His Majesty, who knew the ingots were useless in her hands and had exchanged them for her.

If it were her, she wouldn’t have been willing to trade even an Ingot of Fifty Taels for that hairpin. Despite its beauty, what could compare to the sweetness of silver? Xiao Jizi, after a taste test, claimed that the gold was sweet; unfortunately, her own wish to taste was stopped as it would have been unbecoming of a Beauty, so she reluctantly gave up on the idea.

His Majesty treated her too well. Perhaps, His Majesty thought the same—that is why he wanted to exchange it for her. It was all because she was too sensitive and misunderstood His Majesty. Hmm, she would have to compensate His Majesty properly.

Thinking this, Lian Hua felt anxiety tugging at her heart; His Majesty had been so kind to her, what could she possibly offer to repay His Majesty adequately?

However, what overwhelmed her more was excitement and agitation. Despite being in the palace for many years, she had never seen so much silver before; the sight of glittering gold dazzled her, causing her to feel uneasy.

After Lian Hua and her servants excitedly accepted the gold, Zhang Qing felt a weight lift off his shoulders. The task given to him by His Majesty was easily accomplished. Although Master Lian had her doubts, she eventually believed, and his mission was successfully completed—he could report back to His Majesty.

Zhang Qing sat in the pavilion of Canglan Court, where a pot of hot tea had been brewed and a few plates of pastries laid out.

Alright, he didn’t know how long he would need to guard Canglan Court, but tea must be drunk regardless. Is tea not the same everywhere? Or was Canglan Court’s tea undrinkable?

In fact, he’d been terribly thirsty that morning and couldn’t help but try a cup of tea from here. Having felt good afterward, he believed he had overcome that mental hurdle and could no longer resist; he asked for another pot to enjoy with pastries, humming a tune to himself that he couldn’t quite place, thoroughly enjoying the comfort and leisure.

As Zhang Qing sipped tea and savored pastries, occasionally humming a few lines, life couldn’t be sweeter. But, for some reason, his stomach suddenly began to hurt, and he felt an urgent need to relieve himself. He hastily instructed the Young Eunuch by his side to keep watch and to report any developments, then hurried off towards the privy.

Back with Lian Hua, after letting Xiao Jizi take the Gold Ingots Zhang Qing had given, she couldn’t resist touching them herself. Her own touch was not enough; she even had Xiao Jizi and Xiao Qing take turns feeling them, and even Xiao Linzi got a chance to touch them a few times.

Once her excitement had passed, and Xiao Qing asked her where she wanted to store them securely, she looked around, unable to decide on a location. With a grand gesture, she placed them on the windowsill of the vanity, replacing the tumbler that was there before, thinking it would be wonderful to look at these Gold Ingots every day.

Once she calmed down and sat at her dressing table, looking at those Gold Ingots, a feeling of unrest began to stir within her. If she did not repay His Majesty, the Silver felt burning hot in her hands and seemed so unreal. This was like a windfall from heaven, and the heavens belonged to the Son of Heaven – His Majesty had scattered Silver for her to collect.

She summoned Xiao Qing and Xiao Jizi to devise a plan, and Xiao Linzi followed as well.

She asked the three of them how she could possibly repay His Majesty.

Xiao Qing scratched his head and said, "Master, why not make something to present to His Majesty?"

Lian Hua, touching her chin, asked, "But what to make?"

Embroidering, making shoes, socks, clothing, or purses – those skills a girl would use to present to a beloved man, she was not expert in any.

Xiao Qing thought about the few skills their master possessed and tentatively suggested, "Master, the clay figures you carve for us servants are quite good, maybe you could..." Carve one for His Majesty?

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jizi quickly pulled Xiao Qing aside, interrupting directly with, "Childish things like that, how could His Majesty like them? It would be better for the master to present something else." He jested, a carving knife isn’t something the master should hold; what if she accidentally hurt her hand?

"Oh~" Lian Hua nodded, feeling that Xiao Jizi made sense but still pondered, "What then shall I do?"

Xiao Linzi couldn’t help but say, "Master, isn’t your best skill in cooking? Why not make some food for His Majesty?"

Xiao Qing was incredibly skilled, and these past days, he had enjoyed his meals at Canglan Court very much. However, having heard from Xiao Qing and Brother Xiao Ji that their master’s skills were even better, he couldn’t help but swallow hard, truly eager to taste the master’s cooking...

Feeling her chin, Lian Hua took a look and thought, well, this little guy actually spoke up, not bad, he was indeed right - her culinary skills were excellent. But, "That’s not special, I have already made dishes for His Majesty, no, no." She dismissed this idea.

Without hesitation, Xiao Linzi blurted out, "Master could make something that His Majesty loves to eat, something he hasn’t had for a long time!"

For example, corn! From the corn they had brought back when moving things from Canglan Court for His Majesty, he had secretly seen His Majesty savor every bite, eating it grain by grain, it looked so tasty.

Oh, but it seemed there was no fresh corn available now, and thinking of this, he couldn’t help but feel like sighing, what a pity.

Upon hearing this, Lian Hua stroked her chin, contemplating for a while, and felt it was a viable idea. She slapped the table, "Xiao Linzi, well said! After eating two days of rice, you’ve finally done something of merit, not bad at all. Stay in Canglan Court for a few more days and surely you’ll become smarter."

Engulfed in his regret, Xiao Linzi couldn’t help but break into a shy smile upon hearing Master Lian’s praise.

"Then master, what dish shall we prepare?" asked Xiao Qing.

Resting her chin on her hand, Lian Hua reminisced, "Hmm... I remember that His Majesty loves fish, having grown accustomed to the fish from Huaqing Pool, finding other fish not to his taste anymore. Thus, we haven’t prepared it for a long time. Back then, His Majesty was extremely happy eating fish from Huaqing Pool and even complimented me."