Palace Fighting Naive Concubines’ Ascent to Power
Chapter 266: Did You Not Ask Me?

Chapter 266: Chapter 266: Did You Not Ask Me?

"Hmm," the Emperor relaxed and said no more, furrowing his brows in thought. It seemed the bloating had almost subsided. Should he return now?

It was quite late, and his Little Concubine must have been sleeping soundly. It was unlikely she would notice his absence.

Just then, a Young Eunuch came in to report, "Your Majesty, Xiao Linzi is here."

"Hmm?" the Emperor raised an eyebrow, "At this hour?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, he is waiting outside." Because Steward Zhang had instructed that no one should be allowed in without reporting tonight, the Young Eunuch did not bring Xiao Linzi in with him.

"Sent by Master Lian?" Steward Zhang inquired further.

"Yes."

The Emperor was surprised. At this hour, could it be that his Little Concubine was not yet asleep?

He had sent a message earlier in the night, saying he was busy with state affairs. Could it be that she was concerned about him and had specially sent someone to check on him?

The Emperor’s heart warmed at the thought, and he felt the indigestion was not so troublesome after all. Feeling assured, he thought his Little Concubine was indeed considerate. He should retract any words suggesting she was not virtuous today.

With this thought, the Emperor’s face brightened, and he stood up to adjust his robe, with Steward Zhang hastening to assist him.

Once they made sure everything looked normal, the Emperor cleared his throat and said firmly, "Let him in."

Xiao Linzi, apart from obeying his words, also listened to his Little Concubine. He couldn’t let this young eunuch act as a messenger of secrets.

Though the boy appeared dull and needed prodding into action, one must not forget his astonishing memory. What if he went back and described everything to his Little Concubine, who then put two and two together? Wouldn’t that give everything away?

Now, he dared not underestimate his Little Concubine. Although sometimes she seemed a bit scatterbrained, at other times she was incredibly shrewd, particularly skilled at seeing the humor in situations, an ability she seemingly acquired without any teacher.

Soon, Xiao Linzi came in, greeted the Emperor, and opened his mouth as if to speak but suddenly felt it inappropriate to say before His Majesty.

The Emperor watched his hesitant manner impatiently. He was eager to hear what his Little Concubine would say and had no interest in watching the young eunuch’s dog-like demeanor.

Just as he was about to scold him for his hesitant mumbling, he saw the young man turn to Steward Zhang and ask:

"Chief Steward, where is the food box?" He then scratched his head after speaking.

Xiao Linzi had intended to find Steward Zhang, but since he was not outside, he had to report and come in to look.

"What?"

"The food box?"

The Emperor and Steward Zhang spoke at the same time, baffled by the young man’s seemingly nonsensical words.

Steward Zhang, unable to bear his dim-witted appearance any longer, each time he spoke, Zhang felt the urge to smack him.

Steward Zhang ran over and slapped him on the back of the head, urgently saying, "What food box? Speak clearly! Did Master Lian send you to check on His Majesty?"

That slap from the Chief Steward hurt... Xiao Linzi wanted to touch his head but didn’t dare. He felt wronged, not understanding why he was being hit. He had merely come to retrieve the food box.

He shook his head, "No." Xiao Qing hadn’t said anything about this to him.

The Emperor, disbelieving, asked, "She didn’t ask about me?"

"No."

How could this be!

The Emperor began pacing back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back, then turned and commanded, "You must explain it in detail!"

How could that be! His Little Concubine cared so much for him, how could she not ask about him at all, and why send Xiao Linzi on an errand? The boy is foolish, and one should not trust his judgment, we need to know exactly what the Little Concubine instructed.

"Oh..." Xiao Linzi paused for a moment, organized his thoughts, and began to speak: "I was sleeping soundly when I vaguely heard someone outside calling ’Xiao Linzi, Xiao Linzi’. I also vaguely heard Brother Xiao Ji turning over and getting up, it seemed he spoke a few words with Xiao Qing outside. What they said I could not clearly make out in my sleep. Immediately after, Brother Xiao Ji pulled off my quilt, grabbed me by the collar, and shouted at me, waking me up. I saw that Brother Xiao Ji had sleep crud in his eye corner and even reminded him to wipe it off. However, Brother Xiao Ji ignored what I said, mentioning that Xiao Qing outside said the master was looking for me..."

The Emperor grew impatient, "Get to the point!" What a jumbled mess, he had been listening for a while and still hadn’t come to the main topic.

Zhang Qing became frantic and slapped him yet again, "Focus on what Master Lian said! Why did she want the food box?"

This boy was all ramblings and babbling, he really started from when he got out of bed; no wonder His Majesty was impatient, even he wanted to hit him.

"Oh." Xiao Linzi thought for a moment, then began to mimic Xiao Qing’s tone, vividly copying her:

The first sentence: "Xiao Linzi, the master wants you to go to Star Palace and get the food box back."

The second sentence: "Our master said, there are only two food boxes in Canglan Court, both are out of print, unique, and good food boxes. They cannot stay overnight at Star Palace, what if someone wants to steal them?"

"?" The Emperor’s head was full of confusion, what was up with his Little Concubine?

"..." Zhang Qing was speechless, this boy was looking for a beating, daring to say such things. Besides His Majesty, who would dare steal Master Lian’s things at Star Palace? That was directly pointing fingers!

Xiao Linzi continued his mimicry, stating the third sentence: "If you can’t get it back, the master said she would starve you for a meal and scare you with Pang Ya’s rattan."

"These are the master’s exact words, remember them well, and just do as instructed."

Having learned up to here, Xiao Linzi stopped, his body trembling; Master Lian was too scary, threatening to starve him and even scare him with a rattan, oh his mother!

The Emperor halted his steps, becoming anxious, "Is that all? She didn’t ask about me?"

Was that all his Little Concubine asked?

Was it really about the food box? Was she afraid that he would steal it?

What was going on, why had his people become wary of him again!

This doesn’t make sense, there must be an oversight!

The Emperor tensed his nerves and stared intensely at Xiao Linzi, trying to discern a clue from his face, not missing a single possibility.

Xiao Linzi, slightly intimidated, shrank back but firmly shook his head, saying, "That’s all, Master Lian mentioned just these things about the food box, Xiao Qing and I repeated it, I didn’t hear it myself."

The Emperor, no matter how he thought, could not understand it, deeply puzzled, he pondered the meaning, trying to figure out the deeper significance.

Could it be that his Little Concubine was angry? Otherwise, why send someone so late to retrieve the food box?

But considering Nannan’s style, it was indeed possible, falling asleep and then suddenly remembering the food box was gone, sending someone to fetch it could happen...

The Emperor was completely baffled.

Zhang Qing on this end also couldn’t understand the situation.

Master Lian’s illogical approach was still consistent, was she concerned about His Majesty or did she really want the food box?

It seemed like a pretext to care for His Majesty through the food box, yet it didn’t seem like it!

But who could, and who would dare to speak of fearing that the food box would be stolen?

Especially since there was indeed a priceless Green Glazed Square Flower Pot inside it.

This was difficult to articulate; he also couldn’t fathom it clearly.

Seeing that both His Majesty and Chief Steward Zhang were deeply in thought and ignoring him, Xiao Linzi was somewhat unable to grasp the situation.