Palace Fighting Naive Concubines’ Ascent to Power
Chapter 268: Angry

Chapter 268: Chapter 268: Angry

"Mm, it was me." The Emperor smiled at her with the corners of his mouth.

Finally, Lian Hua fully awoke. She couldn’t help but break into a smile and tenderly stretched out her arms to wrap around the Emperor’s neck, burying her face in his chest. She sweetly murmured, "Brother Zhao, I can’t sleep well without you, not well at all..."

Ripples appeared in the Emperor’s eyes, his heart softened to a mush, and he gently soothed her back as he cooed, "It’s my fault, I won’t do it again, my dear. I’m here, always here."

Lian Hua felt secure, His Majesty’s embrace was so warm, it brought her much comfort.

Feeling joyful, she clung to the Emperor, unwilling to let go, and cooed in his embrace, "Your Majesty, I couldn’t sleep tonight, tossing and turning. Perhaps I missed you. I finally fell asleep but the dreams, oh, they were exhausting."

The Emperor stroked her soft hair, his heart brimming with love. He had worried over nothing before; his Little Concubine was so endearing and gentle, how could she harbor bad intentions?

He followed up by asking, "What dreams did you have?"

"So many, I barely remember, but it seemed I was being roasted in a furnace, turning over and over on the coals... Mm... that seems right. It was very hot."

"My dear, it’s alright now," the Emperor soothed gently. No wonder she kept kicking off her covers; it was because she was hot.

He kissed her ear, his eyes filled with indulgent adoration.

Lian Hua felt completely satisfied. She just wanted to talk to His Majesty and be in his embrace, that was enough for her.

After embracing for a while longer, something suddenly occurred to her, and she looked up to ask, "Where’s my food box?"

I almost forgot!

Humph, this big bad guy, not having his meal and still keeping the food box!

Thinking this, she was no longer happy, pouting and feeling annoyed.

The Emperor was prepared, thinking to himself that the inevitable query had arrived.

He really loved this look of hers, her mouth pouted like a little squirrel, so adorable.

He wanted to laugh but had to hold it in; otherwise, making her truly upset wouldn’t be good.

He cleared his throat and said, "I brought it back."

"And the food inside?" This was the crucial part!

"I ate it."

"Eh~" Lian Hua drew out the note, half-doubtful as she looked at the Emperor. Wasn’t it supposed she had skipped the noon meal?

The Emperor nodded affirmatively. Not a drop of lie in his words; he still felt somewhat full now, although having walked from Star Palace back to Canglan Court, he had digested quite a bit.

"Oh..." So, that was it. She seemed to have nothing else to say.

Lian Hua pondered for a bit while fidgeting with the Emperor’s hair, feeling like she had forgotten something.

The Emperor, seeing this and fearing that another inquiry might give him away, pinched her cheek and asked, "Feeling sleepy?"

Lian Hua looked at him and shook her head, "Not sleepy at all. I haven’t done much today. It’s you who had the real hardship, Your Majesty, busy until now. Didn’t you say you wouldn’t come back?"

The Emperor uncomfortably averted his gaze. His late return was his own doing, unrelated to state affairs, but the details would not do justice to his dignity, so he preferred she not know.

He coughed, "I still wanted to come back and sleep holding you." This was the truth.

Hearing this, Lian Hua’s eyes sparkled with joy, her heart sweetened, but she said, "If you’re too busy late again, don’t force yourself to come back. I hate to see you tire yourself out traveling back and forth. It’s too hard on you."

The Emperor felt gratified, looking at her adoringly, "It’s not hard. Not being able to see you, that’s the hardest part for me."

His Majesty really had a sweet mouth—oh, she was almost embarrassed.

Lian Hua shyly lowered her head, unable to meet his eyes, with a smile curling up at the corners of her mouth and her eyes brimming with laughter.

The Emperor, seeing her shy demeanor, couldn’t help but lift her chin and gave her a long kiss.

As the kiss ended, the Emperor asked softly, "Shall we sleep?"

Lian Hua nodded, although she wasn’t actually sleepy. She was filled with the joy and excitement of seeing His Majesty, but she was worried that His Majesty might be tired, having been busy until midnight without even having meals on time.

Oh... and there was the issue of having meals on time!

She finally remembered something was wrong, "Your Majesty, when did you have your lunch and dinner?"

Hadn’t he promised to eat on time?

If the food box didn’t come back, it meant he hadn’t eaten on time. He couldn’t even spare time to return it!

The Emperor’s heart skipped a beat, just when he thought he had safely gotten through without issues, his Little Concubine fired back!

This was not good, his Little Concubine was not easy to deceive. Had he known, it would have been better to confess earlier!

The Emperor observed Lian Hua’s expression, seeing her furrowing her cute eyebrows and making a fierce, yet adorable, face. Her eyes, unblinking, stared at him as if to see how he would talk his way out of this.

Alright, he had to come clean.

He admitted reluctantly, "Not until the night!"

If it hadn’t been for the embarrassing incident, he wouldn’t have wanted to hide it, but that was truly a blow to his dignity, and he didn’t want his Little Concubine to know.

At that moment, Lian Hua’s mind was exceptionally clear, and she instantly understood, incredulously raising her voice, "Both lunch and dinner?"

The Emperor sighed and nodded quickly in acknowledgment.

Lian Hua widened her eyes, it was indeed true. He really didn’t take care of himself, having just promised her not long before, and then he had forgotten so soon. And it was two meals in a row!

She was so annoyed, about to explode. Unable to hold it back, she flung off the covers and huffily stepped over the Emperor to put on her shoes.

The Emperor, not expecting such a big reaction from her, hastily grabbed her and asked, "Where are you going, Nannan?"

Lian Hua glared angrily at him, "I need to relieve myself. Is that not allowed, hmph!"

She was so angry, even her need to urinate seemed furious.

"..." The Emperor was momentarily speechless, having nothing to say but to accompany her, helping her put on her coat and followed her to the washroom.

Reaching the place where the chamber pot was kept, Lian Hua turned back, and said irritably, "What, do you want to watch me go too?"

The Emperor touched his nose, meekly waiting outside the screen for her.

When Lian Hua was done and walked out, she didn’t even look at him as she headed straight back to the inner chamber.

The Emperor followed closely behind, wanting to speak but hesitating.

This was really bad, his Little Concubine was truly angry this time, perhaps more so than ever before!

If a soft person truly gets angry, that’s a serious issue, not easily soothed.

Seeing her walk up to the bed ignoring him, wanting to climb in, he quickly wrapped his arms around her waist and said, "It is my fault, I did not keep my word. I promise you, from now on I will have my meals on time. Wouldn’t that make you less angry?"

She didn’t believe him at all!

Lian Hua did not want to deal with him, biting her lip as she forcefully tried to pry away the arms around her waist. No matter how hard she struggled, the Emperor’s arms were as strong as iron, not budging at all. She couldn’t help but compete, continuing to try to break free.

The Emperor could only hold his own arms around her, careful not to embrace her too tightly, leaving a slight gap between her waist and his arms, worried about hurting her.