Palace Fighting Naive Concubines’ Ascent to Power
Chapter 322 One Bright, One Dark

Chapter 322: Chapter 322 One Bright, One Dark

Seeing her believe him, the Emperor couldn’t help but secretly laugh.

In front of his Little Concubine, pretending to be unaware of the gifts she was preparing for him was truly a difficult task.

Without him having to pay special attention, she would give herself away, and he would have to pretend not to notice, finding excuses to help her cover up.

Ah, his Little Concubine, truly adorable indeed.

Yet, he found great pleasure in his heart and was willing to indulge her.

She was being secretive because she wanted to please him, and how could he bear to disappoint such affection?

After this small interlude, the Emperor began to review the memorials to the throne.

He had gone out today and upon his return, had dealt with a group of old men, having had no chance to review the petitions before, he now sorted the more important ones to bring back with him.

Lian Hua rarely had so much time to spend with the Emperor these days and did not want to disturb him, so she propped up her head and, with a pen in hand, made sketches for stone ornaments while doing her own thing, occasionally looking back at him.

As long as she could see His Majesty, her heart was content.

Like her, the Emperor also greatly enjoyed their quiet moments together, and after finishing a volume, he would habitually glance at her.

Sometimes, when their eyes met, they would share a smile, their eyes brimming with sweet affection, both feeling deeply satisfied.

At the beginning of the Hai hour, Lian Hua saw that the Emperor’s tea cup was empty and diligently went to pour him some tea.

Seeing what time it was, the Emperor wanted her to retire early, as he still had to review more memorials.

Lian Hua pouted and refused, because once she slept, she might not see him until the next evening, so she did not want to go to bed.

Knowing what she wanted, the Emperor did not try to persuade her further, letting her stay, and besides, he too enjoyed her company.

In the face of his official duties, Lian Hua almost never interfered with the Emperor, never thought to persuade him to not review the petitions and sleep with her, always staying quietly by his side.

Because she knew that everyone had their own responsibilities to bear, and this vast empire was her lord’s burden.

She might not be able to help much, but she couldn’t cause trouble; otherwise, her mistakes might cause him to miss reviewing a memorial, which would be a terrible fault.

All she could do was pour tea and massage his shoulders for him, take care of herself, and thereby lighten his burdens somewhat.

Before falling asleep, Lian Hua thought this way, and while thinking, she drifted into dreams.

Once he was sure she had fallen asleep across the table, the Emperor got up and walked over, looking affectionately at the charming person before him.

His Little Concubine had been drawing something with her pen and then, as it came to a stop, it seemed she was still struggling, her head bobbing slightly. After struggling for a while, her head slanted, and finally, she fell asleep at the dressing table with her arm as a pillow.

Worried that picking her up would wake her, he waited until now; otherwise, knowing his Little Concubine’s stubborn nature, she might not be willing to sleep once awake.

The Emperor gently took the already slanted pen from her hand, and carefully tidied her hair, preparing to pick her up.

Before picking her up, he glanced at what she had worked on tonight, and saw several drawings scattered about.

Picking them up, he saw that the topmost ink was almost dry, and upon closer examination, the lines were all over the place. Some parts, seemingly not the shape she intended, were covered with ink, rendering the drawings neither like writing nor like pictures, utterly indecipherable.

Was she beginning to draw talismans again?

Last time I drew talismans, it was for Xu Rongying’s Peach Wood Sword, but this time, for what purpose?

Only she could understand her drawings. The Emperor shook his head, considering the feasibility of teaching her to draw, then thought better of it, thinking she could learn if she wanted to.

Putting the matter aside, the Emperor returned the paper to its original state, gently supported the person to lean on him, slipped his hands under her armpits and behind her knees, lifting her in a horizontal embrace and walked towards the bed. He then tucked her in and settled her comfortably.

After giving her a kiss, the Emperor let down the bed curtains, blew out most of the lamps, leaving a few on his desk, and continued to review the reports.

As the night deepened and he was nearly done with the reports, a soft call came from outside the door, the voice of Zhang Qing.

The Emperor glanced up and saw Zhang Qing bowing, waiting outside the hall as if he had something to report.

Putting down his vermilion pen, the Emperor knew it must be important; otherwise, Zhang Qing would not have come in so readily.

Donning a cloak, he went out to find Zhang Qing reporting in a low voice that Cao De sought an audience with urgent news.

His spirits lifted; it looked like there had been progress in the matter.

At first glance, the conspicuous white cloth bound around Cao De’s shoulder was striking. He seemed listless, as though he were grievously injured.

Cao De appeared to endure great pain, his complexion was wretched, and with a slight tremble, he began to salute, "Your Majesty, long live, long live, long live. My liege, I have not let you down and have returned alive at last..."

The Emperor raised an eyebrow, frowning slightly with a tone of concern, "Injured? Is it serious?" he asked, reaching out to inspect the bandaged white cloth.

Cao De dodged swiftly, avoiding the Emperor’s touch while exclaiming, "Hey, hey, hey, Yuchi Zhao, you are really heartless. What are your intentions? Seeing that I’m so badly injured and still touching my wound, do you want to make it worse?"

Being seen through again, Cao De was annoyed. His injury was real, just not as severe as he showed. Now in the dark, illuminated only by a single palace lamp, how had he been found out again?

The Emperor was reassured, confident that the man was feigning it.

He knew this person well enough; the worse the injury, the lesser the fuss he would make, but when slightly hurt, he would clamor for a reward.

Wrapping the bandage over the outer garment as if announcing to the world that he was severely injured, this man was becoming more and more perfunctory.

However, the mission this time was no light matter; entering the military ranks was certainly perilous.

He nodded slightly, "The Internal Guard Bureau has been working hard these days, reward them."

"His Majesty is brilliant!" Joy burst forth from Cao De, and Yuchi Zhao proved to be truly shrewd and equally generous. Despite being exposed, he ended up with the same result, securing the reward he was due.

The Emperor smiled and said seriously, "When you return, have Huang Zude bandage you up. Don’t worry about leaks, he can be trusted."

A warmth surged in Cao De’s heart, a hint of a smile crept into his fox-like eyes, and with a lowered head, he chuckled. Yuchi Zhao’s eyes were as sharp as ever, knowing he couldn’t hide his injury from him.

"It’s just a minor injury, no big deal. Please allow me to report on the matter outside the capital. This time, I have made quite the discovery!" he said.

Mentioning his trip, a peculiar gleam shone in Cao De’s eyes.

The Internal Guard Bureau had faded from the court’s view for many years, operating only in the shadows without ever making such a high-profile return to the scene as it has now.

In recent times, the Internal Guard Bureau had split its forces into two groups, one in the light and one in the dark.

One group operated openly, using the incident with Imperial Censor Wu as a pretext to rectify the court’s discipline, investigating those involved, conducting half-genuine, half-feigned inquiries. Today they would uncover a court official’s relative abducting a civilian girl, tomorrow a powerful household’s servant usurping a citizen’s land, earning applause from the populace.

Those being investigated were never completely clean, unable to withstand scrutiny, and somewhat connected to Xue Ping. This left them in turmoil—angry yet unable to speak or question, accepting whatever was found.