Palace Fighting Naive Concubines’ Ascent to Power
Chapter 378: What do you think?

Chapter 378: Chapter 378: What do you think?

She hadn’t expected her worries to be superfluous; Nanny Qi, contrary to her usual behavior, hadn’t appeared, even up to now.

This was very wrong!

She became increasingly convinced in her heart that Nanny Qi was hiding something from her, and Chief Steward Zhang was aware of it!

Hmph, she was very clever, okay, it was just that she usually couldn’t be bothered to think too much.

She knew Nanny Qi well, if Nanny had been as free of worries as usual, perhaps Consort Fang Pin wouldn’t have even been able to enter the door. She would have been driven away by Nanny Qi, crying and sobbing. How could she have stayed for so long?

Lian Hua touched her chin and gazed at Zhang Qing’s impeccable expression, her mouth saying, "That won’t be necessary—" She let the end of her sentence hang, not landing.

Zhang Qing slightly relaxed; if he really had to go search, he would have to come back to report later, which meant he would have to fabricate some lie to deceive Master Lian, the very thought of which seemed sinful.

No sooner had he relaxed when he heard Lian Hua continue, "When I have a moment later, I will go look for her myself."

This immediately raised Zhang Qing’s anxiety; the Emperor had stressed repeatedly that the matter must be kept secret from her, and he hoped his slip-up wouldn’t give anything away.

He surreptitiously glanced at the Emperor, hoping to receive some instruction on whether to spin a tall tale to deceive Master Lian. If it came to that, he was prepared to go all out.

The Emperor, who had been left hanging, tapped the tabletop with a finger, feigning impatience, "Tea, what about the tea?"

He pretended to be unsuspecting on the surface.

He thought to himself that when the little rascal became clever, she was really not easy to fool anymore, even starting to extort him now.

And to be fair, she extorted quite well. If he hadn’t reacted quickly, she would have succeeded.

Now that the little rascal was getting smarter, in the future, he would have to call her little fox.

Seizing the opportunity, Zhang Qing excused himself immediately, hurrying away as if there was a ghost chasing him, dropping the words, "This servant will prepare the tea right away."

With that said, he strode outside, shouting toward the courtyard, "Boys, where is the hot water? Hurry, bring some for His Majesty to steep tea."

Before long, he had vanished from the doorway, and the sounds of other movements echoed from within the courtyard.

Lian Hua’s attention instantly returned to the Emperor, noting his poor complexion, which reminded her of how he had looked when she first saw His Majesty.

She immediately put aside the trifles about Nanny Qi and Zhang Qing, moved closer to the Emperor, and asked with concern, "Are you very thirsty, my lord? Shall we have some honey water to relieve it first?"

After observing, she realized that His Majesty didn’t particularly like sweets, but the tea wasn’t ready yet. Oh dear, what to do?

The Emperor hummed softly, a sound that passed for consent to the suggestion of drinking honey water.

Lian Hua brightened up, fetched the teacup reserved for the Emperor’s use, and was about to pour the honey water but hesitated—would it mix the flavors if she poured it in?

She glanced at her own cup, which she used for honey water, then looked at the Emperor.

The Emperor’s eyes brimmed with amusement, and he nodded. Everything belonged to him anyway, and they had amicably shared so much already; sharing a cup wasn’t a big deal at all.

Lian Hua beamed with joy, not bothering with formalities, and poured the honey water directly into her teacup, bubbling with happiness as she said, "Your Majesty, try today’s honey water, it’s especially tasty. I boiled it with several types of fruit, so it’s not just sweet but also has a tang and the fragrance of fruitastic flavor, and it tastes very good, sweet and sour. You should try it."

With that, she brought the cup to the Emperor.

The Emperor took it, sipped from it, and it was indeed nice; seeing Lian Hua’s expectant gaze, he commented, "Very good."

He then graciously took another sip and then brought the cup to Lian Hua’s lips, indicating that she should drink as well.

This made Lian Hua smile, showing her eight neat and tidy teeth; her Majesty was just so lovely.

She placed both hands on the Emperor’s that held the cup, bent her head, and began to drink, finishing off the remaining honey water in the cup in one go.

The Emperor looked at her with tender eyes, evidently very satisfied.

Lian Hua too felt very satisfied after drinking. After wiping her mouth, she didn’t forget to give a compliment, "Delicious, anything fed by you is delicious."

The Emperor lightly scraped her nose and asked affectionately if she wanted more.

She shook her head, then remembering how His Majesty seemed displeased earlier, she stood up, half-clung to the Emperor’s arm, lowered her head, and cheekily asked, "My lord, who upset you just now? I saw that you weren’t very happy."

The smile at the corner of the Emperor’s lips halted for a moment. Hmm... with this little ingrate reminding him so actively, it was impossible to forget, huh.

He half-turned in his seat and enveloped her completely, making her unable to escape, and looked at her with an amused yet serious gaze.

Lian Hua’s scalp tingled, and her eyes rolled around in their sockets; she was all too familiar with that look. Hesitantly pointing at herself, she asked, "Could it be that I upset you, my lord?"

The Emperor encircled her with his arms, his tone cool, "What do you think!"

Lian Hua’s eyes widened innocently. "How could I have upset you? I barely have enough time to be nice to you. I think about how to please you all day long, how could I possibly make you unhappy, Your Majesty? Could you have misunderstood something?"

Heh, the little mischievous one, how sweetly you speak, but what was it you said in front of others!

The Emperor couldn’t help but reveal a dangerous smile and said indifferently, "’As long as I can fool His Majesty, that’s enough’, who said that?"

Lian Hua covered her mouth in shock, letting out, "Ah! My lord, you heard that too?"

Disaster, how could so many people have heard her inner thoughts? She added, "Ah, so you have been here for a while, my lord?"

Otherwise, how would he know!

All was lost, all lost; she had to quickly find a way out.

She started looking around hopelessly, realizing that she stood facing His Majesty, between his lengthy legs, with her waist encircled by him, the retreat path completely blocked.

The Emperor had long seen through her intentions, not answering her questions, but instead asking with a smile, "Tell me, what were you planning to fool me about? If you speak well, there’s a reward."

Even if you don’t speak well, there’ll still be a reward, awarding your little bottom with a few hearty slaps – quite looking forward to seeing that blush on your face.

The smile at the corner of the Emperor’s mouth deepened, as he glanced at her bottom with a mixture of intent and innocence.

Lian Hua suddenly felt a chill at her behind; it seemed she really had angered His Majesty this time. She wasn’t as foolish as before; the kind of reward His Majesty spoke of was something she didn’t want at all.

Seeing there was no escape, she began to force a dry laugh, "Ah, there’s nothing at all, I’m too busy liking you, my lord, how could I fool you?"

The Emperor continued to smile faintly, "Hmm?"

"Haha, ah dear, Your Majesty, Little Sweetheart has been very good, what you heard wasn’t what it meant..." While forcing a laugh, Lian Hua’s mind raced. She realized that her sweet talk wasn’t working on His Majesty this time.

Darn, I need to think of something fast!

The Emperor remained silent but smiling, stroking her bottom.

Lian Hua shuddered, an idea flashing through her mind – indeed, desperation brought out the best in people.

If she couldn’t run, then it was time for another strategy.

Steeling her heart, she stopped trying to flee and instead wrapped her arms around the Emperor’s neck, biting her lip and looking up at him with watery eyes.

The Emperor paused, confused by this new tactic.

He couldn’t resist her when she looked at him like that; could it be that this little troublemaker had figured him out?

Lian Hua lowered her gaze, her cheeks tinged with red, and pouted slightly, "My lord, don’t you want to know what I was planning to fool you about?" her face a picture of hesitation.