Palace Fighting Naive Concubines’ Ascent to Power
Chapter 614: A Knock on the Mountain to Scare the Tiger?

Chapter 614: Chapter 614: A Knock on the Mountain to Scare the Tiger?

The Emperor felt amused and wondered if he should let her win a game, seeing how happy she was.

He smiled and looked at the chessboard, but then he paused.

Hmm... I was too engrossed in my thoughts and forgot to restrain myself...

Lian Hua, seeing that he hadn’t made a move, urged him again, "Please make your move, Your Majesty. Are you thinking it over? That’s fine, after all this is the strategy I’ve been pondering..." for a long time, so it’s only right that you take a moment to think...

Before she could finish, her smile slowly faded; she opened her mouth slightly and stared blankly at the chessboard.

Did His Majesty put her in checkmate?

When did that happen?!

She looked carefully and calculated; it was the move right before her little pawn crossed the river—His Majesty had put her in checkmate!

And she, so focused on that pawn, hadn’t even realized it.

She had lost again!

She couldn’t even cross the river before losing again!

Her lips puckered up as she slumped back against the cushions, withered and feeling wronged.

The Emperor couldn’t help but laugh at her appearance, "How about we start over with another round?"

Next round would certainly let her pawn cross the river.

Lian Hua shook her head lacklusterly, "Ah, I need to rest a while first..."

She looked as if she was hit hard.

The Emperor felt somewhat distressed and touched her face, "This is how much you want your soldiers to cross the river?"

Lian Hua sulkily said, "Your Majesty’s victory is by checkmating me, whereas my victory is merely managing to move a pawn across the river under your watch before you win."

She would be content just with that, not daring to hope she could beat His Majesty.

The Emperor raised his eyebrows; no wonder she was so persistent—it was all because she was concentrated on this one modest goal.

Without waiting for him to speak, Lian Hua propped herself up, rubbed her face, and scrambled the chess pieces, "Another round, hmph, Your Majesty, rest assured; this time I’m just one step short, next time I’ll definitely make it across, just you wait and see."

As she spoke, she picked out the scrambled pieces and set up the board anew, her spirits obviously lifted.

This scenario had played out many times before.

Every time she was left in complete disarray, with her confidence shattered by defeat, even when the Emperor wanted to let her win, Lian Hua always managed to quickly recover, a feat that impressed the Emperor no end.

The Emperor’s eyes softened momentarily, "Good, I will be waiting for you."

Lian Hua’s eyes immediately brightened into curves.

She took a moment to yell outside, "Xiao Linzi, no need to note down the pawn crossing the river, it didn’t happen."

Xiao Linzi from outside the door replied with a tinge of disappointment.

Inside the Side Hall, the two of them began another round of chess.

Meanwhile, at the Xue Residence.

After court adjourned, Xue Ping didn’t go to the yamen but instead returned to the Xue Residence.

Today, he was utterly overwhelmed, how could he have the mind to return to the Ministry of Revenue Yamen.

As soon as he returned, he heard about the Guo family’s predicament, knowing that the entire Guo residence had been sealed off by the Internal Guard Bureau, with all its occupants arrested and thrown into the Bureau’s prisons.

Once inside the prisons of the Internal Guard Bureau, even with numerous connections and a myriad of tricks at one’s disposal, there was nothing one could do but seek mercy from the Emperor.

He knew all too well what this meant.

But he was utterly at a loss as to how a mere five hundred catties of private salt could trouble the Internal Guard Bureau.

He felt a constant sense of trepidation, greatly unsettled.

Could it be that in his recent efforts to pressure the Emperor too harshly, in order to eliminate Xu Hu and her daughter, this was a rebound, the Emperor’s way to demonstrate his power, hinting that he knew he was the mastermind behind the Imperial Heir case?

But why, of all families, did it have to be the Guo family?

While he was deep in thought, a commotion came from outside:

"Master, the Mistress has hung herself!"

The Steward of Xue Residence rushed in, drenched in sweat. Before even entering the room, he started shouting.

Xue Ping slammed the desk fiercely, his eyes filled with anger, as he said angrily, "Tell her, if she truly wishes to die, I will personally see her off!"

The Steward of Xue Residence shivered, knowing that his master was on the edge of patience, and cautiously said, "Yes, Master, I will go and persuade the Mistress."

Without bothering to wipe his sweat, he bowed his head and hurried out.

Xue Ping was still irate, cursing under his breath at that ignorant woman who was only good at messing things up and could not help in any way. If it hadn’t been for the Guo family’s wealth, why would he have married such a person!

Upon learning of the disaster at the Guo residence, that ignorant woman had waited outside the Xue Residence, anticipating his return. As soon as she saw him, she started wailing dramatically, not caring about the public scene she was causing, attempting to throw a tantrum in her usual manner, pressuring him to save the Guo family.

He barely managed to drag her inside the residence and console her with a few words, but then the woman resorted to her old tricks of crying, making a scene, and threatening to hang herself.

At this critical juncture, one false move could spell doom, and he had no time to deal with her. He simply had her locked up, yet even that did not keep her quiet.

When he had calmed down somewhat, just as he was about to resume his pondering, footsteps sounded again from outside.

Was this never going to end!

Xue Ping, boiling with rage, lifted the teacup on the desk, ready to throw it at the door, but stopped when he saw who was coming.

He asked eagerly, "Well, has that idiot been locked up in the Internal Guard Bureau too?"

If so, he must find a way to rescue him. But extracting someone from the clutches of the Internal Guard Bureau was easier said than done. One misstep could get himself implicated as well. Because of the incident with the Guo family, he had already been fined a year’s salary, and that was with the overt facade that he had no significant dealings with the Guo family.

The person who arrived knew that Xue Ping was referring to Guo Neng and wasted no time, simply stating, "Master, Young Master Guo might not have been captured. I heard that last night, not far from the Guo residence, there was a loud explosion on the street, and a group of people were chasing someone in a carriage. That carriage managed to escape amid the explosion."

Xue Ping couldn’t help but ask, "Could that carriage be..."

The man nodded, "I specifically inquired about it. Amid the flames, someone saw the carriage that was escaping—it belonged to the Guo residence. There was also a person hanging from the carriage. From the description of the figure, it looked very much like Guo Shun. I thought, with such a serious incident at the Guo residence, Guo Shun would surely protect Young Master Guo, and not flee on his own. Thus, the person in the carriage is very likely Young Master Guo."

Xue Ping felt his heart pounding as he perked up, "Did you make sure of it, that it was truly a carriage from the Guo residence?"

The man was certain, "Yes, my lord, the mansion next to where the explosion occurred is owned by an official friendly to you. His servant told me everything he saw."

Busy all morning without a drop to drink, his mouth felt dry. He swallowed, then continued, "Before the explosion, there was a sound of fierce fighting on that street. The official’s servant didn’t dare to get too close. When the explosion rang out, the servant climbed the wall and happened to see the carriage escaping. He saw it clearly in the light of the fire that it was the Guo family’s carriage. However, he only caught a glimpse before a gust of wind blew him off the wall."

His face showed a hint of joy, "The servant guesses that Guo Shun protected Young Master Guo and managed to escape, drawing the Internal Guard Bureau’s pursuers after them, which led to the immediate fight on the street. In the end, Young Master Guo got away. Though the street has been cleaned up, I went to check myself and there are still some bloodstains."