Palace Fighting Naive Concubines’ Ascent to Power
Chapter 615 Kill Him

Chapter 615: Chapter 615 Kill Him

Xue Ping was overjoyed, his mouth repeating, "Good, good, good, Heaven has not forsaken me."

He knew the kind of person Guo Shun was—resolute and tenacious, vicious and merciless in handling affairs, extremely capable.

He had even thought about recruiting the man himself, but unfortunately, Guo Shun was cultivated by the Guo family’s old master especially for his nephew, Guo Neng, and took orders only from him, so he had to give up on that idea.

If it weren’t for Guo Shun, this capable man, he would not have felt reassured entrusting that matter to Guo Neng.

If Guo Shun was also involved, it wouldn’t be hard to explain how Guo Neng had managed to escape.

As long as Guo Neng could escape, the rest of the Guo family would have no worth in being saved.

Xue Ping’s anxious heart relaxed by half. He approached the person who had just arrived, patted his shoulder, and handed him the teacup, "You’ve done a good job with this, must have been tiring. Have a sip of tea to soothe your throat."

The visitor was taken aback by the honor, "Thank you, my lord, it’s all in a day’s work."

He carefully took the teacup, taking a small sip. Instant sweetness filled his mouth—truly the tea fit for his lord.

He dared to drink only a little, fearing to overindulge. Suddenly remembering something, he quickly added, "My Lord, the Internal Guard Bureau’s men are after Young Master Guo. Should we send people to rescue him?"

Xue Ping frowned and paced the study, pondering for a long while before squinting his eyes and making up his mind, "Yes, but not to rescue."

The visitor was startled, "My lord, you mean..."

Xue Ping’s gaze turned sinister as he looked at the man, "Find them, kill both him and Guo Shun. They must not fall into the hands of the Internal Guard Bureau."

A man is nothing without ruthlessness. Guo Neng had done too many things for him, especially that big affair of annihilating a family. Expecting merchants to keep a secret is less reliable than a dead man.

Besides, the entire Guo family had already collapsed, with no further value to be leveraged, and now pursued by the Internal Guard Bureau, he sensed a crisis looming—Guo Neng could not be spared any longer.

Rather than going to great lengths to protect someone and risking his capture by the Internal Guard Bureau, it was better to strike first.

The visitor shuddered, promptly bowing his head, "Yes, my lord, I understand. I will take some men and go right away."

Xue Ping nodded, "Mhm, go now, quickly. Beat the Internal Guard Bureau to it."

"Yes." The man carefully placed the teacup back on the desk, preparing to leave.

"Wait!"

The visitor’s hair stood on end as he swallowed nervously and turned his bowed head back, "My lord, do you have other instructions?"

Xue Ping, with half-closed eyes, looked elsewhere and thought for a moment before instructing, "You must be cautious, remain covert, and protect your identities. Guo Shun is not a simple opponent; with him there, Guo Neng will not be easy to kill. Be careful not to fail and reveal yourselves instead."

If they failed to silence them and were discovered instead, it would be a serious misstep. Pushed into a corner, Guo Neng might just take a desperate leap and threaten him in return.

He saw this clearly.

"Yes, my lord, rest assured, they will not suspect a thing," the man replied.

"Good, go now." Xue Ping dismissed him with a wave.

He returned to his seat to sit down and went over the plan in his head once more, then called someone over to whisper a few more instructions.

The grain for Northern Liaoning had been sent successfully not long ago, according to a message from Guo Neng.

In order to be safe, he never contacted that side personally but used coded language through several intermediaries. Each time they transported grain or other goods there, and after a successful delivery, the Guo family members would leave and, upon reaching a remote location, would use carrier pigeons to notify Guo Neng, who would then inform him using a special method.

At this moment, those from the Guo residence involved in the grain transportation were on their way back; these loose ends had to be tied up neatly.

Even though the Guo family was gone, which made some matters difficult, there should be no problems for the time being on that side. After the ice melts next year, he would have found someone new to replace Guo Neng.

Thus, he thought everything through carefully, ensuring there were no oversights before he felt at ease.

The matter of the Guo family had come to an end.

When the study finally quieted down, he couldn’t help but think of the matter of Consort Zhen’s confession in the palace, which made him grow increasingly irritable.

He had already sent someone to contact the palace, but it wouldn’t be so quick to receive a reply, which made him very anxious.

He habitually raised his hand to reach for his teacup but suddenly remembered that he had given it away just before. Irritably, he called for someone to bring a new set of teacups. The ones that had been used were all discarded, no longer wanted.

Inside the Side Hall of Canglan Court.

After several rounds, Lian Hua lost again, her pawn still unable to cross the river.

However, she was making progress; she was just a hair away every time. His Majesty was finding it increasingly difficult to stop her.

Ahem, that’s not quite right to say. His Majesty, lost in thought, was only sparing a bit of his attention for the game. So, it wasn’t that His Majesty was having trouble playing chess; he was just a bit slower because he was absorbed in his thoughts... Ah...

Without stopping her movements, Lian Hua set the pieces in place one by one, muttering to herself, "Although I’m not as good as Your Majesty at chess, I’m very skilled at everything else. I’m great at using a slingshot, spinning tops, climbing trees to rob nests, catching fish in the river, smoking out rats, catching bugs, playing marbles—I’m proficient in all of them. It’s reasonable that I’m not as good at chess, and besides, I’m playing much better now than before. Mmm, yes, not bad, with some more practice I should be able to cross the river."

Having lost too many times, she began to comfort herself.

The Emperor looked at her, his thoughts returning from the distraction, and smiled indulgently.

His Little Concubine was indeed an interesting person; she found such pleasure in these games.

Watching her boast, the Emperor’s smile grew wider. He thought that her words were not an exaggeration, they were indeed true, and if anything, slightly modest.

It wasn’t just her classmates who looked up to her; to say that all the children in the town admired her wouldn’t be an overstatement.

When she was little, the Little Concubine was a master of using play to shirk duties, pondering not about studying at school, but rather on how to play even better. Her mischievous ideas never ceased, and after classes, she would call her friends for wild play and mischief, a veritable king among children.

In the whole school, she feared no one except the teacher.

She also had a penchant for chivalry, possibly learned from her second brother. She defended the underdog; she didn’t avoid trouble when it came but would join in to watch. If she saw something she didn’t like, she would lead a group of children to confront it, and the He family’s boy had been taught a lesson by her more than once.

She also knew how to judge the situation, admitting her mistakes quickly and knowing when to stand firm or give way.

Luckily, she had her mother to discipline her and an elder brother as a role model, so she didn’t develop the same shiftless nature as the He family’s boy.

Last night, the Emperor had heard from the He family’s boy the tale of her being called "Overbearing Flower," and she hadn’t found out yet; this gave him a secret joy. Listening to her boasts and silently matching them against what He Hao had said brought him a strange pleasure.

Thinking of the last thing he heard the previous night, the Emperor’s smile faded slightly.

As the night before came to a conclusion, the He family’s boy became more and more excited, revealing every instance of having been bullied by his Little Concubine from when they were children, right until the age of ten, then abruptly stopped, his tone heavy with loss:

"One day, after a break, I returned to school and didn’t see that Overbearing Flower. At first, I was very happy, thinking it would be best if Overbearing Flower never came back to school. Then, who would dare to bully me?"