Palace Fighting Naive Concubines’ Ascent to Power
Chapter 643: Quit Tea Together

Chapter 643: Chapter 643: Quit Tea Together

And yet, he had arrogantly assumed he was doing right by her by sending her to the Imperial Prison, thinking it was for her own good, unaware that it caused her even greater harm.

Fortunately, his Little Concubine was a person of great tolerance and generosity, who forgave him and did not shut him out from her heart, otherwise, he would have regretted it for the rest of his life.

As for how the Little Concubine managed to escape assassination and the countless ordeals she encountered on her way, including being drowned, it remained a mystery. Only snippets could be glimpsed through the stories of others—the real truth was known only to her, and she had since forgotten it.

He would prefer that she never remember any of it, not wanting her to recall those days of agony and despair. He would protect her in this life, ensuring her happiness as before, until the end of their days.

After meticulously investigating the case,

the Emperor felt a bone-chilling coldness envelop him, and a towering murderous intent arose. Without delay, he dispatched men to arrest everyone involved with the Lian Family’s case, from the lowest government official and prison guard to the Judicial Commissioner who had overseen the case review; all were apprehended for questioning and the case was reopened.

Next, he sent people to the Place of Exile to find the family of five from the Lian household. Even if the Emperor suspected they might have already fled, he insisted on searching for them to thoroughly investigate the matter.

Subsequently, he issued an edict to Hu Miaomiao, commanding that Guo Neng be captured alive. The Emperor wanted to flay the man in public, showing corrupt officials and local bullies the consequences of trampling the law!

Moreover, while explaining to Xie Qing why the Internal Guard Bureau was mobilized to raid the Guo family’s property, he took the opportunity to detail the reasons and prepared to use the Guo family as a prime example in the first battle against collusion between officials and merchants. Next year, he planned to dispatch high-ranking officials from the Capital to the provincial capitals to inspect and eliminate local collusions, restoring justice to the people.

After all these arrangements were made, the Emperor inquired about the Imperial Merchants and discovered that all the tea in the palace was supplied by the Guo family. The tea he usually drank, besides the tributes from local areas, mostly came from the Guo family.

At that moment, he felt extremely nauseous and, in a fit of rage, he threw the teacup in his hand, immediately ordering a thorough investigation of all Imperial Merchants, refusing to tolerate the existence of another Guo family.

It never occurred to him that he himself had been an accomplice in the tragedy of the Lian Family, having such a villain under his own watch, and drinking tea supplied by the Guo family all along.

If, at the time of his ascension to the throne, he had not neglected to supervise the Imperial Merchants due to the Xue Family, and had thoroughly investigated them, the tragedy of the Lian Family might have been avoided.

If, after defeating the Rebel Prince, he had sent court officials to intimidate the provincial capitals, the Guo family would not have been so brazen in the localities.

The ordeal that the Little Concubine’s family had endured was, in part, due to his negligence.

How could he not feel guilty?

How could he not feel disgusted?

And how could he possibly drink the tea from the palace again?

"To have me drink its tea daily is like drinking the blood of the people!"

It was the blood of his Little Concubine’s family.

And across the world, there were likely many others like the Little Concubine’s family, who had been framed by the collusion between officials and merchants.

Thinking of this, the Emperor could no longer stomach the palace tea. Reflecting on his own faults, he resorted to drinking only plain water each day, burdened with guilt and heartache for Lian Hua.

Whenever he thought of the terrifying escapes she experienced during her flight, he became exceedingly restless, anxious at the thought that a small mishap might have left them without any chance of being together in this life.

Hence, there were clues that Lian Hua had noticed: he had to touch her face before sleep to ensure she was there, and while reviewing official documents, he would always check to see if she was nearby, and so on.

"So that’s how it is," Lian Hua realized, listening with great interest. "No wonder the tea growers in my family have never heard of abstaining from tea. It turns out to come from a custom dating back to the era of Yao and Shun, so ancient indeed. To think you know about this, my lord, how impressive."

She could not help but give a thumbs up and firmly said, "My lord, why don’t I join you in abstaining from tea? Although my strength does not rival the overwhelming power of the True Dragon Emperor, it is still a contribution. I will pray with you to the Dragon God, asking for its blessing for favorable winds and rain next year, for the prosperity of all the people, and for a bountiful harvest for all the tea farmers."

The Emperor let out a gentle sigh of relief and caressed her face. "Good. There is currently a selection for the new Imperial Merchant in the palace, and your Sister Consort De is overseeing this matter. Even after the tea-fast is over, it might be a while before you can drink tea again, which is an inconvenience to you, Nannan."

She was bound to hear about the movement within the palace sooner or later, so it’s better to let her know in advance to prevent her from overthinking.

Lian Hua clasped his large hand and couldn’t help asking, "Is Sister Consort De managing the palace affairs smoothly now?"

She already knew about Consort De’s situation, but the two of them were still unable to meet.

The Emperor took the opportunity to envelop her hand in his and knead it, saying, "Mm, smoothly."

Indeed, things were going well. The servants in the harem had been purged, and managers who had secretly obstructed or sided with the Noble Consort had been exposed. Consort De, freshly out of detainment and before even reaching Huaying Hall, had already received rewards from the Emperor.

Now everyone in the palace from top to bottom knew that Consort De had the Emperor’s support—who would dare to obstruct her?

Those who had visited Huaqing Palace to pay their respects to the Noble Consort while Consort De was detained were now full of regret but it was too late.

These people were swiftly dealt with by Consort De, and now everyone in the harem, from the servants to the Managers, were all obedient. No one dared to secretly hinder her as before, so the palace affairs naturally went very smoothly, no longer as difficult as when Consort De first took over.

Lian Hua felt relieved and, remembering something, couldn’t help but giggle, "Ah, my lord, I forgot that I also can’t drink tea right now. You are the only one who will be inconvenienced."

She had just remembered that having tea or not made no difference to her.

The Emperor chuckled and scratched her chin, "It’s alright, consider it as you accompanying me."

"Sure," Lian Hua replied, smilingly, and then remembered something, "My lord, have you finished all the Dew Tea I made for you before?"

"There’s still some left." He couldn’t bear to drink it and had been saving it.

Lian Hua’s eyes welled with tears as she looked at him, "Mhm, that’s good, then next year I will make some more for you."

"We will discuss that later, I don’t want you to tire yourself."

Her eyes immediately crinkled with joy.

Inside a Side Hall of Canglan Court, the matter of drinking plain water came to an end.

And the joy of the reunion between Lian Bingcheng and Lian Musu was just beginning.

On the small road heading to Southern City, two figures were hastening along.

In the lead was Lian Bingcheng, his cheeks trembling with every two taels of excitement, hands behind his back as he eagerly pressed forward, mumbling to himself.

Following behind, Lian Musu wore a handsome smile, carrying a large backpack, heading towards the new residence Wu Sheng had told him about.

Fate is truly unfathomable, he never would have guessed that the old man he had met by chance would turn out to be the Clan Uncle he had been desperately searching for.

When their family first arrived in the Capital, they hadn’t settled yet, and the three brothers went their separate ways. With the Autumn Exam approaching, he left his family early to prepare for the examination in Taiyuan Prefecture, Lian Wanzhen stayed to care for their parents, and Lian Bao went with Uncle Ma in search of their Clan Uncle, to no avail.

Fortunately, the surname Lian was rare. Fortunately, he asked one more question, and the two did not miss each other.