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Everyone was astounded; a group of people knelt down in reverence, while only Lian Hua stood, watching the person who was striding towards her, as if, in the world, only that towering figure remained.

She blankly watched the Emperor approaching, the coldness in her eyes fading, gradually replaced by a layer of mist. Her heart felt a mix of surprise, grievance, attachment, and weakness.

It seemed she wanted to cry; His Majesty had arrived, and she seemed no longer to need to act strong, otherwise, she didn’t know what she would do next.

Seeing her helpless appearance, the Emperor’s heart ached terribly. He should have come sooner; how could he let her endure alone? He was extremely remorseful.

He hurried more as he got closer. Upon reaching her, he spread his arms and wrapped her entirely in his embrace, comforting her, "Darling, do not be afraid, I am here now."

Only then did Lian Hua truly relax, shedding the heavy armor she had donned, daring to show her fears and weaknesses, softening into the Emperor’s embrace, her body slightly trembling, tears streaming down.

Up to this point, she had held on only by the thought of avenging Nanny Qi. She was so scared; the serpent had almost bitten Nanny Qi, just barely missing!

Besides Xiao Jizi and Xiao Linzi, she had borrowed the others—they might not necessarily listen to her. There were so many people here; luckily, Xiao Jizi had backed her up well; otherwise, her mere facade would not have held the situation.

If a commotion had sparked, and the thief had escaped in the chaos, she would have disturbed the snake without catching it, and if the affair went unresolved, how could she face Nanny Qi or His Majesty?

But if she had not acted quickly enough, letting the thief vanish completely, it would have been very difficult to find him later.

She was still so scared, afraid that she might let a criminal escape or wrongfully accuse an innocent person.

Now that His Majesty was here, it was wonderful; with His Majesty here, she didn’t need to struggle to think of the next step—the rest could be left to His Majesty.

Had she done well, did she not make things worse?

The Emperor embraced his Little Concubine, his heart full of ire. He knew how innocent and fearful his Little Concubine was, yet he had not come to her at once.

He had seen her seemingly strong demeanor just now for the first time, and he could not help but watch her a few times more, even subconsciously forgetting that his Little Concubine was still young, with little experience.

Now, holding her trembling in his arms, he realized how scared his Little Concubine was, and his heart tightened with pain.

The Emperor held Lian Hua, gently patting her back, softly comforting her in a low voice, "Do not be afraid, I am here now, darling, the Serpent has been killed, there’s nothing to be scared of now."

For a moment, the scene turned extremely quiet. Without His Majesty’s command, no one dared to rise.

Cao De had never seen the Emperor so tender and was greatly astonished; he had thought this man was cold-hearted and unfeeling, but he was amazed to see such a tender side, truly an eye-opener.

However, he had had enough of the spectacle. Watching any further would end once the Emperor freed his hands—it was paramount for him to strip layers off his skin, for those around the Main Hall to be left whole would be fortunate.

Thus, with regret, Cao De tactfully gestured to the Internal Guard Bureau personnel to silently surround the people by the Main Hall, taking some into custody and clearing others out.

The captured individuals were panic-stricken; before they could even cry out, their mouths were gagged and they were dragged away.

Those who had been tied enjoyed especially good treatment; their mouths were gagged, and their hands and feet bound; officers from the Internal Guard Bureau each dragged a leg, pulling two people away at a time.

He was still very kind; he dared not glance too much at how the Emperor and his concubines got along, for these were not matters idlers could take advantage of.

Bowing one’s head and kneeling was not enough; today he was filled with blessed hearing, and tomorrow it might nourish the grass on his grave.

Soon, the area around the Emperor had been almost cleared, and the people from Star Palace and Canglan Court stood nearby, heads bowed, waiting for orders.

Nanny Qi, holding Pang Ya’s hand, watched from afar and felt very reassured.

The young girl was a good one, considerate and compassionate. Though she was scared internally, she even fooled this old woman into thinking she was fearless, which led to letting her go ahead with the plan. It wasn’t until the Emperor arrived that her true feelings became apparent.

She was capable of bearing responsibilities, though her methods were immature and crude, yet who could say they were ineffective?

Indeed, it was those seemingly naive tactics that froze everyone in their tracks, allowing no villains to escape. Hesitating might have wasted the opportunity and given the villains time to react!

From now on, the Emperor would have someone to accompany him, and she, this old woman, could rest easy. After a hundred years, below, she could also speak to the Former Empress Dowager.

Nanny Qi looked at the couple hugging in the distance. Her stern face filled with tenderness, she patted Pang Ya’s hand and signaled it was time to return. With the Emperor here, this old woman was no longer needed.

Now that the Emperor had someone to cherish, it was a good thing. Grandchildren filling the halls were to be expected soon; she just needed to take good care of the young girl from now on.

Nanny Qi, holding Pang Ya’s hand, walked contentedly towards the other side of Canglan Court.

The Emperor did not concern himself with the surrounding affairs, focusing only on comforting people. When his Little Concubine cried, it pained his heart, leaving other matters to Cao De and Zhang Qing to manage.

He gently soothed, "There, there, don’t be afraid, it’s all right now, the bad people have been caught, would it be okay to stop crying?" while comforting her, he kissed her soft hair.

Lian Hua cried for a while, gradually calming down, she spoke with a thick nasal voice, "Sir, I didn’t mean to, it’s just that I feel like crying when I see you."

For some reasons, seeing His Majesty made her exceptionally tender and weak, wanting to cry and wanting His Majesty to hold and comfort her, yet the more he comforted, the more she wanted to cry.

It was contradictory and she didn’t understand why; she had never been like this even in front of her own father.

The Emperor felt both heartache and amusement, what kind of talk was this, his Little Concubine, really, what was he to do with her?

He let her go, looked into her eyes, swollen and red from crying like a lovable rabbit, and couldn’t resist kissing her forehead. He wiped away her tears with his hand, and asked, "Are you still afraid?"

Lian Hua looked at His Majesty with moist eyes, a bit embarrassed, she shook her head and explained, "Sir, you misspoke earlier, I’m not afraid of snakes, what I fear is, I fear something happening to Grandma... "

At that moment, the serpent was very close to Nanny Qi; she was so afraid she couldn’t save Nanny, could not accurately hit the serpent, she was very scared.

Thinking this, she sniffed and couldn’t help but want to cry again.

Seeing this, the Emperor touched her face and quickly said, "Alright, alright, my Nannan is the bravest, you did very well, no one could have done it better than my Nannan."

Lian Hua broke into a smile, her eyebrows curved, biting her lip, her eyes bright as she looked at the Emperor, nodding her head, yet felt a bit shy about praising herself, and couldn’t help but bury her face into the Emperor’s chest, her heart filled with sweetness, brimming with comfort and security.