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The Emperor looked at her with tenderness in his eyes as she approached.

This was his Little Concubine, both adorable and endearing, her cheeks rosy, her eyebrows curved above eyes sparkling with mirth like clear springs, her delicate nose, and her tiny mouth turned up slightly at the moment.

Her soft pink dress made her look exceptionally lively, delightfully so.

Seeing her, it seemed as if all the world’s turmoil faded away, the gloom that shrouded his heart dispersed, leaving a peaceful serenity within.

As she approached, the Emperor touched her head, "Why have you come here?"

Lian Hua looked up and pouted at His Majesty, unable to resist acting coquettishly, "I wanted to see you, I couldn’t wait any longer~"

A warmth spread through the Emperor’s heart as he looked at her adorable expression and lifted his hand to pinch her pouted pink lips.

He had wanted to do this for a long time. Every time she pouted, he either wanted to kiss her or pinch those juicy pink lips.

Lian Hua was caught off guard and pinched on the lips, she paused for a moment, and while she was stunned, the Emperor chuckled softly and pinched her twice more.

Coming to her senses, she quickly covered her mouth with her hand to dodge and burst into sweet laughter, mumbling as she laughed, "His Majesty is so naughty, haha, what a villain." Her voice thick with coyness.

The Emperor felt a tickle in his heart and led her towards the Side Hall.

Lian Hua obediently let him lead her, and after enough laughter, she asked, "Will you be returning to the Star Palace later, my Lord?"

The Emperor held her small, tender hand and squeezed it, "No, I won’t." How could he bear to? He wanted to stay and comfort his Little Concubine.

Lian Hua asked again, "What about the memorial to the throne then? Won’t you review it?"

Looking back, the Emperor said, "Just have them brought to Canglan Court."

Lian Hua became happy, knowing she wouldn’t delay His Majesty, yet she could still see him—how wonderful!

She wanted to sneak a laugh, but afraid to be too blatant, she couldn’t keep her lips from turning up and had to cover her mouth; still, the laughter in her eyes couldn’t be hidden.

The Emperor looked at her fondly, shook his head, and thought that what they say about "the more one tries to hide, the more one reveals" was true for her. She was both cute and real, and yes... incredibly bold!

Considering this, the Emperor covertly glanced at his Little Concubine. Seeing him look her way, she responded with a smile, unknowingly stirred to laughter, radiating a carefree demeanor.

The Emperor couldn’t help but pinch her face, eliciting even more laughter from her.

He shook his head; such a playful and charming Little Concubine, her vivacious and cute demeanor made it impossible for anyone to suspect that anything had happened to her; one would think she had always been this way.

The Emperor resigned himself with a sigh, "What am I to do? How can I bring myself to be stern with her? Truly troublesome."

...

Internal Guard Bureau.

Cao De settled onto a vigorously polished stool, crossing his legs.

The energetic young man, Chen Wei, saluted him respectfully, "Ancestral Master, the individuals you ordered to be closely watched have been brought in first. They found pills in their robes which appeared to be poison for committing suicide."

As he spoke, he presented a tray with several pills on it, one of which was cut open with a dagger to reveal a coating of wax and some mysterious poison inside.

Cao De couldn’t help but laugh, wondering whether these people were simply foolish or something else; normally, dead soldiers conceal poison in their teeth and commit suicide by biting into the pill when caught.

These bungling thieves, perhaps out of luck or fear of death, for whatever reason, just hid the poison pills in their robes. They were easily caught off-guard by Little Beauty, who figured it out by sheer fluke—she stripped off their clothes and tied them up in time, truly splendid.

Little Beauty really stumbled into getting it right; she stripped them in time and tied them up just as needed. What a marvelous stroke of luck!

Little Beauty probably didn’t expect that upon her arrival, she made everyone strip down to their underclothes and tied them up before they could react. It was too late for any desperate measures.

Ha ha ha, it was truly brilliant, as if fooling the wise!

Cao De thought and laughed, eventually laughing uncontrollably.

The smile on his face was as intoxicating as a spring breeze, making Chen Wei stare blankly, thinking that the Ancestral Master indeed had a good facade, making the other members of the Internal Guard Bureau look as ugly as toads.

Before Chen Wei could ponder further, Cao De’s smile abruptly halted, his face assuming a cold expression, and his eyes sharp as a knife’s edge: "Have all the Serpents that were killed been brought back?"

"They have been brought back," Chen Wei quickly lowered his head.

"Then, thoroughly interrogate them," he emphasized heavily on the word ’interrogate’, as if something cruel crossed his mind, a sinister smile hanging by his mouth.

Within Huaqing Palace.

Cai Xia rushed over, knelt before the Noble Consort and reported, "Consort, I just heard that something seemed to have happened at Canglan Court. His Majesty hurried there with a troop of men."

She heard this from a Young Eunuch under Nanny Chen. Since Nanny Chen had recently lost favor, noticing the signs, the Young Eunuch came to curry favor with her.

The Noble Consort was startled and sat upright, asking, "What happened?"

Having been bedridden from an illness since yesterday, she was shocked to discover such a major incident had occurred in the palace.

Cai Xia shook her head and said, "I’m not sure.

It was accidentally witnessed by a Young Eunuch who didn’t dare to get close, and he didn’t know exactly what happened.

He just mentioned seeing His Majesty in a hurry, followed by a quietly dressed troop that the Young Eunuch had never seen before in the palace. Nothing else is known."

After listening, the Noble Consort couldn’t help but ponder deeply. The attire of eunuchs and palace maids in the palace was distinct, and since the Young Eunuch did not recognize the troop, that must mean they were not from the harem, surely it must be His Majesty’s own men.

Thinking of someone, the Noble Consort’s heart skipped a beat, wondering if it could be the men of that person? Wasn’t that person already long gone from the palace? As for those men being particularly special, she had only ever heard faint rumors about them.

His Majesty surely wouldn’t have mobilized them, especially not within the confines of the harem.

Yet, if not them, then from whence came this troop?

What was crucial was exactly why His Majesty urgently summoned troops to rush to Canglan Court?

She simply could not understand.

Seeing the Noble Consort’s furrowed brows, Cai Xia said somewhat flatteringly, "Consort, something major must have happened at Canglan Court to have His Majesty react so. Perhaps something happened to that person, it’s surely nothing good."

The Noble Consort’s brow relaxed, and she slowly smiled. Cai Xia was right; if something happened to that person at Canglan Court, the bigger the trouble, the better. It would be best if the child in her belly was gone.

"Cai Xia, help me up," she commanded.

"Yes, Consort."

...

At Canglan Court.

The Emperor sat in a small hall, his tone cool as he asked, "You just returned, did you drink from this pot here?" As he spoke, he placed the pot firmly on the table. The small teapot wobbled on the unstable surface, clinking against the tabletop.

Startled, Lian Hua shrank back and whispered softly, "Your Majesty, be gentle, this pot isn’t very sturdy. It would be a pity if it broke. If you want to throw something, wait until I fetch an iron pot..." Her voice tapered off as she spoke.