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After Lian Hua sipped on the sour plum and honey dew, Xu Zhaoyi eagerly pulled her aside, letting Ming Jing redo her hair bun. Before it was even finished, she started calling her a little fairy, making Lian Hua break into a beaming smile.

Xu Zhaoyi looked at the silk flowers in Lian Hua’s hair, endlessly complimenting her nimble hands and how pretty she looked with them, making her appear fresh and tender—far better than those heavy gemstone hairpins.

Lian Hua felt delighted upon hearing this and happily looked at herself in the mirror. Indeed, she looked beautiful.

Sister Zhaoyi didn’t deceive her, Auntie Ming Jing was truly skilled, her hairdressing technique was much better than her own, and it matched perfectly with the dress His Majesty had made for her.

Satisfied, she took one last look in the mirror before standing up to take her leave.

In Canglan Court, the Emperor waited anxiously in the Side Hall, growing increasingly restless and agitated.

The jewelry he had sent was still on the small hall table, a corner of the silk cloth lifted to reveal a tip of some hairpins.

He had deliberately arranged it this way so that the flirtatious ingrate would see them first thing upon her return, to surprise her, to please her, and to let her know what she had missed, ultimately making her feel guilty!

However, as he waited and waited and no one returned, he could no longer contain himself and had Zhang Qing send a Young Eunuch to inquire about the situation at Huaying Hall.

He specifically instructed that no matter the situation, the Young Eunuch must return to report.

Zhang Qing wiped the sweat from his brow, knowing that His Majesty was recalling the time he had sent him to test Master Lian after a disagreement, sending several groups of people who never returned, the last groups even bringing back all the Emperor’s belongings...

Zhang Qing thought to himself that this time, he absolutely could not repeat the same mistake and incessantly reminded the Young Eunuch that no matter what he saw, he must come back and not delay.

After sending out the Young Eunuch, the Emperor felt a bit at ease, knowing that soon he would hear news about his Little Concubine. There was no rush at this moment.

His Little Concubine, having seen the Young Eunuch, knew of his concern and would surely come back immediately. Just wait, it won’t be long before she appears.

The Emperor then settled down to review the memorials, taking advantage of the time before her return to get through more of them, to spare time to rethink—or rather, to teach a lesson.

After reviewing several memorials in one go, the Emperor felt an unprecedented flow, but while reviewing, he secretly calculated the Shichen Chinese Time and wondered why she had not returned yet. Surely enough time had passed.

The Emperor started to grow impatient again, unable to focus on the memorials, and began pacing back and forth.

He heard Zhang Qing’s voice outside the door and knew the Young Eunuch had returned. He immediately went out to see.

Zhang Qing and the Young Eunuch quickly bowed in salute.

Looking past them and not seeing his Little Concubine, the Emperor felt a hint of disappointment and asked, "Well?"

The Young Eunuch reported, "Your Majesty, Master Lian has had her meal and is now resting, saying she will return after resting."

Glancing up at the sun, the Emperor noted that it was indeed Lian Hua’s usual resting time, which seemed reasonable.

Alright, better wait until after her rest to speak, so as not to tire her.

With reluctance, the Emperor returned to the Side Hall and sat down again to review the memorials.

What he didn’t know was that the Young Eunuch hadn’t even seen Xu Zhaoyi and Lian Hua; he was stopped at the Main Hall. Remembering the words of His Majesty and Chief Steward Zhang, and only hearing the words of Ming Jing, he hurried back to report.

If the Emperor knew, he might not have been able to contain himself and could have personally gone to fetch her!

It wasn’t just the Emperor eagerly waiting for Lian Hua to emerge from Huaying Hall. The group of Palace Concubines at Huaqing Palace, having their fill of tea, were also anxiously waiting.

All these palace concubines were flatterers of Noble Consort Xue on normal days.

Today, Noble Consort Xue had held a small banquet and invited these people to gather.

The banquet should have dispersed before lunch, after all, with so many people, the Noble Consort couldn’t possibly keep them for a meal.

However, just before the start of the banquet, someone mentioned that Beauty Lian from Canglan Court had finally come out.

Another person also said she had seen her, seemingly heading towards Huaying Hall.

Suddenly, the group became intrigued and began to speculate why the one from Canglan Court was going to Huaying Hall.

Listening to everyone’s chatter, the Noble Consort remained silent, but a thought slightly stirred in her heart; nowadays, Canglan Court was secured like iron, denying her any opportunity to get close to the one from Canglan Court.

Today she had finally taken the initiative to come out. This was a rare opportunity indeed.

As she thought this, someone below suggested, "Consort, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen Beauty Lian. The sisters all miss her dearly. Why not wait for her to come out from Huaying Hall and invite her over for a gathering?"

The others exchanged smiles and tacitly agreed, "Indeed, we sent gifts to Beauty Lian a while ago and heard that she was unwell. We concubines are truly worried."

"Exactly, seeing her today would also reassure us concubines."

The Noble Consort slowly revealed a smile, "My sisters are thoughtful. Surely, Beauty Lian, upon knowing this, will be touched. If so, Cai Xia, take a few people and wait outside Huaying Hall. Once she comes out, please invite her over for a gathering."

After speaking, she gave Cai Xia a deep look. Cai Xia understood and went to carry out the order.

The others quickly echoed, "The Consort is wise!" "The Consort’s concern for her sisters greatly moves us," and other similar phrases.

Someone mentioned, "If only Sister Sun was here." That Talented Lady Sun really couldn’t stand the one from Canglan Court. With her around, the event would certainly be interesting.

The lively atmosphere in the hall suddenly stalled.

Talented Lady Sun had been moved out of the palace because she contracted a serious illness, and that was the news everyone received. Most of them were unaware of what actually happened, simply assuming it was arranged by the Noble Consort.

The Noble Consort suspected that the situation was not simple. It wasn’t her order, but everyone thought it was, leaving her in a difficult position.

Suddenly feeling a bit uneasy, she considered it but then reassured herself. Since she hadn’t tampered with anything, there wouldn’t be any problem regardless of the investigation.

With that thought, she relaxed and consoled them with a smile, "Once her illness is cured, she’ll return."

It was just a statement; whether the person could return, she wasn’t certain.

Along with the Noble Consort, Attendant Zhou also had her own concerns, but she masked it well with a concerned and saddened expression, hiding it so no one noticed, assuming she was just worried about her good sister.

She was the first to know about the incident involving Talented Lady Sun and had even made an excuse to visit her residence that day to manage some affairs.

Hearing the Noble Consort say this, many echoed with concern, using polite phrases like "Talented Lady Sun will surely be well."

Aside from Beauty Zhao, who had a genuine concern, the others actually didn’t care whether Talented Lady Sun would recover or return. They just felt it was a shame not to witness Talented Lady Sun confront the one from Canglan Court.

Although that’s what they thought, they still had to put on a show.

Suddenly, the scene became lively again, and the palace concubines, while talking about poetry and literature, waited for people. Thinking that they would soon meet the one from Canglan Court, their hearts filled with a sense of combativeness.