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Thus, the Emperor observed her curious and unjealous demeanor as he looked at her.

It all happened so rapidly, His Majesty threw down a firecracker and ran off. The firecracker exploded in the hall, and he didn’t bother about it anymore, leaving her stunned and unable to recover.

Consort Xu De, who had just sat down again, stood up and touched Lian Hua, who then came to her senses and looked towards the hall entrance, realizing His Majesty was waiting for her and hurriedly got up to walk over.

As she almost reached the Emperor’s side, she turned back and saw Consort Xu De nod at her, and she nodded back as well.

Unable to resist, she glanced at the Noble Consort and saw her gazing sadly at His Majesty. When the Noble Consort noticed her gaze, her eyes immediately sharpened.

She felt that Noble Consort Xue was not a good person and did not sympathize with her.

The Emperor, growing impatient, directly grabbed her hand and led her outside. Lian Hua quickly followed, and people from Star Palace and Canglan Court hurriedly followed behind them as well.

The two of them left hand in hand, leaving behind a hall full of concubines with varying thoughts, processing the numerous significant news His Majesty had dropped today.

Lian Hua, led by the Emperor, hardly looked at the road, following him trustingly.

They passed by the stage. She had heard there was still a play to come, and couldn’t help but turn her head to look. She kept looking back longingly even as they moved further away.

She was reminded of the pitch-pot game. Sister Consort De had said that during the Mid-Autumn Festival in previous years, after the feast, there would often be many activities, including singing and dancing.

Following His Majesty’s speech, he would lead everyone to enjoy the moonlight and partake in games like pitch-pot for fun, where all the concubines could lively participate and win several prizes.

There was also a stage where they could request performances.

Generally, the Mid-Autumn night would end very late.

Lian Hua felt a bit disappointed. She had played with a slingshot but had never tried pitch-pot and had been planning to try it tonight. Alas.

As they walked some distance, she was lost in various thoughts and remained mostly silent. At this moment, feeling regretful, she even sighed out loud.

The Emperor stopped and frowned at her. This silent Little Concubine was unfamiliar to him as she usually chattered incessantly, and he was used to just listening.

Lian Hua also stopped, still pondering the pitch-pot game and unknowingly turned her head back to look again at the brightly lit Qianqiu Hall in the distance.

"What, are there silvers behind?" the Emperor asked sulkily upon seeing her like this. He had been watching her for so long, and yet she had no reaction.

Upon hearing the word "silver," Lian Hua immediately turned around and asked in shock, "Ah? Where is the silver?" her eyes sparkled with excitement.

The Emperor was speechless. Well, he finally got her attention back, albeit because of the silver.

Just mentioning "silver" had excited her.

He now understood that his Little Concubine’s eyes were only for money; she loved silvers the most. Giving her anything else wouldn’t please her as much as simply handing her silvers.

Under the palace lights, Lian Hua’s eyes sparkled as she looked up at the Emperor and scratched the center of his palm. She couldn’t help but ask again, "Your Majesty, where is the silver?"

The Emperor felt both amused and annoyed. His Little Concubine hadn’t yet noticed his displeasure, so he wasn’t going to hold back.

With that thought, the Emperor could no longer restrain himself and leaned down to kiss her lips.

Lian Hua widened her eyes, puzzled why His Majesty was suddenly in the mood again. Weren’t they just talking about silver?

And how much had His Majesty drunk? The smell of alcohol was so strong!

It even made her choke a bit.

His Majesty seemed somewhat different tonight, appearing unusually passionate.

Watching His Majesty so engrossed, she couldn’t help but want to laugh as she was being kissed. The wish to laugh grew stronger, and she couldn’t hold it back, throwing her head back and laughing softly.

The Emperor had no choice but to let her go, his Little Concubine kept her eyes open, and now was beginning to laugh, making it impossible for him to continue kissing her.

Released by him, Lian Hua burst into laughter and leaned on him, laughing.

After she had laughed enough, the Emperor affectionately touched her cheek and asked, "What are you laughing about?"

Lian Hua’s eyes curved into a smile, and instead of answering, she asked, "Where’s the silver you mentioned, Your Majesty?"

The Emperor playfully pinched her nose, "Little money-grubber, even when you get silver, you don’t spend it. Why are you still so greedy for money?"

Lian Hua pouted, "I’m saving it for a purpose. Besides, with you here now, I don’t need to spend any silver."

That was indeed the case. With him around, it was fine for his Little Concubine to spend his money.

The Emperor, feeling pleased, casually asked, "Saving it for what?"

He couldn’t think of what use saving it could be, as more silver was always better, but it was of no use if she didn’t spend it. Could it be that she was saving it for their future children?

At this mention, Lian Hua’s expression turned somber, and she lowered her head, speaking somewhat sadly, "I was thinking of paying off my parents’ debt."

Today was the Mid-Autumn Festival, a time for family reunions. She wondered how her parents and brother were doing. She missed them so much.

The Emperor’s inebriation faded entirely, and the smile vanished from his face as he stared intently at the bowed head before him.

He pondered for a moment, then directly asked, "Could Nannan tell me about your parents, and why... you entered the palace?"

His voice contained a barely detectable tension.

Having decided to trust his Little Concubine, he figured it was best to ask her directly than any other way.

Lian Hua looked up, her eyes beginning to sting and tear up, "Clan Uncle said my parents owed a lot of silver."

Having said this, and thinking that she hadn’t seen them in so many years, her lips quivered and she threw herself into the Emperor’s embrace, bursting into loud sobs, and she sobbed, "They took my brother and left, they didn’t want me anymore..."

Somewhere in the Capital, within a certain courtyard.

A man in his forties, with a worried expression and a weather-beaten look, walked out from the main house. His temples were already graying.

A young man in his twenties immediately stepped forward and asked, "Dad, how is Mom?"

This young man had a handsome, angular face with a small scar, apparently left by a sharp tool.

The older man shook his head, "Still the same, alas..."

The young man’s mood instantly grew heavy.

At that moment, sounds came from the gate, and both men looked over to see an attractive young man entering, followed by several people.

The newcomer resembled the other two somewhat, but his facial features were much softer.

He looked anxious and hurried forward, calling out, "Dad, Brother, what happened to Mom? Wasn’t it said that her condition had stabilized? How come it’s..."

He had just returned upon hearing that his mother had fallen ill again, which made him extremely anxious.

The one called Brother immediately rushed up, grabbed his shoulders and said, "Xiao Bao, did you find Clan Uncle? Is there any news about our little sister?"

The older man also looked over, filled with hope.

Lian Bao was silent for a moment, then shook his head.

He had found Clan Uncle, but Clan Uncle had been taken away by someone, so naturally, he couldn’t find out any news about their little sister.

But he couldn’t tell his brother and father that finding Clan Uncle was the same as finding their little sister. It was their hope.