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The elderly man looked down on the Guo family, merely pretending to be above others to dissociate himself from merchants, detesting their money-grabbing smell and putting on a cautious and humble front in public, yet his ambition was sky-high, truly laughable.

Who had been supporting him in secret? Without the Silver from the Guo family to pave the way, could that old man have reached his current high position?

Moreover, that old man had even kept...

Guo Neng thought of this and dared not continue. He punched a pillar in the corridor, growing more enraged by the second, yet he had to suppress his anger and endure silently, truly stifling.

That old man had said that the Internal Guard Bureau had been strict in their inspections during these days, warning him not to seek him out without good cause.

He knew that if he were to go there openly now, his elder might not see him, and even if he did, he viewed his issue as trivial and might simply send him away without helping.

This would not do.

It might be better to wait a few more days, as he had to deliver a financial report soon. Perhaps then he could seize the opportunity to speak about it, hoping that in light of the Silver, his uncle would not ignore him.

While Guo Neng was in a state of anxious indecision, a group of men rode horses, presented their tokens and entered the city, heading straight for the Imperial Palace.

The man at the front was pale and beardless, with an innocuous face, yet his eyes were cold.

This man was Cao De.

After traveling day and night, exhausting countless horses, he finally returned to the Capital. The journey was not short and was fraught with complications, but he had finally returned.

He felt uncomfortable all over, sticky and dirty, with wounds still fresh on his shoulder, yet he rushed to the Imperial Palace without stopping to clean up.

After bathing, the Emperor entered the inner chamber and saw his Little Concubine acting sneakily, sitting at the dressing stool, bending over to rummage through an embroidery basket, her face almost buried in it.

The Emperor understood at once; his Little Concubine must be secretly looking at the gifts prepared for him.

He knew well what was stored, and his Little Concubine was not good at hiding things; such a large embroidery basket, heaping and bulging, could hardly go unnoticed by anyone.

Given so much time and yet still not well concealed, his person, oh, how amusing.

The funniest part was that, apparently unable to find anything proper to cover it, she hastily topped it with her pink cape in her flurry, which couldn’t be more conspicuous.

Indeed, it’s like the phrase ’hiding it makes it more conspicuous.’

Nanny Qi didn’t even remind her, probably having no hope for her method of concealment and simply giving up.

His person, truly interesting, extremely adorable, always unexpectedly pleasing him.

He clenched his fist and placed it to his lips, coughed a bit to signal his return.

Lian Hua was startled, turned around, and saw His Majesty still behind her; she scrambled to her feet and in her hurry, knocked over the embroidery basket, spilling thread, cloth, and half-finished garments all over the floor.

In her panic, she used her petite body to block the fallen items and chuckled nervously, "My lord, are you thirsty? Should we have some tea in the small hall?"

The Emperor couldn’t help but want to laugh, he held it in with effort; his Little Concubine was so clumsy, adorably so, making him unable to resist teasing her.

Thinking this, he did just that, his eyes full of amusement, but his face remained stern as he said, "I am not thirsty."

Without changing his expression, he added, "Nannan, let the Emperor pick these items up. Don’t move, picking these up isn’t good for your body."

She made a motion to go over.

Lian Hua blocked her path and waved her hands repeatedly, "No need, no need, Your Majesty is the supreme ruler, how can we trouble you to come over, please take a seat, I’ll handle it myself."

Oh dear, it’s a birthday gift for His Majesty, meant to be a surprise. How could she let him find out now? It would only be a real surprise if she showed it to him on the day.

Moreover, if the clothing isn’t made, His Majesty won’t know, and then it could be as if it never happened, and he wouldn’t be disappointed.

Last time with the sachet incident, she had told His Majesty too early and ended up not being able to produce it, which was very bad. Although His Majesty didn’t say anything, she felt uneasy about it.

This time, she mustn’t let His Majesty know at all; she had already decided to prepare another gift with the piece of stone that Steward Zhang had broken off, just in case.

It was indeed miraculous, Steward Zhang was a lucky fellow; the stone that broke the shovel originally looked rather interesting, resembling a small enchanted mountain shrouded in mist. After it was dug up, she had it collected—it was perfect for an ornamental rock.

She just needed to process it a bit more and make a base for it.

"Really, you don’t need me?" the Emperor asked uncertainly.

Lian Hua shook her head like a rattle, "No need, I’m fine, I’m not feeling heavy at all. Look, I’ve picked everything up nicely, haven’t I?"

She said this and then crouched down to straighten the embroidery basket and haphazardly pick up things that had fallen out and throw them back in.

Speaking of bad luck, she was idle and just wanted to look at today’s progress. But she never expected that just after she started, His Majesty would return; she even knocked over the basket.

The Emperor kindly said, "If Nannan needs anything, just call me anytime."

"Hmm-hmm." Lian Hua nodded haphazardly, too preoccupied to say more, because the thread she picked up had tangled into a mess...

The Emperor turned his head so she wouldn’t see the laughter he couldn’t suppress on his face; his Little Concubine was both comical and lovely, truly endearing.

Worried she might panic and hurt herself, the Emperor considerately walked out of the inner room to the hall, deliberately turning his back, and instructed her to slow down, calling in her maidservant to help.

It was indeed strange, everyone around his Little Concubine had their peculiarities. Like that maidservant of hers, somehow her head grows a segment each month; now she’d grown as tall and sturdy as a man, the tallest among her servants. Judging by the looks of it, she might grow even more.

By the time everything was tidied up again, a cup of tea’s time had passed.

The Emperor went back in, and Lian Hua had tightly covered the embroidery basket, leaving not even a tiny gap visible.

She called the Emperor in and asked him uncertainly, "Your Majesty, did you see anything just now?"

She asked nervously, clutching her sleeve and staring intently at the Emperor.

She was very worried about being discovered, as everything had spilled everywhere; except for someone like Steward Zhang, who was nearsighted, she estimated anyone could have seen it.

The Emperor raised an eyebrow, instantly understanding what she was thinking. To make her believe that he hadn’t seen the gift prepared for him, he probably couldn’t say he saw nothing at all, as that would be too suspicious; she wouldn’t believe it.

He considered for a moment and pretended to recall the events, saying, "I was just looking at you at the time and didn’t notice anything else, but I did see your pink cloak. Why was it on top of the embroidery basket? Did it get a tear that needs mending?"

Upon hearing this, Lian Hua patted her chest and sighed with relief; so His Majesty really hadn’t seen the undergarment she made. That was close.

She looked at the pink cloak, following his lead, "Yes, yes, that’s right."

That explains why she had covered it with the cloak in the basket; His Majesty’s explanation made perfect sense.

In doing so, she inadvertently avoided letting His Majesty think too much on it.