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Thus, she found a path that suited her and didn’t conflict with her own principles to navigate the Harem, managing to preserve her safety up until now, indeed smoothly and peacefully.

When the Emperor spoke and Concubine Fang Pin realized it, Lian Hua was thinking about how to make small talk with Concubine Fang Pin, and her reaction was a beat slower.

She heard Concubine Fang Pin’s exclamation, followed by the sound of getting up to pay respects, and she turned her head to look.

In stark contrast to Concubine Fang Pin’s reaction, her eyes lit up with surprise as she exclaimed, "Your Majesty, you’ve returned?"

She looked up, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at the Emperor. Ah, before her was none other than her handsome Your Majesty.

She had thought so, vaguely noticing a glimpse of bright yellow fabric from the corner of her eye. At the time, she hadn’t thought much of it, assuming it was an illusion, but it turned out that His Majesty had indeed returned.

While Concubine Fang Pin was paying her respects, she stood up, turned around, looked up at the Emperor, and flashed a radiant smile, her eyes crinkled with laughter. She couldn’t help but reach out to grasp the Emperor’s hand.

Seeing His Majesty made her genuinely happy, a joy that emanated from the bottom of her heart.

The Emperor took her hand as he saw her sincerely joyful expression, and the irritation in his heart softened. However, he still kept a stern face and truly wanted to pinch this little ingrate.

Thinking this, he did just that, lifting his right hand and pinching her cheek irritably. Were it not for the presence of others, he would give her a talking to.

Lian Hua allowed the Emperor to pinch her, smiling foolishly with her eyebrows curved, but as she smiled, she suddenly realized that His Majesty’s complexion seemed a bit off.

Ah, who has upset Your Majesty? She would have to console him...

She was about to say something when she realized the setting wasn’t right. Ah, everyone in the hall was paying their respects, cough cough, and Consort Fang Pin was also doing the same. She should feign compliance too and offer consolation in private.

She looked left and right, seeing that everyone was bowing their heads and wouldn’t see her anyway, decided to save the effort, and made a show of bending slightly. She then added, "Greeting Your Majesty, er, may Your Majesty be auspicious."—saying the exact same thing as Concubine Fang Pin.

The Emperor was both annoyed and amused; this little ingrate knew her ceremonies after all. He pulled her up, glanced at her sternly, and planned to deal with her later, after he handled the bothersome people currently before him.

With that in mind, the Emperor led her behind him, shielding her, and looked down condescendingly at Concubine Fang Pin, "You may all rise."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," said Concubine Fang Pin as she stood up, her palms sweating slightly, wondering how long His Majesty had been there and what he had heard. Just now, she hadn’t misspoken, had she?

She thought it over carefully and realized she hadn’t said anything wrong; she had only been teaching Sister Lian to recite poetry, and she instantly felt relieved.

Bowing her head, she dared not say much, her entire demeanor starkly different from usual.

In the presence of the Emperor, she was at her most normal—there was no undue weakness or sentimentality, no pretense; she was just an ordinary person, a regular consort who followed the rules and behaved properly.

When Lian Hua stood up beside her to take the Emperor’s hand earlier, she had seen it out of the corner of her eye while bowing, and now, glancing to the side, her confidante Sister Lian was thoroughly shielded by His Majesty, out of view. She wondered how Sister Lian was faring.

She felt a bit uneasy in her heart, as it seemed Sister Lian had uttered some unforgivably audacious words, or perhaps it was just her misperception. She began to agonize over whether to say something.

For little ones like Xiao Jizi, such situations were no longer surprising. They weren’t worried about what the Emperor might do to Lian Hua; they were only concerned that if His Majesty did punish Master Lian, it wouldn’t look good for her.

Jin Xi stood up as well and tucked herself into a corner. From her angle, she couldn’t see what the Emperor and Lian Hua were doing, but she heard the Emperor’s voice was somewhat cold and thought perhaps Master Lian was in trouble. She hoped it wouldn’t implicate her own master.

The Emperor, seeing the varied reactions of everyone, couldn’t be bothered to pay them any more attention and simply waved his hand, "Dismiss, all of you. Go back to where you came from."

Behind him, Lian Hua, upon hearing this, quickly scratched the palm of the Emperor’s hand, wanting to pop her head out; it seemed she still wanted to learn about poetry.

The Emperor reached back and gently pushed her head down, ignoring her.

Everyone followed Concubine Fang in unison, "Yes."

Concubine Fang, as if granted amnesty, quickly retreated. Under His Majesty’s watchful eye, the pressure was really great, and the earlier thoughts of vying for favor completely vanished without a trace.

She longed for favor, but it had to be at the right time. Now, listening to His Majesty’s voice, he seemed to be in a bad mood; seeking favor at this time would be suicidal.

As she reached the doorway and was about to leave, she suddenly remembered; if she left, what about Sister Lian?

His Majesty was so fearsome at the moment; leaving Sister Lian alone was a bit unjust, wasn’t it?

It’s true that His Majesty’s treatment of Sister Lian was not ordinary, but that was when His Majesty was in a good mood. Besides, Sister Lian seemed to really have said something utterly outrageous earlier; perhaps His Majesty would be very angry, right?

It was already a stroke of luck that His Majesty’s anger hadn’t been directed at her. If she stayed and did something, might it bring trouble upon herself?

In the palace, everyone is selfish, with the principle of self-preservation first; it’s not surprising that she thought of herself before others, that’s how everyone is.

Yet, she felt somewhat distressed in her heart, truly distressed. It was rare to come across someone who understood her so well, with whom she could have an engaging conversation—and someone who wasn’t just humoring her; she really wanted to cherish that.

Within the long, drawn-out days of the palace, without someone to speak with, life was indeed lonely. She had been very happy that day, having enjoyed their conversation immensely.

Once, there had been someone of a lower rank than her who wanted to befriend her.

Initially, she thought this person was sincere, and she was happy to accept, perhaps visiting the person too often until she became a nuisance.

Afterwards, the person began to give her the brush-off, eventually going out of their way to avoid her.

It was only later, when she happened to witness that person interacting with Attendant Zhou, that she realized what genuine friendship looked like; her previous friendship was nothing but lip service, or perhaps there were ulterior motives.

But since they had gained nothing from her, they became impatient; for her, it was both fortunate and unfortunate—she didn’t really lose anything.

Therefore, when that person ran into trouble, she could have done something to help but chose not to, simply because that person had genuinely chilled her heart. So she did nothing, and just watched from the sidelines until Noble Consort Xue...

That was a secret buried deep within her heart.

In this palace, even though she held the rank of a concubine, most people looked down on her, thinking her strange and not treating her like a normal person; she was aware of this, and it was the result she had wanted. But in the dead of night, it was hard to avoid feeling dispirited.

Yet Sister Lian did not look down on her, nor did she humor her like others did. She could feel that Lian Hua truly, sincerely appreciated her and sought her instruction.

Within just a few steps, Concubine Fang underwent an immense internal struggle.

As she stepped out of the doorway, she finally made up her mind and turned back to curtsy, "Your Majesty, Sister Lian did not mean any offense; please, do not blame her. Sister Lian is just tired from studying poetry for half the day..."

The Emperor, watching her leave and about to turn around to catch Lian Hua who had been up to something behind his back, looked at Concubine Fang in surprise upon hearing her words.

In his memory, didn’t this woman usually mind her own business?