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Perhaps it is because of aging, but having witnessed much deceit and coldness within the deep palace, one craves even more for this kind of warmth, something that other concubines lack compared to Lian Hua.

Nanny Qi was able to sense the charismatic appeal of Lian Hua’s personality. Whoever approached her would soon unify and form a unique force, quite different from deliberately courting favor. It stemmed from the genuine inclination of people’s hearts.

Just like now, setting aside personal interests, even the young eunuchs from the Star Palace felt a heartfelt shared enmity towards today’s events.

Moreover, wherever Lian Hua was present, there would be laughter and joy.

Today’s incident was indeed serious. If it were someone else, not knowing the source of the threat, they would certainly be fearful and anxious.

Someone as timid as Consort Zhen might have seen danger in every shadow, suspecting crises everywhere, and would have sought help from the Emperor or reported it to Consort De.

But not Lian Hua. She was not scared, instead, she was researching solutions and enthusiastically turned those she suspected back, uniting everyone at Canglan Court to work on one thing, igniting everyone’s fighting spirit, making people feel exhilarated.

From a governance perspective, an incident like this indeed required a common goal to gather people’s hearts, alleviate anxiety, release emotions, and inspire and boost morale.

Although the response to this matter was still direct and somewhat rough in its methods, it had an effect much stronger than most, certainly many times better than being despondently listless, or aimlessly bustling like headless flies.

In a residence, the master is the support of all, the cornerstone of the household. Servants are influenced by their master. A powerful master gives servants confidence, but if the master is weak, even the strongest servant is useless.

Nanny Qi sipped her tea, looked at the lively scene inside the Side Hall, then gazed outside, calculating the Shichen, thinking the Emperor should have received the message by now. She stood up and approached an out-of-place individual in the hall; it was time for her to attend to proper matters.

As for the Emperor, his reaction was much swifter than Nanny Qi had anticipated. He had already passed through the Imperial Garden and was nearing Canglan Court with his entourage.

Walking along, he noticed another group of people approaching from a different path, led by none other than Consort Xu De, her expression grave like still waters, walking briskly.

The Emperor knew that Rong Ying must also have received the news and was on her way over.

He did not order anyone to intercept her but merely glanced at her before withdrawing his attention, his pace steady and unbroken.

At this moment, a burning fury engulfed his heart, a towering rage mixed with panic, his emotions fluctuating between cold and hot.

He had no time to spare for other concerns.

He had observed the friendship between the Little Concubine and Consort De. Consort De was there to see his Little Concubine and at this time, he had no intention of stopping her.

When Consort Xu De saw the Emperor, she paused briefly, then, followed by Ming Jing and others, gathered behind him and continued walking.

Observing the Emperor’s attire, her brows furrowed briefly, then she understood.

Gossip had flourished within the palace because the Emperor had left the palace, leaving no one to maintain order.

She blamed herself for her negligence in receiving the message late, allowing the rumor to spread like wildfire throughout the harem.

Her heart was both worried and self-accusing, upset that her methods had been too soft, taking too long to take control, and regretting that she had not taken the opportunity to win hearts, like Noble Consort Xue, who had eliminated opposition and placed her people, leading to today’s disaster.

However, she was known for her clear rewards and punishments and indeed could not do as Noble Consort Xue had, knowing well that if she did, the Emperor would not tolerate her.

The two groups joined together, maintaining their speed, quickly approaching Canglan Court, it wasn’t long before they saw its main gate.

From a distance, they noticed the door was tightly closed. The Emperor’s heart sank, the slight hope he had harbored dissipated, and his expression grew even colder.

His muscles tensed all over, his fists clenched tightly, unable to suppress a slight tremble that leaked out, the panic at this moment even suppressed the towering anger beneath, he needed to exert all his strength to control the panic within him, lest he lose his composure on the spot.

There seemed to be a sea of blood before his eyes, clouding his vision, and he feared what he would see upon his return would be basin after basin of blood water, which would cause him to erupt on the spot.

The original follower, Hu Miaomiao, seeing this, her complexion turned ugly as well.

With Master Lian’s incident, they could not escape responsibility.

Knowing His Majesty was in a hurry, the closed gate blocked his path, so he sped toward the gate, not caring whether it was bolted or not, he pushed with both palms forcefully, and with a loud "bang," the door burst open, the wood splintered where his hands pressed, and touching it could easily break two holes in it.

Fortunately, the two doors were not locked from inside, they burst open to both sides at great speed, and with two "bangs," they opened to their fullest extent, hitting the courtyard walls without shattering.

After opening the door, Hu Miaomiao respectfully bowed his head and stood to one side to wait.

The Emperor, with a frosty expression, did not slow down at all, driving straight forward, passing through the main gate, and heading inside.

Consort Xu De’s eyes narrowed, sensing that this chubby one was not simple, but she did not look any longer, only hurriedly following behind the Emperor as he walked in.

Inside the Side Hall.

Lian Hua’s ears twitched, as if she heard some commotion at the door, but she didn’t pay attention to it.

At this time, the Side Hall was bustling, everyone was in high spirits, bursting into waves of laughter, loud enough to drown out the banging sounds from the door, and no one noticed.

Nearly every person had a string around their neck, from which dangled two cloth pouches, one held sunflower seeds, the other held the discarded shells, this was a unique sunflower seed eating method created by Lian Hua, convenient for holding, cracking, and discarding shells.

Lian Hua, in a moment of delight, could not help but clap her hands, "Pang Ya, well performed, as if it were really happening, hahaha..."

A group of people followed with roaring laughter.

Pang Ya smiled proudly, she had just performed for Lian Hua Consort Zhen’s scared expressions and actions, a lifelike performance that made everyone shout "Bravo!"

Today she felt as if she had discovered her own talent, she was certain she had a natural gift for acting, just now Master Lian had even praised her as if she belonged on the grand stage.

She fiddled with her disheveled hair, which she hadn’t had the chance to comb again, and continued, "Master Lian, the most interesting part was our exit scene, when Consort Zhen saw us leave, her face looked as if she had survived a calamity, but she couldn’t escape my eyes, so right before leaving, I and Da Zhuang threw a few piercing words her way, Consort Zhen listened so intently she almost fainted, watch this, I’ll perform it for you. "

Da Zhuang said, "Pang Ya, I’ll support your performance."

Another Young Eunuch also said, "And me."

"Alright, Xiao Qing, support me in a moment," Pang Ya commanded, stepping back to clear a small space, readjusting the position of the others, she had already removed the seed pouches from around her neck for the performance.