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"I’ve brought it, Young Master, take a look." Xiao Qing was quite excited, pulling out a hemp cloth bag from her bosom, which was very sturdy.

Ever since they got caught by His Majesty, Lian Hua had Xiao Qing sew a cloth bag. A bamboo basket was too conspicuous, so they switched to using a cloth bag as their tool for committing the act.

Xiao Qing was very excited, as if she had returned to the days when she and the Young Master depended solely on each other. When they were full and had nothing to do, they would come to the Imperial Garden to scavenge, and finding food was the most joyful moment for them.

Xiao Jizi encountered this situation for the first time and didn’t know what they were up to, feeling a bit at a loss.

Originally, he had come on orders to supply food materials. Since his arrival, life in Canglan Court had become plentiful, and Lian Hua and Xiao Qing rarely came to the Imperial Garden to carry out their deeds, so he had never experienced this sort of thing.

Spreading the cloth bag open, the two of them began picking flowers skillfully and excitedly, as if they had seen sweet osmanthus cake.

While picking, Xiao Qing kept a vigilant eye on their surroundings, to prevent the Young Eunuchs in charge of the Imperial Garden from spotting and pestering them with wails.

The Young Eunuchs guarding the Imperial Garden dreaded their garden tours the most, watching them with suspicion whenever they roamed about.

If anyone discovered them, no matter which path they took, they were sure to find a Young Eunuch there lamenting how difficult it was to plant flowers, let alone protect them.

Their ears could practically grow calluses from hearing it so often.

Seeing Xiao Jizi standing there dumbfounded, Xiao Qing went over and pushed him, saying, "Have you gone daft? Help pick some instead of just standing there."

"Oh..." Xiao Jizi was still clueless about the situation but followed along and picked a few handfuls, then suddenly it dawned on him and he said, "Young Master, are we stealing flowers?"

When Lian Hua heard this, she became displeased, put her hands on her hips, and solemnly lectured, "Xiao Jizi, what you said is wrong. Even if we don’t pick these flowers, they would just fall to the ground and go to waste, adding work for the Palace Maids and eunuchs cleaning up.

We’re doing a good deed, not stealing, understand? "

Choked by her reasoning, Xiao Jizi found himself unable to retort. Alright, he could only join them in the business of picking sweet osmanthus flowers.

Just as they started, Xiao Qing pricked up her ears and heard someone approaching. She quickly whispered a warning to Lian Hua.

Lian Hua hurriedly signaled for them to hide the bag and pretended to admire the flowers in a very earnest manner, except the sweet osmanthus tree behind them had already been stripped bare...

Talk could be heard approaching; it sounded like a few of the Concubines from the Harem, discussing among themselves:

"Sister, what fabric is that you’re wearing? I haven’t seen it before," one said.

"Sister, this is just ordinary silk satin. If you like it, I can have someone send you a few bolts; it’s not worth much," another offered.

"Then Sister, I thank you in advance for your generosity."

"You’re too polite, Sister. Speaking of the finest fabrics, it must be the Heavenly Silkworm Silk from Jiangnan. The best quality of it, I heard, is produced less than ten bolts each year."

"That little? Didn’t Talented Lady Jia from the Side Hall of Driftfrost Hall wear it once?"

After listening for a while, Lian Hua recognized their voices; it was Beauty Zhao, Talented Lady Sun, and Attendant Zhou, a group she had a deep impression of.

As they neared the corner where Lian Hua was, she gestured for the two to stand behind her and wait by the road.

The group didn’t notice Lian Hua and the others and continued their conversation.

Talented Lady Sun giggled, and Attendant Zhou laughed too.

Beauty Zhao stopped, puzzled, and asked, "What is it, Sister?" She hadn’t told any joke.

"Please don’t take it amiss, Sister. It’s just that something amusing crossed my mind, and I couldn’t help but laugh," Talented Lady Sun said gently, with her Jiangnan accent.

Driven by curiosity, Beauty Zhao asked, "What amusing thing?"

Changzai Zhou pulled Beauty Zhao aside, her voice dropping a few notches, "The silk Talented Lady Jia is wearing is fake Heavenly Silkworm Silk."

"What? Impossible, she looked so pleased with herself last time, how could it be fake?" Beauty Zhao asked in surprise. To wear a fake, how disrespectful that would be!

Talented Lady Sun came to stand on the other side of Beauty Zhao and said, "Sister doesn’t know, but we can tell the difference between real and fake Heavenly Silkworm Silk at a glance."

Though Changzai Zhou ranked lower than Talented Lady Sun, the two had a good relationship and with Talented Lady Sun being younger, she did not make a fuss and called Changzai Zhou ’Sister’.

That impressive? Beauty Zhao looked at Changzai Zhou.

Changzai Zhou nodded with a smile and explained, "Real Heavenly Silkworm Silk might look similar to the fake, but under the sunlight, the fake’s color appears dull while the real emits a hazy luster, soft and not dazzling to the eyes—truly beautiful.

It seems Talented Lady Jia mistook the fake Heavenly Silkworm Silk for the real thing. "

Talented Lady Sun hailed from a prominent Jiangnan family, with all sorts of luxury goods at her disposal, having seen Heavenly Silkworm Silk herself.

Changzai Zhou’s family was in business, dealing also in raw silk and textile trades, thus she too was privy to such knowledge.

Beauty Zhao nodded in understanding, "So, Talented Lady Jia was parading around in fake Heavenly Silkworm Silk."

The group exchanged glances and began to laugh behind covered mouths.

Lian Hua and the others were just around the corner, hidden from view by several osmanthus trees, so those whispering had not discovered them yet.

Forced into eavesdropping, Lian Hua found herself in a dilemma, unable to decide whether to step out or stay hidden, feeling utterly stuck. She had to signal with her eyes, quietly stepping back to avoid an awkward encounter later.

As Lian Hua and the others quietly stepped back, Beauty Zhao and her companions continued their earlier conversation:

Changzai Zhou said, "Speaking of Heavenly Silkworm Silk, I heard that this year only six pieces of high-quality Heavenly Silkworm Silk were presented from Jiangnan to the palace.

The other day, His Majesty gifted three pieces to the Noble Consort.

" Mentioning this made Changzai Zhou somewhat melancholic; they rarely even got a glimpse of His Majesty.

Beauty Zhao lamented, "His Majesty really dotes on the Noble Consort, giving her first pick of anything good."

Talented Lady Sun also appeared wistful, her words tinged with envy, "Just yesterday, he summoned the Noble Consort to his bedchamber. It’s surprising that after so long without summoning anyone, she was the first he called."

At this point, the conversation waned, and a silence fell over the group. It was disingenuous to say they weren’t envious, but envy was futile—after all, she was the Noble Consort.

Having overheard the conversation, Xiao Qing and Xiao Jizi looked uneasily at Lian Hua—His Majesty and the Young Master...

Lian Hua gave them a reassuring smile, feeling heavy-hearted, a mix of sourness and bitterness. Despite much mental preparation and countless attempts to let go, she couldn’t help but feel down upon hearing this news.

Lian Hua sniffled, restraining herself from dwelling on it any further. It was an inevitable truth, after all—what was there to ponder?

When the group reached a bend, they suddenly saw several figures standing silently about ten-odd steps away.

Beauty Zhao got a fright and exclaimed, "Who’s there?"

Finally faced with each other, Lian Hua stepped forward with Xiao Qing and Xiao Jizi to pay their respects, "Our greetings to the three Consorts. May the Consorts be blessed with happiness."

Talented Lady Sun stepped forward to look and said, "Sneaking around like thieves, and it turns out to be Daying Lian, the winner of the Flower Appreciation Feast."

The memory of the Flower Appreciation Feast was still fresh; Talented Lady Sun remembered Daying Lian very clearly.

Had the subsequent incident not occurred, her chances of winning were very high. Unfortunately, someone had disrupted the event and angered His Majesty. Although it was Beauty Li who started the trouble, Talented Lady Sun held no affection for Daying Lian.

Upon seeing Lian Hua, her typically sweet Jiangnan accent carried an edge of sharpness.