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Once the meal was ready, Lian Hua waited with bright, gleaming eyes for him to speak. He nodded, and she smiled with her eyes squinted, eagerly starting to eat.

She was so very hungry, her stomach felt like it was on fire, compelling her to eat faster. Her cheeks puffed with each mouthful, and she almost choked.

The Emperor hastily patted her back to help her catch her breath, telling her, "Eat slower, no one is competing with you." Only then did she slow down.

After Lian Hua had finished eating, she began to feel drowsy again. Seeing this, the Emperor let her lean against him, massaging her belly, as it was not good to sleep right after eating.

Lian Hua leaned against the Emperor and fell into a deep sleep once again.

The Emperor rubbed her belly for a while, then he carried her to bed and laid her down. He watched her greedily for a long time, finally pulling himself away reluctantly and walking out of the Star Palace.

As Zhang Qing knelt before the Emperor, a cold look flickered in the Emperor’s eyes, and he said, "Deal with your people yourself."

From the hedging account by the Young Eunuch from Canglan Court, he had guessed that someone within the Star Palace had been obstructive.

If these servants had succeeded, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

When he assigned that eunuch to Little Concubine, he was silently agreeing that her people could come to the Star Palace to find him.

Zhang Qing’s mouth turned bitter. He bowed deeply and said, "Thank you for Your Majesty’s grace!"

After all, it was impossible to save Sancai...

Just now, after Young Master Lian fell asleep, His Majesty had called him out of the Star Palace, and he guessed that His Majesty was about to clean house.

How could Zhang Qing not know who His Majesty meant to clean up? It was his godson, Zhang Sancai, and the group of fools behind him.

This fool, no matter how many years he was taught, was still so clueless! He couldn’t even see the way the wind was blowing in the Star Palace.

Had it been someone else, it would have been fine, but who did he offend?

It was Young Master Lian’s people, and at such a critical moment.

If Young Master Lian had truly missed the timely chance and something had happened because of him, being hacked to pieces wouldn’t suffice to quell a fraction of His Majesty’s thunderous rage.

Now that His Majesty was letting him handle it himself, it was a way of saving his face. If His Majesty had taken matters into his own hands, his life would undoubtedly have been taken.

After His Majesty hurried into the Star Palace, Zhang Qing slowly stood up, seeming to age several years all at once.

His godson, whom he had nurtured with care for so many years, was now to be discarded. How could he not be heartbroken?

Zhang Qing wearily signaled to a Young Eunuch, instructing him to summon Zhang Sancai to see him.

In the middle of the night, several eunuchs from the Star Palace clumsily dragged a person towards the distance.

The man struggled fiercely, crying, "Godfather, spare me, please. Feng Ji is just an outsider; I am your godson."

"Godfather, why are you taking his side? I won’t accept this, I won’t accept it."

He couldn’t fathom why he would just be disposed of out of the blue.

He wept, asking his godfather why, and his godfather asked him back what he had done that afternoon, and then refused to speak again.

Zhang Sancai was taken aback for a moment before he remembered the incident with Feng Ji.

After having Feng Ji beaten and driven away that day, Zhang Sancai felt a refreshing clarity and comfort that he hadn’t experienced in a long while.

In his view, the Daying from Canglan Court had fallen out of favor long ago, and now that she had gotten into trouble, Feng Ji’s life was essentially over. He thought he had finally let go of any concerns.

After his shift, he had a few drinks and contentedly went to sleep.

Half-asleep, he was awoken by people, only to see his godfather sitting coldly in his room, ready to subject him to fifty strikes and then relegate him to the Laundry Bureau for menial work, banning him from ever returning to the Star Palace.

In the span of a day, it felt as though he had gone from heaven to hell.

Zhang Sancai cried at the memory of the afternoon’s events, incessantly begging his godfather for mercy, promising never to trouble Feng Ji again, but it was no use. His godfather, who had always been good to him, was completely indifferent.

He was indeed his godfather’s godson, so why was his godfather favoring an outsider? Were all their past interactions false? He would not stand for it!

The night was deep, and the crying abruptly stopped, as if the mouth had been blocked.

Zhang Qing shed his cold demeanor, leaving only grief in his eyes.

In the end, Sancai still thought his punishment was because of Feng Ji. How foolish; now that he’s been sent to the Laundry Bureau, at least Zhang Qing could look after him somewhat, better than if he caused an even bigger disaster later, endangering his own life.

Sigh... Zhang Qing lamented in his heart as he struggled to stand up and walked out of Zhang Sancai’s room.

From that day forward, there was no longer a person named Zhang Sancai in the Star Palace.

The next morning, within the sleeping quarters of Star Palace.

Lian Hua woke up and opened her eyes, her mind a bit muddled, as if she had had a dream the night before...

She stared blankly for a while before sitting up, running her fingers through her hair, and then realizing that the blanket on her was different. She looked around at her surroundings.

She was somewhat stunned. Why did this bed seem to be made of golden nanmu? And this canopy, it must be a flowing cloud canopy!

This place looked familiar, didn’t it?

Lian Hua tossed the quilt aside, pushed the canopy away, and stepped down barefoot, the more she looked, the more familiar it seemed.

Eh, wasn’t this the sleeping quarters of the Star Palace—His Majesty’s residence—that she had visited more than two years ago?

How did she end up here?

She scratched her head and tilted it, thinking. Could it be that last night was not a dream, that she really had shared a meal with His Majesty?

Resigned to her fate, she thought, Well, what’s done is done, I can’t spit it back out at him. His Majesty ate so much from her before, what’s the big deal if she ate once from him last night, so she ate!

Lost in her haphazard thoughts, Lian Hua walked around the hall a few times, found her outer garments, shoes, and socks, put them on, and headed outside.

Currently, she was still bearing guilt for others, unaware of what His Majesty wanted with her back here. Could it be that he wanted to play the old punishment game with her again?

She really didn’t want to play anymore!

She didn’t care to ponder the intentions behind His Majesty bringing her back.

When she was escorted away yesterday, she saw a person clad in tattered clothes with a bruised face, so swollen his own mother wouldn’t recognize him, and a corner of a cloth bag peeking through his torn robe, with its crooked, twisted stitches.

Who else’s handiwork could it be if not hers and Xiao Qing’s?

Who else in this palace could sew such a carefree pattern on a cloth bag?

It was undoubtedly Xiao Jizi!

That cloth bag was a specialty of Canglan Court—the crucial tool for committing acts in the Imperial Garden.

Lian Hua’s nose felt a bit sour. In the end, she had still caused him trouble. Before she was imprisoned again, she was determined to make a trip back to Canglan Court to send him away for good, and Xiao Qing had to be sent away too.

After exiting the Star Palace, Lian Hua oriented herself and headed toward the west side, to Canglan Court.

Someone hurried over to block her path.

"Young Master Lian, where are you going?" Xiao Linzi hastily stopped her and asked, for His Majesty had instructed earlier if Young Master Lian woke up, he was to keep an eye on her in Star Palace until His Majesty returned from court.

"To Canglan Court," Lian Hua said without stopping, walking past Xiao Linzi.

"Young Master, you can’t go," Xiao Linzi ran a few steps forward, spreading his hands to block Lian Hua’s way.

"Oh, so I should go back to prison?" Lian Hua asked as she stood still.

Xiao Linzi shook his head, "His Majesty didn’t say that, he only told servant to watch over you."

"Ah, then come with me," Lian Hua said, pushing his arms aside and continuing forward.

"Ah? Come with you?"

"Yes, aren’t you supposed to watch me? If we go together, you can keep an eye on me, can’t you?" How can Xiao Linzi be so dim-witted!

Xiao Linzi scratched his head; that seemed to make sense. Alright then, he might as well go with her.