"Ah! Your Majesty, let go, I acknowledge my mistake."
The Emperor sneered coldly, ignoring her pleas and carried her towards the bed.
Lian Hua clung to the Emperor’s neck, struggling to say, "Your Majesty, that wasn’t my intention, I misspoke earlier, it was just for fun, please don’t take it to heart..."
Upon reaching the bed, the Emperor placed her on it and removed her shoes and socks.
Once her shoes and socks were off, Lian Hua scrambled to the inner side and covered herself completely with the bedding, pleading pathetically, "Your Majesty, let’s talk this out nicely, please don’t punish , Your Majesty..."
Yet her eyes vigilantly watched him.
The Emperor glanced at her and huffed, maintaining his icy deanor and no longer looking at her. He removed his own shoes, socks, and outer robe, and lay down correctly on the outer side of the bed, closing his eyes and ignoring her.
Lian Hua observed him for a while and seeing that he remained motionless, she edged closer and asked, "Your Majesty, are you sleepy?"
The Emperor still did not respond to her, simply keeping his eyes closed.
Lian Hua tentatively opened the bedding slightly and asked doubtfully, "Are you tired?"
How genuinely wan His Majesty looked, not rely an effect she had created?
It was too dark to see clearly when they had gotten up earlier.
The more she looked, the more it seed like His Majesty had not slept all night, appearing sowhat fatigued.
At this thought, Lian Hua felt a pang of sympathy, opened all the bedding, moved over, and covered the Emperor with it.
She wiped his face with her hand, attempting to erase the marks to see if he truly looked exhausted, but it seed they couldn’t be wiped away at all.
While she was puzzled, the Emperor suddenly embraced her tightly, "You little rascal, I’ve finally caught you. Let’s see how I deal with you."
As he spoke, he hugged her close and gently patted her bottom a few tis, followed by fervently kissing her ears, forehead, and cheeks all over.
Lian Hua giggled and tried to dodge, coquettishly laughing, "You’re the rascal, Your Majesty, you’ve covered in your saliva again, hahaha..."
As her pregnancy progressed, the Emperor, fearing he might hurt her, no longer chased her as he used to but instead set traps to let her fall into them willingly—she fell for them every ti, yet delightedly so.
His Majesty loved to tease her, she knew very well, but she let him because at such tis, His Majesty’s heart seed lighter, without the usual burdens.
After their little frolic, the Emperor wrapped his arms around Lian Hua and they lay quietly on the bed. He gently asked, "Little darling, will you stay with for a bit?"
"Yes, of course," Lian Hua nestled into his embrace without saying much, feeling very secure.
The Emperor fell silent for a mont, then said, "Nannan, regarding the poison in the soup bowl, I have discovered who did it. Yet, I cannot seek revenge for you and the Imperial Son imdiately, we must wait for the right mont."
He hugged Lian Hua and placed his hand on her belly, gently stroking it.
Last night, he had completely confird his suspicions.
If it had been anyone else, he could have acted imdiately; if it is that person, he still needs to wait for Cao De’s affirmation. Without absolute certainty, acting rashly could have endless consequences.
Lian Hua exclaid in surprise, "Wow, did you find out so quickly? His Majesty is so incredible!"
Wasn’t it just one day? That was too fast indeed!
She had only guessed the accomplice, but she hadn’t had the chance to think about the mastermind. She knew her own strengths and didn’t bother wasting effort. His Majesty was truly formidable.
She looked up, leaned in, barely reached the Emperor’s cheek, and couldn’t help but give the Emperor a kiss, then she obediently lay back down.
The Emperor’s hand continued to stroke Lian Hua’s stomach, but his eyes carried a hint of a smile.
His Little Concubine always focused on points different from what he thought.
Thinking of the matter of revenge, he hid his smile, sighed silently, and asked again, "Knowing who did it, yet unable to avenge you, do you bla ?"
This was the reason for his unhappiness. At today’s court eting, the temper he displayed was three parts false, seven parts genuine, and not an act.
Last night, after his Little Concubine had fallen asleep, he dealt with matters of the harem until late into the night, tirelessly arranged for various situations, and when he returned, he reviewed all the important morial tablets, handled the significant political affairs of the past few days, and by the ti everything was arranged, it was nearly ti for court.
Days of work compressed into one day, under such relentless intensity, even the Emperor inexorably showed signs of fatigue.
But this was exactly the effect he desired, otherwise how could he possibly deceive those old foxes.
He could not afford any oversights in such insignificant details.
Lian Hua casually said, "My lord, you also have your difficulties, I don’t bla you. Let’s just wait then, there’s no rush. Isn’t it said that a gentleman can wait ten years to exact revenge? There’s also that example of ’enduring humiliation to bide one’s ti’, it’s not a big deal."
So this was why His Majesty was in a bad mood. She didn’t think it was much, but if His Majesty felt bitter, she felt upset too.
The Emperor gave a wry laugh, feeling slightly more at peace.
His Little Concubine had misused the phrase again. With him here, who would dare let her endure humiliation? Not even Xue Ping’s daughter Xue Wanjun could.
The military n colluding with Xue Ping were on their way to the Capital City. They would be dealt with permanently during the Longevity Festival.
If he were to move against Xue Ping now, not only would the matter of the private soldiers remain uncovered, the previous arrangents would also fail. Sending these people back would be like releasing a tiger back to the mountain, creating a coordinated threat with Xue Ping that could stir up military instability...
The matter was not a matter of unwillingness to act, but rather, the right timing had not yet arrived; it was difficult to achieve perfection in this situation...
He was unwilling to let his Little Concubine suffer, yet he was also unable to launch a major offensive, especially involving military matters. He aid to use the smallest possible cost to prevent a bloodbath that could harm the foundation of the state.
The affair of Shen Ming back then was not simple. The Shen Family had been loyal and good through generations; Shen Ming’s father had died in war early on, and Shen Ming’s grandfather was also injured in the war, bedridden, clinging to life. Besides Shen Ming, there was only one male left in the Shen family—Shen Shi.
When news of Shen Ming’s death in battle arrived, Shen Ming’s already impaired grandfather, upon hearing the devastating news and being slandered and pressured by Xue Ping, died resentfully, leaving no one to support the Shen family, which soon beca impoverished.
At that ti, he was still young. Xu Rongying had seen him and requested his support for Shen Mansion, but he was then keeping a low profile, and with Xue Ping’s overwhelming influence, he did not agree, nor could he agree. He secretly arranged for Shen Ming’s inexperienced younger brother Shen Shi to fake his death, leave the Capital City, change his na, and live elsewhere.
This action resolved the crisis for Shen Mansion. Seeing that the Shen family had no more n, Xue Ping’s party considered them harmless and adopted a façade of benevolence, no longer pursuing the matter—an event Xu Rongying was aware of.
Now, the young man who had faked his death back then had, under his arrangent, sharpened into a fierce blade of war, harboring deep-seated hatred for Xue Ping and his group.
Shen Shi, following his orders, was now ready for battle, just waiting for news from Cao De to utterly destroy Xue Ping’s hidden private troops.
Past events intertwined with the present, creating a complex mix of emotions.
Whether for the state, for the people, or for his Little Concubine, a powerful courtier like Xue Ping must die.
He was determined to uproot Xue Ping completely and significantly weaken the power of the Noble families!
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