No wonder he deliberately ordered Liu Dayou to announce it publicly. Having realized this, Consort Xu De felt greatly relieved, believing that the Emperor was deeply concerned about Lian Hua, thoroughly putting her mind at ease.
Previously, when Xiao Linzi found her and informed her about Cui Laner, she was surprised. When she heard that Lian Hua had just come out and was bumped into by someone careless, she immediately set aside a pile of matters at hand and came out with her entourage.
Before Liu Dayou arrived, she was very dissatisfied, feeling that the Emperor was careless and even dared to expose Lian Hua to the dangers of the wolves and tigers in the Harem. She even stayed with Lian Hua for a long time to assert her stance to those in the Harem. But now, seeing the Emperor’s effective tactic of killing the chicken to scare the monkeys, she thought that no one would dare to cause trouble anymore.
She no longer delayed and immediately said to Liu Dayou, "Let it be done this way, hurry and take Lady Cui to the Punishment Bureau to receive her punishment according to the palace regulations. Eunuch Liu, thank you for your effort afterwards."
"I dare not, I dare not, this is within my duties," Liu Dayou repeatedly said he dared not.
The arrested Cui Laner was initially stunned, unable to believe it, but after a moment, she looked as pale as a dead person, trembling with fear. Thinking about her future, her eyes rolled back, and her entire body went limp like a noodle and fainted.
Just as Daying Jia had guessed, Cui Laner was not allowed to stay in the palace, and could no longer leave the palace as before. Her fate was even bleaker, receiving punishment from three high-grade individuals in the palace, each more severe than the last.
Having received the decree, the two from Huaying Hall did not delay any further; they immediately carried Cui Laner toward the Punishment Bureau, while Liu Dayou and three others also took their leave, waiting to throw her out of the palace after the punishment was finished.
With the matter resolved, Consort Xu De also should leave. There had already been managers from various departments in the palace impatiently stamping their feet, wanting to come and report, but they didn’t dare approach because of her gaze.
After speaking a few words with Lian Hua, she stood up and looked around, noting that Beauty Zhao and Attendant Changzai had already stood up, carrying fear. Looking around at the sneaky figures that had now become much more honest, she felt at ease.
"Sister, once you finish your tasks, come over. Then we can play together," Lian Hua said, reluctant to let her go, pulling on the sleeve of the Consort.
Consort Xu De turned her gaze back, responding cheerfully, "Alright, sister will help you win prizes then."
Lian Hua’s eyes sparkled; she had heard about the gold melon seeds at the riddle-guessing area, but she wasn’t cut out for riddle guessing. So while her heart was willing, her skills were lacking. If her sister could, heh heh heh...
Thinking of each cute small ingot, she beamed with joy, urging impatiently, "Then hurry up, sister, finish your tasks quickly and come over sooner."
"Little money lover, you’ve got money on the brain!" Consort Xu De laughed and scolded, then vigorously rubbed Lian Hua’s tender cheeks, causing Lian Hua to laugh and dodge. After extracting a bit of satisfaction from this, she strode off with her entourage. Before leaving, she had Ming Jing leave a water bladder specially prepared with honey water for Lian Hua to drink when she was thirsty.
Lian Hua looked at the departing figures with a smile, and from the corner of her eye saw a shooting arrow from the pitch-pot game. She suddenly remembered, calling out to the departing Consort Xu De, "Sister, I’m afraid I can’t play pitch-pot with you, I vowed earlier to win all those bags of golden melon seeds first."
Consort Xu De, far away, waved her hand backward, indicating she understood, as managers from various departments surrounded her, reporting on the progress of the Longevity Banquet and other events.
Satisfied, Lian Hua waved a big hand, "Let’s go, let’s play pitch-pot!"
Xiao Qing and others cheered immediately, walking a dozen steps. Then, Lian Hua noticed someone was missing, turned her head, and saw Kong Yinyin standing there dumbfounded, as if she was still stuck in the moment when Cui Laner was being arrested.
She called out, "Xiao Yinyi, come on, aren’t you leaving the palace the day after tomorrow? Take this chance to win more golden melon seeds."
Kong Yinyin snapped out of her daze, her smile spreading across her face like starlight. She nodded gently, seeming to confirm something to herself before nodding more firmly.
Lian Hua continuously admired, "Xiao Yinyi, you actually look quite nice, you still look as good as you do now..."
As they talked, they headed toward the pitch-pot area.
Not far away, Beauty Zhao and Attendant Changzai, having recovered from their shock, exchanged glances, each harboring their own thoughts, yet clearly understanding each other’s intentions.
Beauty Zhao said, "It’s more lively with more people playing pitch-pot, Little Sister Zhou, why don’t we join and add to Beauty Lian’s fun?"
Attendant Changzai also said, "Exactly, we’ve rested enough, let’s go together."
The two immediately headed toward the pitch-pot area.
Just then, a commotion arose in the distance, and someone, clutching a handkerchief with tears in her eyes, ran over, softly crying, "Sister Lian, you’ve finally come out, I’ve been so worried..."
Just as Lian Hua was about to play pitch-pot, she looked up, and was immediately overjoyed, happily waving at the figure, "Consort Fang Pin, come quick, playing pitch-pot is so much fun!" She was willing to share some golden melon seeds with Consort Fang Pin to play together.
Hearing this voice, Xiao Jizi shuddered, feeling his scalp tingle, the whiny tender Consort Fang Pin had arrived, oh his mother, he thought of hiding...
Xiao Linzi sensed something and looked puzzledly at Brother Xiao Ji, whispering, "Brother Ji, what’s wrong?"
Xiao Jizi’s eyes lit up, right, he and Consort Fang Pin had clashing fates, but the idiot didn’t, thinking about it, he saw a bright future ahead!
Southern City, around an inconspicuous civilian house.
Someone stealthily approached and then hid in a tree with sparse leaves, the figure was plump yet moved very agilely, without a sound, it was hard to tell how he merged so seamlessly with the tree, even the fat pigs in the pen right across didn’t notice.
Several fat pigs lay close together in the pigsty, like clumps of fat spread on the ground.
One of the fat pigs rolled over in its sleep, opened its drowsy eyes, and noticed that today the old tree looked somewhat different, adorned with a thick, plump trunk.
Curious, it blinked its pig eyes and suddenly kicked its short legs a few times, trying to get up to see clearer, but this startled the rest of the fat pigs, all of which got up disoriented, looked around, perked up their ears to listen, and hearing nothing unusual and no owner nearby, lazily laid back down, their energy reserved only for grunting when it was time to eat.
Soon, only the first fat pig that had gotten up remained standing. It moved closer to the pen, stubbornly placing its hefty fore hooves directly on top of the pen, leaning forward and peering intently at the old tree, the more it looked, the more the trunk resembled a sibling, unable to help itself, it began to grunt softly, being the most aspirational pig among them, always the smartest and fattest.
The other fat pigs, hearing this, stirred slightly on the ground, also began to grunt along, as if they were moaning without sickness. Fresh chapters posted on novel·fire·net
In the secret room, Guo Shun sensed something odd, opened his eyes, and wondered, "Young Master, do pigs usually grunt at this time of the day?"
No one had come to feed them yet, so why would they suddenly start making noise?