Palace Fighting: Naive Concubines' Ascent to Power-Chapter 559 Critique

Lian Changhe took the lead, poured a full bowl of chicken soup for her, "Sister Qingshu, madam’s help was but a small effort back then, true kindness in hardship is much harder to come by. We will not say more thank yous, your goodness is remembered in our hearts. Here, have some chicken soup to replenish yourself first."

Qingshu thanked him and took the soup.

After serving Qingshu her soup, Lian Changhe filled another bowl for Su Ran, "Madam, please have a bowl too."

Su Ran smiled gently, urging Lian Changhe to eat as well and picked some vegetables for both Qingshu and Lian Changhe.

The few of them ate happily together.

Qingshu and Qian Chen, who had been roaming around without a permanent residence for years, rarely had such moments and enjoyed them very much.

Knowing that the Lian Family was still not out of danger, Qingshu decided not to leave for the time being and would reconsider once things settled down. Moreover, her little apprentice was still missing. She would wait for Cao De to return and then ask for his help in the search, perhaps yielding a different result.

As for Lian Bao, he had Wu Sheng go to the Imperial Academy to look for Lian Musu. There was nothing urgent, so he was relieved for the moment.

He guessed that there would be results in a day or two, and his elder brother would be able to return and get treatment for his leg.

Sitting in the coachman’s seat, Uncle Ma whispered to Lian Bao about Guo Neng’s situation, everything was going according to their plans, keeping Guo Neng running in circles.

Lian Bao nodded, "We’ve played the game long enough, Guo Thief is now deeply unsuspecting, so we’ll start taking ’interest’ from him in a few days. However, Guo Neng is a sinister and cunning man; we still need to be very cautious."

Uncle Ma was nonchalant, "Young Master, don’t worry. That Guo Thief is just all bark and no bite, he can’t stir up any real trouble."

Lian Bao shook his head, "Uncle Ma, we must not underestimate or be careless..."

Before he could finish, Uncle Ma gave a hearty laugh, "With the Young Master here, what is there to fear?"

He sighed, brought the horse to a stop, and looking back said, "Young Master, we’ve arrived."

Lian Bao thought it over, Uncle Ma was an old hand in this world, and with him watching over things, there likely wouldn’t be any issues, so he decided not to insist further.

The carriage stopped at the back door of a courtyard, where one could faintly hear the loud and lively conversation going on inside.

Uncle Ma wore a big smile as he playfully chastised, "That lad Wang San is so impatient. He was raving since the crack of dawn about celebrating, rallying the brothers to buy liquor and prepare dishes. We haven’t even collected the silver yet, what’s there to celebrate?"

Despite his words, there was not a hint of dissatisfaction on his face; his young mistress’s health had improved, which made him happy. They had never found the opportunity to celebrate, and today was the perfect chance.

Hearing the noise inside, Lian Bao slightly furrowed his brow and then relaxed; everyone had been too tense these days, so a good drink was in order.

As Guo Neng had been led by them into a frenzy, his attention was diverted elsewhere, and he was unlikely to notice this place.

Uncle Ma leaped down from the carriage to knock on the door, then looking back as it opened, he said, "Young Master, Wu Sheng, after setting the carriage aside, how about we go pay our respects to missy first, then come have a drink?"

The courtyard they had chosen was surrounded by many winding alleys, easy for an unfamiliar person to get lost in, and if something happened, the layout would enable them to escape easily.

Uncle Ma and the Lian family lived separately; their courtyards were not far apart and appeared unconnected to each other. They took precautions not to be wiped out in one fell swoop, yet were positioned to provide mutual support.

Lian Bao always proceeded with caution. Ever since moving here, he had never allowed the carriage to stop in front of the Lian family’s courtyard, preventing thieves from following the wheel tracks back to them, and he always instructed Uncle Ma to cover their tracks after returning.

Lian Bao hopped off the carriage, "Uncle, it’s rare for everyone to be in high spirits. Let’s go in first. Wu Sheng and I will just have a quick bite of meat and then leave; we won’t drink. Let second brother join you for drinks. I’ll speak to mother when I return, so there’s no need for you to go. Stay and enjoy a good meal with everyone."

Wu Sheng got out of the carriage, "Right, Uncle Ma, they can’t do without you at the drinking. Brother Wang San said he’s prepared two vats of liquor this time, just waiting for you to return to drink you under the table."

Uncle Ma cheerfully scolded without a laugh, "Young whelp, ignorant of the world’s vastness. When I was drinking, you were still playing in the mud. I’ll show you how I deal with that later."

The Young Master refused to drink, which he had expected. The Young Master said that in times of peril, one must stay sober, so no drinking.

A few people all started to laugh.

Then, a voice from behind the back door asked, "Who is it?"

Uncle Ma stepped forward, "It’s me."

The voice inside asked again, "How many longs and shorts?"

"Two longs, one short."

"What flowers have bloomed?"

"The green trees have blossomed."

Each question and answer were part of a secret code exchange. The ’two longs, one short’ signified that all was well. People generally dread ’three longs and two shorts,’ just as ghosts fear ’two shorts and one long.’ If the answer had been ’two shorts and one long,’ it would mean to prepare for an impending threat, to exterminate it.

The phrase ’green trees have blossomed’ signalled safety, that the speaker was not under duress. If the answer had been ’bamboo has blossomed,’ it would indicate a major emergency that was unstoppable, necessitating an urgent retreat.

This was their secret code.

After confirming the codes, the door creaked open, and an old man and a young man, both reeking of meat and alcohol, clearly in the middle of their meal, rushed out upon hearing the knocking.

The young man threw the door wide open, warmly saying, "Third Young Master, Uncle Ma, we were just talking about you, and here you are back."

The old man came out, "Quick, come in. The food and drink are all laid out. Second Young Master is here too; everyone’s been waiting for your return."

The group acknowledged with a word and entered through the back door together. The old man and the young man who came out backed them up; one led the horse inside, while the other went out to remove any traces.

The next day passed by in this manner; Canglan Court was quiet as water, the Harem was a hubbub, and the court seemed calm on the surface, but undercurrents were swirling beneath.

On the morning of the third day, at the early court session, a petition was presented that struck like a thunderclap, sending shock waves through the entire court.

The Assistant Deputy Censor-in-chief of the Imperial Censorate, Zhao Zhong, stepped forward and accused Consort Xu De of being cruel and without virtue, plotting against the Imperial Heir, a sin unforgivable, demanding her execution. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

He also accused Xu Hu of failing to teach his daughter properly, leading to her committing a heinous crime. He recommended that the imperial tiger tally be taken back from him, that he be demoted to a commoner, and sent to the frontier, never to be permitted to enter the capital again.

The entire court fell into a moment of deathly silence, with nearly all the court officials looking shocked and overwhelmed.

While the majority of the court officials had guessed from hints the day before that something was amiss, none knew that it involved the Imperial Heir, the only heir of the Harem. They had received no prior notice and had only sensed something out of the ordinary.

The Emperor’s expression was ugly, his piercing gaze examining Zhao Zhong, who stood unflinching, the very picture of a loyal official.

With such a reaction, how could the court officials not understand what was happening?

Many officials were in a panic. The Imperial Heir was the foundation of the state. If the Emperor wasn’t panicking, they were. After longing and waiting for years, this glimmer of hope had emerged—how could they not be anxious if something had happened to it?

The Emperor sat on his throne, enveloped in a fierce aura of murderous intent, saying nothing, his eyes closely following Zhao Zhong’s every move.

The many anxious officials started to confront Zhao Zhong directly, asking him what he meant by this. Such an important matter was not to be taken lightly.

Xue Ping stood in the midst of the crowd, feeling that something was amiss.

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