Palace Fighting: Naive Concubines' Ascent to Power-Chapter 572: The Emperor’s Exclusive Indulgence

Historically, brothels and taverns have always been the places most informed of news, with brothels being even more so. The people who frequented these places were all from the wealthy and noble class, and many secrets and deals that could not see the light of day were carried out within the brothels.

Unlike establishments that dealt purely in the flesh trade, brothels were much more elegant—lavish and exquisitely decorated residences where the women were not only beautiful but also talented. It’s not to say that they were all proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but each possessed one or two special skills. They sold their arts but not their bodies, making them sophisticated venues for scholars and officials to discuss matters and indulge in their enjoyment.

For the sons of noble families, it was common to seek one or two confidants to discuss romantic interests and poetry.

Many of the news Lian Bao had came from here.

It was still broad daylight, and the brothel wasn’t very busy yet.

A guard led them into an elegant room and asked them to wait.

Soon, a woman’s voice could be heard outside:

"The Young Master has arrived. How is the young lady feeling?"

Lian Bao smiled and stood up, turning to look: "Auntie Ying, mother’s health is getting better. When the weather is good, she can walk a few laps around the courtyard. The Divine Doctor said she is well-nourished and does not need to take medicine anymore. He has prescribed a medicinal diet that should be sufficient for her recovery."

A woman with a uniquely styled hair bun and a smile that didn’t reveal her age entered. She wore only a jade hairpin with a gold-bodied floral design in her hair and was dressed in a blue smoke-patterned silk robe, offering a unique charm. When she smiled, faint crow’s feet were visible at the corners of her eyes.

"That’s wonderful," Aunt Ying celebrated. "Do you need ginseng? I acquired a century-old ginseng a few days ago. It’s excellent for restoring vital energy. It would be perfect for the young lady."

Though it was a question, she did not wait for Lian Bao to decline and promptly called for a maid to fetch it.

Lian Bao did not demur and bowed: "Then, I thank you dearly, Auntie Ying."

Uncle Ma said from the side, "Young Master, you are being too formal. Be careful, or Yingying will be upset with you."

"Young Master need not be formal," Aunt Ying chimed in, but she glared at Uncle Ma: "You, however, should be formal."

Uncle Ma chuckled, knowing why she glared at him. She was dissatisfied with him calling her Yingying, thinking it too familiar.

The three of them chatted casually for a few moments then sat down together.

Aunt Ying shared the latest news she had gathered with Lian Bao.

"The palace is currently not at peace. The officials are cautious and have tightened their lips a lot, which has even affected the business here. I only managed to gather so much. As long as the issue with the Imperial Heir remains unresolved, Capital City will likely remain unsettled," Aunt Ying sighed.

The ordinary people might not notice, but her Qingfeng Tower was greatly affected.

Lian Bao nodded in agreement. He had already known about the incident with the Imperial Heir leading to disputes in the court.

Yet, what he could not understand was how the noble families secretly united behind the scenes, influencing the court’s situation, attempting to doom Xu Hu. Even he could see this.

The man at the top seemed unaware, still detaining many who supported Great General Xu. It was truly incomprehensible.

If it were said that the man at the top also wanted to deal with Great General Xu, he kept delaying without taking action. If not, he was imprisoning the military generals, and nobody was speaking up for Xu Hu.

It was indeed puzzling.

Aunt Ying continued, "With the Imperial Heir gone and the Favored Concubine injured, barely surviving, it is said that the Emperor does not show it outwardly, but after court, he spends time by her side. Recently, he has not been meeting with ministers privately. He seems truly devoted, which is admirable. Even the Son of Heaven finds it hard to overcome the barrier of a beautiful woman."

Such an Emperor, real and human, touched the people at the bottom more than the widely proclaimed wise and valiant Emperor of the past.

However, with the Imperial Heir’s incident and the Favored Concubine likely injured to the extent that she couldn’t bear children for at least a while, such devotion probably wouldn’t last long.

She had seen such matters often—numerous young masters from noble families would come to Qingfeng Tower to redeem a lady for the sake of love, consistently declaring their love for only one, yet they would never marry her as the principal wife, nor would they allow their eldest son to come from a brothel woman. Anytime inheritance was involved, emotions had to be set aside.

The Imperial Family would undoubtedly be even more merciless—a consort unable to bear children, no matter how favored, was ultimately just a temporary affection.

Lian Bao was sorting out these clues in his mind and did not offer any comment when he heard this.

He always felt that things couldn’t be that simple—an Emperor, no matter how deep in love, wouldn’t lose his rationality; it seemed more likely that someone wanted to lead people to think this way.

He couldn’t help but think so, especially since his younger sister was in the palace, and even though he hoped she would be happy, he could not expect her to be the sole favorite of the Emperor.

Alas... This was also a shadow hanging over his heart.

His younger sister was so naive and impulsive—if she were to be wronged in the palace, with such high status at stake, even if they wanted to defend her, there was no way to speak of it.

Thus, after their elder brother found out, he became even more desperate to gain honors and show loyalty to the Emperor, to gain His Majesty’s favor, in order to provide an extra layer of protection for his younger sister in the future.

Their father, however, was optimistic, not considering so much; he merely muttered to himself about how unreliable this son-in-law was, still thinking that since the Emperor had many consorts, missing one wouldn’t matter much and, if things didn’t work out, perhaps they could find a way to bring his sister out and remarry her.

Their second brother also took it lightly, hearing their father’s ramblings and chuckling at how unlikely that was—alas.

It was actually their mother, surprisingly, who said that she had seen her daughter in a dream, seemingly certain that her daughter would find happiness, not at all worried as he had expected.

Wait a minute!

Lian Bao suddenly realized a problem: "Auntie Ying, are you saying the consort bearing the Imperial Heir is the current Son of Heaven’s Favored Concubine?"

If he wasn’t mistaken, had not Consort Liu’s father, Liu Xianzhang, mentioned that his younger sister was also a Favored Concubine?

"It should be, this came from a lady here who heard it from a nobleman—what’s wrong?" Auntie Ying was puzzled.

Lian Bao was so startled that his heart began to race, "Auntie Ying, do you know the surname and name of this Favored Concubine, and her status?"

Uncle Ma also returned to his senses, asking in shock, "Young Master, are you saying?"

He knew the Young Miss had found favor in the palace, but he had never heard that she was pregnant!

This matter was of great importance, apart from the Lian Family and Uncle Ma, even Auntie Ying did not know the Young Miss was in the palace.

"I’m unaware of these details," Auntie Ying realized something was wrong and immediately stood up, "Wait here, I will go and call that lady to inquire."

Saying this, she quickly walked out.

Uncle Ma couldn’t help but stand up, his mind uneasy, muttering words of comfort, "It might not be such a coincidence, if the Young Miss were pregnant, wouldn’t that dog Liu have mentioned it last time?"

It was as if he was trying to convince himself as well as Lian Bao.

Lian Bao did not respond; he could not be sure now, thinking it might actually be his younger sister, his heart panicked uncontrollably, his palms chilled...

Soon, noises came from outside, and Auntie Ying led a woman in, separated by a screen, out of sight from Lian Bao and the others.

Auntie Ying softly spoke a few words to the woman.

Although the woman knew there were people behind the screen, she tactfully refrained from prying.

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