Palace Fighting: Naive Concubines' Ascent to Power-Chapter 578: Third Brother’s Rattan

"This, this is, this is..." Lian Hua was overwhelmingly emotional, the more agitated she became, the more her tongue twisted and the more she wanted to speak, her eyes even starting to moisten.

The Emperor saw this and, realizing the situation was bad, hurriedly put the rattan down on the table and went over to half-embrace her, soothing her back and gently asking, "Nannan, don’t rush, take it slowly, don’t rush."

Lian Hua, both anxious and excited, nearly burst into tears, only shaking her head and grabbing his sleeve, wanting to look at that rattan.

Finally, she blurted out the words that were stuck in her throat, her tone completely transformed, "Your Majesty, this is the rattan made by Brother Three, I would recognize it even if it turned to ashes!"

Her voice sharpened a few notes in her excitement.

The Emperor was startled, somewhat shocked, and took the rattan to look at it closely.

Lian Hua, pointing at the rattan excitedly, hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, I could mistake that person’s handwriting, but never Brother Three’s rattan! This is the very rattan my mother used to beat me with, look, not a single burr on it, entirely smooth, it’s because Brother Three was worried about the rattan poking me when Mother hit me!"

Worried the Emperor might still not believe her, she flipped the rattan over, "Look at how this rattan is wrapped, every vine end tucked inside the handle, wrapped tightly and seamlessly. Brother Three was concerned about my comfort when I held it. And look at this knot, it created three tassels hanging down, swinging beautifully and majestically with the rattan, his proud creation, a technique none could replicate, made just to empower me!"

Back then, she, wielding the rattan, whipped her neighbor’s dog while holding a little doll, resulting in her mother confiscating the rattan and even her father and two brothers getting scolded, all looking miserable and sighing afterwards.

Brother Three couldn’t stand to see this and made her another rattan, crafting a beautifully tasseled handle to placate her; that was great, she found that such a rattan was especially effective at intimidating dogs, not even needing to strike, just a single swing was enough to scare any dog away, very impressive indeed.

After that, all the rattans Brother Three made for her had tassels, and his craftsmanship only improved.

This was the rattan she played with from childhood to adulthood, her mother must have confiscated so many, and each time she did, Brother Three would secretly make another for her.

Her mother, wielding those confiscated rattans, didn’t know how many times she had hit her, and with such rattans, she didn’t know how many little dolls she had tamed, how many dogs she had scared, all were glorious achievements, vividly remembered.

Thus, even if Brother Three’s rattans turned to ashes, she would recognize them!

The Emperor looked uncertain, wondering how such an extraordinary coincidence could exist in the world.

But hearing her articulate everything so precisely, detailing each aspect without any discrepancies, he couldn’t help but sink into deep thought.

Lian Hua picked up the rattan, her speech coherent with excitement, depicting every remembered detail, comparing them against the rattan in her hand, and finally asking eagerly, "Your Majesty, where did you find this rattan, have you located Brother Three and the others?"

Her cheeks flushed with excitement, her eyes sparkling, she eagerly awaited the Emperor’s response.

The Emperor hesitated slightly, gave a wry smile, and looking at the rattan, confessed, "Not yet, this rattan was bought from a street vendor outside the Imperial Academy, knowing your fondness for it, seeing it was better than your own, I bought it to give to you."

"Is that so..." Lian Hua felt a moment of disappointment, then brightened up, exclaiming with delight, "Your Majesty, I always thought what Clan Uncle said was exaggerated, almost like a lie, but now I realize I was overthinking, Clan Uncle didn’t deceive me."

She suddenly smiled, her eyes narrowed.

The Emperor was taken aback, realizing she had long pondered and even doubted.

Wondering where she got the notion that she hadn’t been deceived, he kept his expression steady, asked indifferently, "How so?"

She lifted the rattan, jubilantly saying, "This, they said our family owed a lot of debt, and my parents and brothers all went to a faraway place to pay it off."

Capital City is such a faraway place, perhaps her parents have come to the north as well, she thought, unable to suppress her happiness.

"Hmm?" The Emperor didn’t follow her line of thinking.

Seeing this, Lian with a very good mood, patiently explained, "Your Majesty, think about it, Brother Three’s rattan made it all the way to the Capital City, doesn’t that mean our family is engaging in trade to pay off debts?"

This rattan, but it was concrete evidence that her parents and elder brother were all well, the first item in many years that proved they were well, it was their message.

Her third brother was truly remarkable, having sold rattan all the way in the Capital City, he had expanded his business quite significantly.

Were her parents working hard to earn money to pay off debts, doesn’t that mean they would soon finish paying and be able to come to find her?

The more she thought about it, the more she felt it was true, the happier she became.

The Emperor finally understood her thoughts, her meaning that this piece of rattan was bought as evidence that her relatives were trading to pay off debts.

Even though he knew it wasn’t simple, he didn’t correct her, pondering in his heart whether this was just a coincidence or not.

This rattan, purchased while the vine was still fresh green, proved that it was woven on the spot.

But the person selling the rattan, was not there at the time, how could this be such a coincidence?

Could it be, that they had really missed her third brother?

Thinking this, the Emperor called out towards the outside, "Zhang Qing."

Lian Hua played joyfully with the rattan in her hands, becoming fonder of it the more she played.

Soon, Zhang Qing arrived at the doorway, "Your servant is here, Sir, please give your command."

The Emperor glanced at Lian Hua, thought for a moment, and decided to give the order in her presence, otherwise, she would guess it later anyway.

Through this matter, it would be good to ease her hidden worries.

He said, "Go find the merchant who sold the rattan, ask if he made it himself or where it came from, make sure to get clear information, keep the person safe, and bring him back discreetly."

"Yes," Zhang Qing responded respectfully, but was completely baffled, why seek a vendor?

Before leaving, he accidentally glanced at Lian Hua, who couldn’t let go of the rattan, and he seemed to understand something.

Did His Majesty intend for that person to specifically make rattan for Master Lian later on?

But bringing him back would be puzzling...

If he stays in the palace, he would first have to become a eunuch...

In the Side Hall, Lian Hua greatly admired him, "Sir, you are truly brilliant and wise, you think of everything."

She hadn’t thought of trace her relatives by following the clues in her excitement earlier, but His Majesty had thought of it.

If they found him, wouldn’t she be closer to her family?

If it was her third brother who made it, that would be wonderful, directly finding him.

If it wasn’t her third brother who made it, then it must still be related to him, perhaps it was made by an apprentice her third brother trained, and following that lead would also lead to finding him.

At the very least, if it came from a supplier, the ultimate source of the rattan would still be with her third brother, finding him would be a bit more troublesome, but it should still be possible.

Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on freew(𝒆)bnov𝒆l.(c)om