Chapter 30 (30) Entering the Palace, Troubles Rise Again (Part 2)
The conflict and grudge between Chen Fenglian and the Queen Mother had nothing to do with them. But Lianzhi was Lianzhi, and Chen Fenglian was Chen Fenglian. He couldn't let Lianzhi be humiliated and tortured for no reason.
"You're really not angry? Don't you think I'm causing you trouble?" Lianzhi poked his back. "What will you do if you're punished for this?"
Lianzhi cried out in surprise after being bumped. Bai Kang loosened his grip on his back, as if to deliberately scare him: "I'll ask you when we get back."
As they were talking, they had already arrived at the Golden Palace.
When the young eunuch under Eunuch Lu saw him, he was about to come forward and speak anxiously, but unexpectedly, Bai Kang put down the person on his back, lifted up his official robe, and knelt on the bluestone road: "Your Majesty, I, Bai Kang, and my wife, request to see you!"
Lianzhi also followed him obediently.
By now, most officials had already gone to the side hall, and few had seen Bai Kang. The young eunuch was dumbfounded. He had been waiting for Bai Kang to enter the side hall so that he could summon the other officials to the main hall to congratulate His Majesty.
What is going on here?
"Master Bai, what are you kneeling for?" The young eunuch was really confused. Seeing Bai Kang kneeling firmly, his mind suddenly became clear, and he remembered what he had just said. He immediately went into the hall to ask for an audience with His Majesty. After the people left, Lianzhi slowly approached. Bai Kang thought he was scared and comforted him: "Don't be afraid."
After a while, the young eunuch came out and smiled at the two of them: "Master Bai, please stand up."
Bai Kang remained motionless.
"Madam, please stand up." The young eunuch looked at Lianzhi again and said with a flattering smile, "His Majesty has decreed that today is the Emperor's birthday and a general amnesty will be granted to the inner court. This also includes pardoning Madam's disrespect. However, since Madam contradicted the Empress Dowager, you, Lord Bai, will be fined one month's salary as a warning to others."
Bai Kang immediately accepted the order and thanked the emperor, then followed the young eunuch to the side hall.
As night fell and the lights came on, the Golden Throne Hall was ablaze with light, and exquisite palace lanterns hung overhead. Civil and military officials sat on either side, holding golden cups, and together they offered birthday congratulations to Emperor Jianguang. The women of the household sat behind a folding screen, beneath a lightly draped screen, and they followed suit.
Lianzhi's identity and gender were too awkward, so she ultimately stayed with Bo Kang. Musicians and palace maids, dressed in colorful attire, slowly entered the hallway, performing dances and music. The melodious sounds of stringed instruments echoed through the hall, like sounds from nature.
After the congratulations, it was time to read out the gift list. Bai Kang's birthday gift didn't cause much of a stir, standing out among the officials. This was exactly what Bai Kang had hoped for. He had no interest in watching the dance in the hall; his eyes were fixed on Lianzhi.
Lianzhi watched the maid closest to him with great interest, tackling the fruit with a silver fork. Seeing him absorbed in the scene, a smile still playing on his face, Bo Kang, momentarily overcome with anger, slapped him hard on the lower back.
The heartless boy, he was just punished, but now he is still smiling as if nothing happened.
He slapped her again. Lianzhi's watery eyes widened and she turned to look at him; "Ah! You hit me!"
"Consider yourself more, your teeth are showing." Bai Kang raised an eyebrow. "The palace maids are so beautiful? You watch them singing and dancing every day in Chunfeng Tower. Aren't you tired of it?"
"That dance is nothing compared to the one in the palace," Lianzhi curled her lips. Bo Kang lowered his voice and said, "Be careful when you act in the palace. What did you do to anger the Queen Mother?"
It turned out that she wanted to bring up old scores with him.
"The nanny beside the Queen Mother said that I was being offensive by burning incense." Lianzhi tried hard to keep her watery eyes open.
Incense? Lianzhi had never worn incense before; at most, he smelled of soapberry and bath spices. Sure enough, the Queen Mother had deliberately struck Lianzhi because she had seen his face.
Lianzhi can no longer be allowed to enter the palace.
Fortunately, aside from the Empress Dowager's birthday, the only time officials and their families are allowed into the palace is during the Empress Dowager's birthday. By then, I can figure out how to get Lianzhi to feign illness. As for summons from within the palace, it shouldn't reach Lianzhi.
"Eat more." Thinking this, Bai Kang looked at him kindly, pushed the fruit plate in front of Lianzhi, and patted his head. Lianzhi didn't know what was going on, but he was eating happily, with grape juice on the corners of his mouth, looking quite cute. Bai Kang looked at him and smiled unconsciously.
I gave him the grapes to eat, and he seemed quite happy?
"Then I'll eat them all." Lianzhi picked up another grape and put it into her mouth.
They were sitting not too far from the throne, within easy reach of the Emperor. As Lianzhi ate, he felt a gaze cast behind him, as if someone was watching him.
He thought it was Emperor Jianguang who noticed him, so he lowered his eyes and looked over quietly, only to find that it was the man next to Emperor Jianguang who was looking at him.
"Brother Kang." Lianzhi tugged at Bo Kang's sleeve. "Who's next to His Majesty? The Crown Prince?"
After hearing this, Bai Kang couldn't help but burst out laughing, but because he was in the palace, he forced himself to hold it back: "Crown Prince? Ha, ha ha... That's His Majesty's concubine."
Emperor Jianguang had never appointed an empress, and the highest-ranking official in the palace was this imperial concubine. Women entering the palace were required to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager as well as this imperial concubine, acting as the Empress's deputy and accompanying Emperor Jianguang at banquets. Rumors circulated that His Majesty would appoint her as Empress.
It would be fine if Lianzhi didn’t know all this, but he actually mistook the imperial concubine for the prince?
Lianzhi frowned. They were sitting at the bottom, and from a distance, he could only make out vague eyebrows and eyes. The Imperial Concubine bore some resemblance to the Emperor Jianguang, and since she was sitting in the seat that should have belonged to the Empress, so close, he subconsciously thought it was the Crown Prince or a prince.
...Imperial Concubine?
"Why is the imperial concubine a man?" Lianzhi looked away.
Bai Kang laughed again: "My dear, the Imperial Concubine is of course a woman. Do you know what the Imperial Concubine's position is? Let me tell you..."
"He is a man." Lianzhi said softly.
When he met Lianzhi's extremely serious gaze, Bai Kang's laughter stopped abruptly.
He could tell Lianzhi hadn't lied to him. "Royal Concubine, could it be a man?" He couldn't look directly at her face, especially since he couldn't see clearly.
Lianzhi thought Bai Kang didn't believe him, so he curled his lips and didn't intend to speak. He had wanted to tell Bai Kang that the imperial concubine had been looking at him.
His hand, which was about to pick up the food, paused as Bai Kang pulled him into his arms. Before he could struggle, Bai Kang leaned his head close to his ear, his hot breath and gentle questioning rushing into his ear: "Why do you say that?"
"I've seen many actors learning their craft at Chunfeng Tower. Even with makeup on, I can tell the difference between men and women." Lianzhi said with a hint of pride, "I just can."
That makes sense. If that imperial concubine were truly a man...
Absurd! How could Your Majesty marry a man? Bai Kang pondered angrily, then suddenly remembered that his wife was also a man, and he didn't care much. Fortunately, the concubine only glanced at him briefly before quickly looking away. She must have been curious about the appearance of his male wife. Lianzhi didn't think much of it.
After three rounds of drinks, the atmosphere at the banquet became even more lively. Bo Kang and the other adults around him toasted each other with a few glasses of wine in a pretentious manner, blocking their view of Lianzhi.
The wine in the cup was quickly drained. Just as Bai Kang was about to pour more wine, a slender white jade hand reached out from his side, snatched the wine jug on the table, filled it with wine, and said softly, "I will pour the wine for you, sir."
"Don't look at me, Master Huang. I've seen you several times. Why are you always staring at my wife?" Bai Kang sneered from above. He leaned back inconspicuously, blocking Lianzhi's view, and said to him, "Go outside the hall first. Remember not to run around."
Several officials had already gone out to sober up. Seeing several officials around him looking at Lianzhi, Bai Kang felt uncomfortable. He was also worried that Lianzhi might accidentally offend another noble, so he said, "You can only stay near the side hall. You are not allowed to go far."
Lianzhi nodded vigorously, indicating that she would obey, and only then did Baikang feel at ease to let her go. Lianzhi herself did not dare to go far, and only wandered around the side hall.
A slightly warm breeze blew in his face, and the smell of alcohol on his body dissipated a little. Lianzhi waited quietly. When he heard footsteps, he suddenly turned around: "You——"
Not the person he wanted to see.
Lianzhi was greatly disappointed and took a step back. The other person was obviously here to sober up. His frighteningly pale skin was stained with a noticeable blush, and his azure eyes stared at him unblinkingly, then turned around.
Lianzhi recognized him; he had seen him at his coronation ceremony when he was still emperor. He remembered the envoy from the tribe in the North Sea as being named Chunyu Ying.
The names of people in the North Sea are all strange.
The envoy stared at Lianzhi and slowly performed the etiquette of the Great Ning Kingdom. Lianzhi returned the greeting and was about to leave when the envoy suddenly said, "You look familiar."
Do you think he looks like the former Emperor Ling? Lianzhi said nothing, then bowed slightly and left the place. He walked a little further and stopped under the tree.
Under the shade of the tree, a young man in white stood with his hands behind his back, his back to him. Lianzhi turned around and saw the other person's face clearly. She was immediately disappointed: "Why is it you?"
"You secret guard, why are you in the palace?" Xue Nan was also surprised and a little frightened. He was drunk and came out to get some fresh air. Just as he sobered up, an unpleasant face popped up and almost scared him to vomit. Although he knew that this person was a secret guard and not Chen Fenglian who liked to tease him, he was still terrified.
"Don't pay attention to me so closely!" Seeing Lianzhi approaching, his face turned even redder. Lianzhi just wanted to see if he was really drunk. The smell of alcohol was unpleasant, so he immediately covered his nose and dodged. "You asked me to meet you?"
"Who asked you out?" Xue Nan was puzzled. "I want to ask you, how did you get in here? Could it be that you've already returned to His Majesty? If so, why didn't you tell me earlier? I went to so much trouble to give your token to my father!"
It wasn't Xue Nan who had someone call him out. Who was that? When the dancer poured him wine, she secretly tossed him a handkerchief embroidered with a butterfly pattern. He thought it was Xue Nan who had someone pass it on to him.
"Did you see anyone else outside the hall?" Lianzhi asked.
Although Xue Nan was drunk, he was still clear-headed and recounted the names of the people he had met. Lianzhi listened to the names and picked out the ones she recognized.
No, none of them are right.
"I see." Lianzhi was confused and felt that there was something fishy going on, so she prepared to go back. Xue Nan called out to him in a drunken voice, "You haven't answered me yet!"
Lianzhi stopped, took a deep breath, and said coldly, "General Xue, your mind is really not very sharp now. You should be glad that you met me, otherwise you can expect General Xue to teach you a lesson."
After saying that, he went back to the throne room. Xue Nan thought about his words seriously, and suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, and sobered up a lot.
The banquet ended at midnight. Bai Kang was drunk again. Lianzhi covered her nose as she went to help him, complaining softly.
Bai Kang was too tall, and Lian Zhi was holding him, so he was a little unsteady. Fortunately, Bai Kang was not really drunk. He walked so cautiously and unsteadily, like a kitten walking at night, which was very cute.
He picked her up and held her in his arms. Lianzhi was startled and fluttered twice, but he slapped her again: "Don't move, you're walking too slowly, we're moving so fast."
Hugging him again, reeking of alcohol! Lianzhi wanted to lose her temper, but failed—after Bokang boarded the carriage, he took off his official uniform and changed into casual clothes. He still remembered Lianzhi's delicate nature, and he couldn't keep making her angry.
After changing into clean clothes, Lianzhi said nothing and leaned over.
"Don't you dislike me anymore?" Bai Kang smiled.
Still a little bit. Lianzhi shook her head and said seriously: "Thank you, Brother Kang, for helping me today."
…Damn, how come it’s a little cute?
Bai Kang felt that he was really drunk, and he actually thought Lianzhi was cute. He couldn't help but rubbed Lianzhi's head hard, and only laughed when he saw Lianzhi's angry look.
It’s better to let Lianzhi be in a bad mood, otherwise he will always think that Lianzhi is cute and something is wrong.
When Lianzhi arrived at the Shangshu Mansion, she was about to get out of the carriage, but Bai Kang asked the driver to stop in the courtyard. When Lianzhi was about to help Bai Kang, the driver picked him up again and held him under his arm like a sack.
"You should walk less. You just knelt today. Be careful not to hurt your knees." Bai Kang said.
Lianzhi hadn't expected this. Bo Kang led him into the house, placed him on the table, and reached out to pull down his trousers. Lianzhi felt a little uncomfortable, but Bo Kang's eyes were open and focused on his knees.
The originally white knees were now red, with no injuries, only a few red marks left by stones.
"I'll put some medicine on you. Don't move around. Don't touch it with your hands, and don't rub it off." Bai Kang said as he found the ointment and applied it to his knee. Lianzhi nodded in agreement, but didn't take it seriously.
In his eyes, this is not considered an injury.
Bai Kang knew that Lian Zhi would not obey, but he did not care. He stayed by his side to prevent him from moving. He waited until Lian Zhi fell asleep before returning to the couch to rest.
The next morning, Lianzhi woke up yawning.
The red marks on his knees had completely faded, and he had slept soundly. Satisfied, he rose and prepared to ask Eunuch Wen to have the kitchen bring some delicious food. But when he called, no one answered. He pushed the door open, looking for someone, but Xiao Liu and Xiao Ye were waiting outside, clearly waiting for him to wake. Seeing Lian Zhi, they immediately closed the door.
What is this doing?
Lianzhi was bewildered. The door quickly opened again, and Bai Kang stood outside. The man who had smiled so tenderly at him yesterday was now staring at him intently, his eyes cold, filled with questioning and scrutiny.
"Brother Kang, what's wrong?" Lianzhi was inexplicably scared.
"Lianzhi." Bai Kang's voice was frighteningly cold. "Who did you meet in the palace yesterday?"
【Author’s words】
It won't be abusive, Bo Kang will soon realize his feelings (*ˉ︶ˉ*)
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