Chapter 880: Chapter 880: That Old Eunuch Is No Good
“No rush,” the Emperor said calmly, pinching her blushing face with a gentle laugh. He loved this look of hers, making Lian Hua’s face turn even redder.
Just then, the jubilant voice of Zhang Qing, who had been arranged in advance, came from outside: “Your Majesty, Old Master Lian, Madam Lian, and others have arrived outside the palace gates.”
The Emperor immediately said, “Announce them.”
“Yes.” Zhang Qing responded, and then his footsteps quickly faded outside.
Lian Hua perked up, stood up involuntarily, and looked directly at the Emperor, unable to hide the excitement in her eyes.
The Emperor looked at her gently, reached out to hold her: “Come, let’s go meet your parents and them.”
Lian Hua nodded heavily, and said excitedly: “Yes, let’s go meet my parents, brother, Clan Uncle and Clan Aunt, and my teacher!”
The distance from the palace gates to the Star Palace was not short, and Lian Hua was constantly stretching her neck to look outside when she arrived at the front hall of the Main Hall where the Emperor usually received officials.
The Emperor simply stood with her at the door, waiting.
Outside the palace gates, along with Lian Changhe, soon appeared an amiable and kindly-looking high-ranking elder eunuch, followed by several well-trained young eunuchs.
The elder eunuch first smiled and bowed his hands in courtesy to them, with the young eunuchs behind him lowering their heads and respectfully doing the same.
Su Ran quickly told the Lian Family members to avoid, saying: “Steward Zhang is the Imperial Chief Steward, we commoners cannot afford such courtesy.”
Zhang Qing glanced over everyone calmly, lingered a bit longer on Lian Changhe, and said with a smiling face to Su Ran: “Madam Lian is indeed too polite. All of you are the dearest ones to Master Lian and honored guests of His Majesty, well-deserved of respect. You must be tired from the journey, oh, how could these servants allow our honored guests to carry their own things!”
He seemed to just then notice the items Lian Wanzhen and the others were holding, and turned his head to tell the young eunuchs behind him: “Da Zhuang, Xiao Xizi, quickly take over Madam Lian and their items, do not tire our honored guests.”
The items that Lian Changhe and the others were holding were all for Lian Hua, including the jade headdress, Lih Qingshu’s embroidery, and small trinkets bought at the market. When they got off the carriage, the Palace Attendant wanted to take them, but they feared the Palace Attendant might accidentally break them, so they held them in hand.
At this moment, Lian Wanzhen also didn’t really want to give them over and instinctively wanted to refuse.
Before he could speak, his mother held him back.
Su Ran gave a slight bow to Zhang Qing and said directly: “Thank you Steward Zhang, it would be a trouble.”
Only then did Lian Wanzhen unwillingly hand over the items to the young eunuch of the Star Palace, specifically admonishing them not to drop or break them, as they were for his younger sister.
Zhang Qing quickly reassured him that there would be no accidents and asked him to rest assured before he let go.
Since Zhang Qing’s appearance, Lian Changhe had been somewhat silent; he occasionally glanced at Zhang Qing, his gaze intent, and the forgotten issues of earlier unconsciously surfaced in his mind. The servant of his son-in-law held such a significant presence, then how about the son-in-law himself…
His appearance was heavy with thought, Su Ran noticed from the corner of her eye and gave his hand a squeeze while exchanging pleasantries with Zhang Qing, which calmed him down a bit.
The rest didn’t pay much attention, nearly all focused their full attention on the anticipation of seeing Lian Hua.
Lian Bingcheng, amidst his excitement, placed an extra glance at Lian Changhe, thinking that near the hometown, Changhe was overwhelmed with emotion, either that or worried about his appearance. Softly, he said: “Brother Changhe, don’t worry, you look great; Xiao Hua will surely recognize you.”
Lian Changhe glanced at Bingcheng, uncharacteristically without further words.
He wasn’t worried about his appearance; Baobao’s idea was quite good, solving a major problem for him. It was other worries that concerned him, alas…
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Zhang Qing raised his hand forward and respectfully said: “Master Lian and His Majesty are already waiting, please, honored guests, this way.”
Then, Zhang Qing, with a bright smile, led the way ahead, followed side by side by Su Ran and Lian Changhe. Behind them were Lian Bingcheng and Lin Yuejuan, then Lih Qingshu, and last came Lian Wanzhen and Lian Bao, followed by the young eunuchs of the Star Palace carrying their items.
Except for Su Ran and Lin Yuejuan, the others were entering the palace for the first time, and couldn’t help but take a few more glances at each side of the palace paths.
Lian Wanzhen felt a bit stifled, walking at the back with discontent; he thought that elder eunuch was not a good person, speaking politely, yet in a tone that left no room for refusal, having their items taken away before they could even reject.
Lian Bao, sensing something beside him, softly explained to him: “Second Brother, not everything can enter the palace. This is the rule of the palace, anything brought in from outside must be inspected to prevent contraband or unclean objects from being brought in.”
Their younger sister, delving deeply, was only of the courtesan rank. Inviting all of them to the palace and having the Imperial Chief Steward personally receive them, with respect throughout, already bestowed much face.
Lian Wanzhen curiously asked: “These are for our younger sister. Would we harm her?”
Speaking a bit loudly, Lian Bao quickly tugged him, speaking: “Second Brother, you shouldn’t think that way. It shows that His Majesty is protecting our younger sister well, leaving no crack for evildoers. It’s a great thing! One can never be too prepared for anything, imagine if something had been tampered with en route without inspection, wouldn’t we be harming our younger sister?”
Hearing this, Lian Wanzhen suddenly understood, nodding repeatedly that it should indeed be inspected more carefully.
The conversation wasn’t loud but not soft, Zhang Qing in front seemingly unaffected, unchanged in expression, still smiling and chatting with Su Ran, but inwardly praised Lian Bao, indeed there were many smart people in the Lian Family, Su Ran was one, and Lian Bao another.
Lian Changhe’s heart subtly moved: hearing this, his son-in-law seemed to be quite good to Nannan, well… better to speak more when they meet.
As they neared the Star Palace, a young man with no beard, rosy lips, and white teeth naturally joined the group from a side path, walking alongside Lih Qingshu, bearing an innocuous smile.
Lih Qingshu showed a hint of slight surprise: “Xiao De?”
Cao De nodded with a smile: “With me at your side, Sister won’t feel alone.”
Qian Chen hadn’t come, everyone else paired up, only his sister walked alone; he felt sympathetically concerned.
Lih Qingshu’s eyes reflected a smile. This time she planned to bid farewell after meeting her young apprentice. She had stayed too long in the north this time and needed to return, but Xiao De asked her to wait for him since he was leaving too.
Behind her, Lian Wanzhen was the first to notice: “Brother Cao, what are you doing here?”
Cao De winked at Lian Wanzhen behind him, smiling: “Just happened to pass by.”
Thinking of something, his smile deepened. This time, the Little Beauty ought to call him Grandmaster!
Lian Wanzhen knowingly ‘oh’-ed, not expecting Cao De to appear, just to take advantage of his younger sister.
After greeting Lian Wanzhen, Cao De nodded profoundly to Lian Bao, full of meaning.