noveldrama
Chapter 70 - 70 70 Just Take the Paperweight vs
Chapter 70 - 70 70 Just Take the Paperweight vs
?70: Chapter 70: Just Take the Paperweight vs.
Moving Everything Away 70: Chapter 70: Just Take the Paperweight vs.
Moving Everything Away “It’s good that Steward Zhang has come, if you hadn’t, I would have had to find someone to fetch you later,” Lian Hua said as she approached the table, pointing to the items on it:
“Here, I have packed all the things His Majesty left in Canglan Court.
I also washed and folded the clothes he changed the other day, and they’re all wrapped up here ready to be moved.
Be careful not to soil them when they’re being moved.”
Lian Hua felt somewhat disheartened.
Even mentioning His Majesty’s name still came with difficulty.
Thinking that he would not come again, sadness unavoidably rose in her heart.
Letting go was easier said than done, but she had to let go even if she didn’t want to.
Why torment herself?
Time would dilute everything, and eventually, she would no longer feel sad.
“Ah?” Imperial Chief Steward Zhang Qing was completely baffled.
Even with his clever mind, he had not anticipated that Young Master Lian would proactively tell him to move all of His Majesty’s things!
“What is it?
Are we missing anything?” Lian Hua saw that Zhang Qing stood still, not coming over to take the items.
She thought something might be missing and couldn’t help but do another check on her own.
“Eh, they’re all here, aren’t they?
Otherwise, come and check,” Lian Hua said to Zhang Qing.
This matter had to be settled face to face, or it would be difficult to account for later.
His Majesty’s possessions were valuable; she couldn’t afford to lose anything.
Zhang Qing shook his head in terror.
“No, no, Young Master, you misunderstand.
I am just here for some paperweights.” Without an order from His Majesty, he wouldn’t dare move everything!
To move everything implied a clear message, one that His Majesty had not intended.
He did not dare to take such a liberty.
If it led to a misunderstanding by Young Master Lian, and if His Majesty, feeling concerned, settled scores after the fact, Zhang Qing would be the first to be held accountable!
“Ah, you don’t need the rest?” Can imperial possessions just be discarded at will?
But if His Majesty himself discarded them, it should be permissible, shouldn’t it?!
Lian Hua was puzzled.
If His Majesty wouldn’t come again, why would he discard such fine things?
“No, no, Young Master, you misunderstand.
I am here only for the paperweights, just the paperweights,” Zhang Qing gestured frantically, sweat about to drip down, stressing again and again that he was only there for the paperweights, nothing else.
“Uh, how can that be, only paperweights?” Lian Hua began to feel a headache coming on.
“Yes, yes, yes, just the paperweights,” Zhang Qing wiped his sweat, relieved that Young Master Lian finally understood him, and exhaled slightly.
“What should we do with the rest?
It wouldn’t be proper to dispose of them on my own,” Lian Hua mumbled to herself, tangling her fingers in her hair.
“Perhaps move them to the storeroom?
That way, if we want to take them back later, we can retrieve them at any time.”
Concluding her rationale, Lian Hua nodded to herself as if agreeing with her own idea.
Yes, that would be the plan.
Zhang Qing’s vision nearly went dark.
No sooner had one breath eased than another tensed.
These were things His Majesty was accustomed to using; they shouldn’t just gather dust in a storeroom.
From Young Master Lian’s words, it seemed as if he had no choice but to take His Majesty’s things away.
Then, it’s decided to take everything back…
When the Young Eunuch sent by the Emperor arrived, he found Steward Zhang and Xiao Linzi looking utterly defeated, carrying the heavy table, pausing frequently to catch their breath.
Upon seeing the Young Eunuch, Zhang Qing waved him over to take over the task of carrying the table and clutched his aching back, sighing deeply.
Since becoming the Imperial Chief Steward, he had never done such heavy labor.
Alas, how could Young Master Lian always be so unpredictable?
In his many years at the palace, he had seen all types of Palace Concubines, but never one as honest as her!
His Majesty hadn’t said he wouldn’t come again, so why insist on having all the items taken back, only to have them fetched back later by His Majesty’s orders?
Keeping these possessions around, should His Majesty ever remember he needed them, wouldn’t he think of her?
It’s possible His Majesty might come after all.
With this back and forth, if she put in a little more effort, might she not regain His Majesty’s favor once more?
Alas, why is she so genuine?
He couldn’t help feeling anxious for her.
Over at Star Palace, the Emperor had already met with a court official.
Seeing that Zhang Qing had not yet returned, he grew somewhat anxious.
Why had everyone he sent disappeared without a trace, never to return?
The Emperor, feeling anxious, dispatched another Young Eunuch with instructions to return and report back no matter what he encountered.
The eunuch dispatched with the order chirped affirmatively and dashed away like a wisp of smoke.
The Emperor pressed his temples, wondering why every matter involving the Little Concubine had to be so fraught with complications.
It truly was a headache.
Not long after, the last eunuch sent scurried back, panting heavily, and gasped out, “Your Majesty, Steward Zhang has returned.” He was so out of breath that even his words came out winded.
The Emperor abruptly stood up and said, “Bring him to see Us immediately.”
No sooner had these words fallen, Zhang Qing jogged into the hall.
Zhang Qing and Xiao Linzi were carrying a table and almost at Star Palace when they encountered the Young Eunuch.
Knowing His Majesty was in a hurry, Zhang Qing told Xiao Linzi to continue with another eunuch while he went ahead to report.
“Your Majesty, Your servant has returned,” Zhang Qing said, kneeling before he even had time to catch his breath.
He felt like wailing to His Majesty; this task had not been easy at all, taxing both his mind and body.
“Why have you come back at this hour?” the Emperor asked, sensing something off about Zhang Qing’s demeanor.
He couldn’t help but feel a twinge of worry—could something serious have happened?
This old eunuch had experienced all kinds of turbulent times; not many things could make him lose his composure.
“Your servant…
Your servant…” Zhang Qing’s mouth half open, suddenly stuck, as he truly didn’t know how to explain…
“What happened?
Could it be something has happened to her?” the Emperor leaned forward, his hands bracing the imperial desk as he pressed for an answer.
“No, no, nothing happened; Your Majesty, rest assured, she is fine.
It’s just that when Your servant arrived, Young Master Lian was still not awake…” Zhang Qing, on the verge of tears, explained.
He had drunk no less than five cups of tea and still hadn’t performed his duty.
He had been so caught up in hurrying back to report that he had hardly noticed his own urgency, but now he suddenly felt like he could not hold it in any longer.
“What?” What Shichen was it even, and there she was, still sleeping like a log!
No, that wasn’t the point.
The point was, how could she still be sleeping?
She hadn’t gone to see him for two days—didn’t she ever think of him, wonder why he hadn’t come?
The Emperor slumped back into his seat, feeling as though his guess was confirmed.
The little ingrate, while he was here dwelling on her every day to the point of physical pain, she could sleep undisturbed, slumbering deep into the day…
The Emperor felt an imbalance in his heart, a reluctance to accept it.
He, the Son of Heaven, was reduced to this state of anxious longing by a mere Little Concubine.
What a joke, by what right!
The Emperor took a moment to even his breathing and suppress his irritation, then continued to inquire, “Is she awake now?”
Zhang Qing hastily replied, “Yes, she’s awake.
Your servant had drunk five cups of tea at Canglan Court when Young Master Lian finally awoke.”
At the mention of those five cups of tea, Zhang Qing felt the urge again.
He knew he would never again wish to drink tea from Canglan Court—it wasn’t that it tasted bad, but this experience had given him a psychological shadow, bringing on an acute urge to urinate every time he thought of it.
The conversation finally got back to the central issue.
The Emperor adjusted his emotions and attempted to appear indifferent as he asked calmly, “What did she say?” But his hand gripping the pen grew tight.