CHAPTER 753: CHAPTER 753: INSIST ON TAKING SILVER

Concubine Fang’s expression made Xiao Jizi shiver with dread, fearing she might again pine for sour poems or feel like weeping. But this time he was wrong, for, swept up in her own joy, Concubine Fang had forgotten to cry.

Upon hearing that Lian Hua intended to trade for silver, the other concubines could not help but look down on her a bit. Beauty Lian was indeed favored, but somewhat lacking in sophistication. Most of their jewelry was specially made by the palace, not common trinkets that could be bought and sold. Thinking this way, they felt a bit better. Yet the thought of these jewels soon no longer being theirs made their hearts ache with a bleeding sorrow.

Seeing Kong Yinyin’s hesitation, Lian Hua bluntly revealed her strategy, "Oh dear Xiao Yinyi, Sister Fang and I will split these beaded hairpins and jewelry, and I won’t share them with you. When we trade them for silver later with the other sisters, don’t you cry for getting less."

Trade them for silver? What did that mean? The concubines, still nursing their heartache, felt alarms go off in their heads and stared wide-eyed at Lian Hua.

All of them looked at Lian Hua, perplexed, even Concubine Fang did not comprehend the plan.

Lian Hua didn’t leave them wondering for long; in the next moment, they understood exactly what she meant.

Lian Hua had Xiao Jizi and the others bring a table and chairs to the center of the group, then had Xiao Linzi arrange the beaded hairpins and jewelry by the original owner’s piles. Once everything was ready, she beamed with a broad smile, cheerfully addressing everyone, "Sisters, these are all beloved treasures of yours, are they not?"

The onlookers looked at each other in confusion, unsure of what she was getting at, none daring to respond too quickly.

Undisturbed by the lack of response, Lian Hua picked up a piece of jade, "This jade pendant is sleek and shiny, likely worn often. Whose is it? Can you really bear to part with it?"

The owner of the jade pendant immediately clutched at her heart, overwhelmed with pain. It was a family heirloom she had brought into the palace from her home. If she left the palace one day and her father knew... It was all because she was momentarily bewitched. Why had she gotten so carried away to participate in the contest? At that moment, she truly thought Beauty Lian was weak and that she would surely win, the stakes laid by Beauty Lian were too tempting. If she won, they would be hers...

Lian Hua, too, was clever. After winning a heap of jewelry, she would always ask Concubine Fang which piece was the most expensive and best before each round. She would use the best pieces as the stakes, luring others with the desire. Eventually, she found winning single pieces too cumbersome and even started using several of the best pieces as stakes in one go. The opponents only had to match the number of pieces, regardless of quality; no matter how common the item they staked, she would accept it, further intensifying the temptation, as everyone chased the chance to win big from a small wager.

Seeing the current state of this concubine, with such heartache and reluctance, wasn’t that exactly what Lian Hua desired?

She tried her best to suppress the joyous laugh bubbling inside her, acting like a cunning merchant, and warmly considered others’ feelings, "Don’t worry, sister. This jade pendant looks rather pricey, and I’m quite fond of it myself. But I’m not one to take what others cherish. Still, to ease your mind, I won’t simply return it to you. Instead, you could trade something for it. The same goes for any other sister who wishes to trade back."

The concubine saw a glimmer of hope and immediately brightened up, asking eagerly, "What can I trade? Is anything okay? You... You... You really are kind." She resolved never to speak ill of Beauty Lian again.

Beauty Zhao, hearing that a trade-back was possible, felt tempted but uncertain of Lian Hua’s intention. A worried conflict arose within her.

Most were still in a fog, but the sharper ones began to connect the dots, vaguely catching on to something, and indeed, the next moment:

"Ahem, well, it’s not exactly anything..." Lian Hua cleared her throat uneasily, then extended a palm and subtly rubbed her thumb and little finger together, dancing with her brows, subtly hinting, "My dear sisters, I certainly won’t let you suffer a loss, rest assured."

She was shrewd, knowing that outright mentioning selling for silver wouldn’t be proper. Yet if they insisted on having silver, she would have to oblige them reluctantly, for it wasn’t really a sale.

Everyone present stood agape, their minds struck by lightning and left in ashen ruin. Beauty Lian was truly without taboo, actually selling their possessions back to them!

It’s simply infuriating, an outrage to gods and men, intolerable to any decent standards. Can their jewelry even be compared with silver? The most important thing is, Beauty Lian is cunning and deceitful, yet has not left any loophole to be exploited. They have no grounds for argument!

Concubine Fang widened her eyes in shock, covered her mouth with a handkerchief, and thought to herself, so this is the method for exchanging silver, Sister Lian... truly talented. How had she not thought of it?

Kong Yinyin looked up, staring blankly at Lian Hua, her mind whirling with the thought that such a thing was indeed possible...

Xiao Jizi was inwardly full of praise for his master, what a talent she was! Although there was a prior mention of exchanging for silver, those weren’t official words, and they could always find an excuse to confuse the matter. But now, these words didn’t violate any palace rules at all, and even considered others’ welfare, which couldn’t be better.

The three of them knew Lian Hua best and had understood what she was up to from the start. Not only did they not see any issue with it, but they also took pride in it and did not feel anything was amiss. On the contrary, they fully supported it. After all, making money wasn’t disgraceful.

Especially Xiao Qing and Xiao Jizi, during those hard times when the Emperor and Lian Hua had a falling out over a hairpin, when even a single wen was begrudged to be split into two for spending, they deeply understood that silver was far more important than all these jewelry that couldn’t be damaged, consumed, traded. Besides, others had worn that jewelry, which would be distasteful for their own master to wear, and who knew if there might be some harmful things hidden within them?

The scene quieted down for a moment.

Someone whispered, "Letting us use silver to buy our own things, in our dreams." Those words captured everyone’s sentiments, and though they dared not speak out loud, they greatly agreed.

They were tempted to report the matter, but with the Noble Consort absent, and even if she were present, it might not change anything and would only lead to a feud with Lian Hua. Going to Consort De or the Emperor to tattle was tantamount to seeking death; Cui Laner was a prime example of the outcome!

For a moment, they were uncertain what to do. On one hand, they were reluctant to part with their beloved possessions and scared to have a fallout, while on the other hand, they didn’t want Lian Hua to succeed. The standoff thus continued.

Beauty Zhao secretly breathed a sigh of relief and, suppressing her heartache, spoke up, "Sister Lian, all these winnings are yours fairly won. None of the palace sisters are shameless. We consent to the bet, and it’s fine even if we don’t trade..." Her voice faded under the intense gaze of those around her.

The others were not convinced, but that didn’t mean they didn’t want their belongings back, and some of those items couldn’t even be purchased with silver!

Attendant Changzai Zhou looked at Beauty Zhao with astonishment, knowing her tendency to penny-pinch; it was highly unlikely for such words to come from Beauty Zhao. She hadn’t noticed before, but now she realized that Beauty Zhao’s expression was off, and Changzai Zhou quietly pondered.

"Huh, does everyone really think this way?" Lian Hua asked suspiciously as she scanned the room. She clearly saw that didn’t seem to be the case, just look at the one with eyes glued to the jewelry on the table, and another who was nearly in tears.

While keeping an eye on them, Lian Hua pretended to say, "Then shall I take them all away?"

Someone immediately cried out in alarm, "No!"

"Then..." Lian Hua gave them a meaningful look.

The room fell silent again.