Chapter 174 – The Concubine’s Counterattack: The Most Favored Empress – Two Systems, Each with Its Difficulties (04)
Luo Dai used a blanket to cover Bai Tang. The palace attendants set the clean clothes aside, while the imperial physician finished applying medicine and secured Bai Tang’s leg with a splint.
After everything was done, Xiao Fangzi personally brought in the medicine. “Your Majesty, the young master’s medicine is ready.”
Seeing the bowl of dark, bitter-smelling liquid, Bai Tang involuntarily swallowed hard.
“Tang Tang, time to take your medicine.” Luo Dai held the medicinal tea, its bitter scent making Bai Tang uneasy.
“I-I think… I’ll feel better if I just rest for a bit…”
Under Luo Dai’s disapproving gaze, Bai Tang’s voice grew softer and softer until it faded completely.
“Be good. Bitter medicine is effective. You can have a candied fruit afterward,” Luo Dai coaxed. He had already guessed that Bai Tang disliked bitter things, but this medicine was necessary.
Bai Tang glanced at the candied fruit in Xiao Fangzi’s hands, then looked at the medicine in Luo Dai’s. Resigned to his fate, he drank it all in one go.
“So, so bitter…”
The boy’s delicate features scrunched up from the taste. Luo Dai promptly picked out a seedless candied fruit and popped it into Bai Tang’s mouth. The sweet flavor quickly spread, instantly overwhelming the bitterness.
The candied fruit was soft and still warm—freshly made by the imperial kitchen.
Just as Bai Tang reached for a third piece, Luo Dai stopped him.
He waved for the attendants to leave, then gently helped Bai Tang into his undershirt. “Get some sleep first. When you wake up, you can have a proper meal.”
Luo Dai’s voice had a soothing, almost magical quality that made Bai Tang feel inexplicably at ease. He nodded. “Y-Your Majesty…”
Luo Dai seemed displeased with the title. His brows furrowed slightly before relaxing. “Call me A Dai.”
“A Dai~”
After being soothed by the medicinal tea, the boy’s voice was no longer so dry and hoarse. The soft, childish lilt at the end had returned.
Luo Dai found that, when spoken by this boy, the name sounded especially pleasing.
He smiled as he tucked the blanket around the boy. Only after watching Bai Tang drift off to sleep did his smile fade. With an expressionless face, he turned and walked out to the outer hall.
The chief eunuch reported to him, “Your Majesty, everyone from the Luoqu Hall has been taken to the Heavenly Prison. Noble Lady Ma has also been temporarily detained. However, after the Empress Dowager learned of the matter, she was not very pleased with Your Majesty’s actions—especially since Noble Lady Ma is someone she favors greatly.”
Luo Dai had the eunuch recount everything that had happened in detail. His face darkened as he said, “Quietly deal with the guards who were on duty at Luoqu Hall today. As for Noble Lady Ma—if the Empress Dowager likes her so much… then let her copy scriptures in the temple. She can come out once Bai Tang has fully recovered.”
The current Empress Dowager was not Luo Dai’s birth mother, but his adoptive one. For over twenty years, she had cared for him diligently.
Since she favored Ma Aoshan, Luo Dai chose to issue a light punishment as a token of respect for the Empress Dowager. Besides, according to the intelligence gathered by his subordinates, Ma Aoshan was extremely arrogant. Bai Tang had drawn enough attention today; someone needed to divert the focus of the inner palace, or else all eyes would turn toward him.
Even before the Empress Dowager’s messengers reached Chengan Hall, the news of Luo Dai’s decision—to take a firm stance but ultimately deal leniently with Noble Lady Ma—had already spread throughout the harem.
The Empress Dowager was comforted, thinking that the Emperor still valued their mother-son bond and was willing to give her some face. However, after understanding the full story, she couldn’t help but feel somewhat regretful about Ma Aoshan’s actions.
Ma Aoshan was beautiful and sweet-talking, always behaving like a gentle daughter in front of the Empress Dowager. She resembled her daughter who had married into a distant land, and the Empress Dowager had thought the heavens had sent this girl to comfort her in her old age. She hadn’t expected that behind the pretty face lay a malicious heart.
If the servants of Luoqu Hall had truly stolen from her, Ma Aoshan should have reported it properly, and the palace maids would be dealt with according to the rules. A mere Noble Lady had no place ordering people around and overstepping her bounds.
As for the guards involved, Luo Dai had silenced them swiftly. In the palace, all anyone knew was that someone from Luoqu Hall had stolen Noble Consort Ma’s bracelet, prompting her to mobilize guards to surround the Cold Palace. Beyond that, not a single detail leaked out.
Luo Dai would not allow any other rumors to spread—otherwise, Bai Tang might have ended up hanging himself just to prove his innocence.
“It’s just that—” the Empress Dowager paused, “That Bai Tang… wasn’t he the one who was locked up by me for gossiping recklessly? And now the Emperor brings him back to Cheng’an Hall…”
Nanny Jin, who had served the Empress Dowager for decades, naturally understood her thoughts. She advised gently, “His Majesty handles countless affairs of state and works tirelessly. Running into such an unpleasant situation while trying to relax, it’s understandable that he would feel some sympathy for Bai. After all, Bai is still a concubine of the inner palace. If His Majesty has taken a liking to him, it’s nothing serious… Besides, His Majesty is wise and strong—he surely wouldn’t be easily swayed by someone like Bai. And considering Bai’s humble background, keeping him close poses no real threat.”
Nanny Jin’s words slightly overstepped the line, but as the Empress Dowager’s dowry maid who had stayed by her side all these years, her words carried weight. It was acceptable for her to speak candidly in private.
“That’s true.” The Empress Dowager nodded. Once the new palace ladies were granted titles, the biggest concern would be if one of them reached too far—interfering in court affairs and influencing the Emperor’s rule. But this Bai? He posed no such danger.
“Forget it. If the Emperor likes him, then let him stay.”
Luo Dai had shown the Empress Dowager respect, so she had to return the favor. They were not true mother and son—there was always some distance between them. Right now, all her influence depended entirely on Luo Dai’s goodwill.
“Your Majesty, Noble Consort Ma has been delivered to Laicishou Palace by the palace maids,” Nanny Jin returned to report.
“Then follow the Emperor’s decree and send her to the rear Buddha Hall to recite scriptures,” the Empress Dowager said with a wave of her hand, clearly unwilling to see Ma Aoshan. Couldn’t the inner palace be peaceful for even a day or two? Couldn’t they give her a break?
Since there was no empress yet, all the inner palace affairs were still handled by the Empress Dowager. During the national mourning period, the harem had been empty, and she’d enjoyed some leisure. But now that new palace ladies had entered, there were daily issues—she barely had a moment to herself.
Ma Aoshan had made a deal with System A. When Luo Dai didn’t issue an execution order and only sent her to chant scriptures, she thought it must have been the system’s interference that convinced the Empress Dowager to protect her.
Just as Ma Aoshan was preparing to express her gratitude to the Empress Dowager—and take the opportunity to badmouth Bai Tang, since everything she’d done was supposedly to retrieve the bracelet the Empress Dowager had gifted her—she was unexpectedly denied an audience. Instead, she was directly ordered to be taken to the Buddhist hall.
Her expression darkened. “Xiao A, what are you doing? Why wouldn’t the Empress Dowager see me?” she demanded.
She knew that Xiao A had a function to manipulate people, though it required a huge amount of energy. She had assumed the recently reclaimed reward points had been used for that purpose.
“Host, please do not be greedy. Focus on copying scriptures and repairing your reputation,” Xiao A replied flatly, without a hint of emotion.
“Useless thing,” Ma Aoshan cursed. If it couldn’t carry things through to the end, what was the point of having it?
Xiao A remained silent. If it weren’t for the fact that Ma Aoshan carried fate energy, it would never have chosen to bind with her.
But… A glint of sharp light flickered in its virtual eyes. Since yesterday, it had noticed that Bai Tang, who was originally destined to be a background character, had begun radiating powerful fate energy—intertwined with the dragon aura around Luo Dai. Meanwhile, Ma Aoshan’s fate energy (her “protagonist halo”) was slowly dissipating.
In a few more days, once it absorbed the fading energy from Ma Aoshan, it would be able to unbind from her.
But should it bind to Bai Tang instead…? Xiao A silently logged the thought into its internal system.
Better to observe Bai Tang’s character first—he might turn out to be another Ma Aoshan.
Xiao A decided to gradually reduce its assistance to Ma Aoshan. Guarded by a palace maid skilled in martial arts, and ignored by the Empress Dowager, Ma Aoshan had no other choice but to kneel before the Buddha and copy scriptures. As for whether she was doing it sincerely—that was something only she knew.
…
After a few days of rest, Bai Tang’s condition improved slightly, though he still couldn’t walk. He spent his days either lying in bed or leaning against the bedpost. Just as boredom was about to consume him, a black-and-white husky puppy came bounding into the room.
“Qiu’er, it’s you!” Bai Tang exclaimed in delight.
The palace attendants in Chengan Hall were always respectful but distant. None dared to speak to him casually or joke around. Everything was done with strict formality. Only when Luo Dai had free time would he come to watch Bai Tang take his medicine and talk with him a little.
Bai Tang couldn’t stand such a solemn atmosphere. Remembering what had happened recently, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy. He still couldn’t figure out Luo Dai’s attitude toward him—was it just a passing interest? Did Luo Dai simply find it amusing to care for an injured “troublemaker” like him? After all, he did have a “dark history.”
He used the word “I” instead of “Zhen”. From the very first moment he laid eyes on Bai Tang, the stir in his soul had already told him—this was the one.
“N-No, I didn’t~” Bai Tang mumbled in his soft, sticky-sweet voice.
“Whether you believe it or not, from the moment I first saw you—” Luo Dai took Bai Tang’s hand and placed it over his heart, “this place already chose you.”
Bai Tang felt the strong, steady heartbeat beneath his palm. He didn’t know what to do. Yet, a faint joy bubbled up inside him. Somewhere deep down, it felt like… this was how things were meant to be.
“Tang Tang, I’m fond of you.”
Tang Tang, I’m fond of you…
Fond of you…
Hearing those words, Bai Tang’s mind went blank for a moment. It was as if someone had said those exact words to him once before.
And that person—he felt—was Luo Dai. But before entering the palace, he had never met him. Even after entering, he’d only glimpsed him once from afar during the selection, with no chance to speak.
“Tang Tang, would you give me a chance?”
Bai Tang’s face flushed redder and redder. In his soft babyish voice, he replied, “Mm~ I-I believe you.”
And with that, he buried his face shyly into Luo Dai’s chest.
The little black-and-white husky squished between the two of them: Did either of you consider my feelings? I’m still single, okay? Dogs have rights too. This is too much!
Author’s Note:
Qiu’er: This is too much! Why do I have to be sandwiched between you two and force-fed PDA? Ugh, I’m not eating this dog food.
Xiao A: Qiu’er, come here~
Qiu’er: Woof woof woof~~~
…
Isn’t Tang Tang just so obedient? That’s because he’s still influenced by the original host’s personality. Plus, he’s recovering from his injuries and unsure of the male lead’s feelings.
But next chapter, once he’s fully healed—get ready for a bouncy, sharp-tongued little squirrel who’s ready to sass everyone, including the male lead!