Lian Hua nibbled on her food but suddenly noticed that the Emperor's complexion was off, and upon reflecting on what she had just said, she was startled. Oh no, she thought, I've let something slip.
Lian Hua started to panic, Oh my, what should I do? His Majesty seems to be waiting for her to confess and be lenient.
She stole a glance at His Majesty and felt that this wasn't good, knowing she couldn't bluff her way out of it. She had no choice but to put down her chopsticks and sit up straight with her head lowered, whispering as soft as a mosquito, "Your Majesty, um... please listen to my explanation, um... how should I put it?"
The Emperor glanced at her and said indifferently, "I'm listening."
What kind of look was His Majesty giving her? Wasn't she just fishing to feed him?
With that thought in mind, Lian Hua's spirit was bolstered, and she straightened her back to say, "Your Majesty, it wasn't this servant's fault. Seeing that the silver I had saved was running low, I had to find ways to continue preparing delicious food for you, so I had no choice but to look for food in the Imperial Garden. And most of the fish were eaten by you anyway. It's also the fault of the fish in the Huaqing Pool for being too dumb, easily caught with every scoop. Otherwise, how could I have managed? Now that they've become clever, I've stopped fishing."
The Emperor was taken aback, unable to come up with a rebuttal—are the fish in Huaqing Pool to blame for being so foolish?
The Emperor felt somewhat helpless, realizing he didn't quite know what to do with her. After all, most of the fish she fished up had ended up in his stomach. If he were to punish her, wouldn't he have to punish himself as well?
And there was no precedent for such a punishment. After all, who would have thought that someone would dare to fish in the Imperial Garden to eat? Let it go, let it go.
The Emperor shook his head with a hint of resignation and said, "Do not let this happen again. If you repeat the offense, I will also consider your past actions."
Lian Hua stuck out her tongue and instantly burst into laughter, relieved that she had dodged another bullet.
Upon seeing her delicate little tongue, the Emperor's eyes darkened—while death could be pardoned, punishment could not be escaped. He knew how to discipline her.
At night, low pleas for mercy came from the side hall of Canglan Court:
"Your Majesty, no more, no more, Lian Hua knows her mistake."
"Little Lian Hua, that's not enough, kiss again, be good."
The night deepened, and the romantic atmosphere boundaryless.
Three days later, Beauty Li received a decree to relearn proper manners, which came as a bolt from the blue, leaving her bewildered and shocked.
Shocked as to why Noble Consort would suddenly send someone to teach her manners—had she offended Her Highness?
Yet she was always groveling before the Noble Consort, always tiptoeing around her—she couldn't recall doing anything to offend her.
Suspicious that this affair might be related to Lian Hua, the Little Daying.
After all, a few days ago, she had been punished under the guise of being taught manners, on the same day she saw Lian Hua attending a banquet with the Noble Consort, followed by a fearless smile towards her!
Could the Noble Consort be her backer? But if the Noble Consort had indeed punished her because of Lian Hua, why did it take two to three days to take action?
Beauty Li couldn't make head or tail of it, wondering how she had incurred such a decree.
The days that followed were bitter for Beauty Li. The two nannies sent to her were extremely strict, showing no mercy, even more intense than the nannies who had taught her etiquette when she first entered the palace. Every posture and gesture they instructed was meticulous and exacting, requiring her to maintain certain positions for a long time before allowing her to relax, and if she failed to perform a gesture correctly after several attempts, they would even punish her by slapping her palms.
Beauty Li bit down her torment, vowing in her heart that if she ever found out who was behind this, she would make them pay.
Once she made it through, Beauty Li had lost weight and felt drained—of course, that's a story for another time.
That evening, His Majesty was again going through official documents in Canglan Court, and Lian Hua, now accustomed to it, was naturally practicing her calligraphy on her desk.
At first, when His Majesty began reviewing documents in Canglan Court, Lian Hua didn't dare to act out of turn and would just stay close to him, ready to serve at a moment's notice.
Later, seeing that there was little for her to do, she began to be bolder and attended to her own matters as well.
His Majesty was using the desk and chair that he had someone bring over, complete with all necessary writing materials.
Lian Hua, however, was using her own dressing table as a makeshift desk. Her dressing table, inherited from the previous Favored Concubine of Canglan Court, was much wider than the average one, and as she didn't have much jewelry, it served quite well for space.
His Majesty, focused intensely on his work, looked particularly handsome with his furrowed brows and keen eyes, occasionally flipping through documents and adding his vermilion comments without revealing much emotion on his face.
Lian Hua was also engrossed in her calligraphy practice, tracing over a set of characters she found somewhere, stroke by stroke, but always ending up with a scribble resembling a dog's crawl.
The two of them occupied their respective desks, absorbed in their tasks, not interfering with each other—the atmosphere was peaceful and harmonious, as if it was always meant to be this way.
At that moment, Zhang Qing came in to serve tea. The Emperor sipped it and found the flavor off, so he asked, "Why is it this tea?"
Zhang Qing glanced in Lian Hua's direction and replied softly, "Your Majesty, we've run out of the Dew Tea you're accustomed to."
The Emperor raised an eyebrow and looked toward Lian Hua, who was practicing calligraphy with her back turned, then took another sip of the indifferent tasting tea.
He coughed into his fist by his mouth and gave Zhang Qing a significant look, raising his voice and said, "What do you mean 'run out'?"