Lian Hua knelt to the ground, trembling, and stammered, "Yes... yes, your Majesty, your servant admits her mistake, but... but..."
Xiao Qing hid behind Lian Hua and also knelt down, shivering.
This young girl had just entered the palace under Lian Hua's wing and had not seen much of the world; she was terrified to death. His Majesty was so frightening, just for picking some bamboo shoots, he talked of administering punishment.
Compared with Xiao Qing, Lian Hua was much better. Although she was scared, she wasn't completely petrified like Xiao Qing.
The Emperor's gaze remained fixed on Lian Hua. Seeing that she recognized her fear, he secretly reveled in it and nodded in satisfaction.
Seeing that she wanted to argue, fearing she might spout some illogical excuse, he interrupted her, "A mistake is a mistake; there are no buts. Do not commit minor wrongdoing because it seems trivial. Being a concubine of mine, you should set an example."
Lian Hua and Xiao Qing zealously agreed.
The Emperor took a few steps forward, clenched his fist, coughed twice, cleared his throat, and continued, "I heard that you were going to prepare a dish with the bamboo shoots. In that case, I'll give you an opportunity to redeem yourselves. I will dine with you for dinner. If the meal is not to my liking, I will punish you."
Honestly, the weather these past few days had been extremely hot, causing the Emperor to lose his appetite. After hearing about the Little Concubine's descriptions of stir-fried bamboo shoots, cold mixed bamboo tips with fragrant rice porridge, the Emperor swallowed his saliva.
The Imperial Kitchen prepared rich fish and meat dishes every day, which he was already tired of, especially in the summer, he could hardly eat them at all. Hearing about these simple dishes, his appetite was piqued.
Lian Hua was somewhat dazed. How had the topic shifted to dining at her place? But, being spared punishment was still a good thing.
Zhang Qing looked meaningfully at her and reminded, "Aren't you going to thank His Majesty for his grace?"
Snapping back to reality, Lian Hua, with Xiao Qing, thanked His Majesty for not killing them, no, for not punishing them, and with her people returned to Canglan Court.
Upon entering Canglan Court, the Emperor felt a sense of novelty. Others' courts contained rare and exotic plants, while the Little Concubine's court was mostly occupied by fruits and vegetables, with only a few scattered flowers and plants.
The Emperor waved them off to prepare the evening meal and started exploring on his own.
Lian Hua dared not slack off. Currently marked by guilt, usually, Xiao Qing was the one cooking, with her supervising and giving directions. Today, she took over the cooking herself, personally attending to the Emperor.
The palaces of high-ranking concubines were equipped with small kitchens. Canglan Court had one because it was once the residence of a Favored Concubine during the Late Emperor's reign, specifically set up for her use.
For some unknown reason, Canglan Court had fallen into disrepair and had been abandoned for many years. When Lian Hua moved in, it came to her advantage.
The discovery delighted Lian Hua. After cleaning and procuring some items, she made immediate use of it, substituting the standard meals provided by the Imperial Kitchen with grains and oils, preparing her own meals and thus escaping the days of eating the lackluster offerings of the Imperial Kitchen.
It was now the Late Shen Hour, and the sun was gradually setting. Lian Hua and Xiao Qing were busy in the kitchen, while the Emperor continued his tour around the yard.
The yard contained chili peppers, cucumbers, potatoes, and some vegetables the Emperor could not recognize.
To encourage agriculture, the Emperor annually performed a token gesture of farming during the planting season. Beyond that, understanding the staple foods affecting people's livelihood was manageable, but expecting the Emperor to recognize most of the vegetables was asking too much.
He was somewhat impressed by this Little Concubine. Most concubines in the deep palace were not physically industrious or knowledgeable about common grains, not to mention farming, which they would find too rudimentary.
He hadn't expected this Little Concubine to farm, and thought to himself that though her character wasn't ideal, she wasn't worthless.
After touring the yard, the Emperor entered Lian Hua's bedroom, which was very cozily decorated. Upon entering, a small sitting area led straight to a round table with two round stools.
Atop the table lay a wdbufhdfh-sized circular vase, small and exquisite, with a bouquet of gardenia flowers that looked very fresh. Beside it, there was a simple little teapot with two cups.
To the right, a washroom was partitioned off by a screen, where one could vaguely see a wooden tub, a rack with a washbasin, and several personal toiletry items for women.
On the left, there was a small moon-shaped carved wood door with burlap serving as curtains hanging on both sides, separating it from the inner room.
Inside was the bed, with a light green thin net around it and a slender-necked porcelain vase beside it, holding a half-opened lotus flower.
Inside the inner room, a dressing table was placed under the window, the bead curtains above it hung high in the middle and low on the sides, draped down. Most peculiarly, the beads of the curtain were colorful and varied in shape.
The Emperor approached and touched the beads, which turned out to be made of small stones strung together, dyed in different colors.
The windowsill below held six clay-made roly-poly toys each painted with a different expression – happy, unhappy, angry – each very expressive, yet endearing.
Sitting on the makeup stool, the Emperor flipped here and there. It was apparent the Little Concubine didn't own any expensive ornaments or jewelry, but every item revealed a sense of novelty and was fascinating.
"Your Majesty, the meal is ready," Lian Hua called softly.
Watching His Majesty flipping here and there, lingering in front of the antique shelf for a while, Lian Hua felt a bit nervous, fearing he might take something away. Everything in the room was her treasured possession, which took her more than two years to accumulate, and losing any item would be painful.
The Emperor was startled, "Is the meal ready already? Had I been looking around for that long?"
Stepping out of the inner room, the round table was not yet set for the evening meal. The Emperor looked at Lian Hua.