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He nodded his head, a warm smile on his face as he said, "Master, rest assured, I have long since gotten over it, nothing bothers me now, and I can eat and sleep."

Lian Hua sighed with relief, Xiao Jizi had regained his ground, and now the matter had come to a satisfactory conclusion.

At that moment, she felt His Majesty’s gaze upon her and couldn’t help but pout, lowering her head again to dryly ask, "Does His Majesty wish to dine?"

The Emperor, seeing her still in that mood, couldn’t resist wrapping his arms around her, gently asking, "What’s the matter? Are you unhappy or uncomfortable somewhere? Tell me, and I will vent your anger for you."

Lian Hua glanced up at him and said coolly, "Then I thank His Majesty in advance." She then directly called out to Xiao Jizi and the others, "Serve His Majesty his meal."

After speaking, she broke free from His Majesty’s embrace and walked ahead into the hall.

Xiao Jizi’s body trembled, it’s coming, it’s over, it’s all over.

The Emperor was puzzled, what was that thanks about, was it for offering to vent her anger? But she didn’t mention any specific matter.

Alas, his Little Concubine was difficult to please, what to do? Just endure it! Once she lets out her anger, she’ll be fine.

The Emperor shook his head helplessly, followed her into the hall and sat down, watching her now and then, pinching her hand or touching her cheek. She didn’t dodge anymore, but she remained silent, appearing somewhat puffed up with anger.

Although he didn’t know why his Little Concubine was angry, her angry look was still so adorable, both soft and charming.

Soon, the meal was set, and upon looking at it, the Emperor couldn’t help but twitch.

This is tonight’s dinner? Three plates of vegetarian dishes, one with dark green vegetable leaves, one with half-cooked radishes, and one with something unrecognizable.

The Emperor kept his composure and thought, here it is, waiting right here, now he felt certain.

Feeling his Little Concubine’s gaze, he smiled casually and lightly praised, "Today’s meal is quite unique."

With that, he took a chopstick-full and put it into his mouth, then without a change in expression, he praised, "Not bad, whose cooking is this?"

How could he not endure when his Little Concubine’s way of expressing displeasure and punishing people was so uniquely adorable?

Turning back to Xiao Jizi, after setting the meal, he was restless, pacing back and forth ceaselessly, and before the meal was served, he placed his hope on Steward Zhang, frantically signaling that the meal might not be acceptable.

Steward Zhang lifted his eyelids and said enigmatically, "This matter is between the master and Master Lian, it’s best if we servants interfere as little as possible." With that, he instructed the usual tasting and meal preparation to proceed and ignored him further.

Indeed, Steward Zhang was someone who had weathered great storms, Xiao Jizi silently admired him, but he was still somewhat bewildered.

In the afternoon, after opening the chest, the master’s face turned grim upon seeing its contents, her gaze upon the Gold Hairpin very unsettling; he guessed it might be related to the Noble Consort.

The atmosphere in Canglan Court was off at that time, and he dared not ask.

After a while, he thought everything was fine, assuming the master wouldn’t dwell on the matter since she was usually carefree and quick to move past any displeasure.

Yet, this time was out of the ordinary, throughout the afternoon the master alternated between frowning, muttering to herself, and being resentfully indignant, and in the end, she even demanded he cook!

He said he could eat okay, but cooking was not his thing, so he was still better off letting Xiao Qing handle it. But his master insisted that the point was his inability to cook and shooed him into the kitchen like pushing a duck onto a perch.

By the time he managed to produce three dishes that were too ghastly to bear looking at, his master was extremely pleased, even praising him for having potential, which left him more and more baffled.

With his lack of filter, he asked, "Master, who’s going to eat this food? Should it be thrown out?"

His master glanced at him and said coolly not to worry, it wasn’t for him to eat, it was for His Majesty.

Frightened out of his wits, he collapsed on the spot, while Xiao Linzi, upon hearing this, opened his eyes and mouth wide and turned to leave.

The master yelled out, "Xiao Qing, stop him," and Xiao Qing, ready for this, blocked Xiao Linzi’s path with a broom at the kitchen door.

The master then approached Xiao Linzi, with a look and an aura that sent Xiao Linzi scurrying backward in fear.

The master even threatened Xiao Linzi fiercely, saying if he dared to tattle now, he would starve him for three days, then feed him the dish he made for another three days, and after a beating, throw him out of the Canglan Court.

Terrified, Xiao Linzi covered his mouth and shook his head, no longer daring to speak.

He crawled over and clung to his master’s legs, begging and wailing, pleading the master to reconsider. The master ignored him completely, telling him to let go, or he’d also be thrown out of the Canglan Court, which made him quickly release his grip.

Ah dear, he finally understood what that ’potential’ his master spoke of was—the prospect of heading to Yama Hall. Oh heavens, his daring master, what’s this? To play such a prank on His Majesty.

Who knows what His Majesty felt after eating, and whether he would blame the master?

Xiao Jizi was outside, desperately anxious like an ant on a hot pan, pacing in circles and wondering what exactly had gotten into his master.

Meanwhile, inside the Side Hall, from the moment the meal was served, Lian Hua had been keeping a close watch on His Majesty’s expression, feeling somewhat vindicated.

She thought smugly to herself, isn’t His Majesty a philanderer?

Then let him taste what it’s like to be a rotten philanderer.

He would surely wear an amusing look on his face when he saw these dishes, and she would have had her little revenge.

But actually presenting those dreadful dishes, she began to feel a bit of pity. She thought His Majesty surely wouldn’t eat them, only a fool would consume such food.

Later, when His Majesty couldn’t bring himself to pick up his chopsticks, he would surely ask her what was going on, why dinner was like this, and then she would...well, she hadn’t thought that far ahead yet. Anyway, she just wanted to vent first, hmph.

But His Majesty’s reaction wasn’t as she had expected. His expression did not change upon seeing the dishes.

She thought she might have seen wrong, so she couldn’t help rubbing her eyes, tilting her head and staring intently at His Majesty.

Without even knitting his brows, His Majesty casually remarked that the dishes were very unique, then promptly picked up his chopsticks and began to eat. After finishing, he even complimented the food, asking who had cooked it?

She looked again at the dark, unappealing dishes on the table, then at His Majesty who had eaten them, and His Majesty even flashed her a smile with tenderness and a hint of teasing in his eyes?

She was confused. Could it be that the food was actually not bad?

Unable to bear the skepticism, she quickly picked up her chopsticks and took a bite from the plate His Majesty had sampled, only to instantly spit it out with a "blah": "Xiao Jizi made this dish too badly..." It was too salty and bitter, burnt on the outside but raw inside, a result of freestyling.

The Emperor hastened to wipe her mouth with a handkerchief and handed her a cup of water to rinse.

He had just wanted to tease her a little and let her blow off some steam. Seeing her incredulous look, he felt a secretive thrill, thinking what storms hadn’t he weathered, and such a minor punishment from his Little Concubine was nothing to him.

He wasn’t afraid of her punishing him, nor of her anger towards him. He only feared her indifference, her treating him as a stranger, distant and unfamiliar.