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The Emperor embraced her tightly, his heart melting into tenderness, as he kissed the top of her head and soothed her in a warm voice, "There, there, My little darling has worked hard, and you did very well just now. My Nannan, if you choose to do something, you do it to the best."

It was only that he did not wish to bind the nature of his Little Concubine with restrictions. Later, he would have to talk to Nanny Qi, to not govern her so strictly in private, lest it tire her out—how could he bear that?

Upon hearing this, Lian Hua lifted her eyes, brimming with light, and gazed at His Majesty, "Really? Was it graceful? Did it look good?"

The Emperor pinched her nose with a smile, "When has My little darling ever not looked good? I adore watching My little darling the most."

Lian Hua’s eyes crinkled with a smile, feeling that the afternoon’s efforts were not in vain, all the hard work was worthwhile. She couldn’t help but say, "Your Majesty, you are so kind, I really like you a lot."

The Emperor’s eyes were so tender they seemed as if they could wring out water, his Little Concubine was sweet-talking him again, filling him with sweetness and delight, thoroughly enjoying it.

After they embraced for a while longer, the Emperor asked, "Are you hungry? Shall we dine first?"

Lian Hua released the Emperor, nodding with sparkling, bright eyes.

The Emperor sat her down, taking her hand and wiping it clean with a damp towel,

Lian Hua loved it most when His Majesty attended to her, his manner so indulgent, as if she were the most important treasure in the world. Whenever this happened, her heart filled with warmth and sweetness, savoring the feeling.

After the Emperor had wiped her hands, he saw her eyes fixed on him without blinking, brimming with a smile, so he pinched her cheek, "Why are you looking at Me like that?"

Lian Hua cleared her throat and said in all seriousness, "You look very handsome, My Lord. Of course I have to take several looks when something is so pleasing to the eye."

Then, wrinkling her brows playfully, she pretended to be distressed, "Your Majesty, how can you be so handsome? It makes me eat an extra bowl of rice just watching you, and I can never get enough of looking at you. What am I to do?"

There it was! His Little Concubine had started her sweet talk again.

Unable to resist, the Emperor kissed her cheek a few times and said, "Let’s dine." The sweet nothings could continue after they retired for the night.

Lian Hua began to giggle, finding the experience of teasing His Majesty truly delightful...

The two began to dine, and Lian Hua felt completely at ease, doing as she pleased without restraint, enjoying the freedom she felt without Nanny Qi hovering at her side.

Whenever she tasted something delicious, she would pick it up with her chopsticks and offer it to His Majesty, proclaiming its tastiness and inviting him to try.

The Emperor hardly needed to pick up his own food; his Little Concubine’s offerings alone were enough to fill his bowl to the brim.

When they were halfway through the meal, the Emperor asked, "Didn’t you say you caught some fish to prepare for Me to eat?"

Lian Hua, who had been happily eating, was caught off guard by the question and let out an "Ah" in surprise.

She stopped eating, bit her lip, and sneaked a glance at His Majesty, speaking a bit breathlessly, "My Lord, I just remembered, one mustn’t speak while eating, that’s what Grandma Qi taught me, ’eat in silence’..."

Wow, she had been so happy talking just moments ago, but when asked about this, she suddenly invoked ’eat in silence,’ bringing up Nanny Qi!

The Emperor understood in his heart that there must be a story behind this, although he did not yet know what it was. At Noon, he heard she had gone to catch fish, causing him considerable worry, but now, halfway through dinner, not a trace of the fish was to be seen.

"It’s alright if there isn’t any fish, her intention is what matters. But I haven’t seen her like this in a long time," the Emperor said, unable to resist teasing her, "You don’t need to do this in front of me."

Lian Hua stole a glance at His Majesty, and seeing that he seemed serious, she sat down obediently and said with a sense of guilt, "Your Majesty, this isn’t right. If Grandma Qi finds out, she will punish me..."

It was just too embarrassing. She had set out early in the morning with a group of people to catch fish to show her gratitude to His Majesty, but ended up eating all the fish herself, giving them away... She had almost forgotten about that...

The Emperor continued without changing his expression: "It’s just you and me here, I won’t tell, and Nanny Qi will not know."

Lian Hua felt that she couldn’t hide it anymore, her face reddening as she stammered, "Your Majesty, didn’t Grandma Qi come today..." Oh dear, she had been planning to think of something else to compensate His Majesty, but she hadn’t come up with anything yet.

Not having followed through on her word was so embarrassing, especially in front of His Majesty, it was truly mortifying.

The Emperor found her all the more adorable the more he watched her, agreeing, "Hmm, and then?" He was quite fond of her in this state.

Playing with the sleeve of His Majesty’s robe, Lian Hua said in a small voice, "There’s not much to offer at Canglan Court, so I thought, the fish from Huaqing Pool are exceptionally good, and they were freshly caught, so I had them prepared for Grandma Qi to eat..."

The Emperor caught her soft, delicate little hand and squeezed it in his own, asking, "And then what?"

Lian Hua spoke with increasing shortness of breath, her ears turning red, as she continued with her head lowered, "But then Grandma Qi refused to eat, and I didn’t want it to go to waste, so I ate it. And when I couldn’t finish, I gave the rest away..."

The Emperor, trying not to laugh, pinched her hand, "So it was all eaten up?"

Lian Hua quickly looked up, shaking her head to explain, "It wasn’t like that, I had saved a fat fish specially, but, but..."

She was just too cute. The adoration in the Emperor’s eyes was about to spill over as he asked hoarsely, "But what?"

With a gloomy face, Lian Hua replied, "I didn’t give clear instructions, and they cooked it all at once, both fish were eaten..."

Ah, she felt like crying. She had caught the fish specifically for His Majesty to eat, and now they’d been eaten. Just a couple of days ago, she thought the fishy smell was awful, but today, she found it delicious. With an increased appetite, she had eaten quite a lot...

Why hadn’t she remembered to mention it, when Nanny Qi’s plump girl was so quick and efficient? By the time she was done, the fish were all gone, leaving her in tears...

Seeing her despondent expression, the Emperor felt sad for her and quickly embraced her to comfort her, "Nannan, your thoughtfulness alone is enough. What I value is your intention, not the fish. I’m very pleased that you have me in mind."

Lifting her eyes to His Majesty, Lian Hua felt very moved and said earnestly, "Your Majesty, you are so good to me, but I also want to repay you with equal kindness."

Gently looking at her, the Emperor pressed his forehead to hers and declared solemnly, "I know of all the kindness you have shown me in the past."

He had seen everything, understood her intentions, knew every little thing she did, and knew how earnestly his Little Concubine attended to him.

In the Harem, he had seen many people. If a servant could do a task, they would use a servant. What was supposedly done by the master often turned out to be prepared by a servant, and the master would merely touch it symbolically at the end to claim it as their own.

His Little Concubine was sincere and straightforward in her dealings, never cutting corners, and always took personal care of him without delegating to others.

During her time in Canglan Court, apart from the first time when she became shy from bathing him and refused to do it again, nearly everything else had been taken care of by his Little Concubine. How could he not notice?

He had taken it for granted before, but after they were separated, he realized how precious it was, and just how attentive his Little Concubine was.