Page 158
Lian Hua turned around, puffing up with anger, and said, "Your Majesty, how can you say that I’m usually sloppy? Where have I ever been like that? Didn’t you promise to tell Nanny Qi that I perform my etiquette well?"
So, she had overheard again and was unhappy about that, but was that the only reason for her unhappiness?
The Emperor felt somewhat uneasy and carefully said, "My darling is not sloppy but vibrant. I said that just to make Nanny Qi go easy on you."
Lian Hua was still not pleased and pouted, "That’s still not okay."
He had made just one negative comment about her, and she had overheard it, yet Nanny Qi had been criticizing her from start to end, and she hadn’t reacted at all.
The Emperor wondered, unable to resist asking, "Nanny Qi said so much against you, aren’t you angry?" Don’t keep it bottled up inside, it might harm your health.
But his Little Concubine was someone who spoke her mind; she wasn’t one to hold back her words.
Sure enough, no sooner had he finished his thought than he heard his Little Concubine say, "Everything Grandma Qi says is right, why would I be angry!"
She wasn’t lacking in self-awareness. How could she not distinguish whether what was said was right or wrong? His Majesty was underestimating her, hmph.
Why did she agree with everything Nanny Qi said about her, but only found what he said to be wrong? This meant she was simply being unreasonable with him.
The Emperor felt his Little Concubine’s thought process was very unique and couldn’t be judged by common sense. He tentatively asked, "So, you also think that fishing was wrong?"
"Huh, did you also mention my fishing? How is fishing wrong?" Lian Hua looked puzzled. Had there been many other things mentioned before?
Uh... so she hadn’t heard about that. It seemed she had only eavesdropped later; the Emperor understood now.
He cleared his throat and said righteously, "Nanny Qi mentioned that as a consort of the Harem, leading others to fish in the Imperial Garden sets a bad example. Perhaps it’s better to not fish anymore."
He was telling the truth, though he didn’t care much about the impact, but he preferred that his Little Concubine not go fishing anymore, so he used Nanny Qi’s words to make her understand.
Lian Hua bit her lip in thought, then suddenly asked, "Your Highness, is Grandma worried that I might set a bad example for the other sisters? Concerned that they might follow my lead and fish out all the fish in the pond?"
The Emperor nodded, her understanding was fine as long as she stopped fishing.
Given his Little Concubine’s intellect, it was difficult to explain to her how it was a bad influence. In her view, gossip and reputation would not cost her a piece of flesh, tangible benefits mattered more, so it was better to agree with her understanding.
No sooner had he nodded than his Little Concubine clapped her hands, looking at him as if he were a fool, and blurted out, "Oh, Your Highness, that’s simple then, we can just go fish secretly, if no one knows it’s fine!" She finished, proudly beaming.
"..." The Emperor was utterly speechless!
Was that the point he was making? Was it really?
If it weren’t for her being pregnant, he would have liked to pull down her pants and spank her as he used to, now there was no reasoning with her!
Feeling the Emperor’s gaze, Lian Hua felt a chill on her buttocks. Was His Majesty thinking about how to punish her? That look seemed somewhat familiar!
She cowered a bit and said weakly, "Your Majesty, I was just joking. What Nanny said makes sense, I won’t fish anymore, and I won’t make her angry." After Nanny Qi gets angry, the consequences are severe; it seems that His Majesty can’t do much about it now.
Hey, that seems about right; His Majesty has been quite well-behaved these days. Thinking about it, it seems fishy. Last night, His Majesty and Hei Tan went out to have a secret talk, mentioning something about sharing a room, and tonight, Nanny Qi especially mentioned not to share a room?
Could it be that she is pregnant, and His Majesty couldn’t treat her this way or that?
Lian Hua couldn’t help but look at His Majesty with suspicion, her eyes twirling around. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed to be the case. She seemed to have discovered some incredible secret, haha!
Initially, the Emperor was delighted to hear Lian Hua agree not to fish anymore, but before he could enjoy his delight for long, he saw her eyes craftily glancing at him.
That look, clearly up to no good, that little rascal!
The Emperor felt somewhat helpless and couldn’t help but mess up her hair, causing her to laugh and use her hands to block him from messing it further.
The two of them laughed and fooled around for a while, and Lian Hua remembered something.
Pointing to the ten neatly arranged gold ingots on the windowsill behind the copper mirror, she bragged, "Your Majesty, look, is it nice to place the ingots here? It’s so festive, and if I want to look at them, I just need to stand up. "
The Emperor’s mouth twitched, who decorates their room with gold ingots? It hurts the eyes to look, and it’s somewhat unbearable to watch; his Little Concubine really had novel tastes, just like a nouveau riche.
Nowadays, the literati see money as something vulgar, unbearable to discuss; anyone talking about silver is surely among the ranks of merchants, not fit for official circles.
If a scholar found out that the Emperor’s consort decorated her abode with gold ingots, he would surely write ten critical articles, stretching the criticism to the extremes of grave sins.
Although the Emperor did not agree with this view, the treasury couldn’t continue without money, and people couldn’t live well without money. Yet, he also found it hard to adapt to his Little Concubine’s tastes.
The arrangement here, although not at all elegant, was filled with charm. Usually, wasn’t the wobbly toy placed there quite nice?
Sigh, thinking it over, his Little Concubine had indeed suddenly turned into a nouveau riche. She must not put the ingots under her eyes to look at them more, guessing she would change them once she got bored, but he still needed to teach her.
The Emperor pinched her face and said, "Hmm, very festive. But wealth should not be flaunted; it’s not good to display it like this."
"Ah, really?" Lian Hua touched her face, having forgotten the principle that wealth should not be flaunted.
The Emperor nodded affirmatively, then taught her, "Canglan Court doesn’t yet have its own storeroom or account book.
You didn’t need them before due to your lower status, but you can’t do this anymore.
In this palace, social interactions are inevitable, and if you encounter an Imperial Court Lady in the future, rewards and gifts are essential. "
"If you don’t build a storeroom or create an account book, you won’t remember what others have given you, or what you have in your storeroom. When the time comes to reciprocate, you naturally won’t know what to give."
Lian Hua listened, half-understanding, but she knew about reciprocating gestures. Just like she always wanted to thank Xu Zhaoyi but didn’t have a suitable gift to present, she had been delaying the visit.
She nodded, indicating she understood, but she frowned, finding it somewhat troublesome. She probably wouldn’t receive many gifts, right, nor would there be many occasions to give them, right?
The Emperor seemed to see through her thoughts and continued, "Didn’t the Noble Consort also send you a gift today?
After today, I’m afraid all the palaces will send you gifts; this place also won’t fit them all.
The old storeroom, I’ve ordered Zhang Qing to find someone to reorganize it. It will be your storeroom from now on."
Lian Hua couldn’t help asking, "Will many people send me gifts?"
The gift from the Noble Consort, she had forgotten where she put it. Maybe Xiao Qing had properly kept it for her. She’d have to dig it out tomorrow and make a note of it.
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