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The Emperor saw her startled and, not wanting to frighten her, tried to maintain his composure. Yet when he heard her express pity for her teapot, he found her both endearing and annoying.

He continued to hold the teapot, giving a cold snort as he glanced at her coolly, thinking to himself that his Little Concubine was becoming more and more inappropriate.

Occupied with the safety of a plain teapot when her own safety was at stake, he wondered how he might teach her the error of her ways.

Just before, when the two had returned to the Side Hall, she had asked him if he was thirsty and then offered to pour him water. Remembering the water was cold, she called for someone to come in and make tea for him.

He inquired further, asking if she had drunk any water since she had returned, to which she pointed to the water in the teapot, claiming she did, indeed, drink from it—the very water that was inside!

He picked up the teapot and felt it; the water inside was so cold it could not get any colder, and it was autumn, no less. Knowing she wanted to brew hot tea for him, how could she not know to drink warm water herself?

Irritation welled up in him at her disregard for her own well-being, leading to this current scene.

Lian Hua noticed that His Majesty’s expression was off and did not dare to talk back. She sat obediently, head down and biting her lip, occasionally glancing quickly at His Majesty, a stream of thoughts racing through her mind.

It seemed like an age since she had last seen His Majesty this way. Ah, she hadn’t noticed before, but now she realized that His Majesty looked quite handsome with a stern face.

With this thought, she couldn’t help but raise her head to sneak a few more peeks, then bow her head to savor the thought. Indeed, His Majesty, lips pursed and silent, had a charm of his own, a different kind of attractiveness.

The Emperor did not speak, leaving her to her small movements, watching her posture shift from upright to slack in a short time.

After letting her be for a while and seeing no further reaction from her, the Emperor was the first to grow restless, unable to resist making a noise, "Hmm?"

Lian Hua was still reminiscing about His Majesty’s attractive profile, thinking that if she could paint, she would definitely capture it.

Startled by His Majesty’s voice, she instinctively sat up straight, looking at His Majesty to find his face pulled long and even more stern. Her eyes darted around as she began to think.

From childhood, when her mother was angry, she would be the first to behave and straighten up, hoping to cool her mother’s temper.

What she had done to make her mother angry would be discussed later; she must never confess on her own initiative.

If she confessed something her mother didn’t know about, she would certainly face double punishment. She had experience with this.

Now, almost without realizing it, she had used this tactic on His Majesty.

But His Majesty was not her mother; His Majesty usually spoke little, while she was the one who talked more.

The approach that worked with her mother did not work with His Majesty, who always waited for her to admit her mistakes first.

Fine, if admitting was what it took, her demeanor had been good just now. But it seemed His Majesty was getting even angrier. Oh no, his brows were furrowing too. Alas, even that looked quite attractive.

Ahem, she must not keep thinking such thoughts; it was time to ponder what she had done wrong!

Lian Hua looked at the teapot and then at the Emperor, speaking hesitantly, "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong..."

The Emperor glanced at her and said indifferently, "What mistake?"

He had waited so long just to hear this from her. If it had been before... But never mind; right now, punishment wasn’t an option. It was better just to remember this incident.

Lian Hua timidly, cautiously said, "Should I not have drunk the cold water?"

It must be so, right? His Majesty’s expression was still fine before he entered the room, but turned sour after she mentioned drinking from the teapot. Just before dropping the teapot, he had made a point to confirm with her, mentioning the words "cold water."

Upon hearing her tone, a fresh wave of irritation rose in the Emperor. This little rascal claimed she knew her mistake, yet she spoke with a questioning tone?

He continued impassively, "Hmm?"

Lian Hua began to feel apprehensive, bowing her head to ponder carefully. Was it not as she said? Then what was it?

Oh, she forgot, His Majesty seemed to like settling accounts after autumn. Could it be that it wasn’t about the matter just now, but instead His Majesty was looking for an excuse to act out?

Yes, that must be it, so she needed to carefully think about what she might have done wrong before...

The Emperor saw her furrowing her brows as if in deep thought, feeling both upset and helpless. This little muddled one was confused again, huh? Did she really need to think this hard over such a trivial matter? At this rate, when would she figure it out, and how would he continue this act?

He pretended to be impatient and "uhm?" again.

Lian Hua looked up at His Majesty, and in a flash, she remembered something. Moreover, it seemed she had proudly discussed it with His Majesty on the way back, too excited at the time to think of asking for forgiveness.

Realizing this, she covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes widening in realization as she looked at His Majesty. It couldn’t really be about that fake imperial decree, could it?

She was finished. What was the punishment for issuing a fake imperial edict? It seemed like a capital offense...

She suddenly felt a chill around her neck and couldn’t resist touching it while stealing glances at the Emperor.

Wondering whether His Majesty could spare her on account of the child in her belly, like before, allowing her to just get a small punishment or whether that would suffice...

Seeing the way she was looking, the Emperor’s eyelid twitched. With that look, could there be something else she was hiding from him?

Lian Hua’s eyes flitted nervously, and she began to stammer, "That... well..."

The Emperor raised an eyebrow, observing her without a sound.

Lian Hua swallowed hard and said with difficulty, "In that urgent moment, Granny said if we failed, you were still there, my courage became too great, and with so many people around, I needed to bolster my courage..."

The Emperor took a moment to realize what she was talking about. Oh, it was that matter. He had been wondering how to bring it up with her. Since she was coming clean herself, he might as well settle it all at once.

Thinking it over, he found it slightly amusing. His Little Concubine really was too slow to catch on, loving to court trouble, too innocently cute. It seemed like he could expect quite a few unexpected gains from scaring her in the future.

Though thinking this in his heart, the Emperor continued to wait with an impassive expression, seeing what she would say next.

Lian Hua’s brow was so furrowed it seemed it could wring out water, her pitiful expression matched by her fingers twisting her sleeve anxiously, "My lord, I know I was wrong. I shouldn’t have forged your decree.

It’s just that, just that at that moment my mind was overheated, and being alone and powerless, in a rush of panic, it slipped out. If you are unhappy..."

Her neck stiffened as she braced her heart, stating boldly as if a dead pig not fearing boiling water, "Then punish me for my crime!"

Having said that, she began to nervously twist her fingers again. Indeed, she shouldn’t have done that. Fearing she would cower at the time, and not knowing any other way to hold the scene, her first thought was of His Majesty, so she bluffed with a borrowed authority...

The Emperor, watching her nervous and dejected demeanor, felt heartache. He sighed and rubbed her hair gently.

Moving behind her, he embraced her from the back and said, "I understand everything, I’m not blaming you, just worried about you. My little darling, have you ever considered what would happen if you were exposed?"

His Little Concubine was always straightforward and charged ahead rashly, surely she hadn’t thought this through.

Indeed, as he spoke, Lian Hua lifted her head, her eyes watery as she looked at him, shaking her head uneasily.