Page 205
This was the first time the Emperor felt uncertain. Her father hadn’t even met anyone yet, and his darling treasure was already bearing his child. Should her father come to know, who knows what he would think.
Hmm, now that he and Nannan were betrothed, according to the folks’ customs, he should pay a visit to her family.
Once the matter with the Serpent was settled, he should have Cao De look into where her family was.
Lian Hua, holding the Little Tree Demon she had made, liked it the more she looked at it. She lifted it before the Emperor’s face, her eyes and brows curving.
The Emperor smiled and took the Little Tree Demon from her hands, squeezing it and said, "Well done, Nannan has done very well."
Lian Hua smiled proudly and said confidently, "Indeed, although I’m not good at making sachets, these I can do."
Hearing her mention the sachet, the Emperor raised his eyebrows, "Didn’t you say you’d give one sachet to me? What happened?"
Having time to make these, but not a sachet for him, he felt somewhat displeased.
Lian Hua’s smile stiffened as she sighed with a worried look and said, "Here, these are all here. Take a look, Your Majesty."
"What?" the Emperor looked down at the Little Tree Demon in his hands, then at the other stuffed toys, and asked in disbelief, "Are these sachets?"
Do sachets look like this now?
Huh, what kind of look was that from His Majesty?
Lian Hua said defiantly, "Yes, Your Majesty, you don’t know how difficult it is to make sachets. I made five, none of them looked good. To not waste them, I turned them into stuffed toys. Look, aren’t they perfectly fine!"
She pretended to be unwilling, hands on her hips, and her expression fierce.
The Emperor fell silent for a moment, then said against his better judgment, "Nannan is really... ingeniously skillful."
Turning waste into treasure, if that wasn’t ingeniously skillful!
Lian Hua couldn’t help but laugh out loud. She was just teasing him; His Majesty looked good and was very good at giving compliments.
The Emperor smiled helplessly and hugged her, letting her laugh. Now, his Little Concubine could do no wrong; whatever she said was right.
Looking at the green stuffed toy in his hand, he suddenly remembered something. Yesterday, he had seen a green, awkwardly sewn together sack here; it must have been the prototype for this toy, which indeed had looked very ugly.
He suddenly felt the Orchid Handkerchief in his arms become precious. His Little Concubine had said she wasn’t skilled with needle and thread. Now he really saw that she was not, unable to make even five, and sachets should be the most ordinary sewing, right?
It seemed, from now on, he should not expect her to be able to make clothes or socks. Nannan was still more suited to making amusing things.
The handkerchief in his arms needed to be preserved, never to be used again, as it might be the only handkerchief his Little Concubine could present to him, rarer than the fish in the Huaqing Pool.
The Emperor, holding her, thought for a moment, fearing she found making sachets too difficult, suggested, "How about you give me a stuffed toy you made, in place of a sachet?"
Lian Hua’s eyes brightened, and she looked up at His Majesty with sparkling eyes. These were her proud creations.
It wasn’t a bad idea, oh, then... shall we agree to this?
Breaking free from His Majesty’s embrace, Lian Hua lined up four stuffed toys, "Which one do you like, Your Majesty?" The choice was his to make.
The Emperor looked and, bypassing the Little Tree Demon, picked up the Little Snowman, "Let it be this one." The expression on its face, somewhat dumbfounded, was a bit like her when she had just awoken.
"Eh, you don’t want the Little Tree Demon?" She thought His Majesty would like the Little Tree Demon.
The Emperor shook his head, no other reason, he just didn’t like the ending for the Tree Demon.
Now that he had Nannan, he would never let her down, letting her suffer the loneliness like the Little Tree Demon.
Lian Hua suddenly had an idea. Not long ago, she had sent Xiao Jizi to find Hei Tan, who managed to procure some medicinal herbs that invigorated the mind. Quite coincidentally, Hei Tan had just returned from the Imperial Medical Bureau and had prepared them for her.
The medicine sachet was still with her, so she could stuff some medicinal herbs into this doll. In this way, His Majesty could also benefit from its mind-invigorating effect when he smelled it.
Without hesitation, after briefly discussing it with His Majesty, she began to work on it.
The Emperor followed her, having decided that this doll would be placed at the head of his desk. When fatigued, he would simply look up and see it; his Nannan already had the effect of refreshing his mind, and this doll would be as if she was there with him.
After tinkering for a while, Lian Hua finally remade the doll to her satisfaction and presented it to the Emperor.
The Emperor smiled tenderly, summoned someone to take care of the doll, and instructed them to place it on his desk.
Lian Hua was even more delighted and couldn’t resist giving the Emperor a peck on the cheek.
The Emperor also kissed Lian Hua and recalling the pastries he brought back, asked, "Is Nannan hungry?"
Huaqing Palace.
After the Noble Consort finished taking her supplements, she put down the bowl, wiped her mouth, and said, "Let’s deal with it this way, Cai Qin you may go."
"Yes, Consort." Cai Qin respectfully withdrew.
At Canglan Court, the favorite of the harem, quite a few concubines had come to her in pairs and trios to complain, subtly and openly, uttering sarcastic remarks.
What was the use of saying these things here? It would be effective only if the lady of Canglan Court could hear them.
It seemed the intensity was still not enough, or the sisters would have been able to remain firm. Since that was the case, she would add fuel to the fire, let it boil over; she couldn’t let herself be the only one anxious.
It had been quite some time since the palace had seen any excitement. It was time to stir things up; otherwise, wouldn’t the sisters grow terribly bored?
Now, she just had to wait and see what true abilities these sisters possessed.
The Noble Consort broke into a sly grin. In this palace, what could be more delightful than watching the fire from across the shore?
Inside Canglan Court.
"After you finish, there will still be more, no need to worry."
"Mmm-hmm." Lian Hua nodded, her reply muffled and unclear, her cheeks bulging, reluctant to swallow.
The pastries His Majesty brought were truly delicious, so tasty she felt like swallowing her own tongue. Indeed, expensive pastries are delicious.
Earlier when His Majesty asked if she wanted pastries, she wasn’t very hungry, but as soon as he mentioned it, she felt a craving and discovered that His Majesty had brought her pastries.
Once the food box was opened, a rich fragrance wafted out—it smelt so good. How could a pastry smell this good, and she was seeing this pastry for the first time too.
She picked up a piece and tasted a tiny corner. The flavor was so amazing that it made her eyes widen; so delicious!
She couldn’t help but eat it all in one bite, her taste buds nearly exploded, with an indescribable fragrance and flavor, extremely delicious, something she had never tasted before.
After swallowing the pastry in her mouth, she eagerly asked His Majesty how it was made, hoping that once she learned, she could make it every day.
His Majesty chuckled and began to explain these pastries to her, and she then realized that these pastries were made with many expensive food and medicinal ingredients which not everyone could simply decide to make.
For instance, this Red Cake was made using the puree of the longevity-enhancing Red Fruit, which grew only on cliff edges, very rare, difficult to harvest and preserve, and was scarcely tribute each year;
Similarly, this White Jade Eight Treasures Cake was made from eight kinds of rare ingredients. His Majesty listed a string of ingredient names, which she had never heard of and could not remember.
What they were eating was not just cake; it was practically Silver!
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