Page 206

Upon hearing how valuable these cakes were, she immediately set aside a portion for Xiao Qing to take to Nanny Qi.

She also split a small piece for several people in Canglan Court to try.

Finally, she divided the remaining cakes in half, intending to share them with His Majesty.

The Emperor didn’t mind; after all, it was just a portion of food. He let her do as she pleased with it.

His Nannan was not a selfish person and rarely kept delicacies to herself; this gesture was expected of her.

Seeing her enjoyment, he casually ate a piece and left the rest for her.

His Little Concubine was straightforward indeed; she didn’t stand on ceremony with him and started eating immediately, savoring the sweet taste, which itself was a delight to watch.

After she finished, swallowing the last bite, Lian Hua licked her lips, savoring the taste, which was truly irresistible.

The Emperor took out a handkerchief and wiped her lips, "If you like it, I’ll have the Imperial Kitchen make more."

Lian Hua was instantly overjoyed and was about to express her gratitude.

Then she thought for a moment and shook her head, "Your Majesty, never mind, the cakes are too expensive; I feel guilty."

The Emperor, seeing her understanding and consideration, felt pleased and pinched her cheek, "No matter, making them once in a while is all right."

Lian Hua confirmed, "Really? It won’t be too... costly?" It would be exploiting the people and wasting resources.

The Emperor smiled and nodded, "These ingredients are tributes from various regions every year; they just sit there otherwise."

If they were not gifted to others or used, it would be better to let her enjoy them fully, which would also be good for her health.

If that was the case, she suddenly had an idea...

Lian Hua counted on her fingers but seemed unsure; she tentatively asked, "Your Majesty, if these cakes were converted to silver, how much would they be worth?"

"Hmm?" He was taken aback by the sudden inquiry, which he had never considered before, "These ingredients are priceless, not something that silver can measure."

Some rare ingredients are specially provided to the palace, not purchasable with mere silver.

"So, they’re worth a lot of silver?" Lian Hua became excited and began calculating, "Why not sell the cakes for silver? Such delicious and valuable cakes could sell for a hundred taels of silver each, right?"

She needed silver, a great deal of it, to save up and repay her parents’ debts. Selling the cakes and getting a share of the proceeds would be fair, right?

The Emperor’s face darkened immediately; his Little Concubine had fallen into a money trap, and all she could think of was silver.

Could his kindness be measured in silver?!

Lian Hua didn’t notice the Emperor’s expression and continued, looking elsewhere and growing more convinced of her plan, "The other consorts in the palace seem to have plenty of silver, always competing with their beaded hairpins and makeup..."

This has potential! She had attended several palace banquets and noticed how the Palace Concubines flaunted their clothes and jewelry with envy, and since they had the silver, why let it mold? Better to spend it.

The more the Emperor heard, the more inappropriate it felt; he asked coolly, trying to be patient. "What do you propose to do?"

He’d listen to what she had to say first; even when imposing a penalty, it was necessary to gather complete evidence and hear the full argument.

"Let me think, let me think~" Encouraged by His Majesty’s inquiry, she counted on her fingers and pondered deeply, looking downward, "We make the cakes, and then sell them in each palace, yes, that’s it!"

Street vendors who stroll the alleys all sell their goods in this way!

"How do we know if your cake is any good? What if no one buys it?"

Lian Hua glanced up at the Emperor, her face full of an expression that said ’His Majesty is so silly, isn’t he?’ "Then I’ll just eat it myself!" Attack or retreat, delightful either way!

Ha, it turns out she had already figured out her backup plan!

That look ignited a fire of anger in the Emperor, making him want to grab her face and pull down her pants to spank her.

It had been quite some time since he had felt such an urge to spank her, his hands itching intensely.

The Emperor took a deep breath, poured himself a cup of tea, and drank it to calm himself, holding back and letting her outline the next steps. He would let her be happy for a while before systematically cutting her options down.

But then, we wouldn’t make any silver, hmm, that is indeed a big problem!

Lian Hua then lowered her head to think and began to mutter to herself, "This is the worst-case scenario, not good, not good, need to think some more. What do the Consorts like, uh, there’s too much, clothes, jewelry, oh dear, nothing to do with cakes, need to think some more..."

After mumbling to herself, she suddenly slammed the table, "Right, the Consorts love beauty and fear aging, if I say this cake keeps one forever young and is excellent for nourishing beauty, then they will surely want it!"

After saying this, she felt that the idea was brilliant and excitedly clapped her hands on the table, making a loud smack.

The Emperor, seeing her, felt the pain in her hands and hurriedly put down his teacup to hold her hands and massage them. He felt somewhat helpless. It pained him to see her hands hurt.

Excitement was clearly written all over Lian Hua’s face, and being caught did not affect the sharp workings of her clever mind, "My Lord, do you know what the Consorts like the most?"

Without waiting for the Emperor to reply, she blurted out, "Not clothes or jewelry, heh, what they like best is you! They coil around you like bees around honey whenever they see you."

The Emperor was utterly speechless, feeling uncomfortable inside. She compared the other concubines in the Harem to flies, and himself, the lofty Son of Heaven, to something that everyone could come close to?

And she spoke so excitedly and naturally about it?

Normally, when a woman mentions her beloved man being favored by other women, she should sound a little sour. Shouldn’t she be jealous here?!

What on earth did Little Concubine Lian Hua have in her head, how did she grow up with such a drastically different way of thinking from ordinary people!

Lian Hua didn’t care whether His Majesty was responsive or not. She continued on her own, "At that time, you can come out and recommend the cake, saying it’s delicious. I assure you we will have big buyers, no, there will be Consorts making purchases."

At her words, a vein bulged on the Emperor’s forehead—was she treating him as a pimp in the Flower Building or as if he were selling girls?

He, the Son of Heaven, was worth so little?

Things were getting more and more outrageous. He could not hold back anymore!

The more Lian Hua thought about it, the more excited she became.

Unfortunately, since he had caught her hands, she couldn’t wave them about and could only shake her leg like a little ruffian from the market, "As the saying goes, rarity increases value.

We should make fewer at a time, high prices will net the most silver, yes, this way we can make even more! "

After speaking, she began to imagine, envisioning a bustling and beautiful scene where multiple Consorts clamored to buy the cakes with His Majesty calling out in front, and her at the back counting the gleaming silver, thinking about it made her laugh out loud, revealing her neat row of pearly teeth!

Ha, the Emperor chuckled coldly, no longer hiding his emotions. If anyone dared to call his Little Concubine foolish again, he would be the first to disagree.

Look at his Little Concubine, calculating so cleverly and clearly understanding the dealings between him and the Harem concubines, well-versed in the art of commerce!

The Emperor squinted his eyes and finally asked, "After earning the silver, what do you plan to do?"

Giving her one more chance to properly discuss this—speak it well, or else he would no longer be to blame...