Page 327

In the past and present, His Majesty rarely visits other palaces. Why does he suddenly wish to visit Sister Consort De?

Could it be that he has also discovered the fun at Sister Consort De’s place?

It should not be. For some reason, whenever she mentioned Sister Consort De, even if she slightly praised her, His Majesty would feel a sense of competitiveness. He always wanted her to say that he was great, that he was the best, unable to bear her speaking well of her sister.

It seems that it should not be the case...

Could it be that His Majesty went to ask Sister Consort De for advice on storytelling?

Or perhaps he went to compare storytelling skills with Sister Consort De?

Hmm, it seems somewhat likely~

One night, as per usual, His Majesty was storytelling while she listened, and she, leaning in His Majesty’s embrace and dozing off, was drowsy and barely awake, her eyelids half-open, her consciousness blurry, and she muttered in her sleep that her sister tells stories better.

At that moment, she was almost falling into a dream, thinking she was only pondering to herself, but unexpectedly, she spoke out loud.

Her words were more than enough, His Majesty immediately stopped speaking. Confused and half-asleep, she wondered why he had stopped, as his storytelling was lulling her to sleep perfectly, and she was just a few sentences away from falling asleep.

She couldn’t help but widen her eyes slightly and look up, only to see His Majesty’s face was livid, his expression one of grinding his teeth while staring at her.

In an instant, she became alert, only then realizing that she might have accidentally blurted out her thoughts. Oh no, how terrible!

Back then, still not giving up, she confirmed once more, "Your Majesty, did I just speak out loud?"

She saw His Majesty staring at her as he coldly smirked, word by word he retorted, "What do you think?"

She immediately understood, her guilt making her neck shrink back. His Majesty was not easy to appease, and for a moment, she did not know what to do.

Meanwhile, His Majesty grew increasingly annoyed, his nostrils flaring. Before she could react, he held her tightly and kissed her fiercely a few times, finally biting her lip, causing her to laugh and beg for mercy before he was satisfied.

Had it not been for her acting pitifully, pretending to be sleepy, and praising His Majesty, insisting that she was confused due to sleepiness when she had spoken nonsense, she would not have gotten past that incident...

Thinking back on it, Lian Hua grew more excited about His Majesty’s visit this time, imagining the scene of His Majesty and Sister Consort De competing in storytelling, the idea thrilling her immensely.

While having breakfast with Nanny Qi, her excitement inadvertently showed on her face, and she kept nodding.

Seeing this, Nanny Qi, unaware of what the young lady was concocting in her mind, voiced out to ask if she had something on her mind.

Upon seeing Nanny Qi, Lian Hua’s eyes sparkled. Ah, she was just worrying about having no one to share with. Now that Nanny was here, she could discuss it with Nanny!

She excitedly told Nanny Qi about His Majesty visiting Huaying Hall. Perhaps he was going to do this and that, depicting the scenes she had imagined to Nanny Qi.

After speaking, she excitedly asked Nanny Qi, "Nanny, doesn’t that scene sound fun?"

Nanny Qi couldn’t help but smile after listening, her wrinkles relaxing a lot, knowing that the young lady was being mischievous again, even teasing about the Emperor.

She found it amusing that the Emperor, when visiting his own concubine’s palace, used the term "visiting". Truly, as long as one lives, one sees. Nowadays, the Emperor probably only recognizes this young girl alone.

Helplessly shaking her head, she couldn’t help but explain for the Emperor, saying that since he was young, the Emperor had little fun, and after ascending the throne, he was busy with government affairs, leading a dull daily life.

He hardly ever watched more than a few operas, so how could he storytell?

It would be more suitable for him to lecture.

This statement made Lian Hua feel both pity and agreement. His Majesty truly was pitiable, having no fun at all, and Nanny’s description resonated deep within her. It wasn’t storytelling but lecturing, exactly, just lecturing!

Why hadn’t she thought of that term before? Nanny was absolutely right, making her feel as if she had an epiphany, finding a soulmate!

Lian Hua couldn’t help but sneak a peek outside, confirming that His Majesty wouldn’t suddenly appear before her, then in a hushed tone, she covertly began to tell Nanny Qi about His Majesty’s storytelling being hypnotically mundane, no matter how alert she was, she would quickly fall asleep as soon as His Majesty started storytelling.

After finishing her tale, Lian Hua nodded her head and expressed how profound His Majesty’s lectures were, elevating her emotions at the end, "Although His Majesty’s storytelling skills are lacking, what he lectures about, the sage’s words and great truths, are incredibly profound and meaningful."

While saying this, she touched her belly, "The baby inside can listen to his Imperial Father’s teachings every day, I’m so envious, it must make countless people jealous~"

Nanny Qi was amused by her demeanor, knowing she was partly putting on an act, but still greatly admired it.

Well said, the young lady summarized it well. Even though the Emperor’s lecturing isn’t as captivating as storytelling, the young lady is discerning, understanding that it’s about sage’s great truths, and it is meaningful.

The young lady, after all, would only banter about this in front of her. When the Emperor really lectured her, she couldn’t know how much she flattered him and gave him face.

With a smile, Nanny Qi couldn’t resist tapping Lian Hua’s forehead, "You, always falling asleep halfway through. Knowing it’s profound and meaningful, why not listen more?"

"Nanny, I’m sleepy~" Lian Hua grasped Nanny Qi’s hand and shook it, coquettishly protesting, embarrassed to have been caught out, she playfully stuck out her tongue.

Nanny Qi gave her a reproachful look, finding the young lady both exasperating and endearing.

She withdrew her hand and returned to her half-finished meal, "Continue your meal, and after that, you still have to work on your New Year’s gifts."

Hearing this, Lian Hua made a bitter face, all her bold declarations from the day before gone, finding needlework even more troublesome than studying. Messing up in writing could be corrected by blotting, but a misstitched garment had to be taken apart and resewn...

Although needlework was boring, abandoning it halfway was not her style, especially since she still had to make a forehead towel for Nanny Qi.

After finishing breakfast and resting for a while, Lian Hua had someone move the embroidery basket back out, prepared some refreshments, made Nanny Qi comfortable, and then started sewing earnestly, stitch by stitch.

After sewing for a while, she couldn’t help but get distracted again, still wondering what His Majesty might be doing.

His Majesty and Sister Consort De were both people she cared about, so she couldn’t help but think about them.

She had just been speculating earlier, certainly not believing His Majesty had gone to learn storytelling.

After all, whenever Sister Consort De was mentioned, His Majesty always looked displeased; how could he go to seek her advice? Hopefully, His Majesty wouldn’t end up quarreling with Sister Consort De.

Then she thought, that likely wouldn’t happen. His Majesty had a gentlemanly demeanor, preferring to convince people with reason in front of others, not prone to punishing without cause.

Although when it came to her, reasoning wasn’t always guaranteed, but that was only in front of her after all.

Um... still can’t figure it out~

On second thought, if His Majesty was visiting Sister, he wouldn’t go empty-handed, would he? That wouldn’t be good.

Visiting, Sister would undoubtedly have to entertain His Majesty. Would he go empty-handed and just freeload?