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As the sound of rustling clothes changing came from behind, the Emperor slowly turned his head.

Before his eyes was a cascade of smooth, flowing hair, beneath which a glimpse of icy, jade-like skin could be seen, her shoulder blades sketching a lovely contour, the thin straps of her top crossing just below, her slender waist barely a handful, truly a beautiful back!

Looking lower, the curve of her waist was partially exposed, and below that, undergarments wrapped around her slightly raised buttocks...

The Emperor swallowed hard, for it was the first time he had looked at Little Concubine in such a way during broad daylight, and at that moment, only one phrase came to mind, "Her skin is as cool as snow, her figure as graceful as a maiden."

If it weren’t for the fact that it was still daytime, and there were official matters to attend to later, he really wanted to...

The Emperor held himself back, turned his head away, and dared not look any longer, for Little Concubine was indeed the epitome of what he desired, and he couldn’t keep looking without risking an incident...

When Lian Hua finished changing and noticed that His Majesty truly hadn’t watched, she thought to herself a bit relieved, "Hmm, His Majesty is still quite the gentleman. Perhaps she had misunderstood him before."

Though Lian Hua no longer found the Emperor bothersome and even felt quite fond of him, she still harbored some lingering impressions of him always tricking her, especially since the incident of him robbing her of Dew Tea twice was too deeply engraved in her memory.

Seeing her changed, the Emperor breathed a sigh of relief, barely having managed to control himself earlier.

Without showing much on his face, he walked over to her vanity table, intending to help her choose some jewelry, but upon rummaging through, he found almost all of it to be cheap Silk Flowers, not a single piece of decent jewelry in sight.

Suddenly, he remembered that upon his arrival there was also a lack of jewelry, and that she had used her saved Silver for food ingredients, leaving none for purchasing jewelry.

The Emperor felt a mix of emotions. Since his accession to the throne, he had made severe cuts to the harem’s expenses, which included reducing the monthly allowance for concubines’ jewelry, believing that frugality should still prevail among the concubines of the harem.

Only during festivals did he distribute some jewelry from his private treasury to the concubines of the various palaces.

Seeing the Emperor staring silently at her jewelry box with a strange expression, Lian Hua also leaned over to look, not noticing anything unusual.

"Is this all the jewelry you have?" asked the Emperor.

"Yes," replied Lian Hua, picking up a Wooden Hibiscus she had fashioned recently, comparing it against her hairstyle. She had to get ready soon, or she would be late.

"In these years, haven’t you received any jewelry?" Every festival he had given rewards for Noble Consort to distribute; even if minimal, each concubine should have received at least one piece, but had she received none?

"Hmm? What are you talking about?" Lian Hua started to style her hair up into a hairdo.

"You never received any jewelry each year?" The Emperor’s voice was a bit hoarse; he couldn’t imagine how hard her life had been in places he couldn’t see, yet she didn’t feel it at all.

"Any? Jewelry? There’s none for that in the palace allowance," Lian Hua checked herself in the bronze mirror and nodded in satisfaction. Without the mirror, her hairstyle wasn’t even crooked—impressive indeed.

The Emperor felt a mixture of emotions, silently watching her style her hair. It seemed that the life of a lesser-ranked concubine in the palace was not easy, and it was rare for someone like her to be so optimistic, completely devoid of a sorrowful demeanor.

He vividly remembered how she looked a few months ago, so full of life, completely belying the hardship of her days.

Pressed for time, Lian Hua couldn’t worry about formalities any longer. She simply sat in front of the mirror and continued styling her hair, while the Emperor stood beside, watching her quickly and skillfully arrange her twin buns—she was both fast and good at it.

He knew that if it were any other woman styling their hair, it would take a considerable amount of time, yet she had this talent, too.

After she had finished arranging her hair bun, Lian Hua looked at herself from side to side and then took out a large Wood Hibiscus Flower and several smaller ones.

She said, "Your Majesty, do you think it looks beautiful with a large flower inserted into the hair bun and several smaller ones around it?

" As she spoke, she began inserting them.

Standing behind her, the Emperor watched her charming and lovely reflection in the copper mirror. He took the largest flower and helped her insert it into her hair, saying, "Not bad."

Lian Hua’s eyes narrowed into a smile, feeling that His Majesty had been getting better and better.

She stood up and bowed to His Majesty, saying to him, "Thank you for your finishing touch, Your Majesty. The placement is just right. I am already prepared and am about to leave." Saying this, she was ready to take her leave.

"You’re not applying rouge?" the Emperor asked, somewhat surprised.

Although the Little Concubine seldom wore rouge on regular days as her skin was good, delicate and naturally flush — it really wasn’t necessary.

Moreover, he did not like her wearing rouge, feeling that it hid her beauty and made her look unreal and unnatural.

However, for an occasion like the flower banquet, he thought she would apply some since she seemed to value it highly, and he knew the other concubines would layer their faces with as much powder as they could.

A few years ago, he had unexpectedly encountered a concubine whose face was painted like a doll, her body heavy with incense that could be smelled from miles away, her expression a mix of melancholy and longing like a starving person who had seen meat, tenderly calling him "His Majesty," which immensely repulsed him and had her sent to temple to pray for a sight unseen.

Since then, such competitive antics had reduced considerably, but the habits of the concubines applying powder and incense hadn’t changed at all; regardless of how light their makeup was, they always applied some powder.

"Ah? I forgot, it’s good that His Majesty reminded me." Lian Hua hurriedly sat back at the dressing table, flipped open one of the small boxes, dabbed her finger inside, then rubbed it on her face, dabbed some lip rouge, closed the lid, and prepared to leave.

Applying rouge this simply? Wasn’t this a bit perfunctory?

The Emperor was somewhat shocked, and puzzled too. Wasn’t it said that a woman’s dressing and makeup took the most time? How had it become so watered-down with this Little Concubine?

Seeing her prepared to leave again, the Emperor asked, "You’re not defining your eyebrows?"

He was somewhat itching to try drawing them for her.

Lian Hua hastily stood up, saying, "Your Majesty, don’t you see that my eyebrows are quite fine as they are? No need to define them, no need. I’m running late, I must take my leave first." She said, giving a half-curtsy, then turned and jogged out, calling as she went, "Xiao Qing, hurry, hurry."

The Emperor could only feel regret; it seemed that his chance would have to wait until next time.

Actually, the flower banquet wasn’t starting for nearly another Shichen, but who could blame Lian Hua for going early given her lower status? It wasn’t as if the higher-ranking concubines would wait for her.

That would be quite disrespectful, as it was an unspoken rule in the palace that higher-ranking concubines arrived later. Only those like the Noble Consort had the prerogative to make a grand, last-minute entrance.

This time, the Noble Consort had also invited the Emperor, saying she knew His Majesty was busy and wouldn’t dare to bother him with such trifles on normal days, but she hoped that amidst his busy schedule of state affairs, he would take care of his health, which is why she had organized the flower banquet.

Hoping it would provide some relaxation for him, the Emperor, after some thought, had agreed.

His appearances in the harem had been few and far between in recent months; indeed, it was about time to show his face.

However, the Emperor hadn’t told Lian Hua, not knowing whether he wanted to see her surprised expression later or if he wanted to see her complain cutely for not telling her, but he kept it a secret, curious to see her reaction then.

Being the Emperor, he didn’t have to go too early. It wouldn’t be too late to arrive after the banquet had started.