Page 383
When Nanny Qi returned, he had just seen the two hastily agreeing on their story. Following that, Nanny Qi quietly went back to her own room, pretending she had never left.
There was no choice, as Master Lian was no longer easy to deceive. Actually, she had become smarter, so they could only resort to this trick.
In any case, His Majesty’s stalling tactic was very effective.
His eyebrows were lifted with delight, and upon hearing someone calling him, he responded loudly, "Got it."
As he spoke, he walked into the Side Hall, bowed, and asked, "Your Majesty, Master Lian, what are your orders?"
The Emperor’s voice was indifferent, "Was it you who mentioned that eating with poetry makes the meal more enjoyable for me?"
Zhang Qing was startled. What was this about? Even with his cunning, he could not grasp the point of this inexplicable statement.
And His Majesty did not seem inclined to give him any hints. His tone was very subdued, showing no discernible attitude.
Seeing that he could not remember, Lian Hua straightened up and added, "Chief steward Zhang, you were the one who said it.
After sending a meal with poetry to His Majesty, you mentioned that His Majesty praised the poetry as being very apt, and that even the meal tasted better.
Therefore, I asked you for several large volumes of poetry collections.
Do you remember now, or should I go and get the poetry collections for you to see? "
As she was about to get up, His Majesty caught her hand to prevent her from going, so she sat down again, letting His Majesty hold her hand.
Zhang Qing slapped his forehead and immediately remembered, saying, "Replying to Master Lian, this servant does recall such a matter."
He tentatively asked, "Does Master Lian have any instructions for this servant to carry out?"
Initially, when Master Lian had sent the meal to His Majesty, His Majesty had replied with a note to Master Lian, and later, Master Lian had also sent a note to His Majesty.
When His Majesty received Master Lian’s first note, he was extremely delighted. The poem on the note corresponded exactly with the dish in the meal, which made His Majesty repeatedly praise it, saying that Master Lian had chosen the poetry wonderfully, which really whetted his appetite.
When he went to Canglan Court, Master Lian asked about His Majesty’s reaction, and he frankly repeated His Majesty’s praises, adding, "Master Lian has put thought into it. His Majesty found the meal even tastier than usual."
But what was the problem with that? It should have been a matter of happiness, so why did it now seem otherwise?
Lian Hua pursed her lips, propping her cheek with her free hand, and spoke morosely, "There were no particular instructions. It’s just that I misunderstood and thought that His Majesty would find dining with matching poetry more enjoyable."
With a sigh, she lamented her pointless efforts.
She had thought His Majesty had some scholarly preference for elegance, thus the meals tasted better with fitting poetry.
She had even tried it herself, reading poetry while eating, looking at poetry while eating, but aside from hindering her dining experience, it seemed to make no difference to the taste. Hence, she had quietly wondered about His Majesty’s peculiar fondness.
However, "Gentlemen can agree to disagree," she thought. Since His Majesty was a gentleman, it was fine for his preferences to differ from hers. Just as she liked things His Majesty did not, she hadn’t given it much thought.
Only now did she realize she was wrong. She had misunderstood, alas...
Zhang Qing was somewhat confused. This statement was correct; how could it be a misunderstanding?
His Majesty was indeed very happy when he received Master Lian’s note, and he certainly did say that it greatly improved his appetite. What was wrong with that?
Wait a minute, perhaps the situation was not that complicated. Let him think it through.
In the way Master Lian viewed it, she should have preferred to interpret his words directly, so surely what Master Lian truly understood wasn’t that she really thought the poetry could enhance His Majesty’s appetite, making His Majesty eat more deliciously, right?
Oh, my goodness, isn’t Master Lian’s interpretation a bit too simplistic and crude? The words spoken by His Majesty were rhetorical devices; the key point wasn’t the poetry!
It wasn’t because of the poetry that His Majesty enjoyed his meal; it was because of her sincere heart that he felt delighted, and once he felt delighted, his appetite opened up. It had nothing to do with the poetry; it depended on who offered it.
Imagine if someone else tried, copying an entire book of poetry until their pen went bald—His Majesty wouldn’t even spare it a glance. Most likely, he would find it sour and rotten, a waste of ink, and forbid it from being sent again.
But it was different with Master Lian; even if she just smeared ink on the paper, His Majesty would be pleased. To say something disrespectful, in His Majesty’s eyes, even the farts of Master Lian were more fragrant than those from others.
With His Majesty so pleased, what wouldn’t taste delicious?
Hmph, and here I was scared over nothing.
His Majesty had called him in, surely to express a few words to reassure Master Lian.
After realizing this, Zhang Qing eagerly said, "Oh, Master Lian, you haven’t misunderstood, indeed His Majesty had a wonderful appetite after receiving your poetry..."
As he spoke, he caught a glimpse of His Majesty’s changing expression from the corner of his eye, and his heart skipped a beat, speaking more hesitantly. He hadn’t misspoken, had he? Why did His Majesty’s expression look so complex?
Lian Hua’s eyes brightened, oh, her effort wasn’t wasted: "Then..."
The Emperor stood by in silent contemplation, massaging Lian Hua’s hand, listening to their conversation.
Now caught in a dilemma, admitting that the food tasted better in the past because of her poetry would not dispel her thoughts; going forward, it would still trouble her, and he would have to learn all sorts of confounding things from others.
But denying it wouldn’t do either. Knowing her past effort was in vain would be too painful and heartbreaking—just look at how she sighed earlier, pouting her lips, it was truly heart-wrenching.
Listening to their back-and-forth discussion, he just realized, the original idea that accompanying meals with poetry made them taste better actually came from him!
Initially, he was delighted, for he had praised the sincerity of his Little Concubine, yet he had never expected that his Little Concubine would take it literally and deeply believed it, carrying it out as fact to this day.
His feelings were complex, wondering how without disheartening his Little Concubine, he could clarify that the pleasantness was due to her sincerity, and not the poetry, thereby dispelling her thoughts of learning from others?
This was a difficult problem...
Seeing Lian Hua buoyed by Zhang Qing’s words and preparing to redouble her efforts, as if the efforts from before were about to be wasted, perhaps followed by talk of learning poetry from Concubine Fang Pin.
The Emperor quickly turned her face towards him, looking at her as he took over the conversation and bluntly lied, "Nannan, I can no longer read the poems you write during meals, otherwise I might lose my appetite."
"Ah, when did His Majesty ever say such a thing?" How was she just finding this out?
Lian Hua gaped, her face completely bewildered.
The Emperor clasped his fist beneath his chin, cleared his throat, and spoke with a serious and earnest expression, "Just now, after I watched your dance and listened to your recitation of poetry."
"Ah?" Lian Hua’s eyes widened in shock. Wasn’t His Majesty captivated just before, even praising her for being beautiful? How could he suddenly not have an appetite now?
Zhang Qing hung his head, his heart drumming anxiously. Clearly, His Majesty didn’t want Master Lian to write poetry anymore, but this statement seemed to hurt Master Lian a bit, didn’t it? It didn’t seem like His Majesty’s usual style.
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