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That day, Beauty Li, along with Dong Mei and Nanny Sun, began wandering through the gardens near the Canglan Court, hoping to someday catch Lian Hua and implement their plan.

The three of them now thought of Lian Hua with teeth itching in frustration, especially Nanny Sun, who was normally very confident. She had presumed it would be an easy capture, but never had she expected Lian Hua to be so slippery and nearly led them astray.

After reporting to Beauty Li that day, she felt both tired and thirsty.

Thinking back to her half-day at Canglan Court without completing a single sentence, manipulated by a mere Daying, a fire surged in her heart.

Never in her years at the palace had Nanny Sun been made a fool of, so when Beauty Li shared her thoughts, she devised a strategy for her, determined to bring down Daying Lian.

Lian Hua knew nothing of these matters, as she continued her day-to-day tending the bountiful fruits and vegetables at Canglan Court with Xiao Qing and others, taking a few days to complete her duties.

Star Palace.

That afternoon, the Emperor met with the Minister of Revenue in the palace and reviewed several reports. Feeling somewhat irritable, he decided to walk in the Imperial Garden to ease his spirits.

In recent days, he hardly thought of the Little Concubine anymore. His daily routines had reverted to old habits, yet he felt an emptiness at heart and struggled to fall asleep at night. Thus, he often reviewed reports late into the night until Zhang Qing repeatedly advised him to rest.

While walking through the Green Bamboo Garden with Zhang Qing, glancing at the lush green bamboo, the thought of delicious bamboo shoots popped into his mind.

He then remembered it was here that the Little Concubine had first stolen shoots, caught red-handed and arguing with him with a twisted logic comparing stealing shoots to plucking flowers.

Recalling the Little Concubine, the Emperor felt an aching in his heart. Though he had restrained himself from thinking about her these past days, he could not help but reminisce when encountering things related to her inadvertently.

Suddenly wanting to taste bamboo shoots again, he asked Zhang Qing behind him, "Are there any shoots to eat nowadays?"

Zhang Qing was startled. His Majesty never bothered with such trivial matters, always eating whatever the Imperial Kitchen prepared without making special requests.

Snapping back to reality, he quickly stepped forward and replied, "Your Majesty, do you wish to have some bamboo shoots? Let me send someone to the Imperial Kitchen to prepare them."

The Emperor merely grunted and left the Green Bamboo Garden with his hands behind his back, remaining silent.

Zhang Qing called a Young Eunuch to relay the message, and after a moment’s thought, realized His Majesty was reminiscing about Daying Lian again, recalling their encounter in the Green Bamboo Garden.

Though His Majesty seemed normal these days, only Zhang Qing knew how much he was suffering, likely tormented by love.

A few days earlier, His Majesty had been staring blankly at a handkerchief for a long time, his gaze tender, until a report of a minister waiting to see him brought him back.

That handkerchief, recognized by Zhang Qing, was the same one that the Young Master Lian had said was missing on the last night His Majesty had left Canglan Court.

Back then, His Majesty had even orchestrated a play for Young Master Lian to witness.

It had been less than ten days since that night, and already, so much had changed.

His Majesty, in an effort not to think of Daying Lian, had even forced himself to give up his Dew Tea, but he couldn’t bear it and had it made again less than a day later.

He then complained that the servants were using too many tea leaves, having Zhang Qing make it instead, each time using fewer leaves.

A pot of tea would last a day; by the end, the leaves would be so over-steeped as to lose all their flavor before being discarded.

Perhaps His Majesty felt as if the tea kept Young Master Lian close, yet feared running out, leaving no room for memories. Oh dear.

Zhang Qing sighed inwardly, unable to comprehend why His Majesty tortured himself so.

If he missed someone, he could simply summon them.

With the entire harem at his disposal, who couldn’t he bring to him?

It was a mystery what His Majesty was so cautious about; the heart of an Emperor was indeed inscrutable.

Following His Majesty, Zhang Qing continued walking, growing increasingly uneasy with each step. Looking carefully, he realized they were approaching Canglan Court. Could it be that His Majesty wished to visit Canglan Court again?

During their recent afternoon walks, there had been several instances where His Majesty unwittingly started towards Canglan Court, only to realize halfway and take a different path.

Never had they got as close to Canglan Court as they did today; perhaps His Majesty still longed to visit.

Thinking about this, Zhang Qing felt a rush of excitement and signaled the Young Eunuch behind him to sneak over to Canglan Court. Understanding the signal, the Young Eunuch sprinted toward Canglan Court.

The Emperor saw this but said nothing, only feeling a vague nervousness inside. Since he had come this far, should he go over and take a look?

If he saw her, how would she react, would she still happily run toward him as before?

Probably not. That day, her eyes were so red, and she stubbornly held her neck, appearing both pitiable and detestable. Upset, he had left her with harsh words, likely frightening her as well.

Since then, he hadn’t visited her at all; no wonder she had sent all his things back to him. She must be blaming him inside, how could she be happy to see him?

Now, remembering how pitiful the Little Concubine looked that night, he no longer found her detestable, but felt heartache whenever he thought of it.

If he could return to that night, he truly wished to hold her in his arms and comfort her thoroughly, telling her not to hold back, that she could cry if she wanted in front of him.

He had always known she was somewhat stubborn, daring to confront anyone when she dug her heels in. Like at the Noble Consort’s birthday feast, she was clearly terrified but felt she was right and trembled yet defied nonetheless.

She had embarrassed him in front of so many people then, yet he hadn’t held it against her. Why had he quarreled with her that night?

If he had stayed and talked to her properly then, perhaps things wouldn’t have reached this point now.

Thinking of this, the Emperor felt a sourness in his heart, wanting yet fearing to see her, only feeling bitterness in his mouth.

As the Emperor was lost in thought, the eunuch who had gone to scope out Canglan Court returned, shaking his head at Zhang Qing and whispering that there was no one in the yard.

The Emperor felt both disappointed and relieved upon hearing this; disappointed that he didn’t see anyone, and relieved because, if he had, it might have been evident that she didn’t want to see him, and he wouldn’t know what to do with himself.

At this moment, Lian Hua was indeed not in Canglan Court. An hour ago, Lian Hua had set out with Xiao Qing and Xiao Jizi, heading toward a secluded garden.

In that place were several hawthorn trees, likely wild, which the eunuch in charge of the garden, seeing that hardly anyone visited there and it was out of the way, had lazily left to grow on their own.

They had scoped out this spot long ago; the fruit was large and good, just waiting for the right moment to be harvested. Counting the days, now was just the right time.

Thus, Lian Hua, along with Xiao Qing and Xiao Jizi, went to pick the fruit enthusiastically, even bringing a small hook for reaching the high ones, determined to strip those few hawthorn trees bare.

Lian Hua didn’t mind the tartness; she ate as she picked. When they were done, she already had plans for these hawthorns.

For instance, the two bushels Xiao Qing picked would be partly used to make candied haws when they got back, and the rest would be turned into hawthorn slices and dried hawthorn, mixed with dried tangerine peel to make tea—once steeped in a whole pot with some honey added, it was both sour and sweet.

Xiao Jizi’s two bushels would be made into hawthorn jam for use in cooking; a bit would be added when making braised pork ribs, even tastier than using plum sauce.

As for the bushel she held, it would become hawthorn cake. She would steam and crush the hawthorns, mix them with sugar evenly, cool and mold them in the well, and then cut them into pieces for eating.

The more Lian Hua thought about it, the happier she grew. Today’s outing had indeed been fruitful. She couldn’t help but hum tunelessly, a song from who knows where, which was discordant and varied but sounded quite pleasant.

Xiao Jizi and Xiao Qing played along, and no one made fun of her, the group chattering and laughing as they made their way back.

As they were returning and were still some distance from Canglan Court, the Emperor, who happened to be walking in that area, heard them first.