The Emperor clasped her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed it gently, saying, "Lian Hua, now my heart is fully occupied by you. There was no room for others before, and from now on, there will only be room for you. Can it be just you from here on out?"
Tears finally slid down Lian Hua’s cheeks. She could not help but throw herself into His Majesty’s embrace, sobbing, "Yes."
She was held tightly by His Majesty, all her emotions were released at that moment; her wild thoughts from the afternoon were swept away, leaving only deep emotion and love in her heart.
She understood the weight of His Majesty’s words, how rare such a promise was for an emperor, she was not unaware, but for His Majesty to promise her, to treat her this way, what could she possibly be dissatisfied with?
The Emperor held the Little Concubine tightly, knowing that she understood his feelings, his heart was extremely joyful, the clouds that had shrouded his heart suddenly dispersed, leaving only a bright moon.
Once both had completely calmed down, the Emperor gently wiped the tears at the corner of Lian Hua’s eyes, kissed her nose, and then began to inquire about the day’s events, "Darling, were you angry today because of the recent summoning of the Noble Consort to my chamber?"
Lian Hua originally looked at His Majesty with wet eyes, joy shining brightly in them, but upon hearing His Majesty’s question, she could not help but bite her lip and lower her head, barely audibly murmuring "Hmm," alright, thinking of it still bothered her heart.
The Emperor thought, indeed, one reaps what one sows; he deserved to suffer today for the seeds of bitterness he had planted that day.
But thinking that his Little Concubine was jealous, he felt a swell of joy—this meant she cared deeply for him.
He gently explained, "Darling, at that time, I was unclear about my feelings for you, and summoned the Noble Consort solely to distract myself, regretting it immediately afterward because all I could think about was you. That day, I came back to my chamber very late and didn’t touch the Noble Consort at all. Having you, how could I willingly touch someone else?" He was indeed fortunate not to have touched her; he felt relieved now.
Lian Hua looked up, her eyes wide in astonishment as she looked at His Majesty, "Ah? Doesn’t that put the Noble Consort in an awkward position?"
Realizing what she had just said, Lian Hua quickly shook her head and hurriedly added, "Oh no, no, not that, Your Majesty, I mean, I mean..."
The Emperor could not help but smile slightly, amused at how she confused herself. He smiled and asked, "What are you trying to say?"
Lian Hua bit her lip, thinking for a moment, her cheeks gradually blushing, her eyes sparkling as she looked at His Majesty, yet dared not meet his gaze. Finally, overcoming her embarrassment and with both shyness and resolve, she said, "Your Majesty, I mean I’m very happy, as happy as if I had found silver. I really like you, Your Majesty. Just thinking about you makes me happy. This afternoon when I remembered... when I remembered that matter, I felt so sad, I thought about not caring for you anymore, but I couldn’t bear it. I thought for a long time and just wanted you to have a taste of discomfort, to make you also feel a bit sad, but I never expected..."
She never expected that she had misunderstood Your Majesty again. Thinking of this, she felt shy and embarrassed, and couldn’t help but wrap her arms around His Majesty’s neck, burying her head in his chest, her ears already turning red.
She thought, she must, must trust His Majesty from now on; what she hears from others doesn’t count, only what His Majesty tells her counts.
The Emperor felt a fire burning in his heart, the first time his Little Concubine had confessed her affection for him, overwhelmed with emotion, he hugged her tightly, continuously stroking her hair.
How endearing his Little Concubine was, so shy on the one hand, yet so bravely expressing her feelings on the other, truly touching him deep in his bones.
He could not resist kissing her, only by kissing her could he vent the fiery emotions inside him, only by kissing her could he express his feelings.
At first, Lian Hua merely let His Majesty kiss her, but eventually, she could not help but respond—an unprecedented response from her in bed, which made His Majesty even more passionate, nearly as if he wanted to devour her entirely.
As Lian Hua had prepared, she thought His Majesty was about to do something when suddenly he stopped, breathing heavily and refused to go any further.
Lian Hua couldn’t help but feel puzzled. Huh, His Majesty had acted the same way last night, why...
Before she could figure it out, His Majesty spoke up, his voice hoarse, "Little Darling, if there is anything I do poorly in the future, don’t keep it to yourself and sulk, okay? Tell me. I can’t bear to see you cry; it breaks my heart."
Lian Hua looked at His Majesty with watery almond eyes and nodded shyly.
After nodding, she thought back and felt she was being overly sentimental today, which was quite embarrassing. Seeing His Majesty gazing intensely at her, she couldn’t resist covering His Majesty’s eyes with her hand and began to act coquettishly, "Oh, don’t look anymore~ I’m getting embarrassed."
The Emperor caught her hand, kissed it gently, and said, "How can I not look when my Xiao Lian Hua is so beautiful? I love looking at my Lian Hua the most."
She couldn’t help but giggle sweetly, throwing her arms around His Majesty’s neck and laughed heartily while leaning her head back.
The Emperor hugged her properly and tidied the hair sticking to her face, saying, "You haven’t had dinner yet, are you hungry?"
His Majesty hadn’t mentioned it, but she didn’t feel it earlier; having been so tensed up this afternoon, she didn’t feel hungry at all, but now relaxing completely, she felt her stomach was indeed very empty. She touched her belly and nodded.
The Emperor pinched her nose and suggested, "Shall we have something light to start with? It might take too long to prepare a full meal right now."
Upon hearing this, a sly look appeared in Lian Hua’s eyes, her face struggling to keep from grinning, but she quickly composed herself.
The Emperor raised an eyebrow, what was that expression for? Could it be that tonight she prepared more than just those dishes to punish him and chose not to serve them to actually punish him?
He smiled indulgently and pinched her cheek, "Did my Little Darling prepare this in advance?"
"Oh, Your Majesty, you are truly unparalleled in intelligence; nothing can be hidden from you," Lian Hua couldn’t help but widen her almond eyes and praised.
Then, a bit embarrassed, her gaze flickered away as she continued, "Actually, I initially wanted to let you taste a few unpleasant bites and then replace them with normal food. You work so hard during the day; how could I bear to let you eat such unpleasant dishes? It was just that I was feeling a bit resentful."
As she spoke, she pouted. His Majesty even pretended those terrible dishes were delicious just to tease her, huh.
The Emperor couldn’t help but laugh, delighted by the thought that his Little Concubine wanted to punish him out of jealousy; he was actually pleased, although he couldn’t let her know that, or she might get angry again.
He went along with it and said, "Yes, yes, it’s all my fault. I deserve to be punished. Next time, I’ll surely grant your wish. Does that sound good?"
Lian Hua looked at him coquettishly, feeling sweet inside, and coyly said with a smile, "There won’t be a next time. I’m too busy loving you to ever think of punishing you."