After Xiao Qing and Pang Ya had set up the morning meal and withdrawn, only Nanny Qi and Lian Hua were left in the room.
Lian Hua sat in her place, looking at Nanny Qi, who was also looking at her.
Her eyes shifted, and she gently parted her crimson lips, adopting a gentle and serene demeanor as she said, "Grandma, please sit down and join me for the meal."
The girl had grown increasingly accustomed to calling her "Grandma," a title to which Nanny Qi had become used, ignoring it outright and saying unmoved, "Master Lian, there is a distinction between master and servant, how can a servant dine with her master? It’s enough that you have a good meal."
Lian Hua took out a handkerchief, held her forehead, and with a slight furrow of her brow, said, "But I am used to having someone accompany me during meals; if there is no one, it does not taste as good."
"Master Lian will get used to it in time," Nanny Qi continued sternly, as if she couldn’t see through the girl’s little schemes.
Lian Hua spoke worriedly, "I can’t get used to it, Grandma. If you don’t accompany me, I won’t be able to eat well."
Nanny Qi watched Lian Hua’s pretense, hands folded across her chest, still expressionless as she said, "Didn’t you eat well at yesterday’s midday meal, Master Lian? Why do you need someone to accompany you today?"
"Oh, Grandma, I had just seen you yesterday and still felt a bit awkward. I was too shy to say anything, but today, somehow, you seem so dear, and I feel comfortable enough to say it," Lian Hua looked at Nanny Qi and continued to persuade.
Nanny Qi remained silent, deciding not to speak anymore. She thought to herself how directly this girl could speak, how skillfully she could wear someone down, and how adept she was at ingratiating herself; unfortunately, it was useless against her.
Seeing her tactics were ineffective, Lian Hua covered her lips with the handkerchief, lowered her eyes, and with a flash of inspiration, changed her strategy, "Grandma, I didn’t eat much last night and am quite hungry now, but I have no appetite at all. Could this be harming the baby in my belly?"
Cough cough, she had eaten more at dinner last night than usual, though her portions were still smaller compared to those of Xiao Jizi and the others, alas.
At the mention of this, Nanny Qi was somewhat shaken. While she was determined to teach the girl manners and patience, she couldn’t starve the child in her womb; after all, she was still pregnant and looked delicate. She began to waver.
Seeing an opportunity, Lian Hua secretly rejoiced, quickly regaining her composure to continue her act, "Grandma Qi, otherwise, let’s just skip this breakfast. I really have no appetite; I should go back to bed and rest."
At this point, Nanny Qi found it hard to maintain her stance, knowing full well that the girl was withdrawing to advance, yet she couldn’t do anything about it, fearing that if they really argued, the girl would skip her meal completely, and that wouldn’t do at all.
But she still had to make things clear, speaking sternly, "I will sit down and accompany you for the meal then, but only this once. Master Lian must learn to dine alone in the future."
Lian Hua nodded repeatedly, extremely delighted, and said, "I will listen to Grandma. Once I get used to it later on, I won’t need to trouble you to accompany me."
But when she would get used to it—that was up to her to decide, hehe.
Having said that and fearing that Nanny Qi might change her mind, Lian Hua immediately called out, "Xiao Qing, Pang Ya, bring the meal prepared for Grandma Qi."
After saying this, she stood up with a smile, pulling out the chair next to her to invite Nanny Qi to sit down.
Nanny Qi had no choice but to sit down as she was prompted to.
When the meal was served, Nanny Qi was somewhat surprised; had the girl prepared this?
A bowl of soft yam and millet porridge, a bowl of tender tea eggs steamed, juicy meat-filled small steamed buns, accompanied by a few small dishes of crispy appetizers, all looked very appetizing.
Yuan Yuan, who served her, loved to eat and had strong tastes. Although she also catered to her appetites with a variety of dishes for breakfast, they never quite hit the spot, not quite suiting her palate.
As she was getting on in years, seeing Yuan Yuan’s efforts, she never said much and would eat whatever was prepared.
These plain porridge and simple dishes were certainly not something Yuan Yuan could have thought of pairing, it must have been prepared by this young girl.
She had originally thought that the young girl would go to great lengths to dine with her, procuring extravagant ingredients and making fancy meals to please her, but instead, it was just plain porridge and simple dishes.
It was precisely these few dishes of plain porridge that suited her taste.
Nanny Qi’s opinion of the young girl in front of her changed somewhat, though her face did not show it, and she ate the meal indifferently, not giving away whether she found it good or bad.
As Nanny Qi sat down to dine, Lian Hua also began to eat. Whenever she tasted something delicious, she really wanted to comment and offer others some more.
Since it was Nanny Qi’s first time dining with her, she didn’t want to frighten Nanny Qi or make her angry, as being angry while eating is not good, so she had to restrain herself and decided to wait for another time.
After finishing the meal, Lian Hua rinsed her mouth and wiped her face before she began to speak, "Grandma, how did you find the meal? Did you enjoy it?" After speaking, she looked at Nanny Qi with eyes like clear springs.
Nanny Qi, somewhat overwhelmed by her gaze, turned her head away and said indifferently, "It was passable."
The meal had indeed been very delicious, and dining with this young girl was enjoyable; watching her eat made her own meal seem tastier.
Usually, she and Yuan Yuan dined separately. Dining alone was not very interesting, but unexpectedly, dining with this young girl led her to eat more than she realized, finishing all the food that had been prepared for her.
This young girl also seemed good, not showing any extravagance or waste; she too had finished everything in front of her, which was indeed rare.
However, she must not fall for this young girl’s peaceful tactics; she feared it would be difficult to handle her later and keep her in check.
Lian Hua nodded her head, hearing this. Nanny Qi’s "passable" was the same as His Majesty’s "passable," and if His Majesty’s "passable" meant good, then Nanny Qi’s should be quite good too. She felt happy.
Nanny Qi did not know what was going on with the young girl in front of her. Despite her lukewarm attitude, why was she still smiling so sweetly at her? She couldn’t help feeling a bit helpless.
After the morning court, the Emperor returned to the Star Palace with a very poor expression and dismissed everyone present.
Once everyone had left, Cao De, appearing from nowhere, took a seat and nonchalantly crossed his legs.
The Emperor was furious inside; he had not expected this Imperial Censor, who had dared to provoke him, to be so bold.
He could accept that, disregarding established rules, this Imperial Censor had promoted someone from nowhere to the rank of Beauty. He could accept arguments that were unreasonable and rituals that were incorrect; he could even dismiss accusations of being delirious.
But he could not accept this shortsighted Imperial Censor calling his Little Concubine a bewitching consort aiming to bring chaos to the court like the Late Emperor’s Favored Concubine.
It was utterly absurd, quite frankly a load of rubbish!
His Little Concubine had led a life of hardship in the past, how could this fool know?
A meal was prepared with meticulous measurement, not wasting a single bit of food; how was that bringing disaster to the nation!
Whenever he took memorials to the Canglan Court for review, she would hardly dare to glance at the documents, and she was even more reticent in her daily life, hardly asking any superfluous questions; how was she bringing chaos to the court!
Bewitching consort, what a severe accusation, thought up by such a fool!