The Emperor felt a little better.
After praising herself, Lian Hua continued seriously flipping through the pages until she found a page with four characters and muttered, "A fair gentleman, meticulous as in cutting and polishing, intense and fierce, this sentence is almost right, just not the one I just mentioned, no good, no good, I need to search more, or just pick any sentence if I can’t find it."
What kind of talk was that, just picking any sentence? His Little Concubine really knew how to bluff, muddleheaded as if she hadn’t realized he was there, capable of being caught red-handed by him on the spot.
The Emperor listened with a cold sneer, his tone growing even colder, "Nannan really did put her heart into it."
Lian Hua humbly said in her spare time, "Where, where, to make His Majesty happy is my utmost duty."
She indeed exerted all her skills.
As they were talking, her eyes glanced at the characters on the notebook, Lian Hua excitedly exclaimed, "Found it!" and slapped the notebook, overly smug.
The Emperor frowned as he watched, feeling pain for her hands.
Looking at the notebook, Lian Hua turned around while reading with high spirits, "Tall as eight feet, unique in demeanour, solemn and robust, clear and bright in actions, dragon-like grace and phoenix-like poise, naturally gifted by heaven! It’s this sentence!"
The Emperor stretched his hand and lifted her chin, looking at her with a cool gaze, "I must also thank Nannan for taking such great pains to praise me."
"Oh, Your Majesty, you are listening."
Lian Hua followed his gaze, finally realizing the Emperor was there.
"Hmm, did Nannan say she wanted to pick a sentence to praise me?" the Emperor asked, squinting his eyes at her, his expression half smiling.
Now it depended on how she would explain it. If the explanation were poor, he wouldn’t mind giving her a hand in explaining.
"Exactly, Your Majesty, it’s all in here, I have found it." Lian Hua patted the notebook, stood up, and looked up at the Emperor with sparkling eyes, "Your Majesty, weren’t you asking how good-looking you are? Right now, you are just as this sentence describes."
As she spoke, she glanced at the notebook again, nodding to ensure she remembered it.
Her eyes left the notebook and looked back at the Emperor, showing a sweet smile and beginning to recite while nodding, "A fair gentleman, tall as eight feet, unique in demeanour, solemn and robust, clear and bright in actions, dragon-like grace and phoenix-like poise, naturally gifted by heaven, unmatched in the world."
Patching things together, she formed a sentence she was very satisfied with.
She was indeed talented!
After reciting, she lifted the corners of her mouth in a proud smile, blinking at the Emperor, waiting for his response.
At a loss for a response, his Little Concubine hadn’t even attempted to explain, oblivious to where she went wrong, audacious indeed...
To bluff him and expect praise in return, if indulged, where would the husband’s authority be?
Realizing this, the Emperor let out a cold chuckle, his eyes narrowing dangerously, confronting her bluff, "What were you thinking?"
"Ah?!" Not receiving the expected praise, Lian Hua felt a bit strange; His Majesty’s reaction was completely different from what she had anticipated, the implication in his eyes making her scalp tingle.
Could it be that His Majesty didn’t understand why she praised that sentence?
Thinking this, Lian Hua immediately declared without hesitation, "You look wonderful, truly fitting for this sentence!"
She feared any delay might cause His Majesty to misunderstand, which would be a great loss indeed.
The Emperor choked up, unable to refute. He thought she was deliberate, yet she had to flip through a notebook to compliment him. But then again, it indeed reflected her careful consideration and meticulous selection...
Alright, he would accept that she passed this test, her capital punishment could be temporarily spared, but the matter of her fooling him with half a notebook still needed to be addressed.
The Emperor held back, then continued, "Why did you copy these words into the notebook?"
"Oh..." His Majesty still hadn’t complimented her...
Lian Hua felt slightly disappointed, scratched her head with the notebook, and said despondently, "I have a poor memory. Whenever I encounter words that seem to describe you, I copy them down. I go through them from time to time so that when the moment is right, I can share them with you. Otherwise, I can only compliment your looks, praise you for being wonderful, but I can’t articulate it well enough to let you know my feelings."
Upon hearing this, the Emperor was taken aback for a moment, then he understood her meaning. A smile spread from the bottom of his heart, and his lips couldn’t help but curl up.
The meaning of his little concubine was that the words she copied into this notebook were all phrases that matched him, spoken only when the occasion was right.
He originally thought she was deceiving him, but it turned out he had wronged her.
Seeing that the Emperor’s reaction was still off, Lian Hua asked puzzledly, "What’s wrong, Your Majesty, didn’t I compliment you correctly?"
Shouldn’t he compliment her as well? After all, it had taken her an enormous amount of effort. Even if there was no merit, there was still the hard work.
The Emperor was overjoyed, the initial thought of punishing her evaporated. He couldn’t help but lean down and kiss her, "That’s right, Nanann has grown in knowledge, I am exceedingly pleased."
He felt that in this world, no one could be sweeter than his little concubine, too endearing for words.
"That so." Lian Hua smiled, showing her small white teeth.
Ah, the praise was not unearned. She loved it most when His Majesty complimented her intellect. He praised what she lacked, which was wonderful. This would give her even more motivation to keep copying.
Seeing her charming and adorable, the Emperor couldn’t help himself and kissed her twice more, causing her to beam with joy.
He was in an excellent mood and, feeling inspired, took the notebook she was holding, thumbed through it, and found many phrases she had prepared to praise him with, all of them genuine.
His little concubine only had eyes for him, which delighted him greatly. Xu Rong Ying’s attempt to sow discord was nothing but a pipe dream.
When he had time, he would draw a portrait of her to delight her.
Seeing the Emperor happy, Lian Hua felt more delighted than if she had received a compliment from a mentor.
It was the first time someone acknowledged her work, so she started enthusiastically explaining her notebook to the Emperor, turning to a page and discussing it.
Even if it was just reading a phrase aloud, both found great pleasure in it, one eager to recite, and the other eager to listen, perfectly harmonious.
In the forest, a young man with bright teeth and red lips, wearing a ragged hat that couldn’t hide his distinctive aura, sat on a large stone, legs crossed, with a stalk of wheat in his mouth and a map in his hand.
From afar, Chen Wei and Old Liu came running towards him. The young man raised his foxy eyes, glanced at them, and immediately said, "Stop, don’t move, answer from there."
Chen Wei and Old Liu halted, their chests tight, exchanging wry smiles.
The Ancestral Master was clearly showing his distaste for their smell and dirtiness, after all, their clothes were stolen from real beggars.
The Ancestral Master was too straightforward—they stink too!
However, they couldn’t help but admire the Ancestral Master’s foresight.