57: Chapter 57: Eyes Filled with Hatred 57: Chapter 57: Eyes Filled with Hatred Lian Hua was stunned for a moment; before she could react, her handkerchief had already been taken away.
She always felt that His Majesty was somewhat in a hurry.
The Emperor straightened his expression and said, “Alright, let it be.
I still need to review the memorials brought back.
Just do whatever you want to do.”
With that, he turned and walked to his personal desk, closing the topic.
He feared if she remembered something else to reclaim, whether he would return it or not could put him, the majestic Emperor, in an awkward position.
“Oh.” Lian Hua scratched her head, feeling quite perplexed.
The handkerchief was originally for His Majesty, so taking it wasn’t a big deal, but it seemed like His Majesty didn’t wish to continue this topic, which puzzled her.
If she couldn’t understand, then she wouldn’t think about it.
Today, she would practice her calligraphy.
Her handwriting had been improving greatly—even His Majesty had said she was making rapid progress, humph.
She should also pick up a couple of books on poetry to brush up on her ink usage.
Thinking of poetry, she scratched her head, her face so distressed that it looked like she could wring water from it.
It was just too hard.
How could anyone think of such a thing as poetry, which couldn’t be eaten and came with so many rules and restrictions?
It was driving her mad!
Should she just give up in despair?
Oh, never mind, never mind, that would be too embarrassing.
Should she just give it another go?
While Lian Hua was entangled in her thoughts, the Emperor displayed a mysterious smile on his face.
Now he could boldly use the handkerchief she gave him, and no need to hide anything anymore,
Afterward, the two continued their separate tasks; the Emperor resumed his usual review of the memorials, and Lian Hua began to concentrate on practicing her calligraphy.
In a palace far away,
A mournful wail of complaint echoed, “Nanny, may I eat a bit later?”
The unemotional face of the nanny in front of her responded, “Consort, you have been delaying from dinner time until now.
Whether you eat early or late, you have to eat.
This servant advises you to eat sooner for your own good and so I can report back, and it would be better for your complexion.”
The nanny in front of her was appointed by the Noble Consort specifically to supervise Beauty Li, who was being punished.
The one wailing was the punished Beauty Li, before her was a bowl of golden coarse rice.
The Punishment Matron was already impatient.
It was just a bowl of Golden Meal; the punishment was considered very light.
Yet here was the consort, making all kinds of excuses, wailing and trying to weasel her way out.
“But Nanny, I really can’t swallow it; this Golden Meal is so unpalatable.
Even beasts would not eat it, so please, would you pretend I have eaten it?” Beauty Li pleaded.
Today, after she returned from the Noble Consort, her lunch had been appointed as Golden Meal, attended by the Punishment Matron specially in charge of supervising and administering punishment.
She had thought that it was just a bowl of rice with such a nice sounding name and didn’t think much of eating it, but after one bite she realized how unpalatable it was, as coarse as swallowing sand.
Having been pampered and fed the finest foods from a young age, she had never endured such hardship.
After just one bite, she spat it out, was scolded severely, and had her lunch increased to two bowls, forced to eat them all, leaving her stomach bloated and her throat as if scraped raw, a fate worse than death.
“Consort, be cautious with your words.
The Golden Meal used to be the common folk’s staple diet.
You should empathize with their hardship.
From now on, think more and be careful with your words and actions.
This is also the Noble Consort’s stern kindness for your guidance,” the Punishment Matron said coldly, unmoved.
“At Huaqing Palace, I didn’t know how hard it was to swallow the Golden Meal.
If I had known, I definitely would have implored the Noble Consort to consider a different method of discipline,” Beauty Li said with tears in her eyes and a sorrowful voice.
If only she had known, she wouldn’t have agreed so readily, would she?
But could she refuse?
The Punishment Matron sneered inwardly.
She did not know whether to call Beauty Li naive or stupid.
To think she could ask for a different punishment as if she were the Noble Consort herself, able to request a replacement.
Mere punishment, and she wailed as if her mother had died—truly unaware of her blessings.
Running out of patience, the Punishment Matron coldly said, “Since that is the case, this servant shall take leave and return to the Noble Consort to report that you wish for Her Highness to change the punishment.”
After saying this and bowing, she turned to walk out the door.
With eyes full of terror, Beauty Li halted her tear-wiping and did not want to face the wrath of the Noble Consort again.
She only said so offhandedly; if the Nanny actually went back with those words and got something even harsher, what then?
It was not that she was always rash, she was not completely ignorant.
Hastily, she walked quickly forward, blocking the Punishment Matron, and grabbed her hand, saying, “Nanny, do not go, do not go, I will eat it.”
Once she was sure the Punishment Matron wouldn’t leave, she returned to the table where the Golden Meal was set, picked up her chopsticks, lifted a mouthful of rice, and put it in her mouth, speaking while she ate, “Hm, hm, see, I am eating, hmm…”
She struggled to swallow a spoonful, then grabbed the tea cup beside her and gulped a mouthful of tea down to flush the harsh food down her throat.
The Punishment Matron sneered and said, “It would have been fine if Her Highness had done this earlier, wouldn’t it?
This servant has told you, eating earlier is still eating, eating late is still eating, and eating earlier could have preserved your dignity.
She couldn’t very well continue what came after otherwise, for the Punishment Matron had her own means of forcing compliance.
Beauty Li sat in front of the window, her palace maid nonstop patting her back and soothing her.
In her right hand, she was holding her throat, staring blankly, seemingly still choked by the Golden Meal, haunted by the memory of having to eat it for two more days, feeling like life was worse than death.
Thinking of the instigator of this disaster, Beauty Li’s eyes filled with hatred as she vehemently said, “It’s all that Daying Lian’s fault.
I swear, I will never let her go.”
The little palace maid beside her trembled with fear, deeply frightened by Beauty Li’s look.
It was supposed to be Nanny Sun and Sister Dong Mei’s night to attend, but fearing to be an eyesore in front of Beauty Li, Nanny Sun had gone to recover from an injury, and Dong Mei also excused herself to look after Nanny Sun, leaving her alone for the night shift.
As the night deepened, the Emperor had finished reviewing the memorials and had dismissed his attendants after putting everything in order.
Moving towards Lian Hua, who was concentrating on practicing her calligraphy, he watched for a while, then could not stand idly by anymore.
He walked behind her, wrapping his arms around her, with his left hand around her waist and his right hand guiding her hand in calligraphy instruction.
Lian Hua, snapping back to reality, turned to look at him, “Your Majesty?”
The Emperor tightened his left arm around her to keep her from moving and said, “Don’t move, follow me in practice.
Your wrist doesn’t have enough strength, making your writing shaky and the strokes not smooth.
Now follow me, and see how to apply force.”
Lian Hua nodded, then focused back on the paper on the desk.
The Emperor, with his large hand enveloping hers, wrote several characters powerfully on the paper, and after finishing, he asked her, “Did you feel that clearly?”
Lian Hua nodded, then shook her head and said, “My lord, your writing is vigorous and clean.
But I don’t understand how I can make my wrist stronger when writing.
I’ve tried using more force, but it only made my characters bunch up and they were unacceptable.”