Page 114

In Canglan Court.

The Emperor was reviewing memorials in the small hall, the table was too cramped, it looked incredibly awkward.

Not wanting to disturb the sleep of his Little Concubine, he didn’t have his belongings moved to the inner chamber but made do in the small hall instead.

While reviewing the memorials, he occasionally turned to look through the Moon Gate and could vaguely see through the curtains to the person sound asleep in bed.

The child she carried was his Imperial Son; in a few months, the child would be born crying into the world, and he would have someone connected to him by blood.

Thinking of this warmed his heart. Having someone to care for in this world felt so good; he had never experienced such a feeling before. Fortunately, he met his Little Concubine, who brought him the feeling of kinship.

This Side Hall was too small, the Main Hall should be renovated. Once the renovation was done, it wouldn’t be as cramped as it was now.

After the renovation, besides the bedroom, a few more areas had to be sectioned:

One as a dining hall for meals;

Another as a study to place his desk, and he would need to set up another table and chairs for the Little Concubine so she could practice writing or embroider by his side, and add a small cot for her to rest when she felt sleepy;

There should also be a separate room for when the Imperial Son was born, making it convenient for the nurse to take care of him.

Winter was approaching, and this matter needed to be handled quickly; the entire Main Hall required underfloor heating...

While approving some unimportant memorials of greeting, the Emperor was secretly planning.

Lian Hua, who was asleep in the bed, woke up feeling rested. She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and looked around; His Majesty was not there.

She clearly remembered him being there before she fell asleep; where had he gone?

Not seeing His Majesty made her feel uneasy, always afraid that what happened before was just a dream.

Unable to resist, she got up, lifted the curtains, and stepped barefoot onto the floor.

Hearing the noise, the Emperor looked toward the inner chamber and saw Lian Hua stepping barefoot onto the floor, which furrowed his brow. Putting down his vermillion brush, he stood up and quickly walked over:

"The floor is cold; why did you step down barefoot?" What if you catch a cold.

Hearing His Majesty’s voice, Lian Hua looked up and let out a surprised "Ah," running a few steps like a swallow returning to its nest and throwing herself into His Majesty’s embrace, her voice soft as she said, "Your Majesty, I just didn’t see you, and was in a hurry to find you."

The Emperor held her in a full embrace, and hearing her words, he felt very sweet inside, but he said, "Be careful, take care of yourself."

Lian Hua stuck out her tongue while nestled in his arms and clung to his neck, unwilling to let go.

The Emperor had no choice but to carry her back to the bedside, let her sit on the bed, and hang the curtains on both sides.

Then, he knelt down, took her delicate feet in his hands, and started putting on her shoes, one foot at a time, while asking, "Are you hungry? I have arranged for some snacks."

Lian Hua felt blissful and sweet inside. The other bare foot, which was still without a shoe, couldn’t help but wriggle, and as she wiggled, she said, "Eh, Your Majesty, how did you know I was hungry? I want to eat a lot of things."

While one shoe was on, the other bare foot continued to wriggle.

She eyed His Majesty with a bit of slyness; she was wriggling on purpose, not wanting him to catch it.

The Emperor smiled; his Little Concubine was truly lively and adorable!

Her mouth curved into a smile, she involuntarily bit her lip, and her eyes sparkled as she looked at the Emperor. Her little foot kept wiggling as if to say, "come catch me."

The corners of the Emperor’s mouth held a smile as he watched her, letting her wriggle. After a while, he spotted the right moment with the corner of his eye and grabbed her wriggling, soft little foot, commenting, "Naughty."

After saying that, he started to tickle the soles of her feet.

She burst into giggles, propping herself up on the bed with both hands and begging for mercy continuously, "Haha, it’s so ticklish, Your Majesty, I won’t wriggle anymore, please let me go, haha, stop, haha..." She laughed until tears came out.

After a while, the Emperor finally stopped teasing her and helped her put on her shoes and socks. He tried to pull her up gently but she didn’t budge an inch.

The Emperor looked at her and raised his eyebrows, wondering if she still wanted to play?

Lian Hua looked up at His Majesty with her eyes glistening and wet, whining softly, "Oh, His Majesty just tickled this servant’s feet for so long, and this servant laughed until my stomach hurt. Now I can’t get up."

Humph, after he tickled her for such a long time, she didn’t want to get up that easily.

Once the Emperor heard her, he felt sorry for her. She was pregnant, and he had been thoughtlessly frivolous. He quickly sat on the edge of the bed, turned to her, and asked with concern where she felt uncomfortable.

He felt her belly over the clothes to check for discomfort and even wanted to lift her garments to examine her.

Lian Hua felt extremely embarrassed. Oh no, His Majesty seemed to have taken her seriously, and she had overplayed her act. What should she do?

Quickly, she pressed down His Majesty’s hand and shook her head, indicating she was fine.

But His Majesty didn’t believe her. She explained once more, yet His Majesty still wouldn’t accept it.

His Majesty wore a face full of concern, straightened her clothing for her and called out for someone to enter, insisting an Imperial Physician examine her without delay.

Lian Hua was completely puzzled, staring blankly on the spot. This wasn’t how the script was supposed to go—shouldn’t His Majesty be coaxing her to get up?

She had hoped His Majesty would coax her a few words, then after a little bit of whining, she could conveniently stand up.

But how... did it end up summoning the Imperial Physician?

Did she... shoot herself in the foot?

In fact, the Emperor had realized from the start that she was pretending, but also worried she might actually be hurt. After asking her a few questions and seeing her evasive gaze, he understood his Little Concubine was just being coy, though he didn’t show it.

Now that the Imperial Physician had been waiting outside all along and he didn’t know how to explain it to her, afraid she would resist. This unexpected situation provided a perfect pretext to have her pulse taken.

As she had conveniently presented herself, it was like sleep coming upon one who had found a pillow. The Emperor was secretly pleased with himself and went with the flow...

Lian Hua stared blankly as Zhang Qing brought in a man with dark facial features. Zhang Qing performed a courtesy and introduced him to her as Doctor Huang.

Before entering the palace, Huang Zude had been honing his medical skills by going out daily, which resulted in his dark complexion, making him look very black.

Lian Hua was still trying to collect her thoughts as she sat bewildered at His Majesty’s beckoning on the dressing stool, extended her hand onto the dressing table, covered it with a handkerchief, and let the Imperial Physician begin taking her pulse.

After taking her pulse, the dark-skinned Hei Tan asked her seriously a few questions:

"His Majesty just mentioned the Young Master is feeling discomfort in the stomach, may I know where exactly you feel uncomfortable?"

She shook her head and whispered that there was no discomfort.

"Then, does the Young Master experience discomfort elsewhere, like a headache perhaps?"

She shook her head again, denying any discomfort.

"In that case..." The Hei Tan in front of her stroked his chin, pondering.

She started to become nervous. Surely he wouldn’t prescribe her medicine?

Somewhat anxious, the Emperor asked, "Doctor Huang, is there any problem?" His expression suggested he feared the worst...

Huang Zude hesitated, shaking his head. He couldn’t be certain, but advised, "The Imperial Son in the Young Master’s womb seems to be well. However, it is crucial to avoid extreme emotions and be particularly careful with diet and daily routines." With that, he stood and moved aside.

He was a man of medical ethics. He wouldn’t make unfounded statements. What if he was mistaken? Besides, there seemed to be nothing seriously wrong at the moment, but he still needed to review the medical textbooks at home and discuss further with his father.