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Lian Hua saw that Hei Tan was about to go on and on again, seeking excuses to increase her medicine dosage, and quickly interrupted, "Alright, alright, ten doses it will be. I’ll take them, just stop talking, would you?" She feared if he continued, he might add even more.

After speaking, she just pursed her lips and dared not utter another word.

The Emperor, watching from the side, nearly burst out laughing. Hastily, he made a fist with his hand and placed it to his lips as a mask, yet the laughter in his eyes could not be concealed. It seemed she reacted like this when scolded by her teachers as well—obedient, timid, yet indignant.

Unexpectedly, Doctor Huang was actually able to handle her. This was indeed a pleasant surprise. In the future, he would choose Doctor Huang to take her Pulse of Peace. It seemed the Pulse of Peace was now in good hands.

The chief physician from the Imperial Medical Bureau, who usually treated him, had broken his leg recently due to the darkness and slippery path and had taken leave.

The Emperor was in good health and would only occasionally request a Pulse of Peace, so he allowed the chief physician to recover fully before returning.

Originally, he planned to wait for the chief physician from the Imperial Medical Bureau to return and continue taking her Pulse of Peace afterward, to put his mind at ease.

Now, it seemed there was a better option...

After giving all his instructions, the Emperor asked Lian Hua to wait in the inner chamber, as he had some questions for Doctor Huang and would be right back.

Lian Hua pouted. She found Hei Tan quite fearsome and didn’t want to lay another eye on him, let alone listen to his questions. It was better to wait for His Majesty to ask.

Once everyone had left the room, she couldn’t help but mutter under her breath, "Who needs to take so much medicine... Hei Tan’s face is dark, and so is his heart..."

Then, she became a bit curious. What would His Majesty ask Hei Tan? It must be about her, right? Otherwise, why not sneak over and eavesdrop a bit?

No sooner had she thought it than she acted, tiptoeing out of the Side Hall. She saw His Majesty and Hei Tan speaking softly not far away, and she tiptoed closer along the wall.

On the way, she passed by Zhang Qing. Steward Zhang acted as if he hadn’t seen anything, calmly closing his eyes halfway and folding his hands across his tummy, waiting for orders.

Lian Hua secretly nodded her approval. Steward Zhang was indeed loyal, though not very observant.

Xiao Linzi spotted her, about to shout, but was silenced by her stern look. She made a gesture of eating and then crossed her arms, which Xiao Linzi instantly understood and bowed his head, no longer daring to speak.

Xiao Jizi and Xiao Qing were her own people, so naturally, they also pretended not to see.

Ten or twenty steps away from the conversation, Lian Hua, fearing discovery, stopped behind a small tree to hide and listened with pricked ears, but could only vaguely hear something about "should not share a room" and "better... after a month," the rest she couldn’t make out.

She glanced in that direction, "Ah! His Majesty stands tall and graceful, with such an elegant demeanor. So handsome. This is her His Majesty, hehe."

Lian Hua watched and watched until she was mesmerized, then couldn’t help but let out a covert chuckle.

Just then, His Majesty coughed for some reason. Lian Hua quickly came to her senses, covered her mouth with a hand, and shrank further behind the little tree to continue hiding.

In the darkness of the night, Hei Tan really looked extremely black, blending perfectly with the night, with only his opening and closing mouth showing his white teeth, as if floating in the air, resembling a wandering spirit under the moonlight with a lantern, like the ghostly fires in a storybook, where the lantern and spirit flames are seen but not the person.

Hmm, Hei Tan does look like a tough character, Lian Hua silently remarked to herself.

The Emperor, who was a dozen steps away, had long since noticed his Little Concubine eavesdropping, and she even let out a laugh while listening, finally she tried to cover it up by clamping a hand over her mouth.

The Emperor found it a bit amusing; his Little Concubine was truly mischievous.

The small tree she was hiding behind was barely two fingers wide, a peach tree that had only been planted this summer.

They had planted it, saying that they wanted to eat peaches the next year; he didn’t know where she had dug it up from.

But no matter how slim her figure was, the small tree was simply insufficient to hide her.

It just so happened to be not far from a palace lantern, casting a skewed shadow in his direction. He had spotted her shadow the moment she arrived but didn’t make a sound. If she wanted to play, he would indulge her.

When she arrived, he stopped discussing the previous topic and only asked Doctor Huang about some taboos before dismissing him.

Huang Zude tried to contain his excitement. His Majesty had spoken to him alone and even said that he should regularly come to take Beauty Lian’s Pulse of Peace and that he must not mention the condition of her pulse to others. He repeatedly nodded in agreement.

He was very happy, as His Majesty regarded him with such importance. How should he express his gratitude? Offering pork incense, candles, and joss paper to his ancestors was the highest form of ritual in the Huang Family, but it seemed inadequate now. Should he renovate the ancestral graves?

After His Majesty dismissed him, Huang Zude left Canglan Court with one step and three looks back, reluctant to leave. Once outside Canglan Court, his excitement burst forth, and he couldn’t help but jog a little with a lantern in hand and a medicine box on his back, venting his excitement.

A Palace Attendant who saw him from a distance thought it was a wandering will-o’-the-wisp and ran away in fright, and by the next day, there were rumors that ghosts haunted the Imperial Garden at night.

It was unexpected that Lian Hua’s wild guesses turned out to be right, but that’s a story for another day. ..

After dismissing everyone, the Emperor’s lips curled up, and pretending not to see the actions of his Little Concubine, he walked straight back to the Side Hall.

Seeing that His Majesty had returned, Lian Hua’s playful spirit was aroused, and she stealthily followed behind His Majesty. Just as he entered the Side Hall, she tiptoed to his back, covered his eyes with her hands, and in a rough, disguised voice said, "Guess who I am?"

The Emperor was both amused and annoyed; this little rascal wasn’t tall enough and was clumsy in her mischief: her hands barely reached above his nose, her palms covering only half of his eyes, and she hadn’t even realized it.

Pretending to ponder deeply, the Emperor said with a hint of laughter, "Hmm, my little darling is still in the hall, certainly not her. Then who could it be?"

Lian Hua struggled to hold back a snicker, her hands trembling slightly as she cleared her throat and said in a rough voice, "Then who is it?"

The Emperor "hissed" in mock seriousness, "I have never heard this voice before, I cannot guess; I need to feel the bones to distinguish."

He started to pinch her hands and then moved along her hands to pinch her wrists, her jade arms, continuing up to pinch her shoulders.

Lian Hua tried to tolerate the tickling but couldn’t help asking, "Did you figure it out?" She would burst out laughing if he continued!

Thinking to himself that the little rascal had now forgotten to disguise her voice, the Emperor said straightforwardly, "Almost there, but I have to pinch a bit more.

" Saying this, he reached for her waist and just as he pinched once, the little troublemaker behind him could no longer hold back her laughter.

So ticklish, Lian Hua giggled uncontrollably, let go of her hands, and pleaded, "Your Majesty, please stop pinching." She laughed uncontrollably, leaning against the Emperor’s back.

"I can’t stop; I have not yet figured it out. How can I give up halfway?" said the Emperor, pinching her two more times.

Lian Hua couldn’t stand the tickling any longer and said in a coquettish manner, "It’s me, your little darling." She collapsed laughing onto the Emperor’s body.

The Emperor stopped, turned to look at her, feigning surprise, "It is my little darling? Weren’t you in the hall? When did you come out?"

Lian Hua’s smile froze, the tickling sensation was gone, and she didn’t feel like laughing anymore. "Erm..." Oh dear, how could she have forgotten that point, she was about to give herself away~