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The Emperor hadn’t noticed this himself, but upon hearing her mention it, he didn’t respond to her and began to recollect.

Lian Hua didn’t care whether His Majesty replied or not, the more she thought about it, the more it seemed true.

She shook the hand that was entwined with the Emperor’s and, leaning forward, turned to look at him with a smile that curved her eyes sweetly, "Your Majesty, you really are very good to me. "

Heh, she knew he was good to her. That little ingrate’s mouth was like it was smeared with honey, always able to make his mood bloom joyously.

The Emperor stopped walking, looked at her, and seeing her charming and adorable appearance, couldn’t help but stretch out his other large palm to pinch her chin, puckering her lips as he did so: "Walk properly."

"This—ha—can’t compete with you," Lian Hua said, her speech muffled as her face was pinched, but it didn’t stop her from smiling with upturned eyes.

With His Majesty leading her, what need was there to watch where she was going? It was enough for His Majesty to watch out for her.

The Emperor felt helpless; there was really no dealing with her, yet in his heart, he was pleased with her dependency.

Letting go of her, the Emperor touched the slight red mark he had pinched on her, it wasn’t a strong grip, just enough to make it slightly red, and seeing no harm, he began walking again.

Knowing she was restless, he purposely led her on a path that was smooth for her to walk on.

Lian Hua smiled joyfully, feeling as happy as a bird at that moment, her mouth not stopping as she spontaneously shared, "Your Majesty, I’ve found out that Sister has many skills."

The Emperor tightened his grip on her hand, "Sister?" When had an extra sister come into the picture, and how was he not aware of this?

Lian Hua tilted her head and said sweetly, "Sister Zhaoyi."

Oh, it was Xu Rongying.

But since when had she become so affectionately termed?

The Emperor’s heart tightened, but his hand gradually loosened its strength, casually asking, "What can she do?"

"She can do everything!" Lian Hua said with admiration, getting excited as she talked about this and beginning to list with her fingers raised, "She can play marbles, shoot arrows, ride horses, wield a sword, and even tell stories. Wow, Sister really knows a lot, and she does it all very well."

The Emperor had heard that Xu Rongying had given a box of Gem Marbles to Lian Hua, he had even seen Lian Hua play with them. Now, the first thing his Little Concubine mentioned was this, and the words "Idle pleasures breed idleness" almost left his lips, but he forced them back down.

Let it be, he didn’t want to dampen the mood. Aside from these idle hobbies, he could do the rest too.

He asked nonchalantly, "How about the stories I tell you? How are they?" Are they good or not!

She hadn’t had the chance to see those other skills yet, but he had told her stories.

He remembered several times she had been pregnant, unable to sleep at night due to bodily heat, and it was he who had told her stories to lull her to sleep.

"Ah..." Lian Hua was taken aback, not expecting His Majesty to ask her this question. Uh...how should she put it?

Her eyes started to flicker, and she became hesitant: "Uh, Your storytelling is very...very good." She had a feeling of going against her conscience as she said this.

The Emperor narrowed his eyes, turned his head to look at her, and asked in a cool tone, "Why hesitate so long?"

Good still hesitating so long, and her expression was off, this was just how she looked when she lied.

The Emperor was increasingly understanding of her now; she sticks out her butt, and he knows exactly how many spankings she owes.

Lian Hua struggled to find excuses to delay: "That, um, oh dear, Your Majesty, I was thinking about how to describe the story you told..."

"Have you thought of something now?" The Emperor’s tone became increasingly chilly.

Chilled to the bone, Lian Hua racked her brains and stammered: "The story you told, um, that..."

Balancing between pricking her conscience and telling the truth was very difficult.

His Majesty was so shrewd, and it was now not as easy to fool him as before. Without some convincing words, His Majesty would not believe her, oh dear.

Just as she noticed His Majesty’s gaze growing more dangerous, a flash of inspiration struck her, and she quickly said, "Your storytelling is so sleep-inducing! Right, that’s it! Thanks to Your grace, every time you tell a story, I sleep so soundly, Your Majesty, I owe it all to you!"

The Emperor thought it over, and indeed, the comment wasn’t bad; each time he told a story, Little Concubine slept particularly well.

With that thought, the Emperor couldn’t help but smile slightly, feeling satisfied in his heart.

In order to make his Little Concubine understand the profound truths of life, he chose his stories carefully, and even shared his insights.

If the child in her womb had any sense, it would know of Imperial Father’s earnest intentions.

He didn’t expect both mother and child to understand now, but if they could grasp even a sentence or two, that would be good enough.

Seeing his reaction, Lian Hua glanced away and quietly breathed a sigh of relief. That was close, she had bluffed her way through yet another encounter.

In her mind, His Majesty’s storytelling was beyond words, incomparable to Sister Zhaoyi, who was in a class of her own.

Sister Zhaoyi’s voice had rhythm and cadence, turning a story into a rollercoaster of suspense and excitement that was very satisfying and interesting to listen to.

As for His Majesty, well, his tone was monotonous and lacked any ups and downs—more tedious than when her School Teacher spoke in her childhood.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that it was even more sleep-inducing than when her School Teacher read—because her School Teacher liked to nod and shake his head, and she would follow along, which kept her somewhat alert.

As a child, she often thought that the School Teacher’s head-shaking while reading was to prevent himself from falling asleep, so he had to keep moving to stay awake.

His Majesty was so dignified and graceful, there was no nodding or head-shaking.

He would start telling his stories with a sparse and ordinary inflection, as if discussing an everyday meal.

Lying in bed, nestled in his embrace, she would fall asleep no matter how awake she felt after listening for just a short while.

And what were the stories His Majesty told about? They were about the fallen kings from history that brought about their own ruin, the three thousand tales of sages, and then he would summarize the morals, cautioning and imparting lessons and insights.

Uh, she was just a woman, no need to be involved in state affairs, so those stories were of no use to her.

In her daily life, taking care of herself and her own people was already challenging enough; matters more difficult than that could be left to His Majesty to deal with.

The summarizing of lessons was something she initially wasn’t aware of, as she never managed to last until the end of His Majesty’s stories.

It was only during one occasion when she was half-asleep and was awoken by the urge to urinate, she overheard him apparently finishing a story and summarizing on his own.

That was when she realized that His Majesty truly was a wise ruler, alerting himself even while telling stories. Such loneliness in his high position was truly touching.

Feeling sad for him, she regretted not staying awake to listen to His Majesty finish his stories.

But as much as she thought this, the next time His Majesty told a story, she still couldn’t resist falling asleep, and eventually, she simply gave up struggling. It was sinful, but she would just have to let His Majesty feel lonely.

These were things that His Majesty must never know, or else he would certainly display his wrath.