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Across from the table stood two Imperial Physicians, waiting for the Emperor and Lian Hua to be seated, ready to take their pulses.

Before preparing for the pulse diagnosis, she took out her handkerchief, reached for His Majesty’s hand, "Your Majesty, let me wipe it for you first, you’ve sweated quite a lot just now."

Even her hand was sweaty, she hadn’t expected His Majesty to be so nervous; the strength of his grip on her was getting stronger and stronger.

It turned out His Majesty was also afraid of seeing the Imperial Physician, hehe, it seemed she had discovered a little secret of his.

Knowing that His Majesty was afraid, she felt as if she had become much braver, and she was not so afraid anymore.

The Emperor gently went along with her movements, contemplating in his heart what he should do next.

His heart was reluctant, yet he couldn’t refrain from taking action, the best method was to prevent her from noticing, that way she wouldn’t be so scared, but there was no such method, after all, she was conscious and very astute, anything slightly amiss would be detected by her.

Once finished wiping, Lian Hua’s mouth corners quirked up, and she winked at the Emperor, meaning that she would keep this secret for His Majesty; it was their shared secret.

With matters on his mind, the Emperor was somewhat surprised by her behavior and couldn’t understand, failing to grasp her meaning.

Everything was ready, and the hands of both the Emperor and Lian Hua were simultaneously placed on the diagnostic cushion.

The Emperor spoke, inviting the two Imperial Physicians to sit.

Lian Hua saw Huang Zude step forward with a bow, coming closer and closer to her and about to sit down, when suddenly her heart lurched with panic. She called out, "Wait a moment."

The people in the room instantly all turned to look at her.

Huang Zude’s eyebrows began to furrow, and it was happening again; this master always had to do this, almost every time, forcing him to sternly utter a thing or two before she would comply and allow the pulse to be taken.

It seemed as though she listened, but the next time it would be the same; she never changed.

Nanny Qi had anticipated this and was no longer surprised. What young miss didn’t make a fuss at pulse readings? If she didn’t, then she wouldn’t be a young miss.

Speaking of which, it was quite amusing; each time the Pulse of Peace was requested, when it was her turn, the young miss dawdled significantly.

Either she’d use hunger as an excuse, saying she needed something to eat before proceeding, or she’d create some commotion to watch, stubbornly hanging on, each time with a different pretext.

In any case, it was but harmless fun, and she was happy to let her be – whenever it was nearly time, she would join Doctor Huang in gently persuading her. In the end, she would always take the reading; there was no need for more words, the young miss was very clear about it in her own mind.

If this were the past, she would certainly have reprimanded her, but not anymore. Living in Canglan Court for these days, even her temper had softened considerably, and she had become much more open-minded, all thanks to the young miss.

She hadn’t expected that today the Emperor would be the same.

The Emperor frowned slightly and turned his head to look at Lian Hua. Was there a problem already, at the very start? What would he do afterwards!

He spoke, "Nannan, what’s the matter?"

Seeing everyone staring at her, Lian Hua’s eyes began to shift evasively, and her hand hesitated, wanting to retract but feeling inappropriate to do so in the presence of His Majesty. She had just boldly claimed she would be obedient, and now, all of a sudden...

Only when the moment arrived did she realize how difficult it was.

Hearing the Emperor ask her, she began to stammer, "Your... Your Majesty, I, I..."

The Emperor couldn’t help but reach out to touch her head, to comfort her, "Nannan, be good, don’t be afraid, I am here."

Looking into the Emperor’s eyes, the turmoil in her heart eased somewhat.

She turned her head back around, looking at Huang Zude, giving herself a silent pep talk, just as she was about to say she was ready, she caught a glimpse of the kind old uncle beside her out of the corner of her eye, her thoughts whirling rapidly, a spark of inspiration struck her.

She immediately turned her head towards the Emperor and asked eagerly, "Your Majesty, may I ask this Imperial Physician to take my Pulse of Peace?"

This old gentleman seemed much more pleasing to the eye than Charcoal Head, so it should be fine to let this old gentleman take the Pulse of Peace, right? Then there would be no need for this Charcoal Head, right?

Lian Hua felt that her mind had never been so bright; she was extremely pleased with her idea, thinking it was ingenious. Anyway, the pulse had to be taken, so she could choose someone pleasing to the eye!

The Emperor was at first startled, then couldn’t help but burst into laughter. His Little Concubine was too adorable—how should he deal with her? How could she constantly find a way into his heart?

He had been considering how to broach the subject, how to convince her to accept the pulse diagnosis from the head of the Imperial Medical Bureau. Before he could come up with a plan, she had offered herself right up.

Seeing that the Emperor smiled without speaking, Lian Hua could not help but act pitifully charming and coquettishly asked, "My Lord, would that be alright?"

As she spoke, she reached for the Emperor’s sleeve and gave it a tug, even in front of so many people, she went all out.

He nodded with a smile, inadvertently making eye contact with Nanny Qi, and the two shared an unspoken understanding.

Nanny Qi thought to herself, the young miss has hit the mark again, alas...

Lian Hua’s eyes crinkled with a smile; she knew that His Majesty treated her well.

Fearing he might retract his permission, and worried that Huang Zude might sit in front of her, she commanded with an air of triumph, "Charcoal Head, you go take His Majesty’s pulse, and this uncle can take mine."

And so it was settled!

Huang Zude had an inkling that the young mistress was up to mischief yet again, and sure enough, she refused to let him take the pulse right in front of him. No matter, he did not take it to heart; he wasn’t about to start petty arguments with a child.

But what he absolutely hadn’t expected was for fortune to fall from the sky the very next moment, leaving him feeling a bit dizzy—it was his turn to take His Majesty’s pulse!

Huang Zude was overjoyed, trembling slightly with excitement as he bowed and said, "Yes, thank you Master Lian, I will certainly do my utmost."

He had never imagined that in his lifetime he would have the opportunity to personally take His Majesty’s pulse—truly a blessing from Master Lian, which made him also look at Lian Hua with favor.

Lian Hua’s face beamed with a smile, and she generously waved her hand, "Off you go, then."

Such harmony between the two had never been witnessed before, leaving Xiao Jizi and the others utterly astonished.

Their mistress and Imperial Doctor Huang naturally clashed, typically seen with faces set in a grimace or puffing out their cheeks in annoyance; whenever they interacted, it never ended with a pleasant expression.

It left them all stunned.

Typically, during the routine Pulse of Peace, the Emperor was absent.

His only few recollections were from when his Little Concubine was first found to be with child and the time when she saw mushy winter melon soup and retched from morning sickness.

Thus, he was unaware of the situation when Lian Hua had her Pulse of Peace taken.

Occasionally he heard his Little Concubine grumbling about not wanting to see Doctor Huang, saying Doctor Huang had a dark face and an even darker heart, always scaring her.

Whenever he asked what exactly scared her, she would stutter and could not explain, so every time he would coax her first, then state the logic after soothing her.

He never expected that merely changing the person would make his Little Concubine so proactive; it was both laughable and touching.

After Lian Hua waved Doctor Huang off, she beckoned to Chu Yuanzheng with a gesture, very proactively and consciously extending her right hand back onto the consultation cushion, saying, "Imperial Physician Uncle, please."

"Yes, I shall be so bold," Chu Yuanzheng replied as he bowed, switched places with Huang Zude, lifted his robe to sit down in front of Lian Hua, and began the pulse diagnosis.

He didn’t see anything amiss since the Emperor had sent him for this precise purpose—to diagnose Beauty Lian.