Page 420

He hurriedly embraced her and patted her back, whispering words of comfort, "Good girl, don’t be afraid. Doctor Huang has no ill intentions. Be good, Nannan. If you are scared, I will tell him not to smile, that’s all."

After saying this, he spoke to Huang Zude, "Doctor Huang, when asking and examining, make sure not to smile, lest it scares her."

Huang Zude had merely intended to appear friendly; he never imagined that his normally stern and fierce appearance had not frightened this master, but now that he had softened a bit, it ironically caused alarm.

Now that His Majesty said his smile was frightening, it indeed must have been truly frightening. His heart experienced a downpour of sorrow, and after deeply reflecting on his pain, he resolved to never smile again during consultations in the future.

As a consequence of this incident, for the decades to come in his medical career, whenever he treated someone, he never smiled again. Because of his exceptional medical skills, people came to call him "Iron-faced Divine Hand," his diagnostic pulse readings never missing the mark.

Nanny Qi also got up and came over, beginning a relentless effort to soothe her. Zhang Qing, Xiao Jizi, and others joined in the persuasion.

After a good deal of cajoling by everyone in the hall, they finally realized that Huang Zude’s smile had caused Lian Hua to mistakenly think she had an ailment that would require medication, which frightened her.

This left everyone not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Eventually, she calmed down amidst the Emperor’s soothing whispers, Huang Zude’s repeated assurances that his smile held no other meaning, and with Chu Yuanzheng following up with his support.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The Emperor felt both pity and love; his Little Concubine’s frailty when upset made her impossible to reason with. He had a profound understanding of this, having not seen this side of her for a long while, which made him cherish her all the more.

But the necessary procedures could not be skipped.

Concerned that she might be too embarrassed afterward, the Emperor asked Nanny Qi to go back to rest, leaving only Huang Zude.

After dismissing the others, he half-embraced her, which made her somewhat more compliant, finally willing to have her pulse taken as usual.

Lian Hua felt both ashamed and flustered, having forgotten that it was not just she and His Majesty in the room. Upon realizing this, she discovered to her dismay that she had made quite an embarrassing scene.

She did not want to look at Charcoal Head, so she just extended her right hand and turned her head to lean on the Emperor.

This time, when Huang Zude took her pulse, he dared not laugh; otherwise, what could have been a procedure done in less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea would have dragged on for half an hour.

This master was indeed too delicate; only His Majesty would have such patience to console her, truly admirable.

He stroked his chin and began to take her pulse again; as soon as he felt the pulse, he entered his element.

Lian Hua sensed someone touching her wrist to take her pulse and nervously moved.

Deep in pulse diagnosis, Huang Zude frowned and sternly said, as usual, "Master Lian, don’t move. If you stir, this humble servant might easily read your pulse incorrectly. Without any illness, you might end up diagnosed with one and wrongfully have to take medicine."

There it was again, Charcoal Head trying to scare her.

Lian Hua slightly turned her head to peek at Huang Zude, noticing the familiar deep wrinkles between his brows, as daunting as ever, and she felt reassured at last.

This was normal; the earlier smiling Charcoal Head had been truly terrifying.

Now that Lian Hua felt at ease, she slightly moved away from the Emperor’s embrace and was even willing to look at Huang Zude.

Those in attendance were astonished by this turn of events. Could this really work?

Especially the Emperor, who thought his Little Concubine was truly unique, to be reassured only by the Imperial Physician’s reprimand.

This time, the examination went smoothly. Huang Zude quickly finished taking her pulse and then proceeded to examine a few major acupoints together with Chu Yuanzheng.

Finally, I followed the usual practice and said a few words, "Last time I took your Pulse of Peace, I felt your body was a bit dry, so I had you drink Chrysanthemum Honey Water. Now there’s some improvement.

You can continue to use the Chrysanthemum Honey Water, but you should still avoid things that are very drying.

If you get too dry, it could cause fetal ’heat’, and then, I would have to prescribe you medicine. Please remember this."

Lian Hua was somewhat pleased, there weren’t any problems this time, even though Charcoal Head still tried to scare her at the end, but this time she was very happy.

She obediently replied in a quiet voice, "Understood, Nanny is watching me, I can’t eat anything I shouldn’t."

Why must it depend on Nanny Qi to keep an eye for it to work? What about self-discipline?

Huang Zude strongly disapproved of relying on others to enforce treatment, so his face set in a stern expression as he said, "You should be conscious of it yourself!"

Lian Hua pouted, feeling that even saying she couldn’t eat anything she shouldn’t was not accepted; this Charcoal Head was too annoying.

She couldn’t help but huff, "Alright, alright, I understand."

Only then did Huang Zude let it go, stood up, bowed, and took his leave.

Their back-and-forth left the Emperor both amused and heartbroken, his Little Concubine was truly pitiful, softening his heart completely.

This pulse examination, finally, could be considered concluded.

When only the Emperor and Lian Hua were left in the hall, the Emperor couldn’t help but pick up Lian Hua and take her to the inner room, sitting her on his lap and hugging her, kissing her again and again, gently coaxing her until she laughed.

She came around quickly, and just as quickly, she was back to normal, placing the Emperor’s hand on her belly, "Your Majesty, touch it, isn’t it much rounder?"

She felt the baby inside her growing so quickly, suddenly bulging out, which was fascinating and brought an inexplicable joy.

"Mmm, it’s rounder." The Emperor felt the swell under his hand; it was truly much larger than before. Now with both mother and child in his arms, his heart was completely full.

Lian Hua agreed wholeheartedly, "Indeed, lately I’ve been eating more than usual, one portion for me, and the extra is for the baby. Looking at it this way, not a single bite has been wasted."

The Emperor knew that the appetite of someone pregnant would be much larger than usual. Listening to her amusing explanation, his large hand caressed her abdomen, feeling the joy of nurturing a new life.

He praised her with a sentence, "Mmm, the Imperial Son is very good, and his Imperial Consort Mother is good too, both are eating their meals well, staying healthy."

Lian Hua’s smile beamed brilliantly, "His Majesty, it is his mother who is being good. He hasn’t come out yet; it’s his mother who is eating for him."

"Right, my Nannan is the best behaved."

Lian Hua’s eyes crinkled with joy as she touched her own belly, murmuring to herself, "In the past, if I overate, my belly would bulge, but it would go down as soon as I got hungry. But with a little baby, it won’t go down, so it seems like nothing I eat goes to waste.

Having a baby is a good bargain, don’t you think, Your Majesty? "

The Emperor’s eyes were full of tender amusement, knowing her passion for thrift had kicked in again. He indulged her with a kiss, asking, "Hungry? Do you want some snacks?"

Lian Hua wrapped her arms around the Emperor’s neck, smiling and shaking her head, "Not hungry yet, don’t really feel like eating. Right now, I just want to talk with you, talking with Your Majesty makes me happy, very happy."

The Emperor felt content in his heart; his Little Concubine was so sweet.

Suddenly, Lian Hua remembered something, and, leaning on the Emperor, she looked outside, whispering, "Your Majesty, I think Nanny and Chief Steward Zhang have a secret, a big secret."

She had forgotten to mention it earlier, but after seeing Chief Steward Zhang and Nanny Qi together again, she remembered she hadn’t told His Majesty yet.

"Oh? What kind of secret?" The Emperor inquired, following her lead.