Page 472

She flashed a cunning smile and denied, "No way, haha, how could I have any trick up my sleeve?"

How could she tell His Majesty such a thing!

The Emperor’s eyebrows lifted, clearly not convinced.

Lian Hua couldn’t help but pout and act coquettishly, shaking his hand, "Your Majesty, my thoughts have always been on you. Seeing you, how could I have the time to think up any tricks? You can’t say that about me."

The Emperor loved to hear these words; his Little Concubine always had such a sweet smile for him, always just like this, her sweet almond-shaped eyes only for him.

He silently added, well, and food...

Thinking it over, it still wasn’t quite accurate. Before, whenever there was food, her eyes would be full of it, but now, even when there’s food, though her eyes may be fixed on it, her heart is intent on sharing it with him. So, in the end, it’s still only him.

Seeing Lian Hua’s pouted lips, the Emperor felt an itch in his heart and wrapped one arm around her waist, leaning over to coax her softly, "Nannan speaks the truth. I have also been thinking of you all along."

The voice was gentle, like a feather brushing across Lian Hua’s heart.

The Emperor then kissed her.

Lian Hua couldn’t help but smile, her heart turning sweet. She felt especially happy with His Majesty’s kiss tonight, extremely...uh, extremely fond of it. She wanted more.

But the moment she thought that, her cheeks began to heat up, growing hotter and hotter, seemingly turning red.

She quickly bit her lip and lowered her head, her face burning, while her heart lingered on His Majesty’s kiss...

The Emperor was greatly surprised, "Why are Nannan’s ear tips red?"

He reached out to touch her cute ear tips, finding them warm, and was utterly astonished.

He hadn’t said anything particular just now, let alone done something outrageous. He’d merely kissed her once, so why had her face turned red all the way to her ears?

When it was just the two of them, such sweet nothings had been exchanged plenty of times.

His Little Concubine had gone from the initial shyness to taking it in stride, to even starting to reciprocate, becoming bolder and sweeter by the day.

Such sweet nothings were no longer enough to make her blush unless he said something even more intimate.

And he had only kissed her pouted lips just now, not doing anything else, so how had it caused her ear tips to turn red?

He wanted to know the reason. She was too cute like this, stirring an uncontrollable restlessness in him.

Lian Hua began to feel shy, unconsciously tugging at the hem of the Emperor’s robe. She...she really liked the way His Majesty was just now, very much.

But how was she to say it...

In her heart, she both wanted more and was afraid of the embarrassment.

The Emperor couldn’t help but move closer to her, brushing his lips gently against the tip of her ear, which tickled her; his breath whispered in her ear, his voice warm and tempting, "Nannan, can you tell me, please?"

His voice was magnetic and slightly hoarse.

Lian Hua’s heart trembled, unable to hold back, she whispered a confession, "It’s...it’s not enough..."

The Emperor was taken aback. What wasn’t enough?

Lian Hua lifted her head slightly, and His Majesty’s handsome face was right before her eyes. Seeing that His Majesty hadn’t understood her meaning, she felt a mix of shyness and annoyance, stamped her foot, pouted, and repeated, "Just, just that wasn’t enough."

The Emperor, eyeing her enticing red lips, immediately grasped her meaning, his heart skipping a beat, and he kissed her as she desired.

Lian Hua blushed and responded.

This time, the two of them kissed passionately for a long while, kissing until Lian Hua felt entirely full and content.

When they parted, the Emperor teased her playfully, "Is my little darling satisfied now? If not, I..."

Lian Hua cast a coquettish glare at him, "His Majesty is bad, always making fun of me." Then she couldn’t help but laugh herself.

The Emperor embraced her and chuckled softly too; his Little Concubine was so sweet and delightful, no amount of doting seemed enough.

The night had grown deep, and after a spell of laughter and play, it was nearing time for bed.

The Emperor led her to the bedside and asked, "Tired or not?"

Lian Hua shook her head while playing with his fingers. Whenever she saw His Majesty, she was not tired and wanted to talk some more with him.

Seeing this, the Emperor thought for a moment, squeezed her hand, and then asked her, "The arrangements for your Clan Aunt to enter the palace have been made. When would you like to see her?"

"Really?" Lian Hua exclaimed with delight. She was going to see her Clan Aunt! After so many years in the palace, she would finally meet her first relative!

The Emperor nodded with a smile, having anticipated her reaction. He mentioned it only after seeing that she was indeed not sleepy.

Lian Hua unconsciously gripped the Emperor’s hand tighter and said, "Can it be tomorrow?" her voice unable to hide her excitement.

She wanted to see her Clan Aunt as soon as possible; she couldn’t wait.

The Emperor nodded in agreement. This is just what he had in mind; had he told her, she would surely want to see her at the earliest opportunity.

He understood her feelings and had arranged everything to ensure a flawless reunion, just waiting for her to decide when.

Lian Hua’s joy reached her eyes, "My Lord, you are so kind, I’m so happy."

After saying that, unable to contain her excitement, she withdrew the hand that was holding the Emperor’s, stood up, and began to pace around unconsciously, "I’m going to see Clan Aunt, what should I prepare? Oh my, Clan Aunt likes quiet, I must tell everyone to keep it down tomorrow."

Just thinking of seeing her Clan Aunt made her anxious, "I wonder how Clan Uncle and Clan Aunt have been all these years, and what about Clan Sister?"

Her heart was heavy with concern.

Before she entered the palace, Clan Uncle had moved their home, and his brows were furrowed every day like an old man; he seemed to have lost a lot of weight, and she should get some tonics to help him regain his strength.

Clan Aunt’s back wasn’t in good shape; she couldn’t do heavy work, and bending over for too long caused her pain. Lian Hua also needed to think of a way to ask the Imperial Physician to take a look.

And as for Clan Sister, who was married off to Baoding Mansion, she wondered how Clan Sister had been since getting married.

She had heard Clan Sister was pregnant the year she entered the palace, and now she wondered how many children she might have; she needed to prepare gifts for the little ones.

As she thought this over, counting on her fingers, she realized that seeing her tomorrow wouldn’t be possible.

She stopped pacing and looked at the Emperor with a downcast expression, "My Lord, I can’t meet her tomorrow."

"What’s the matter?" asked the Emperor. He had been watching her the entire time, following the outpouring of her emotions, silently observing her from the side.

"There’s so much to prepare, tomorrow won’t be enough time," said Lian Hua, stepping toward the Emperor, her voice filled with a sense of aggrieved resignation.

The Emperor held her hand, "My dear, don’t worry, what all do you need to prepare? I will give the orders for everything to be ready before the people arrive tomorrow."

Lian Hua felt somewhat relieved upon hearing this; with His Majesty’s preparations, there’d surely be no issues.

After reflecting for a moment, she carefully considered it, but in the end, she still found the idea of doing it all tomorrow too rushed; she hadn’t thought it through properly before.

She wanted to present herself in the best possible state to Clan Aunt, to reassure her and make Clan Uncle at ease.

For some reason, she just knew that Clan Uncle was worried about her. She wanted to be well, to let Clan Aunt see for herself that she was in good spirits and to assure them that they needn’t worry. She feared that merely saying she was fine wouldn’t convince Clan Aunt; she needed to show her.

After careful deliberation, she finally spoke, "My Lord, if not tomorrow, how would the day after be?"

"The day after?" Why the sudden change of mind?