Chapter 708: 708
It seemed like a long time had passed, yet in an instant, as if a wave had struck, Lian Hua suddenly came to her senses, her body reflexively shivering.
She looked up, startled, “Your Majesty, what’s wrong with you?”
Why was his face so pale, his forehead sweating?
It was the first time Lian Hua had seen the Emperor look this way, as if he had encountered something terribly frightening.
The Emperor let out a big sigh of relief, embraced her tightly in his arms while sitting, and was unable to speak.
Just now, no matter how he called, there was no response, and he thought he couldn’t wake her up, thought…
He was about to call for the Imperial Physician, fortunately, it was a false alarm, fortunately, she woke up, oh how fortunate…
Being tightly held, Lian Hua was puzzled, why did His Majesty suddenly seem so frightened?
She shifted slightly and reached out to embrace the Emperor, gently patting his back, “Brother Zhao, don’t be afraid, I’m here, I’ll protect you, don’t be afraid, be good, don’t be afraid…
It took a while for the Emperor’s emotions to calm down, and he slightly loosened his embrace, his eyes hiding endless affection and worry, his voice hoarse, “Nannan, never leave me, no matter when.”
Lian Hua blinked, raised her hand to smooth his furrowed brow, “Your Majesty, don’t overthink, I won’t leave you, not ever.”
Thinking it wasn’t enough, she added, “No one can make me leave you, not even you yourself.”
Her words were quite imperious, yet they brought a smile to the Emperor’s eyes.
He raised his hand, saying earnestly, “Alright, let’s make a pact.”
Lian Hua looked at his raised hand, then at her own small palm, feeling somewhat amused.
It was always she who initiated such play, never imagining the Emperor also had this playful side as a child, so she excitedly slapped her small palm against his large one.
Yet, she felt it was not enough, she curled her little pinkie, “Your Majesty, a stamp is not enough, we need to hook fingers too.”
Seeing him only watching her without movement, she urged, “Your Majesty, hurry, just like this, look at me, oh, let me help you.”
Impatiently, she simply hooked the Emperor’s pinkie with her own, then cheerily linked her little finger with his and pressed their thumbs together, “Ha ha, we’ve made a pinkie promise, Your Majesty, you can’t change it now.”
She said, shaking their linked hands.
The Emperor just tenderly watched her, letting her do as she pleased, unable to take his eyes off her, and after completing the pinkie promise, he tenderly pressed his lips to her brow and was reluctant to move away.
After a long moment, Lian Hua’s stomach growled loudly, waking him from his thoughts.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Lian Hua bashfully said, “Your Majesty, you were so focused, I felt bad to say I was really hungry…”
In all the talking, she had only eaten a bite, and her stomach felt empty.
Only then did the Emperor feel reality set back in. The previous scene of her lost in memories and unresponsive was like a nightmare, slowly fading away as she woke up like the receding tide.
He wished never to experience such an event again, those numerous calls without response, each more fearful and frantic than the last…
“Your Majesty, shall we eat?” Lian Hua shook the Emperor’s sleeve, raising her hand to wipe the quickly drying sweat from his forehead.
She vaguely felt that His Majesty’s distressed state was caused by her, but she did not understand why it suddenly happened; however, his fear of her leaving him was real, so wouldn’t it be resolved if she simply never left?
The Emperor stroked her face and replied, “Alright, I will feed you.”
“Ah? You’re going to feed me?” Lian Hua was somewhat moved. The Emperor had fed her before, but to do so on the very first day she moved into the Main Hall seemed a bit much, right?
If she were to be fed like a little child, oh my, that would be too embarrassing.
Suddenly, a scene popped into her head: once the child was born, she would sit on one side, the baby on the other, with His Majesty in the middle, feeding them both, two wide-open mouths eagerly waiting to be fed, both gazing earnestly at His Majesty.
Just thinking of this scene, she couldn’t help but giggle right there and then, laughing herself into the Emperor’s embrace.
This left the Emperor utterly helpless, not knowing which of her funny bones he had unintentionally poked to make her laugh in such a manner.
But seeing her lively and charming demeanor and knowing she had returned to normal, a heavy stone in his heart was somewhat lifted.
After laughing for a while longer, Lian Hua stopped and, with tear-filled eyes, looked at the Emperor, responding to his earlier remark, “My Lord, I am the child’s mother. I must set an example. You can feed me some delicious food, but you can’t feed me all the time.”
The Emperor pinched her face and set her down, “Alright, I’ll listen to Nannan.”
His wish to feed her was merely an excuse to hold her in his arms. Since she was unwilling, so be it, she was right before his eyes, real and present.
The two of them sat down and resumed their meal.
Clearly famished, Lian Hua’s cheeks were puffed, and she didn’t stop shoveling in the food. The Emperor kept passing her food, barely keeping up with her speed of eating.
Towards the end, the Emperor, worried that eating too quickly would be bad for her, reminded her to slow down, and she finally did.
The Emperor’s full attention was on her, only eating a few bites himself when she offered him food.
When she had almost finished eating, the Emperor nonchalantly asked, “How do you feel now, Nannan?”
Chewing, Lian Hua replied without thinking, “Sticky and fragrant, delicious.”
The Emperor, wordless, wiped her mouth for her and asked further, “Do you feel unwell anywhere?”
“Hmm?” Lian Hua looked at the Emperor and shook her head, “No, my Lord, what’s wrong?”
“It’s good if there’s nothing.” It seemed she was truly alright.
The Emperor masked his thoughts, thinking it urgent to invite Divine Doctor Huang, father of Huang Zude, to have a look.
“Oh, my Lord, you hardly ate anything.” After Lian Hua had her fill, she began to think of other things and noticed that the Emperor had eaten very little. She quickly started serving him, urging him to eat faster.
That evening meal was full of twists and turns. Later, the little concubine seemed to have forgotten the conversation about that river and also forgot to prove that her diving skills were very good. She didn’t mention it at all.
Although the Emperor was uncertain, he also dared not ask again, fearing it might trigger her to remember those unhappy thoughts.
Compared to her, the Complete Collection of Encouragement-to-Learn Poems was no longer important to the Emperor. He planned to gently guide her about it later. What mattered most to the Emperor now was to alleviate the hidden dangers she carried.
In the past, the Emperor had seen Lian Hua snap out of such states immediately, but none were as severe as this time.
This incident had left the Emperor extremely uneasy, worrying that sometimes, like this time, she might unavoidably recall something which could turn into a nightmare.
Recalling the words of the old monk who had named her, he felt a vague premonition that perhaps this was the great tribulation the monk had spoken of, though hers was unlike that of ordinary people.