The Emperor glanced at her in surprise and then looked back at the bath, a thought crossing his mind, This might not be a bad idea...
The lights were dim and misty, and the shimmering water hued, as his Little Concubine stood within the bath, lifting her delicate jade hand...
"Oh, from now on we’ll have a place to teach the toddlers how to swim, that’s wonderful," Lian Hua exclaimed excitedly, praising the Emperor, "Your Majesty, this bath is really nice!"
Her words completely shattered the Emperor’s fantasy.
With a head full of black lines, he remembered that "Collected Poems to Inspire Study," and instantly, all the ambiguous ripples in his mind disappeared.
He looked towards this oblivious little troublemaker, squinting his eyes, and asked nonchalantly, "Nannan, how do you think the Imperial Son should be taught well?"
"Of course, whatever he wants to play with—" Lian Hua walked out of the bathing room and into the dressing room, turning her head to look back, when suddenly a bell of alarm went off in her heart, and she quickly corrected herself, "Ahem, listen to Your Majesty, I’m not good at teaching children."
The Emperor walked up beside her and smiled dangerously, "With Nannan being so clever, how can you undervalue yourself? I see that Nannan knows plenty, why not choose a few things to teach him?"
She had already written down everything to teach before the child was ten years old, and he felt she knew her stuff well.
"Ha ha, this... this..." Lian Hua giggled, continuously stealing glances at the Emperor, weighing whether he was speaking sincerely or sarcastically.
Unable to discern his intent, she cautiously responded, "Oh, Your Majesty, you are accomplished in both literary and martial arts, it would be best if you teach him."
Seeing she wasn’t fooled, the Emperor relaxed his vigilance, "Mmm, I will teach as well, but I am often busy with governmental affairs during the day, and may not always be able to instruct him. As his Imperial Consort Mother, Nannan should also teach the Imperial Son what is good, just like me."
"Ah, what?" Lian Hua doubted what she heard, did she really hear the words "Empress Mother"?
The Emperor continued naturally, "That’s right, you are his Imperial Consort Mother, you spend more time with the Imperial Son, and it’s very convenient for you to teach him. Didn’t you just mention teaching the Imperial Son how to swim? There aren’t many in the palace who can swim. Such a difficult task and Nannan knows it, truly impressive to me."
Oh, she had misunderstood, it was Imperial Consort Mother, not Empress Mother; she thought to herself, how could His Majesty make such a mistake.
The words of the Emperor made Lian Hua nod incessantly, feeling that his words were reasonable and went straight to her heart.
If she had lots of free time every day, and the child was with her, it would be a waste not to teach him what she knew, since she was the child’s Imperial Consort Mother.
Moreover, the Emperor had a tragic childhood, and she wanted their child to live a happier life, thinking this would make up for some of the Emperor’s own shortcomings.
In the end, after being praised by the Emperor, Lian Hua was elated and modestly said, "Oh, no no, these are just trifling skills, not worth mentioning, teaching the Imperial Son is the right thing to do, passing on the torch, so to speak."
Unconsciously, she began to boast, "Swimming is something my second brother taught me when I was little, and it’s the thing I do best. I swam across the lake in our town as a child. I remember once, a classmate..."
While bragging about how she heroically retrieved a classmate’s belongings that fell into the lake, making them cry out of desperation, she walked out of the dressing room, passed through the parlor, and entered the Main Hall; she was hungry, having seen enough, and wanted to have dinner.
By the time the story was over, she had already taken her seat properly at the table set for dinner, her eyes fixed on the food.
She had instructed them to lay out the food before entering their room earlier, and listening keenly, it seemed the food was ready indeed when she came out to check.
Zhang Qing saw them come out, bowed, and led the people out.
The Emperor didn’t interrupt her, and followed her to sit in front of the dining table. He even took a moment to wipe her hands, feeling somewhat helpless inside, wanting to draw out her plan, but unexpectedly led her to this topic instead.
At the same time, he was weighing her words, reassured that her swimming ability was indeed very good, though he still believed swimming in lakes and rivers was very dangerous and it was better to avoid it if possible.
As for swimming in the bath, that was harmless.
On Lian Hua’s side, as she finished telling the story of retrieving items for her classmate, she stared at the dishes on the table but sighed with emotion from her mouth, feeling that her swimming skills were truly impressive.
After watching for a while and not receiving approval, she couldn’t help pulling her eyes away from the food and looked up, saying, "Your Majesty, now you know how capable I am, right?"
She gazed eagerly at him, seeking recognition in her words and beyond.
The Emperor finished wiping his hands. What else could he do? He could only pick up some food with his chopsticks and put it in her mouth to quiet her, nodding his head, "Decent."
Lian Hua, having received praise and tasted the dish, her round almond eyes curled into crescents, and her mouth puffed up as she chewed the delicious food, looking very satisfied.
After eating this mouthful and satisfying her craving, she was less impatient. Caught up in the excitement of her storytelling, she couldn’t help but share a childhood secret.
She whispered mysteriously, "Your Majesty, let me tell you, not only have I swum in the town’s lake, but my second brother also secretly took me to swim in the river. That was much harder than swimming in the lake, but these things mother must not know." The source of thɪs content is n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
The Emperor’s brow twitched, and he set down his chopsticks, "How can this be appropriate?"
Her second brother was far too careless. Hearing her, he worried for her mother; at such a young age, the siblings were quite a handful, luckily nothing bad had happened.
Why did His Majesty react this way to her secret?
Lian Hua blinked, suddenly understanding something, and quickly explained, "Your Majesty, it’s nothing, that river is very shallow, only up to my second brother’s chest. We only swam near the edge, and he was watching. Plus, the older daughter-in-law and young auntie usually wash clothes there, it’s safe."
Seeing that the Emperor still looked troubled, she continued to prove herself, "Oh, Your Majesty, I’m really good at swimming. Once I even swam alone in a big river, that was truly dangerous, that river so big and fast... that river..."
As she spoke, her voice slowly faded, and she sat there, dazed, staring into space, striving to recall that river, as if in a trance.
Images flashed through her mind, the turbulent river waters, her body gradually exhausting...
At this point, she couldn’t remember any more; the harder she tried, the more unclear it became, and her head began to throb painfully like a tight, prickly ache.
When she mentioned that big river, the Emperor’s gaze sharply narrowed, and then he noticed she had fallen into a daze as if remember something.
The Emperor’s heart skipped a beat, starting to beat rapidly, "Nannan?"
He called her once, and seeing no response, the Emperor called her twice more, but she still didn’t respond, realizing something was wrong.
He hurriedly took her hand in his, finding it icy cold, and the Emperor’s heart beat intensified.
He restrained his panic, his voice carrying a subtle, barely perceptible tension, trying to call her back to consciousness, "Nannan? Nannan? ..."
Each call louder and more urgent than the last, yet she still did not respond.