Palace Fighting: Naive Concubines' Ascent to Power-Chapter 393: Dreams Are the Opposite

But considering that the old man had stayed inside for two shichen, his medical skills must be adequate, right? After treating her for so long, Mother should be better, right?

Divine Doctor Huang stroked his beard and said indifferently, "She’s not dead yet."

The crowd immediately relaxed.

He added, "But she’s close to it."

The crowd was shocked and turned pale.

Lian Changhe’s legs went weak, Lian Mu Su quickly supported him, his face as grim as water.

Late at night, Canglan Court.

Lian Hua shouted, "Mother!" waking up from a nightmare, her forehead covered with fine cold sweat.

The Emperor woke up as well, and seeing her state, he was instantly alarmed and sat up, holding her.

"Nannan, what’s wrong?"

Lian Hua was breathing heavily, her heart beating like a drum, her eyes staring straight ahead as if she were still in a dream, and she did not reply.

The Emperor, feeling uneasy, quickly held her and gently patted her back, softly comforting, "Nannan, had a nightmare? It’s alright now, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, I am here."

After a long while of comforting her, she finally came back to her senses.

Feeling the warmth of the Emperor, she felt somewhat reassured, and couldn’t help but wrap her arms around the Emperor’s neck, pressing her face against his chest, and with a crying voice, she said, "Your Majesty, I dreamt that Mother was in trouble, she was in so much pain."

She recalled the scene in the dream, her mother suffering in purgatory, unable to escape from torment, looking so distressed, causing tears to roll down her cheeks, feeling extremely upset.

The Emperor, frantic and flustered, wiped her tears away and gently soothed her back, calming her, "It was just a nightmare, Nannan dear, there’s a saying among the folks, dreams are opposite to reality, perhaps your mother is sleeping peacefully right now."

Daytime thoughts lead to nighttime dreams; his Little Concubine had worries and troubles hidden in her heart, which led to such nightmares.

He had already inquired about her family matter through Hu Miaomiao, and although the journey was long and no news had returned yet, he needed to prompt Hu Miaomiao to think of a solution as soon as possible.

Lian Hua looked up, her rabbit-like eyes were red and swollen from crying: "Is that true? Is that saying real?"

Under the night lamp, his Little Concubine’s tear-filled eyes made the Emperor’s heart ache terribly, the pain in his heart twitching.

With heartfelt sympathy, he kissed her and nodded earnestly, "Yes, it’s true. Little darling, have you forgotten? You told me, dreams are the opposite. Remember that time, when you dreamt at night that the silver was carried off by a rat, and in the early morning you urged Nanny to check the storeroom, and not only was the silver not lost, there was an additional large ingot of gold, do you remember?"

Speaking of that, it was quite amusing. His Little Concubine, pregnant and needing to get up at night more frequently, occasionally had restless sleeps and suffered from nightmares.

Once, she woke up needing to pee in the middle of the night and dreamt that there was a big rat in the storeroom which had taken all her silver away. After relieving herself and thinking more about it, she became so anxious that she wanted to check right away.

It was he who had calmed her down, telling her that the ingots were hard and heavy, so the rat wouldn’t be able to eat them or carry them far, suggesting that they could check the next day when it was bright, which finally put her mind at ease.

The next day before morning court, he specifically ordered someone to quietly place a large ingot on top of the stock for her to find. When she woke up and checked, not only was the silver there, but there was also an additional large ingot. She was extremely happy.

In the evening when he returned, she excitedly told him about it.

She even told him about the folk saying that dreams are the opposite, and truly, the saying was correct: not only had the big rat not taken her silver, but it had also brought her a large ingot of gold. She hoped to dream about large rats taking the silver a few more times.

He found himself both crying and laughing at her antics, but she slept much more peacefully afterwards, no longer disturbed by such dreams.

Nanny Qi said that pregnant women are like that — their moods change swiftly and often. She advised that it was important to eliminate any source of her distress to keep her from worrying or rushing, and also that her diet should avoid excessively dry foods to nurture the fetus well.

Lian Hua’s tears suddenly stopped, and she absentmindedly thought about it for a moment. It seemed true. She nodded, her voice slightly hoarse, "I remember, that big rat never carried silver to me again."

Thinking back, she sometimes regretted that she no longer dreamed about the rat carrying silver, but being greedy was not an option. She was content that the rat managed to bring her an ingot.

Little did she know, the Emperor was the "big rat" she referred to, willingly playing the role of a rat to bring her silver.

Seeing her not cry any longer, the Emperor helped her wipe her tears and pinched her nose, "See, that’s all it is. Dreams are the opposite. Your mother is not only alright, but she might even encounter something fortunate."

Lian Hua thought carefully, it seemed true, but she was somewhat unsure, "Really? Mother won’t have any trouble?"

Her expression was adorably dazed, with a hint of grogginess from just waking up, and an innocent look post-tears.

The dream had felt so real that it scared her and made her very uneasy.

The Emperor confidently said, "She won’t have any trouble. Nannan is so blessed, your Respectable Mother-in-law should be fine too. She surely won’t have any trouble, perhaps knowing that you had a nightmare, your Respectable Mother-in-law might even be the one feeling restless."

Upon hearing this, Lian Hua wholeheartedly believed him, recalling the old monk who named her had said she was very fortunate.

She hurriedly said, "Then I must take good care of myself and not make my mother worry."

After a thought, she added, "Not make father worry, not make big brother, second brother, and third brother worry either."

It calmed her to mention each family member.

The Emperor breathed a sigh of relief and felt his worries ease, teasing with a smile, "And what about me?"

"Ah, of course, I won’t make Your Majesty worry either, and not Nanny Qi and my sisters either."

Lian Hua was thoroughly distracted; she felt it imperative not to overlook anyone, counting off on her fingers, listing everyone around her. Once done, she looked up at the Emperor as if asking if she had named everyone.

Seeing her completely relaxed, the Emperor embraced her, kissing her brow, "Nannan is really good."

Lian Hua smiled contentedly. After His Majesty’s analysis, she felt settled in her heart.

But the Emperor did not share her light thoughts. In places she could not see, he wore a look of worry and sighed heavily. As long as her relatives remained unfound and unproven to be safe, the concern would persist.

Just one dream had distressed his Little Concubine so, what would she do if faced with a cruel reality?

There was no good solution, he would have to take it one step at a time. The immediate priority was to give her some comfort and not let her think too much.

With that in mind, the Emperor spoke, "Nannan, would you like to meet your Clan Uncle and Clan Aunt?"

With Xu Rong Ying’s help, many spies in the palace had been cleared out, and he could now arrange this.

Lian Hua, feeling relaxed and sleepy, suddenly woke up at the statement.

Her eyes brightened, she looked up, and asked, "I would love to, Your Majesty, is that possible?"