It was soft, as if she really had gained some weight. The emperor nodded, quite satisfied, and moved his hand upward, sliding it over the peak of her chest, murmuring low, “A little extra weight isn’t bad at all.”

Such a scoundrel! Hua Chun let out a stifled groan and hastily tried to push his hand away, but he just kept kneading, refusing to let go, his breathing growing heavier as he flipped over to press her beneath him, chin brushing her cheek before he leaned down to kiss her.

It seemed like it had been a while since they’d been intimate — she’d even started to wonder if the novelty period had simply worn off — but tonight proved otherwise, so she felt reassured, and grew more proactive than usual, lifting herself to meet him, arms hooking around his neck, kissing him back fervently.

The temperature around them rose at once, gasps and murmurs tangling together, their clothes slipping off unnoticed as things grew heated — but then the emperor suddenly froze, looked up, and gazed at her with a complicated expression.

“What’s wrong?” Hua Chun asked, dazed, her eyes hazy with a misty sheen, looking utterly enticing.

He muttered something under his breath that she didn’t quite catch, then rolled over to lie beside her, pulled her tightly into his arms, holding her firmly, and said only, “Sleep.”

Huh? Hua Chun was baffled — what kind of situation was this? Slamming on the brakes halfway through?

The body pressed against her back was burning hot; by rights, this should have been the moment things caught fire and became unstoppable. What was Yuwen Jie doing? Teasing and then bailing?

Her expression turned serious, and Hua Chun rolled over to face him, asking earnestly, “Does Your Majesty find me too fat now?”

“No.” Eyes closed, the emperor said in a low, hoarse voice, “Let’s sleep first.”

He clearly did find her too fat! Hua Chun pouted, pinching at her own body in distress, muttering quietly, “Starting tomorrow, I’m going on a diet…”

“Don’t you dare!” the emperor said sharply, opening his obsidian-dark eyes to look at her seriously. “If you dare lose even a little weight, I’ll confiscate every last coin of your savings.”

Hua Chun: “…” Was there really a need to get this worked up? What’s so bad about losing a little weight?

Something was really off with him lately. She frowned, studied him for a long moment, then asked, “Are you hiding something from me?”

“No.” He reached out to hold her and closed his eyes again. “Don’t overthink it. Just go to sleep.”

Her instincts were usually spot-on, and the more he denied it, the more certain she became that something was up! But there was no getting anything out of him by asking directly, so Hua Chun closed her eyes, intending to sleep well and ask Qing Niao tomorrow!

The next morning, the emperor left early. Hua Chun had meant to get up early too, but ended up sleeping shamelessly late until nearly noon. Groggily catching hold of Qing Niao upon waking, she asked, “Don’t you think His Majesty’s been acting strange lately?”

“Hm?” Qing Niao blinked and looked away. “Strange how?”

“He hasn’t been intimate with me in ages!” Hua Chun said irritably. “Has my charm declined?”

Qing Niao: “…”

Her face flushed. “This kind of matter… how should this servant answer?”

“I think there are two possibilities,” Hua Chun said, sitting cross-legged on the bed, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “One, I’m not suited to sharing his bed. Two, he has some difficulty he can’t speak of!”

The corner of Qing Niao’s mouth twitched, and she gave a dry laugh. “What difficulty could His Majesty possibly have?”

“Then it must be that I’m not suited to sharing his bed.” Hua Chun thought it over and then spoke with great calm. “Am I pregnant?”

Qing Niao nearly lost her footing. “How could that be?”

“Think about it — lately I’ve been loving food and sleep both. Isn’t it said that pregnant women get drowsy easily?”

Thinking it over carefully, the more she considered it, the more it made sense, and Hua Chun slapped the table decisively. “Get me a physician to check.”

“…Yes.” Qing Niao agreed and hurried out. About an hour later, she brought back an imperial physician with a remarkably imposing presence.

This one seemed different from the physicians usually seen around the harem. Hua Chun couldn’t help asking, “And you are?”

“This humble subject is Feng Yongde, head of the Imperial Physician Bureau.” Physician Feng bowed respectfully to her.

Hua Chun clicked her tongue, thinking Qing Niao was truly impressive — knowing pregnancy was a matter of great importance, she’d gone straight to the head of the Imperial Physician Bureau himself. Surely his medical skill was excellent and there’d be no mistakes.

So she confidently held out her wrist, looking at him with an expectant expression.

Physician Feng laid a silk cloth over her wrist and began taking her pulse with a solemn expression. After about half an hour, he said with a kindly gaze, “Your Highness has recently been somewhat weak in constitution. Eating too many tonics tends to cause weight gain, and as the weather turns colder, drowsiness is also normal. There is no pregnancy.”

“Ah, I see.” A little disappointed, Hua Chun withdrew her hand, thinking that getting pregnant really wasn’t so easy after all — everything in the TV dramas had been lies!

“Thank you, physician.”

Physician Feng nodded, took up brush and paper, and wrote her a prescription. “Your Highness’s constitution runs somewhat cold, making you prone to illness in cold weather. This subject will prescribe you some remedies — following this prescription should help improve your constitution and aid conception.”

Nodding, Hua Chun had Qing Niao put the prescription away and saw him out.

“Since I’m not pregnant, then why did he stop halfway like that?” Deflated, she muttered quietly, sprawled over the table, poking at her teacup. “Could it be that he’s… impotent?”

Qing Niao returned from seeing off the physician just in time to hear this, and her mouth twitched as she shook her head. “That can’t be it.”

“Then I really can’t figure it out.” Pouting with grievance, Hua Chun climbed back into bed and wrapped herself up again, leaving only her eyes peeking out at the world beyond.

“You needn’t worry so much about it either,” Qing Niao said, coming over with a smile to comfort her. “Isn’t there a saying — the one who’s truly willing to just sleep peacefully beside you is the one who genuinely loves you.”

Hua Chun gave a little shiver and stared at her in horror. “Qing Niao, have you been reading too many transmigration novels?”

Qing Niao fell silent, then sighed. “Anyway, that’s just how it is. Try to think positively.”

Well, fine — Hua Chun figured there was no point dwelling on it further either. Since she wasn’t pregnant, she’d just keep tending to her health and wait for fate to take its course.

He Chang’an came into the palace looking cheerful, his eyes as gentle and moist as rain over the rivers south of the Yangtze. “The court has finally settled down.”

Hugging her hot water pouch, Hua Chun nodded. “All the important positions are filled with our own people now — the emperor can finally breathe a little easier.”

“Indeed.” He Chang’an smiled, but his gaze soon turned worried again. “I’ve heard Prince Xi’s fief is reducing its troops.”

“Why worry about troop reduction?” Hua Chun said with a smile. “As long as he’s not recruiting more soldiers, it’s fine.”

Cutting down the size of the army — wasn’t that a gesture of goodwill toward the emperor? As long as the fief’s forces stayed under a fifth of the imperial court’s, everything should be manageable.

“I just find it strange,” He Chang’an said quietly. “This behavior doesn’t fit Prince Xi’s style at all.”

By rights, having returned to his fief, Prince Xi should have been like a tiger returned to the mountains — consolidating his forces and stockpiling weapons.