Chapter 858: Chapter 858: Mother and Daughter Together (Part 1)
Nanny Qi felt a surge of emotion in her heart; indeed, only a mother has the means to make her daughter so obedient. It truly looked commendable.
A mother’s heart is linked to her daughter’s. Look at how happy the young girl is because of her mother; you can see the joy with the naked eye.
At that moment, Nanny Qi watched with the mindset of enjoying a show, as the gloom of recent days was swept away, leaving her feeling completely refreshed.
Meanwhile, Lian Hua had already sparred with her mother twice, and both times had resulted in her being at a disadvantage.
At the beginning, she asked, "Why do I have to take medicine?"
Su Ran succinctly replied with an "Mm," saying, "Recovering requires taking medicine."
Lian Hua hesitated, weakly saying, "But the old doctor said I wasn’t really sick, so isn’t that no illness? And if there’s no illness, there’s no need for medicine..."
Lian Hua’s bottom shifted, and Su Ran knew exactly what she was thinking.
She carefully held the medicine bowl, testing its temperature, finding it just right.
Only then did she lift her eyes to look at Lian Hua, speaking calmly, "Recovering means resting and recuperating, not that you’re fine now, but because you just fell ill, you need to recover. This is a medicine for stabilizing pregnancy and replenishing vitality; drinking it will make you recover faster. So, would you like me to feed you, or will you drink it yourself?"
She only offered two choices: either she feeds or Lian Hua drinks it herself, with no other options at all.
She knew her little daughter well; ever since she was small, Lian Hua never liked medicinal drinks and rarely drank them. But whenever she did, she didn’t need anyone to feed her, disliking the bitterness of spoonful by spoonful. The Lian Family members, except Su Ran, all drank medicine by gulping down entire bowls.
Sure enough, with Su Ran’s words, Lian Hua shook her head, frowned at the medicine again, smelling its bitterness, knowing it would taste even bitterer, and she really didn’t want to drink it.
Her eyes glanced around, and realizing that reasoning wouldn’t work, she decided...
Thinking this way, Lian Hua couldn’t help but look pitifully at Su Ran, "Mom, Mother~"
She wanted to try another tactic: acting cute, playing pitiful—tricks she often used when she made mistakes as a child, though they seldom worked now.
Nanny Qi glanced aside, silently chanting ’Amitabha’ and understanding why the young girl was so good at acting cute. It turned out she had practiced these skills with her family over time, becoming an expert—the pitiful look matched with a soft tone that could sway even the emperor.
Su Ran saw this and her heart melted thoroughly; yes, this was her little daughter, grown up yet her temper remained much like when she was young.
Despite her softened heart, this was about drinking medicine for her daughter’s good; how could she not drink it? As much as she could indulge her, medicine was non-negotiable.
Thinking of this, Su Ran steeled her heart, hiding her tenderness behind a composed face. Years weren’t wasted practice; soft-heartedness wouldn’t be visible on her face, else her daughter would take advantage, and Su Ran understood her little daughter well.
Whenever Lian Hua played cute and pitiful, Su Ran would suffer a headache.
The entire Lian Family, from top to bottom, including Lian Hua’s father and the three brothers, fell for Lian Hua’s antics, each more doting than the other usually.
If Lian Hua started acting cute, they couldn’t hold it—they’d spoil her without principles, even protecting her when wrong, sometimes even continuing her twisted reasoning, making it hard for Su Ran to teach her well, compelling her to discipline them together.
Actually, inside her heart, Su Ran couldn’t resist either; this was her only little daughter. Hearing her soft, cute acts was irresistible, but she knew that if she didn’t harden her heart, her daughter might develop bad habits.
Fortunately, Lian Hua wasn’t overly spoiled; having hung out with Wan Zhen since she was young, she’d picked up some boyish traits, not always acting cute—mostly when making mistakes or when wanting to play in the countryside.
Her tactics included acting cute, pretending pitiful, faking tears, and admitting wrong.
Having seen it often, Su Ran naturally got accustomed to it, able to guard her heart.
At that moment, Su Ran resolved herself, pretending not to see Lian Hua’s antics, and calmly replied, turning to Xiao Qing, "Girl, get me a spoon."
"Yes." Xiao Qing acknowledged, bowing, and promptly went to fetch it, her heart joyous, even her steps were light and cheerful.
Lian Hua blinked curiously, asking, "Mom, why do we need a spoon?"
She couldn’t tell if she succeeded or not; success meant her mother putting down the bowl, failure meant continuing persuasion—how odd.
Su Ran turned back, gazing at her with a half-smiling look, "If you don’t want to drink it yourself, then I’ll feed you," her gaze gentle.
Lian Hua’s shoulders slumped—she knew it wouldn’t be so easy, alas...
Knowing she couldn’t escape, with only two options, Lian Hua resigned herself; rather than slow spoonfuls of bitter liquid, she’d prefer to gulp it all down. Plus, she was grown now, needing mom to feed her medicine was embarrassing.
Thinking this, she pulled a face of utmost bitterness and accepted the bowl with both hands.
Based on childhood experience, her cute acts worked with her mom usually, but when facing matters of principle, like drinking medicine, they didn’t work. Clearly, taking medicine was a principle issue.
Afraid she might spill it, Su Ran hurriedly helped hold the bowl.
Lian Hua gulped down the medicine hurriedly, making Su Ran’s heart ache to watch.
When there was a little tail end left in the bowl, with some small dregs, as Lian Hua still intended to finish it, Su Ran snatched the bowl away, "No more, no more. Here, have a candied fruit to ease the taste."
Speaking, she placed the medicine bowl back on the tray, and skillfully stuffed a large candied fruit she had prepared earlier into Lian Hua’s mouth with her other hand.
Lian Hua’s bitter mouth instantly turned sweet.
She squinted her eyes, savoring the candied fruit, her mouth puffed up, eating deliciously. Although she could only have one bowl of porridge, having a candied fruit was quite nice.
A while later, Xiao Jizi left with the tray, his heart filled with joy, thinking how the sky of Canglan Court brightened now that the master was better.
Just a few steps from the door, he saw His Majesty striding over.
Xiao Jizi swiftly stepped aside and bowed, "Greetings to His Majesty."
"Rise," His Majesty looked at the items in his hands, asking, "Just had the medicine?"
Xiao Jizi replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. The master just took the medicine, and before that had a bowl of fresh fish porridge. In the meantime, Divine Doctor Huang checked the pulse and said the master is fine, needing only good rest."
He’d been at the stove earlier and encountered Divine Doctor Huang and Xiao Linzi exiting the hall when bringing the medicine, taking the opportunity to ask, hence, he knew these details.
His Majesty slightly nodded and proceeded past him into the hall.
Upon entering, he saw Lian Hua nestled against Su Ran, holding Su Ran’s arm, chatting away, looking much better than before, her appearance very affectionate, with Nanny Qi jesting aside, showing a tranquil and beautiful scene.
Lian Hua was inquiring about their affairs when she suddenly sensed something, lifting her head toward the doorway, eyes lighting up, "His Majesty, you’re back?"
"Yes, I have returned," His Majesty’s lips naturally curved, his heart and eyes filled entirely with that person.