Lv Li was taken aback, “Your Majesty…”

I whispered, “I can’t decide whether I’ll have a boy or girl. If it is a girl again, we’ll still have a way to save the situation if any of the concubines has a boy.

Honestly, I believed eggs shouldn’t be put in one basket. Since I had so many bellies to make use of, mine shouldn’t be the only one to rely on.

Lv Li hesitated for a moment and asked, “Your Majesty still won’t trust His Majesty?”
I asked in return, “Have you completely trusted Zhao wang now?”

Lv Li thought for a while and nodded, “I know what to do.”
Then we talked about something else. Lv Li recommended me some people that I could be trusted in the palace and asked me to have a test on them. If I could trust them, I should win them over for my own benefit. Having someone to back me up was better than anything else.

While we were still talking, Xie Yi returned and told us Qi Sheng wasn’t in Da Ming Palace.

Lv Li was suddenly rejuvenated as she heard that Qi Sheng wasn’t there. She suggested as her eyes shone, “Your Majesty, let’s head to Da Ming Palace and have a look at how that bitch Jiang shi is doing now.”

Then she stood up, walking outside with her hands placed on her waist.

Lucky that I was still more agile than she was, and I grabbed her immediately. Huh, girl, do you really think I don’t know what you’re up to? You want to piss Jiang shi off with your pregnant belly, don’t you? Let’s stop acting like villains in the movie, shall we?

“Save it, and forget about her. Don’t you worry that your baby will grow up like her!”

This worked better than anything else. Lv Li was immediately defeated. After having a lunch with me in the palace, she returned to Zhao wang’s mansion straightforwardly.

When I was three months pregnant, the Zhang Family required to visit me in the palace. This time Madame Zhang didn’t come. Zhang shi’s mother, Fan shi, and her eldest cousin-in-law, Bai shi, came.

Fan shi looked worse than the last time we met, and she cried out of happiness as soon as she saw me. She wiped her tears and said to me, “Since we returned from the palace last time, I started to eat vegetarians and pray to the buddha, only to wish the buddha would bless my daughter and protect you. I can’t believe it works. Your good time has finally arrived.”

Bai shi was an outgoing girl and when she saw Bai shi crying so hard, she handed over a handkerchief, “Elder aunt, please stop crying. It is good news that Her Majesty is bearing the royal flesh and blood. If you cry now, you would make Her Majesty feel terrible.”

Fan shi stopped crying hearing her words. She wiped her tears and enjoined me things that I should look out for during my pregnancy, “You have to be careful on everything you eat, and do not give anyone any chance to get to you. And your body is becoming heavy so you won’t be able to serve His Majesty. What about choosing someone with good nature from those you know well…”

As long as I figured her babbling was evolving towards “conspiracies” again, I hastily interrupted her. I turned around and asked Bai shi, “How is it going with the preparation of Chacha’s wedding?”

There was a gleam in Bai shi’s eyes. She replied, “When we came, Madame Zhang wanted us to bring you a word. We are looking for your opinion on the third lady’s wedding.”

Bai shi didn’t finish her words but she had already made it clear. Since I had gained an upper hand as the Empress, and I was now favored by His Majesty, the Zhang Family felt ambivalent. They couldn’t decide whether they should continue investing in Chu wang, or pulling out of it now.

Fan shi was still chattering about how to capture Qi Sheng’s heart during my pregnancy, and she said, “…In this situation, it is especially important that you don’t play favorites. Every man likes something new. As long as you still have his heart, it is better than anything!”

I indifferently nodded yes, found some spare time in Fan shi’s mumbling and turned to Bai shi, “It is hard to understand His Majesty’s heart, so you should arrange the wedding according to the plan. It won’t be a bad thing anyway.”

Bai shi was smart and she nodded at hearing my words. She didn’t say anything afterwards, only listened to Fan shi’s chattering, and handed her a cup of tea to moisten her throat when she needed.

Fan shi kept talking for a long time and finally reached conclusion. She only wanted to remind me of one thing, since you could not keep a man’s body, you had to capture his heart.

It made me feel dizzy and I couldn’t help but sigh in mind. The palace was never going to change, but the beauties came and went as always. The energy of the Emperor was never going to be drained. It was hard to be a woman, and it was even harder to be a man. Moreover, being an Emperor was a task requiring enormous amount of hard work and suffering.

Maybe Qi Sheng felt it was too difficult to be an Emperor, so ever since he knew about my pregnancy, he never called Concubine Huang and the others to Da Ming Palace. And when my pregnancy sickness stopped after the ninth lunar month, he gave up the attempt and only visited me once in my palace. For all the rest time, he only stayed with Jiang shi in Da Ming palace.

When Concubine Huang and the others greeted me in my palace, they could not hold back their complains.

I was exasperated that they didn’t take the advantage of the situation and tried to give them a lesson, “Why don’t you review on yourselves? All of you are prettier and have a better body shape than the one in Da Ming Palace. It is okay that you can’t seize His Majesty’s heart, but how come you can’t even keep him with you? Why would I even worry about you every day?”

These girls used to be full of complains and they were awestruck after hearing my scolding. What was I supposed to do when you were not as competent as Jiang shi?

After they left, Xie Yi brought me a bowl of porridge made of bird nest, and she talked to me in my ears, “This is the first time I feel it is a good thing to have Jiang shi in Da Ming Palace.”

I was taken aback and after a while of contemplation, I realized that Xie Yi had a point. With Jiang shi drawing all fire in Da Ming Palace, there were fewer things I should worry about.

And afterwards my life even got better. As the eleventh lunar month approached, my belly rounded up. Wei’er could not only walk, but was able to mutter some simple words. Every time Qi Sheng entered the hall gate, she was the first one to welcome him, grabbing him by his legs and cried “Pather (father)”.

Qi Sheng was so amused by this and held Wei’er in his arms. He first circled around the palace with Wei’er, and together they came to me and looked at my belly. It was snowing and freezing cold outside, and inside the chamber, it was filled with warmness and laughter. It was indeed a picture of a loving couple, and an affectionate father-daughter relationship. Sometimes when I was feeling dizzy because of the steaming hotness inside the palace, I felt that it wasn’t a complete bad thing if this situation could continue. A wife, kids, and a warm house, what’s not to love?

In the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, Bathroom Lord officially married the daughter of Zhang Ling, the guard of Jingyang City. The Zhang Family had strong military power over the Northern frontier and two of their daughters married the imperial family. At a time, they were so powerful that no one could overshadow them.

However, those outsiders believed they were having the best time but as members of the Zhang Family, they knew it was a hard feeling.

I was the eldest daughter of the first wife of the Zhang Family, and the only one in the palace with a princess. Now I was pregnant again, which showed I was loved and cherished by His Majesty. However, the third lady was the eldest daughter of the second wife of the Zhang Family, and now she married Chu wang. Everyone sensible knew Chu wang and the Emperor didn’t get on well.

Two daughters from the same family married the opposite parties. And if the Zhang Family was not united by someone reputable and powerful inside, the family would start to crumble inside. Everyone had some shady plans, and of course, they would value more of their own offspring.

I felt so much admiration towards Qi Sheng every time I thought about this, and got rid of the idea of “a wife, kids and a warm house.” This man would never do anything futile. He had a purpose for everything he did. If I tried to shelter myself from the rain under this big tree, sooner or later, I would be struck by lightning. So I should better build my own house!

The battle in Yunxi was going well. Within half a year, Yang Yu had already pacified most part in Yunxi and it seemed the rebellion would be squashed by spring next year.

Things were going well in the imperial court, and there was good news in the imperial family as well.

Soon after the “old bachelor” Chu wang got married, good news was delivered from Zhao wang’s mansion. After two days and a night of suffering, Lv Li gave birth to a chubby baby boy.

Zhao wang was extremely excited and couldn’t contain his smile while he reported the news to the Grand Empress Dowager. He made gestures excitedly as he spoke, “He was so big, and you can feel the heaviness when you carry him in your arms. His cheeks were so chubby that his eyes squinted!”

The Grand Empress Dowager was so delighted that she kept muttering “Lv Li was a good girl”.

When I heard about the size of the baby, I felt empathetic towards Lv Li, and asked Xie Yi to visit her with loads of tonics.

Xie Yi returned and told me that Lv Li looked well and was in a high spirit. She showed her the baby and whispered to her, “Jiang shi will never be able to give birth to such a cute baby!”

Hearing this, I knew I was worrying for nothing. As long as Jiang shi was alive, Lv Li would always have full energy. Let alone giving birth to a single baby, there wouldn’t be any problem giving birth to twins as long as she was invigorated like this.

But there was something I couldn’t understand, where did the feud between Lv Li and Jiang shi came from?

As babies were born during this year, New Year was filled with jollification.

At the family gathering in Lantern Festival, my body became extremely heavy and I was so tired though I only sat there for a while. Qi Sheng saw me feeling uncomfortable, so he excused us to the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager, and escorted me back to Xing Sheng Palace.

As it was in the middle of the month, the sky was clear, and the moon hanging in the sky shed over, which made it as bright as in daytime. Lanterns were not even needed. I felt lazy after a few steps so I asked Qi Sheng, “Can we take the imperial carriage?”

Qi Sheng held my waist with his arms and he smiled, “Don’t be lazy, Mrs. Wu has instructed you to take more walks.”

Without any other option, I sighed and strolled forward with my belly sticking out. After another while, as the maids and inner-palace servants fell far behind, I asked Qi Sheng in a low voice, “When are you planning to deal with Chu wang?”

Qi Sheng fell silent for a while after hearing my question. He replied, “After Yang Yu’s return from Yunxi.”

I understood his plan after some thought. For a general like Yang Yu, you couldn’t underestimate him even he had no military power. It was more reassuring to keep him beside ourselves.

Qi Sheng paused and suddenly he said, “You don’t have to overthink it.”

I calmly nodded but I was screaming inside. How was I supposed to not overthink it as a major storm was coming? Huh? Could I describe it as a major storm?