In the second lunar month of the year, Lv Li had already finished her recuperation after childbirth, and came to send her greeting in the palace with the baby. After she left the Grand Empress Dowager’s, she went straight to my palace. First, she asked the nanny to show me the baby, then when Xie Yi took the nanny to the back chamber to breastfeed the baby and there was no one else around, she told me, “I’ve done some researches. His Majesty has slept with the concubines, and he didn’t ask them to drink the soup to prevent them from getting pregnant. I have no idea why they still aren’t pregnant.”

I grew more confused. A barren land without any fruit was no news but it was strange that there were so many barren lands without a single grass.

Lv Li looked disappointed and whispered, “I used to think His Majesty was thinking of Your Majesty so he only visited the others as a courtesy. I didn’t imagine he slept with all of them.”

I couldn’t help laughing. Qi Sheng was a vigorous young man, and Concubine Huang and the others were his concubines, who were here in the harem to serve him . So why would he leave them alone?

How inhumane that would be!

Lv Li studied my facial expressions and then suggested, “Your Majesty, what about taking this chance and giving Concubine Huang and the others safflower soups to sterilize them and spare all later troubles? Since they don’t bear any child now, they won’t blame us if they don’t bear any child in the future.”

She talked about it in a relaxing tone but it made me shudder. If not for my heavy body, I would jump out of the chair.

Oh my dear Lv Li. You were already a mother. How could you be so malicious and take it for granted?

I hastily covered her mouth and urged, “Save it! Strapping them of the right of being a mother won’t bring you any good consequence!

As soon as I finished my words, Qi Sheng came in.

Lv Li was shocked and stood up. She held her head low, swept a courtesy to Qi Sheng, and timidly called, “Your Majesty.”

Qi Sheng shot Lv Li a cold glance and ignored her completely. He straightly asked me, “Where are the others? Why isn’t here anyone to serve you?”

We were talking about sterilization so how could we ask the maids to stand by?

I saw him feeling uncomfortable so I explained, “Wei’er begged to have a look at her little brother. I felt she was too naughty so I asked the maids to take them to the back chamber to play.

Qi Sheng only slightly nodded at hearing my words.

Lv Li cautiously shot Qi Sheng a glance, hurriedly bent her knees and swept another courtesy, “I’ve been here for a long time and now it’s time to return. I shall excuse myself.”

Then as if she had already forgot her child, she tried to sneak out along the wall with her head low.

I was speechless at her dumbfounding behavior and stopped her, reminding her to return with her son.

Qi Sheng still didn’t look right after Lv Li left with her son. I looked at him helplessly and comforted him, “Lv Li is just a girl. Why are you, as a man, bringing yourself down at her level?”

Qi Sheng frowned and looked at me for a long while and asked, “Do you remember the time when we got drunken in the Zhang Family’s garden?”

“I do.” I nodded. It was the first time Qi Sheng and I got drunken and did some inappropriate things.

Hearing my indifferent answer, Qi Sheng looked even worse. He asked again, “Do you remember what you said when you got drunk?”

Since I was drunk, I must have said tons of things. I contemplated for a while but failed to remember which one he was referring to, so I had to honestly shook my head.

Qi Sheng grinded his teeth, “You told me that… Lv Li, why don’t we…  go to bed now?”

Qi Sheng came to me with his poker face, and tried to grab my waist in his arm. But my waist was now too round for him to grab in his hands. So he put one hand over the side of my waist, and lifted my chin with another. He snorted coldly, “ I’ve treated Lv Li well enough by sparing her life, right?”

“Yes, indeed, you are treating her well enough.” I replied confusedly. Then I raised my hand and made a swear, “Your Majesty, there is definitely nothing going on between Lv Li and me. Her body is not even any better than that of Jiang shi. Even if I were a man, I would prefer someone like Concubine Huang. You’ve slept with them both, don’t you know the differences? It is so comfortable to sleep someone with a good body…”

The blue veins at Qi Sheng’s frontal angle started to pop again. His hand moved downward from my chin to my neck and said wearily, “Zhang Pengpeng, I wish I could choke you to death!”

Since the third lunar month, Xing Sheng Place grew increasingly busy. Each palace sent midwives to my palace and those faces looked quite familiar. They were the same ones I used when I gave birth to Wei’er. I was delighted. Things would be easier if they were someone I knew. Other things aside, we would have a better time playing mahjong as we were already familiar with each other’s style.

Qi Sheng was cool this time, asking the servants to tidy up his stationery in Da Ming Palace and send them to Xing Sheng Palace.

Jiang shi didn’t come and I couldn’t resist the urge to ask, “Do I need to bring Jiang shi over to serve you, since you are already familiar with her?”

He sneered at me, “I won’t have a fight with you now.”

Wei’er trotted from inside the back chamber and threw herself at Qi Sheng, “Father!”
Qi Sheng raised her up and sat her in his own arms. He asked her, smiling, “Have you behaved like a good girl today?”

Wei’er industriously nodded and turned around to pointed at my belly, “Little brother, little brother.”

Qi Sheng grew even happier, and pressed his forehead against his daughter’s, “Wei’er wants a little brother?”

Wei’er was laughing and she was still nodding, keeping mumbling, “Little brother, little brother.”

Xie Yi was standing beside us and she teased, “Kids’ words are always right. Your Majesty will definitely have a little prince this time.”

Just save it. How could a one-and-a-half-year-old kid know anything about little brother and little sister? You taught her to say this.

I pursed my lips, standing up with my hands on my waist. I took Wei’er’s hand and asked, “Wei’er, do you want a little sister or little brother?”

Wei’er called, “Little brother, little brother.”

Then I changed my question, “Wei’er, do you want a little brother or a little sister?”

Wei’er called without hesitation, “Little sister, little sister.”

I sneered at Qi Sheng, “See, she knows nothing about little sister or little brother. She only repeated the last two words you say.”

Qi Sheng looked at me, then looked at his daughter in his arms. Suddenly he let out a laugh, and kissed her cheek. Then he unexpectedly leaned over to me and kissed my cheek. He smiled, “Little brother or little sister bears no difference. We are in no hurry of it, so let’s take it one by one.”

I paused, but Xie Yi let out a laugh. Then she lowered her head, as if she was worrying that I might get mad.

Qi Sheng handed Wei’er to the nanny, turned around and helped me to the bed. He asked, “Is the baby still kicking you lately?”

I shook my head. My belly moved downwards and the baby also rested. According to what Mrs. Wu told me, I was going to give birth in a few days.

As expected, in the twelfth day of the third lunar month, my belly started to ache.

Qi Sheng was sleeping beside me and he woke up with a startle. He anxiously asked me, “What’s going on?”

I got myself over the initial pain, and then calmly told him, “The baby is coming.”
Qi Sheng froze for a few seconds and then he grew nervous. Without getting dressed, he jumped out of bed and yelled, “Help, help!”

A crowd of people came in to help.

The midwives were already ready to help all-weather without break. They approached me and gave me a simple check, then asked the maids to take me into the delivery room. But they were not even able to offer me their hands before Qi Sheng pushed them away. He lifted me from bed, and took me straightforwardly to the delivery room.

I was afraid that he was so nervous that he might drop me on the floor, so I grabbed his neck, and reassured him, “Don’t be nervous. Maybe it’s not coming this time. And it’s in my belly, so there is no use that you get nervous.”

But Qi Sheng didn’t take my reassurance and shot an angry glance at me.

The delivery room was already prepared. Qi Sheng was asked to leave by the midwives the moment he put me down on the delivery bed. Before he left, he pressed my hand hard, and told me in a supposedly calm tone, “Don’t be afraid, I’ll be with you just outside the room.”

He made it sound emotional so I should be impressed, so I pressed his hand to return the favor, “As long as you are with me, I’m not afraid.”

After hearing my words, he finally let go of my hand, and contentedly left the room.

To be honest, my heart skipped a beat as I saw the broad shoulder of him disappear at the hall gate. But before I could immerse myself in the feeling, the pain came again. So I didn’t have time to figure out whether it was a feeling of affection or terror.

However, when you were giving birth to your second child, you would get more adept. It was a lot faster comparing to the time when I gave birth to Wei’er, and I even had one less extra meal in between.

At noon the next day, I gave birth to a boy weighed six jin (1 jin equals 500 grams) and nine liang (1 liang equals 50 grams). The boy and I were all doing fine.

The midwife took the baby out to Qi Sheng. He was extremely delighted and rewarded everyone in Xing Sheng Palace, even the inner-palace servant sent by the Grand Empress Dowager as a messenger got his share.

I was still lying on the delivery bed and I punched the bed hard as I heard the news. He was so bad at managing the household. He just gave away tons of silvers in a blinking second. He was such a prodigal!

Xie Yi came and tucked me in. She whispered, “Your Majesty, close your eyes and have some rest.”