Chapter 69 Cold War

On April 20th of the 20th year of Zhaohua, Empress Song gave birth to a legitimate son. The emperor was very happy and issued a general amnesty.

Chan Zhen just learned the news from Lu Zhu, and his arms around Yuan Zhao suddenly tightened.

After all, things were different from her previous life. In her previous life, she had suffered a difficult labor and heavy bleeding during Yuan Zhao's birth, and the imperial physicians worked tirelessly for three days and three nights before finally bringing her back from the dead. During her coma, Yuan Zhao was ignored by the emperor due to his unreasonable anger. It was not until she woke up and had an argument with him that he began to pay attention to Yuan Zhao and, at the full moon banquet, issued an edict to confer the title of Prince Rui on Yuan Zhao.

Lu Zhu wiped her face with warm water and said with a smile, "Your Majesty really values our little princess."

Even His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin, who was once the most favored by Your Majesty, did not receive such an honor when he was born.

Chan Zhen remained silent, intently teasing Yuan Zhao in her arms. In her previous life, Yuan Zhao had been very frail at birth, requiring the constant presence of an imperial physician. She had also been in poor health after giving birth, and she was hesitant to hold him, fearing he might be injured.

At that time, it was His Majesty who took better care of him...

Why did she think of that person again? She felt a dull pain in her heart. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she pushed the man's face out of her mind.

Lu Zhu served her personally, so she naturally noticed that the queen's temperament had changed since she woke up, and she was not as close to His Majesty as before.

"Your Majesty," she said cautiously, "During the time you were in a coma, His Majesty didn't even attend court and stayed by your bedside day and night. I've never seen His Majesty so nervous."

"Let him guard it if he wants," Chan Zhen said calmly. "Your Majesty and I have had some problems recently, and I don't want to hear his name again. You don't need to tell me about him."

"Weren't things between you and His Majesty fine before?" Lu Zhu thought she was tired from giving birth and was in a bad mood, so she advised, "Your Majesty's love and care for you is obvious to all. Please don't create any rift between you and His Majesty at this time, as it will give others an opportunity to take advantage of you."

But the queen couldn't sleep with him during her pregnancy. There were so many women in the harem waiting eagerly for His Majesty's favor.

Zen Zhen's heart became increasingly annoyed: "Whoever he favors has nothing to do with me."

In her previous life, she hoped that he would let her go and change his target. After all, he had never been unfaithful before she entered the palace. His harem didn't have three thousand beauties, but it was not a small number either.

"Your Majesty," Lu Zhu said anxiously, "you must not push His Majesty elsewhere."

Hearing her speak, Chan Zhen suddenly recalled a past life in which, after she had ascended to the throne, a noble family had fostered a woman resembling her and attempted to bring her into the palace. She had watched the woman dance without comment, and that night, he had found excuses to torment her for a long time. By then, she had been in the palace for two years, and it was rare for her to see him so out of control in bed, leaving a deep scar on her.

If these words just now reached his ears, the past would inevitably repeat itself. She knew that no matter how tolerant and gentle he appeared in front of her, he was still strong at heart and had a strong desire to control matters concerning her.

She felt that she had said something out of turn, but she didn't want to make him too concerned, so she made an excuse and said, "I'm a little tired, Luzhu, you go down first."

"Your Highness..." Lu Zhu looked at her worriedly. Seeing that she was indeed a little tired, she couldn't help but say, "Then I will carry the little prince down first. You can rest in peace."

Chan Zhen couldn't bear to let Yuan Zhao leave his sight: "Let Zhao'er sleep here with me."

She gently touched Yuan Zhao's little face, and when she saw him grinning at her, her expression became even gentler: "Zhao'er is very good."

Seeing that she insisted, Luzhu had no choice but to retreat, but she was cautious and ordered several people to guard outside the door.

…

After dealing with the political affairs of the past few days, Chen Dingyao rubbed his forehead wearily and asked Guo Kai beside him, "Is everything going well at Fengqi Palace today?"

Guo Kai had been following the news from Fengqi Palace and quickly replied, "Your Majesty, both the Queen and the young prince are doing well."

Chen Dingyao put down his pen and glanced at the sky outside: "By now, the mother and son should have fallen asleep."

Although Guo Kai didn't know what had happened between His Majesty and the Empress, he had been immersed in political affairs for the past two days, as if torturing himself. He almost never slept, and unlike usual, he didn't go to Fengqi Palace every day.

But if His Majesty does not value Fengqi Palace, he still asks him about the news of Fengqi Palace several times a day.

He stayed with His Majesty for two sleepless nights and was almost unable to hold on any longer. He prayed in his heart that the two ancestors would reconcile quickly.

Chen Dingyao looked at the deep night and thought, Chan really doesn't want to see me, but she didn't say I can't see her, so he ordered: "I'm going to Fengqi Palace, and there is no need for extra people to follow me."

On the other side, Luzhu was leaning against the door and yawning. Suddenly, she saw the flickering candlelight outside the palace door, and her sleepiness immediately disappeared.

It’s so late, the only possibility is that His Majesty has come.

She went to greet him with surprise, but before she could salute, she saw His Majesty waving his hand, looking into the hall and whispering, "Is Chan Zhen asleep?"

Lu Zhu saw that he didn't want to make it public, so she lowered her voice and said, "The Queen and the young prince have been asleep for a while."

Chen Dingyao frowned: "Yuan Zhao is in there too?"

"The Queen didn't allow the servants to carry the little prince out, and insisted on taking care of him herself." Lu Zhu explained.

His frown deepened: "Nonsense, how can Yuan Zhao sleep well at night when she is here?"

He had personally experienced how noisy Yuan Zhao had been at night in his previous life. He would cry and whimper like a kitten from time to time, and he would always get up and go to comfort him, fearing that he would die without knowing it. Although Yuan Zhao was healthy in this life, her crying would surely be even more noisy than in her previous life. She was still in confinement after childbirth and needed more rest. How could he bear to let her suffer such a loss?

"If this happens again, you must persuade your queen no matter what." He said coldly before walking into the door.

It was late at night and everyone was asleep. He walked lightly to the bedside and looked at her face quietly in the candlelight.

Zen was truly fast asleep, one hand holding Yuan Zhao inside, his face peaceful and beautiful.

He looked at her and sighed silently. He gently leaned over and picked up Yuan Zhao, wanting to put him in the cradle beside the bed.

Yuan Zhao suddenly lost the familiar smell in his sleep. He pouted and opened his eyes and was about to burst into tears.

He held him skillfully, walked a little further away from the bed, and patted his back gently to comfort him.

"Yuan Zhao, be good and don't bother your mother."

Yuan Zhao felt another breath that made him feel at ease, and his crying immediately stopped and he fell into sleep again.

He looked at Yuan Zhao's little face, which was exactly the same as his mother's, and his heart softened. He carefully put him in the cradle, and then walked to the bed and sat down.

However, he felt as if a lifetime had passed after not seeing her for two days.

"You are so cruel to me." He pulled the quilt that had fallen onto her shoulders a little higher. "You said you wouldn't see me, and you really won't see me at all. I have no choice but to come to see you quietly."

He suddenly smiled, "It seems like I'm a lover who is not allowed to see the light of day."

In her previous life, when she was in the palace, if he hadn't sent someone to invite her in a sedan chair, she would never have taken the initiative to look at him. When they met by chance in front of others, she would lower her head as if there was no connection between them, but they were clearly so affectionate.

The more she tried to hide their affair, the more unwilling he felt, and the more he wanted the world to know that she was his woman. Finally, that night, after finding out that she and Yun Yi had been having sex behind his back, he lost his mind and deliberately exposed the matter to Yun Yi.

He was not afraid of the world's eyes, but he was afraid that she would leave him.

"Your Majesty..." He was about to stop talking when he heard her mumbling unclearly. His heart suddenly felt like fireworks bursting, and he was so surprised that he couldn't control himself. However, the next moment he saw her frowning in her sleep, looking extremely uneasy.

What did she dream about? And what about those times in her past life?

He stretched out his hand to smooth her frown, and even wanted to hold her in his arms and protect her as usual, but he could only stop an inch away from her forehead.

If Chan really woke up and saw him, she would probably get angry again. She was still in confinement after childbirth and couldn't get too excited.

Compared to his previous life, he cannot take it lightly or seriously now.

If I force her like I did in my previous life, it will only push her further away. Take it slow. They still have a whole life left in this life, so there is no need to rush.

He warned himself, but he was still restless in his heart. In his previous life, he had never received her love, so he could still tolerate her indifference. But in this life, he had clearly received her true love and felt her tenderness and consideration. How could he tolerate her cold gaze again?

"Zenzhen, don't push me too hard."

At this moment, he could still consider her body and suppress the darkness in his heart, but if this continued, he could not guarantee that the beast in his heart would not be able to break out of the cage one day.

He didn't want to hurt her anymore.

…

When Chan Zhen woke up the next day, everything was back to normal. Yuan Zhao was lying beside her with his eyes closed, still asleep.

"Zhao'er is so good." She couldn't let go of his little face. He didn't cry at all all night. It seemed that the hardship in his previous life must have been caused by a difficult birth.

Luzhu came in and helped her put on her clothes. During this time, she was unusually silent and no longer spoke as much as the day before.

Chan Zhen was confused but did not think much about it. After putting on his clothes, he let the wet nurse take Yuan Zhao down to feed him, while he himself was idly shaking Yuan Zhao's rattle.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in her mind, "Did His Majesty come last night?"

She seemed to feel a familiar breath in her sleep, but she slept too deeply last night, so maybe it was just an illusion.

Lu Zhu's expression was the same as usual: "Your Majesty did see His Majesty in your dream, but it's a pity that His Majesty didn't come last night."

Chan Zhen didn't want to see him at first, but when he heard Lu Zhu say this, he felt a sense of loss inexplicably.

"Who would dream of him?" She recalled the way he had forced her in her past life, and finally suppressed the throbbing in her heart. "It would be better if he didn't show up."

She didn't want to see his hateful face.

Chanzhen was in confinement and could not leave the temple. After Yuanzhao finished drinking his milk, she held him in her arms to entertain him and gradually put aside the troubles of her previous life.

In the afternoon, she was playing with Yuan Zhao when she suddenly heard a palace maid say that Eunuch Guo in the imperial court wanted to see her. Her face instantly turned cold.

"I don't want to see anyone in front of the emperor right now."

When Guo Kai heard the eunuch's reply, he immediately broke out in a sweat due to nervousness.

"What should I do?" He wiped his forehead and pleaded with a serious face, "Please inform the Queen again. Tonight is the little prince's third-day baptism ceremony. I have to hold the little prince and show him my private parts."

Chan Zhen only remembered this incident when he heard the eunuch's message. In his previous life, Yuan Zhao hadn't undergone a baptism ceremony. On the third day after his birth, she was still lingering at the gates of hell. How could His Majesty have even thought of holding a baptism ceremony for Yuan Zhao?

In this life, she must provide for Yuan Zhao.

"Then wait until the baptism ceremony begins later and have the emperor send someone to pick you up."

It was still early before dark, and she was reluctant to let Yuan Zhao leave her so early.

She thought that the emperor would send Eunuch Guo to pick her up in the evening, but unexpectedly, the person she saw was someone she didn't want to see again.

"I'm here to pick up Zhao'er for the baptism ceremony."