Chapter 164 No Lightness or Severity

Jiang Yingli was pregnant and was canonized as Concubine Xi, which made the Queen Mother a little restless.

"Ning'er, you asked your aunt to listen to you, but Jiang Shi is about to soar to the sky with this pregnancy. Why are you still indifferent?"

Xue Ning lowered his eyelashes, lifted the tea mist, and looked calm and composed.

"Aunt, do you want to do anything to that child?"

Queen Mother Xue paused, a little hesitant: "How can we keep this baby? Jiang's family was of low status before, and no matter what, we could never sit on the throne of empress. But with this child, it's different. What if it's a prince? There will be endless troubles when he grows up."

"Aunt, this child cannot be touched." Xue Ning looked at Queen Mother Xue and said firmly, "Aunt, you should put aside those thoughts and take a long-term view. In the future, if the Xue family wants to make a fortune, they will have to rely on this child's bloodline. Otherwise, if they rebel and fail to win the support of the people, they may be attacked from all sides and bring about their own destruction. As a chess player, how can you be impatient?"

Empress Dowager Xue was frightened by Xue Ning's warning tone, and felt a little angry when she came to her senses.

Her niece is becoming less obedient and less polite than before, and always looks like she is planning something.

But who can guarantee that the plan will go smoothly?

If we do nothing now, who knows if we will miss a good opportunity to take action?

Anyway, it’s definitely a good idea to get rid of this baby first. Who can say for sure what will happen in the future?

Empress Dowager Xue glanced at Xue Ning and concealed the unhappiness in her eyes.

Xue Ning didn't know what Empress Dowager Xue was thinking. She kept the child not only to use it as a puppet in the future, but also to use it to alienate Xiao Chenglan and Jiang Yingli.

My aunt simply wouldn't understand that if the plan of sowing discord succeeded, Xiao Chenglan could be crushed easily without any fighting.

He is terribly paranoid about Jiang Yingli, and Xiao Chenglan will eliminate anyone who stands between them.

But what if this child gets in between them?

Xue Ning suddenly sneered.

Her white fingertips held up a box, which contained a mother-and-child Gu that was about to mature.

Wen Renyue said this was something the Yuelin people planted in their wet nurses. When the nobles hired wet nurses, they would plant this insect in them shortly after giving birth, when their maternal love was just beginning to be aroused, to intensify their emotions.

In this way, the wet nurses will be absolutely loyal to the little masters in their cradles as if they were their own children, and they will not have to worry that the wet nurses will mistreat the little masters in places where they are not seen.

This thing is just right for Jiang Yingli.

Since you are a mother, you should love your children wholeheartedly. Everything else is irrelevant, right?

How can a mother who loves her child wholeheartedly tolerate a vicious husband who hurts her child?

Xue Ning clenched the box in his hand, his eyes full of smiles, yet revealing a chill that seeped into his bones.

Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs. She was looking forward to seeing what this madman Xiao Chenglan would do.

If he didn't get rid of the child, he would suffer forever, so much so that the Xue family could get rid of him without bloodshed, leaving behind an orphan and a widow, who would be at the mercy of others.

If he had taken away the kid, things would have been even more interesting.

**

The Zhao and Feng families received the letter from Empress Dowager Xue.

Since the fall of the Su family, the relationship between the aristocratic families has been somewhat strained.

Everyone is a little worried that the Xue family will abandon the dog after the rabbit is dead and demolish the bridge after crossing the river.

But now, seeing that the emperor's power is growing, they can no longer complain about the Xue family.

If we don't join forces, it's all over for everyone.

Queen Mother Xue asked them to send people into the palace under the pretext of a beauty pageant. Although it sounded nice, saying that entering the palace would bring glory to the family, everyone knew that anyone entering the palace at this point was playing a suicidal game, and would risk their lives to get rid of the fetus in Concubine Xi's belly.

During the morning court session, many ministers proposed a selection of concubines.

"Your Majesty, the war in the southwest has been decided. It's time to start the selection process that has been put on hold."

"Yes, Your Majesty, it is a good thing that the Concubine is pregnant, but we don't know whether it will be a prince or a princess. Your Majesty should make more plans to avoid the loss of offspring and the instability of the country."

Xiao Chenglan looked at the people kneeling below and said coldly, "The country is unstable? I'm only twenty-four, and you're already worrying about no one to take over the throne. Are you really caring about the country, or are you cursing me?"

The ministers in the hall were all panicked and knelt down.

"Your Majesty, please calm down!"

"Your Majesty, how dare I be disrespectful to you? Your Majesty has always favored the Imperial Concubine. Now that she is pregnant and unable to serve Your Majesty, I simply wish to find a beautiful woman to serve Your Majesty and relieve your worries."

Xiao Chenglan looked at the minister who was speaking and smiled slightly. "Well then, Lord Li, I remember you have a son who is still young. Hand me his name on the list and I will definitely choose him."

Lord Li widened his eyes in disbelief and fell to the ground.

Everyone knows that he had a son in his old age, and this is his only child, who will carry on the Li family's bloodline in the future!

How could Your Majesty!

No one in the court dared to speak.

The person who had just advised against the selection of concubines dared not even breathe a word, fearing that his family's descendants would enter the palace and become concubines.

Xiao Chenglan put away his cold smile and threw the stack of papers proposing the draft at the people who had just proposed the draft.

"I say no, and that means no. Anyone who dares to discuss it again will be punished for disobeying the emperor's will!"

The ministers in the palace were trembling with fear after being scolded by Xiao Chenglan, and dared not speak out.

Your Majesty has made up his mind to favor the imperial concubine alone.

This is ridiculous!

Lord Zhao and Lord Feng exchanged glances.

There is little hope of sending a girl into the palace, but even if there is no selection, there are always ways to get someone into the palace.

A group of palace maids who are 25 years old or older are about to be released, and the same is true for finding two clever ones to blend into the team of new palace maids.

**

Ever since Jiang Yingli was diagnosed as pregnant, Xiao Chenglan's first thing to do after work was to visit her.

Ever since Jiang Yingli found out she was pregnant, she had found an outlet for her previously inexplicable emotions and her mood had calmed down a lot, but she became more and more attached to Xiao Chenglan.

"Your Majesty, I don't want to stay alone in Zhaohua Palace. It's so far away from Your Majesty."

Xiao Chenglan thought about it for a while.

It’s really far.

Moreover, Jiang Yingli is pregnant, so it is inevitable that some people will be eager to take action.

He was afraid that there would be a mistake, and he couldn't let Jiang Yingli make any mistakes.

"Today I have ordered the removal of the paintings in Changyang Palace and the restoration of the bedroom to its previous state. You will move into Changyang Palace from now on."

Changyang Palace is the emperor's bedroom, and is very close to the court and the government hall.

Jiang Yingli was happy, but also felt sorry for those paintings.

"Your Majesty has so many calligraphy works that they cannot be hung up for display."

Xiao Chenglan felt a little regretful, but still smiled and said, "Forget about the outer hall, but the inner hall will have to be taken down sooner or later. Otherwise, it will be bad if the child sees it when he grows up."

Jiang Yingli suddenly felt ashamed and angry: "Your Majesty, it's all because of your careless writing."