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Is there going to be a war?

Not long after Princess Xuan received the news, everyone in the backyard also gradually knew about it.

After all, the emperor had been suppressing the news because the Lunar New Year was approaching, and while he wanted to go to war, he didn't have to. But the other side had been so arrogant in recent days that the emperor could no longer hold back, and the news had already spread throughout the capital.

It has been a long time since the Great Qi Dynasty had seen a war. The last time it launched an army was six years ago when Prince Xuan was ordered to suppress the rebellious grassland tribes.

This time something went wrong in Xinjiang.

The Great Qi dynasty, now under the Xianshun Emperor, has passed through four generations. The three previous emperors, Taizu and Shizong, spent most of their lives fighting wars, recovering territory and pacifying the world. Starting with Gaozong, the dynasty stabilized, with both civil and military affairs balanced, and the economy and culture flourished. Gaozong's final words were: "My father, grandfather, and great-grandfather laid the foundation. As long as the current emperor doesn't make any major mistakes, he can maintain this empire."

But life is full of surprises. Just like Mongolia's previous restlessness, Xinjiang has also had some small thoughts in recent years.

The territories were recovered during the reigns of Taizu and Shizong. Before that, the empire was divided, with various princes ruling their own territories. Otherwise, it would not have taken two generations of emperors to unify the Central Plains. Besides the Central Plains, Mongolia, Tibet, and Xinjiang all submitted to the court or became vassal states.

Xinjiang was divided into two parts, north and south, by the Tianshan Mountains. Their leaders were the King of Southern Xinjiang and Aqimbek. The Aqimbek position had changed hands several times, but the current Aqimbek was a conservative figure, and the emperor had great confidence in him.

When Southern Huijiang surrendered, the King of Southern Xinjiang was a young general. Now, he is only in his prime, still in good health, but his mind is a little confused. How confused is he? So confused that he wants to rebel and establish himself as king.

The comfortable life of the past few decades has cultivated the heart of the King of Southern Xinjiang. In addition, Gaozong and the two emperors of the current dynasty are committed to promoting civil governance. Compared with the previous Taizu and Shizong, their deterrent power on these surrendered ministers is much weaker. This is why the rebels have second thoughts.

How can I allow others to sleep soundly beside my bed? He disrespected the Emperor of Da Qi and wanted to establish himself as king, splitting the country apart. The Emperor could not tolerate this and ordered a million troops to go out to fight as soon as the New Year was over.

In addition to the necessary generals, the emperor also appointed Prince Xuan, a prince who had military merits, to join the army.

This decree came as no surprise to the people of the capital. Prince Xuan, as the emperor's eldest son, was the first prince to be exposed to court affairs. However, he was less interested in politics than in military affairs. He began to deal with military affairs after a few years of training in the Ministry of War. His bravery and skill in fighting had already been demonstrated when he led troops to suppress the various tribes on the grasslands a few years ago. Everyone knew that due to the emphasis on civil governance in recent years, the princes were no longer as skilled in martial arts as in previous dynasties. Prince Xuan was indeed an anomaly in this dynasty. The emperor hoped that when the crown prince ascended the throne, Prince Xuan, the eldest brother with military power, would become the new emperor's right-hand man.

It has been delayed for several months, and now the expedition cannot be delayed. Prince Xuan must set off three days after the imperial edict comes down.

Before leaving Beijing, Prince Xuan only went to the main courtyard once.

"Regarding Madam Yang's matter... you should handle it as we said before. Judging from her condition, the child... even if he survives, he'll probably be weak. Do your best to take care of him, but don't make a big fuss about the third day bath, full month, and hundredth day."

Princess Xuan nodded: "I remember it."

"Besides, I might not be able to catch up with Qingping when she gives birth..." Prince Xuan smiled and said, "Xi, the dawn. This is the name Qingping's child will have, regardless of gender."

Princess Xuan's eyes flashed with surprise and joy, and the corners of her mouth curled up as she smiled and replied, "Yes, I understand."

A few days after Prince Xuan left the capital, Concubine Yang's body could no longer support her and she gave birth prematurely.

The fetus was not even eight months old and was smaller than Concubine Yang's first child. The mother was so weak that no one had much hope for Concubine Yang's pregnancy this time.

The two maids who had been sent over earlier knelt down and apologized. Princess Xuan listened to the screams from inside and for a moment she had no intention of punishing them.

She just drank all the medicines for prenatal care and prescriptions for nourishing the body during pregnancy. Yang herself was unlucky, so how could she blame others?

Li Qingping was now almost six months old, and her health was getting worse. The weather was still a bit cold, so Princess Xuan sent someone to inform her that she didn't need to come. It might not be good news after all, and it would be bad if it affected the baby in Li Qingping's belly.

Concubine Yang's pregnancy was faster than the previous two. She gave birth to a daughter in just over three hours.

Premature babies shouldn't be exposed to the wind, so Princess Xuan took a look inside the room. She was tiny, her cry was weak, her face was purple, her nails hadn't fully grown, and they were as fragile as paper. But at least she wasn't dead at birth like her older sister, who was born from the same mother. But there was no telling how long she would live.

"Take the fifth girl back. How is Yang?"

Imperial Physician Sun had been waiting since the birth. After all, midwives and ordinary female doctors were no more professional than him in diagnosing illnesses and taking pulses. After examining Concubine Yang's pulse, he carefully replied, "Your health is deteriorating significantly. I'm afraid... your life span will be shortened."

Princess Xuan mentioned to him that Prince Xuan did not want Yang to get pregnant again, and asked Doctor Sun, "Do you think the current situation still requires medication?"

Doctor Sun was suddenly overheard about this private matter in the palace, and a cold sweat broke out, but he did not dare to hide anything. "All similar medicines are extremely cold and cooling. If they are used again, I am afraid that the concubine's current body will not be able to withstand it. And the concubine is now... The probability of her being pregnant is extremely small."

Princess Xuan was not satisfied with this statement: "I thought the prince and I had made our meaning clear."

Doctor Sun's heart was pounding, and he could only say, "I know a recipe for a certain spice..."

"Then Doctor Sun will do what he wants."

Li Qingping felt sad when he heard that Concubine Yang had given birth to a daughter but suffered a loss of health. He thought about how Zhang had also suffered a loss of health when she gave birth to a son. Concubine Yang mocked him openly and covertly, thinking that it was indeed karma.

In the middle of the night, the commotion outside resumed. Li Qingping, now a bit pregnant, had fallen asleep. Yunsu walked in, and Li Qingping asked her to light a lamp to ask what was going on. Yunsu's face turned pale as she replied, "Master, Concubine Yang wanted to throw the Fifth Young Lady to death! If it weren't for Madam's quick action, the Fifth Young Lady, born prematurely and weak, wouldn't have been able to withstand the fall. I'm afraid her own mother would have..."

Li Qingping gasped: "She is really crazy!"

This was a blatant attempt to murder the royal heir, and even if Concubine Yang was the fifth girl's biological mother, she could not escape the disaster.

Seeing Li Qingping about to get out of bed, Yun Su hurried forward to stop him: "Master, you should rest well at the Princess's place. Only the Princess, our concubine, and Madam Wan have rushed over now. The others are waiting in their own courtyards."

"Help me lean on the couch. I can't sleep now." Li Qingping sighed.

Yun Lian and Matron Hu came over to serve after hearing the news, and they both sighed inwardly that it was a sin for the Fifth Girl to have such a mother.

Li Qingping drank a cup of honey water and asked, "Is Yu Jin disturbed?" The child has to lead his younger brothers and sisters to the clan school early tomorrow morning.

Yun Lian had seen it before: "I dare not let this kind of thing get to the young lady's side."

"In this case, Concubine Yang will definitely not be able to raise the child herself." Li Qingping thought about it and found that except for concubines, everyone in the backyard who had a title and status had children.

Li Qingping: Wow, what a fair and benevolent Prince Xuan.

"I don't know who will take care of the last five girls."

Yun Su was horrified: "Master, you are not planning to adopt the fifth girl, are you? Forgive me for being nosy, but you'd better not get involved in this matter."

Li Qingping couldn't help but laugh and said, "I, your master, am not so kind-hearted as a bodhisattva." It's not necessary for him to get involved in the affairs of Concubine Yang.

The main reason was that it was truly difficult. Not to mention that everyone in the backyard already had a child, so why bother raising one they didn't have? And if the Fifth Lady were healthy, it would be fine, but she was a premature baby, who could die any day. No one wanted to take on such a thankless task. Furthermore, with Concubine Yang's current behavior, Prince Xuan might resent her, and raising this child might even offend Prince Xuan. In short, it wasn't worth it. It was extremely unprofitable.

In the end, it was Princess Xuan who personally brought the Fifth Young Lady to the main courtyard. As the legitimate mother of all the children in the palace, she was the most appropriate person to handle the adoption under the current circumstances. Concubine Yang was confined to her own courtyard, awaiting Prince Xuan's return to await his fate.

It wasn't a good thing to tell anyone about this, and Princess Xuan repeatedly warned everyone in the palace not to talk too much. But everyone knew that the fifth daughter of Prince Xuan's palace was born prematurely and was weak, so no one outside the palace wondered why a concubine suddenly shut herself in, pretending to be recuperating in bed.

In May, Li Qingping went into labor at night and gave birth to a baby girl at sunrise.

The sixth girl, Yuxi, saw that the baby was being well taken care of in the mother's womb and that the princess of Prince Xuan was filled with joy when she held the baby. She then looked at the sky which was just getting brighter and thought that the name of Prince Xuan was really right.

However, the Fifth Young Lady hadn't even been included in the Imperial Book of Respect, and didn't even have a nickname. They were so afraid of losing the child that they didn't even dare to give her a name. As the elder sister, the Fifth Young Lady was the senior, so it wasn't easy to get ahead of her. So, even though everyone close to her knew the Sixth Young Lady had a name chosen by her biological father, it remained hidden, and Princess Xuanqin didn't report the name to the Imperial Clan Bureau for entry in the Imperial Book of Respect.

"Let's pick a nickname first. We'll enter it into the Imperial Book of Documents when the prince returns." Princess Xuan said to Li Qingping gently, "The prince has chosen the full name, but the nickname should be chosen by you, my mother."

Speaking of this, Li Qingping was very upset: "...This prince has also woken up."

Princess Xuan: “…?” Seeing the sullen look on Li Qingping’s face, she suppressed a smile and asked, “When did this happen?”

After learning the whole story, Princess Xuan couldn't help but laugh. Looking at her sister's resentful eyes, she could only comfort her: "It shows that the prince is very concerned about your pregnancy."

"I don't know why the prince was so sure it was a girl. He always wanted her to look like me, but I think Yuxi's eyes and eyebrows are more like his. Cancan, cancan..."

Li Qingping lowered his head and looked tenderly at his daughter who was sleeping soundly. He murmured, "Forget it. Cancan is indeed a good name. Cancan, don't you think so?"

What a coincidence! Today, an urgent letter arrived from Xinjiang, which was sent eight hundred miles away.

Our army won a great victory in Southern Xinjiang. Prince Xuan captured the Southern Xinjiang King Sailik alive and escorted him back to Beijing soon.