General Meng frowned after hearing what his wife said, and said with displeasure:

"Madam, Lianyi has been gone for such a long time, why are you still dwelling on this?

The current Lianyi was a substitute that we had to find in order to avoid punishment for our family after our daughter passed away. She also has parents, and she was also a daughter that was carefully raised by others. "

"So what? She entered the palace as my daughter. If she wasn't my daughter, who would know her?"

Mrs. Meng has started to act unreasonable.

General Meng didn't want to get entangled with his wife any more, so he said to his second son:

"Tell your mother how the Queen ascended to the throne!"

Meng Guangshen sighed. Although he didn't want to admit it, he had to admit that if it was really his sister who entered the palace, she would have turned into a pile of bones by now.

"When the new queen ascended the throne, she was still injured. In order to protect the three princes, she was almost cut in half by the rebels."

"She is not protecting the bloodline of my Meng family."

Mrs. Meng gritted her teeth and continued to argue.

"Yes, she is not protecting the bloodline of my Meng family, but the royal bloodline. You cannot deny this. Do you think that if our frail daughter encounters a palace coup, can she survive?"

General Meng asked back.

"Can"

"Madam, since you already know the whole story, go and have a rest first. I still want to ask Shen'er some details."

General Meng didn't want to continue arguing with his wife about this issue, so as not to hurt their relationship, so he asked his wife to leave first.

Mrs. Meng knew that her husband was angry, so she left without saying anything.

General Meng and his second son stayed in the study room for half the night. No one knew what they talked about, but since that day, the elite troops of the Meng family army have increased their training.

Lianyi, who was far away in the palace, didn't know that the three carts of gifts she sent back to the border had made Madam Meng so dissatisfied. She even resented Lianyi for taking her daughter's identity. If she knew, she would definitely leave her speechless.

As the end of the year approached, the depressing atmosphere in the palace improved slightly. Although the old emperor had just passed away and there could be no grand celebrations or banquets for all the ministers, the New Year needed to have a new look, so family banquets in the palace could be held.

Lianyi had already instructed Nanny Sun to prepare a table of delicious food and set it up in the central palace, and she also informed the new emperor early in the morning.

After the new emperor put down his pen, he brought Quanfu to Fengqi Palace.

"Welcome to His Majesty!"

Lianyi was dressed very formally today, wearing the bright red palace dress that belonged only to the queen. She was greeted at the door by three maids holding children and a group of palace maids and eunuchs.

"The Queen is not fully recovered yet, why did she come out to greet me in person? Get up quickly!"

The emperor was probably in a particularly good mood because he didn't have to attend court tomorrow. And seeing how grandly prepared Lian Yi was, his attitude towards Lian Yi improved a bit.

"I know that Your Majesty has worked hard, and it is not appropriate to celebrate in the palace this year, so I have prepared some home-cooked dishes and drinks. It would be nice for our family to get together and have a New Year's Eve dinner."

Lianyi stood up with the other person's support and said with a gentle smile.

"My queen is the most thoughtful one."

The new emperor and Lianyi entered Fengqi Palace side by side. He first looked at the three children one by one and then sat down with Lianyi.

Lianyi picked up two funny stories about the children and told them, which made the emperor laugh heartily and relaxed him. Then she turned to the main point of today.

"Your Majesty, I consulted the imperial physician yesterday to check my pulse. He said that my body has almost recovered, but I have injured my foundation this time. I am afraid that I will not be able to bear children for Your Majesty in the future."

Lian Yi said somewhat sadly.

"Queen, you have given birth to three children for me. You have worked hard and made great contributions. I am very satisfied."

The emperor's eyes flashed, and he immediately patted Lianyi's hand to comfort her.

"I know that Your Majesty will not dislike me, but I still feel that this harem is a little cold."

Lianyi poured a glass of wine for the emperor personally and then spoke.

"Lianyi, you should be patient this year. When the mourning period is over next year, we can find some acrobatic and opera troupes to enter the palace to entertain you."

The emperor pretended to have misunderstood, but still patiently tried to comfort Lianyi.

"Your Majesty, you have misunderstood my meaning."

"Oh? What does my queen plan to do? Tell me now."

"Your Majesty, I am thinking of holding a beauty pageant next summer to fill your harem, have more sisters to serve you, and expand the royal family."

Ripple said with a smile.

The emperor raised his eyebrows and asked:

"Did someone whisper something in your ear?"

"Your Majesty, do you need any help?"

Lian Yi shook his head helplessly, and then continued:

"I don't need to listen carefully to guess what they are saying about me. They are just saying that I am the only one who can dominate the harem because I have saved the royal heirs and I am your Majesty's first wife. I cannot tolerate other women."

"That's all nonsense from people with ulterior motives. You don't have to pay attention to it."

The emperor drank the wine in the glass and waved his hand.

"Your Majesty knows my character best, but constant criticism can destroy a person!

Besides, I am not a jealous person, so I took the opportunity of the family dinner today to boldly propose the matter of filling the harem. This is my duty as the queen. "

Seeing Lianyi's sincerity, the emperor did not continue to reject the idea. In fact, some court officials had proposed filling the harem before, but he refused on the grounds of mourning.

It would be too embarrassing to tell others that his father and mother had just passed away and he was busy looking for women, so he decided to put the matter on hold. However, after the mourning period was over in the spring, this matter should indeed be put on the agenda.

Now that the queen can take the initiative to bring it up, he has taken the initiative.

Lianyi had no good intention in proposing to fill the emperor's harem. After all, lust is a sword hanging over one's head, and it is not easy to enter the land of women's tenderness. As for having children, that was even more impossible. She did not want to have children who would compete with her son for the throne.

Because of Lianyi's suggestion, the family dinner between the emperor and the empress was very harmonious, and both sides were in a good mood. The emperor stayed overnight in Fengqi Palace to let everyone in the palace know that although the empress was the mother of three children, she was still in great favor.

As usual, the emperor slept on the floor all night and was moved to bed the next day. He was then gently awakened by Lianyi. After dressing himself, he went to meet the ministers who came to the palace to congratulate him. As the empress of the central palace, Lianyi also had to accept the audience from the ladies of honor.

With Lanzhi's help, Lianyi put on the court dress of the Empress Dowager and accepted the greetings of the ladies of honor in Fengqi Palace. Of course, amid the compliments of the ladies of honor, she also vaguely revealed the news of the beauty pageant next summer.

After all, the emperor must issue an announcement before the selection of girls, and women of marriageable age are not allowed to marry before the end of the selection. Of course, if they are already engaged or married before the royal announcement, they will automatically be excluded from the selection.

Lianyi spread the news to curry favor with the officials in the imperial city. Not all daughters of officials want to enter the palace to fight for a future. Those who love their daughters still hope that their daughters will marry into ordinary families and become their principal wives.