Suddenly, he had a vague feeling that the shackles that had locked him tightly and made him struggle painfully but unable to break free were finally loosening a little.

Fleeting moments and all the past events flashed before his eyes, blood and tears, joy and sorrow, at this moment his heart was surging and Shao Qing shed tears.

Tears flowed silently, but the corners of her lips curled up.

"Why are you crying?"

Wei Jing looked sideways and asked anxiously, "But does it still hurt?"

He was annoyed, and seeing his wife's calm face, he thought it was over, and hurriedly said, "I'll call Yan Ming to come again, you..."

"I'm not hurt, I'm fine."

Shao Qing comforted him, wiped his face, and looked up to let him see that he was not in any pain. Wei Jing was relieved. "Then why did you cry? You can't cry during the confinement period. Be careful not to hurt your eyes."

Talking about hurting eyes is worrying. He freed one hand to wipe away her tears and asked anxiously if she had been wronged or something.

The rough fingertips felt strong, and Shao Qing smiled brightly, touching the swaddling clothes, "That's right, it's not easy to conceive and give birth to her, the little one deserves a spanking."

She was just joking, but the child's father was in a dilemma. How could he bear to hit such a delicate and fragile little girl in his arms?

Wei Jing hesitated for a while: "Ah Qing, she doesn't know. When she is a few years older, we will teach her well and make sure she doesn't forget the kindness she received from her parents. Okay?"

Shao Qing's emotions had gradually calmed down, and he laughed when he heard this: "Okay then, remember to tell her."

She hugged his arm and leaned her head on his shoulder: "Husband, please give our daughter a nickname."

You can't keep calling him "little guy" or "little thing" all the time.

According to etiquette, the naming ceremony for a newborn baby should be held when the baby is three months old. Before that, the baby can be given a nickname.

Wei Jing was cheered up. To be honest, he had been away on the expedition for several months and had thought of many nicknames. He had also discussed them with his wife many times.

He thought about it carefully and asked, "How about Xu'er?"

Jiuran means happiness; Jiujiu means joy and contentment.

Babies are weak and are often feared to not grow up healthily. Therefore, from the emperor to the common people, all nicknames are based on vulgar, cheap and ugly names. But Wei Jing was not happy about giving his little daughter a cheap name, but he didn't dare to give it too expensive. After deliberating over the two aspects for several months, he finally decided on a few words.

"Xu'er, Xu'er."

Shao Qing repeated it several times: "Okay, let's call her Xu'er."

"Xu'er, your father gave you a nickname."

Shao Qing placed her hand on the side of Jiu'er's face and gently stroked it a few times, smiling: "Do you like it?"

White and slender fingers, little red cheeks, mother touched her face, and the little baby girl sipped her lips and moved.

Do you know that your mother touched your face?

Wei Jing watched with a smile. He was about to tell his wife, but the little one in his arms pursed his lips and suddenly opened his eyes.

The seams between his eyes were still swollen, and his pupils were clearly black and white, as if black mercury balls had rolled into white mercury. His lacquer-like pupils shone brightly like black glass under the sunlight filtered in through the window screen.

She stared at her father without blinking.

At this moment fireworks burst into flames. Wei Jing was so happy that he didn't know what to do. He exclaimed: "Ah Qing, she opened her eyes and she's looking at me!"

“She has such nice eyes!”

He kept saying that his daughter was beautiful, cute, with bright eyes, and that she couldn't be better. His excitement was beyond words.

Shao Qing was also itching to see her little daughter, whom she had given birth to after ten months of hard work. But she just touched her eyes and felt regretful.

Although Wei Jing was overjoyed, he was still paying attention to his wife. Seeing this, his heart twisted and his joy disappeared immediately.

He carefully put his daughter down, hugged her, and placed warm kisses on her eyelids.

"When you are out of confinement, you will be better with medicine and acupuncture."

He said this with great conviction and felt extremely guilty. He shouldn't have behaved like that just now. It was his fault for making her sad.

"Ah Qing, I..."

"fine."

Shao Qing held back the apology that was about to come out. How could he be blamed for the situation?

Besides, she was also very happy listening to it.

"Don't you dare say bad things about anyone again!"

She said heavily, kissed him on the lips, and smiled, "I'm hungry. Is Aunt Ping back?"

She was back. In the room where the couple was alone, Nanny Ping would always knock on the door gently before lifting the curtain.

As expected, these words immediately diverted Wei Jing's attention. He quickly called Nanny Ping in and turned around to take the clear porridge on the lacquered tea tray.

She had just given birth, so it was better to eat light food. After testing the temperature, he scooped some and fed it to her.

Shao Qing did not refuse. Her hands and feet were a little weak, and she began to feel tired after sitting for a while. To be honest, the production process was quite time-consuming.

Wei Jing also noticed it and felt very distressed. After feeding her a bowl of porridge, he helped her lie down and called Yan Ming to come in to take her pulse.

The pulse had already been checked once, but to be on the safe side he asked for another check. Yan Ming was not in a good mood. He took her pulse and said, "Everything is fine. She is weak after giving birth. She needs to take good care of herself during the confinement period to recover."

After saying this, he ignored Wei Jing and walked to the stroller, looking down at the little baby girl who had just been brought over by the wet nurse.

Wei Jing didn't care. As long as his wife was safe, he sat down on the edge of the bed and said softly, "Go to bed soon. I'll take care of Xu'er."

"Um."

In fact, Shao Qing was still very excited. She felt that she would not be able to fall asleep for a while. But it turned out that she was weak after giving birth. She fell asleep again after closing her eyes for a while.

In a daze, the edge of the bed seemed to lighten slightly, and I could vaguely hear Wei Jing's voice.

"Her eyes..., but...healed?"

Yan Ming's voice: "Let's talk about it after the full moon, she..."

The following words became increasingly unclear and could not be heard clearly. Shao Qing finally rubbed his eyelids.

She wants to see Xu'er.

Suddenly, I felt a sense of anticipation, stronger than ever before.

…

Giving birth is indeed a physically demanding process. For several days in a row, Shao Qing ate and slept, but she still fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes.

But after she caught her breath, her spirit improved visibly, the paleness on her face gradually faded, and her wakefulness time was almost the same as usual.

As soon as she woke up from her nap that day, she heard the cry of a young baby. She quickly opened her eyes and saw a pair of big hands helping her up in time.

It’s Wei Jing.

"Are you hungry, huh?"

Xu'er is actually a very well-behaved child. She seldom cries. She doesn't like to make a fuss unless she is hungry or has urinated. That was why she was raised directly in his parents' house, and Wei Jing didn't have to worry about whether to move her next door so as not to disturb his wife's rest.

That’s why Shao Qing asked this question.

Wei Jing smiled: "Yes, the wet nurse fed her."

As he spoke, the baby stopped crying. He instructed, "Let the wet nurse feed it. You are not allowed to interfere. The right thing to do is to take good care of your body."

Wei Jing did not agree to let his wife breastfeed.

It has been believed that breast milk is made from essence and blood, which is one of the important reasons why ladies do not breastfeed their children themselves. For this reason, whenever a young master grows up, the wet nurse who stays behind is treated with honor.

He already attached great importance to his wife's health, not to mention that she had to receive acupuncture and medicine treatment after she left the confinement period, so he could not neglect her at all. The source of the wet nurse had been chosen early on. Later, when he was away at war, he wrote a letter to Sun personally, asking the latter to check the woman carefully before deciding on the final candidate.

They are all healthy and clean women who have just given birth, with good milk consistency, color and quantity. Eight were selected at once and they took turns serving them.

Since Xu'er's nutrition was guaranteed, Shao Qing did not insist and just fed her colostrum. Anyway, she won’t be able to hold on for long. She’ll start taking medication after a month and will have to stop anyway. It won’t make much difference whether she fights or not.

In response to Wei Jing's serious instructions, she responded softly, "Okay."

She asked again: "Did you take a lunch break?"

After rushing all the way, he had very little rest when he came back. He slept directly with Shao Qing at night. As soon as his daughter cried in the middle of the night, he would jump up immediately.

Shao Qing felt sorry for him, but Wei Jing said, "I'm not sleepy or tired, so I don't need to rest."

He had no habit of taking naps. He was in high spirits and full of energy. He took advantage of his wife and daughter's lunch break to handle some important official business.

Shao Qing could guess what was going on, but couldn't bear to blame him, so he just said, "Then let's go to bed early tonight."

Wei Jing agreed with a smile and personally twisted the handkerchief to wipe her face.

Shao Qing turned her head and waited for him to finish wiping. She asked, "What's going on outside?"

Shao Qing was not an ordinary woman in the inner house. She had always been concerned about the situation outside. She had been drowsy for the past few days, and after her energy gradually recovered, she naturally asked.

"Ji Huan is almost done, and will be able to return in the near future."

Speaking of the newly captured Yangzhou, there were not many major matters that needed to be arranged after the war. After all, Yangzhou borders the sea to the east and Jingzhou to the west. Wei Jing had already arranged the defense line in the north, and only Jiaozhou was left in the south, so the defense deployment was very simple.

There is already a mature precedent for taking over government affairs and pacifying the people after successive wars. It only needs to be adjusted according to the actual situation. After handing it over to Dai Guang, Wang Yue and others who are responsible for the specific operations, Ji Huan can directly set out on the return journey with the army.

"My husband has worked hard, and so have all the soldiers. We should reward them well."

Rewarding the troops was a must. Wei Jing grabbed his wife's hand, which was caressing his cheek lovingly, and smiled softly, "Then how will Madam reward me?"

Shao Qing spat at him, saying what a dishonest man he was.

Wei Jing chuckled.

While the couple was talking, Xu'er finished eating and the wet nurse carefully brought her over. He immediately became serious and took his daughter in his hand. Jiu'er was awake, the swelling of her eyelids had subsided, and she had a pair of big almond-shaped eyes that resembled her mother's. Her pupils, like black glass, moved around, and she pursed her tender little mouth, like a flower bud.

Wei Jing smiled, kissed his daughter, and carefully placed her in his wife's arms.

The couple teased their daughter for a while, and when they saw her yawn a little and close her eyes to sleep, he looked up with a sense of unsatisfied desire and continued the previous topic.

"As for the North."

It was basically the same as expected. The only thing worth mentioning was that Wei Jing snorted lightly: "Prince An Gaochang stepped up his attack and just took over Hejian County."

…

Wei Jing led his army to attack Yang, and the whole world was shocked.

When the news reached Jizhou, Prince An was greatly alarmed. While sending a message to Chu Zhu, he also stepped up the pace of sending troops with Gao Chang.

The two hit it off immediately because of their ambitions to expand, and they had already reached a tacit understanding to join forces after the spring snow melted. As the first run-in, they chose half of Qinghe County, north of King An and east of Gaochang.

Half of Qinghe County was governed by the imperial court, and the other half was occupied by Xu Xiu, the former prefect of Qinghe County, who established his own faction. King An had counselors, strong generals and more than ten thousand elite soldiers, and Gao Chang had seventy thousand soldiers, who defeated Xu Xiu in one fell swoop.

Half of Qinghe County, half for each person, King An finally regained a new base.

The two men did not stop. While taking over the government affairs and recruiting the fugitives to surrender, they also launched an attack on Hejian County in the north.

The difficulty of attacking Hejian County was much greater than that of Qinghe County. The stalemate lasted for nearly a month. Finally, Wei Xu's strategy was to make a feint to the east and attack in the west, burning all the enemy's food and grass camps, and taking advantage of the enemy's chaos, he broke through Gaogong Pass and marched straight in.

The Hejian army was defeated, and it was only a matter of time before it was completely occupied. However, King An was not too happy, because according to the battle report from Yangzhou, King Qi had captured most of Yangzhou and forced Qu Shou to retreat to Jian'an County, and taking over Yangzhou was just around the corner.

"We were still slow after all."

Even though the speed of the march attracted the attention of the princes of Jizhou, it was still far behind Yangzhou. In the final analysis, it was because the foundation was too weak after repeated defeats.

Under the candlelight, Prince An's brows were grim.

I didn't expect the battle of Yangzhou would come so soon. Qu Mou fell ill at a very inappropriate time. Could it be that God is helping the rebellious king?

No, he never believed in fate!

Prince An's expression turned fierce, and he calmed down after a few breaths. He said to Wei Xu: "It seems that we have to deal with Gao Chang as soon as possible."

Gao Chang is an ambitious and greedy person who is difficult to control. He was optimistic about Gao Chang's eldest son, who was dull and lacked adaptability. If Gao Chang died in battle, the eldest son would be the perfect candidate to take over the throne.

As early as the expedition to Qinghe, Prince An had this idea in mind. Now, with Prince Qi's capture of Yangzhou, this idea has become imminent.

It was not the first time that Wei Xu heard this. He agreed with this strategy. He picked up the teacup, blew on it, took a sip, and nodded: "Not bad."

"The King of Qi will launch a northern expedition next year. We really don't have much time left."

…

"Gao Chang must die."

Wei Jing asserted.

Gao Chang is ambitious and bold, but unfortunately he lacks think tanks. He may want to annex his allies, but he will definitely fail.

Shao Qing gently stroked the little baby in her arms and frowned, "Then Prince An, won't he become powerful again?"

Half of Qinghe, Hejian, and the Gao family's original Anping County, although far less than before, have indeed risen again.

Next, King An will definitely not be idle. After a short rest, he will send troops again.

Wei Jing said: "If he is not there, there will be others."

This is an objective fact. The moment Prince An successfully escaped, he had anticipated what would happen today, and Wei Jing was not abrupt.

He said calmly: "Northwest Jizhou is the territory of Zhou Hong. Although Zhou Hong is conservative, he is not easy to bully."

At most, he could take over Bohai County, and then Prince An would have to turn west. Relatively speaking, all the soft persimmons had been squeezed, and it would not be so easy to expand further, and Wei Jing would not give him time.

He predicted that the Northern Expedition would be launched next year at the latest.

Wei Jing said a few simple words and refused to say more. He said to his wife, "I will take care of everything. Don't worry."

His big hand fell on Shao Qing's cheek and gently brushed her eyelids. He said with pity: "You should take good care of yourself. After the confinement period is over, it's time for Cunshan to take the medicine."

Heal the eyes.

Shao Qing blinked, and her eyelashes brushed against his palm, making it tingle.

Well, after the full confinement period, it’s time to treat your eyes.

She held her daughter tighter in her arms and couldn't help but feel excited.