On the imperial carriage back to the palace, Su Xuening held Xiao Bao, who had cried himself to sleep again, and tenderly wiped away the tears from the corners of the little guy's eyes.
Just as his mother had said, Xiao Bao cried for a while and then fell asleep again.
He's young and probably doesn't remember it yet; hopefully, this pain isn't in his memory.
Back at the palace, everyone gathered again at Fengxiang Palace to continue the full-month celebration for Xiaobao.
Now that Su Xuening, Su Yun'an, and Xiao Bao have all been recognized as members of the family, they are now officially recognized. The atmosphere in Fengxiang Palace is much more relaxed than before.
After seeing how much Duanmu Junyu doted on the two new princes, the ministers of Xiliang began to curry favor with Su Xuening and Su Yun'an.
Of course, the main focus was on Su Xuening, because Su Yun'an was still a minor and a boy, so the ministers of Xiliang mainly wanted to curry favor with Su Xuening.
After all, the only options for the future crown prince are the newly arrived prince and the previous crown prince.
Su Xuening wasn't much of a drinker, but she knew that her mother was in a difficult situation in Xiliang, and since her mother had asked her to acknowledge her ancestors, she must have wanted to pass the throne of Xiliang to her.
Therefore, when these ministers tried to get closer to her, she tried her best not to refuse them.
Who knows when she won't need these people's support?
Duanmu Junyu felt both gratified and distressed to see Su Xuening trying so hard to deal with the ministers.
This child grew up in Dongchu and was a pampered noblewoman. If she were in Dongchu, she wouldn't need to deal with these things.
But she happens to be her only daughter, and the throne will inevitably be passed to her in the future. She's already happy that she's willing to deal with these things. As for the rest, she'll have plenty of time to teach her later.
Of course, not every minister in this hall tried to curry favor with Su Xuening.
Nearly 70% of the officials in the entire Western Liang court were part of the Prince Hui faction. Naturally, these people would not flatter Su Xuening; they favored Prince Hui and were only willing to obey his orders.
When Duanmu Shenghua saw many officials toasting Su Xuening, a cold glint flashed in her eyes.
She secretly gave a wink to the officials of the Huiwang Party.
Upon receiving a signal from Duanmu Shenghua, the officials suddenly stood up and bowed to Duanmu Junyu, saying, "Your Majesty, we submitted a memorial earlier. We wonder if Your Majesty has given a reply?"
In fact, the officials did not want to bring up such a matter in this atmosphere, but they dared not offend Prince Hui, so they had no choice but to bite the bullet and become the troublemakers.
Duanmu Junyu's eyes suddenly sharpened, and she said coldly as if she didn't understand, "What memorial are you talking about?"
Perhaps it was Duanmu Junyu's gaze that was too cold and sharp, forcing the official's heart to tremble. He lowered his eyes and said with a stiff upper lip, "Your Majesty, you have been away from court for so long, have you forgotten the memorials we submitted to you regarding the establishment of an heir apparent?"
This blatant question infuriated Duanmu Junyu once again: "Are you blaming me?"
Duanmu Junyu's voice wasn't loud, but you could still tell she was genuinely angry.
She should be grateful that her baby is sleeping in her arms right now; otherwise, she wouldn't be as calm as she is now.
"Your subject dares not?"
Sensing Duanmu Junyu's anger, the official knelt down with a thud.
Duanmu Junyu showed her no respect whatsoever: "Do you think I'm nearing my end, which is why you're in such a hurry to isolate the Crown Prince?"
The official was terrified and immediately prostrated himself on the ground: "Long live Your Majesty! How dare I have such thoughts? I only wish to establish an heir as soon as possible to solidify the foundation of the country and reassure the people. I beg Your Majesty to make a decision soon."
As soon as the official said this, nearly 70% of the officials stood up and pleaded: "Your Majesty, please establish an heir apparent as soon as possible to establish the foundation of the country and to reassure the people."
Looking at the large group of officials kneeling, Su Xuening frowned deeply.
It seems that my mother's situation in Xiliang is indeed quite difficult. Judging from the looks of it, more than half of the people in the court seem to be people of that Prince Hui.
If Mother wants to regain control of the court and completely reclaim the initiative of the previous dynasty, it will take quite some time.
When Duanmu Shenghua saw her people coming out to pressure Duanmu Junyu, she immediately felt a little smug.
See? So what if Duanmu Junyu becomes empress again? She's still at Duanmu Shenghua's mercy.
Didn't she always avoid attending court? Now let's see how she tries to avoid it!
Xiao Jincheng's palms were sweaty with nervousness. She knew that Prince Hui wanted to force His Majesty to make Xin'er the Crown Prince, but Xin'er was not His Majesty's biological daughter, so why would His Majesty be willing to make Xin'er the Crown Princess?
If Her Majesty didn't have any children, it would be fine, but now that she has a daughter, who has even officially returned to the ancestral line, she will definitely choose her own daughter as the heir apparent. It seems that what Prince Hui is thinking will not come to pass.
Duanmu Qingxin also looked at Duanmu Junyu nervously.
She knew these officials were pleading for her, and they were all King Hui's men.
She didn't understand why her imperial aunt was so good to her and always supported her, even though they hadn't seemed particularly anxious before.
Perhaps she wanted to promote her so she could gain some benefits in return.
If the imperial aunt could really help her ascend to the throne of the Western Liang Empress, she certainly wouldn't be stingy with the benefits.
However, now that the Empress has acknowledged these two illegitimate children, she may not be willing to make her the Crown Princess.
Duanmu Junyu looked at the ministers who were pressuring her, and suddenly seemed to have stopped being angry. She smiled and said, "Speaking of which, I am not young anymore. I already have a grandson of the emperor. It is indeed time to establish an heir apparent."
As she spoke, Duanmu Junyu gently pinched Xiaobao's fair and tender face.
The kneeling ministers looked at each other, somewhat bewildered, not understanding why His Majesty had suddenly become so agreeable.
This means she is willing to establish a crown prince.
These ministers didn't understand, but Duanmu Shenghua understood Duanmu Junyu's meaning and unconsciously frowned.
These idiots didn't mention the most important thing.
Since her words hadn't quite hit the mark, Duanmu Shenghua had no choice but to step forward herself: "It's best that Your Highness has come to your senses. His Highness is exceptionally talented and intelligent, and is certainly capable of shouldering great responsibilities."
Duanmu Junyu raised her eyebrows slightly, glanced at Su Xuening beside her, and nodded in satisfaction, saying, "You're right, Ning'er is indeed a woman of extraordinary beauty, and I am very pleased with her!"
Upon hearing Duanmu Junyu's words, Duanmu Qingxin's face turned deathly pale.
She looked at Duanmu Junyu and Su Xuening in disbelief.
Is the Empress really going to make that bastard the Crown Princess? But she is clearly the princess that the Empress has been grooming as the heir apparent!
Why?
What did she do wrong? Why did her mother suddenly abandon her?
Duanmu Shenghua frowned in annoyance and quickly tried to correct herself: "I meant..."
But Duanmu Junyu didn't give her a chance at all, coldly interrupting her: "As a subject, you should fulfill your duties as a subject. Imperial sister, you have overstepped your bounds!"
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