When Su Xuerong woke up, there was no one beside her.
Looking out at the dark sky, she sighed softly.
Being an emperor wasn't easy; he had to attend the morning court session at 3:45 AM every day.
Sometimes, when he was dealing with state affairs in the Imperial Study so late that he would not go to sleep until midnight and would only get two hours of sleep by waking up at 9 PM.
These days, Su Xuerong's belly has gradually swelled up, and he has become much more restrained. Otherwise, if he were to act up a few more times at night, he wouldn't even have time to sleep.
When Su Xuerong's pregnancy became apparent, Su Jingxuan's family was finally brought back to the capital.
Su Jingxuan was appointed Marquis of Anyang, and the residence bestowed upon him by Xiao Yuan was less than a mile outside the palace. Therefore, Zhou Shi had only been in the capital for two days when she hurriedly took Yuan Jie'er and Jian Ge'er to Cining Palace.
The Cining Palace had been completely renovated by then. Su Xuerong originally didn't want to live here, as she felt uncomfortable with the place where Xu Wanjing had lived.
But as the empress, if she didn't live in the Cining Palace, was she supposed to live in the palace of an ordinary concubine?
Fortunately, Feng Bao and Granny Cheng were very dedicated, and in less than half a month, the entire Cining Palace was completely transformed.
Upon seeing her long-lost mother, daughter, and nephew, Su Xuerong was overjoyed and hugged Yuan'er, showering her with kisses.
Zhou quickly took Yuan'er off her: "You're pregnant, you can't be careless."
Now, Ah Rong is carrying the child of the true emperor; if anything goes wrong, it will be disastrous.
Su Xuerong placed Yuan Jie'er on the couch beside her, and also hugged Su Jian to the side, holding one on each side.
Yuan'er could already say a few simple words. She was a little unfamiliar with Su Xuerong after not seeing her for several months, but after being held in her mother's arms and kissed a few times, she started to cling to her again, snuggling in her arms and calling "Mother, Mother" incessantly.
Su Jian had probably been given special instructions by Zhou and others before entering the palace, and as a result, he was no longer as lively as before and became very reserved.
Madam Zhou said, "Your Highness must take good care of yourself now and must not be careless."
Hearing her nervous words, Su Xuerong felt a little uncomfortable.
Even if she is an empress, her parents are still her parents.
Especially just now, Zhou actually performed a proper and respectful bow to her.
Su Xuerong glanced at Xiuchun.
Xiuchun understood and dismissed all the palace servants from the hall.
Su Xuerong then said, "Mother, you can bow to me when we're out, but please don't be so formal in private, or it will make us seem less like family."
Zhou sighed and remained silent.
"Your Uncle Lin stayed in the Hangzhou area to help His Majesty improve the rice varieties, while your eldest brother stayed in Quanzhou to prepare for his voyage overseas once the Maritime Trade Office is opened," Zhou said with emotion.
Now, the Su family has all benefited from Su Xuerong's influence. Not only did Su Jingxuan become the Marquis of Anyang and take up a post in the Ministry of Revenue, but Lin Chenggui and Su Shirong were also appointed as court officials by Xiao Yuan, each performing their respective duties.
Unexpectedly, the entire Su family rose to prominence so suddenly.
Zhou then carefully inquired about Su Xuerong's recent physical changes. Her morning sickness had finally stopped, and her appetite had improved.
After learning that Su Xuerong was pregnant, the Imperial Hospital would send imperial physicians and female physicians to her every day to record the detailed changes in her body. Her daily diet was managed by a dedicated person, with strict layer-by-layer management, so there was absolutely no possibility of anyone tampering with it.
Zhou was finally relieved and said with deep emotion, "If only your great-aunt had met someone as kind-hearted as His Majesty back then."
Su Xuerong was genuinely intrigued by this aunt of the Su family: "Which emperor's concubine was she?"
Zhou glanced at her: "It should be His Majesty's grandfather."
Su Xuerong hadn't thought much about this aunt before, but now that Zhou Shi had piqued her interest, she was thinking of asking Xiao Yuan about it when he came over.
After having lunch, Lady Zhou left the palace with Su Jian.
Yuan'er has now become a princess instead of a county princess, and Xiao Yuan has specially given her a beautiful name, Xiao Suqin, and bestowed upon her the title of Princess Yunshu.
Su Xuerong arranged for Yuanjie's bedroom to be in the east wing of her own bedroom, and prepared the west wing for the baby in her belly.
Xiao Yuan had actually prepared different palaces for the two children long ago, but Su Xuerong felt that while the children were still young, she should take care of them personally.
When they grow up, she won't be able to take care of them anymore.
Seeing that she was determined to do so, Xiao Yuan instructed Feng Bao to arrange for the Cining Palace to be expanded by another half acre, with several additional palace rooms to be built. The rooms would be moved out after the two children turned five.
Su Xuerong was naturally delighted and even reserved a room for Zhou Shi, sometimes letting her stay overnight in the palace when it got late.
News of Xiao Yuan's affection for Su Xuerong quickly spread to the front hall.
Immediately, some officials remonstrated that many of the Empress's actions were not in accordance with regulations, but Xiao Yuan directly rejected them all.
The reason is that there were many unreasonable rules in the harem before, and he and the empress are still in the process of figuring them out. They will definitely formulate new rules in the future and discuss them again.
At this time, another minister advised that the new emperor needed to expand his harem after his ascension to the throne.
As a result, Xiao Yuan directly sent someone to take that minister to the imperial prison to greet the Xu family.
When the minister came out of the prison, he immediately shut up.
When Xiao Shiyan ascended the throne, there was only Xu Wanjing in the harem, and the officials at the time did not dare to utter a sound.
Do you see the Su family as weak and easily bullied now?
Then this new emperor wouldn't mind using the Xu family's methods to deal with some of these deserving ministers!
Su Xuerong was somewhat surprised upon hearing this news.
In fact, when she chose to marry Xiao Yuan, it was actually for her own protection.
She suffered enough humiliation at the hands of the first wife in her previous life, which is why she insists on being the first wife in this life.
After she woke up, she also realized a problem.
After Xiao Yuan ascends the throne, there is no way that she will be the only empress in the harem.
Even if he were willing, would the ministers in the court be willing?
At that time, she thought that as long as Xiao Yuan was willing to give her the position of empress, she would be content. At least there would be no other woman overshadowing her, and she would be able to protect her family.
As for Xiao Yuan's willingness to expand his harem, she felt she had no right to object.
Why are you unwilling to take other concubines?
That night, Xiao Yuan came to Cining Palace to rest. After lying down on the bed, Su Xuerong nestled on his shoulder and asked in a low voice.
Xiao Yuan reached out and lifted her chin, staring intently at her with an unreadable look in his eyes: "Are you willing for me to have other women?"
The room inside the canopy bed was dimly lit. Su Xuerong saw the displeasure in his eyes and, feeling a little guilty, lowered her head, muttering, "I...I think..."
She was thinking about how to use the most appropriate words to explain her feelings.
Although she had no right to object to him taking in other women, the thought of him being intimate with other women in the future made her feel awkward and bitter.
"Little liar! You're just saying one thing and meaning another!" Xiao Yuan suddenly grabbed her chin and sneered, then kissed her. "Do you think I'm the kind of person who would just sleep with any woman?"
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