"Grandmother, Xue'er knows. Are Zhuangzhuang and Mengmeng behaving well?"
The two little ones are more energetic now, and with formula supplementing their nutrition, they're not as excited when they see her.
Han Luoxue picked up Mengmeng and the little girl stared with her big eyes, trying to recognize people.
"Look, Mengmeng is the smartest at home. She can already recognize people."
The Empress Dowager chuckled. That's how children are; you develop feelings for them the longer you spend with them. The longer you stay, the more reluctant you are to part with them.
"Indeed! This old servant has never seen such clever children! Both young masters are too bright; they can actually recognize people now!"
Granny Qin chimed in, and Han Luoxue knew they were just being polite, but she was still happy inside. She figured everyone wants their child to be praised.
"By the way, Your Highness, where did you buy this stuff that the two young masters are drinking? I think it's really amazing."
Granny Qin looked curious; she had wanted to ask this for a long time, but she had been too embarrassed to do so before.
Now that she's a little more familiar with Han Luoxue, she wants to buy some for her children!
"I bought this from them when I was traveling before. I don't know where they got it from; they must be people who travel around. But they didn't give me much, and I don't know if I'll get any more in the future!"
Han Luoxue would definitely not admit to exchanging it from her spatial storage. This item was good for a child, but she didn't have many of them. The system shop in this spatial storage wasn't for profit. It only refreshed with the items she needed when she actually required them, rather than allowing unlimited exchanges.
"Oh, that's a bit of a shame!"
"What's there to regret? Everything depends on fate. My Zhuangzhuang and Mengmeng are just lucky. Otherwise, they wouldn't have happened to encounter such a good thing!"
The Empress Dowager remained calm. She knew that Han Luoxue possessed many valuable items, which further strengthened her resolve to treat Han Luoxue well.
When Mengmeng saw her mother, she still wanted to eat. Han Luoxue held her and turned her to the side. Although she was already a mother of two, she was not used to breastfeeding in front of others.
The Empress Dowager didn't say much; after all, these two children were rather picky.
It's already good enough that someone else can hold her. Besides, the child is so young and doesn't understand anything. She doesn't want her own child to go hungry.
After feeding both children, Han Luoxue sighed inwardly. Her milk supply was dwindling, and she estimated that she would have to wean the children soon.
Judging from the two little ones' expressions, they should accept it easily.
Upon seeing her, the two little ones were very excited, making "ooh ooh ooh" sounds. Han Luoxue held one, and the Empress Dowager held the other, and they played together for a long time.
...
After the emperor ascended the throne, the first banquet in the palace was held at the suggestion of the ministers.
"Xue girl, don't worry. If there's anything uncertain, just push it onto the Emperor!"
The Empress Dowager knew that this was Han Luoxue's first time attending such a banquet, so she was inevitably a little worried.
"I understand, Grandmother."
"They're all eyeing the position in the palace. I still suggest you get pregnant again as soon as possible; it's always better to have more children!"
Another pregnancy? Looking at her two babies, barely a month old, Han Luoxue was speechless. To put it bluntly, even if she wanted to get pregnant now, she couldn't; her body hadn't recovered yet.
Besides, she already has a son and a daughter, which, in the words of the ancients, is considered a perfect family. She certainly doesn't want to go through the pain of childbirth again...
Although there wasn't much pain, time was slowly passing by.
"I understand, Grandmother."
Ouyang Zhen will be arriving later, but last night he told me to just relax and not think about all that nonsense.
What outsiders suggest is their business; he'll handle it.
Han Luoxue dressed up in her finest clothes. She had considered that these people might have ill intentions, but she didn't expect there to be so many who were so blind to their own good!
Before I even got there, I overheard several women talking and chatting on the street:
"The Empress is truly lucky. I heard that she was just a village girl in the past, who saved the Emperor's life, and then..."
"So what? You really think a pheasant can become a phoenix just by flying up a branch? Let me tell you, a pheasant is still a pheasant. Even if it flies up a branch, it won't become a phoenix. And who knows how long our Empress will be able to sit on the throne!"
Another woman in red covered her mouth and chuckled.
"Really? Have you heard something, Miss Du?"
A girl in blue standing next to her looked on with curiosity.
"Oh dear, sister, I don't have any news at all! I was just saying it casually!"
"But I heard that Her Majesty the Empress has given birth to a pair of children? With a son by her side, her position is definitely secure!"
Some people disagree.
The woman in red scoffed, "So what if you have a son? It's not like any woman can't have children. Let me tell you, countless children have been born in this palace. But how many princes and princesses have you seen in any emperor throughout history?"
These words silenced the girls. There were indeed many children born into the royal family, but only a handful actually grew up to adulthood.
Just like the original emperor, who had more than a dozen sons, but in the end only three remained.
The Empress was shrewd and her family was quite powerful, but what happened in the end? She only had Ouyang Fu left of her children.
I heard that the Empress was pregnant with four children, and all four were sons!
But now… they’re all gone, even she herself is missing. Many say she’s dead, but at this point, who would truly care whether the Empress is alive or dead?
The girls exchanged glances. Although they got along well now, they knew that if an attack were to occur one day, they would become enemies.
Families can never get along well, let alone after entering the palace.
"Oh dear, I think you're overthinking it. But my father told me that the Emperor said he has no intention of selecting any concubines!"
One of the girls spoke up with a displeased expression, while the other girls also looked sullen.
"How is that possible? No emperor throughout history could have had only one woman!"
...
"Your Highness, this servant will..."
The palace maid who spoke was named Qinghe. Ouyang Zhen had helped him find her. Both Qinghe and Qingye were skilled in martial arts and had good fighting abilities. Ouyang Zhen felt at ease having them take care of Han Luoxue.
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