Song Xibai then went to teach Zhao Yan.
Zhao Yan obediently let the wet nurse hold him.
Zhao Jing would at least give a couple of perfunctory "ah ah" sounds, but Zhao Yan wouldn't even open his mouth.
Song Xibai pinched his cheek and pulled the thumb out of his mouth.
At this moment, Zhao Jing suddenly shouted loudly.
"Ah! Ah!"
At the same time, she was full of excitement, kicking her legs hard, almost breaking free from Wen Niang's arms.
This child is so strong that even Wen Niang could barely hold him!
The next moment, Yuan Shen walked towards them from the main gate.
Zhao Jing was even more excited.
Yuan Shen strode over, took Zhao Jing directly, weighed it in his hand, and smiled broadly.
"Is Zhaojing a good boy or not?"
Zhao Jing grinned, revealing his tiny teeth.
Song Xibai was puzzled: "How did she know you were coming?"
Even if you can recognize people by their footsteps, it shouldn't be this fast, right?
Yuan Shen laughed heartily and rubbed his chin against Zhao Jing's little face.
"Zhaojing is so smart!"
Looking at Zhao Jing's legs flailing wildly, Song Xibai added, "He's strong and has a quick temper."
Now that Zhao Yan is familiar with the people around him, he's very well-behaved and doesn't recognize anyone anymore; he'll let anyone hold him.
Song Xibai turned her head and saw that Zhao Yan had put his thumb in his mouth again. She couldn't help but sigh and pulled his thumb out.
This kid, when he grows up, he'll probably be bullied by his sister every day and won't fight back.
Yuan Shen held Zhao Jing for a while, then played with Zhao Yan for a bit, his smile never fading, clearly showing he was in a very good mood.
Song Xibai tilted her head and asked him.
"Does Your Majesty have some joyous occasion today?"
"As expected, you can't hide it from Qingqing. There were indeed some good news in court today."
Song Xibai thought to herself: "His mouth is practically stretched to the back of his ears, who wouldn't notice?"
She didn't press for details, knowing that Yuan Shen would definitely tell her.
As expected, after coaxing the child for a while, Yuan Shen pulled Song Xibai into the room and waved for the palace maids to leave.
There were only two people left in the room. Song Xibai picked up the teapot on the table and poured him a cup of tea.
Yuan Shen drank it all in one gulp, then let out a long sigh.
"The reform of the Imperial Guard has been approved."
Song Xibai looked slightly surprised: "I thought it was about the Prince of Lu! I didn't expect it to be this."
Yuan Shen had always wanted to change the Imperial Guard, but he could never find a suitable opportunity. He originally thought he would have to do it slowly, but he did not expect to achieve his goal so quickly.
Yuan Shen pulled Song Xibai down to sit and began to recount what had happened in a low voice.
To be honest, this whole thing was all thanks to the incident caused by the eldest princess.
Although the situation was handled promptly and the news was prevented from spreading, there are no secrets in the palace. After so many days, everyone inside and outside the palace knew what was going to happen.
In particular, the commotion at Meng Liang's home was quite significant. Meng Liang wanted to divorce his wife and remarry, and Meng's mother had already made a big fuss about it.
Now, not only the court officials, but also the common people in the city knew about this.
Yuan Shen was initially very angry, but upon further reflection, he realized that it wasn't such a bad thing after all.
Meng Liang's actions effectively ruined the reputation of the Imperial Guards and displeased the civil officials in the court.
These ministers dared not speak ill of the eldest princess, so they turned their anger towards Meng Liang and his superiors.
Chen Si was innocent, but Yuan Shen pretended to be angry, scolded him in court, stripped him of his position as commander of the Imperial Guards, and "exiled" him to the border.
Afterwards, Yuan Shen took the opportunity to propose the reform of the Imperial Guards, which was then accepted by the vast majority of court officials, proceeding incredibly smoothly.
Yuan Shen, holding Song Xibai's hand, continued speaking with considerable excitement.
"The Imperial Guards should be kept, after all, they have rendered meritorious service in the past. Simply breaking them up into four guards is not enough, so we should double it to eight guards. The position of the commander of the Imperial Guards should be abolished and replaced with the title of Guard Commissioner. In this way, with power divided into eight, we will not have to worry about them causing trouble again."
Song Xibai listened quietly, nodding occasionally to show her appreciation.
"In addition, we will select people without backgrounds to form two guards. I have already thought of names for them: one is the Yan Yun Guard, which will be handed over to Zhao Jing; the other will still be called the Dark Guard, which will be managed by Old Man Yue."
Song Xibai was genuinely surprised this time.
"So it's going to be given to Zhao Jing? What about Zhao Yan?"
“Zhao Yan’s status is special; as the Crown Prince, he cannot command the army,” Yuan Shen explained earnestly. “However, I will select some people from the Longxiang Guard to serve as his bodyguards, and gradually hand over power to him after he comes of age.”
Song Xibai understood.
Throughout history, there have been many instances of conflict between rulers and their subjects, fathers and sons. Although she felt that given Zhao Yan's personality, he would never rebel, Emperor Yuan Shen would certainly take this into consideration, so taking precautions in advance was inevitable.
On the contrary, Zhaojing, being a woman, had fewer concerns. Yuan Shen could spoil her however he wanted, and even if she went too far, the court officials would at most offer a few words of advice and wouldn't take it too seriously.
Thinking of this, Song Xibai couldn't help but mutter to himself.
I never imagined that being a woman would have such advantages...
However, Zhao Yan and Zhao Jing are still young, and it's too early for them to be thinking about these things.
After thinking for a moment, Song Xibai could only say, "Yan Yunwei, that's a nice name."
Yuan Shen pinched her nose.
"Qingqing, you don't need to be so cautious in private. Just say what you want to say."
Song Xibai laughed.
"I have nothing else to say! I'm just curious, what favor does His Majesty intend to bestow upon Meng Liang?"
Judging from Yuan Shen's tone just now, he clearly didn't intend to punish Meng Liang, but instead wanted to help him and the eldest princess get together.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
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