The belt is gradually loosened, but I will never regret it

This time the dust has really settled. The Tiandu officials who had been living in fear for several months have finally survived those hard years of living with their heads tied to their pants. Everyone is keeping their heads down and doing their work quietly. There won't be any trouble for the time being.

As the dawn broke, outside the Suzaku Gate, a group of people quietly left Tiandu.

Unlike his grand departure three years ago, Gu Zi'an's departure this time was extremely low-key, and did not even disturb Ji Mingxiu who was soundly sleeping.

He looked into the distance at the dark city walls in the morning light and tightened his grip on the reins.

There was no need to say goodbye, he knew they were all waiting for the day to meet again, and that day was not far away.

The sound of horse hooves gradually faded away until their figures completely disappeared into the dimly lit distance.

At this moment in the Qianqing Palace, Ji Mingxiu woke up and found that the quilt beside him had already become cold. He was so angry that he even threw away Gu Zian's pillow.

The scumbag who was whispering sweet words in his ear last night to tease him, but left without even saying hello in the morning!

Qiu Ling standing by didn't dare to step forward to stop him, and just let His Majesty vent his anger with the pillow.

But when his anger subsided, Ji Mingxiu reluctantly picked up the pillow again.

He understood Gu Zian and was afraid that his tears would soften his heart.

Three years is neither long nor short.

And he didn't dare to guarantee that he could really suppress the sadness of parting.

He took out the jade pendant and tied it around his waist. Ji Mingxiu stroked the red string hanging from the jade pendant, his eyes drifting into the distance.

Just think of it as a journey.

*

This year's summer seems to have come especially early. It started to get hot as soon as April began.

Ji Mingxiu has always had a poor appetite. He cannot eat anything hot, so he can only cope with it by eating seasonal fruits every day.

He alone had nothing to do, but the others had to eat with him every day. Li Qingyun was an idle man with nothing to do, so he came to his palace every day to eat for free. Even the imperial master who was busy with court affairs would put down his work at mealtime and come to his Qianqing Palace to eat light side dishes.

Ji Mingxiu didn't care about it either. Everyone gathered together and the atmosphere for the meal was harmonious yet strange, with a bit of the warmth of an ordinary family.

Seeing that several people had been eating vegetarian food with him for nearly half a month, and all of them had pale faces, especially the little guard, who looked pitiful like a puppy who was thirsty. He looked very reluctant but still put the light bamboo shoots into his mouth. Ji Mingxiu felt a little sorry for it, so he asked the kitchen to prepare two more meat dishes and serve them up.

But who would have thought that as soon as the dish of fishy food was served on the table, Ji Mingxiu's brows instantly wrinkled and he felt an indescribable nausea in his stomach.

"His Majesty?"

The careful Qiu Ling was the first to notice something was wrong, and just as she was about to get closer, she was pushed away by him.

“Hmm…”

He hardly ate anything on weekdays, so at this moment he couldn't vomit anything. He just had a sour taste in his mouth, which became more and more severe. It was not until Qiu Ling instructed Cheng Tianfeng to take the plate of fishy food away that he barely stopped vomiting.

"Call the doctor! Quickly!"

“I’ll go!”

Several people were in a chaotic mess, and finally the poor doctor Zhang was dragged all the way to the bedroom at a rapid speed.

"How is your majesty?"

Everyone was nervously awaiting the result.

"This……"

Imperial Physician Zhang held his hand on Your Majesty's wrist, his expression changing again and again, becoming unusually solemn.

"Your Majesty, this is... already a dragon vein!"

Doctor Zhang knelt beside him with a look of grief. He had examined the emperor's pulse more than a month ago. It would have been fine if the emperor had been humiliated by that villain, but the villain actually dared to ask the emperor to bear a child for him. How cruel!

"Dragon Vein?!"

Everyone present was shocked and looked at each other with suspicion, yet they found it hard to believe who had the courage to do this.

"Yes...it's been nearly two months."

Ji Mingxiu touched the soft flesh around his waist thoughtfully. He had not been eating well these days, so his chin had become much sharper, but his waist and abdomen had not lost any weight.

He thought that his health regimen had paid off, but he didn't expect that he was actually pregnant.

Perhaps because he had no idea what this matter was, he did not feel any fear at all. Looking at the people in front of him with different expressions as if they were facing a powerful enemy, he just found it funny.

"Then...are there any precautions?"

After all, Su Yuanbai was calmer and quickly recovered from his shock.

"And your majesty is weak, can you give birth to a dragon vein smoothly?"

The hidden meaning of these words made Zhang Taiyi sweat on his forehead. He glanced at the emperor secretly, but saw that the emperor was also tilting his head waiting for his answer, so he had to bite the bullet and tell him everything.

"Your Majesty is weak and small, so it is indeed not suitable for you to give birth, but it is also absolutely not suitable for you to abort the baby. Both have great risks, so you must make a decision early."

To go or to stay?

There was silence in the bedroom for a moment. They all knew that His Majesty would have his own bloodline to inherit the throne sooner or later, but they never thought it would be so soon, let alone in this way.

But who among them can afford to gamble, and who dares to gamble?

But after all, this is His Majesty's child, and only His Majesty can truly decide whether he stays or goes. Everyone's eyes fell on Ji Mingxiu.

"Why...why are you looking at me?"

Ji Mingxiu raised his head blankly and looked at the complicated expressions of the crowd. He touched his still flat belly at a loss and remained silent for a long time.

"Then keep it."

*

It's easy to say it, but it's another thing to actually do it.

There had been no new life born in this palace for a long time. And none of them had ever experienced a woman giving birth, so they were all extremely nervous, as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

Ji Mingxiu, however, had no time to join in their chores. The increasingly severe and recurring morning sickness was enough to tormenting him. He vomited violently after eating a little every day, and he lost a lot of weight. Even the prescriptions prescribed by the imperial physician were of no use.

"Perhaps, Your Majesty can ask General Gu to come back. With him around, the morning sickness might be less severe."

Qiu Ling was extremely worried when he saw the haggard look of His Majesty. He searched everywhere for folk remedies. He read in some book that soothing the father of a pregnant woman could reduce morning sickness during pregnancy. Even if he didn't want Gu Zi'an to come back, he couldn't care less about that now.

"No need. Your remedy will not work."

Before Ji Mingxiu could say anything, Li Qingyun on the side spoke up to refute him.

"Calculate the date, why can't it be mine? Why do you insist that it belongs to Gu Zi'an?"

These words sounded sour, like the unripe green apricots on the branches. Ji Mingxiu found it a little funny and felt a sour taste in his mouth.

That's what he said, but he had a special body and was always very careful. Even when Li Qingyun was crazy, he didn't dare to do anything rash. Only that night, he and Gu Zi'an were both angry and neither of them was willing to give in, and they ended up getting into trouble.

But why do I still feel like eating green apricots?

He licked his lips and held Qiu Ling's hand soothingly. Not only was he haggard these days, but the others were also tortured by him and could not eat or sleep well. From a distance, it was unclear who was pregnant.

"Gu Zi'an has only been in Northern Xinjiang for a short time. He will be fine after just a few months. It's better not to disturb him."

But he didn't know at the moment that some words would become increasingly difficult to say if the best time was missed.

He never told Gu Zian about this until the child was born.

…

Ji Mingxiu originally thought that he would be fine after the first few months, but who would have thought that although his morning sickness was relieved, he had to face a more troublesome problem.

He was small, so the doctor had specifically told him to eat less to prevent the fetus from being too large and difficult to deliver. He had suffered severe morning sickness in the past few months and couldn't eat anything, so this wasn't a big problem.

But now that the morning sickness was over, he became particularly greedy, as if the little bastard in his stomach wanted to eat up all the money he had lost in the past few months, including the original amount. The others did not dare to let him eat more, and they spent the whole day competing with him for those few mouthfuls of food.

Not having enough to eat is one thing, the more serious problem is...

His body became... strange.

A strange thing that is hard to understand.

Even though I didn't do anything, I suddenly felt extremely thirsty, like a fish that couldn't breathe on the shore.

The originally sensitive earlobes and neck could not even be touched at this time. The slightest touch could evoke an unspeakable itch, which made him afraid but also addicted.

There was also a slight rise and fall on her flat chest. A slight pinch would ignite a flame, which scared him so much that he dared not to do anything else.

Just when he was feeling aggrieved and at a loss, Li Qingyun mysteriously entered the Qianqing Palace with a wooden box.

He had consulted the imperial physician long ago and knew that His Majesty's body would become more sensitive as the pregnancy progressed. He had been waiting for this day for a long time.

"Your Majesty, rest assured. Leave it to me."

He patted his chest with confidence, his dark eyes flashing with a foxy gleam.

So the next day, Ji Mingxiu drove him out of the Qianqing Palace in disheveled clothes, along with his box. For the next few months, he was never allowed to enter the palace again and could only look at it and sigh.

But sending Li Qingyun away did not stop his body's strange reactions.

On the contrary, a body that has experienced love/affairs becomes addicted and more difficult to control.

He couldn't escape his instincts; the more he suppressed them, the stronger they became.

But the people around him were as fierce as wolves and tigers and were not easy to deal with.

Ji Mingxiu was so worried that he spent the whole day stroking his slightly bulging belly and sighing, thinking that this child must have taken after that bastard Gu Zi'an, which was why he was so miserable.

"Then why not..." The little guard approached him eagerly with sparkling eyes, "Subordinate?"

Yes, why didn't he think that the little guard was so obedient and gentle, and looked easy to bully.

The puppy really lived up to his expectations. Even though his fingertips were trembling, he still listened to him and followed his wishes on how to control his speed.

Those watery eyes can make people's hearts soften.

Just walking out of this door, I don’t know how many people felt so sour that their teeth were about to break.

*

Thanks to everyone's constant attention to controlling his diet, his pregnancy was not obvious until May or June, when he put on the loose court robes, and without careful observation, no clues could be seen.

It was just that the month was getting late and some people refused to let him go to court no matter what.

I lay in the palace every day doing nothing, feeling bored and restless. When people are idle, they tend to daydream.

Afraid of this child, and also afraid of myself.

Only then did he realize that he was not prepared and could only stumble forward.

The belated anxiety almost took over everything in him, and the sultry summer heat became the best breeding ground. All of this made him very disgusted. He was restless and angry all day long, hurting those around him who cared about him with his sharp bayonet.

He hated himself for being like this, but he couldn't control himself.

This little life in my belly is declaring its existence in its own way.

"It's not your fault, Your Majesty."

Su Yuanbai gently wiped the tears of frustration from the corners of his eyes. Giving birth to a life is a very great thing. This greatness comes from himself, not his result.

so……

"We will all be with you, don't be afraid."

"teacher……"

Ji Mingxiu threw himself into Su Yuanbai's arms with a feeling of grievance, and wiped his tears with his snow-white robe. He was indeed comforted, but only a little.

Just a little bit really.

This anxiety accompanied me throughout the summer and continued into the chilly late autumn when he was just eight months old.

The imperial physician had said that his body was weak and there was a high possibility of premature birth, so he had made preparations early on.

But he still underestimated the price of giving birth to a life. The pain was so sharp that it almost tore him apart for two full hours. Then the tiny, wrinkled little life came into this world crying, as if expressing its dissatisfaction.

The tense hearts outside the house finally relaxed. They also stumbled forward in this difficult journey, clumsily learning how to be a father.

Li Qingyun, who always had a sharp tongue, was the first to come up to him with the child in his arms, and gave him a rare and gentle kiss on his sweaty forehead.

"It's a little prince, your majesty."

He was extremely sleepy. He raised his eyes with difficulty and looked at the ugly little thing that was crying loudly, and muttered something.

"It's your bad luck..."

As soon as we are born, we are destined to bear the heavy burden of worldly affairs.