Seeing her expression, Taozhi was both surprised and delighted, and whispered, "Your Highness, could you be pregnant?"
Ah~
Chu Changning was taken aback, and suddenly the night before he left came to mind.
The two of them fooled around all night, and they even slept together. She didn't drink any contraceptive soup. Could she really be pregnant?
"Mother, what's wrong with you?"
Ayu tilted her head curiously to look at them.
Wang Wan teased Ayu with a smile, "Your Highness will have younger brothers and sisters soon."
Ayu's eyes lit up as she stared curiously at her mother's belly.
"Is it here?"
Chu Changning snapped out of her daze, looked down at her son's curious and intrigued expression, and chuckled as she gently rubbed his little face.
After the group finished their meal, they returned to the palace. Shuangyue then summoned the imperial physician to examine their pulses, and unsurprisingly, it was a sign of pregnancy.
She didn't want to make a fuss, so she instructed everyone in the palace not to go out and talk about it. As a result, everyone kept quiet about this happy event.
Taozhi, now experienced, took care of her closely every day, even personally brewing blood-nourishing and qi-tonifying medicine to prevent mishaps.
When Chu Changning was pregnant with Ayu, apart from being able to eat and occasionally feeling nauseous, she didn't have any major reactions. But this pregnancy was really troublesome. She vomited bitter water all night and couldn't eat anything.
Wang Wan jokingly remarked that the child would surely be fierce and mischievous, just like His Majesty.
Chu Changning touched her belly and thought of the man who was still fighting a war. A mix of emotions welled up in her heart.
Young men born into noble families are all equally unruly and rebellious in their youth, rising from the mud in the decadent and luxurious aristocratic family. As they grow up, they are aloof and proud, rising and falling in the power struggles of this chaotic world.
The days passed slowly amidst the lively chatter. As the year drew to a close, Jiankang was bustling with activity, and festive lanterns were hung everywhere in the palace.
Half a month before the New Year's banquet, Wang Wan returned to Yandu. Chu Changning, bored, often secretly took her son out of the palace to play.
Ayu is very obedient and considerate. Whenever his mother buys a little something, he follows her around carrying it, afraid that his mother will get tired.
Even Shuangyue remarked that the young prince looked like His Majesty, but his temperament was just like the Empress's.
Despite the chaos and tension of the outside world, the prosperity of Jiankang, the capital, remained unaffected. The streets were decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and joy was everywhere.
Chu Changning took his son to see the flower boats playing on the ice. On the bustling street, listening to the crackling of firecrackers, he accompanied his son to watch the spectacular fireworks.
"Mother, isn't Father coming back for the New Year?"
Ayu looked up and asked, her eyes filled with undisguised longing and anticipation.
Chu Changning felt a pang of sadness. He took his son's little hand and said in a gentle voice, "Daddy will be thinking of Ayu when he's in the North."
"Daddy doesn't miss me, he only misses Mommy~"
"---"
Chu Changning leaned down and smiled gently, "Father loves Ayu the most. When he left, he said he would bring back warhorses from the north for Ayu."
"Really?"
Ayu's eyes lit up instantly. He loved his father's warhorse, but his father wouldn't let him touch it, saying he would only let him play with it when he grew up.
"Yes, dear Ayu, come with Mommy to release the river lanterns and pray that Daddy will come back soon, okay?"
Ayu excitedly nodded and pulled her hand toward the bustling crowd.
The moat was dotted with painted boats, adorned with countless lanterns. People strolled by, laughing, while the sounds of children playing filled the air.
The mother and son walked to the riverbank and followed the crowded people to the front.
Chu Changning squatted down, took her son's little hand, and threw the lantern, meant for praying for peace, into the river. With a gentle push, the lantern floated lightly downstream on the rippling lake water.
A cool breeze brushed against her face as she watched the lanterns recede into the distance, her heart filled with complex emotions and longing.
Battle reports from the front lines frequently came back: the army from the north was besieged in Yanli Mountain, and nearly 7,000 people were burned to death; the troops from the Western Regions captured seven cities north of Yinshan Mountain.
The Great Qi had occupied six cities east of Yinshan, but was besieged by the Northern Yan and the Western Regions, losing three cities and being driven into the Lichuan Plain, where they had been fighting for several months in the area around the Handan River.
Listening to these battle reports, Chu Changning lost all interest in celebrating the New Year. Because the Emperor of Qi was on a northern expedition, the palace was not as lively as usual this year, and it was quite desolate.
On New Year's Eve, the princesses and wives of the various princes and princesses went to the palace to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager and the Empress, exchanged New Year's greetings, and received their gifts in a continuous stream before returning to their respective residences.
That evening, at the royal family banquet, Chu Changning took his son to Jianzhang Palace to pay New Year's respects to the Empress Dowager and enjoy the feast.
Several of the younger generation of the Yan clan are brave and skilled generals, and this time they all went to the north with the Emperor of Qi.
At the banquet, several ladies openly and subtly mentioned the prosperity of their own descendants, and also made sarcastic remarks that His Majesty only had one son, Ayu, which was a sign of the emperor and empress's lack of virtue. They said that as empress, she did not take in more concubines to have more children for His Majesty, which was the act of a jealous woman.
Chu Changning was not going to tolerate this group of people, and regardless of the elders of the clan present, he embarrassed the lady in front of everyone.
The others watched silently, without saying a word.
To put it bluntly, if the Emperor of Qi were to personally lead the northern expedition and die on the battlefield, the Empress's maternal family would be left without anyone, the Crown Prince would be too young, and if the imperial clan were to seize the throne, who knows what would become of this orphan and widow? They wouldn't take sides so easily.
The Empress Dowager only had one legitimate son, the Emperor of Qi, so she naturally wouldn't allow others to gossip. After a few words of reprimand, the ladies fell silent.
The Emperor of Qi was not in the palace, and the family banquet was not as lively as usual. After being scolded so shamelessly, everyone went home after the banquet ended.
After this ordeal, Chu Changning also knew that if something really happened to Yan Beimo, the previous dynasty would be in turmoil, the emperor would be young and the country would be in doubt, and the royal family would definitely be subjected to a bloodbath.
Before, with him around, she was indifferent to the affairs of the previous dynasty. From now on, she will have to pay more attention. How can the empire he conquered be given to others? Naturally, it should be given to her son.
After leaving Jianzhang Palace, the mother and son leisurely returned to Xuanming Hall. As soon as they entered, they saw several people standing under the palace corridor, chatting and laughing happily.
"Xiao Yan?"
A surprised voice came from behind.
The people standing under the corridor turned around, saw the newcomers, and quickly bowed.
Xiao Yan cupped his hands in greeting and said with a smile, "I've all taken my annual leave, so I came to Jiankang to visit the princess."
Chu Changning led her son over and teased with a smile, "Did you come to see me, or are you looking for Taozhi?"
Xiao Yan's expression remained unchanged. He glanced at Tao Zhi, whose face had turned red, and said, "I've come to bring you some trinkets from the north."
Chu Changning exclaimed "Eh?" a few times and beckoned the group to enter the hall.
They had traveled all the way from the north, enduring wind and rain, and probably hadn't had their New Year's Eve dinner yet.
She asked Shuangyue to serve the meal, and a table was filled with a continuous stream of food, including specially made dumplings. The whole room was filled with people chatting and laughing.
Xiao Yan told her about the training results in detail. The secret service agencies in various places had been reorganized, and the trained experts had been distributed to various places to open intelligence stations.
Chu Changning nodded secretly. She trained these experts and opened restaurants and businesses in various places, all for the sake of money.
These days, who doesn't need money to fight wars and buy and sell grain? It's the money of those aristocratic lords and wealthy merchants that's easiest to make.
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