On New Year's Eve, fireworks lit up the entire palace, creating a dazzling spectacle.
After the group finished eating, Ayu insisted on sleeping with her and keeping watch together. Meanwhile, people in the palace gardens outside were setting off firecrackers.
Standing in the bustling garden, Chu Changning looked at the fireworks overhead, and a surge of longing welled up in her heart, causing her to feel a little resentful.
Several months have passed since he left, and not a single letter has been sent back home.
She glanced at the frolicking crowd, lost interest, and returned to the palace.
Ayu was practicing her swordplay in the courtyard when she saw her mother return to the palace. Remembering that her mother hadn't eaten much that evening, she put down her sword and followed her back to the palace.
After Chu Changning finished bathing, she saw her son bringing her a plate of sour apricots. "Mother, are you hungry?"
That clever little devil.
She accepted it with a smile, nestled on the couch, and took out the military treatise to read carefully with her son.
The lively shouts outside the window came from time to time, and the crackling sound of firecrackers burst freely in the sky. The stream of light poured down through the window, illuminating the mother and child on the soft couch with a warm glow.
As the midnight bells rang, a night hawk's excited cry suddenly came from outside the palace.
Chu Changning curiously looked out the window and saw a dark shadow dart over in a flash.
"Your Majesty, a letter has just arrived from the north by fast horse."
Chu Changning's heart skipped a beat. She reached out and took it. Strands of emotion crept up her body and spread through her limbs. The light flickered in her eyes, revealing an unreadable glow.
The letter seemed to carry the scent of gunpowder and armor. She slowly opened the letter, and the sunlight outside shone on her pale fingertips, where she saw a few beans fall out of the letter.
Ayu suspiciously leaned over her, picked up the red beans, and stared at them closely.
Chu Changning didn't pay attention to that. She took out the letter and saw the few words on it. It felt like a pot of hot water was boiling over her heart, making her chest numb.
"Mother, I remember now, these are mimosa beans."
Suddenly, her son's voice beside her brought her back to reality.
Chu Changning stared at him, watching as he ran to the bookshelf, took down a book, and placed it on the tatami table for her.
"It is recorded here that this is called the Albizia julibrissin, a kind of tree on Zhaoyao Mountain. It is shaped like a hook and bears fruit that can emit light."
As she watched her son open the book, she picked up the beans and carefully compared them. She noticed the annotations below, and a warm feeling welled up inside her.
"From the northern deserts, these are red beans symbolizing longing." Ayu murmured, looking at her with bright, sparkling eyes. "Father is thinking of us—"
Chu Changning looked at his beloved son, lowered his head and kissed him on the forehead, and coaxed him with a smile, "Daddy must be missing Ayu."
This year in Jiankang was far from peaceful. The war on the front lines was intense, and the ministers of the previous dynasty were all busy with the support of the northern war effort.
Just after the Lantern Festival, news came that Lizhou had fallen, troops from the Western Regions had entered Shangyang Pass, the entire Yinshan Mountains were infested with refugees and bandits, and troops from the southern deserts had invaded Gaozhou.
This was already a turbulent time; the north had been in chaos for centuries, but this time the fighting was extremely fierce.
Chu Changning was far away in Jiankang and didn't know how the battle was going. She only heard Cui Linyuan tell her about the situation and had a vague feeling that something was wrong.
Helian Ye is extremely ambitious. This time, during his southern expedition, he has allied with many small countries in the Western Regions. The southern desert is already at odds with the Great Qi, so it is bound to take the opportunity to plunder southward. Shen Yan is no pushover either. This war could last for many years.
This world is too chaotic.
She was worried, and because she was pregnant, the baby was making her very nauseous. She couldn't eat anything, and she was listless all day long, and she had lost weight.
Taozhi felt sorry for her and often went to the imperial kitchen to prepare different kinds of meals for her.
I don't know where this girl learned her cooking skills, but the food she makes is more to her liking than that of the chefs in the imperial kitchen.
Gradually, rumors began to circulate in the palace that the Empress was pregnant.
Chu Changning didn't announce it to the public, and no one dared to come up and ask. When some of the wives of the Yan clan came to the palace to offer flowers to Buddha, she turned them all away.
The Empress Dowager didn't want to interrupt and ask, but she was still concerned about having offspring, so she sent someone to ask her a question.
Chu Changning then said that it had been almost four months, and her pregnancy was already showing, so it couldn't be hidden anymore.
The Yan family had few heirs in this generation, which the Empress Dowager was very concerned about. When she heard that the pregnancy was real, she immediately came to see for herself, bringing with her the imperial physician, and gave the woman a thorough examination.
Seeing how thin she was despite being pregnant, he couldn't help but say a few more words and instruct the kitchen to stew more nourishing soup for her.
The palace staff took meticulous care of her, but she was worried about the war in the north, and the baby in her belly was particularly troublesome, which made her look weak.
Ayu now has to attend classes at Wenhua Hall every day, and practice martial arts in the afternoon. Since there are no other princes in the palace, Chu Changning thought of sending the child to the Imperial Academy for early education.
The Imperial Academy is home to many sons of prominent families who study there. Many of them are around the same age as him, so he can make friends with his classmates.
Ayu was also willing to go, so the next day, her mother sent her to the Imperial Academy.
After Chu Changning became pregnant, she usually stayed in the palace, but sometimes she would go to the imperial study to ask Cui Linyuan about the situation in the north.
It's all about how fierce the fighting is, how many cities were lost, and where was captured. The war situation in the North is inherently complex. For hundreds of years, the division has never ended. In recent years, several countries in the North have been successively divided up by the Great Qi and Li Bei.
However, this time, the Western Regions launched a southern expedition and established a regime in Northern Yan. The offensive momentum was extremely strong, and several passes were breached one after another. Once the Western Regions moved south and took control of the Central Plains, the whole country would be in deep trouble. When news of the war reached Jiankang, the political situation in the court changed.
Winter passed and spring arrived. In early March, just as the weather was warming up, news of a great victory came from the north.
In the Battle of Gaozhou, Yuwen Shan, a general of the Northern Yan, was stabbed to death by the Emperor of the Great Qi at Shangyang and died in the Ji River.
Yuwen Shan was a great general of Northern Yan. He and Helian Ye attacked southward and captured several cities in succession. With his death, Helian Ye lost a major ally and was unable to advance into Qizhou.
The army from the north swiftly occupied the eight cities of Yinshan with overwhelming force, sweeping across the entire Lichuan Plain.
On this day, March 11th of the third year of Jianyuan, the Libei Army, which had penetrated deep into the heart of Qichuan, joined forces with the Yuanbei Army of 350,000 to launch a two-pronged attack, killing more than 100,000 Tiger Army soldiers.
Helian Ye's army suffered a crushing defeat on the battlefield and was pursued to Lushan. Yan Beimo led his troops all the way to Hanshui, captured six cities east of Yinshan in Northern Yan, and occupied the eastern part of Northern Yan. All the officials, soldiers and civilians of Northern Yan in the entire eastern region submitted to him. Northern Yan suffered a defeat and won a decisive victory.
However, in May of the same year, the Northern Capital suddenly launched an attack on the Great Qi, launching a two-pronged attack from Huai'an and Lingnan, resulting in the great defeat of the Great Qi's mountain passes.
In July of the same year, the Western Regions and the Northern Capital officially joined forces to besiege the Great Qi in three routes. The battle began on the Lichuan Plain. The Great Qi army was besieged in Yinshan. The roar of killing the Great Qi emperor and seizing the Central Plains resounded throughout the entire Lichuan land.
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