Chapter 371 Zhao Hede 32
For a declining dynasty, an heir may not be able to turn the tide and may even cause more dangerous consequences.
But at the moment, for the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, this heir was of great significance. He meant that the bloodline belonging to Liu Ao could continue to inherit the imperial power. Regardless of whether this heir was incompetent in the future, it would reduce the turmoil in the entire court.
Stability, stability is the most important thing.
Wang Zhengjun looked at the two babies in the cradles with unstoppable joy in her eyes.
Even when the emperor came in but only visited the queen, she had no objection. Instead, she took the initiative to go outside and tell everyone to inform them of the good news.
"Hede, are you okay?"
Liu Ao knelt beside the bed, holding Hede's hand tightly, looking at her miserable appearance, his eyes full of fear.
"I'm fine. Your Majesty, have you seen our children?" Zhao Hede smiled weakly. "Your Majesty, could you bring them here for me to see? I haven't seen the children yet."
Liu Ao quickly ordered someone to bring the child over, and together with Hede, he looked at his child carefully. The child was so small and soft that he didn't even dare to breathe heavily.
An inexplicable emotion filled his paranoid heart, weighing heavily on him, but it gave him endless courage.
"Hede, don't worry. I will definitely protect you and the children and will never let you come to any harm."
Endless power surged from Liu Ao's body, and the heavy burden of responsibility fell on his shoulders. It was not until this moment that he began to realize what it was like to be a father and a husband.
"Hede has always believed in Your Majesty."
Zhao Hede lay in his arms. This man had indeed never let her down. Neither in the past nor now, death had ever changed his heart.
For the next two weeks, Hede Anxin rested in bed, recuperating after her birth, while Liu Ao was busier than ever. Although he had significant character flaws, as the legitimate emperor who ascended the throne as crown prince, Liu Ao was not completely ignorant of the ways of ruling. It was just that he had always been irrational when dealing with the Empress Dowager, which was why Wang Shi always found flaws and suppressed him.
But now, he, who knew how to endure, pushed Zhao to the top by taking advantage of the two things of good seed and the queen giving birth to a child. He also used Xiao Yu and Prime Minister Zhai to connect the noble families and gradually formed a situation of three parties fighting each other.
"What did you do to provoke the senior official so angry? I saw that he looked murderous during the discussion just now."
Having just finished discussing matters with the ministers, Liu Ao leaned on the table somewhat tiredly, glanced at Zhao Jin who was pretending to be well-behaved beside him, and took the tea he offered him attentively with a smile.
"Your Majesty is wise and powerful, and you see things clearly. However, I didn't really do anything. I just did some minor research, which resulted in some unpleasant consequences."
"Instead of pretending to be a ghost in front of me, why don't you tell me the truth? What did you do?"
"Um... the other day I was trying to make something new with some potters, and I accidentally... burned down two houses in the backyard."
"Pfft—cough cough cough, you…what did you do?"
Liu Ao spat out a mouthful of tea, not caring about his wet robe. He put the jade teacup aside and pointed at him for a long time without saying a word:
"Ahem...how old are you to play with fire and burn down your own house?"
"Ah, Your Majesty, I am doing research. Besides, my father sent someone to hold me down and give me a good beating that day. If I hadn't been smart and stuffed a few cushions in advance, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to enter the palace today."
"You deserve it! If I were a senior official, I'd beat you so hard you couldn't get out of bed." Liu Ao angrily picked up the bamboo slips from the table and hit him on the head twice. "Give it to me. What did you find after burning down two rooms? Why did you send it all the way to me?"
"Hey, haven't I already presented it to Your Majesty?"
Liu Ao was stunned and suddenly looked at the teacup on the table, which he mistook for a green jade teacup.
Zhao Jin clapped his hands, and a servant behind him came in holding a square brocade box. Zhao Jin stood up and opened it himself. Even Liu Ao could not help but be amazed by the three utensils of different colors and shapes.
"These are the three best pieces I've selected from the dozen or so batches they produced. There are also hundreds of sets, which I've divided into three grades. The top-grade pieces have also been sent to the palace to be presented to you, the Queen... and the Empress Dowager."
Liu Ao immediately fell in love with the purple animal-eared vase in the middle. Its gorgeous and brilliant colors, like purple clouds, were indeed the most impactful to the people of the Western Han Dynasty.
"Your Majesty has a good eye. This piece was fired by chance. There are only a few in the same batch that also fired purple, but they are not as beautiful as this one."
Zhao Jin continued to talk about the advantages of these pottery, and then asked quietly: "Your Majesty, do you think this thing is good?"
"Of course, this thing is indeed rare."
"Then, Your Majesty, do you think those wealthy families out there would be willing to pay a high price to buy it?"
Zhao Jin's words were quite blunt. Liu Ao turned to see him grinning maliciously, and immediately understood his intention. He thought for a moment, "Although this thing is good, I'm afraid people are greedy. Those people outside, hmph... I'm afraid they may not take me seriously. If you really want to take money out of their pockets, you might not be able to return with both the person and the recipe."
"So, haven't I come to see Your Majesty? Besides, I have more good things here than just this one."
Zhao Jin smiled and opened another palm-sized jade-like ceramic box. Inside were snow-white, delicate and crystal-clear particles like the first frost.
On the other side, Hede was half-sitting on the bed, ordering someone to bring the pillow that had been sewn earlier and stuff it around her waist, holding her sleeping daughter in her arms.
Liu Ao had already named them: the girl was Liu Yin and the boy was Liu Zhao.
At this time, Yin'er and Zhao'er had eaten and drunk their fill and fell asleep again. Everyone in the palace was extremely attentive, for fear of disturbing the two princes. Only Hede, as their biological mother, not only did not pay attention, but instead reached out to fiddle with the children from time to time, as if afraid that they would not wake up.
What Wang Zhengjun saw when she came in was the Queen's unreliable look.
She glanced at the child on the bed. Although she knew that her behavior was cruel, when she thought that she was doing this for the future of the Han Dynasty, she had to harden her heart and walk over.
Zhao Hede smiled and stood up, about to salute, but was held back by the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager had often visited the children during this period, and the two had actually gotten along quite well. But as soon as Wang Zhengjun spoke, Hede's gentle smile immediately vanished, and when she looked up again, she was expressionless and indifferent.
"I think I heard it wrongly. What did the Queen Mother just say?"
Considering that her performance these days had satisfied her, Zhao Hede still gave her a chance.
Wang Zhengjun's expression was still as compassionate as ever, as open and honest as a bodhisattva without desires. She even looked at Zhao Hede with pity: "Queen, I know that as a mother you don't want to be separated from your child, and I don't mean to separate you from your child forever."
"But I hope you understand that Zhao'er is not just your son. He is also the crown prince, the future successor to the Han Dynasty. He has his responsibilities and mission. Do you really think you can teach him well?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
