Gu Jiangli nestled in the emperor's arms.
This experience made her even more certain of her feelings.
She would wholeheartedly accompany the emperor until the very last moment of his life.
The Empress Dowager entered with her wet nurse and the baby in her arms.
A warm feeling washed over Gu Jiangli the moment she saw the child.
It is already a great blessing that he was born healthy.
The child was a tiny, wrinkled little thing.
When Gu Jiangli held him in her arms, he was sleeping soundly, his mouth still sticky as if he was nursing in his dream.
The Empress Dowager smiled and said to Gu Jiangli:
"This little one had been crying non-stop, and I couldn't even get him to drink my milk."
"I just asked the wet nurse, and she said he stopped crying two hours ago and can now drink milk without worry."
"I thought to myself, isn't that exactly when you wake up?"
"This little guy probably sensed that you were suffering before, and as soon as he knew you were safe and sound and woke up, he stopped crying."
"They say that a mother and child are connected at heart, and now it seems that this is indeed true."
The Empress Dowager's words were full of excitement.
The family of three before me is happy and fulfilled.
Is there anything more gratifying than this?
A gentle, maternal smile played on Gu Jiangli's lips as she said:
"This child has really suffered, having to come into this world before even being full-term."
She knew perfectly well that the child was unharmed mainly because she had taken a pregnancy-preserving pill.
The mother's body is damaged, but the child remains healthy; this is the most significant effect of the pregnancy-preserving pill.
The emperor's eyes also held a hint of probing.
Gu Jiangli gently pushed the sleeping child toward the emperor.
"Your Majesty, would you like to hold the child?"
A rare look of tension appeared on the emperor's face.
Gu Jiangli also knew what the emperor was nervous about.
When the child was born, he was only concerned about his own life hanging by a thread, and didn't give the child a single extra glance.
This was the first time he had truly been a father, and also the first time he had secretly hoped for a child.
It's only natural that he would feel nervous and helpless.
The emperor embraced the child, and his somewhat clumsy movements made the wet nurse and the empress dowager chuckle to themselves.
However, the emperor was not angry about this, but instead studied very diligently.
Under the careful guidance of his wet nurse and the Empress Dowager, he finally learned the correct way to hold a child.
After holding the baby for a while, the emperor looked at the baby's face and suddenly seemed a little dazed.
"This is my child with Li'er."
Gu Jiangli smiled faintly and answered affirmatively:
"Your Majesty, this is our child."
The emperor's eyes reddened. "Li'er, I forgot to thank you..."
"What is Your Majesty thanking me for?"
"Thank you for bringing me a child, thank you for giving me a place to belong."
Where the heart finds peace, there is belonging.
As the emperor gazed at his child's peaceful sleeping face, a newfound paternal composure appeared in his eyes.
Gu Jiangli looked at the emperor's face with a smile that was tinged with tears.
She did not regret falling for the emperor.
Because the emperor truly deserved it.
The atmosphere in Yunguang Hall was relaxed and lively.
It was completely different from those two lifeless days.
All the palace servants were relieved that Consort Gu was safe and sound; no one wanted to lose a mistress who genuinely cared for her servants.
No one wanted to endure the emperor's murderous gaze.
Gu Jiangli was able to rest peacefully in the Yunguang Palace during her postpartum period.
During this time, news came that the roses had been strangled.
It seems she has perfectly filled this gap.
The matter was thus closed, and no one in the palace dared to mention it again.
The emperor named the child "Beichen".
When Beichen was 100 days old, the emperor directly named him Crown Prince, while Gu Jiangli became Empress.
She went from a fourth-rank concubine to Empress Da Jiang, and Bei Chen's child, who was just over 100 days old, became the crown prince. This hasty decision immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of many ministers.
The ministers believed that neither the selection of an empress nor the selection of a crown prince should be done so hastily.
However, the emperor ignored the ministers' objections and stated that he would only have this one child in his life, so the position of crown prince should belong to Beichen.
Regarding the matter of making Gu Jiangli empress, the emperor did not explicitly respond to the ministers' objections, but instead issued an imperial edict to the whole country.
The gist of it is that during his reign, no more beauty pageants would be held, and ministers would no longer be allowed to recommend any beauties to him.
This decree immediately caused a major reaction throughout the world.
The ministers all said that the emperor's summons was completely contrary to the rules of their ancestors.
However, the people believed that His Majesty was in love with the current Empress and was willing to reject all the beauties in the world for her, which showed the depth of the Emperor's affection.
The people not only did not feel that the emperor's actions were wrong in any way, but on the contrary, they quite approved of this order.
For the next three years, the ministers would occasionally submit memorials to the emperor, requesting that he hold another selection of candidates, but the emperor rejected them all.
The emperor promised Gu Jiangli that he would never allow another woman to join the harem.
He did it, and he did it in front of the whole world.
Gu Jiangli felt grateful whenever she thought about this.
These three years have been peaceful; she, the emperor, and the empress dowager are all in good health, and Beichen is growing up healthily.
Her life could have been free of worries.
The only thing that left her somewhat exhausted was the issue of Beichen's growth.
Bei Chen is a little different; he seems to be growing up a bit too slowly.
She had assumed that since both she and the emperor were intelligent, their child would be quite good.
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