The news of the national mourning arrived even faster than Gu Jiangli had imagined.
She heard that two generals had suddenly died of illness in the military camp, and then the emperor died shortly afterward.
She wasn't sure how much Prince Yu had done, but he certainly had a share.
For the next 27 days, all civil and military officials observed mourning.
She and Prince Yu kept a low profile, eating vegetarian food for several days as a way of bidding farewell to the emperor.
After the mourning period, the crown prince successfully ascended the throne.
The following year, the era name was changed to "Yongzhao".
After the Crown Prince ascended the throne, he would frequently visit the Prince Yu's residence to curry favor with Prince Yu and Gu Jiangli.
Unlike the late emperor, who cared about reputation and other people's opinions in everything he did, he only wanted to curry favor with his sworn brother and sister-in-law.
In the second month after his ascension to the throne, Prince Yu took the position of regent.
Although some court officials wanted to oppose it, their numbers were small, and the dissenting voices were suppressed.
Gu Jiangli went from being the "Princess Consort of Yu" to the "Princess Regent" in the blink of an eye.
He also promised that after the regent's death, his children could inherit his title of "Prince Yu".
In this way, Heng'er became the heir apparent.
When the prince learned that his child had become the heir apparent, he did not appear very happy.
So when Heng'er turned one year old, they held a very formal "grasping ceremony".
This time, the prince took the initiative to place the imperial seal among the items for the baby's first birthday celebration.
He wanted to see if Heng'er would make the same choice this time.
The result did not disappoint him.
Just like the first time, he received a copper coin in one hand and an imperial seal in the other.
It wasn't an accident or a coincidence; Heng'er simply knew what path she was destined to take in the future.
Gu Jiangli held Heng'er and laughed, "Don't underestimate Heng'er just because he's little. He already knows what he wants to do in the future."
The prince nodded and took out two small copper pieces from his pocket, which looked like tigers.
He stuffed the copper block into Heng'er's collar.
"This is... the tiger tally?"
The prince said calmly, "I had the late emperor's uncle and nephew killed, and the military power was given to me by the emperor himself. From now on, it belongs to Heng'er."
Gu Jiangli was shocked. "The emperor is actually willing? This is military power."
"What else can he do but agree? We gave him the throne, so we can easily remove him from power. In fact, he probably already guessed that his reign as emperor wouldn't last long, and he's been trying so hard to please us just to save his own life."
"Perhaps, the Empress Dowager's life, and the lives of the other children in the royal family, are also at stake."
The late emperor had more than one son; the other four were still young and might not even understand what was happening.
The emperor still held princes in awe.
Thinking of this, Gu Jiangli felt relieved.
According to the prince's plan, Heng'er will surely be able to walk the path he wants to take.
Gu Jiangli was still thinking that once Heng'er's situation was stable, she could give birth to a little princess for the prince.
Three years have passed, and Heng'er has indeed shown extraordinary talent.
Whether it's reading and writing or governing the world, he can quickly learn by analogy and get the hang of things.
One day, Heng'er suddenly stopped eating while eating.
Just when everyone was puzzled, he suddenly asked Gu Jiangli:
"Mother, am I going to have a little sister?"
The people at the table were startled and all looked at Gu Jiangli.
Gu Jiangli paused, her hand holding the chopsticks still.
Does Heng'er have X-ray vision?
She is indeed pregnant, but not long after. She plans to tell the prince once the pregnancy has stabilized.
How did you know?
The prince was overjoyed and immediately put down his chopsticks, asking hastily, "Really? You...you're really pregnant?"
The mistress hurriedly ran from one end of the table, bent down, and pressed herself against Gu Jiangli, asking, "Really? Your Highness? Heng'er isn't joking or talking nonsense?"
Heng'er, on the other hand, crossed his arms like a little adult, and the expression on his face seemed to say: See, I told you so?
Gu Jiangli could only nod: "Your Highness, Mother, my period hasn't come this month yet. I wasn't sure, so I didn't tell you. I don't know how Heng'er found out."
She turned to Heng'er and asked, "Did Aunt Lotus tell you?"
"No, I calculated it."
Gu Jiangli laughed at Heng'er's smug and proud look.
The prince and his wife were overjoyed, so excited that they were almost speechless with tears in their eyes.
They went to fetch a doctor, and also to fetch midwives and nannies.
Gu Jiangli remained rational and continued to ask Heng'er, "How did you figure that out?"
Heng'er, feigning mystery, got up from her chair, rested her forehead on Gu Jiangli's knee, and blinked her big eyes as she said:
"According to divination, I am destined to have four brothers and sisters. The first one to come to me was my younger sister."
"Really?" Does this mean she's going to have four more children in the future?
Neither the prince nor the mistress heard these words. If they had, wouldn't it have caused an uproar?
Gu Jiangli held Heng'er in her arms and fed him somewhat awkwardly, whispering in his ear:
"Heng'er, where did you learn fortune-telling from?"
Heng'er refused her mother's offer to feed her and chose to eat with her own bowl and chopsticks. She then replied, "It's in the book. I can learn it after reading it once. Is it that difficult? I can even predict that seven years from now, the celestial phenomena will change, and my mother's and father's identities will change."
Gu Jiangli felt slightly embarrassed.
She knew that her children would all have some talents that she herself couldn't understand.
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