Chu Xiao sat on the edge of the bed, gazing intently at the sleeping woman, the most important person in his life. She had just gone through the pain of childbirth, and her dark hair was soaked with sweat, sticking to her cheeks. Her pitiful and weak appearance broke his heart.
Chu Xiao's eyes welled up with tears, and a wave of pity washed over him.
The Empress Dowager entered carrying the child and saw Yun Chaoxi sleeping on the bed. She knew she was exhausted. "Your Majesty, please leave first and let the Consort rest well. Childbirth is like a journey to the gates of hell for a woman. You must treat her well from now on. If the Consort is wronged, I will be the first to punish you."
Chu Xiao shook his head. "I will stay here and watch over her. It's getting late. Mother, give the child to me. You should go back now."
The Empress Dowager did not force her. She was old and in poor health, and it was indeed time to go back and take her medicine. Reluctantly, she handed the child to Chu Xiao and left.
The child was already fast asleep. Chu Xiao placed the child next to Yun Chaoxi and stayed by the mother and child's side. Looking at the sleeping faces of the two, and thinking that the child carried the blood of both him and Xi'er, the satisfaction in his heart was about to overflow.
Yun Chaoxi was truly exhausted. The painless childbirth pills allowed her to not feel the pain of childbirth, but the baby still took her a full hour to come out, and she fell into a deep sleep immediately after giving birth.
He slept soundly until dark.
Hearing the commotion, Chu Xiao quickly got up from his desk and handed a written imperial edict to Eunuch Liu, saying, "Take this and announce it in court tomorrow."
He then strode into the inner room. "Xi'er, you're awake. Does your body still hurt?"
Yun Chaoxi smiled gently, her bright and clear eyes filled with a tender smile. "Your Majesty, I am much better."
"Where is the child? I haven't even had a chance to see our child yet."
Chu Xiao had the wet nurse bring the child over.
The little prince had just finished eating and then fell into a deep sleep, clutching his little hands.
Yun Chaoxi stared intently at the child's face, from the forehead and eyebrows to the eyes and nose, and finally concluded with a smile, "The child seems to resemble me more."
"I also think he is more like Xi'er."
"Has the Emperor given him a name?"
Chu Xiao pondered for a moment, "I plan to name him Chu Zhichen, what does Xi'er think?"
Chu Zhichen, the character "Chen" means the sky, symbolizing supreme status and authority. Chu Xiao's meaning is self-evident: he intends to raise this child to be the next emperor.
"Your Majesty thinks it's very good. With Your Majesty here, I believe Chen'er will not let Your Majesty down."
...
The next morning, Chu Xiao first announced in the court that the Imperial Concubine had safely given birth to a prince, causing an uproar throughout the court. All the ministers were overjoyed that the Great Chu had finally welcomed its first prince!
Just then, an urgent memorial arrived at the palace, reporting that the perennially drought-stricken northwest region had suddenly received much-needed rain, much to the delight of the people in three or four cities in the northwest.
Yesterday's heavy rain saved the planted crops from withering and dying from the sun exposure. The prefect was overjoyed and wrote a memorial overnight, which was sent to the capital by express courier to inform him of the situation.
The drought in the Northwest has always been a concern for Chu Xiao. This rain has alleviated the urgent problem in the Northwest, and coincidentally, it happened to be yesterday.
Prime Minister Yun immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the birth of the little prince yesterday brought timely rain to the northwest, a truly joyous occasion for our Great Chu! The little prince will surely bring good fortune to our Great Chu in the future!"
Prime Minister Yun was overjoyed and immediately began thinking about how to pave the way for his grandson. No matter how trivial or not, as long as it was a good thing, the credit had to be given to his grandson!
Prime Minister Yun's words were exactly what Chu Xiao had thought. "Indeed, I agree! Therefore, I have another matter to announce in court today! Liu Quan, proclaim the imperial decree!"
Eunuch Liu then stepped forward and read aloud the imperial edict that Chu Xiao had written the day before.
Consort Zhao, Yun Chaoxi, was made Empress, and the youngest prince, Chu Zhichen, was made Crown Prince.
The officials all offered celebratory remarks, none of them expressing dissatisfaction. After all, the emperor only had the Imperial Concubine left in his harem; if not her, who else could he make empress? Besides, the Imperial Concubine's family background was high enough to match the position of empress.
As for the young prince, he is now the darling of the court officials. The emperor only has one son, so who else should he make the crown prince if not him?
As soon as the imperial edict was issued, the Ministry of Rites began to get busy. They had already received the emperor's instructions to prepare for the empress's investiture ceremony, and everything that needed to be prepared had been prepared in advance. The remaining preparations were proceeding in an orderly manner.
A month later, Yun Chaoxi finished her postpartum confinement and began to learn the etiquette required for an empress, including the procedures for the coronation ceremony and the etiquette and procedures required for royal sacrifices.
Yun Chaoxi was very busy, learning this and that during the day. Xiao Zhichen was also very attached to her, and she had to coax him to sleep at night. The wet nurse couldn't coax him, and if he woke up in the middle of the night and found himself alone, he would cry so loudly that the whole palace could hear him. Every night, Yun Chaoxi had to coax him to sleep herself.
Chu Xiao saw it all and felt a pang of pain in his heart.
The royal family has so many broken rules! He told Yun Chaoxi that she didn't need to learn anymore, and that she could just follow him during the ceremony. There was no need to waste her energy learning these rules and etiquette that were only used a few times a year.
Yun Chaoxi disagreed and insisted on learning some more. She assured Chu Xiao several times that she wouldn't tire herself out before Chu Xiao finally agreed.
In addition, Chu Xiao tried to coax the little cub to sleep by himself, but the little cub wouldn't listen to him at all. After coaxing him for a long time, his eyes were still wide open, staring at his father with curiosity and grinning foolishly.
Chu Xiao was helpless; he was utterly at a loss when it came to dealing with this brat.
Finally, he placed the baby between himself and Yun Chaoxi, letting Yun Chaoxi sleep peacefully. He gently patted the child's bottom while soothing him to sleep. Little Zhichen smelled the familiar, warm scent of his mother. Although the little girl's humming wasn't as gentle and melodious as his mother's, he still accepted it. He twitched his little nose, snuggled into Yun Chaoxi's arms, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
He slept like this for several days in a row. It was fine for a day or two, but after a while, looking at his sleeping son, Chu Xiao gradually began to have some complaints about the little brat.
He thought that once Xi'er finished her postpartum confinement, they could finally enjoy a happy married life together. He never expected that this brat would be so troublesome, even wanting to squeeze in between them while they slept.
He was filled with resentment for a time.
Yun Chaoxi also knew that Chu Xiao was holding back a lot of anger.
After she found out she was pregnant, Chu Xiao didn't dare to go too far throughout her pregnancy. He only came once when she had a nightmare and was still angry. The rest of the time they just kissed and hugged, and at most she would use the methods he suggested to relieve her anger.
While her son was fast asleep, she leaned close to Chu Xiao's ear and whispered, "Your Majesty, please bear with it a little longer. When Chen'er is a little older, let him sleep in the side hall by himself."
The warm breath brushed against Chu Xiao's ears, tickling him and making his already restless mind even more distracted.
"How long? I know now, this brat will never sleep alone," Chu Xiao said resentfully.
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