When Empress Duan heard this, she was shocked at first, but then she was quickly overjoyed.
There were many examples of princesses being married off in previous dynasties, so the harem came up with a saying: giving birth to a prince is joy, while giving birth to a princess is sorrow.
Even if a prince does not compete for the throne, he can still be crowned king and obtain great wealth. However, if a princess is born, there is the potential danger of marrying off to a foreign prince thousands of miles away.
Queen Duan has been worried about this matter since she gave birth to Princess Lewen.
If a child marriage can be arranged now, the child can be excluded from the list of marriages in the future on the grounds that he or she has already been betrothed.
He smiled respectfully and said, "That's great. General Qi's son will surely be good. When he grows up, he can enter the palace and study with Le Wen. Their childhood sweetheart story will surely become a legend."
They were talking about the child, but the emperor suddenly said, "I want Qi Yan's wife to enter the palace and bring the child with her."
Empress Duan originally guessed that the Emperor arranged the marriage because of his childhood friendship with Qi Yan, but now she was confused.
She cautiously probed, "I wonder what the Emperor wants Madam Qi to do in the palace?"
Xuan Ling only said solemnly, "The harem has no shortage of her food."
The harem? Empress Duan immediately understood. Although surprised, she responded, "Your Majesty is very affectionate, which is touching. However, I understand that women in the common people must mourn for three years after their husband dies before they can remarry."
"Mrs. Qi has only been in mourning for over a year now. Your Majesty, do you think we should wait until three years later?"
Xuan Ling said sternly, "When a man's wife dies, he only needs to mourn for six months to a year before remarrying, while a woman has to wait three years. This is inherently unfair. I will issue an edict tomorrow to change this outdated custom, allowing women to remarry after a year of mourning. This will ensure equality between men and women and be fair."
Empress Duan stood up and bowed, saying, "Life is difficult for women. This measure will allow more widowed women to have a new life. On behalf of all women in the world, I thank the emperor for his wise action."
Xuan Ling said with satisfaction: "I am very pleased with the Queen's virtue. I will leave this matter to you."
"Your Majesty, rest assured. I will definitely see to it."
Xuan Ling stood up and walked away, "The Queen, take good care of your pregnancy. There's no need to send me off."
"Farewell, Your Majesty."
Seeing the imperial carriage disappear outside the palace, Queen Duan took the hand of the head aunt and returned to the main hall.
"My Lady, I have something to say but I don't know whether I should say it or not."
"Go ahead."
Aunt Qingdai, the head of the palace, said, "Although General Qi is no longer with us, Madam Qi is still my wife. There has never been a precedent for a widow to enter the palace as a concubine. Will there be any discussion in the previous dynasty? And she brought her child with her ex-husband. This is truly unbelievable..."
Empress Duan sat down and also took a ginseng slice in her mouth. She ordered, "Have someone send this large plate of ginseng slices to the Yangxin Palace. The emperor likes to take ginseng slices every day to fight fatigue. This ginseng is good."
The palace maid quickly and carefully packed the brocade box and left.
"What about the previous dynasty's discussions? Do those ministers still think that the emperor has just ascended the throne? The country has been peaceful and the people have been prosperous in recent years. They should also be aware of the emperor's thundering methods. How can the ministers control the emperor's will?"
Judging from the emperor's intention, perhaps Xuan Ling wanted to use this incident to warn everyone: the emperor's words are wise and decisive, and his majesty is inviolable.
Qing Dai said, "Your Majesty, this is a very important point. Madam Qi is from Prince E's mansion. Could this be Concubine Shu's trick? Bringing in a woman to consolidate her favor?"
Empress Duan's face darkened. In recent years, Concubine Shu's momentum has overwhelmed other concubines, and she is known to everyone as the favored concubine.
Fortunately, she has never had any children, otherwise Empress Duan might not be able to withstand it.
Sometimes he even ignored Empress Duan and was very arrogant, as if he wanted to seize the power to assist in managing the six palaces.
"Call Consort Shu to discuss this tomorrow. I want to test whether this was her idea."
"Yes, my lady."
The next day, after noon, Concubine Shu arrived at Jingren Palace.
As soon as I arrived at the courtyard, I was impressed, "The peonies and herbaceous peonies raised by the Empress are of such beauty and fragrance that they are breathtaking."
Qingdai welcomed her into the Zhucui Gate, and Concubine Shu said casually, "I greet Her Majesty Queen Duan."
She was a favorite concubine and had always been very spoiled. Even her greetings were extremely perfunctory at this moment.
There was a round embroidery frame on the soft couch in the hall, and on it was a picture of a pomegranate.
Empress Duan has always been fond of women's work, and her embroidery skills are extraordinary and picturesque.
Concubine Shu smiled meaningfully and said, "The Empress's embroidery is really suitable for the occasion. Pomegranates bring many fruits and good fortune. Your Majesty will definitely give birth to a legitimate prince this time."
Empress Duan took the seat and said, "Shufei is here, please sit down."
At this time, Princess Lewen was crawling on the soft couch, standing up and playing from time to time.
Although Concubine Shu was smiling, her nails were digging into her flesh under the handkerchief. She also had a child, who would have been five years old if he were still alive.
Six years ago, when Emperor Xuanwu was eighteen years old, Concubine Shu and Concubine Liang were the first to enter the palace, half a year before Empress Duan.
On the wedding night of Empress Duan and Emperor Xuanwu, Concubine Shu was already four months pregnant.
That day, according to palace rules, all concubines had to come to pay their respects to Queen Duan as concubines. Concubine Shu stepped on a dud firecracker, was frightened and fell down, unfortunately suffering a miscarriage.
According to the midwife and the imperial physician, it was still an unformed male fetus, the first child of Emperor Xuanwu, who was originally supposed to be the eldest son of the emperor.
Because I had a miscarriage and a uterine cleaning after four months of pregnancy, which hurt my body, I haven't been pregnant in the past few years.
This was something that Concubine Shu was very upset about. She hated that the Queen's wedding that day was the death warrant for her child.
What’s hateful now is that Empress Duan is pregnant again, but she still has no children.
Empress Duan coughed a few times. Concubine Shu looked at her slightly bulging belly and said with concern, "The weather is unstable at the beginning of spring. Empress, you are pregnant. You must be careful not to catch a cold."
Empress Duan took a sip of tea to suppress the discomfort in her throat. "I'm fine. Let's not talk about this anymore. I called you here today to discuss something."
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