The emperor's physique was completely undetectable from his appearance, making it difficult for women to conceive. Of course, everyone knew that this was due to poisoning, as it was no secret; anyone with a little knowledge knew this. However, he still appeared very strong and powerful.
Since the emperor had slept with all the concubines and none of them had gotten pregnant, he no longer had the desire to sleep with them. He had now decided that Tang Baozhu was more likely to bring him good fortune and planned to put more effort into her in the future to see if she could have more children.
If it were any other emperor, things might not be like this. Even if he couldn't have children, it wouldn't stop him from sleeping with his concubines. But this emperor was rather peculiar. He really didn't care much about women. He slept with his concubines only to have offspring. Otherwise, he would rather deal with important matters.
Tang Baozhu felt that the emperor's true love was his political affairs. Now that she was pregnant, the emperor had devoted more attention to her, and she was slightly different in his heart.
However, she didn't care. She wasn't the kind of person who was obsessed with love. All she wanted was to live a long and peaceful life. Love was fine if she had it, but she wouldn't force it if she didn't.
However, the thought of seeing her parents again soon made Tang Baozhu even happier. She had long regarded Old Man Tang and Tang Li as her closest people, making up for all the regrets she had in her previous life.
During this period, she rarely entered the red envelope group. When she went to sleep at night, the emperor was always by her side, so she didn't dare to go in. During the day, if she wanted to take a nap, someone would also guard her bedside, which made her feel particularly uncomfortable.
However, she wasn't a willful person. Knowing that everyone was worried about her belly, she listened, knowing that she would give birth sooner or later anyway.
The days flew by as she eagerly awaited her parents' arrival. One day, after settling Consort An's family, Xiaodouzi hurried to the palace to tell Consort An the good news.
"Your Majesty, Little Bean has returned and is waiting outside. Would Your Majesty like to see him?"
Tang Baozhu was getting bored while waiting, and when she heard that Xiaodouzi had returned, there was no reason for her not to call him in. "Hurry up and call him in. He's finally back."
"Yes, I will go and call him in right away."
Since Yulian was sent away, almost all the palace maids and eunuchs in Changchun Palace have been led by Yumei. Tang Baozhu also noticed this, but according to her observation, Yumei was probably someone planted by the emperor, so she didn't care. Anyway, it was all for her own good, and having someone of the emperor by her side was also beneficial.
As soon as Douzi entered the main hall, he immediately bowed deeply to Tang Baozhu, saying, "This servant greets Your Majesty."
"Get up quickly and tell me how my parents are doing? How was their journey?"
"Your Majesty, please rest assured, the two elders have been well on the journey. The servants have served them very diligently and have not let them suffer at all. It's just that the journey was a bit long, taking three months. Finally, we have brought the two elders here. Originally, they were supposed to come to the palace to see Your Majesty, but His Majesty has just bestowed a residence and all the necessary personnel upon them. In addition, they need to freshen up, so the servants told them to come in a couple of days. If Your Majesty is in a hurry, the servants can go and tell them to come tomorrow."
Although Tang Baozhu longed to see her parents, she knew they needed time to adjust to the climate of the capital and relearn the rules, as entering the palace was a serious matter that could not be taken lightly.
"Little Bean, I ask you, has His Majesty summoned any matrons who teach etiquette?"
"Your Majesty, rest assured, we have everything. We also have the gentlemen we know. Your Majesty's three elder brothers and their families are all here."
At this point, Xiaodouzi paused, as if he had something difficult to say. Tang Baozhu could tell from his expression that there must be something going on.
"Little Bean, just say what's on your mind. I know my three older brothers very well."
"Your Majesty, I dare to speak frankly, but I think the three masters will definitely cause you trouble in the future. All the adults in the families of the three masters have so many ulterior motives. It's just that the great-grandchildren are still young and we can't see it yet."
"Oh, really? Tell me what they did along the way."
Tang Baozhu wasn't surprised at all. After all, her three sisters-in-law were shrewish women when she was young. If her three brothers could marry women like that, how good could they be? They were rotten to the core, so how could their children possibly learn anything good? Now, she could only hope that her grandchildren could be salvaged.
Seeing that Consort Bao wasn't angry with her, Xiaodouzi stopped hiding it. "Your Highness, at first, the old master could still keep them in check, but ever since we got closer to the capital, they've become increasingly arrogant, demanding this and that along the way, causing a lot of trouble for the guards. But that's a minor matter. The young masters have started acting like spoiled brats, looking down on the young mistresses. They're especially ostentatious when we pass through big cities, and they've taken in quite a few concubine's daughters from merchant families. Luckily, the old master and matriarch have good attitudes, otherwise they would have been sick with anger."
Tang Baozhu was surprised to find that those little brats had become so capable after more than ten years. They were just commoners, yet they dared to take the daughters of merchants as concubines. It seemed that they felt they had a lot of confidence in the palace.
"I understand about this. I'll not see them for now. You've worked hard these past few days. I'll give you two days off to rest. Go out whenever you have free time."
Tang Baozhu gave Yu Mei a wink, signaling her to give a reward. After all, she had worked hard for several months and deserved a reward.
As soon as Yu Mei received the signal from the Empress, she knew what it meant and quickly took out a purse from her sleeve and handed it to Xiao Douzi.
"This servant thanks Your Majesty for the reward."
After watching Xiaodouzi leave, Tang Baozhu didn't want to sit in the main hall any longer. "Yumei, you should leave too. I want to be alone for a while."
Yu Mei originally disagreed, but seeing that the Empress was in a bad mood, she didn't dare to say anything more, and respectfully bowed before leaving.
Tang Baozhu returned to her palace and lay down on the bed. It seemed that her three brothers were like incompetent rulers, and they had given them face for nothing. Now, most well-informed people probably knew what kind of people Consort Bao's family was, and they must look down on her.
It seems she needs to ask the emperor to find some capable teachers and martial arts instructors to properly train them. She won't let them leave the palace until they've developed some virtue, so they won't embarrass her if they do.
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