After that, Tang Baozhu lived a very leisurely life, focusing on her pregnancy and learning other useful things, which were not too strenuous. She was not allowed to touch anything that required too much energy.
When Situ Rui delivered the first month's profit share for the soap and bar soap, the baby in his belly was already more than six months along. He initially thought the profit share was a bit too much, but seeing his beloved concubine bearing his child and her large pregnant belly, he suddenly felt it wasn't much.
The emperor never expected that this seemingly worthless item would become so valuable because every household used it, and because it was so cheap, everyone could afford to buy it, resulting in a very considerable profit.
At least it sold better than glass. Nowadays, glass is still affordable for wealthy families. Of course, those were small mirrors, about the size of a palm, which even small households could afford if they gritted their teeth.
"My beloved concubine's belly is getting bigger and bigger. It must be very hard for her. I feel sorry for her."
Don't be fooled by his seemingly cold and aloof demeanor; he's actually quite a character inside, a classic example of someone who's cold on the outside but warm on the inside.
"It is my duty to bear children for Your Majesty, and I am very happy about it."
Tang Baozhu, seeing that the Emperor now dotes on her exclusively, doesn't really mind having more children. Perhaps the Emperor's visits to her are just a habit now, but she is the one who benefits from it.
When Situ Rui heard Baozhu say that, his expression softened even more, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, making it look like he was smiling.
"Inside these two boxes, one contains the profit from soap and bar soap, and the other contains the profit from the glass container. Keep them."
Tang Baozhu didn't even look at it, and said directly to the emperor, "Your Majesty, I already have so many silver notes, and I don't know where to spend them. Why don't you stop giving them to me in the future and save them to do more things for Your Majesty?"
She wasn't lying. She had everything she needed, so why would she need so many silver notes? Besides, there was nowhere to spend money in the deep palace. Even when she first entered the palace, she had to pay silver to eat something nice. Now, as the only imperial concubine in the palace, she was the object of everyone's scramble to please her. Why would she need to spend money? They would eagerly send her anything nice they could find.
Situ Rui felt that his beloved concubine was too kind. Who wouldn't like having more money? She was definitely thinking of keeping it for herself. His beloved concubine was probably worried that the national treasury was short of money.
"Don't refuse Baozhu. Since it's for you, keep it. The national treasury is already well-funded! Although there's not much to spend money on, when the children grow up and get married, it will cost a lot of money. You can then give them some extra money."
Tang Baozhu hadn't really thought that far ahead. However, the emperor's reminder was correct. She knew she was carrying a daughter, and if she didn't want her to have a difficult life in the future, she would definitely have to leave her more money for protection.
Although being the emperor's daughter would certainly lead a good life, even if she married a bad husband, she wouldn't have a hard time if she had money.
"If Your Majesty says so, then I will accept it. Thinking about all the children I will have in the future, I really need to prepare more money for their protection."
When Situ Rui saw that Baozhu had accepted the money, he immediately led her into the house to rest. He couldn't help it; every time he saw her with such a big belly, he felt scared. It was the first time he had ever seen someone pregnant with triplets, so looking at that belly was really a bit terrifying.
Every time the emperor came, Tang Baozhu would pretend to be in great pain, just to let him know how hard pregnancy was, so that he would be more understanding of her in the future.
The emperor did not disappoint her. Every time he came, he served her with utmost care. Unless he had something else to do and couldn't come, he would usually rest at her place at night. Even when he had leg cramps at night, he would get up and massage her legs.
This made it hard for Tang Baozhu not to be moved. After all, the emperor of a country had gone to such lengths for her, and the other women in the harem acted as if they didn't exist. This made her have a little wishful thinking: could he treat her this well for the rest of his life?
Of course, she wouldn't show it directly, but would slowly guide the emperor to treat her better and better. She didn't believe that boiling a frog in lukewarm water wouldn't cook that frog.
Situ Rui didn't realize it at first, but one day he suddenly felt himself becoming more and more attached to Baozhu, and then he came to his senses that he seemed to have fallen in love with Baozhu.
You have to understand that for someone like him who truly loves his job, falling in love with someone is incredibly rare. It was a novel experience for him, and he didn't resist at all; he accepted it directly.
Then Tang Baozhu noticed that the emperor was treating her better and better, and she knew that her strategy had worked, so she was overjoyed.
After lunch that day, the emperor took Baozhu for a walk in the garden of Changchun Palace. Not long after they started walking, Baozhu felt waves of pain in her abdomen. Having given birth twice before, she immediately knew that she was about to give birth.
"Your Majesty, my stomach hurts, I think I'm going into labor."
As soon as Situ Rui heard Baozhu say she was about to give birth, he quickly picked her up and rushed to the delivery room. Fortunately, the midwives and other staff had been prepared in advance, so she could just go in and give birth.
Perhaps because their relationship had improved, Situ Rui felt extremely tormented while waiting outside. She hadn't felt this way much when she gave birth before, but now she was constantly worried that something might go wrong.
I kept praying in my heart that Baozhu and her four children would be safe.
"It's evening, and the Imperial Concubine won't be here anytime soon. Why don't you sit for a while?"
Eunuch Li watched his master pacing back and forth. This was the first time he had ever seen his master so anxious. Even when he had no children, he had never seen him like this.
It seems that the Imperial Concubine holds a very high position in the master's heart. We should be even more polite to the Imperial Concubine in the future; that would be the right thing to do.
"How can I sit down in peace? Just thinking about how painful it must be for Your Majesty during childbirth makes me wish I could take your place."
The Empress Dowager had just arrived at Changchun Palace when she heard the Emperor's words. Her face immediately turned sour. She never expected her son to be so sentimental. Did he have no dignity as the ruler of a country?
At this moment, Consort Shu is giving birth, so no matter how angry she is, she has to endure it. It seems that she must persuade the emperor to be more equitable in the future, otherwise she will not be able to tolerate Consort Shu.
For the Empress Dowager, who held power in the palace, dealing with a concubine was a trivial matter. The only troublesome thing was that the concubine's three sons were already grown up. If she didn't handle one of them well, it would be easy for her to become estranged from the three princes, which was not what she wanted.
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