"Girl, you're up? I've prepared a hearty breakfast for you. Take good care of yourself; you're six months along."
Ruan Yumu rubbed her eyes, and the sound of firecrackers came from the front yard.
"Ziling, what's going on outside?" Ever since Qi Jingxuan lost his temper at Yunxiang Tower, Ruan Yumu seemed to have been forgotten, and had been in a daze all day.
"Miss, this is the young lady's full-day celebration."
"Oh!" Actually, Ruan Yu Mu also wanted to go and see, after all, this was the Qi family's first child, but she felt that her body was not very convenient right now.
"Your Majesty, your father's concubine has given birth to a girl." Eunuch Li hurriedly came to report, as this was considered good news.
"Eunuch Li, let's give them some money and settle them in Jiangnan. I've heard that the scenery there is beautiful. In this deep palace, there is a power struggle. A woman with a child and no man in the family may not be able to prosper. The Duke of Jing's mansion is such a big place that it is inevitable that it will be difficult for people with ulterior motives to make things difficult for it."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After saying that, Jiang Congzhi vomited a mouthful of blood, seemingly unable to hold on any longer.
"Imperial Physician!~~~" Eunuch Li shouted hurriedly, but Jiang Congzhi waved his hand to indicate that it was not necessary.
"Summon the officials and ministers to the palace. Eunuch Li, you must take good care of my brother Qi in the future." As Jiang Congzhi said these words, a tear rolled down his bloodless face.
"Your Majesty! Go quickly! Your Majesty, you will be alright. You are a benevolent ruler!"
"His Majesty has decreed that all civil and military officials and historians be summoned to an audience!"
The palace maids and eunuchs had already begun preparing for the emperor's funeral, as if they were just waiting for him to breathe his last.
Qi Jingxuan knew that Jiang Congzhi was definitely waiting for him, so he rode at full speed all the way to the entrance of the Emperor's palace.
He took two steps at a time and walked up to the emperor.
"Brother Qi, it's so good to see you! The jade seal is here, and the imperial edict is inside too. Now you have a legitimate claim to the throne. You must make great strides from now on! Cough cough cough~~~"
Jiang Congzhi coughed for a while after saying only a few words, and the blood he vomited was already dark red.
The officials arrived one after another and knelt quietly.
The Emperor pulled Qi Jingxuan to sit on the edge of the bed; everyone understood the meaning behind this.
"Brother Qi, I remember the first time I met you, you were already so dashing on horseback. You are a natural leader with potential, capable of leading hundreds of thousands of troops. I am at ease entrusting the Jiang Kingdom to you."
"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. But there is something I don't understand: why me?"
Jiang Congzhi looked at Qi Jingxuan's serious face and suddenly laughed, "When the people spontaneously kneel down before you in a massive crowd, you should be the emperor, not the one I call the shots, understand?"
"Brother Jiang, we have known each other for many years. I will certainly live up to your trust and take good care of your orphaned mother." Qi Jingxuan quickly knelt down upon seeing this.
To be honest, Qi Jingxuan's heart was now filled with a desire for power. He was no longer the little girl who could only suffer in the backyard and did not know how to resist.
From initial fear upon entering the battlefield to bravery and commanding the three armies, his gradual progress taught him that only by increasing his power could he better protect himself.
"There is one more thing."
"Brother Jiang, if you speak, I will gladly die for you."
"I know that your uncle colluded with Jiang Changfeng and almost killed you using your concubine. I still want to remind you that a ruler cannot be soft-hearted. You will know once you sit in my position that all of this is hard-won and there are too many things to guard against. If we cannot eliminate the root of the problem, we must at least make an example of someone."
"Thank you for your guidance, Your Majesty."
"Come here, give me your hand. The character '王' (king) consists of three horizontal strokes and one vertical stroke. The three horizontal strokes represent heaven, earth, and man, and the vertical stroke represents the one who understands heaven, earth, and man; that is what makes a king."
After Jiang Congzhi finished speaking, he coughed violently again. Qi Jingxuan wanted to go forward and pat him, but when he saw Jiang Congzhi reach out to touch him, he quickly moved closer, but before he could touch Jiang Congzhi's hand...
She let it fall limply.
"The Emperor has passed away!"
Wedding banquets are not allowed during the national mourning period, so Liu Ruhua's hard work in preparing a 100-day celebration for two days was rendered useless.
The new emperor ascended the throne seven days later.
Upon ascending the throne, the new emperor granted a general amnesty, showing compassion for the people and reducing taxes.
After the national mourning period, all the people of the Qi family were moved into the inner palace, and the huge Qi family mansion has now become General Xu's residence.
During the enthronement ceremony, the Minister's daughter also held a grand wedding, and the ceremony for crowning the new emperor and empress was held simultaneously. The country's name was changed to Qi.
The Qi Kingdom's imperial harem consisted of one Empress, one Imperial Noble Consort (rank 1), four Consorts (rank 2), Zhaoyi, Zhaoyuan, and Zhaorong (rank 3), Shuyi, Shuyuan, and Shurong (rank 4), Wanyi, Wanrong, and Wanhua (rank 5), Guiji (rank 6), Jieyu (rank 7), Meiren, Liangren, and Jiaren (rank 8), Chengwei and Chengrong (rank 9), and Xuanshi (rank 10).
The Minister's eldest daughter, Cai Shuqi, was made Empress and resided in Jingren Palace; Liu Ruhua was made Consort Liu and resided in Jiayu Palace; the Princess's illegitimate daughter, Chu Yue, was made a fifth-rank Wanrong and resided in Chengfu Palace; the Prefect's eldest daughter, Qiao Siyu, was made a Shuyi and resided in Chuxiu Palace; Ruan Yumu was only made a minor Jieyu. The rest of the household members were made Meiren and Guiji according to whether they had served the Emperor.
No wonder the Emperor made such an arrangement. The women in the harem are different from those in the palace. They represent various factions. Now that the new Emperor has ascended the throne, he still needs the help of the families of these concubines!
Although Liu Ruhua's parents came to the capital and did not attend her full moon celebration, she was now being promoted to the rank of Consort, second only to the Empress. Master Liu was overjoyed and had even started doing business in the capital's cloth and gold and silver trade.
After Qi Jingxuan ascended the throne, he discovered that the national treasury was not only empty, but also heavily indebted. Not to mention the expenses of the harem, even the court could not be stabilized. In just one year, three emperors passed through the country, and the power in the court was also divided. As a result, a large number of daughters of officials entered the harem.
Another autumn has arrived, and this year's harvest has plummeted. Since ascending the throne, Qi Jingxuan has been busy with state affairs and has not visited the inner palace for almost a month.
The emperor's harem was actually quite empty, and he had no sons, only five or six women.
Now the Empress manages the vast harem and keeps an eye out for new concubines for the Emperor. Although the previous Emperor had no sons, he had two or three hundred concubines during his decades on the throne.
Ruan Yumu is about to give birth these days. She is a lowly concubine living in Chengde Palace. Everyone knows that she was originally the lady of the Qi family, but now she has been demoted layer by layer and has few people left by her side.
Moreover, Chengde Palace is the furthest place from the Qianqing Palace where the emperor lived.
This must be because the emperor didn't want to see it, so everyone was indifferent to the child in her womb.
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