It was naturally too late to demolish the Buddhist temple, and Emperor Jingming did not dare to say anything.

If you regret something that you proposed, you can only accept it. It's what you sow.

Seeing that Emperor Jingming looked dazed, the Empress was very considerate and gave the old Emperor some time to calm down before asking, "What does the Emperor think?"

"I--" Emperor Jingming moved his lips, not knowing what to say for a moment.

The Queen suddenly brought this up and he was totally unprepared.

Facing the empress's eager gaze, Emperor Jingming could only laugh dryly and said, "To be honest, Your Majesty, I am not ready for the moment—"

The queen smiled and said, "The princes are already here. I don't need to give birth to them, and you don't need to raise them. What preparations are needed?"

Emperor Jingming: "..." When did the Queen become able to speak like this?

After being shocked, he understood: the queen was serious!

The Empress took it seriously and brought it up, so Emperor Jingming had to take it seriously.

After a long pause, Emperor Jingming sighed and said, "Empress, you have always been very clear about justice. You should know that this matter is of great importance—"

The queen lowered her eyes, with a bitter smile on her lips: "I don't want Fuqing to be alone all day long after leaving the palace, and I don't want to wait until a hundred years later and leave Fuqing without anyone to take care of her——"

Emperor Jingming frowned and interrupted the empress: "Fuqing is a legitimate princess, how could she be left alone to take care of her? Your Majesty, you are worrying too much."

The queen laughed at herself and said, "Your Majesty, Fuqing is right beside us now and is being plotted against repeatedly. How can we know what will happen in the future?"

Emperor Jingming was silent for a moment.

The queen stopped urging him, her eyes turned red silently, and she turned her head to look outside.

The flowers and trees in the garden are showing signs of recovery, and they will be lush and green in a while.

But the queen felt desolate.

She only has one daughter, Fuqing, and Fuqing is her life. She will fight with anyone who wants her life!

Whether the emperor is happy or not, she doesn't care even if the friendship between her and the emperor over the years is worn away by this request.

Emperor Jingming felt uncomfortable when he saw the empress's red eyes and silence.

He did not have much romantic affection for the Empress. It can be said that his most sincere love was given to the Empress Yuan, and his subsequent passion was given to those younger and more beautiful concubines.

When he was young, the queen was his wise wife who helped him manage the harem, and now she is his companion in his old age.

The absence of love between men and women does not mean the absence of feelings. Moreover, since he has lived with the Empress for many years in an easy and comfortable manner, the Empress naturally holds a great importance in Emperor Jingming's heart.

More importantly, this seemed to be the first time in all these years that the Queen had made a request of him.

Emperor Jingming remained silent for a long time, hesitating.

He knew better than anyone what it meant that the prince was registered under the Empress' name.

The Queen also remained silent for a long time, determined to win.

Now that she has spoken, there is no reason for her to back down.

Time passed little by little. The palace maid who was driven outside by the emperor and empress would glance at the closed door from time to time. She knew from experience that the tea had gone cold for a long time, but she did not dare to go in and change the tea on her own initiative.

Of course, they, the servants, dared not guess what the emperor and empress were talking about.

It was not even February yet, but the weather was still cold, and the house was hot. Both Emperor Jingming and the Empress began to sweat at the tips of their noses in such a stagnant atmosphere.

Therefore, the atmosphere seemed even more depressing.

It was Emperor Jingming who finally broke the deadlock.

He sighed and said slowly: "It is understandable that the Queen wants a son to bear her children. I... agree..."

Perhaps because she had been silent for too long, the Empress's expression did not change much after hearing Emperor Jingming's words, but her heart was filled with ecstasy.

In addition to the ecstasy, there is also sadness.

Except in such formal occasions, the emperor always refers to himself as "I" in private, but just now he used "I".

The Queen is very insightful and naturally understands the difference.

But she doesn't regret it.

Be willing to give and give, only by giving can you gain. It is difficult to have the best of both worlds in the world. Being too greedy will reduce your blessings.

The sadness was nothing compared to the fulfillment of her wish, and it disappeared in an instant. The queen smiled sincerely, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"What's the point of saying thank you between husband and wife?" Emperor Jingming was in a complicated mood and didn't want to talk anymore. "Your Majesty, please take a rest. I still have some things to deal with."

"Your Majesty, please take care."

Emperor Jingming nodded randomly, walked to the door with his hands behind his back, and suddenly turned back.

The queen was slightly surprised, and a flash of vigilance flashed across her eyes.

Could it be that the emperor wants to go back on his word?

Of course, it was not enough to regret. Emperor Jingming was not so shameless. He just thought of a very important matter: "Has the Queen considered which prince to put under her name?"

The queen had thought about this question a long time ago. When asked by Emperor Jingming, she said calmly, "Last night, the Bodhisattva came into my dream and gave me some advice. I was very excited. I just thought that having a son would be a great blessing. I haven't thought about which prince would be suitable."

At this point, the queen knelt down and said, "Besides, such an important matter cannot be decided by me alone. It all depends on the emperor's will as to which prince to enshrine."

The empress knew that too much was as bad as too little. She had gone too far by asking for an eldest son. After all, the emperor was still young when the empress dowager adopted him. It was not like now that if she named a prince, he could be put to use right away...

In this way, even if she has a favorite candidate in her mind, she can't say it out loud.

The prince registered under the name of the empress is undoubtedly the most powerful candidate to compete for the throne. If she even designates the candidate, it may be suspected that the harem is interfering in government affairs, which may backfire.

If you ask the Queen whether she has a favorite candidate, of course she does.

She had been thinking carefully for the past few days, and her favorite candidate was none other than the seventh prince, Prince Yan.

The princes whose mothers are the principal wives of a palace are not considered at all, such as the fourth prince, Prince of Qi, the fifth prince, Prince of Lu, and the sixth prince, Prince of Shu.

This left only the seventh prince, Prince Yan, and the eighth prince, Prince Xiang.

The biological mother of the Prince of Xiang was of humble origin, but the Empress usually watched from the sidelines. When she saw that the Prince of Xiang was getting quite close to the Prince of Qi, she naturally lost her favor towards him.

Being close to the King of Qi, she was probably hoping that the King of Qi would ascend to the throne so that she could rise with him. If the King of Qi ascended to the throne, Concubine Xian would be very proud. Should she, the Queen, step back?

The King of Yan was different.

Although the Prince of Yan was born to Concubine Xian, he had a weak relationship with her. Some time ago, there were even rumors that the mother and son had a falling out, so there was no need to worry about this.

The Queen was even looking forward to Concubine Xian's reaction when she learned that Prince Yan recognized her as his mother.

He gained benefits himself and at the same time struck a blow to the restless concubine, which was the best of both worlds.

Besides, the Queen had the best impression of Prince Yan among all the princes, not to mention the Princess of Yan who had saved her daughter twice.

"Since the queen has not yet found a suitable candidate, let me think about it carefully. Don't mention it to anyone else before you make a decision."

The Queen smiled and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I certainly won't say anything nonsense about such a big thing."

Emperor Jingming waved his hand and left Kunning Palace with heavy steps. After returning to Yangxin Palace, he sat on the couch and became dazed.