This time, she spent two full months in confinement. Yao Niang felt that she had become much plumper. Her old clothes were too tight on her. She complained to Gao Xuance in frustration, "It's you who made me eat tonic soup every day. Not only do I have a double chin, but I've also gained so much weight that clothes are too small for me."

"Then just let them come in a little closer. I think you look better like this." Gao Xuance didn't like that kind of thin people.

Yao Niang was a little bit fatter, like a white peach, with a crystal white complexion that was so tender and fluffy, and full cheeks. Her lips were like cherries. Gao Xuance pinched her face and said, "She looks like a lucky doll. So pretty."

Yao Niang didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "I really don't know what you are thinking."

"It doesn't matter what I think. What matters is that I found someone to get something good." He opened the box and whispered a few words in Yao Niang's ear. Yao Niang blushed and hit him.

Gao Xuance held her hands and said, "This way we can have sex without getting pregnant, and you can also take good care of yourself."

"Yeah." Yao Niang lowered her head.

Perhaps only Yao Niang herself felt that she had gained weight. After the servants put makeup on her, they only felt that she was radiant and her appearance had reached a state of being stunningly beautiful.

The tube top she was wearing on her chest was almost about to burst out, which made Gao Xuance's eyes widen.

The couple paid their respects to Queen Hong together, which made Yao Niang see that Queen Hong, who always had very high requirements for her appearance, actually looked a little haggard.

"Why is mother like this? But because of my aunt's matter, your daughter-in-law was also very sad when she heard what the prince said." Yao Niang even took out a handkerchief and pretended to cry.

In the palace, you need to have this kind of ability, to cry when you are told to cry and laugh when you are told to laugh.

Queen Hong glanced at Gao Xuance and found that he probably didn't tell Yao Niang. She thought that even though this boy did something bad, he still didn't dare to tell Yao Niang. After all, he liked her so much and didn't want her to see the dirty side of human nature.

Queen Hong calmed down and said, "Your aunt has passed away, there is no point in saying more. You don't have to be too sad. You have just come out of confinement, so you should also take care of your body."

"Thank you for your concern, mother. Your daughter-in-law is fine." Yao Niang usually serves Queen Hong and knows her habits very well.

According to the rules, Gao Xuance should have left after greeting An, but today he stayed here and listened to their greetings, and he listened very patiently with a smile on his face.

Queen Hong knew why. The child was probably afraid that she would harm his wife, so he stayed here to protect her.

In fact, Yao Niang didn't understand why he had been here all the time, and said, "If the prince has official business, just go first."

"Don't worry, don't rush. You just came out of confinement and your legs are not very strong when walking. I have nothing to do either, so I will stay here and accompany mother for a while." Gao Xuance took a folding fan and looked at Queen Hong.

Queen Hong gave a stiff smile before she realized that she was a little afraid of her son.

Back then, Prince Chen helped her deal with the Lin mother and son, and assisted her to ascend to the throne. He was even the most filial in front of her. She was always proud of the emperor. She had no idea that her son was now on guard against her, and she had to panic.

You have to know that even though she is the empress and is in charge of the harem, the Prince of Chen holds power and is not an ordinary person.

Yao Niang also felt that the atmosphere between them was a little strange. You know, Queen Hong has always been very good to Gao Xuance. Whenever he came, everything was prepared. But today, it was like a confrontation between mother and son.

If you ask her whether she intended to reconcile the mother and son, of course she didn't. Since Prince Zhou was very likely to become the crown prince, Queen Hong has looked up to Xu Qingrong, which makes Yao Niang unhappy.

She has some Liangshanpo loyalty in her bones, and she hates people who destroy their friends after crossing the river.

Finally, it was Queen Hong who said, "Just look into your aunt's affairs carefully. If you can find out, it's fine. If not, perform some rituals for her. As for the rest of the Hong family, let them go back to observe mourning and come back after they are done."

This was a declaration that the matter was over, and Gao Xuance was of course very satisfied: "Mother is right, and my uncle also said that he would return to his hometown to handle the funeral. I will go and see him off."

"You are busy too, just let Changshi go."

"Okay."

Only then did Yao Niang go back to the palace on a sedan chair. She had just finished her confinement and everything was in tatters. Although the house seemed to be in order, it was still different with or without a mistress taking care of it.

Now the emperor gave happier names than before. The second son was named Gao Huan and the third son was named Gao Xun.

"Where is Xun'er? I miss him a lot when I haven't seen him for a day." Yao Niang smiled.

Dan Gui smiled and said, "Our little prince just finished drinking his milk."

Now Chengyun is studying, and Chengze asked the eunuchs to teach him how to read and the maids to teach him manners. Now she can take care of her little son, but she doesn't want to have children anymore. Fortunately, Gao Xuance has a solution, and she is relieved.

Although this practice is extremely rebellious, giving birth really depletes a woman's energy. Even someone with a healthy body like her can't bear it.

She had just finished seeing her youngest son when she heard that the son born to Concubine Gan had died.

"What? The child died?" Yao Niang was surprised.

Could it be that Xu Qingrong did it? If that was the case, she was really too brave.

This time, Yao Niang really wronged Xu Qingrong. After entering the palace, she didn't dare to do anything rashly. The most she did was put drugs in the concubines' tea, which was done very covertly. Later, after Madam Li became pregnant, she never dared to do it again.

Now Gan’s child is gone.

It is already difficult to raise a child, and Gan was pregnant for many years, and she was still young, so it was even more difficult to raise a child.

Mrs. Gan was young, and there was no way she could endure the pain of losing her son. She cried so hard that even eating was useless. Xu Qingrong felt happy in her heart, but she still had to comfort her.

This is what a wise and virtuous queen should do.

Xu Qingrong has always used this to encourage himself.

Hearing that Princess Chen was coming, Xu Qingrong perked up again. Even though the one who died was Concubine Gan's son, everyone still felt sorry for Xu Qingrong.

Who made her the queen?

Yao Niang also admitted that she had been forced to cry in front of Queen Hong in the morning, and now she and Xu Qingrong shed tears again. Xu Qingrong also shed tears: "Our second prince was such a smart and clever child, and he is gone like this. My heart feels hollow."

This was not what she meant, as this was not Xu Qingrong's son. However, Yao Niang also echoed: "Yes, after all, Concubine Gan is still young, and there will be many children in the future. At least the little princess is fine."

It would have been better not to comfort her. Xu Qingrong saw that Yao Niang not only looked good, but also radiant, which was a rare sight. Now that she had cried, her eyes were full of tears, which was very pitiful.

Even women would tremble when they saw her, let alone men?

Yao Niang finished her complaints and went back home in a hurry. It was Empress Hong who was very upset. Prince Zhou had only one son, but his mother was of humble status. He had wanted to marry Concubine Gan, since she had a good family background and could give birth to children. However, he had no idea that his son died young.

This was how things were in the palace. Concubine Li even had a miscarriage, but during the following Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone still had to dress up and try to appear harmonious.

It seemed that no one mentioned the murder of the Dongfang family anymore. It was always like this in the palace.

Concubine Li Guifei put on her makeup, she was also a rare beauty, but when she saw the Princess Chen underneath, she couldn't help but feel ashamed of herself, but was also glad that her opponent was not her.

However, at this family reunion dinner, although the King of Zhou was not at his mansion, at least he had many concubines and children, and the seats were full. The Fourth Prince also sat together with his wives, concubines, and children. Only the Prince of Chen had no concubines in his mansion, and one was still young and did not come out. The two sons sat at the table and looked polite.

Gao Xuance himself did not care about this difference. Princess Lanfeng in the Jinyang Palace said to Hong, the wife of the Jinyang Prince, "Look at how loving the Prince Chen and the Princess Chen are."

This Mrs. Hong was the daughter of Empress Hong's second brother, and also of a scholarly generation. Her character and appearance were both outstanding. The Jinyang Palace was interested in establishing a relationship with the Hong family, so she married into the family.

Although Gao Jian is a romantic man, he also knows how to respect his wife. However, the group of concubines of the Prince of Jinyang are really uncomfortable.

Hearing Princess Lan Feng say this, the Crown Prince's wife responded with a few perfunctory words. Only then did Princess Lan Feng realize that she had said the wrong thing.

She was a princess from a foreign country. After marrying King Jinyang, although King Jinyang was a little older, he was not interested in women and had only her with him. But his daughter-in-law was different.

However, Hong also had other ideas. Her husband Gao Jian had told her a few days ago to get closer to Prince Zhou's Palace, and of course she obeyed, but yesterday for some reason she said she wanted to maintain a close relationship with Princess Chen.

Obviously, she also realized that Gao Jian was caught in a dilemma.

As for why Gao Jian was in a dilemma, it was very simple. After a long period of silence, the King of Zhou learned from the Donghu people that they had very little food and fodder left, so he used the strategy of tiring out the enemy with three horses.

They were always small-scale battles, but they exhausted all the troops of Dalin.

The King of Zhou's staff suggested that he personally fight and win a battle, and then report it to the court in exchange for food and fodder.

Little did they know that although the King of Zhou had famous generals following him, he himself was actually unable to fight on horseback, and was not even very good at archery or bow drawing. He was completely different from the brave and warlike King Chen.

Of course, if the King of Zhou was the crown prince, no one would say anything if he sat in the capital, but it was obvious that the King of Zhou was only a prince, so he had to perform well if he was to be crowned the crown prince.

Emperor Jianzhang was very unhappy. He certainly wanted King Zhou to achieve something, but there had been no news from the front line, and the Donghu people had also looted cattle and horses, some of which were war horses. This was certainly King Zhou's problem.

The King of Zhou felt very aggrieved. Wasn't it you who told us to keep our troops in place?

When they ran out of ammunition and food, the emperor ordered them to quickly reorganize their troops and prepare to take action when the opportunity arose.

The inner cabinet has already asked the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue to start collecting money and grain before sending it to the front. Once their own interests are involved, these people will not care about your status as a prince. They said bluntly: "Last time, the Laojiao silver was used. Do you want so much silver this time if you don't win a battle? The harvest in Henan and Shandong was not good this year, and now..."

In short, it was felt that Prince Zhou was wasting money, and even Prince Chen couldn't help but shed tears for him.

After King Zhou received the order to attack the Donghu, he was in a very bad mood. Perhaps the destruction of the Western Rong gave his father a reassurance, which made him think that he could attack the Donghu at will. It was simply playing the lute at random.

King Zhou really wanted to cry but had no tears...