Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the two children were already a month old. The emperor personally named them: the boy Li Runchen and the girl Li Muyao. In February of the following year, the emperor suddenly abdicated, passing the throne to Li Yunhong and naming Jiang Meiyu as empress. In August of the same year, Li Muyao was canonized as the eldest princess, and Li Runchen was appointed crown prince.
Every day, the retired emperor and the empress dowager played with the eldest princess and the crown prince, enjoying the joys of family life. On this day, Li Yunhong attended court as usual, and Eunuch Xu, as usual, shrilly called out, "If you have anything to report, please report it. If not, please dismiss the court." At this moment, an official named Censor Xu stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Empress is the only one in the harem. To continue the royal bloodline, we implore Your Majesty to accept more concubines." The emperor's face suddenly darkened, as if the sunny sky was about to usher in a thunderstorm. The ministers in the audience were all worried for Censor Xu, as they all knew that the emperor and the empress had a deep bond and that the emperor was completely obedient to her.
Censor Xu stood respectfully in the court, his mind filled with doubts about the relationship between the emperor and empress. The emperor looked at him and smiled, "Censor Xu, I was once rumored to be childless. Now, my empress is incredibly capable, having given birth to two children in one sitting. Do you think there's another woman in the world who could surpass my empress?" There was a hint of pride in the emperor's voice.
Upon hearing this, Censor Xu was speechless, not knowing how to respond. He knew the emperor's love for the empress, but he also understood that as a minister, he couldn't easily express his opinion. So, he hesitated for a moment and said softly, "This..."
The emperor looked at Censor Xu's reaction, a hint of dissatisfaction on his face. He continued to ask, "Don't you think so?"
Censor Xu felt the emperor's gaze, and his heart tightened. He knew he had to be careful. He thought for a moment, then slowly said, "Your Majesty is in the prime of his life. Having many sons and grandsons is a blessing for the country and the people. How can such a large harem have only one woman?" His tone revealed worry and concern.
The emperor's expression changed slightly when he heard what Censor Xu said. After a moment's silence, he suddenly shouted, "How dare you! Whether I take a concubine or not is my business, not yours. Censor Xu has been quite free lately, and I've heard that the moat in Water City is flooding. I order you to immediately take people to build a dam to protect the people." The emperor's voice was filled with majesty and unquestionable authority.
Censor Xu was startled by the emperor's rebuke. He quickly knelt and apologized, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I had no such intention. I am simply concerned for your safety and the stability of the country."
The emperor sneered: "Hmph, you don't need to worry about my safety. You should deal with the affairs of Water City first." After that, the emperor stood up, turned and left.
Censor Xu knelt on the ground, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. He realized that his words might have angered the emperor, and he felt a surge of regret. But now it was too late to undo the situation. He could only rush to Shuicheng to deal with the flood problem, hoping to salvage the situation.
"I obey your command," Censor Xu sighed helplessly. He knew this mission of persuading the Emperor to take a concubine would be no easy task, but since the Emperor had already given the order, he could only bite the bullet and take on this arduous task. The other ministers knelt and shouted in unison, "Farewell, Your Majesty."
From that point on, no one at court dared to dissuade the emperor from taking a concubine. However, to her surprise, Jiang Meiyu, in an effort to silence the ministers, successfully gave birth to three princes within the third year of their marriage. This feat astonished everyone, and even those ministers who had previously complained about the emperor's refusal to take a concubine were now completely convinced, realizing that no one could match the empress's fertility.
After hearing the news, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor Retired were so happy that they couldn't stop smiling. Li Yunhong felt sorry for Jiang Meiyu and didn't want her to continue suffering, so he advised: "My dear, let's not have any more children." However, Jiang Meiyu replied firmly: "Your Majesty, I was specially sent by God to bear children for you. In order to ensure the prosperity of the royal family and the stability of the country, this is my unshirkable responsibility. Otherwise, Your Majesty will probably be urged by those ministers to take concubines again, and I don't want to share my husband with others." Hearing Jiang Meiyu's jealous words, Li Yunhong couldn't help laughing, and he was in a very happy mood, so he readily agreed: "Okay! Everything is up to you, but don't force yourself too much."
Time flies. One day, several years later, Li Yunhong decided to personally lead his army against the Western Liang Kingdom. The war lasted for five months and ended in a crushing defeat for the Western Liang Kingdom. From then on, the Western Liang Kingdom ceased to exist, leaving only the Southern Wu Kingdom. The emperor had originally planned to destroy it in one fell swoop, but considering that the Southern Wu usually did not cause trouble, and now that the Northern Yue Kingdom had defeated two other countries, they had even restrained their minor border activities. Without a valid reason to launch a war, the emperor had no choice but to return home.
After the Emperor ascended the throne, he dispatched Prince Zheng to guard Fengcheng. Since Jiang Meiyu's background hadn't been made public, and fearing it would damage the former Princess's reputation, she decided to accept Prince Zheng as her adoptive father. When Prince Zheng first met Jiang Meiyu in the Eastern Palace, he knew exactly what she meant. Her features were so similar to his own, and she was the Princess's daughter. He was filled with joy and excitement. Although Jiang Meiyu only recognized him as her adoptive father, his heart was filled with joy. With the new Emperor ascending the throne, he needed someone to guard the frontier. Without hesitation, Prince Zheng headed for Fengcheng, and of course, the young Princess accompanied him.
After the emperor returned to the palace, Jiang Meiyu became pregnant again and successfully gave birth to two daughters and a son. The emperor, heartbroken by the hardships she had endured, insisted that she no longer bear children, and Jiang Meiyu had no choice but to obey. By then, the prince, already eight years old, was at the emperor's side daily, learning how to handle memorials. The prince was intelligent and clever, having already mastered Sun Tzu's Art of War at a young age and possessing a thorough understanding of battle strategies. Furthermore, he even requested to be sent to the border to familiarize himself with military life. Although the emperor and Jiang Meiyu were deeply reluctant to let him go, they ultimately agreed to allow him to train with Prince Zheng of Fengcheng in order to nurture his abilities.
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