In the 322nd year of the Great Yan Kingdom, Pei Yaozhou once again ascended the throne of the emperor, and Shen Ruoxi was officially named the mother of the country.
For the people of Dayan, the Qiao family occupied the palace for only a few months, but for Pei Yaozhou and Shen Ruoxi, several lifetimes had passed.
After Pei Yaozhou became emperor, he began to carry out major reforms. The first thing he did was to implement the imperial examination system and crack down on bureaucratic monopoly. In his place, people were appointed based on their merits.
At the same time, China actively carried out friendly exchanges with neighboring countries and established the Silk Road. However, in just one year, the border countries stabilized and wars were not as frequent as in the past.
The people and soldiers were able to recuperate and the Great Yan Kingdom prospered like never before.
After the external and internal troubles were resolved, the ministers had nothing to do and gradually turned their attention to the emperor's private affairs.
At the grand court meeting, the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Rites jointly submitted a memorial and knelt in front of Pei Yaozhou.
"Your Majesty, the royal family is now dwindling, and the Empress has yet to give birth. This is detrimental to the country. Please reconsider and fill your harem as soon as possible to expand the royal family!"
After saying this, both adults lowered their heads to the ground.
All the civil and military officials in the court knew how deep the relationship between the emperor and the empress was. Whenever they mentioned this, the emperor would fly into a rage.
But this time, they were well prepared.
There was a loud clatter, and most of the civil and military officials in the court knelt down: "Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
Luo Xuan was so angry that he was gasping for breath. This was a disguised mockery of his daughter's infertility!
He looked up at the emperor sitting on the dragon throne and saw that the man had a gloomy face and half-narrowed eyes. He stared at everyone present like a dangerous beast, but said nothing.
Luo Xuan snorted in his heart. The emperor has changed. In the past, he would have lost his temper and scolded these ministers to pieces. But this time he was so calm. It seemed that he was going to be persuaded to select a concubine this time.
If the Emperor Pig dares to agree to the selection of concubines today, he will sneak into the palace tomorrow, steal his precious daughter away, and make the Emperor Pig regret it for the rest of his life!
Luo Xuan was thinking this when he heard the emperor suddenly speak.
"I understand what you all mean."
Upon hearing this, all the officials kneeling on the ground breathed a sigh of relief, and even began to wonder whether they had daughters of the right age at home, and how they could seize the opportunity to send them to the palace and give birth to the emperor's eldest son.
Seeing the excitement that could not be concealed in everyone's eyes, Luo Xuan cursed inwardly, "You big pig's hoof, you forgot the oath you made to his daughter when you got power and status!"
While grinding his back teeth, he was thinking, if his precious daughter was love-brained and refused to leave the emperor, the big pig's hoof, with him, what color sack should he use to kidnap his daughter from the palace!
Luo Xuan was lost in thought when he heard the emperor speak again: "In other words, if I don't have a harem and no offspring, I'm not worthy of being emperor, right?"
Everyone was stunned. What did the emperor mean by this? Did he think they were being treasonous and questioning his ability?
Even if they had a hundred guts, they wouldn't dare to do it. They just want to take this opportunity to get one step closer to the center of power.
The Minister of Revenue quickly tried to make amends, "I'm terrified. Your Majesty is the true dragon emperor. He's strong and healthy, in his prime. As long as the harem is full, he will definitely have children!"
Pei Yaozhou suddenly smiled: "My dear ministers, I'm afraid you don't think so."
Everyone in the court, civil and military officials, knew that the emperor's smile was more terrifying than his anger. If one was not careful, someone would lose their head.
The ministers kneeling on the ground lowered their heads, some even began to tremble, and shouted in unison: "Your humble servants are terrified!"
Pei Yaozhou slapped the armrest of the dragon throne and said in a cold voice, "I once swore that I would only marry one queen in this life, otherwise I would suffer retribution."
"My beloved ministers, you harbor ulterior motives and wish me death sooner. That's why you all kneel before me, forcing me to break my oath, hoping that I will receive retribution sooner."
The ministers were so frightened that they fell to the ground: "We dare not!"
"Don't dare? I think you dare very much!" Pei Yaozhou suddenly stood up and walked up to the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Rites.
"If anyone dares to mention this matter again, don't blame me for being ruthless. Whoever wants to be the emperor can do it!"
After Pei Yaozhou said this, he flicked his sleeves and left, leaving the ministers looking at each other in bewilderment.
Luo Xuan was also shocked. He had seen people threaten ministers with death and imprisonment, but this was the first time he saw someone threaten with not being the emperor.
However, this threat was quite effective.
The ministers who were kneeling on the ground to make their requests were now all pale and speechless for a long time.
For some reason, they always felt that the emperor was not joking. If they really forced the emperor to leave, they would first be drowned in the spit of the people.
Pei Yaozhou strode out, and the temperature dropped sharply wherever he went.
What he said just now was indeed not a joke. These people stared at his Ruoxi's belly all day long and forced him to be a scumbag. He might as well not give up the throne!
When he came to his senses, he had already reached the gate of Fengluan Palace.
Fengluan Palace was originally where the Queen Mother lived, but Shen Ruoxi got used to it, and Pei Yaozhou also missed the time they spent here, so he ordered people to renovate it and designate it as the Queen's residence.
Thinking that Shen Ruoxi was waiting for him in the room, Pei Yaozhou's expression finally looked better, and a smile appeared on the corner of his lips.
He couldn't let Ruoxi know about what happened in the court, as it would ruin her mood.
Just as Pei Yaozhou was about to step into the house, he saw an imperial physician standing in front of Shen Ruoxi, and immediately frowned and blamed himself.
It was all his fault that he was too busy and careless recently and didn't even know Ruoxi was sick.
But doesn’t Ruoxi know medical skills?
"Your Majesty, these prescriptions are nourishing and conditioning medicines. Now that you are pregnant, you must be extra careful. I will come to check your pulse regularly." The imperial physician advised with a happy face.
Shen Ruoxi nodded and ordered the maid beside her to send the imperial physician away.
When he looked up, he saw Pei Yaozhou who had been standing at the door for who knows how long.
"Azhou? Why are you here so early today?" Shen Ruoxi asked with a smile.
Pei Yaozhou took two quick steps forward, and finally his eyes fell on Shen Ruoxi's belly: "Just now I heard the imperial physician say..."
Shen Ruoxi's cheeks flushed slightly, and she nodded: "Two months. When I was pregnant with Wanwan and Xiaoye, I couldn't feel my pulse, so I asked someone to invite the imperial physician, and it turned out that I was pregnant."
Pei Yaozhou's eyes flashed with excitement, but soon turned into depression, and he finally spoke with difficulty.
"Ruoxi, we can't have this child."
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