Double happiness
Inside a side hall of the Zichen Palace, three-year-old Li Hong sat upright, his little hand tightly gripping a specially made small brush, carefully tracing characters on a piece of mulberry paper.
Wu Meiniang sat beside him, gazing at him tenderly, occasionally whispering instructions: "Hong'er, this horizontal stroke must be straight, just like a ruler who must have a righteous heart and steady steps."
(Inner monologue: Basic education is fundamental; the crown prince's first step must be correct.)
Just then, a sudden wave of dizziness hit her. Her vision blurred, her body swayed involuntarily, and her fingertips pressed against her temples.
"Mother?" Li Hong immediately put down his pen and looked over with concern. His large eyes, which resembled his mother's, were full of affection and care.
The palace maid standing nearby quickly stepped forward to help him up.
Wu Meiniang waved her hand and forced a smile, saying, "It's alright, it's just a bit hot today."
However, the palpitations and nausea lingered.
She was suspicious, (inner monologue: These symptoms... seem familiar? Could it be...?)
Just then, Li Zhi returned from court, his face still showing some fatigue from arguing with several senior officials. But as soon as he saw his wife and children in the palace, that fatigue turned into tenderness.
He first patted Li Hong's head and praised him, saying, "My son has made progress today." Then he noticed Wu Meiniang's slightly pale face.
"Meiniang, why do you look so pale? Are you tired?" He stepped forward and naturally took her hand. Her hand was slightly cool to the touch, and his brows immediately furrowed.
"Perhaps I didn't sleep well last night." Wu Meiniang didn't want him to worry, but the nausea surged up again, making her gag.
Li Zhi immediately tensed up and shouted, "Summon the imperial physician! Quickly!"
The imperial physician practically ran in, and before he could catch his breath, he held his breath and placed his fingers on Wu Meiniang's wrist.
The hall was eerily quiet, save for the rustling of Li Hong's clothes as he shifted uncomfortably, and Li Zhi's slightly rapid breathing.
A moment later, the imperial physician's face suddenly lit up with immense joy. He withdrew his hand, knelt down with a thud, and his voice rose with excitement: "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! Her Majesty the Empress is pregnant! It's a sign of twin pregnancy! The pregnancy is stable, and she's almost two months along!"
(Inner monologue: Just as I thought! The second-child plan... has started ahead of schedule!)
"Really?!" Li Zhi's fatigue vanished instantly. He stood up abruptly, not even noticing that the embroidered stool behind him was knocked over by the sudden movement.
He lifted Li Hong, who was practicing calligraphy, high above his head and laughed loudly, startling the birds perched outside the palace into flight: "Hong'er! Hong'er! Did you hear that? You're going to have a younger brother or sister! I'm going to be a father again!"
The young Crown Prince Li Hong was initially startled when his father lifted him into the air, but he was soon infected by the joy and began to giggle.
As if remembering something, she blinked her clear, big eyes and asked in a childish voice, "Mother, when you review memorials in the future, will you fall asleep while reading them, just like Huaihong did when he was little, and will you even drool?"
(Inner monologue: ...This brat! Can you please stop bringing up his embarrassing past?! Don't I have any dignity?!)
Wu Meiniang was both amused and annoyed. A blush rose on her cheeks, and she glared at her son reproachfully.
Upon hearing this, Li Zhi laughed heartily, hugged his son in his arms, and winked mischievously at Wu Meiniang.
After the initial joy, the harsh reality of pregnancy set in.
The pregnancy symptoms during this second pregnancy were much more severe than when she was pregnant with Li Hong.
Wu Zetian almost always vomited whatever she ate, and she especially couldn't stand greasy food.
That day, she was forcing herself to look through the annual performance evaluation list submitted by the Ministry of Personnel. The dense list of names and comments flashed before her eyes, and her stomach churned.
She leaned over the table, retching. Li Zhi patted her back with concern, his brows furrowed: "You're working so hard, don't look at this nonsense for now."
Wu Meiniang waved her hand, about to speak, when her gaze inadvertently swept over the name of a prefect on the list. Next to it was a note that the losses in the grain transport in his jurisdiction last year had reached as high as 40%!
A flash of inspiration struck her, like a lightning bolt piercing through the fog.
(Inner monologue: Wait... losses during the canal transport... official performance evaluations... can these two be linked?)
She caught her breath, grasped Li Zhi's hand, and said in a weak but excited voice, "Your Majesty! I just thought of something."
"What could be more important than your health?" Li Zhi asked, puzzled.
"This is a matter of great importance concerning the integrity of the government." Wu Meiniang's eyes gleamed with wisdom. "Your Majesty, think about it, the amount of losses in the grain transport is closely related to whether local officials are honest and capable! If the losses in a certain area remain high year after year, it is either because the officials are incompetent and negligent in their management, resulting in moldy grain, rat infestations, or blocked waterways; or... because they are lining their own pockets and deliberately exaggerating the losses!"
The more she spoke, the clearer her thoughts became, and even the irritability caused by morning sickness seemed to lessen somewhat: "Why not include the losses incurred during the canal transport in the performance evaluation criteria for local officials, especially those along the canal route? Under the rule of honest and capable officials, granaries will be full and losses will be under control; while under the rule of corrupt and incompetent officials, there will be no shortage of loopholes! Using this as a mirror, how many parasites can be exposed!"
(Inner monologue: A new KPI assessment strategy born from morning sickness! Now let's see where those parasites that leech off the canal transport will hide!)
Li Zhi's eyes lit up with admiration as he carefully pondered Wu Meiniang's words, finding the method increasingly ingenious.
This will not only effectively regulate the canal transport system, but also provide a relatively objective and hard-to-falsify indicator for evaluating officials.
He couldn't help but exclaim, "Meiniang! You are truly my strategist! Even while bedridden, you still care about the world and come up with ingenious plans!"
He immediately summoned the Imperial Secretary, orally conveyed his decree, and ordered the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue to jointly discuss and closely link the losses incurred in the grain transport with the year-end performance evaluations of relevant officials, and to draft detailed rules for rewards and punishments.
With new political goals to distract her, Wu Zetian's morning sickness seemed to have eased somewhat.
She began to focus on her pregnancy more systematically, while not completely abandoning her political duties, but instead devoting more energy to teaching Li Hong and thinking about some macro policies.
Time flies, and the following year on the Shangsi Festival, the Qujiang Pool was bathed in springtime splendor, with willow catkins fluttering in the air.
With careful preparation, Wu Zetian successfully gave birth to her second son in a scenic detached palace.
The birthing process was still arduous, but when the baby's loud, healthy cry was heard, all the fatigue turned into joy.
Li Zhi excitedly held the newborn baby, who was smaller and softer than Li Hong when he was born, but whose cries were exceptionally powerful.
He walked up to Li Hong, who was being held by his wet nurse and looking around curiously, and said softly, "Hong'er, look, this is your younger brother. You are the older brother now. The older brother is named Dezhang, and the younger brother... I hope he will be virtuous and kind, so let's name him 'Xian'."
Although Wu Meiniang was leaning weakly on the couch, she showed a gentle and gratified smile upon hearing this.
She responded softly, quoting classical texts to imbue the name with even deeper expectations: "The Rites of Zhou states: 'The three virtues are: first, supreme virtue, which is the foundation of the Way; second, keen virtue, which is the foundation of conduct; and third, filial virtue, which is the ability to discern right from wrong.' May our virtuous son possess all three virtues in the future and become a pillar of society."
(Inner monologue: Li Xian... that name in history books is... well, in this life, with me here, I will surely ensure that his brothers live in harmony and each finds their proper place.)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
