Looking into those familiar phoenix eyes, she saw the faint worry and heartache. Ningyue gave a gentle smile, which made Zhongli Mingye's heart tremble slightly.
They had been together for several years. From the initially shy and lively innocent girl, she had gradually grown into a stunning and peerless young beauty.
She had become even more beautiful.
The hand stroking her black hair had unconsciously slid down to her back.
Ningyue said with a smile, "Let's have another child. Otherwise, the court officials and the queen mother will think you have too few heirs."
Without waiting for Zhongli Mingye to refuse, she continued, "I won't allow you to take concubines or look at other women. So, I'm afraid the name of the jealous queen has spread throughout the entire Daxia Dynasty."
"How could that be? I won't allow such a thing to happen." Zhongli Mingye gently pulled off the silk sash around her waist. "Whoever dares to say a single word, I'll execute them immediately." He said it as if it were a very ordinary thing, but Ningyue found these words very pleasing.
Her husband was solely hers.
She didn't want any reputation for being virtuous. She just wanted peaceful days, to be his wife, to bear children for him, manage the harem, and live a simple life.
If possible, even if they were poor and powerless in the next life, Ningyue would still follow him.
Only in this way could she live up to their deep love.
Suddenly, she leaned forward and kissed him deeply. As the night grew darker and their love reached its peak, her alluring voice left Zhongli Mingye rather helpless. "We still have to have a child."
"Empress Dowager, Qinglian has served you since childhood. She has no other wishes in this life but to stay by the emperor's side, even if it's just as a maid."
Qinglian knelt on the ground, and no one could see her face clearly.
Empress Dowager Shu looked at her coldly. Everyone wanted to be the mistress of the harem, but only those who had stayed in this deep palace for decades would realize that life in the palace was far from easy.
Among the concubines of the late emperor, how many had a good ending? Except for herself, who had become the empress dowager, and Concubine Jia, who had become the noble grand concubine and was still kept in the palace.
The other concubines in the palace were either dead, or those who were still alive were in the imperial palace, old and alone. She shook her head helplessly. "Qinglian, the queen won't agree to this." Maybe that woman had already seen through her.
That's why she had let Dayuanbao and Yun Ruo "happen" to run into them.
However, the empress dowager was wrong this time. Ningyue hadn't even noticed Qinglian. Instead, it was Dayuanbao and Yuan Ruo who had accidentally made Empress Dowager Shu give up this thought.
Qinglian knelt there for a long time without getting up. She was sure that the empress dowager was the softest - hearted.
She also might not be willing to see Song Ningyue monopolize the emperor's favor. As long as she was given a chance, maybe she could rise to great heights.
Empress Dowager Shu felt sorry for Qinglian, but she trusted her daughter - in - law more. However, on second thought, it might not be a bad thing for Qinglian to face a setback.
It was also an opportunity to warn those palace people with ulterior motives.
Early the next morning, after Zhongli Mingye finished the court session, he returned to the imperial bedroom early. He saw Ningyue teaching Dayuanbao how to write, just like before.
He didn't give Ningyue a separate palace. Instead, they lived together in the emperor's bedroom.
Husband and wife were one. He didn't want to spend a long time walking just to see his wife and child.
The old servants in Prince Yu's Mansion were used to this. When they were the prince and princess, they had lived in the same courtyard. Now that they were the emperor and queen, they still kept their old living habits.
When Ningyue saw Zhongli Mingye coming in, she said, "Here, you come and teach your good son!"
Dayuanbao was very unconvinced. "Father, the defeat of the Zhao army may not be entirely the fault of Zhao Kuo."
"Oh? Then tell me whose fault it is?" Zhongli Mingye found it quite novel.
Dayuanbao answered confidently, "Naturally, it's because the national strength of the State of Zhao was inferior to that of the State of Qin."
"They all say that General Zhao Kuo was good at theorizing but not in practice. In fact, many generals in history have learned from military strategies and trained their troops." Dayuanbao's view...
It coincided with Zhongli Mingye's. "You're right. I did rely on military strategies when I was fighting in the early years. But..."
His tone changed, and he said seriously, "Military strategies are static, but people are dynamic. We need to use them flexibly according to various factors such as the weather and the geographical location to win a battle."
"No matter how miraculous the military strategies are, we still need to consider the actual situation. Right, Father!" Dayuanbao's determined tone was almost the same as Zhongli Mingye's.
Ningyue watched with a smile as the father and son discussed military strategies. Although Dayuanbao was still young, as the crown prince of the Xia Dynasty, he had to be enlightened early.
Now, his knowledge had advanced by leaps and bounds. Today's discussion about "theorizing on paper" was actually a conflict between him and the crown prince's tutor.
Qinglian was standing outside the door with the medicinal food, greeting them. Ningyue found it strange but didn't ask too much. However, Qinglian's frequent glances at Zhongli Mingye made her quite unhappy.
"Your servant has come here by the order of the empress dowager to bring medicinal food for the emperor to nourish his body."
Zhongli Mingye didn't even raise his head. "Just put it there."
Qinglian was very disappointed. Seeing this chance to show herself wasted, she was unwilling. Ningyue, on the other hand, found it strange.
Normally, the empress dowager could just give a few instructions if she was concerned about the emperor's health. Why did she send her personal maid here?
She smiled and told Qinglian to leave, but she was on high alert in her heart.
"Micui, keep an eye on Qinglian these days. I don't know much about her. If she does anything inappropriate and the empress dowager blames us later, it won't be good."
Micui took the order and naturally understood what Ningyue meant.
Since the emperor ascended the throne, there had been too many maids in the palace who wanted to show themselves in front of the emperor. The queen was kind - hearted and lenient, but...
She would never allow anyone to stir up trouble in the harem.
In the past few days, many unpleasant rumors had gradually spread in the palace. Some said the queen was jealous, and some said the emperor was indulged in the queen's beauty.
Although these rumors didn't affect the couple, if they continued, they might be used by those with ulterior motives in the court, which would be bad for Ningyue.
So even if there hadn't been this incident of Qinglian bringing the medicinal food, Micui and Niaoniao, as the female officials, would still have to investigate thoroughly.
The only difference was that now they had a legitimate reason.
Zhongli Mingye seemed not to notice her arrangement. After guiding Dayuanbao to write a calligraphy work, he let Yuanbao go out to play with Yuan Ruo.
"Let the people below handle it. If necessary, just mobilize the imperial guards." Zhongli Mingye didn't want Ningyue to worry. But the woman gave a sly smile. "You have to let me have something to do!"
"Anything is fine. You decide!" Zhongli Mingye lowered his head and kissed her on the cheek. "You're not allowed to coax them to sleep tonight."
Was he being too domineering? Ningyue murmured to herself, but then she heard him say, "All the time tonight is just for you and me."
Ningyue blushed and lowered her head. They had been married for a long time. In terms of matters between a man and a woman, Zhongli Mingye seemed cold on the surface. In fact, she could hardly resist his passion.
Whenever they were deeply in love, he would always bite her earlobe and whisper those love words as if he could never finish.