Di Yunjian lowered his eyes. His strong arm wrapped around the person in his arms and locked her tightly in his embrace.
The Emperor Father's imperial edict stated that the empress couldn't be deposed, but it didn't say she couldn't be bestowed death.
Moreover, even if there was the Emperor Father's imperial edict, so what? Once the filthy deeds of the Prime Minister's Mansion and those behind the empress were uncovered, he still wouldn't keep the empress on the phoenix throne.
As he was lost in thought, a slender, fair hand rested on his arm.
"Liu Lang."
When he came back to his senses, a peerlessly beautiful face drew closer to him.
When Qing Shu looked up, she saw him staring blankly ahead. She gave a gentle smile and planted a kiss on his handsome side face.
Di Yunjian's heart softened a bit. Rarely did they not have a moment of passion this night. He carried Qing Shu out of the hot spring pool, personally dressed her, then embraced her and lay down on the couch to sleep.
This night, many people couldn't fall asleep.
Some were excited, some were unwilling, some were jealous. Only in the Guanghan Palace was there joy everywhere.
Early the next morning, the empress and the empress dowager were busy preparing a lot of rewards and heading to Concubine Lin's palace. The eunuchs from the Inner Palace Affairs Office were almost overwhelmed with work. Even the imperial kitchen sent wave after wave of tonics in.
Just as Di Yunjian got up in the Guanghan Palace, Li Dahai came to report.
"Your Majesty, the empress just went to the Qianyuan Hall. She said she wanted to request an imperial edict to promote Concubine Lin to the rank of Noble Concubine of the fifth - grade from the lower level. She said that Concubine Lin was suffering a lot during her pregnancy with twins, and promoting her rank would cheer her up. This servant used the excuse that Your Majesty was still resting after getting drunk last night to turn her away."
Di Yunjian nodded and stroked the jade ring on his thumb. As if thinking of something, he slightly raised his eyebrows.
"What rank in the harem is eligible to raise a child by her side?"
"Your Majesty, only those of the fifth - grade or above are eligible," Li Dahai replied.
Di Yunjian gave a cold smile, with a glint of interest in his eyes. "Since the empress is so eager to plead for Concubine Lin, a Noble Concubine of the fifth - grade from the lower level is far from enough. Promote her to Junior Consort. There's no room for change."
Li Dahai was stunned for a moment, but immediately understood the emperor's intention. He answered and quickly went out.
When Di Yunjian returned to the bedroom, he saw Qing Shu sitting in front of the dressing mirror with her hair loose and wearing a light yellow inner garment.
"Liu Lang, Happy New Year."
She looked at the man who looked like a celestial being in the mirror and a smile bloomed on her lips.
"Happy New Year."
Di Yunjian picked up the ivory jade comb and combed her black hair stroke by stroke.
She propped her chin and looked at the people in the mirror. The words she just heard came to her mind.
It seemed that Liu Lang was going to create a rift between the empress and Junior Consort Lin. With Junior Consort Lin's temperament, if she was of a rank that could raise a child, how could she be willing to give it up?
It remained to be seen what she would choose.
Would she obediently follow the empress's order and offer the child that might not survive in the future with both hands, or would she fight back for the so - called fake twins and end up fighting with the empress?
She was quite looking forward to it.
Today was the first day of the Lunar New Year. Di Yunjian specially ordered someone to invite Wen Sheng and Yu Rong into the palace for a family dinner.
At the dinner table, Wen Sheng frowned when she saw Qing Shu happily eating the sour fish slices. She didn't mind the sour or spicy taste at all.
After the meal, Wen Sheng found an excuse of looking at the children and pulled Qing Shu to the side hall.
Looking at the two babies wriggling in the swaddling clothes, Wen Sheng's expression was rather solemn.
"Shu'er, tell mother, are you pregnant again?"
Qing Shu was a bit surprised. "No, I'm not."
"Then why are you so fond of sour and spicy food?" Wen Sheng still wasn't quite at ease.
"Just now at the dinner table, I saw you only staring at that one dish. You didn't even look at the other light dishes. You just gave birth not long ago, and your qi and blood haven't fully recovered. Giving birth is extremely exhausting for a woman. Even if you want to have more children for your own security, you can't get pregnant again within half a year."
"Otherwise, mother will really be worried about you." Wen Sheng stroked her hand and lovingly caressed her face.
"You've suffered enough. Mother doesn't want you to bear any more hardships. Although having many children and grandchildren is a good thing, mother still hopes that you can be safe."
Qing Shu's eyes were slightly red. She nodded gently. "Mother, I know. Don't worry. I'm not pregnant. It's just that when it gets cold, my taste becomes stronger."
If she was pregnant, the system would tell her. Moreover, she really just wanted to eat something appetizing because of the cold weather.
She didn't expect there would be such a misunderstanding.
But just as she was about to speak again, the system's voice rang in her mind.
[Host~ Host~ I'm here to bring you good news~]
Nalan Qing Shu's eyebrows twitched violently.
[What good news?]
[Hehe, your body has fully recovered! Your qi and blood are as good as before! Even better than before you were pregnant for the first time!]
[Is that all? I'm not pregnant, right?] Nalan Qing Shu asked uneasily.
[No, no. The host's physical condition and mental health are all under the care of this system. It takes at least half a year to get pregnant again after giving birth once~]
Qing Shu couldn't help laughing. [You're quite considerate.]
"Mother, don't worry. Daughter knows you're worried about me. Daughter has no intention of getting pregnant for the time being." Qing Shu picked up Princess Di Zhao and played with her.
"Aren't your grandchildren cute?"
Wen Sheng gave her a sideways look. "As long as you know. You must take good care of your own body."
When they returned to the main hall, Di Yunjian was holding Yu Rong and reading a book with him. From time to time, he explained the meaning of the rare characters in the book.
When Wen Sheng saw this, she quickly stepped forward. "Your Majesty, my son is ill - behaved."
"What's the matter? Mother has just finished the meal. Please accompany Shu'er well. She has missed you so much these days." Di Yunjian looked up with a smile.
Hearing the word "mother", Wen Sheng was so frightened that her heart trembled. How could she deserve the emperor's call of "mother"?
Qing Shu pursed her lips and smiled. She pulled Wen Sheng into the bedroom to talk about girlish things.
Di Yunjian watched Qing Shu's back and a smile also rose on his lips.
Wen Sheng had saved him when he was young.
She was also Shu'er's relative. It was only right for him to call her mother.
The atmosphere in the Guanghan Palace was unique in the imperial palace.
At this moment in the Fengyi Palace, the empress was looking at the little seal that Nalan Qing Shu had sent someone to detain last night. She had a splitting headache.
That Lin woman really knew how to cause trouble! She had just been found out to be pregnant with twins, and then she sent someone to do something secretly. Was she really that impatient?
"Your Highness, His Majesty has agreed to promote her in rank... He said that Concubine Lin has suffered a lot during her pregnancy, so he'll promote her to Junior Consort..."
"Junior Consort?!" The empress raised her voice a bit.
"Those of the fifth - grade are eligible to raise the imperial heirs... Your Highness, what should we do?" Qing Shu hesitated and spoke.
Once promoted to the fifth - grade, that Lin woman was so ambitious. How could she be willing to just let things be?
Moreover, that child was supposed to miscarry last night. It was just that Concubine Chen had managed to avoid it, so the child was barely saved.
"I'm just afraid that she's too ambitious, but I have to appease her. That's why I begged His Majesty to promote her to Noble Concubine of the fourth - grade. I didn't expect..."
The empress was so angry that she gritted her teeth. She wouldn't allow things that she had already planned to get out of control!
"How about telling His Majesty that Junior Consort Lin once overstepped her rank and isn't suitable to be the mistress of a palace? The imperial edict hasn't been issued yet. Your Highness, why not go to the Qianyuan Hall again?"
The empress calmed down and thought for a while. Finally, she nodded with a solemn expression.