Daqian Night Emperor

Chapter 16 When will you two have a baby?
"Noble Concubine Zhen is here!"

As an old eunuch shouted in a shrill voice outside the hall, a graceful and elegant woman walked in from outside the hall.

Concubine Zhen is now in her prime, but she has taken very good care of herself. Her appearance is 70% similar to Yuzhen, and they are both exquisitely crafted. Her skin is as white as snow, delicate and lustrous. Although she is nearly 50 years old, she still looks like a beautiful woman in her early 30s, with a mature charm.

Especially those charming eyes, with long eyelashes slightly curled up, which seem to be able to captivate people in the blink of an eye.

Now, in the harem, apart from the Queen, the ones with the highest status are Concubine Zhen and Concubine Shu.

Compared to Concubine Shu, whose mother's family was from a powerful northern family with a large number of troops, Concubine Zhen was just the daughter of a small county magistrate. The reason she was able to reach her current position was because of her beauty that was so stunning that it could make people admire the beauty of a peony.

His Majesty the current emperor has a young son, and Concubine Zhen is one of the few concubines in the palace who has given birth to a son and a daughter for His Majesty.

As soon as Concubine Zhen entered the palace, a strange fragrance rose from the air.

Zhao Qi'an bowed to her and said, "Greetings to Taishui."

When Concubine Zhen saw Zhao Qi'an, her eyebrows curved into crescents and she said with a smile: "Qi'an, the perfume sent to the palace last time has not been used up yet, and you sent another batch. It's too wasteful. Don't allow it next time."

Zhao Qi'an said, "Some time ago, the workshop made some new styles of fragrance that are different from the previous ones. I was planning to send them to the palace later, but Taishui summoned me today, so I brought them here in person."

"Oh? I was wondering why I had never smelled this scent before. It turns out it's a new model. Has it been released yet?"

Concubine Zhen became interested, so she pulled Zhao Qian to sit down and started talking to him about perfume.

Zhao Qi'an sighed and shook his head: "One of the raw materials is rare, which makes the cost too high. It will not be produced in large quantities in the future. I'm afraid it will be the most limited perfume in recent years."

Words like "perfume", "limited edition" and "on sale" have become new fashionable words in recent years, especially popular among wealthy ladies in Kyoto.

When Concubine Zhen heard the word "limited", her eyes lit up immediately. She quickly called the old maid behind her and whispered in her ear in a low voice: "Don't give the new batch of goods sent by the prince consort to the concubines in other palaces. Keep it."

She was in a good mood and wanted to chat with Zhao Qi'an for a few more words, but Princess Yuzhen beside her took her hand affectionately and said, "Mother, it's a rare opportunity for me to visit the palace. Why are you so busy talking to your husband and not talking to my daughter?"

"Okay, okay, if you really miss me so much, then stay at Fuyan Palace tonight."

Concubine Zhen patted her hands helplessly, her eyes full of pampering.

Princess Yuzhen smiled and replied, "Of course I have to accompany mother."

……

The banquet was set, palace maids came in and out, and all kinds of delicious food were placed on the table.

Zhao Qi'an drank a few glasses of wine with them, and looking at the deep mother-daughter love between Concubine Zhen and Princess Yuzhen, his eyes involuntarily fell on the seat opposite.

Opposite him, there was an empty set of bowls and chopsticks.

That was left for the fourth prince, Yu Zhen's brother from the same mother, and his elder brother-in-law Ji Qingkong.

Up to now, Concubine Zhen has only been talking about family matters. It seems that she wants to wait until her brother-in-law arrives before discussing serious matters.

However, after waiting for a long time, the Fourth Prince did not come, but the palace maid who went to tell him the news came back.

The palace maid came to Concubine Zhen, leaned over and whispered a few words.

Concubine Zhen's face immediately darkened, and she cursed in a low voice: "This rebellious son, do you still remember who his biological mother is?"

"Mother, what happened to my fourth brother?"

Princess Yuzhen asked with concern.

Concubine Zhen calmed her expression and snorted, "No need to wait for your fourth brother. He is attending the Queen's banquet with the Second Prince tonight and will not come to Fuyan Palace." Zhao Qian'an drank a glass of wine in silence and understood a little.

The current emperor is over 80 years old but has not appointed a crown prince. This can be said to be a sign of a shaken foundation for the country. Everyone inside and outside the court hopes that a crown prince will be appointed as soon as possible, and the calls have been growing louder in recent years.

The four sons' fight for the throne has already begun openly and covertly, and it is no longer a secret.

His Majesty's attitude towards this is to remain silent. He neither clearly prefers which prince to be the crown prince, nor openly suppresses the confrontation between the princes. He just sits in that high position and watches coldly, as if he has an attitude of "I will pass the throne to whoever defeats the others."

Although it was said that four sons were competing for the throne, a mere bystander sneaked in.

That is the Fourth Prince.

Although the Fourth Prince was born to Concubine Zhen, his mother's family was weak and he was neither the eldest nor the legitimate heir, so he had no foundation in the court.

Apart from that, he has neither great military or literary strategies, and his martial arts talent is just mediocre. It is really hard to think of any reason to support his ascension to the throne.

Even though he was the eldest prince born to a palace maid, he was a martial arts genius after all. He had reached the realm of heaven and man at the age of fifty. In addition, he had made many military achievements in the western conquest and expansion of territory. There were always some people willing to bet on him.

Zhao Qi'an never thought about helping his brother-in-law.

Because even he couldn't see any possibility of the Fourth Prince ascending the throne.

He never does business at a loss.

What's more, the matter of fighting for the throne... Zhao Qi'an has other ideas, and it is not the right time for him to step into this quagmire.

But it seems that the Fourth Prince has at least one good thing, and that is that he is self-aware.

Knowing that he did not have the capital to compete for the throne, he simply sought help from someone he liked, hoping that after the other party ascended the throne, he would remember his service as a follower and grant him a good place to be crowned king, where he could become king.

It’s just that the Fourth Prince has such self-awareness, but some people don’t.

Princess Yuzhen wrinkled her nose upon hearing this and said, "What is Fourth Brother doing? Is he rushing to be humiliated? He knows that Second Brother..."

"Be careful!"

Concubine Zhen was shocked and quickly stopped Yuzhen from speaking any further. At the same time, she gave a wink to her confidant behind her, asking them to clear out everyone else in the hall.

After the old nanny cleared out all the palace maids in the palace, she frowned and said, "Why do you say anything? There are other people's eyes and ears in Fuyan Palace. Aren't you afraid of disaster from your mouth?"

Princess Yuzhen bit her lower lip lightly, clenched her jade hand that was pressed against her palace skirt into a fist, and said bitterly: "If only I were a man..."

"What nonsense are you talking about? Qi'an is still here."

Concubine Zhen laughed and scolded, then raised her wine glass to Zhao Qi'an: "Qian, don't blame me. Your fourth brother was busy today and couldn't get together with the family."

Zhao Qi'an picked up the wine glass: "It's okay."

Concubine Zhen took a sip of wine, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she murmured, "This palace... is still a little deserted. You and Yuzhen live outside the palace all year round, and you can only enter the palace a few times a year. Qingkong is getting busier and busier. Although he comes to Fuyan Palace to pay his respects to me every month, he always comes and goes in a hurry..."

Zhao Qi'an comforted him, "Tai Shui is right. I was not thoughtful enough. I will come to the palace with Your Highness more often in the future."

Concubine Zhen shook her head and said, "I am not blaming you two. I am just saying this because I want you to have a child sooner rather than later. I will raise the child for you and make Fuyan Palace more lively."

child?

Princess Yuzhen's expression suddenly froze.

(End of this chapter)