The emperor would rather have a

Chapter 154 My Husband is a Great Hero

"Husband!"

As soon as Li Yi stepped into the inner courtyard, he saw Fu Erniang running over, lifting the hem of her skirt. Upon seeing this, he quickly took a few steps to support her.

At the same time, she gently scolded, "You're pregnant now, how can you run and jump around like that? What if you fall and hurt yourself?"

Fu Erniang exclaimed in surprise, as if she had just remembered that she was pregnant. She quickly looked down at her belly, her face filled with worry: "I was so happy that I forgot that I am not feeling well... Husband, will our child be alright?"

Ultimately, Fu Erniang had been waiting to be married for over twenty years, and now, having just married, she was already pregnant. Her mindset was clearly not yet fully adjusted. Furthermore, without experienced people around to constantly remind her, she was bound to make rash decisions unintentionally.

"It should be... nothing serious," Li Yi said uncertainly.

Fu Erniang had no experience in childbirth, but wasn't he also a first-time father? His knowledge in this area was basically from what he had seen online in his previous life.

Hearing the hesitation in his tone, Fu Erniang became even more nervous. She subconsciously grabbed his sleeve, her voice trembling slightly, "Husband, perhaps... we should ask a doctor to take a look?"

Seeing that her face was pale, Li Yi quickly comforted her, "Don't be afraid, I'll send someone to fetch a doctor right away."

After saying that, he turned his head and looked around, but he didn't see the maid Xian'er. This girl was Fu Erniang's personal maid and should have been serving her at all times. He didn't know where she had run off to.

But now was not the time to ask that. Li Yi immediately shouted, "Someone come here!"

Upon hearing the commotion, the maidservant waiting under the eaves quickly stepped forward. Li Yi instructed, "Go to the front courtyard and have the guards fetch a doctor. Tell them that the lady is feeling unwell and ask the doctor to come and take a look as soon as possible."

The maidservant obeyed and left, but Fu Erniang remained uneasy, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her dress as she whispered, "It's all my fault for being so reckless... If anything were to happen to my child, I..."

Li Yi gently put his arm around her shoulder and comforted her, "Don't overthink it. You only ran a few steps, it's not that serious. The doctor will know once he takes your pulse."

Fu Erniang leaned against him, trying to calm herself down a little, but her heart still felt like it was weighed down by a stone. After all, this was her first pregnancy and she had no experience. At this moment, her mind was filled with the terrifying rumors she had heard about how "pregnant women can easily miscarry if they are not careful."

Li Yi noticed that her body stiffened slightly, knowing that she was still worried, so he deliberately changed the subject: "By the way, at today's court meeting, His Majesty bestowed upon Second Madam the title of Lady of Changshan County. Has the messenger who delivered the imperial edict come to our house?"

Fu Erniang's attention was indeed diverted, and she said in a light tone, "I've been here. I was just eager to tell my husband about this. The person from the palace who came to deliver the imperial edict also brought a message from my elder sister, telling me to stay home and take good care of myself during my pregnancy. She will summon me to the Fu family's residence in Tokyo in a few days."

Upon hearing this, Li Yi raised an eyebrow and nodded, saying, "Her Majesty the Empress holds a high position and is also the elder sister of Second Madam. It is only right and proper that we go to see her. However, you are currently unwell. If you really want to go out, I will send a few reliable old women to accompany you. The journey will be slower, but that should be fine."

Fu Erniang smiled, her heart filled with sweetness at her husband's concern, and said softly, "I haven't seen my eldest sister for several years, and I haven't seen her even once in the months I've been in Tokyo. I really miss her."

Li Yi nodded, about to say something more, when he heard hurried footsteps outside the courtyard. It was the maid Xian'er rushing over, carrying a tray with small celadon bowls in her hands.

Seeing the two standing under the eaves and that Fu Erniang was alright, she breathed a sigh of relief and immediately knelt down.

“My lord, my wife, I was in the kitchen just now watching the medicine being prepared, and I was delayed for a while… I ran into Green Ivy going to fetch the doctor, saying that my wife was not feeling well, so I rushed over immediately. It’s all my fault for being negligent and not staying by my wife’s side. Please punish me, my lord.”

Seeing the fine sweat on her forehead, indicating she had run all the way back, and knowing it wasn't her fault, Li Yi waved his hand and said, "My wife is fine, you don't need to blame yourself."

Xuan'er then stood up, handed the tray to the maid beside her, picked up the small celadon bowl and walked to Fu Erniang, whispering, "This tonic was sent from the palace today. I watched it simmer for almost half an hour. It will be most effective if you drink it while it's hot."

Fu Erniang took it and sipped a few mouthfuls, then refused to drink any more. Judging from her expression, the tonic must not taste very good.

Seeing that she looked tired, Li Yi said gently, "It's chilly outside, go back inside and rest. We'll have the doctor examine your pulse more carefully when he arrives."

Fu Erniang nodded in agreement and, supported by Xian'er, walked towards the inner room. Li Yi followed beside her, his gaze fixed on her lower abdomen, a hint of worry creeping into his heart.

Although Fu Erniang's escape just now wasn't seriously harmful, it still made people uneasy.

Once inside the room, Xian'er helped Fu Erniang sit down on the soft couch and then gently covered her knees with a brocade quilt.

Before long, a maid's voice came from outside: "My lord, the doctor has arrived."

Li Yi stood up and said, "Please come in quickly." As he spoke, Xuan'er pulled up the gauze curtains beside the bed.

Immediately afterward, an elderly doctor with white hair and beard entered carrying a medicine box. He lowered his head, not daring to look too closely, and bowed respectfully to Li Yi. The doctor must have been informed of the host's identity on the way there.

Li Yi briefly explained the situation, and the old doctor began to take Fu Erniang's pulse. He first asked Fu Erniang to extend her hand out from under the gauze curtain, and then placed a brocade handkerchief over her wrist to avoid direct physical contact.

The room fell silent for a moment, with only the rustling of bamboo leaves in the wind outside the window.

After a long while, the old doctor withdrew his hand, stroked his beard, and pondered, "Your pulse is stable and the pregnancy is secure, so there is nothing to worry about. However, since this is your first pregnancy, you still need to rest more and avoid overexertion."

Upon hearing this, Li Yi and Fu Erniang both breathed a sigh of relief. The old doctor prescribed several more remedies to help with the pregnancy and gave some instructions on dietary restrictions before taking his leave.

After the doctor left, Fu Erniang leaned on Li Yi's shoulder and whispered, "Fortunately, the child is alright, otherwise I would have blamed myself to death."

Li Yi put his arm around her and chuckled softly, "Now you know fear? You can't be so reckless in the future."

Fu Erniang nodded shyly, secretly clutching his sleeve with her fingers, and whispered, "Don't worry, my husband, I will never dare to do it again."

Li Yi chuckled and pinched the tip of her nose: "You..."

Seeing the two start flirting, Xuan'er immediately and quietly slipped away.

Fu Erniang rubbed her belly with her fingertips, then suddenly looked up at Li Yi, her face full of curiosity. "Husband," she said, "why did the Emperor suddenly bestow upon me the title of Lady of Changshan County? The palace sent several sets of clothes and accessories, along with many valuable gifts." Although Fu Erniang came from a noble family, she had absolutely no concept of the rules and regulations regarding bestowals. Not to mention a woman like her, even the officials of the prefectures and counties probably didn't understand them.

While nominally the Five Dynasties inherited the Tang system, years of war resulted in the loss of numerous books and documents, leaving many regulations incomplete. So much so that Ouyang Xiu once subtly mocked the officials of the Five Dynasties for not being fully familiar with the Tang system, suggesting they were merely imitating without understanding.

Li Yi reached out and gently stroked Fu Erniang's hair, teasingly saying, "Because your husband helped the court win a battle, he suddenly gained four more prefectures, so the emperor was so happy that he also bestowed upon you the title of Lady of the County."

"Oh, I see..." Fu Erniang nodded slightly, but seeing Li Yi's suppressed laughter, she realized what he meant and couldn't help but say coquettishly, "Hmph, is my husband just teasing me?"

Seeing that Fu Erniang's almond-shaped eyes were wide open and her pink cheeks were slightly puffed out, Li Yi knew she was embarrassed and annoyed. He quickly took her soft hand and explained gently, "Although what I said was a joke, it was not far off. This time, the court recovered four prefectures, and the Emperor was overjoyed. According to regulations, the wives of meritorious officials were granted titles and honors."

"I am now nominally appointed as the military governor and concurrently the acting Minister of War. My mother and wife, according to regulations, should be granted the title of Lady of the County. Changshan County is the ancient name of Zhenzhou, which is the ancestral home of my family. Do you understand, Second Sister?"

Changshan County is the area around Shijiazhuang in later times. It is now located within the jurisdiction of Zhenzhou and was the seat of the Chengde Military Governor.

Today at the court assembly, the emperor announced that he would bestow upon Fu Erniang the title of Lady of Changshan County. Li Yi had thought of this afterward. This was because his ancestral home in this life was Zhenzhou, and his grandfather's generation had fled to Xiajin to settle down.

Li Yi had mentioned his ancestral home to Fu Erniang before, and upon hearing this, she suddenly realized and chuckled, "Then I guess I've risen in status because of my husband?"

Li Yi chuckled upon hearing this, gently tapping Fu Erniang's smooth forehead with his fingertip: "Erniang, you are mistaken. You are the legitimate daughter of the Prince of Wei, and the Empress's own sister. Why would you need to rely on your husband for status? If anything, it is thanks to you, Erniang, that I have been trusted and promoted by the Emperor."

Fu Erniang lightly punched him and said with dissatisfaction, "Husband, you are making fun of me again. I am just a weak woman. How could I possibly affect important matters of the court? It is only because you are capable that you are valued by the emperor... Alas, these past few months while you were away fighting, I have been living in fear at home, but I can't help you in any way. I can only pray in my heart that God will bless you with everything going well."

As she spoke, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her tone inevitably lowered, "I still remember when I was a child, whenever my father led troops out to fight, my mother would kneel in the Buddhist hall all night long. At that time, I was ignorant and did not understand my mother's thoughts."

Fu Erniang's fingertips unconsciously twisted Li Yi's sash. "Now I understand how unbearable the feeling of waiting is."

Li Yi felt a surge of warmth in his heart and took her soft hand into his palm: "Before you got married, Second Sister, you had the King of Wei to protect you from the wind and rain. Now, this responsibility has been handed over to your husband. I am able to have the wealth and status I have today, all thanks to what I have earned on the battlefield. Although it was very risky, the rewards were equally rich."

He took Fu Erniang's hand and placed it against his chest, his steady heartbeat emanating from beneath his brocade robe. "Every inch of this purple robe and jade belt I wear was earned through military exploits. Though I may not be as high-ranking as my father-in-law, at least I won't let Erniang live a life of poverty."

"Husband—" Fu Erniang raised her face, her eyes shimmering with tears, her gaze hazy like a spring river shrouded in mist, "I do not ask for wealth and glory, as long as I can stay with my husband forever, that is enough... Alas, why did I not meet my husband sooner? Before I met my husband, it was as if I had wasted more than twenty years of my life."

Li Yi laughed and said, "Second Madam, why don't you think about it from a different perspective? If you hadn't been waiting to be married for over twenty years, how would we have had the chance to meet?"

At this point, his tone lowered, “In prosperous times, one needs to compete with others to get ahead, while in chaotic times, one has to fight with swords and spears to find a way out… Just like a woman like Erniang, who comes from a noble family, how could an ordinary person even dream of her? Before last year, I was just a junior officer in the Imperial Guard, and marrying Erniang was something I never dared to hope for.”

"Having gone through the two major battles of Gaoping and Xinkou, and being ordered to reorganize the Imperial Guards, I have gradually come closer to you, otherwise I would not even have had the chance to get to know you."

Upon hearing this, Fu Erniang's expression changed, and she murmured, "My husband has made such great efforts to marry me, while I am just staying at home enjoying wealth and luxury. It's so unfair to my husband."

Li Yi shook his head slightly: "You can't say that. Second Mother was born into wealth, which my father-in-law earned with his life on the battlefield. There's no question of fairness. I don't feel wronged at all. Compared to those ordinary people who live hand to mouth, I have achieved everything I have today through my own abilities, which is something that others can only envy."

As he said this, there was a hint of pride on his face, because his current status and position were earned through hard work and real battles, a skill that not everyone could achieve, so he naturally had the confidence to be proud.

You might say there's an element of luck involved, but not everyone is qualified to seize an opportunity. Without real skills, even if a huge windfall falls on your head, you're very likely to just get crushed.

Li Yi's confidence captivated Fu Erniang. She couldn't help but reach out and stroke his cheek, saying softly, "My husband is a great hero. In just a few months, he helped the court conquer four states of Shu. I heard from Xian'er that his deeds are being talked about everywhere. I am so proud to hear this."

"I do not wish to hinder my husband's ambition to achieve great things. I only hope that my husband will always think of his family and that he will prioritize his own safety when he goes to the battlefield."

"Mm." Li Yi nodded.

He then changed the subject, saying in a joking tone, "Second Madam is now an official title bestowed by the government as a Lady of the County. When she returns to her family home, even Brother Fu will have to pay her respects to you."

Fu Erniang's attention was indeed diverted. She didn't know much about official ranks and grades, and upon hearing this, she couldn't help but ask in surprise, "My elder brother was appointed as the Prefect of Hezhou a few years ago. Could it be that my status as a Lady of the County is higher than that of a Prefect?"

Li Yi explained, "Second Sister's posthumous title is the same as my husband's, also a third-rank official, while my elder brother's position as the Prefect of Hezhou is only a fourth-rank official, so naturally he is not as good as you."

He wasn't just making things up. Although the title of Lady of Imperial Decree was only an honor and had no real power, during the Five Dynasties period, due to the country's financial difficulties, even basic welfare benefits were lacking, and it basically became an empty title.

However, given the official rank, according to the established etiquette, officials of lower rank were indeed required to pay their respects and bow when meeting a Lady of Imperial Decree.

Of course, rules are rules, but reality is another matter. As Fu Erniang's eldest brother, if Fu Zhaoxin were to actually return to his mother's home, he certainly wouldn't follow so many formalities, and the matter of performing the proper etiquette would only be a formality.

At this moment, Fu Erniang sighed and said, "The Emperor has bestowed upon me a prestigious title, but I must rely on my husband to fight for the court and risk his life to repay the Emperor's grace... In truth, I would rather not have this empty title."

Upon hearing the mention of the emperor's kindness, Li Yi suddenly recalled the dream that had startled him awake that morning... In the dream, he seemed to have become a traitor, and in the end, he met a tragic end.

It is said that what you think about during the day, you dream about at night. Li Yi does not deny that he has some delusions deep down, but the dream was really not auspicious.

Seeing his furrowed brows, Fu Erniang couldn't help but ask in confusion, "Husband, is something on your mind?"

"Ah? Oh, it's nothing, I just suddenly thought of the battle on the Huainan front." Li Yi immediately came to his senses, and for some reason felt a little guilty, so he could only make up an excuse.

Fu Erniang had no doubts and immediately said with concern, "Although I do not understand matters of war, I have heard some rumors from the streets from Xuan'er, and it seems that the war to attack Jiangnan is not going well... Could it be that when the Emperor held a banquet for my husband today, he intended to send him to the front line?"

Seeing that she was somewhat downcast, Li Yi quickly took her hand and comforted her, "His Majesty did not mention sending me to fight in Jiangnan..."

Before he could finish speaking, the maid Xuan'er rushed in, saying that Li Hanchao had something urgent to report.

(End of this chapter)