A middle-aged emperor, childless, was blessed with a beautiful and pregnant concubine who entered th

"Twins? Really?"

Emperor Qianwu and the Empress Dowager were both stunned.

The Empress Dowager was the first to react, "Twins? That's not surprising, A-Chang had them before..."

When the Empress Dowager mentioned her two grandsons, her eyes instantly showed guilt.

However, the mother and son immediately cheered up.

"That's wonderful, Your Majesty! The Empress is carrying twins again!"

"Yes, yes."

Emperor Qianwu nodded hastily.

"Very good!"

The pomegranate and wax apple were also happy for their mistress.

The Empress Dowager immediately forgot her quarrel with Zhou Mingyi. "Empress, you are now heavily pregnant. Your affairs are of utmost importance. You must inform me and the Emperor of any needs in a timely manner."

Zhou Mingyi lowered her eyes and obediently nodded.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will not stand on ceremony."

That address of "Mother" made the Empress Dowager feel uneasy again.

She suddenly remembered something, "The Empress is pregnant again, it's a joyous occasion, a major event for our royal family, but what about the Crown Prince..."

Before she could finish speaking, Zhou Mingyi said, "The Crown Prince will naturally live with me."

The Empress Dowager was taken aback and was about to say something when Zhou Mingyi said, "Chen'er is my life. If I cannot see Chen'er at this moment, I would rather not have the child in my womb."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"you……"

The Empress Dowager and Emperor Qianwu spoke in unison, then exchanged a glance, their expressions both somewhat unpleasant.

After decades of struggling to have children, Zhou Mingyi has not only given birth to the eldest prince, but also twins.

They could only bitterly stop mentioning it.

After leaving Kunning Palace and returning to Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager could no longer hold back.

"Your Majesty, you saw it too, isn't A-Chang wary of me?"

Emperor Qianwu's brow twitched, thinking to himself, "They've come after all."

He immediately said, "Mother, you're overthinking it."

The Empress Dowager looked at him, her eyes filled with a hint of grievance.

"Am I overthinking things?"

"I want to hold Yan'er, but she won't let me. I want to see Yan'er, but she has a million reasons to stop me."

"Now she's pregnant with twins, and her belly is so big. I was just trying to be kind and wanted to bring Yan'er over to take care of her for a while. But she's so rebellious and said such things."

"She knew she was carrying a precious royal heir, yet she dared to say she didn't want the child!"

"Your Majesty, tell me, isn't this a way of keeping things from me?"

Emperor Qianwu put down his teacup and sighed.

"Mother, that's not what A-Chang meant."

Even Emperor Qianwu himself felt guilty after saying those words.

"She just couldn't bear to part with Yan'er, afraid the child wouldn't be used to being without her..."

The Empress Dowager gave a cold laugh.

"Reluctant to part with him? I am Yan'er's grandmother, would I possibly harm him?"

Emperor Qianwu was at a loss for words and really didn't know what to say.

He couldn't help but start to wonder to himself.

What's wrong with Ah Chang?

I've never seen her throw a tantrum at her mother before.

How come everything's fine...?

Emperor Qianwu also did not want to admit that Zhou Mingyi was arrogant because she had a child.

After all, the crown prince has been appointed, and the empress has also been appointed.

Could it be true, as the ministers are saying, that this woman, the only one who can give him a son and who keeps getting pregnant, should be deposed?

Even if she weren't pregnant, it wouldn't work...

The Empress Dowager grew angrier the more she thought about it.

"When Consort Chen was alive, when Chaoyang was a child, I would carry her around the courtyard, and Consort Chen never stopped me."

"Now, why is it that just wanting to hold Yan'er is like taking her life?"

The Empress Dowager felt both wronged and angry.

"Your Majesty, I have a question for you. Tell me honestly."

"Is Ah Chang still blaming me? Blaming me for protecting the morning sun in the past?"

Emperor Qianwu suddenly raised his head.

"Mother, let bygones be bygones. A-Chang is not the kind of person who holds grudges."

The Empress Dowager snorted coldly, "What else could it be but holding a grudge?"

"Then why doesn't she allow me to get close to Yan'er?"

"I really can't think of any other reason."

Emperor Qianwu remained silent for a while.

"Mother, you're really overthinking it."

"Yan'er is still young. It's only natural for Ah Chang to worry about him being frightened or getting sick. He'll be fine when he's older."

He dared not reveal the truth about the quarrel between his wife and mother, and could only evade the question.

These words did nothing to appease the Empress Dowager.

"I don't care!"

"I've heard that for a year now."

"From Yan'er's one-month celebration to her first birthday, and from her first birthday to now, Ah Chang is pregnant with twins again."

"How much longer must I wait? Until Yan'er grows up? Until A-Chang teaches the children to not recognize me as their imperial grandmother?"

The Empress Dowager's hand trembled slightly.

"Your Majesty, I know you love Chang and the children. But I am also your mother, and Yan'er's grandmother. Is it wrong for me to want to see my grandson and hold him?"

Emperor Qianwu looked at his mother, at her reddened eyes, and felt a pang of sadness in his heart.

But what could he do?

As an emperor, he had countless methods, but in front of A-Chang, he was nothing more than a husband and father who had a child in middle age.

Ah Chang must have been truly angry with her mother.

Emperor Qianwu automatically overlooked one point in his mind, which was why A-Chang was angry with her mother after giving birth, but not with him.

Is it because you can't bear to part with it?

He could only think that Ah Chang had suffered so much injustice, and now that she was pregnant, he could only temporarily put up with the Empress Dowager's suffering.

"Mother, A-Chang is pregnant with twins. The imperial physician said that she is weak and cannot overexert herself."

"You are a magnanimous person, please don't take it to heart."

"Besides, she is Yan'er's biological mother. She is already prone to worry during her pregnancy. If she cannot see Yan'er, she might cause some trouble."

"Once the baby is born and Ah Chang has recovered, you can see Yan'er whenever you want."

What else could the Empress Dowager say?

That Zhou woman could even say something as outrageous as not wanting the child in her womb.

The Empress Dowager dared not provoke her.

She also knew that the emperor was speaking up for her.

But she also worried that after the child was born, Ah Chang would have a new excuse.

The child is still young, the child is shy, the child needs to study, the child needs to learn martial arts.

There are many reasons, but she can't wait that long.

The Empress Dowager closed her eyes and sighed.

"That's enough. You can go back now."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qianwu felt as if he had been granted a general amnesty.

He walked to the door, then stopped and looked back.

"Mother, regardless of whether A-Chang allows you to be close to the children, at least we have children."

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager involuntarily opened her eyes, her expression slightly startled, with a hint of tears in her eyes.

She recalled the decades of unfulfilled desires she had endured.

She used so many methods to get the emperor to have Ah Chang and these children...

"Very well, I understand. I will not make things difficult for her."

"She is your wife, Your Majesty, and also the mother of my beloved grandson. I am so grateful to her..."

Emperor Qianwu: "Thank you for your consideration, Mother."

……

Several months later.

The Kunning Palace was brightly lit, but the delivery room was quiet, with only the midwife giving instructions in a low voice and the palace maids working quietly.

Emperor Qianwu stood outside the palace, pacing back and forth, his palms sweaty.

The Empress Dowager sat under the eaves, fiddling with her prayer beads. She didn't say anything, but she was very nervous inside.

This time it was even more nerve-wracking than the last.

Last time there was one, this time there are two.

She still remembered the two babies from before. When they were brought out, they were only the size of a palm, with translucent skin stained with blood, their eyes tightly closed, and no breath.

It truly broke her grandmother's heart.

Now, the two babies are full-term...

After an unknown amount of time, a loud cry of a newborn baby came from the delivery room.

Emperor Qianwu suddenly stopped and stared at the palace gate.

The midwife brought out the first child, her face beaming with joy.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Empress Dowager! It's a little prince!"

Emperor Qianwu took the child, his hands trembling.

The child was all wrinkled, crying loudly, his little face flushed red, and his fists clenched tightly.

Before he could get enough of looking, another cry came from inside, even louder than the one before.

The midwife brought out another baby, beaming from ear to ear.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Empress Dowager! It's a little princess!"

The Empress Dowager suddenly stood up, almost dropping her prayer beads.

"Twins? They really are twins?"

The midwife nodded repeatedly.

"They're twins! The little prince weighs 5.2 pounds, and the little princess weighs exactly 5 pounds, both perfectly healthy!"

The Empress Dowager laughed until tears streamed down her face.

"Good, good! God bless! God bless!"

She took the little princess and held her in her arms. The child had stopped crying and was looking at her with wide eyes.

The Empress Dowager's heart melted.

Emperor Qianwu held the little prince in his arms, then looked at the little princess in the Empress Dowager's arms, and laughed like a fool.

"Rewards! Everyone will be rewarded!"

The Kunning Palace was filled with joy as the palace servants knelt on the ground, offering their congratulations in unison.

Three days later.

Zhou Mingyi leaned against the soft couch, holding the little princess in her arms, with the little prince lying beside her who had just finished eating.

Her complexion was so good that she didn't look like someone who had just given birth. Her face was fair and clean, without a single pimple, and her eyes and brows were full of smiles.

Shi Liu served her from the side, and looking at her face, she couldn't help but marvel.

"Your Highness, you look so radiant! I've heard that women who give birth usually look haggard for a while, but you look even better than before you gave birth."

When the wax apple brought in the soup, I couldn't help but take a second look.

"Isn't that right? I've also heard that some women are left with stretch marks after childbirth, with lines all over their bellies that just won't go away. Your Majesty, your belly looks like you've never given birth."

Zhou Mingyi smiled and looked down at the child in her arms.

"I am lucky."

Shiliu leaned closer and whispered, "Your Highness, I heard that Madam Zhou gave birth to a young master a few days ago, and she has stretch marks on her belly. Madam Zhou is very distressed and doesn't dare to let Lord Zhou see them."

Zhou Mingyi raised her head.

"My sister-in-law gave birth? How come I didn't know?"

Shi Liu quickly replied, "It happened a few days ago. Her Majesty is pregnant with twins, and Lord Zhou didn't dare tell you for fear of worrying you. Mother and children are safe and sound. The little boy weighs six pounds and is very strong."

Zhou Mingyi nodded and immediately sat up. "Lianwu, find that box of Jade Dew Cream and take it to my sister-in-law."

Wax apples were stunned.

"Your Majesty, those were a gift from His Majesty. He said they were tributes from the Western Regions, and there are only two boxes in the entire palace..."

Zhou Mingyi glanced at her.

"My sister-in-law is my family. What's a box of ointment? Send it over."

The wax apple agreed and turned to get the ointment.

Standing to the side, Shiliu couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, you are so kind to Madam Zhou."

Zhou Mingyi lowered her head, looked at the child in her arms, and smiled.

"My sister-in-law is my brother's wife, and she is my family."

"If I don't treat her well, who will I treat well?"

Besides, she has no use for this so-called precious ointment.

She has a system of elixirs: an intelligence-enhancing elixir to keep children smart and clever, and a health-promoting elixir to keep children healthy and less prone to illness.

There were also fertility-aiding pills. Although her childbirth process looked difficult, it was actually painless and effortless.

After giving birth, her body was quickly repaired by the elixir, leaving no trace of stretch marks.

With such a miraculous medicine, having a child is really nothing.

She likes children and needs enough children to secure her position.

So she plans to have a few more children.

Zhou Mingyi didn't find childbirth difficult, but some people who saw it felt very sorry for her.

Shen Kuo has now lost his name and become a shadow, but he can stay by the side of his beloved all day long, and he is very content.

But I also feel sorry for her having one child after another.

She must have had her own compelling reasons.

His Majesty has no heir, and every son is extremely precious.

She is capable of giving birth, so naturally she has to endure the hardship of having one child after another.

But there was nothing he could do...