NABC Chapter 257 Entrusting the Orphan
Chapter 257 Entrusting the Orphan
Shen Shixi's experience deepened; she kicked her legs and yelled, "Li Yuanke, you bastard, are you doing this on purpose? I'm going to die!"
Li Yuanke gritted his teeth, "Who told you to make it so sweet? I can resist!"
"You big pervert!"
Exhausted and feeling completely refreshed, Li Yuanke lay on top of her like a dead dog, panting heavily.
"Get up, Li Yuanke, you're so heavy, you're crushing me!" Shen Shixi pushed him.
Li Yuange rolled to the side, pulled her into his arms, and asked, "Are you cold?"
Both of them were covered in sweat.
Shen Shixi lay on top of him, sweaty and uncomfortable, but the feeling of skin against skin made them both feel good.
Li Yuanke pulled up a quilt and covered the two of them with it.
There was a ground dragon, right next to the hot spring pool, and the hall was very warm, even though it was still February.
Just as Shen Shixi was dozing off, Li Yuanke picked her up, and the two of them went to the hot spring pool to soak themselves clean before returning to their bedroom.
She got into the dragon bed, rolled over and fell asleep, not wanting to move a single finger.
The following day, the Queen's palace held its usual morning assembly.
The Empress was also a very conscientious person.
The morning meeting was held without fail, rain or shine.
After the concubines finished paying their respects to her, she asked them one by one about the Second Prince, the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince, and the Fifth Prince. After asking the princes, she asked the princesses, and then she asked about Consort Ning's unborn child.
He added, "Originally, next month was Imperial Noble Consort Chenyuan's birthday, but unfortunately, she probably won't be able to celebrate it this year. The Imperial Observatory has calculated that the silkworm-raising ceremony will fall on that very day this year."
The silkworm-raising ceremony is of paramount importance; even if I wanted to properly celebrate Chenyuan's birthday, it would be impossible.
Consort De, that's ridiculous. Everyone knows that the Director of the Imperial Observatory is completely subservient to the Pei family!
"It's a real pity, but it's not like we couldn't have done it earlier!" said Consort De.
Consort Jin said, "Whether it's held or not, has the Imperial Noble Consort ever cared? She didn't care. As for the Empress, there's no need to mention her. If it were really to be held, let alone the day of the silkworm-raising ceremony, even if it were the New Year, the Emperor would still hold it for her."
Consort Qiong said, "Indeed, I still remember when the Imperial Noble Consort was promoted to Consort Chen, wasn't the grand ceremony for her investiture on New Year's Eve? All the civil and military officials paid their respects to the Imperial Noble Consort; it was a very solemn occasion!"
In this entire palace, apart from the concubines who came from the Eastern Palace and had a banquet to celebrate their investiture as consorts with the Empress, which one of them had such an honor when they were promoted?
The Empress felt very uncomfortable listening to this and knew that the Imperial Noble Consort's people were targeting her.
Pan Zhiheng said, "Naturally, the silkworm-raising ceremony is still the most important. Her Majesty the Empress is personally presiding over it. I wonder if there will be any changes to this year's ceremony compared to previous years?"
In previous years, the Emperor never interfered with the silkworm-raising ceremony; it was always completed by the Ministry of Rites with the assistance of the Empress.
The Empress was quite pleased with herself. "Since the Emperor hasn't issued any decree, it will be the same as in previous years. As the date approaches, you must all fast and bathe properly. This is an important matter and must not be taken lightly!"
"Your Majesty, we will obey Your Majesty's decree!"
After resting for a few days, Li Yuanke began to be vaccinated against smallpox. Before that, he told his court officials that he would not attend the morning court for ten days. Some people took the opportunity to ask for the establishment of a crown prince. Fortunately, the empress did not have a legitimate son. What would happen if the empress gave birth to a legitimate son after the crown prince was established?
With Prime Minister Pei's support, the matter was only briefly raised before being suppressed by the emperor and his ministers.
Before administering the smallpox vaccination, Li Yuanke still summoned Shen Shixi and handed her two imperial edicts.
Shen Shixi was puzzled. He opened the book and found one book about deposing the empress and the other about appointing her as empress.
"If anything were to happen to me, this imperial edict will be read aloud. You will then assist the young emperor in ascending the throne, and as Empress Dowager, you will rule as regent. The throne of the Great Zhou will be entrusted to you!"
[What do I need this empire for? Have I lived too long? It's not my son, why should I be a stepping stone for your son? This bastard's always acting crazy, doesn't he get annoyed?!]
"Li Yuanke, are you out of your mind?" Shen Shixi impatiently threw the imperial edict back at him. "You don't need to worry about me. If anything really happens to you, I won't support your son to ascend the throne. Wouldn't it be better for me to be the empress myself? I could have three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two men..."
Li Yuanke covered her mouth, glaring at her fiercely, "You dare...try it!"
"Oh, then crawl out of your coffin and bite me!" Shen Shixi pulled his hand away. "Li Yuanke, if you're afraid, you don't need to get vaccinated. Everyone in the world has been vaccinated, so maybe no one will get smallpox in the future, and you won't be infected."
But I still suggest you plant it. It's safest to grow it if you can protect yourself. Don't be afraid. If it were really dangerous, I wouldn't let you take the risk. You're young and strong. With me watching over you, nothing will happen.
Li Yuanke glanced at her sideways and said in a sinister tone, "I'm over twenty-five, not young anymore!"
Shen Shixi laughed heartily, wrapped her arms around his neck, and clung to him. Li Yuanke's neck was almost broken by her strangulation. She supported her buttocks and even gave them a pinch.
"Li Yuanke, why did you entrust your son to me? Don't you think I'm the most likely person to usurp your Great Zhou dynasty? If you really destroy the ancestral legacy, do you think the ancestors of the Li family will let you off the hook?"
"The person is dead, what ancestors are you talking about!" He kissed her, "Get out of here, summon the imperial physician, I need to get vaccinated! You can handle the affairs of the court as appropriate, I need to recuperate!"
"Li Yuanke, you bastard, did you do this on purpose? It's just a slight fever and some fatigue, is it really that big of a deal?"
"As for it! Is this smallpox just a joke?" Li Yuanke thought, finally having another legitimate opportunity to slack off.
Everyone in the world gets a holiday, except him.
I feel guilty even taking a break!
When the harem heard that the Emperor was going to be vaccinated against smallpox, everyone was on tenterhooks. Consort De was the first to be restless and rushed to Qian Yuan Palace to visit him. The main concern was that the Emperor was infected with smallpox and they didn't know if he had left a will. What if something happened to him and the heir wasn't her son?
The emperor was extremely annoyed upon hearing this. "I won't see her! Tell her to go back! I'm not dead yet, what's the panic? Even if I were dead, her son wouldn't be on the throne!"
He was in a bad mood, so he cursed Shen Shixi, "You bastard, I told you to give me a son, but you wouldn't. If I really die, who will you cry to?"
"Stop crying! Why should I cry? If you died, I'd be overjoyed. I'd have at least seventy-two men serving me! I'm not kidding, you know what kind of person I am!"
She didn't even glance at Li Yuanke; she was looking at the folded document Ling Menghui had brought her. "Li Yuanke, is Yang Shougui planning a rebellion?"
Li Yuanke lay on the couch, flipping through a storybook, and gave a casual reply.
Shen Shixi put down his pen and said, "Yang Shougui is the man of Pei Xiang's dead sister. He holds the positions of military governor of Hexi, Longyou, and Shuofang, and commands nearly 200,000 troops. Li Yuanke, what do you plan to do if he rebels?"
Li Yuanke put down his storybook, raised his hand to his forehead, and said, "What can I do? This is all the work of the late emperor. It depends on Prime Minister Pei. If he really rebels, I can only meet him with force!"
If war were to break out, Shen Shixi would not be afraid, but the common people would suffer.
The An Lushan Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty killed 36 million people. This is not the case in later generations, where the population was over a billion. At that time, people were an extremely precious resource.