Chapter 93: Imperial Court
That day, Liyou had stayed with the Enchanting guifei the entire time, watching as Qingzhou fed the infant with milk, and after playing with the child for a moment, she finally left. She felt that this little life was extremely miraculous so she naturally paid more attention to it.
In the next few days, Liyou would visit the child every couple of days. Although the infant could not communicate and could only look around with bright eyes, he was still very lovable. Liyou felt that she was addicted to the soft skin of this little thing, always wanting to caress his fat and tender face.
“Your Majesty, have you decided on a name for the child? The child had been born for more than ten days, but still had yet to be named. Situ Hongyu had originally wanted to wait for the Empress to bring it up on her own accord, but waited and waited. The Empress seemed to have forgotten, so he had no choice but to remind him.
“Name? Ah, this little thing doesn’t have a name yet.” When mentioning naming the little thing, Liyou was also taken aback, obviously not expecting this question.
Situ Hongyu revealed a small smile. It was rare to see the Empress in such a confused state. The reason why Situ Hongyu was crowned the Enchanting guifei was because of his seductive and beguiling appearance. It was not an exaggeration to say he was dubbed as the crown jewel of the world. This was especially true when he was smiling, that charming aura made it impossible for others to look directly at him!
Liyou was taken aback for a moment and it was the first time that she had found Situ Hongyu’s smile so charming. Taking it in, she became somewhat confused.
“Your Majesty, please give your son a name.” Not knowing that his smile had made the other dumbfounded, Situ Hongyu gazed at his child lovingly. Now, all of his attention was on the child. Even if Qingzhou claimed that he could regain the Empress’ favor by taking advantage of the fact that the Empress came here every day, he had not been moved. He knew that the Empress was different from before, the way she looked at him was not motivated by any kind of possession or desire, but rather indifferently like a stranger. How could he fight for favor with this kind of an Empress….
Hehe, humans really did not know how to be satisfied with what they have. The Empress had once favored him very much, but he had always felt dissatisfied, because he understood that the Empress loved him because of his appearance. But now, even his appearance could no longer attract the Empress. However, he felt that it did not matter anymore and his heart calmed down. He would no longer live in anxiety like he had before. He pondered, perhaps it would be better to live like this for the rest of his life.
“Name…do you have any good suggestions?” Liyou did not know what name to choose.
“If possible, this consort would like to give the child the ‘Jing’ character, meaning tranquility from the phrase establishing tranquility.” In truth, he had thought about the child’s name many times, and in the end, he still believed that the character ‘Jing’ was the best. It implied that if one could live a quiet and peaceful life in the Imperial palace, it could be considered a blessing.
“Jing, meaning peace.. This name is good, if you like it, then use this name.” Liyou thought of one of the meanings of the character and thought that it was quite good, so she agreed.
Situ Hongyu nodded and called out softly to his child, “Jing’er, you will be called Qianhe Jing from now on. This Imperial father hopes that, much like this name, you can grow up peacefully and safely.” This was his only wish now.
“Yes, Zhen will not allow anyone to hurt him.” Liyou chimed in seriously from the side. In regards to this child, she had inexplicable feelings for him and he felt familiar. The birth of this child had dispelled her idea of not letting Anhui and the others have a child. Flesh and blood, no matter how painful it is, they would not care about it. And even if there was danger, she was still present and she would not let any harm befall them.
“Your Majesty, thank you.” With the Empress’ guarantees, he felt more at ease and the harem was very peaceful now, which assuaged his worries by a lot.
“This is what Zhen should do.”
The birth of the first Imperial Prince had not caused too much of a disturbance. After all, during this period of war, the common people and ministers were still concerned about the issue of war. Additionally, the envoys sent by the three kingdoms were growing more and more presumptuous, the small gestures continued and gave cartloads of gifts to ministers of the Imperial court.
However, they seemed to have discovered the phenomenon that some ministers only accepted gifts, but did not make any practical moves. They also had the option to continue giving gifts, but after more than ten days, most of these envoys only had one request. That is, they wanted to meet Empress Qianhe and find out what she intended to do in person. Therefore, such a request will be made when giving fits. Some ministers, who had received Liyou’s hints, merely said that the Empress was happy with her dragon son and had no time to meet with them for the time being. But, some ministers had received too many gifts and could not refuse them, so they openly raised the request in court.
“Your Majesty, the envoys of the three kingdoms have been here for many days. Would you be willing to meet them once? After all, the envoys represent the will of the three kingdoms. If Your Majesty does not meet them, will it affect the larger situation adversely?”
The person who said this was Zhang Lan, the Assistant Minister of Rites. She was regarded as a newly promoted individual in a powerful position. She originally belonged to the Zhongli Empire and was one of the individuals on the Anbu Black Op’s list. She had accepted bribes of thousands of taels of gold, as well as countless gifts and treasures.
“What effect will it have if Zhen does not meet them? Zhang Lan, tell Zhen about it.” Liyou asked this very flatly, her tone remaining unchanged as a flash of coldness appeared in her eyes. Receiving gifts had existed since time immemorial. How many ministers could really have both sleeves blowing in the breeze, unsoiled by corrupt practices? But how big of a gift and request could be accepted and what kind of gift and request that could not be accepted, there had to be a standard for being a person and doing these things. She could allow these ministers to receive gifts, but if they did something stupid in return, they shouldn’t blame her for never giving them a chance to receive such gifts again.
“This, Your Majesty, the exchanges between countries are very sensitive, especially during wartime. Any sensitive matter may erupt in full-scale war. Especially, the envoys of the three kingdoms have sought us out together, there must be a reason and connection for doing so. If Your Majesty does not meet them, the three kingdoms will most definitely believe that our Imperial court has unfriendly intentions. If this is passed back to their respective kingdoms, it will be bad if it causes war.
Hearing Zhang Lan’s admonishment, a trace of disdain appeared in Liyou’s eyes, “For this matter, Zhen will consider it.”
Of course, she was not afraid that doing so would erupt in so-called war. But, she had never intended to never see the envoys all this time. The reason why she had waited these past few days was nothing more than to see what these people wanted to do and what they did. Now, everyone could more or less understand the situation, she would naturally receive them and see what these envoys would say in front of her.
Now that the Empress had said it as such, Zhang Lan could not continue her persuasions. And she had merely received the gift from others, there was no absolute need to continue. As for whether the Empress would meet them or not, she did not dare to insist. She was not stupid to truly give into the schemes of these envoys. What she was doing now was only within the realms of her power. To truly scheme, she did not have the guts to actually betray the Empress. Zhang Lan withdrew to her position within the ranks. Liyou glanced at her and then retracted her attention. It seemed that Zhang Lan was not stupid and most of the people in the Imperial court were not stupid either. Regardless of whether the gift had been accepted under her instruction or not, they had not actually done anything to harm Qianhe, but these people had leaked a lot about Qianhe’s internal affairs. After this period of time, the empty national treasury may have to ask for these people’s help.
The ministers who accepted the gifts under Liyou’s instruction had sent the gift list and gifts to the Imperial palace immediately. These people could be seen as absolutely loyal to Qianhe. As for those who received gifts from the beginning, even if they had not done anything to harm Qianhe, Liyou would not make it easy for them. Now that Qianhe was engaging in war, she was short on funds.
“Your Majesty, since Imperial Prince Jing is the firstborn of our dynasty, the King Dowager instructed that on his hundredth day anniversary, the palace will offer sacrifices to the ancestors. Empress, does Your Majesty have any other instructions?” The Minister of Rites asked about the prince’s birthday celebration.
“Just do as the King Dowager has requested.” Speaking of Luo Yu, she had not seen the man for quite a while.
“Understood.”
There was nothing else important to discuss. After all, Li Yao and Long Xizhao were currently not in Qianhe. Both of them were handling countless government and military affairs in the Sang Empire’s Imperial City. But, they were so busy that they hadn’t been able to make it back within a month. The only things that were sent back were stacks and stacks of memorials, and Liyou was a little dazzled just looking at the sight.
“Your Majesty, members of the Imperial family of the Sang Empire have been escorted to the Imperial gates. Does Your Majesty wish to summon them?” Dang Yufei, was the Minister of Justice and had been in charge of the reception of these individuals. But as for the arrangements, the Empress had not clearly stated her plans and she did not dare to privately come to a decision. After all, they were the Imperial family of an empire. Even if that empire had fallen to its demise, they were not to be treated lightly.
“An Imperial household has how many people? You want Zhen to meet them all?” An Imperial household could have hundreds of people, if not thousands…
“Your Majesty, some are collateral relatives of the Imperial household that are of no matter, but there are several wangfei and unmarried princes. This, this minister really does not know how to deal with it…In the past, an Empress had to do something to restrain these powerful ministers. But, the current Empress did not give qualms on the distribution of power. Any problems she did not want to deal with personally, she threw to the ministers. In the beginning, they had all felt very honored, but after a long time, they discovered that such favor was not so easy to enjoy. As ministers, how dare they solve matters privately?”
“Princes? Is the one who came last time among them?” Hearing the prince, Liyou could not help but think of that prince who came to the list, arrogant like a big rooster.
“Ues, all members of the Imperial household area accounted for.” It is because of this Duan Yufei had a hard time. Although these Imperial princes had become prisoners of war, they were prideful, rude and unreasonable. She did not dare to make a move without the Empress’ orders. She had not been living comfortably these past few days.
“No need to think too much. Take these individuals into custody first and give them whatever treatment is typically given to prisoners of war. The Sang Empire is no more and they are no longer Imperial members. If there are still people who have no sense of property and want to find trouble with you, then teach them well on Zhen’s behalf. Do you understand Zhen’s meaning?” The Imperial family, it was nothing without its country. Those who did not know how to advance or retreat should be punished.
“Yes, this minister obeys the order!” With the Empress’ words, she could handle this matter freely!
TN: New chapter! Stay safe and happy everyone! ❤
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Twin Dragons Translations 
thanks for the chapter !
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