Quickly wear salted fish, she won by lying down

In fact, not to mention Empress Zhang, who didn't have a deep relationship with Linlang, she wouldn't spend so much money to save her. Even Empress Zhou, who had a deep relationship with her, wouldn't have spent so much money to save her. After all, compared to people of this era, their lifespans were not short. It wasn't worth it for her to go to so much trouble just to let them live a few more years. Her feelings for them weren't that deep.

Because Linlang did not use a large amount of gene repair fluid to help Empress Zhang repair her body, Empress Zhang did not last more than a few years after the Sixth Prince ascended the throne.

Because Linlang gave her a little bit of gene repair fluid, she has already lived a few years longer than she could have originally planned.

So the matter of selecting concubines, which was discussed in the palace, was put on hold again before the sixth prince could even agree. After all, Empress Dowager Zhang was the new emperor's birth mother, and the new emperor would certainly have to observe mourning.

Some people have suggested that the Sixth Prince has too few offspring and that he should select a concubine during the mourning period. They also suggested that he should not have to abide by the rule of not having sex during the mourning period, since of the three unfilial acts, the greatest is having no offspring. Having children is a matter of utmost importance, and how can one not have sex with another person just because of mourning?

Unfortunately, the sixth prince refused, and then told the ministers that the empress was pregnant again and he would soon have a second child, so he would not have a lack of offspring.

Indeed, since Linlang hasn't taken any contraceptive measures yet, it's normal for her to get pregnant with a second child at this time. After all, she hasn't given birth for three years, and her body has recovered to its best condition, so it's naturally easier for her to get pregnant.

After the Sixth Prince said this, the ministers were speechless and could not find a better reason to urge the Sixth Prince to hold a selection of concubines. They could only think to themselves, "Could it be that before the Sixth Prince became emperor, he did not have any concubines because he really did not like women, and that was why he did not have any concubines, or was it just an act to gain the throne?"

Actually, the Sixth Prince wasn't entirely averse to women; it's just that the late emperor had too many sons who fought each other to the death. This made the Sixth Prince think, "For now, I only need the Empress. This will save my sons from fighting each other to the death and causing my own children to suffer the same hardships as I did."

But if all the sons were born to the Empress, then it would be a different story.

Since they were all born to the Empress alone, there's no need to discuss it further. As long as the eldest son of the legitimate wife is fine, it's basically sufficient to establish him as the heir apparent.

Well, you can't say things like that, because saying such things often leads to problems for the eldest son, but that's basically what he thinks.

However, he didn't fully express it. Firstly, he didn't want the empress to be too proud, and secondly, he didn't want his future eldest son to be too proud, thinking that the throne would definitely be his in the future, and end up raising him astray.

This is why the Sixth Prince has never held a talent show; he doesn't want his sons to fight to the death like he did back then.

Linlang didn't care what the Sixth Prince was thinking. She only knew that as long as the Sixth Prince didn't have any other women, she wouldn't cause any trouble. Everyone would be fine.

Having avenged Empress Dowager Zhou, Linlang planned to have Master Zhou "retire due to illness."

Master Zhou is now in his fifties or sixties, so "retiring due to illness" isn't too early, considering that even in modern times, people retire at sixty. After the Sixth Prince ascended the throne, Master Zhou had held considerable power for several years. Furthermore, the Empress Dowager and Empress were both from the Zhou family, his grandson was the eldest son and a strong contender to become emperor, and the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, which controlled the military, was related to the Zhou family by marriage. The Zhou family was truly booming. The third generation of the Zhou family was growing up, and those raised in this environment were starting to become arrogant. Therefore, Master Zhou should "retire due to illness," otherwise, the Zhou family would inevitably destroy itself.

Some people have already spoken to the Sixth Prince about the Zhou family's situation. Although the Sixth Prince has temporarily suppressed the impeachment memorials, problems will definitely arise in the long run.

Therefore, Linlang promptly arranged for Master Zhou to "retire due to illness."

It must be said that Linlang's move was decisive. In fact, the Sixth Prince had noticed that the Zhou family had been acting a bit arrogantly lately, and he felt that things were not going well, so he wanted to give them a warning.

Before he could even give them a warning, Master Zhou collapsed, suffered a stroke, and lost his voice, forcing him to retire due to illness. The Zhou family watched helplessly as their pillar of support fell, weeping bitterly. When the Sixth Prince received the report and heard that the Zhou family was grieving, his previous resentment vanished instantly. He felt a sense of satisfaction, thinking that even the heavens were on his side. He didn't need to take action or damage his relationship with the Zhou family; he simply brought them down.

Now that Master Zhou has fallen from power, the remaining members of the Zhou family are no longer a threat, and he no longer needs to worry about anything.

Linlang also seized an opportunity, using the news of Master Zhou's stroke, to give the Zhou family members a warning. She told them that Master Zhou was now incapacitated and that they should behave themselves. Otherwise, if they committed any wrongdoings, Master Zhou wouldn't be there to clean up their messes. They shouldn't expect her to help them; she was just a woman in the harem, and she might even be implicated by them. If the emperor took concubines and they gave birth to other princes, and then he disliked the Zhou family, he might depose her as empress and not make her prince the crown prince. That would be a huge problem.

The Zhou family had been terrified since losing their patriarch, and after hearing Linlang's reprimand, they naturally became much more obedient when they went home to educate the third generation, which put Linlang at ease.

Seeing that the Zhou family members had become much more obedient, the Sixth Prince stopped causing them trouble. After all, the Zhou family was in such a state that there was no need to bother them.

Judging from the Sixth Prince's attitude, he is a man of his word and will not go back on his word, unlike the Third Prince, the First Prince, and others. This is something Linlang has basically confirmed after observing for so long.

Since the Sixth Prince is a man of his word and wouldn't go back on his word, Linlang naturally needs to be even more restrained from the Zhou family members to prevent them from acting recklessly. After all, as long as they don't act recklessly, it seems the Zhou family will be fine, which is naturally what Linlang is happy to see. After all, Linlang doesn't want to see the Sixth Prince go back on his word, and in the end, she would have to oppose him, deal with him, and then rule from behind the curtain. That would be quite tiring, so the current situation is naturally the best.

With Linlang's restraint and the fact that the Sixth Prince was a man of his word, the Zhou family indeed escaped unscathed, unlike what happened in the original world, and Linlang did not need to intervene.

For the Zhou family, although they no longer had a pillar of support, it was still quite good that the powerful maternal relatives had managed to survive without any major incidents.

None of them hold high-ranking positions in the court now, only some sinecure posts. Coupled with their titles, they appear to have declined, but being leisurely nobles is quite nice. After all, the Zhou family has an empress dowager and empress in the palace, and a grandson who is a prince—a top favorite of the new emperor. They should be content. After all, what family in the capital can have such prestige as the Zhou family, producing so many empresses and princes? (End of Chapter)