The prince is more stable

Chapter 541: Minister of State
The birth of a prince in the royal family is a major event. It is not only a matter for the emperor's family, but also something that must be announced to the world.

The next day, Zhao Xu announced the suspension of court for one day. The Council of State issued an official letter and sent it to government offices in prefectures, counties and cities across the Song Dynasty, announcing that the officials had a son and the subjects should celebrate together.

The news spread quickly and had spread throughout Bian Jing early in the morning. Common people took to the streets and knelt down facing the direction of Yanfu Palace, and then the whole country celebrated.

The birth of the prince inadvertently boosted the GDP of Bianliang. In those days, people had no other way to celebrate happy events except to go to a restaurant and listen to music in a brothel.

Just like the gatherings and dinners in later generations, people first eat and drink, and then go to entertainment venues for entertainment. Those who are rich go to nightclubs to find hostesses, and those who are not so rich go to bars or go to foot massage. In short, the consumption is done.

As people celebrate, new topics arise.

The people began to discuss what name to give the only prince.

The name should be elegant, powerful and majestic at the same time.

The timing of the prince's birth was very appropriate. It was the time when the situation between Song and Liao was turning around. The Song Dynasty had fought several wars in the north, gained prestige and changed the country's destiny.

Considering that when Prince Hejian Zhao Xiaoqian was ordered to go on an expedition last year, Concubine Liu was pregnant. Now that the prince is born, the situation between the two countries has changed in less than a year.

It has to be said that when this prince was born, he seemed to have an aura of destiny. People spread the word and felt that the birth of this prince was God's will and that he must be carrying some great mission.

From discussing the name to the national situation, and finally to fate, the thoughts of ordinary people are very jumpy.

The next morning, Zhao Xiaoqian was still catching up on his sleep in the palace. When he returned to the palace last night, the words Zhao Hao had said to him kept flashing in his mind. Zhao Xiaoqian was originally a carefree person with excellent sleep quality. He could fall asleep as soon as he touched the pillow. However, he suffered from insomnia last night.

Zhao Xiaoqian tossed and turned until dawn when he finally fell into a drowsy sleep.

After less than two hours of sleep, Zhao Xiaoqian was woken up by Di Ying, who looked cautious. Zhao Xiaoqian opened his eyes, and his eyes began to show signs of irritability.

Before he lost his temper, Di Ying hurriedly told him that someone had come from the palace and Zhao Xu had summoned him into the palace.

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed. "Having a son is such a big deal, right? Is this just another way of showing off to me?"
Di Ying helped him put on his official uniform, carefully adjusting his official hat and jade belt. Zhao Xiaoqian pressed her shoulders and said through gritted teeth, "Madam, wait until I come back. Let's fight again tonight!"

"I just don't believe it. If he can give birth to a son, why can't I? I'll give birth to a whole litter and crush him to death!"

Di Ying chuckled, but did not object, and expressed her appreciation for the official's efforts.

If we talk about being anxious, Di Ying is the most anxious than anyone else. If she doesn't get pregnant soon, she won't be able to face anyone in the palace.

After dressing neatly, Zhao Xiaoqian went out and got on the carriage to Yanfu Palace.

In the Funing Palace, as soon as Zhao Xiaoqian entered the palace, he saw a familiar face.

In addition to the joyful Zhao Xu, Suining Prince Zhao Ji was also there. The two brothers sat together, talking about something and laughing heartily.

When Zhao Xiaoqian walked into the hall, the smile on Zhao Xu's face remained unchanged, but Zhao Ji's smile suddenly froze for a moment, and then quickly returned to normal.

Zhao Xiaoqian glanced at Zhao Ji, performed the salutation first, and then greeted Zhao Ji with a look of surprise.

"Brother Ji, it's been a long time since we last met. I'm glad to see you still looking so handsome and radiant."

Zhao Ji was a little confused by his sudden friendly greeting. After being stunned for a moment, he immediately put on a fake smile and stepped forward to salute.

"Brother Ji, I greet Brother Zi'an."

"Brother Zi'an has been stationed on the border for a long time, enhancing the prestige of our Song Dynasty and defeating the Liao army several times, which has boosted the morale of our royal army. When I heard about this in Bianjing, I was overjoyed. I even got drunk several times because of the frequent reports of victory from Brother Zi'an."

Zhao Xiaoqian laughed: "If you know how to praise me, then praise me more. I don't know why, but I really like chatting with you, brother Ji. You are so good at chatting, haha."

Zhao Xu was delighted to see the brothers living in harmony.

Being in his position, there is nothing to fight for, power or money. Standing at the top, all he hopes for is close family ties and brotherly love.

Although they both wanted to kill each other, Zhao Xiaoqian and Zhao Ji still had smiles on their faces and chatted enthusiastically. In the eyes of outsiders who were unaware of the situation, the relationship between these two brothers was enough to be written into history books and passed down through the ages.

Zhao Xu chuckled and said, "Well, if you two really like chatting, you can get together privately a few more times after you leave the palace. Brother Ji, Zi'an may be leaving for his post at the border in Zhending Prefecture in a few days. You should seize the opportunity to get together with him more often."

Zhao Ji responded respectfully with a smile.

Zhao Xiaoqian, however, bowed deeply to Zhao Xu and said, "I congratulate the emperor on the birth of his prince. The expansion of the royal family is a blessing for the Song Dynasty."

Zhao Xu laughed heartily, his face flushed, unable to conceal the joy on his face.

What’s hateful is that besides the joy on Zhao Xu’s face, there was also a familiar smugness on his face. He waved his hand pretending to be indifferent.

"It's just giving birth to a prince. To me, it's nothing special..." Zhao Xu said, speaking with the tone of a man who had experienced it, and said earnestly: "Zi'an, you see, I already have a prince. You should also work hard. A man should have a son and a daughter after marrying so many women."

Zhao Xiaoqian: “…………” As expected, he summoned me to the palace today just to show off in front of me.

The scene at this moment should be Zhao Xu's MVP settlement screen.

Zhao Xiaoqian gritted his teeth and said, "Now is your highlight moment, I will endure it!"
With a tug, he pulled Zhao Ji, who was standing there in a daze, over. Zhao Xiaoqian leaned against him intimately and said with a smile, "My brother Ji and I should work together to try to produce offspring for our Zhao clan as soon as possible."

"Ah?" Zhao Ji was a little panicked: "I... my younger brother is only sixteen years old and just married a princess..."

Zhao Xiaoqian said unhappily, "Brother Ji, what are you talking about? Propagating offspring is our responsibility. If the young don't work hard, the old will be sad. What you mean is that if you, the young man, don't work hard to have children, then as the eldest of our royal family, the emperor should be sad."

Zhao Xu and Zhao Ji were both stunned. This poem... is this how it should be explained?

Zhao Xiaoqian skipped the topic and smiled at Zhao Xu, saying, "Your Majesty is delighted to have a son. I haven't even seen your newborn nephew yet. I wonder if Your Majesty..."

Zhao Xu was cheered up. These words hit the nail on the head. Wasn't it just to show off to him that he called Zhao Xiaoqian into the palace today?

Showing off your kids is also a way to show off.

"Someone, bring out my prince!" Zhao Xu said happily.

"Duan..." Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes widened.

Did you give birth to a dish? And you even serve it...

After a long time, there were hurried footsteps outside the Funing Palace. A wet nurse in palace dress was holding a swaddling baby, surrounded by a group of palace maids standing nervously. The wet nurse looked cautious and walked very slowly, as if she was holding a landmine, and walked into the Funing Palace step by step.

Zhao Xu immediately showed a look of joy, stepped forward to take the baby, and gently teased the baby's pink little face with his fingers.

After teasing the baby lovingly for a while, Zhao Xu reluctantly handed the baby to Zhao Xiaoqian.

"Look at my prince, how is he?"

Zhao Xiaoqian took it over as if facing a great enemy. He had never been a father in his two lifetimes, and even his posture of holding a baby was not standard. The wet nurse next to him could not bear to watch this, and fearing that the precious prince would fall, she hurried forward to guide him and told him the correct way to hold a baby.

After a flurry of activity, Zhao Xiaoqian finally held the baby in the cradle steadily, and lowered his head to look at the prince who had carried the hopes of countless people since his birth.

The prince was sleeping, his long eyelashes trembling from time to time, his little face and hands were pink and tender, his little mouth was moving gently, and he felt very light in his hands.

Zhao Xiaoqian looked at the prince in his arms and couldn't help feeling pity for him.

The human cub is so cute, I really want to rub it and swallow it into my stomach...

"Your Majesty, the prince has a good appearance. He was born with an imposing bearing and a majestic appearance. In my opinion, the prince is naturally noble. He will surely have a life of great wealth and honor, and he has the face to prosper the country and build a good family." Zhao Xiaoqian praised.

The praise was a bit exaggerated, and Zhao Ji beside him couldn't help but ask: "How can you tell so much from a baby's face?"

Zhao Xiaoqian said without even looking up, "I can't tell, but, just praise it, don't worry about whether it's true or not, just look how happy the emperor is, people like to hear this."

Zhao Ji turned his head and saw that Zhao Xu was indeed smiling and looked proud. Zhao Ji couldn't help but sigh.

Well, the thick-skinned person has the upper hand. He should have praised Zhao Xiaoqian a lot before he entered the palace.

After teasing the baby for a long time, he almost woke him up. The baby's eyelashes fluttered more frequently, his little mouth opened, he yawned, and when he was about to cry with a pout, Zhao Xiaoqian's eyelids twitched and he hurriedly stuffed him into the wet nurse's arms.

"Your Majesty, has the prince been named?" asked Zhao Xiaoqian.

Zhao Xu smiled and said, "Last night, the Queen Mother and I discussed it and decided to name him 'Mao'. What do you think, Zi'an?"

Zhao Xiaoqian thought for a moment and said, "'Its leaves are dense' and 'mao' means prosperity. 'Zhao Mao' is a good name."

Zhao Xu smiled and said, "Zi'an is his uncle. You must assist your nephew well in the future and don't let him be bullied. The Song Dynasty still needs Zi'an's help to take care of it."

After hearing these words, Zhao Xiaoqian was stunned for a moment, and Zhao Ji next to him had red eyes for some reason.

When Zhao Xu said this to the prince just after he was born, it was equivalent to putting Zhao Xiaoqian in the position of "minister of state and assistant". What a trust and entrustment.

But when Zhao Xu said this, he completely ignored Zhao Ji next to him, as if he didn't exist, and didn't mention him at all.

Of course, in terms of weight and achievements in the Song Dynasty, Zhao Ji really cannot compare with Zhao Xiaoqian.

Zhao Ji was just a direct descendant who had just reached adulthood. Apart from his status, he had no achievements to show for it. In the eyes of Zhao Xu and all the civil and military officials in the court, Zhao Ji was just a literati who was obsessed with reading and painting.

Such literati may be excellent, but there are too many such excellent literati in the Song Dynasty. Even in this group, Zhao Ji is not the best.

(End of this chapter)