The prince is more stable

Chapter 594 The Crown Prince is overjoyed
The news came so suddenly that Zhao Xiaoqian was completely unprepared.

He gently stroked her small belly, feeling uncertainly. He couldn't feel anything, but he seemed to sense the beating frequency of a small life in his mind, which gradually overlapped with his heartbeat.

The profound resonance from their bloodline moved Zhao Xiaoqian so much that his eyes welled up with tears.

"Is...is she really pregnant? Are you sure?" Zhao Xiaoqian's voice trembled slightly.

Niao Niao smiled through her tears, nodding and shaking her head.

"I am a woman, so I can sense it, but I haven't had a doctor check my pulse yet, so it's probably correct."

Zhao Xiaoqian pursed his lips, then suddenly shouted, "Chen Shou!"

Chen Shou appeared in a flash.

"Quickly, go find the most famous doctor in the city, hurry!" Zhao Xiaoqian shouted.

Chen Shou glanced at the excited Zhao Xiaoqian and Niaoniao with surprise, but dared not ask any more questions, and turned to run away.

Half an hour later, the doctor was invited and sat opposite Niao Niao.

The doctor placed three fingers on her slender wrist, took her pulse for only a moment, then withdrew his hand, stroked his beard, and smiled.

"Her pulse is like a slippery bead, constantly flowing; it's been about two months since your period last came, hasn't it?"

Niao Niao nodded shyly.

The doctor rose and bowed deeply to Zhao Xiaoqian: "Congratulations, Your Highness, your wife is pregnant."

The doctor's decisive diagnosis was like a thunderclap, shaking the entire Prince's mansion.

Chen Shou and the servants of the Prince's Mansion, who were standing outside the hall, were stunned. After they came to their senses, they were overjoyed. Chen Shou took the lead and bowed to the two of them.

"Congratulations, Your Highness! Congratulations, Madam!" Chen Shou said with delight. "Your Highness, the old prince of Bianjing has long hoped for you to have an heir. This joyous news must be sent to Bianjing by fast horse to inform the old prince."

Zhao Xiaoqian laughed loudly, "Absolutely! Commander Chen, immediately send someone to deliver the good news to my father and my mother in Fanglin Garden."

"Yes!" Chen Shouxing rushed out.

“My lord…” Niao Niao tightly gripped Zhao Xiaoqian’s arm and wept with joy.

After the doctor prescribed a medicine to nourish the fetus and calm the mind for Niao Niao, Zhao Xiaoqian generously rewarded the doctor with ten taels of silver. The doctor thanked him profusely and took his leave.

Having been in this world for several years, Zhao Xiaoqian was overjoyed to finally have offspring. He had never been so happy, not even when he annihilated 80,000 Liao soldiers.

"Niao Niao, take good care of yourself and keep a happy mood at all times. Never get angry easily, and never do strenuous exercise. I've heard that a fetus less than three months after implantation is the most vulnerable. Your belly carries the hopes of my Chu royal family, so please be careful," Zhao Xiaoqian nagged incessantly.

Supporting Niao Niao with both hands, Zhao Xiaoqian's expression was unusually tense, as if he were holding a priceless treasure. He carefully helped Niao Niao back to her bedroom and onto her bed.

The two Japanese sisters also heard that Niao Niao was pregnant, and they stood in front of the bed looking at her with envy.

"Don't worry, my lord, we sisters will take good care of our elder sister," the two sisters declared.

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded, affectionately ruffled their hair, and smiled, "Don't worry, it will happen sooner or later. I also hope that you can conceive my child."

The two sisters immediately showed expressions of determination and hard work, and Zhao Xiaoqian felt a chill run down his spine, realizing that something was wrong.

“You two don’t need to be so stubborn. Killing the goose that lays the golden eggs is not a good idea. If you exhaust the ox, your land will be left uncultivated,” Zhao Xiaoqian advised earnestly.

Lying on the bed, Niao Niao chuckled, rolled her eyes at him, then took her sisters' hands and said with a smile, "I can't serve you these days, so don't neglect them. Let's try to get them pregnant before your sister arrives..."

Zhao Xiaoqian was taken aback: "What sister?"

Niao Niao covered her mouth and laughed, "When the news of my pregnancy reaches Bianjing, will our Princess Consort still be able to sit still?"

"You mean, Di Ying will come to Zhen Ding City?"

"That's for sure. The master has six women. If none of them are pregnant, that's fine. But if even one of them is pregnant, the Princess Consort will be extremely anxious. She'll pack her bags and set off the day after she hears the news."

Zhao Xiaoqian asked with skepticism, "Is it really that serious?"

She smiled and said, "I am a woman, and only women understand women. If you don't believe me, just wait and see. In ten days or half a month, my sister will definitely arrive in Zhen Ding City."

As she spoke, she gave him a mischievous look and said, "While you have some free time these next few days, my lord, you might as well nourish yourself. Once I arrive in Zhen Ding City, my lord will be working very hard. He will probably be drained dry. I feel sorry for you, but I can only watch you suffer..."

Zhao Xiaoqian was stunned for a long time, then said angrily, "How dare she! Does she really think of me as breeding livestock? I'm going to report her to the authorities!"

After settling Niao Niao in, Zhao Xiaoqian ordered several experienced middle-aged women from the city to serve him before leaving the room and walking alone in the peach grove in the backyard.

A moment later, a roar that had been suppressed for a long time finally erupted from the peach grove.

"Ancestors above, your son and grandson are overjoyed today! Of the six wives I've married, one of them is finally able to lay an egg!"

…………

The good news from the Prince's residence spread very quickly. The doctor took his pulse in the morning, and the news reached the government office by noon, becoming common knowledge.

In the afternoon, Zhao Xiaoqian appeared at the government office with a happy expression. He was greeted by officials and servants alike who all offered their congratulations.

Zhao Xiaoqian's laughter never stopped; he laughed all the way.

Upon entering the main hall, while Li Qingchen and the others were still present, Zhao Xiaoqian waved his hand.

Today, His Highness the Prince has booked the most expensive restaurant in the city and is treating all the officials and servants of the government office to a lavish meal, with Young Master Zhao paying the bill.

That evening, the restaurants in Zhen Ding City were brightly lit and decorated. The officials of the government office ate and drank heartily, and Zhao Xiaoqian received congratulations from all directions, his eyes crinkling with laughter.

During the meal, Li Qingchen, slightly drunk, told Zhao Xiaoqian, based on his own experience, that although it was a joyous occasion that his wife was having an heir, she was not his legal wife after all, and some things needed to be arranged in advance.

Wealthy families and prominent households place great importance on the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children. In order to ensure harmony among future generations and brothers, Zhao Xiaoqian should establish rules as soon as possible and determine the difference in treatment between legitimate and illegitimate sons. A wealthy family without rules is prone to chaos.

Especially for the lineage of the King of Chu, Zhao Xiaoqian is both a member of the royal family and a powerful minister. It is even more important to establish rules in the family early on. Without rules, there can be no order, and this may sow the seeds of future problems.

You should listen to the advice of those who have been through it all, but while he listened, Zhao Xiaoqian didn't take these rules seriously.

A modern man from a thousand years in the future has no concept of legitimate or illegitimate children. He sees no difference between children born to his wife and those born to his concubines; they are all his own flesh and blood. Except for having to choose one of his children as his heir, he treats all his other children equally.

…………

The Liao Kingdom came to the capital.

Yelü Hongji is having an unlucky year, having offended Tai Sui.

In the past year or two, bad news has come one after another, almost without stopping, and each piece of bad news is more devastating than the last, all of which are extremely damaging to the foundation of the country.

After his previous three-pronged attack on the Song Dynasty ended in defeat, Yelü Hongji finally behaved himself.

He had come to understand that the Liao Kingdom was now in decline, and that the decline of a country was something that could not be reversed by human effort unless the ruler had great perseverance and determination to eliminate the deep-seated problems and reform the country to make it stronger.

It is not enough for a ruler to have determination; he must also have a large number of capable and loyal ministers who faithfully carry out his orders and make personal sacrifices and contributions to save the collapsing empire.

The cost of such a move is enormous. Throughout history, countless emperors and ministers have tried to reverse the decline and revive the dynasty, but only a very few have succeeded.

Yelü Hongji is now in such a predicament.

He was well aware that the Liao Dynasty was gradually declining, and he had considered reforming the Liao Dynasty by following the example of the Song Dynasty.

Unfortunately, the reforms of the Song Dynasty were fraught with difficulties and problems. When the Liao Dynasty tried to imitate and replicate them, the final result could only be a greater failure than that of the Song Dynasty.

What is even more heartbreaking is that even if Yelü Hongji wanted to emulate the reforms of the Song Dynasty, he had no clue what to do. The national conditions were different. The Liao Dynasty itself was developed from a nomadic people. After the reforms touched the interests of too many people, the Liao people were not as docile as the Song people. They could easily be forced to rebel.

After the defeat, Yelü Hongji repeatedly summoned Xiao Wuna to the palace. The two tried to draft a reform plan, but eventually found that even the reform plan was extremely complicated. The emperor and his minister wanted to restore the Liao Dynasty to its former glory, but they dared not touch the interests of the established powers.

Hesitant and caught in a dilemma, Yelü Hongji and Xiao Wuna discussed the matter for many days before finally becoming disheartened.

He realized that he could no longer save this country.

Half a month after the Liao army's defeat, Yelü Hongji issued an imperial edict in front of all the civil and military officials.

The emperor appointed his grandson, Yelü Yanxi, to oversee the state affairs and government, granting him the power to make decisions.

From this point onward, the Liao Dynasty began the transitional phase of the handover between the old and new monarchical regimes.

Yelü Hongji had no choice but to hand over the reins.

He was over sixty years old, too old to have the courage and determination to change the declining state of the Liao Dynasty.

Instead of doing that, it would be better to hand over power to the next generation and let the young monarch try new methods, which might extend the Liao dynasty's reign by a few more years.

Just as Yelü Hongji was preparing to relinquish his responsibilities during this transitional period, he received more bad news.

Princess Yelü Nanxian, a daughter of the Liao royal family and newly conferred the title of Princess Cheng'an, was abducted by the Song Dynasty's Dragon Guard on her way to marry into the Western Xia.

The entire wedding procession and Yelü Nanxian herself fell into the hands of the Song army. Yelü Nanxian was taken into the Song camp, her situation unknown.

Upon hearing this news, Yelü Hongji was so angry he almost vomited blood. His teeth were clenched so tightly that they cracked, and his eyes were filled with extreme resentment.

The decision to establish a marriage alliance with the Western Xia was made by the Liao Dynasty after its military defeat. With the Song Dynasty strong and the Liao Dynasty weak, the Liao Dynasty could only seek allies to band together for warmth, and the marriage alliance was just one of the forms of the alliance between the two countries.

However, the idea of ​​forming an alliance was cut off and destroyed by Zhao Xiaoqian as soon as it took shape.

This Zhao Xiaoqian seemed to be born to be the nemesis of the Liao Kingdom, and the decline of the Liao Kingdom was all caused by him.

"Sending envoys to Song! I condemn the shameless act of the Song state! They even dared to kidnap my princess! Zhao Xiaoqian, that scoundrel, has no law or order!" Yelü Hongji roared in fury.

(End of this chapter)