Do you know: I am Qi Heng

Qi Heng opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't speak. He stood there for a while before following after them.

While having dinner at Shou'an Hall, he seemed distracted. Old Madam Sheng thought the food wasn't to his liking and asked him a few questions out of concern.

After the meal, Qi Heng did not chat with Old Madam Sheng for a while as usual, but instead said goodbye and left.

"Young master, are you alright?"

Noticing that Qi Heng's expression was somewhat off, she inquired about it.

"It's okay, I'm just a little tired, I'll take a nap first!"

Qi Heng went straight into the inner room, lay down fully clothed, put his hands behind his head, and seemed lost in thought.

He carefully recalled the events after his rebirth and realized that he had not truly integrated into this era.

Although he accepted it in his heart, he still maintained a carefree attitude towards life.

Minglan was right. When Molan asked him for help to participate in the polo match, he didn't take it seriously at all.

I only had a sudden thought after Princess Pingning mentioned it a few days ago, and I asked for the invitation.

He was also bored and wanted to incite a fight between Mo Lan and Ru Lan for some amusement.

Subconsciously, I didn't take this matter to heart at all, and I didn't consider what the consequences might be.

Because he knew that something similar had happened in the original drama.

However, he overlooked the fact that the same thing can have different results at different times and under different circumstances.

He wouldn't care about the different results caused by his existence.

However, if his actions, especially his deliberate ones, lead to irreversible consequences, he will feel uneasy.

If Mo Lan were to scratch Ru Lan's face, resulting in Ru Lan's disfigurement, it would be tantamount to ruining her life.

Qi Heng didn't dwell on it too much. This incident made him understand some things and also made him face his own mindset.

The memories of two lifetimes and his noble status left him feeling empty inside.

That inner emptiness made him try to fill it with all sorts of things, but he always lacked a sense of direction for the future.

After satisfying their material needs, people always want to pursue other things in life.

Qi Heng is currently in a situation where he doesn't need to worry about material things, but he hasn't found his direction spiritually.

What he needs to do now is find a direction for spiritual fulfillment.

From that day on, Qi Heng seemed unchanged, still wearing a warm smile and treating people kindly.

In his spare time, he would either ponder alone or stroll around Bianjing City with Buwei.

Sometimes, he would even go out of the city to stroll around the vicinity of Bianjing.

Time flies, and before we knew it, it was late autumn. The weather was getting colder and colder every day.

Bianjing may seem unchanged, but the eyes of the powerful and wealthy in the capital are all focused on the imperial palace.

Since Empress Cao became pregnant, the court seemed to have calmed down, but everyone was waiting.

Now, the due date is getting closer, and the results are getting closer too.

Empress Cao confirmed her pregnancy around three months into her pregnancy, but the actual time of conception should be about a month earlier.

Judging by the timeline, she will likely give birth around the Lunar New Year.

As the days passed, and with only a few days left until the New Year, news finally came from the palace that Empress Cao had given birth to a prince.

This news caused even more excitement in Bianjing, which was already filled with joy because of the upcoming New Year.

From royalty and nobility to ordinary people, everyone was delighted by this news.

For the officials, regardless of their inner thoughts, the fact that the emperor had a son and the Zhou dynasty had an heir was something to be happy and celebrate.

Even if they had other thoughts, they dared not reveal them.

For ordinary people, the birth of a son in the government is such a joyous occasion that it not only leads to a general amnesty but may also exempt them from corvée labor and reduce taxes.

The residence of the Marquis of Xiangyang.

Qi Heng and his parents came over today to give gifts. They had just finished lunch and were chatting.

Upon learning that Empress Cao had given birth to a prince, Princess Pingning did not linger. After saying goodbye, the family hurriedly returned home.

After arriving home, she changed her clothes and rushed off to the palace.

Qi Heng returned to his courtyard and looked around the wooden house by the bamboo grove, but did not see any bamboo shoots.

"Young master, the bamboo shoots are in the hall," Lian Qiao said.

Upon hearing this, Qi Heng entered the hall and indeed saw Zhusun eating bamboo shoots on the carpet.

Upon seeing him enter, the bamboo shoot paused for a moment before dropping the shoot and running towards him.

"Okay, you don't have to be so enthusiastic every time."

Qi Heng looked at the bamboo shoot clinging to his leg, somewhat speechless.

However, the bamboo shoot wouldn't loosen up, so he had no choice but to squat down and play with it for a while before the bamboo shoot let him go and ran back to eating bamboo shoots.

Actually, giant pandas are quite easy to raise.

Since they're not artificially bred, it's not that complicated.

He usually spends most of his time eating and sleeping; he's incredibly lazy.

Every time Qi Heng comes back, it insists on playing with him for a while before it will let him go.

It's clingy, but if you play with it for a while, it will stop fussing.

It's not that it's not clingy, but it won't do anything if you don't spend time with it.

Qi Heng returned to his study and began to ponder.

Empress Cao's successful delivery of a son relieved him considerably.

However, we cannot be completely at ease now, after all, the Emperor has already lost several princes.

Although he knew there was nothing wrong with it, he couldn't help but think about it using conspiracy theories.

The official family actually has quite a few offspring; to date, they have more than twenty children in total.

Unfortunately, most of them died young; not a single prince survived, and only four princesses grew to adulthood.

But at least some princesses manage to grow up, while princes die young, with the oldest only living to be two or three years old. It's hard not to have some concerns.

However, the authorities couldn't possibly not be suspicious of such a matter, and they must have conducted an investigation.

Since nothing happened, it means it was just a coincidence and no one did anything wrong.

That's actually normal. If someone were to rig things, that person would have a very high chance of inheriting the throne.

Judging from the previous pressure from officials to the emperor to adopt an heir, no one in the imperial clan held an absolute advantage.

In this situation, who would be foolish enough to take such a big risk to do this?

If we disregard all possible factors, whatever remains, however coincidental, can only be the truth.

Not only the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but also many members of the imperial clan had few children.

Prince Yan is one such example; the fact that he was still chosen is largely because his situation is quite common among the royal family.

Prince Yong, with his many offspring, was considered an anomaly within the entire royal family of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

It can only be said that there is a problem with the royal genes.

Therefore, whether the young prince will be able to grow up to be an adult is still unknown.

Princess Pingning returned in the evening. During dinner, Qi Heng heard a lot about the situation in the palace from his mother.

After Empress Cao gave birth to the emperor's son, the emperor was overjoyed and bestowed gifts upon everyone in the palace.

The emperor even wanted to posthumously confer the title of king upon Empress Cao's father, but he abandoned the idea after being dissuaded by Empress Cao.

Although Empress Cao's father had passed away, the Great Zhou Dynasty did not easily grant titles to even members of the imperial family, let alone those from other clans.

After discussing matters in the palace, Princess Pingning suggested that Qi Heng return to the Imperial Academy to study after the New Year.

In the end, Qi Heng stalled him by saying that he would be taking the imperial examination after the New Year and that it was not advisable to make any changes at the moment.