A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

The third day after the results of the imperial examination were announced was Wei Xuan's first birthday.

There was no grand celebration, no invitation to all the officials. In a corner of the Imperial Garden, only a few simple family banquet tables were set up.

A warm breeze swept by, causing the willow branches by the pavilion to sway gently, and also dispelling some of the somber atmosphere that lingered over the capital due to the imperial examination and the Jingzhou Rebellion.

Wei Zhao sat in the main seat. Today, he was not wearing the white dragon robe that represented the supreme imperial power, but just an ordinary black casual dress. The sharpness between his brows was much more subdued, making him look more like a young head of an ordinary family.

To his left, Tuoba Yue held Wei Xuan, who had just turned one year old, her eyes filled with the tenderness of a new mother.

The little guy is well cared for; he's chubby and fair-skinned, with bright, dark eyes that curiously observe everything around him, showing no fear of strangers.

All nine ladies have arrived.

Liu Jingshuang's belly was already noticeably protruding. She sat there, her hand unconsciously stroking her abdomen. When her gaze fell on Wei Xuan, her usually cold eyes softened a bit.

Su Qingyun, Hua Jieyu, and Shang Wanqing sat together, chatting and laughing softly about interesting things happening in the manor. The atmosphere was unusually relaxed.

On the other side, Prince Xiao Heng and the old Prime Minister Li Huai accompanied them. Even Fang Fuyao, who was usually elusive, made an exception and attended today, sitting quietly in a corner with a cup of tea in her hand, seemingly lost in thought.

Halfway through the banquet, the palace servants brought out the items prepared for the "first birthday celebration" one by one.

A huge red cloth was spread on the ground, on which lay a small wooden sword, a jade seal, a thread-bound primer, a wolf-hair brush, a miniature horn bow, and a small, gleaming gold ingot.

Each item represents an expectation for the future.

The little guy had just learned to crawl and was still a bit clumsy, but he was very brave. He lay on the red cloth, first curiously looking at the wooden sword that gleamed with a cold light, then reaching out to touch the cold jade seal, and finally, his gaze fell on the ordinary calligraphy brush.

All eyes were on his small figure.

Su Qingyun gently nudged Hua Jieyu beside her and chuckled softly:

"Guess what he'll grab? I bet it'll be that gold ingot. This kid looks just like me, he's got good fortune."

Hua Jieyu covered her mouth and chuckled: "I think he would grab that sword. After all, he is His Majesty's own son, and he has a murderous aura in his bones."

Liu Jingshuang didn't speak, she just watched, her eyes showing a hint of nervousness that she herself didn't realize.

Amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd, Wei Xuan clumsily crawled two steps on the carpet, his little hands reaching over the gold ingots, dodging the small wooden sword, and finally, without hesitation, grabbing the wolf-hair brush from a row of objects.

He held it firmly, his little fists gripping the pen tightly. Then, as if he had received some treasure, he raised it high and giggled in Wei Zhao's direction, drool dripping down his chin.

The room fell silent, then burst into cheerful laughter.

"Holding the pen is good! Holding the pen is good!" Tuoba Yue was overjoyed and quickly hugged her son into her arms, kissed his chubby face, and her eyes reddened slightly.

Xie Daoning smiled gently and said, "It's good that you're holding the pen. It seems our Wei family is going to produce a literary star. You'll be a scholar in the future."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of her sisters-in-law all relaxed.

Hua Jieyu picked up the conversation, her tone a mix of teasing and sincerity:

"Scholars are the best, but they must never end up like their father, spending all their time brandishing swords and running off to the battlefield. I've had enough of that kind of life."

These words dampened the laughter at the table, but they also expressed the sentiments of all the sisters-in-law.

Liu Jingshuang stroked her swollen belly, looking at the little one waving a calligraphy brush in his mother's arms, a very faint smile on her face, the tenderness of a woman who was about to become a mother.

"Then let him be a prime minister during times of peace."

Her voice remained cool and clear, yet it carried an expectation for the future: "Have all the affairs of the court handled by His Majesty alone, so that His Majesty can have some peace of mind."

Wei Zhao watched this scene and listened to the ladies' words, a smile on his face.

He took Wei Xuan from Tuoba Yue's arms and lifted him high above his head.

The little one wasn't scared at all at first, seeing the world from such a high angle for the first time. Instead, he was so excited that he waved his arms and legs, his giggles as clear as silver bells.

Wei Zhao looked into his clear, unblemished eyes, in which he saw his own reflection, as well as the reflections of his nine elder brothers.

This is the first child of the next generation of the Wei family.

He suddenly spoke, his voice soft yet clearly reaching the ears of everyone present.

"You will never have to fight a war in your life."

He looked at the infant in his arms, as if making a most solemn promise.

"I fought all the battles for you."

This sentence, though seemingly simple, carries immense weight.

The cheerful atmosphere in the Imperial Garden instantly fell silent.

The smiles on the faces of the nine ladies froze.

They knew better than anyone how long a bloody road lay behind the phrase "fight the war to the end," how many lives were lost, and how it was a wound in each of their hearts that would never heal.

Tuoba Yue's tears welled up instantly. She quickly turned her head away, not wanting to taint this joyous day with sadness, but the tears just wouldn't stop.

Su Qingyun paused slightly in her teacup, causing ripples to spread across the tea inside.

Liu Jingshuang pressed her hand tightly against her lower abdomen. Inside her was another future for the Wei family.

More than anyone else, she hoped that her child could be born in a peaceful and prosperous era, just as His Majesty had said.

They all looked at Wei Zhao, at the baby in his arms who was still babbling, and were filled with mixed emotions.

The man before them was their uncle, the father of their children, and the emperor of Xinwu.

He shouldered the blood feud of the entire Wei family and the crumbling empire.

He is using his knife to carve a path to peace for his children and for their children.

Even if this path is paved with mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

As the banquet was about to end, Prince Xiao Heng, who had been silently drinking, suddenly stood up.

The old prince was still in good health, his white hair gleaming silver in the setting sun.

He picked up the glass of wine in front of him, which was almost overflowing, and looked at Wei Zhao without looking at anyone else.

"Your Majesty." His voice was loud and clear, carrying the air of the frontier desert.

All eyes were on him.

Xiao Heng raised his wine cup and said in a deep voice, "In my lifetime, I have seen three emperors."

Li Huai and Fang Fuyao both raised their heads.

"The first one is the late Emperor Yuanxi." There was no hatred in Xiao Heng's eyes, only the vicissitudes of someone who had been through it all. "He was a wise ruler, but unfortunately he was blinded by treacherous ministers like Lu Song, and in the end, he suffered the fate of losing his country and dying."

"The second one is Lu Song, who usurped the throne."

The old prince's lips curled into a sneer: "He was a foolish ruler who thought himself incredibly clever and manipulated power. In the end, he ruined the three-hundred-year-old Wei dynasty and made himself a laughingstock."

He paused here, his gaze sharp as he looked directly at Wei Zhao.

The entire Imperial Garden was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"The third one..."

Xiao Heng's voice became more solemn than ever before.

"...It's His Majesty."

He raised his glass to eyebrow level and spoke each word with conviction.

"Today, I do not wish Your Majesty a long life, nor do I wish the new Wu dynasty to be forever secure. I only hope that Your Majesty will not forget your original aspirations."

Wei Zhao stood up and met his gaze calmly.

Xiao Heng looked at him, at this young man who had single-handedly pulled the world back from the brink of collapse, and spoke the words he had kept in his heart for a long time.

"The world is not something that can be conquered and then it's over."

"It is something that must be preserved, generation after generation."

After saying that, he tilted his head back and drank the strong liquor in his glass in one gulp.

Wei Zhao looked at him, at this former prince of the previous dynasty, at the undisguised loyalty and expectation in his eyes, and felt no anger or resentment at being offended.

He knew that these were truly heartfelt words.

"Your Highness is right."

Wei Zhao also picked up his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.

"I have noted it down."