In the fourth year of Zhengde, the emperor's two princes could already walk. Zhu Houzhao was very worried about premature death, so he had a lot of trouble with Dr. Tan.
Since then, none of the concubines in the harem have given birth to a son or a daughter.
Mainly the people who entered the palace, including Queen Xia and Concubine Shu, were all very young. Even now, they were only sixteen or seventeen years old. In the second year of Zhengde's reign, Huaixiao and Huaiyan gave birth to a baby, which shocked him into a cold sweat, so he no longer wanted them to give birth at a particularly young age.
Anyway, they don't know the concept of ovulation. Zhu Houzhao knows it and will avoid it intentionally. Anyway, there won't be any problem if they don't go there for a while.
He also did not look down on Queen Xia one bit because of the issue of the heir.
Now that the child is still young, the atmosphere in the palace is not bad.
Of course, the Mei Mansion suddenly became rich because of the two princes. Wealth and honor are two different concepts. Previously, the Mei Mansion was only rich, but now it is noble.
In October of the second year of Zhengde, Mei Kejia changed his identity and was named Ping Haibo.
Later, during the Great Court Meeting in the third year of Zhengde, the imperial court made adjustments to some of its institutions. The main reason is that the Shaofu Order separated from the Household Department and became an independent "Seventh Department".
The Ordnance Bureau was no longer under the Ministry of Industry, but was split into two, the Northern Ordnance Bureau and the Southern Ordnance Bureau. The Northern Ordnance Bureau is in the capital, and the Southern Ordnance Bureau is in Yingtian.
The original craftsmen were retained and some were diverted to Yingtian.
But this kind of reservation is just the name of the Ordnance Bureau. In fact, the interior has been completely changed, and it has now been restructured analogously to a shipyard.
Zhu Houzhao was clear-headed about this. He placed two bureau chiefs, who were the most senior officials of the imperial court, and the following were responsible for the affairs of factories and craftsmen.
In accordance with the principle of mutual competition, the imperial court would assign the task of manufacturing firearms to the North and South Ordnance Bureaus. After that, it’s a matter of seeing who has the most ability.
The director of the Northern Ordnance Bureau was Gongsun Bei, the former head of the Department of Civil Affairs of Yu Heng of the Ministry of Industry. In Yingtian's Southern Arms Bureau, Ping Haibo is in charge.
It has been almost a year since these two decrees were issued, and Zhu Houzhao has not yet had time to see them separately. The main thing about going to Jiangnan has not yet happened.
But judging from the reports from below, Ping Haibo has already introduced barbarian artillery and will install it on the ship. Unfortunately, the time is still short, and the specific power is not yet known.
Mei Kejia was a businessman, so he shouldn't have a big problem running another company-like Southern Arms Bureau.
People's desires continue to grow, and what he wants now is to take down Ping Haibo's plaque and replace it with Ping Haihou.
Mei Kejia's only son, Mei Huaigu, was like a pie in the sky. From a businessman's son, he became the emperor's brother-in-law and the eldest son of Pinghaibo Mansion.
But he, the eldest son of Uncle Ping Hai, had no choice but to deal with a person in the house that his father had brought back.
This afternoon,
Three strange men with dark skin and straw hats came to Pinghaibo's house and knocked on the door.
The gatekeeper thought their clothes were strange and looked slovenly, so he didn't want them to come in.
But I didn't expect that the man in front of me blurted out a name,
"Brother, is there a woman named Meng Ying in your house?"
This person's surname was not Mei, nor was Ping Haibo's concubine. At first, he thought he was a friend, but then Ping Haibo went to Hangzhou, and this woman still lived in the house.
Everyone in the house knew about this strange person.
The housekeeper didn't expect anyone outside to know.
"Who are you?"
"This is her father. Please inform me. Brother, don't worry. Please come out and take a look. We will wait here."
Snapped!
"Wait!"
The housekeeper closed the door, said these words, and then hurriedly ran to report to Mei Huaigu.
…
…
"Is it Ximai?"
"Back to Your Majesty. It's indeed a happy pulse." Doctor Tan said simply.
Zhu Houzhao looked up at Concubine Shu and saw that she was a little shy, but she still pursed her lips and smiled.
"Can you please ask the doctor to prescribe some prescriptions for the care of the fetus?"
"yes."
Dr. Tan went to write,
Zhu Houzhao went to help Concubine Shu to lie down half-lying, and said: "I am pregnant in ten months, and I have to work hard for the child for a while. From now on, what I eat and use must follow Doctor Tan's instructions. If it is not possible, you can go to Yongshou Palace often."
"Yes, I thank you for your concern."
"This is a big deal, can you report it to your mother?"
Queen Xia said from the side: "I'm married. The Queen Mother was particularly happy to hear this."
"Um."
As a royal family, you don't have to worry about pregnancy, childbirth, or raising a baby. Zhu Houzhao only needs to appease Concubine Shu's emotions.
So tonight, he came over and stayed overnight.
Concubine Shu also confessed,
"As my concubine is pregnant, she cannot serve Your Majesty."
"It's okay. I also knew that I should exercise restraint in the first three months."
"Three months later..." Concubine Shu raised her head, revealing her white and smooth shoulders, "I don't dare to do it. Besides, the queen sister is also anxious. Concubine Xian and Concubine Shun, if there is no movement in their stomachs for one day, they will I can’t feel at ease for a day.”
"oh……"
Thinking this way, Queen Xia must be under considerable psychological pressure.
"Your Majesty is willing to come and accompany me. I am very touched. But tonight, my sisters must be sore."
"I know." Zhu Houzhao stroked her back, "I'm very happy that you can think about each other like this. As for giving birth to a child, sooner or later. I'm not the kind of man who stares at his belly to see if there is any movement. "
He felt that Concubine Shu's delivery situation might be better because her buttocks were... plumper.
This was rarely seen in women’s figures in ancient times.
And her waist is also relatively slender, so she is said to be pregnant first. Even if you turn off the lights, everything else will be the same, but your body shape will still be different, and it’s inevitable that you won’t be able to control it sometimes.
Of course, this was just his own imagination, probably due to his physical condition.
The next day.
After the court incident, Zhu Houzhao took a few boxes of snacks to Kunning Palace.
He didn't let anyone make any noise, sneaked into the palace, and saw the beautiful Queen Xia combing her hair in front of the bronze mirror in distress, and she was obviously in a daze. Even the maid next to her was shocked when she saw Zhu Houzhao. For a moment, she didn't notice it.
"Shhh."
Zhu Houzhao put his index finger on his mouth and stretched out his hand. The palace maid understood and walked out quietly.
"Why."
Queen Xia sighed while minding her own business.
"Yue'er, send someone to Qianqing Palace to have a look. How many officials are waiting in the attendant's room?"
"What does Ya'er want from me?"
"Ah!" Queen Xia was startled by the sudden voice. She quickly stood up and was about to salute in a panic.
"My concubine...I haven't greeted you yet..."
"Okay. Get up."
Zhu Houzhao took her hand and pulled such a soft body into his arms, "Between husband and wife, don't care so much."
"His Majesty……"
"Don't be shy, everyone is out."
"But it's still daytime."
"If it doesn't happen in the daytime, I will make the queen happy as soon as possible."
Perhaps because her thoughts were revealed, Queen Xia blushed a little. The relationship between them is much better now, and it is not as official as before. "I... I just think that Zai Tao and Zai Yi are both so cute."
"Aren't you afraid of giving birth?"
"With Your Majesty, I have nothing to fear."
The women in the palace were more energetic than the other, like Concubine Xian, who knew that the two noblemen had gotten pregnant after drinking wine, so she prepared wine every time the emperor went there.
Zhu Houzhao didn't know it once or twice, but if he did it more times, he would find that it was done deliberately.
…
…
At this time, in Qianqing Palace, Mei Huaigu came in with someone and handed a note, but did not find the emperor.
"It's not a coincidence today. It's still early and His Majesty is not here."
In the attendant's room, Jin Gui came out and said: "If it is an important matter, it is better to wait. As for your Majesty...it is originally a happy event, and the prince will also know about it."
"What's the matter?" Mei Huaigu really didn't know.
"My concubine is happy. Otherwise, why wouldn't Your Majesty be here?"
"Then will His Majesty come again?"
"Is it really important?"
"Yeah!" Mei Huaigu thought to herself that she is not my sister anyway, and nodded firmly.
Jin Gui thought about it and realized that this was going to be difficult. It's not good to disturb the emperor or delay things. After weighing everything, he still felt that he should report it, but he couldn't go to the harem, so he could only ask the internal officials to find Eunuch Liu, and then let Eunuch Liu go and talk to His Majesty.
"Your Majesty, wait a moment."
Mei Huaigu nodded, then led Meng Ying and her father into the room, "Follow me, don't look or walk around."
(End of chapter)
