Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5062: Concubine is Pregnant
Wang De hesitated for a moment, and seeing that Li Chengqian looked unhappy, he quickly said, "Your Majesty, Concubine Shen suddenly felt unwell just now, and called the imperial physician from the Imperial Hospital to treat her. The imperial physician said...said..."

Li Chengqian frowned and shouted, "What do you think this place is? If you have something to say, just say it openly. Why are you hesitating like this? Are you trying to hide something from you, my dear ministers? I am open and aboveboard, and there is nothing I cannot tell others!"

I'm almost angry. Now is the time for you to show your openness and selflessness to all the ministers. Why are you hesitating to speak? Are you trying to chase me away?

Wang De quickly lowered his head and spoke faster: "The imperial physician said that Concubine Shen is pregnant."

Li Chengqian was stunned.

Fang Jun, Li Ji, Liu Li, and Li Yuanjia quickly stood up and bowed to the ground: "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! The prosperity of Your Majesty's bloodline is a blessing for the empire, the country, and the people!"

Li Chengqian was overjoyed, but also a little embarrassed.

Throughout the ages, any wealthy family has always valued the prosperity of their descendants. Having someone to carry on the family business is the sign of a prosperous family.

If an emperor has difficulty in having children, no matter how wise and powerful he is, he will not be well regarded. But Li Chengqian is in his prime and has only two sons...

But in the end, he was still happier, waving his hands with a smile on his face: "Congratulations, haha!"

Then he looked at Wang De and asked, "Can you tell whether the imperial physician is a man or a woman?"

"The imperial physician said that judging from the pulse, it's a little prince, but Concubine Shen has been pregnant for a short time, so her pulse is not accurate. We need to wait a few more days for a follow-up visit before we can make a final conclusion."

Li Chengqian became even happier, as more children mean more blessings.

"Wait for me to give generous rewards to Concubine Shen's inner chambers and palace maids, and at the same time instruct them to do their duties wholeheartedly and not to neglect them!"

"Here!"

"You go first. I will go to Concubine Shen later."

"Here!"

When Wang De walked out, several ministers congratulated him again. It would be a happy event in an ordinary family, let alone in the royal family?
Li Chengqian couldn't help but be delighted.

……

The emperor and his ministers discussed some state affairs for another half an hour. Everyone knew that His Majesty was eager to go to Concubine Shen, so they all stood up and said goodbye.

Li Chengqian did not try to keep her and went to the harem first.

After Liu Ji returned to the Secretariat, Fang Jun, Li Ji and Li Yuanjia left the palace together. Li Yuanjia was in a hurry to return to the Zongzheng Temple so he went ahead, leaving Fang Jun and Li Ji standing side by side at Chengtian Gate.

The magnificent city tower stands behind him, with guard rooms on both sides for people to rest while waiting to go to court. In front is the cross street, which passes through the imperial city from near to far. Further away is the towering Suzaku Gate city tower, which is spacious and majestic.

Li Ji put his hands behind his back, looked at the soldiers leading horses in the distance, and whispered: "Concubine Shen is pregnant, you have to be careful."

He paused, and said in a tone of confusion and complaint: "You are so willful. We, the ministers, only need to be loyal to Your Majesty. We can enjoy wealth and power with our merits. Why do we need to do such a thing as 'hoarding rare goods'?"

This is what he most cannot understand about Fang Jun.

With Fang Jun's family background and his own abilities and achievements, he would have stood firmly at the center of power in the Tang Empire no matter who became emperor. Why would he take the huge risk of participating in the fight for the throne?

During the reign of Emperor Taizong, Fang Jun was the most important "princeling party" in the court. Even when Emperor Taizong wanted to change the crown prince several times, he always stood by Li Chengqian and made sure that Li Chengqian could ascend the throne smoothly. Even now, Fang Jun is still the most important "princeling party" and supports Crown Prince Li Xiang with all his might, even though Li Chengqian did not like him very much and even wanted to "sacrifice" the crown prince during Li Shenfu's mutiny...

The Tang Dynasty has only been passed down for three generations since its founding. Except for the founding emperor, the other two generations have experienced mutinies and wars, which shows how dangerous the inheritance of the Tang Dynasty throne was.

Why get involved?
Fang Jun also sighed: "Emperor Taizong set an example by changing the 'family succession' that had existed for thousands of years, and his descendants will naturally follow suit. As long as the two systems of the Grand Council and the Political Affairs Hall are maintained, it doesn't really matter who the emperor is. But human desires are insatiable. If the succession of the throne is always accompanied by bloodshed, the vitality of the empire will be exhausted in repeated mutinies and turmoil. How can we be willing to see our lifelong efforts go to waste?"

Since Emperor Taizong usurped the throne through the "Xuanwu Gate Incident", he set a benchmark and an example for his descendants. What can the eldest son do?
The throne of the Tang Dynasty belongs to the one with the strongest army and powerful soldiers!
If you break the rules, you will have to bear the consequences.

However, you, the Li family, have broken the rules of orderly inheritance and clan succession. Why should the people of the world bear the consequences?

Therefore, he supported the eldest son Li Chengqian in the beginning and now supports the eldest son Li Xiang in order to eliminate the bad consequences sown by Emperor Taizong and turn back the inheritance that had gone astray.

No matter whether the eldest son is stupid or absurd, he only needs to be worshipped high up as a symbol of "the common ruler of the world", and the specific affairs of the country can be handled by the ministers.

There is the State Council for government affairs and the Grand Council for military affairs. The perfect system is sufficient to ensure the smooth operation of the country. How can the policies formulated by several top figures of the time not be more perfect and reasonable than the decisions made by the emperor alone?

If things continue like this, maybe the "cabinet system" will be established in advance, and the emperor can just stay in the palace to have children, and the ministers will take care of the government affairs...

Li Ji pondered for a while, then looked up at the magnificent Suzaku Street and said, "Young people are formidable. At least in terms of vision, I am still not as good as you."

Fang Jun said with a smile: "Mr. Ying, there is no need to belittle yourself... There are many things you are not as good as, such as reciting poems and composing essays, and not getting drunk after drinking a thousand cups..."

Li Ji smiled and said, "For example, 'good princess'? Haha, young people should be careful about sex. Everything should have a limit. Be careful."

After saying this, he took the reins handed to him by his personal guard, mounted his horse, and slowly left surrounded by his personal guards.

With his authority and status, it was no problem for him to ride a horse in the imperial city, but he couldn't gallop like Fang Jun. He was too arrogant and domineering...

Fang Jun watched Li Ji leave, then looked at a maid walking quickly towards him in the distance and recognized her as Princess Baling's confidant.

The maid came closer and bowed, "My prince has important business to attend to. He wants to see the Duke of Yue."

Fang Jun nodded: "Lead the way."

"Here!"

……

In the early morning, Princess Baling had a big quarrel with Chai Lingwu.

When Chai Lingwu suggested that she come forward to plead with Fang Junzhi, Princess Baling became furious and angry.

In order to rescue the Chai brothers, she had to sneak into Fang Jun's tent at night, and it has come to this point today. Regardless of whether she has any regrets, her innocent reputation has been completely ruined. If she was willing, she would have accepted it. But as a princess, she has to offer herself to others to play with for the sake of her husband and uncle. It is really too much!

Chai Lingwu then told Chai Zhewei what he had said, and that he only needed to ask His Majesty to pardon Chai Zhewei's crime, and all the properties of the Duke of Qiao's Mansion would be given to their second branch...

……

On the bank of Fengshui River, there is Caotang Temple.

This place was originally Xiaoyao Garden built by Yao Xing, the emperor of the Later Qin Dynasty. Later, eminent monks from the Western Regions were invited to translate Buddhist scriptures in a thatched hall and then a temple was built, hence the name.

Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Caotang Temple was separated to become an independent entity, and the remaining buildings were renovated and turned into a royal garden.

Famous for its warm soup.

Warm water is introduced into the stone bathing pool through bamboo pipes. Even in summer, it is surrounded by mist and feels like being in a fairyland. The surrounding environment is quiet and peaceful with clusters of flowers and trees.

The two played in the pool for a while, and when they were exhausted, they sat on the wooden floor by the pool, eating cakes, drinking chilled wine, and chatting casually.

Perhaps it was because of this kind of environment that Princess Baling felt shy and embarrassed. She wrapped herself tightly in a white bathrobe, not realizing that this exposed her curves even more. Her feet, which were exposed from under the hem of her dress, were delicate, white, and rosy...

"It's fine if Chai Zhewei says so, but Chai Lingwu actually said so too?"

Fang Jun was quite surprised to hear Princess Baling recounting the quarrel at home that morning with resentment.

Princess Baling blushed and snorted, "You only care about your family business. If I were not a princess, why would you care about my life or death?"

Fang Jun took a sip of wine, which was cool and refreshing. He exhaled comfortably and asked with a smile, "What is your attitude?"

Princess Baling thought for a moment and said cautiously, "I don't know how much this matter involves. If it's difficult to handle, then so be it. But if it can be done, please lend a hand."

In the final analysis, she still felt guilty...

Fang Jun raised his eyebrows: "Is this the attitude of your Highness when asking for help?"

Princess Baling blushed and said angrily, "Isn't it enough that I just had such an attitude?"

"Haha, I thought Your Highness liked that... ahem!"

Catching the fist that was hammering at him, Fang Jun said seriously, "If it was before, I would have told His Highness to give up this idea. The reason why I didn't execute Chai Zhewei and his entire family was not only because of His Majesty's leniency, but also because of Princess Pingyang's old relationship with him. Otherwise, do you think Chai Zhewei could sneak back to Chang'an? But now there is a chance."

"what chance?"

"I was discussing matters in the imperial study this morning, and happened to learn that Concubine Shen was pregnant. Your Majesty was very happy. In the past six months, Your Majesty has been very fond of Concubine Shen. If she can give birth to a son, Your Majesty might grant amnesty to the whole country. Although treason is not included in the amnesty, if someone advises you, perhaps Your Majesty will agree."

Princess Baling was stunned for a moment, then she picked up the glass and put it to her lips and took a sip. The amber color of the wine matched her bright red lips and snow-white skin, which complemented each other perfectly.

Fang Jun found it pleasing to the eye and could not help but admire the excellent genes of Emperor Li II. His sons were all handsome and talented, and his women were all beautiful and graceful.

So it's not really his fault that he was slandered as a "good princess" in some way...

Princess Baling put down her glass and sighed, "As far as I know, Your Majesty has not slept in the Queen's palace for a long time. Whenever he feels like it, he goes to Concubine Shen's place. Now that Concubine Shen is pregnant, the Queen is even more indifferent to her. If Concubine Shen gives birth to a child, I'm afraid even the Crown Prince's position will be unstable."