My elder sister forced me to become a concubine; I was reborn and remarried into the emperor's

More than a month has passed since Pei Ji returned to the capital. Although he no longer needs to go to the military camp every day, the matters he has to attend to after ascending the throne are no less than when he was in the army, and are even more complicated and tedious.

When a new emperor ascends the throne, he always needs his own trusted confidants. There are specific rules for who to promote and who to dismiss.

The process of drafting the memorials for bestowing titles and rewards, and taking the opportunity to purge the court of corrupt and incompetent officials, took a considerable amount of effort.

For Wei Nanxun, however, there was some anxiety and unease.

After all, she had only been in charge of a prince's mansion before, and there were only about a hundred people in the mansion. Not to mention how many palace servants there were in the imperial palace, her Kunning Palace alone had nearly a hundred people.

How can she possibly manage tens of thousands of people?

Pei Ji gently supported her waist to make her more comfortable, and then softly comforted her: "So what? You are the master, so you should delegate many things to your subordinates. If you have to manage everything, what's the point of keeping those people around?"

That makes sense. She couldn't possibly do everything herself in the Prince's mansion, so she delegated tasks to people like Lü Fu.

But she only had a few maids by her side. They were fine with managing the household's purchasing and cleaning affairs, but when it came to the palace, they all became timid and hid behind.

“Silly Yue, you are the Empress. You don’t need to think about subduing disobedient people. The servants who wait to serve you and be loyal to you could stretch from the palace to the border. As for those people who were left in the palace before, whoever they are, reward those who do well and dismiss those who do not. Do you have to worry about not having anyone to be loyal to you?”

Pei Ji also governed the previous dynasty in the same way. He never set his sights on anyone and didn't care who they had served before. As long as they were capable and didn't cross the line, like Zhang Jinchu, he was willing to give them important positions.

After being taught by Pei Ji, Wei Nanxun boldly gave it a try.

She appointed the former Grand Eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, and apart from replacing the palace servants serving in Kunning Palace, everything else remained the same as before.

She only needed to make decisions when necessary, and everything else would be taken care of, making her life even easier than when she was in the Prince's mansion.

Having adapted to the rhythm of life within the palace, Wei Nanxun settled down to focus on her pregnancy.

Wei Rongde not only regained his original official position, but is now also the father-in-law of the emperor. He was once again granted the Duke of Wei's mansion. However, Pei Ji disliked the previous mansion for its bad luck and chose a new site to rebuild the Duke of Wei's mansion.

Wei Rongxuan and others who had been exiled were also pardoned. Although the three brothers were not reinstated, their sons were allowed to participate in the imperial examinations.

As for Madam Wei and Lady Wang, they both passed away from illness just a few months after Wei Nanxun got married.

Wen and Li worked together in the summer weaving workshop and followed Wei Rongde in business. Their shop grew bigger and bigger, and they were no longer the weak women in the courtyard. They were now capable female managers.

Wei Nanxun was both delighted and proud of their changes, believing that women could step out of their homes and live out different lives.

On the contrary, she was restricted by the baby in her belly and could not go anywhere.

On August 20th, Pei Ji had just returned from the Imperial Study. Memorials arrived from many places in the west that had not seen rain for months and were suffering from famine. He had been discussing with his ministers for days how much grain and silver to send and who to send.

Strangely enough, everything was arranged, and the imperial envoys escorting the grain and disaster relief funds had received their orders and were ready to depart.

Suddenly, I received an urgent message saying that it had started raining in many places.

Pei Ji was about to return and tell Wei Nanxun about this unusual event. She was bored staying in the palace every day, so he would tell her about what was happening in the court.

He never believed that women should not be involved in politics; on the contrary, the position should be held by the most capable.

Unless a man is too insecure and afraid that a woman's talent will surpass his, why should there be a distinction between men and women?

Unexpectedly, she had already fallen asleep at this hour, and the candles in the hall had all gone out. She was about to go to the washroom to bathe and wash up when she heard a very soft humming sound coming from the bed.

Were you not asleep? Or were you woken up by him?

Pei Ji sensed something was wrong as soon as he went around the screen. Why was she still keeping her eyes closed and covered in sweat, as if she was very uncomfortable?

He immediately strode forward and woke her up, then heard her say in pain, "It hurts, Shouzhuo, it hurts so much..."

"Someone come here, the Empress is about to give birth."

At a single command, the entire palace, shrouded in darkness, was suddenly illuminated as if it were daytime.

The midwife rushed in, not even having time to put on her shoes, and touched her belly, whispering, "Your Majesty, when did you start feeling pain?"

Wei Nanxun was somewhat conscious now. Even someone as resilient to pain as her trembled slightly as she said, "No, I don't remember, I was asleep..."

To be able to sleep through labor pains takes real courage.

The old woman was about to say something when the young emperor glanced at her.

He said in a deep voice, "How is it?"

The old woman was so frightened that her knees buckled and she was about to kneel down when she hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please rest assured, Her Majesty is in good condition. Everything is prepared, and the imperial physicians are waiting outside. Please move outside the palace, Your Majesty, as Her Majesty needs to prepare to give birth."

Pei Ji's eyes darkened slightly: "I will stay here with the Empress."

Now the old woman was at a loss, fidgeting with her hands. Childbirth was traditionally considered unlucky, bringing bloodshed and misfortune, and men were expected to avoid it.

Moreover, he was the emperor, the supreme ruler.

Besides, with the emperor staring at them with a dark expression, she felt weak in the knees and couldn't possibly deliver the empress's baby properly.

Seeing the nannies hesitate, Wei Nanxun, despite the pain, held Pei Ji's hand.

"Shouzhuo, go outside. You go outside and wait..."

She had great difficulty speaking, and she would gasp for breath after saying just one word, which made the pain even more intense.

Seeing her pale face and her clothes soaked with sweat, as if she had been pulled out of the water, Pei Ji frowned and became even more worried.

“If you don’t leave, then I will not give birth.”

"If I don't want to have children, then I won't."

Pei Ji didn't care about having children, and he knew that childbirth was like going through the gates of hell for a woman. Seeing her in so much pain, he was even less willing to have children.

Wei Nanxun was furious with him. They were almost there, the baby was about to be born, and he was saying he didn't want to have the baby?!

Then all the suffering she endured for the past ten months was for nothing.

She knew he was worried about her, but she must look terrible right now, and even worse in a moment. She didn't want him to see her like that.

"If you don't leave, I... I'm not talking to you anymore..."

These words finally worked. Pei Ji knew her temper; when she got angry, she wasn't so easy to appease.

He had no choice but to get up, and before leaving, he said in a hoarse voice, "If anything happens to you, I'll make everyone pay with their lives."

"If you don't leave now, something really bad is going to happen to me!"

Wei Nanxun shouted with all her might, and Pei Ji then left, looking back every few steps.

As soon as they stepped out of the palace gates, Empress Dowager Jiang and Princess Li arrived, having already received the news. Wei Rongde was outside the palace and couldn't enter at this time. Princess Li, on the other hand, had been staying in the palace with Wei Nanxun since returning to the capital.

Seeing him come out with a dark expression, the two immediately surrounded him.

"How is it? Has it started?"

Pei Ji simply nodded, showing no inclination to speak, and stood silently on the veranda to the side without uttering a word.

Empress Dowager Jiang and Princess Li exchanged glances and tried to signal each other, but in the end, Princess Li gave in and went over to comfort him.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, the Empress's pregnancy is going very well. The imperial physicians and midwives are taking meticulous care of her every day, and they have all said that the delivery will be smooth. There will definitely be no problems."

Wei Nanxun has always respected Princess Li. When the border town was in trouble before, it was thanks to her staying by Wei Nanxun's side.

Pei Ji was also very polite to her, and gave a faint "hmm" in response.

He understood all these principles. He had been taking care of her health before she became pregnant, and since then, not only had Dr. You personally looked after her, but he had also been studying medical books. Even though he knew she would be fine and the pregnancy would proceed smoothly and safely.

But upon hearing her painful moans, he couldn't help but worry, wishing he could take her pain upon himself.

They endured this torment until dawn.

Wei Rongde had just woken up and, upon hearing the news, rushed over with Wei Heyu.

Seeing his son-in-law, who was none other than the emperor, standing guard outside the palace with a gloomy face, his expression also became solemn.

problem occurs?

He was most afraid of this, after all, Wei Nanxun's birth mother also had this problem because of childbirth, and some bad images immediately appeared in his mind.

“Ah Xun…my daughter…”

Wei Rongde rushed forward anxiously, about to knock on the palace door. Just then, the cry of a baby broke the somber atmosphere.

After a while, the palace doors were opened from the inside, and the midwife came out with a bright yellow swaddled baby on her face and said with a happy expression, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! The Empress has given birth to a little prince, and both mother and child are safe and sound."

Are mother and child safe?

Wei Rongde was a little confused. Wasn't it very dangerous?

He instinctively took the swaddling clothes from the nanny's hands, wanting to catch a glimpse of his little grandson, when he felt a gust of wind sweep past him.

The young and tall emperor had vanished without even a glance at the child.

Upon entering the hall, even with incense burning, one could still smell the pungent stench of blood.

Pei Ji quickly walked around the screen and saw Wei Nanxun leaning against the pillow. It seemed that the palace maids had helped her change her clothes and wipe her body. She looked pale, but her eyes were bright and spirited.

"How are you? Does it still hurt?"

Pei Ji held her hand and gently kissed the back of it, his eyes overflowing with tenderness.

The wet nurses and other servants around her were all newly transferred to serve her; they had only heard that His Majesty doted on the Empress.

Only now, upon seeing it for myself, do I realize that the emperors in the folk tales who sought to please their beauties were real people.

Wei Nanxun leaned against him and gently shook her head: "When I was giving birth just now, I really wanted to back out and not have any more children, but now that the baby is out, I feel energetic again. I could have another one right now."

That's utterly ridiculous.

Pei Ji reached out and gently tapped her forehead: "Are you hungry?"

Wei Nanxun nodded immediately, as if pounding garlic: "Hungry, I've been hungry for a long time. I want to eat glutinous rice balls, and I want them to be savory."

"Okay, both are available."

Their fingers intertwined, and even without speaking, just by snuggling together, no one else could get in.

"Have you seen the baby? I didn't even get a good look at him before the nanny took him out. Does he look like you or me?"

Pei Ji casually remarked, not really caring, "Like you."

He has never liked children. If she didn't want one, he could have adopted or had one taken in. Unless it looked like her, he wouldn't even bother to look at it.

Just then, Empress Dowager Jiang entered happily, holding the child in her arms, followed by two other elders who were also looking on expectantly.

"Your Majesty has truly worked hard. The little prince is exceptionally handsome; I have never seen such a beautiful child. His hair is thick and lustrous, and his face is fair and delicate. He is practically a carbon copy of Your Majesty. Duke of Wei, don't you agree?"

Wei Rongde's eyes were also a little moist. The little baby he once held in his arms was now a mother, having given birth to her child.

Yan Niang, do you see this? This is our little grandson.

His expression was excited, and his voice was choked with emotion: "Yes, she looks beautiful, exactly like Xun'er when she was born."