Spring arrives and the land smiles

The February spring breeze is like scissors, cutting out Qingyan's slender waist.

As the weather warmed up, Qingyan took off her heavy cotton-padded coat and put on a light jacket. Even her court dress felt much lighter, and she felt much more relaxed.

However, after the court session, Qingyan was stopped by Grand Tutor Cheng Yi, and her brows furrowed slightly.

"Your Majesty." Cheng Yi bowed to Qingyan, his expression neither arrogant nor humble, but refined and self-possessed.

Even before the late emperor, one should not kneel or bow; therefore, you should certainly show respect to this Grand Tutor.

"What business does the Grand Tutor have with me?" Qingyan nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

"Has Your Majesty reviewed my memorial from yesterday?" Cheng Yi asked directly.

Qingyan pursed her lips slightly, recalling the contents of Cheng Yi's memorial, which roughly stated:

Although the imperial heir is the foundation of the country, the maternal relatives of the emperor are a malignant tumor to the imperial heir. Luo Qing, the left vice president of the Imperial Medical Academy, has the merit of bringing good fortune to the emperor and is truly a chosen one who can be the father of the imperial heir.

"Grand Tutor, you oversee everything from heaven and earth to my bed. Your loyalty to the emperor is exemplary." Although Cheng Yi was sincere, Qingyan still wanted to tease him a bit.

As expected, Cheng Yi blushed.

Although this is a matter of state, it is, after all, an Empress. Discussing matters of the bedchamber with a woman requires a certain degree of humility.

Cheng Yi then said, "The succession to the throne is a matter of national destiny; I hope Your Majesty will reconsider."

Seeing Cheng Yi's serious expression, Qingyan chuckled and said, "Grand Tutor, don't worry. I'm not love-struck; I naturally prioritize state affairs."

"Love-obsessed?" Cheng Yi scratched his head. "What does that mean?"

Qingyan smiled and said, "It's not important, it's not important. The Grand Tutor only needs to know that I am definitely not a foolish ruler."

After saying that, Qingyan patted Cheng Yi on the shoulder and left briskly.

Cheng Yi is indeed a loyal minister; he thought the same way I did.

Back in her palace, Qingyan changed out of her court robes and into a light purple casual dress.

Suddenly, a person barged into the palace, emanating a chilling aura that made Qingyan shiver involuntarily.

"Qingqing."

Luo Qing quickly stepped forward and hugged Qing Yan, wishing he could embed her in his arms.

"Qingqing, I miss you so much." Luo Qing held Qingyan and kissed her.

"Mmm—" Qingyan pushed him away, but he was holding her too tightly, so she could only let go after he had kissed her enough.

Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that you're back. You were in the Immortal Doctor Valley for over a month without sending a single word back. I was worried for a long time. I heard from Qi Shen that you went back to the Immortal Doctor Valley to get medicine for me."

Luo Qing nodded: "The Fertility-Preserving Pill from Immortal Doctor Valley is my master's unique secret medicine. Although it takes a long time and a lot of effort, it does not harm the body and is perfect for helping with fertility."

"Grandma Yun has really worked hard; I don't know how to repay you." Qingyan, being a recluse, doesn't seek fame or fortune, and she was truly in a dilemma.

"I brought Master Qingqing's recipes for mango pomelo sago and bubble tea, and he was very happy," Luo Qing said with a smile.

Qing said, "In that case, I will write down more dessert recipes and send an imperial chef to make desserts for Granny Yun."

Luo Qing: "Great, Master will be very happy to receive it."

Now that Luo Qing has returned, Qingyan feels that the matter of having offspring should be discussed with everyone.

"Zhui'er, invite them all to the Jingxin Hall for dinner."

"Yes."

Inside a side hall of the Jingxin Hall.

Seven people sat around the table, which just filled one table.

"Jiaojiao invited us to lunch, is there something she wants to say?" Yunxuan, after all, was the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and his political acumen was much higher than that of others.

"Let's eat first, then we'll talk." Qingyan looked at everyone and casually put some food on Lan Zhen's plate.

"Is Jiaojiao afraid that we won't be able to eat after she finishes talking?" Yunxuan seemed to have become everyone's mouth-mouth substitute.

Having said all that, Qingyan had no choice but to put down her chopsticks and recount her meeting with Cheng Yi to everyone.

Everyone fell silent, even the usually domineering Lan Zhen didn't say a word.

“This matter concerns the foundation of the nation, I have no objection.” Ning Yuan was the first to speak.

"Me too." The second was Yunxuan.

Then, everyone looked at Lan Zhen.

"Why are you looking at me? This little ungrateful girl has been wary of me for a long time. If I weren't so devoted to her, I would have been driven crazy by her long ago."

"I... I have no objection either."

"Me too."

Finally, Qi Shen and Si Cheng made their statements.

With everything going so smoothly and everyone accepting it, Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief.

"In that case, the March Festival is in two days, which is just the right time for the Spring Hunt (the royal spring hunt, which is divided into: Spring Hunt, Summer Hunt, Autumn Hunt, and Winter Hunt). Luo Qing and I will find an excuse to leave the palace, and we'll come back once I get pregnant."

Everyone remained silent, except for Luo Qing, who nodded.

However, Lan Zhen wouldn't stop: "That Xiao Yan is mine tonight, and none of you are allowed to take her away."

Qingyan glared at him and pinched his thigh.

Lan Zhen grinned and held Qing Yan tightly, refusing to let go.

The following afternoon, Qingyan, supporting her aching back, left Lan Zhen's palace and returned to Jingxin Palace, where she cursed Lan Zhen through gritted teeth:

“Damn Lan Xiaozhen, you have no use for your strength, huh? Zhui’er, tell Ning Yuan that starting tomorrow, Lan Zhen will go with him to the Jingji military camp for training. Also,” Qingyan narrowed his eyes, “make Lan Zhen his personal guard, and say that it was my order.”

Zhui'er was startled by Qingyan's gritted teeth and quickly went to carry out her duties.

"Your Majesty, Lord Luo requests an audience," Eunuch Li Chun announced.

Qingyan rubbed her waist and said, "I agree."

"Qingqing." Luo Qing walked up to Qingyan and saw that she looked tired. She scolded Lan Zhen, "This guy, you really can't let him be idle. As soon as he's idle, he doesn't know how to be gentle with Qingqing."

Luo Qing touched Qing Yan's face tenderly.

"I'm fine." Qingyan pulled Luo Qing to sit down. "It's not entirely his fault. I'll be away from the palace for a long time, and Sicheng can't come with me. Lan Zhen said that no guard could protect me as well as I could protect myself, so he tested my skills."

“Qingqing, times have changed. Your current status is indeed not suitable for you to stay outside the palace for long. Is there a proper solution?” Luo Qing asked worriedly.

“Although this trip is ostensibly for the spring hunt, the scale cannot be too large. Otherwise, there would be no reason to take only you and leave the rest of them in the palace. Therefore, the first choice for the spring hunt is the Xilan Hunting Ground in the northwest of Shengjing,” Qingyan said.

Although Xilan Hunting Ground is a royal hunting ground, it is not large in area. It was only used as a royal hunting ground in the early days of the Great Qi Dynasty. After that, it was mostly used by the royal relatives and nobles in the capital for leisure. Therefore, it was just right to be used for this trip.

"I have already instructed Qin Mian to make arrangements ahead of time, so there should be no danger."

"Besides, my brother Luo Qing is highly skilled in martial arts, so he won't let anything happen to me, right?"

Qingyan moved closer to Luo Qing, tilting her head and nuzzling against his shoulder.

Luo Qing smiled, put her arm around Qing Yan's shoulder, and patted her gently.

During the royal spring hunt, Qingyan, citing the reason that he had only recently ascended the throne and it was not appropriate to burden the people and waste resources, only took Luoqing and a few close ministers to the Xilan Hunting Ground.

Xilan Hunting Ground is about 600 li away from Shengjing, but there are limited palaces along the way, so most of the time they have to sleep in the open, which increases the safety risks. Therefore, Qingyan used the excuse that Princess Rui, Xue Yanran, was six months pregnant and it was her first child, to leave the Empress Dowager and Prince Rui in the palace.

However, although there were only five palaces along the way, the Fuquan Palace in the middle was so captivating that it was even more beautiful than the Jinghua Shuiyue Palace in the southeast.

After traveling for ten days, the group finally arrived at Fuquan Palace. Qingyan ordered that they stay for three days to rest and recuperate.

"Zhui'er, go and invite Imperial Physician He to examine Luo Qing's pulse," Qingyan instructed.

Luo Qing looked at Qing Yan with confusion: "Qing Qing, my body is fine."

"I won't feel at ease until He Shou sees me." Qingyan pulled Luo Qing down to sit.

This made Qingyan seem certain that Luo Qing was unwell, which puzzled Luo Qing even more. He quickly checked his pulse and found nothing abnormal, so he spoke again: "Qingqing, I am in good health, there is no need to trouble Dr. He."

"Just one glance, no trouble at all," Qingyan said.

Luo Qing's doubts deepened. What exactly had happened to make Qing Yan so insistent?

"Qingqing, please speak your mind."

"Oh, it was just a glance, don't overthink it." Qingyan's eyes darted away for a moment.

This evasive behavior startled Luo Qing. Recalling her interactions with Qing Yan since leaving the palace, there seemed to be nothing unusual, except that they needed to take the Liu Zi Dan together every night.

Could it be——

Luo Qing's face suddenly turned red:

"Qing, Qingqing, um, was it because I did something to displease you last night?"

"Huh? What are you not satisfied with?" Qingyan was taken aback.

"It's just, it's just, at night, in bed, bed..." Luo Qing felt like she couldn't continue.

Seeing that Luo Qing's ears were red, Qing Yan finally realized what was going on and quickly said, "What nonsense are you talking about? I asked Dr. He to come and take a look at you because I was afraid you were lying to me. If Liu Zidan is harmful to your body, you will definitely not tell the truth. With Dr. He's diagnosis, you will not be able to deny it."

He had been away from the palace for ten days and had taken ten pills of the "Preservation Pill." If there were any side effects, they should have appeared by now.

"I see," Luo Qing smiled and said, "I didn't lie to Qingqing."

"Then let Chief Physician He take a look, and I'll believe you."

"Okay." Luo Qing patted Qing Yan's head, her eyes full of doting affection.

He Shou came to examine Luo Qing's pulse as ordered. When he saw the two of them, he also misunderstood: "Counselor Luo is in good health. He can use some medicine to strengthen the body and nourish the internal organs to increase his essence. However," He Shou secretly glanced at the Empress, "he has been too active in the bedroom, which depletes his essence. It may be fine in the short term, but as he gets older, he will gradually wither away. Your Majesty should be careful."

Upon hearing this, Qingyan's blood immediately surged:

This is a subtle warning to her: don't try to take advantage of everyone, or you might end up taking them all away.

"I understand, you can go now." Qingyan's face flushed red and then turned pale.

"Then, shall I go and prescribe the medicine?" He Shou asked again, oblivious to the danger.

"No need, no need, go away, go away." Qingyan waved her hand and quickly sent He Shou away.

Luo Qing, watching from the side, almost burst out laughing.

"Laugh if you want to, holding it in will only cause internal injuries." Qingyan said irritably, "Anyway, my reputation has never been good since the day I married two husbands, so I don't care about one more time."

Luo Qing hugged Qing Yan and patted her back gently: "Qing Qing can rest assured now. Leaving Zi Dan will not harm my body, and our Lin'er will definitely be born healthy."

Qingyan hugged him back: "It's not easy for us to be together. You can't be missing either of you. You have to grow old with me. Not a day, not a moment, not even a second can be missing."

"Sir, obey the order."