The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

The emperor has always been a man of action, and he really doesn't think it's a big deal that his beloved concubine has a child with her previous husband. On the contrary, the ex-husband himself is a bad person who caused his wife and children to be separated, and his wife and young children all dislike him and cut off all ties with him - doesn't this show that His Majesty the Emperor has a keen eye for talent, is magnanimous, and has a broad mind?

What a wise and generous king!

Without any reluctance or concern, the emperor immediately asked Li Zong to go to his private residence to pick up Xie Yi. After all the palace maids had gone, he did not forget to brag to the queen: "Although I am a man, I am also very good at raising children!"

The queen smiled helplessly, and followed the emperor's words and skillfully complimented him a few words, making him even happier.

The emperor had many private residences in the capital, and there were also several best-located manors in the suburbs of the capital. The reason why Xie Yuzhen didn't arrange her and her son to live in the same house was because Xie Yuzhen was not sure about the emperor's temper at that time. She was afraid that he would feel uncomfortable when seeing his ex-husband's child, so she endured the sadness and separated the mother and son.

The house where Xie Yi was housed was not far from the imperial palace, and it took only about half an hour to go there and back.

The emperor simply put aside his state affairs, sat face to face with the empress, cracked the shell of a walnut with his bare hands, took out the flesh and shared it with the empress.

In a blink of an eye, a pile of walnut shells was neatly piled on the table. The emperor sorted them out according to color, size and shape with great interest, and stacked them up one on top of another.

The queen couldn't help laughing when she saw this scene.

When she married the emperor, she was eighteen and the other fifteen. A few months later, she became the empress. She felt that she was too young to control the concubines and palace maids in the harem, so she became more and more serious every day. On the contrary, the emperor had always been willful and independent, so whenever the emperor and empress got along with each other, the empress seemed more stable.

Not long after, a pretty little boy wearing a bright red brocade robe and with two small buns on his head was led in by the palace servants.

The queen looked up at the child with surprise in her eyes: "This child really looks like a talented person!"

The emperor had a smug look on his face, saying, "That's what I said." He waved his hand in gratitude and said, "Tan Nu, come here."

He had no son for a long time after he ascended the throne. After so many years, he no longer lacks sons, but although he loves them, he is not close to them.

The eldest prince Lu Yunkang and the third prince Lu Ningguang, one seven years old and the other six years old, were both born to Concubine Song Shu. The two children's physiques were like their mother, and they were a little weak. Concubine Song Shu often kept them in the palace, for fear that they would get sick if they went outside and got caught in the wind. Therefore, they were not very lively and behaved very well when they met the emperor.

The second prince, Lu Jingcheng, is Concubine Deng's biological son. He is also six years old this year. His physique is not as weak as his older brothers, but he was taught too strictly by Concubine Deng. Whenever the emperor sees him, he can't help but think of the old teacher when he was studying.

Concubine Deng also raised the eldest princess, Lu Yanzhen, but the eldest princess was not her daughter, but the daughter of Concubine Hu Duan who had passed away long ago. The eldest princess was fourteen years old after the Chinese New Year and had already been engaged to the son of Marquis Anguo.

Next to the eldest princess is the second princess, Lu Xianqiong, born to Concubine Li. She is already ten years old and has a lively personality, and the emperor likes her very much. However, Concubine Li has recently started to look for a good prince consort for her, and has begun to restrain her and temper her. However, the emperor cannot bear to blame his daughter, so there is chaos in Dexin Palace, with a fight between mother and daughter. The second princess comes to the imperial court to see her father less often, which makes the emperor feel empty.

As for the third princess Lu Zai Guang, she was born in the same year as the second princess, but her mother died of childbirth complications, so she was raised by Concubine Ning. Concubine Ning had a somewhat erratic personality, but the adopted daughter was gentle and quiet.

The youngest daughter, the Fourth Princess Lu Baohui, is currently being raised in Kunning Palace with the Fifth Prince Lu Jiushou. Both of them are weak, and the emperor often visits them, but he cannot make them healthy immediately.

Xie Yi raised her hands a little nervously and rushed to the first two adults to salute: "Tan Nu greets His Majesty, and greets the Queen."

He was born smart and cute, with a pair of round and bright cat's eyes inherited from Xie Yuzhen, fair skin and rosy cheeks. Although his hair was not long yet, it was also jet-black. He had two round hair tied with a red rope, and small golden auspicious clouds hung on the rope. They swayed with his movements, which was very cute.

In particular, there was a bright red cinnabar mole right between his eyebrows, which made his eyebrows and eyes even more delicate, making it difficult to tell whether he was a man or a woman.

He performed the ceremony like a little adult, then ran to the emperor on his short legs. The emperor smiled and picked him up to express his gratitude, holding him up and saying to the empress, "Zitong, look, when I first saw him, I thought he was a girl. Even among the royal family, I have never seen such a beautiful child."

The emperor, who had completely exposed his true nature of being a face lover, held Xie Yi in his arms, asked him to sit down, and happily handed the freshly peeled walnuts to Xie Yi: "Is my child well raised?"

It was clearly the work of the palace maid and the wet nurse... The empress had gotten used to the emperor's boastful nature and didn't bother to say anything to him. Now she carefully looked at him again and thanked him, and found that the child was as bold and clever as his mother, not shy at all. When he got the walnut, he didn't eat it himself, but carefully peeled off the thin bitter skin on it, and raised his chubby little hand: "Your Majesty, eat it, and your Majesty will eat it too."

It was as if the queen was incredibly soft-hearted when she saw the little Xie Weizhen - what kind of child who has been spoiled since childhood could be so sensible?

She took Xie Yi out of the emperor's arms, stared at him for a while, and then asked him softly what his name was and how old he was.

Xie's words were clear and fluent, and her expression was serious as she answered the queen's questions one by one, which made the queen love the child even more: "I will take Tan Nu to Shouning Palace now. Yunrong, you go first and let Concubine Xie know that Tan Nu is back. Be careful not to make her too upset. Gaosheng, go and get a sedan chair. The child is still growing bones, and walking too much can easily hurt him."

The emperor, who had not yet had enough of the sweetness of his adopted son, was a little stunned, feeling that he suddenly became unimportant.

But before he could say anything, the queen quickly stood up with gratitude: "Your Majesty is busy with official duties, I will not disturb you, I will take my leave first."

"Wait..." The emperor opened his mouth, but in the end it turned into a bitter smile. He looked at Li Zong beside him and asked helplessly, "Why does the queen seem to like the child more than I do?"

"Your Majesty, the little prince is so adorable, and Your Majesty has always been kind to the weak, so you are naturally happy to see him. But I think Your Majesty is more important to Your Majesty."

After listening to him, the emperor shook his head and said, "Well, Tan Nu is indeed a lovable child. It's not like our ancestors haven't raised children of different surnames before... That's right, the queen's ancestors did the same, no wonder they get along so well."

He smiled and let the matter go, and began to think about whether he should give his beloved concubine's child - although not his own - a reasonable title.