The news that the Empress had given birth to a prince spread throughout the court and the capital. Everyone knew about it.
The Emperor was very pleased and rewarded everyone in the Kunning Palace. He even rewarded the imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital, two Cabinet Elders, and other clerks. Basically, everyone that the Emperor met was rewarded, and the rewards were quite large. The lowest reward was five taels of silver.
The Emperor usually lived a simple life, but when he was happy, he didn't hesitate to spend money.
The Empress giving birth to a son was definitely a happy event. All the civil and military officials knew the deep affection between the Emperor and the Empress, so they hurriedly prepared gifts and asked people to send them to the palace. They wanted to please the Empress and gain face in front of the Emperor.
Although the Emperor had personally raised the Crown Prince and announced to the world that the Crown Prince's position was unshakable, the birth of a prince was also a happy event. It indicated that even if something happened to the Crown Prince, the Emperor would not be without a successor.
Although the Emperor had not chosen a concubine, which made the officials very dissatisfied, now that the Empress had given birth to a son, it was a happy moment. It was not the right time for them to say anything.
Xiao Ruxun didn't have the time to care about how the ministers prepared the gifts. Right now, he was accompanying Caiyun who had just given birth. Meanwhile, the Retired Emperor Father was holding his youngest son with his family, racking his brains to name the child.
Knowing that Cai Yun had given birth to a child, his three brothers and three sisters-in-law also came to the palace to celebrate. The Xiao royal family was sparse at the moment, so it was a good thing to have one more child. They also brought gifts to the palace to congratulate Xiao Ruxun.
Then, they thought about what to name the child together.
Everyone spoke up one after another, fighting to name the little prince. However, Xiao Wenkui, the emperor emeritus, was the most powerful one. He had the right to name the child. If he didn't like it, then it definitely couldn't be named. Many suggestions were rejected.
Xiao Ruxun held Cai Yun's hand and comforted her. He told her to take good care of her body and take care of her body. He ordered the Imperial Hospital to use the best and most expensive medicine to nourish the Empress at all costs, even if it was dragon liver and phoenix marrow. As long as it was needed, they must get it.
The Imperial Hospital obeyed the Emperor's decree.
Caiyun had just given birth, so her body was weak and exhausted. She fell asleep after a short conversation. Xiao Ruxun covered her with a quilt and ordered the palace maids to take good care of her. Then, he left her room, planning to see how the naming of the child was going.
After walking a few steps out of the room, he saw his big brother, Xiao Rulan, standing not far away and looking at him with a smile on his face.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
Xiao Rulan did not wait for Xiao Ruxun to approach and took the initiative to salute. Xiao Ruxun quickly stepped forward to support Xiao Rulan.
"Big Brother, you and I are blood-related brothers. In front of others, we should follow etiquette, but in private, there is no need to have so many taboos."
"This … alright!"
Xiao Rulan nodded with a smile and said, "Ji Xin, I really have to congratulate you this time. Caiyun has given birth to another son. Can you put your heart at ease now?"
Xiao Ruxun smiled bitterly and shook his head, "What's there to put down? Raising a child is even more tiring than handling state affairs. These few months, I have personally raised Zhenbang. Only now do I understand why the ancients say that only by raising a child will one know the kindness of one's parents. It was not easy for Father and Mother to raise us four brothers back then. Now, I have also personally experienced it."
Xiao Rulan also agreed very much and nodded as if sighing.
"That's right. Raising a child is really not easy. Zhenyuan has been mischievous since he was young. He likes everything except studying. See, the teachers in the academy all have very impolite comments about him, saying that he cannot calm down and that his studies will be worrying in the future. On the other hand, Zhenyuan has a steady temperament and is able to study at such a young age. The teachers like him very much."
The Imperial Academy had already started its lessons. The eight children of the Xiao imperial family of suitable age had all entered to study. Four boys and four girls, they were all the children of Xiao Ruxun's three elder brothers.
Originally, they did not plan on letting their daughters study as well. However, Xiao Ruxun strongly advocated that girls should also study and understand reason, or else they would not be able to teach good descendants. Because of Xiao Ruxun's insistence, the four girls also entered to study.
Right now, they were still young, and there was still time for them to be molded. Under the elite education, it was not impossible for a few capable people to appear in the future.
After a while, Xiao Ruxun planned to send Zhenbang and Yingying to study together with his siblings and experience a normal learning life. Right now, he could still bring them along a little and control them a little, giving them some necessary guidance.
"The Imperial Academy has invited all very knowledgeable scholars from the imperial court. After a few days, I will call Xu Guangqi over, and call Ricci over as well. We will impart some western learning to the children together, letting the children learn some knowledge of studying things."
Xiao Ruxun put a lot of effort into the education of the imperial family. Although he was limited by reality and had to restrict the future of the imperial family, no matter what, it was better than raising them like pigs.
In the past, there were very few examples of the imperial family being greatly used. Most of them raised the imperial family like pigs.
In order not to fight with the people, they could not give the imperial family a chance to develop and threaten the imperial family. This was something that had to be done politically.
Imperial Song and Imperial Ming were examples of this. Imperial Qing and Bannermen were similar. Anything that could threaten the succession of the imperial family had to be restricted or even raised.
Xiao Ruxun had said this to his elder brothers. He also had this worry.
He was not worried about the imperial family itself, but he was worried that people with ulterior motives would sow discord and cause internal strife within the imperial family.
So no matter what, they had to be controlled from the source. They could never threaten the imperial family's succession.
But no matter what, he could not accept the arrangements that Imperial Song and Imperial Ming had made for the imperial family. They would let the imperial family do nothing and be raised as pigs, become parasites of the country, and become scum in the eyes of the people.
Similarly, Xiao Ruxun could not accept the imperial family of other dynasties not being controlled from the source and giving them the power to act independently. As a result, they were used by some ambitious people or had their own ambitions, which could lead to a crisis of fighting for the throne at any time.
Because Imperial Song was strict and controlled, such a thing did not happen. Even though Imperial Ming was so strict, there were still two rebellious princes, and one of them had succeeded.
So keeping them by his side and restricting them was the best method that Xiao Ruxun could think of.
Literature, art, and science could be done casually. If they were done well, they would be greatly rewarded. Science was the number one indicator of promoting productivity. If Imperial Xiao could produce a few great scientists who could lead the development of the times and bring great contributions to the development of the country, that would be great.
But when it came to politics, military, and economics, then sorry, that was something that only the imperial family could do.
Doing this was already giving the imperial family the greatest chance. Unlike Imperial Song and Imperial Ming who raised the imperial family like pigs, other than wasting national funds, Xiao Ruxun thought that he had already made the best arrangements for the imperial family's future.
In Imperial Xiao, even if only one-tenth of the people could do something, and the other ninety percent were mediocre, they would far surpass the imperial family of the other dynasties.
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