Li Mu looked at the innocent Zhong Ling and explained, "Ling 'er, be a good girl. Don't mess around. Father and Mother gave birth to you differently from giving birth to a younger brother or sister."
The little girl blinked curiously and asked, "What's the difference?"
Perhaps she was envious of other children who had siblings to accompany them, but how was Li Mu supposed to explain to her that she was actually born from heaven and earth and not the product of his and the Empress's hard work?
Zhong Ling's intelligence grew very quickly, but she obviously couldn't understand this.
Li Mu and the Empress looked at each other. Li Mu looked embarrassed. The Empress held Zhong Ling's face and smiled. "Ling 'er, don't worry. You will have a younger brother or sister in the future …"
After receiving the Empress's promise, Zhong Ling happily ran off to play.
In Changle Palace, Li Mu saw the Empress looking at him. He said decisively, "Your Majesty, please give up on this idea. My wife and I have no plans to have children …"
Li Mu, Liu Hanyan, and Li Qing would be busy with political affairs in the next few years. Even if they had children, they wouldn't have much time to accompany them. This wasn't good for the child's growth, so they planned to have another child in a few years.
Zhong Ling's appearance was at most an accident.
Zhou Yi glanced at Li Mu indifferently. "Ling 'er is my daughter. Why should another woman give birth to her younger brother or sister?"
Li Mu thought for a moment and asked, "Does Your Majesty want to have one yourself?"
Zhou Yi asked, "Are you willing to watch as the world that you and I worked so hard to build is given to someone else?"
Li Mu didn't hesitate and said decisively, "No."
He had spent a lot of effort to build the Great Zhou to what it was today. How could he be willing to give it to someone else?
Everyone in Shen 'du knew what kind of people the Xiao Clan was. If this world fell into their hands again, the foundation that Li Mu had built for the Empress over the past few years would be completely destroyed by them.
The geographical location of Great Zhou wasn't considered good. To the east were the water tribes, to the south were the various countries with evil intentions, to the west was Youdu with evil intentions, and to the north was the demon country eyeing them covetously. There were threats in all directions, and once Great Zhou was defeated to a certain extent, the four barbarians would definitely rise up and attack.
This was also an important reason why the Central Dynasty of Zu Province never lasted long. There were strong enemies spying on all sides. Once there were three generations of incapable rulers, the neighbors would not give the Central Imperial Court a chance.
When external pressure began to be exerted, the already loose internal structure would be easily crushed.
The key question was, if the Empress wanted to have a child herself, how would she do it, and with whom?
Considering the voices of the masses, this candidate would naturally be Li Mu. However, this wasn't in Li Mu's life plans.
Zhou Yi looked at him and said, "The Great Zhou being where it is today is mostly due to your efforts. Who the emperor's aura is given to is not only my business, but also yours."
Li Mu didn't know what she was thinking, so he could only say, "Your subject will listen to everything Your Majesty says."
Zhou Yi thought deeply for a moment and said, "I plan to give it to our child."
Li Mu shook his head and said, "Your Majesty also knows about Ling 'er's identity. Not only the court officials, but even the people won't be able to accept that the emperor of Great Zhou isn't human. This will cause the Great Zhou to lose the foundation of the people's hearts …"
Although Li Mu thought that he had gained the recognition of the people, it didn't mean that he could do whatever he wanted in Great Zhou.
This was a place that had been ruled by humans since ancient times. It was absolutely impossible for a foreign race to rule over it.
Zhou Yi glanced at him and said indifferently, "I'm not talking about Ling 'er."
Li Mu was even more confused and asked, "Other than Ling 'er, do we have other children?"
Zhou Yi said, "Not now, but that doesn't mean we won't have any in the future."
Li Mu stared at the Empress in a daze, hundreds of thoughts flashing through his mind — was this a hint?
No, this was no longer a hint. This was a blatant declaration, and it couldn't even be considered a declaration. This was a confession. The Empress finally couldn't help but reveal her feelings to him …
Zhou Yi continued, "As long as we take your bloodline and merge it with mine, we can have a child with both of our bloodlines. This way, I won't have to pass the throne to an outsider, and Ling 'er will have a younger brother or sister."
Li Mu suddenly understood and said, "So that's what Your Majesty means."
Zhou Yi looked at him and asked in return, "What do you think it means? Do you want to be my Empress?"
Li Mu didn't obey the Empress this time. He shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, I can't accept this method. I hope that my child will be like all the other children in the world, born from his mother's ten months of pregnancy, and not through this method. If he asks us the same question as Ling 'er in the future, how should we answer?"
Zhou Yi's chest heaved up and down. After taking a deep breath, she said, "You're blaming me. Do you think I don't want to? If you appeared earlier, if you were more determined and not fascinated by other people's beauty, how could things be like this?"
She flung her sleeves and said angrily, "Mei Wei, Ah Li, accompany me to the Imperial Garden to relax!"
Mr. Mei and Shangguan Li had just walked in with Zhong Ling when they walked out with the Empress. The little girl walked to Li Mu's side and tugged at his sleeve. She whispered, "Father, mother is angry. Go and comfort her …"
Li Mu could hear the strong resentment in the Empress's words.
But everything had to be first come, first served. If he was late, he would be late forever. If he had met the Empress first, then he would have been second only to one person in the Great Zhou. He would have been the father of the world and respected by all the people.
But he had met Liu Hanyan and Li Qing first, so he was destined to be unable to enter the harem. If Li Mu was given another chance, he still wouldn't change his choice.
He squatted down and held the little girl's face. He said, "Your mother is still angry with me. Go and comfort her for me."
Zhong Ling nodded seriously and chased in the direction of the Imperial Garden.
The court had just ended, but Li Mu had no interest in going to the Secretariat. After walking out of Changle Palace, he left the palace directly. However, just as he walked out of the palace gate, a figure blocked his way.
Li Mu looked at the middle-aged man in front of him and raised his eyebrows. He asked, "Your Highness King Ping, what's the matter?"
King Ping glanced at him and said calmly, "Don't think that you can do whatever you want just because you're handsome. No matter what the surname of the Great Zhou's royal family is, it won't be Li."
Li Mu looked at King Ping and asked, "Were you the ones who spread the rumors in Fairy's Capital?"
King Ping didn't answer directly. He said coldly, "Stealing the country won't happen a second time in the Great Zhou."
If the Xiao family behaved themselves, the Empress would still belong to them when the Emperor's Qi condensed in ten years or five years. They would win the many years of battle with the Zhou family without a fight.
However, the premise was that they didn't provoke the Empress.
Li Mu sighed softly. He looked at King Ping and asked, "Do you know how pigs die?"
King Ping frowned. "What do you mean?"
Li Mu couldn't be bothered to answer him and left directly.
Although King Ping didn't like Li Mu, it was undeniable that he was very resourceful. This kind of person wouldn't throw such a question at him for no reason. There must be a deeper meaning behind it.
One person's ability was limited. For this reason, he gathered the core members of the Xiao family and discussed it together.
"Did Li Mu say this?"
"There's no head or tail. How do we explain it?"
"The word 'pig' is definitely not as simple as it seems. Is there a reference?"
"Is he secretly cursing the Xiao family?"
"He must know that we were the ones who secretly incited the rumors about him and the Empress."
…
While they were discussing, a voice suddenly sounded from the corner. King Shou stood up and asked in disbelief, "You guys spread rumors about Li Mu and Her Majesty in the streets. This kind of thing can't be hidden from Her Majesty."
King Ping said, "So what if she knows? This was meant for him and the Empress to hear. They're neither emperors nor subjects. Aren't they afraid of being criticized by the world? If they really give birth to a child, the Great Zhou will be laughed at for thousands of years."
King Ding said regretfully, "It's a pity that those ignorant people are mostly in favor of this …"
King Shou sat back down and covered his face with both hands. He didn't know what to say.
After a long while, his voice came from between his fingers. "If there's an answer to this question, then the pigs must have died of stupidity. They were so stupid that they threw away the cooked duck …"
King Ping frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"
King Shou leaned back in his chair and said tiredly, "It's obvious that the Empress has no intention of taking the throne. Since she took the throne, she put Li Mu in an important position to fend off foreign forces and unite the people. She planned to leave as soon as possible after condensing the Emperor's Qi. She allowed the three uncles to stay in the ancestral temple because she wanted to return the throne to the Xiao family. Why do you have to do it again?"
"What do you know!" King Ping glared at him and said, "The Zhou family spent hundreds of years to successfully steal the country. How can she return the throne so easily? I think she wants to give birth to a child herself and change the surname of the Great Zhou's royal family. If she really wanted to pass the throne to the Xiao family, she wouldn't change her mind because of such a small matter …"
"That depends on whether Her Majesty is generous or petty. It's very possible that the throne that originally belonged to the Xiao family was lost because of this small matter …" King Shou thought of his experience in the past month and sighed softly. He said, "Obviously, Her Majesty isn't a generous person."
King Ping frowned and looked at him. "You're not her. How do you know what she's thinking?"
King Shou covered his face again and said, "I don't know. I'm just talking nonsense. You guys continue, I'll take my leave first …"
He stood up and walked to the door. His footsteps paused as he said, "Get someone to tidy up the three royal uncles' residences. I guess they should be back soon …"
Not long after King Shou left King Ping's residence, three elders descended from the sky.
Everyone walked out of the room. King Ping was shocked. "Royal uncles, weren't you guarding the ancestral shrine? Why did you come out?"
The three elders' faces were gloomy. The elder in the middle said, "That woman chased us out. She's really coveting the Emperor's Energy …"
King Ping stood on the spot in a daze. His face was full of regret as he muttered, "He guessed it right …"
The elder asked, "Guessed what?"
King Ping's face was solemn. He shook his head and said, "Nothing. Royal uncles, what should we do now?"
King Ping naturally could not hide such a big matter. The three elders soon found out the reason why they were chased out of the ancestral shrine. The three of them could be heard cursing from King Ping's residence.
"I'm so pissed!"
"You've messed this up!"
"You're as stupid as a pig!"
"You should apologize to the previous Kings!"
…
Li Mu's residence. When Li Mu stepped into the house, Liu Hanyan asked in surprise, "Why have you been coming back so early these few days?"
In the past, Li Mu was willing to work for the Empress no matter how hard or tiring it was. However, these few days, he was working for the future Xiao Clan. Li Mu was naturally not as motivated. He took out the two bouquets of flowers he bought on the street from his back. He passed one to Liu Hanyan and the other to Li Qing. He smiled and said, "Nothing is more important than accompanying you two."
Liu Hanyan and Li Qing should have returned to the sect a long time ago. Although the reason why the peak masters could advance to the sixth realm so early was related to their talent and the sect's resources, the most important thing was still their hard work in cultivation.
Li Mu used all kinds of excuses to force them to stay. He could not let them stay at home while he stayed in the palace all day.
He held the two girls' hands and said, "I'll take a long leave from Her Majesty later. I won't go out every day."
Although the two girls were happy to hear this, Liu Hanyan, who liked to let her imagination run wild, thought of a fact. She couldn't help but become melancholic again. She said melancholically, "Although we can be together now, in a hundred years, whether it's me, Sister Qing, Xiao Bai, or Wanwan, we won't be able to accompany you anymore. Why don't you find someone who is more powerful and talented than us, someone who can accompany you for the rest of your life?"
Women were really strange creatures. She was clearly only in her twenties, in the most beautiful years of her life, but in her heart, she was thinking about things a hundred years later. Li Mu pretended to be thinking. After thinking for a long time, he said, "Why do I have to find someone who is more powerful and talented than you two? When the time comes, I can still choose a young and beautiful girl who is 17 or 18 years old …"
Liu Hanyan was stunned. Then, her slender hand rested on Li Mu's waist. Gritting her teeth, she said, "I'll let you be young and beautiful, I'll let you be young and beautiful …"
Li Mu held her restless hand and said, "If I don't find someone young and beautiful, in such a short time, where do you want me to find someone who is more powerful and talented than you two, and who is also willing to be with me …"
In the courtyard of the Li Residence, there was a fluctuation in the space. Zhou Yi appeared with Zhong Ling in her arms.
She put Zhong Ling down and prepared to return to the palace. She looked around and saw that everyone was looking at her. She asked faintly, "Why are you all looking at me?"
Liu Hanyan stood up and said, "Your Majesty is here to send Ling 'er off?"
Zhou Yi nodded slightly and said, "I'll leave Ling 'er to you. I'm going back to the palace."
Liu Hanyan looked at her and suddenly said, "It's almost time to eat. Your Majesty, eat with us before you leave. Ling 'er should want you to stay."
Zhong Ling was stunned for a moment. Then, she hugged Zhou Yi's leg and said happily, "Mother, stay for dinner. Aunt Mei and Aunt Li will come too …"
Although the Empress might not listen to Liu Hanyan, she would fulfill all of her daughter's wishes.
Therefore, not only did she stay, but she also asked Shangguan Li and Mr. Mei to come as well.
When it was time to eat, Liu Hanyan took the initiative to pick up a piece of fish for the Empress. She smiled and said, "Your Majesty, try this. I made it myself."
Li Mu almost had a fish bone stuck in his throat. When Liu Hanyan and the Empress appeared together, the atmosphere was extremely cold. It was not an exaggeration to say that it was like falling into an ice cave. Liu Hanyan actually took the initiative to pick up food for the Empress. Li Mu's first reaction was that Liu Hanyan was crazy.
In the face of Liu Hanyan's kindness, Zhou Yi quickly responded. She tasted a piece of fish and said, "When I first met you, I only knew that your zither skills were unparalleled. I didn't expect your cooking to be so good as well. You're almost as good as the chefs in the palace."
Mr. Mei and Shangguan Li looked at each other. Shangguan Li remembered very clearly that when the Empress was still the crown princess, the three of them went to listen to Liu Hanyan play. Shangguan Li praised her zither skills, and the Empress's comment was, "It's just so-so."
Liu Hanyan also said, "When I first met you, Your Majesty, I was amazed that there was such a beauty in the Immortal's Capital. It made me feel ashamed of myself …"
Wanwan, who was eating with her head down, looked up at Shangguan Li and quickly lowered her head again.
If she remembered correctly, when she praised that sister's beauty, Shangguan Li said, "It's just so-so."
Liu Hanyan and the Empress actually started praising each other. Li Mu saw this and his chopsticks fell to the ground. He pinched his thigh hard. The intense pain told him that this was not a dream.
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