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Join the ServerA month and a half later, Wei Lan and Lu Zijin finally returned to the capital.
The two went into the palace to report the Jiangnan situation to Fan Chuan, and then continued to discuss the imperial examination matters together.
Afraid that the candidates would be pedantic scholars who only studied rigidly, Wei Lan proposed adding more practical questions to the exam papers, to select more applied talents.
While the group was discussing matters, Shen Lingwei was feeling unwell.
She hadn’t slept well for days and had no appetite.
Seeing her pale complexion, Fan Chuan quickly asked, “Are you feeling unwell again?
Go back to the rear hall and rest?”
Shen Lingwei nodded slightly.
“Alright.
You continue.
I’ll go back first.”
Fan Chuan quickly said, “Let me walk you back first.”
With that, Fan Chuan stood up and helped Shen Lingwei back to the rear hall to rest.
Wei Lan and Lu Zijin waited in the imperial study for a while before Fan Chuan returned.
She smiled.
“Lingwei is pregnant.
She’s already two months along.”
Wei Lan was very surprised.
“You two are having a baby?”
Fan Chuan smiled at her.
“Mm.
We’ve been married for a while now.
It’s normal to have a baby.”
Wei Lan felt a bit indignant.
No, she and her wife had gotten married first.
How had her cousin already gotten pregnant?
Fan Chuan saw Wei Lan’s sour expression and decided to send her some nourishing gifts later.
In the afternoon, after finishing their discussion in the palace, Wei Lan and Lu Zijin left the palace.
Their residence was already completed, and they had moved out of the palace long ago.
As soon as she got home, Wei Lan hugged Lu Zijin and acted spoiled, feeling wronged.
“How did my cousin have a baby already?
Is it that we’re not trying hard enough?”
Lu Zijin looked at the soft, whiny little Qiankun in her arms and smiled.
“It’s you who isn’t trying hard enough.
I’ve been trying very hard.”
Her little Qiankun was soft and delicate; she couldn’t do much before crying ‘tired’ or ‘my hands hurt’.
No wonder her cousin got pregnant first.
Her cousin was a military general and naturally had much better stamina.
Sister Shen was probably the one who couldn’t handle it.
“I’ve tried very hard too.”
Wei Lan argued defiantly, then nuzzled against Lu Zijin, acting spoiled.
The main problem was that her wife always played with her gland opening.
Once her gland opening was played dry, her wife would finally let her touch, but by then she had no strength left.
Lu Zijin held her little Qiankun and coaxed her softly, but she was secretly laughing behind her back.
Wei Lan pursed her lips.
Her wife was laughing at her again.
No, she had to be fierce tonight!
Just as the two were talking, a maidservant at the gate said His Majesty had sent someone with gifts.
Wei Lan and Lu Zijin were both confused.
They had just left the palace, and hadn’t heard Fan Chuan mention giving them anything.
Wei Lan took Lu Zijin’s hand and went out to express their thanks.
She saw Yun Heng standing there with her people.
Yun Heng bowed to the two, then said, “Prince of Ning, His Majesty specifically bestowed these on you.
Enjoy them.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Wei Lan gave her thanks, then curiously looked at the items on the trays.
There was bird’s nest, fish maw, snow frog, century-old ginseng, and more.
In short, everything was very nourishing.
Wei Lan had the items put away, then took Lu Zijin’s hand and went back into the room.
She acted spoiled, feeling indignant.
“My cousin doesn’t think I’m inadequate, does she?
Hmph, I’ll prove it to her tonight.
I don’t need these things to be very fierce.”
Lu Zijin bit her lower lip to keep from laughing.
Every time, her little Qiankun was all thunder and no rain.
She couldn’t wait to see how fierce she would be.
That night, Wei Lan deliberately ate a little more, afraid she wouldn’t have any energy later in bed.
Sure enough, the person who had been full of energy when they got into bed was now being ridden by Lu Zijin and bitten.
Wei Lan sniffled, looking pitifully as she pushed at Lu Zijin.
“I have no strength left.
Wuwu~ Don’t bite.”
Lu Zijin leaned in and kissed Wei Lan’s lips, coaxing softly.
“Be good.
Almost done.
I’ll let you be on top in a moment.”
Then she bit down on Wei Lan’s gland opening again.
When Wei Lan’s gland opening was played until less than half her pheromones remained, Lu Zijin finally had a change of heart and let her little Qiankun go.
She leaned in and kissed Wei Lan’s lips, smiling.
“There.
I’ll let you be on top.”
Wei Lan wanted to cry.
So this was why they didn’t have a baby yet.
She had no strength left, and then her wife let her be on top.
Wei Lan sniffled and crawled up.
She leaned in to kiss Lu Zijin, but was then kissed by her until she was dizzy.
Before long, Wei Lan was exhausted and fell asleep.
Early the next morning, she was still whining, not happy that her wife had bullied her.
Lu Zijin coaxed her for a good while, promising not to play with Wei Lan’s gland opening at night.
Only then did Wei Lan’s mood improve a little.
She was very fierce.
If her pheromones were insufficient in the future, she wouldn’t be to blame.
On the other side, because Shen Lingwei was pregnant, she was more sleepy than usual.
The Dazhao morning court sessions were generally held once every three days.
Today, Fan Chuan just so happened not to have court, so she kept Shen Lingwei company.
But before long, Shen Lingwei woke up.
Seeing that Fan Chuan hadn’t gotten up yet, she quickly asked, “Aren’t you going to handle political affairs today?”
Fan Chuan reached out and carefully touched her belly, saying softly, “I’ll go after keeping you company for a while.
Are you still feeling unwell?”
“I’m fine.”
Shen Lingwei turned over and was gently pulled into Fan Chuan’s arms.
Fan Chuan’s eyes held a smile.
Since Shen Lingwei had gotten pregnant, she seemed even more clingy with her.
She quite liked this feeling.
But soon, Fan Chuan’s hands began to wander again.
Shen Lingwei, her earlobes red, pushed at her gently.
“Don’t.
Be careful of the baby.”
“Alright.”
Fan Chuan leaned in and kissed Shen Lingwei’s earlobe.
Her empress smelled so good; she couldn’t help it.
Shen Lingwei looked up at Fan Chuan.
She reached out and touched Fan Chuan’s cheek, pressing her lips together.
“Lately, many memorials have suggested that you take concubines.
What does Your Majesty think?”
Fan Chuan smiled, leaned in, and kissed Shen Lingwei’s lips.
“I’ve already rejected those.
I said before that only you would be in the imperial harem.
We’ll just raise our baby well.
At the next court session, I’ll bring it up again.
No more talk of taking concubines.”
“That’s good.”
The corners of Shen Lingwei’s mouth curved.
Her Qiankun, even as emperor, could only have her.
Seeing that Shen Lingwei was happy, Fan Chuan quickly leaned in and kissed her a few more times, only to be pushed away by her empress, who urged her to go handle political affairs.
Shen Lingwei hadn’t been feeling well lately, so she rarely went to handle political affairs with Fan Chuan.
When Lu Zijin was free, she would often accompany her for walks in the rear garden.
After all, just lying down all the time during pregnancy was bad for the body.
Winter passed and spring came.
Shen Lingwei’s pregnancy was gradually beginning to show, but there was still no news from Wei Lan and Lu Zijin’s side.
The two weren’t in a hurry; after all, they were still young.
But Fan Chuan was always worried about Wei Lan’s health, basically sending her various nourishing tonics every so often, as if Wei Lan were the Kunze.
In April, Fan Chuan held a nationwide imperial examination and shortened the time between the three levels of tests.
After all, there were still many vacant positions in Dazhao.
Five months later, after the palace examination, Fan Chuan promoted many new people into the court.
She dismissed Shen Fangzhou from his position as prime minister, but to preserve Shen Lingwei’s face, she still gave him a sinecure as a hereditary duke.
In June, with Fan Chuan by her side, Shen Lingwei gave birth to a cute little baby girl.
The little one was very healthy, born with thick, dark hair.
At that moment, Wei Lan and Lu Zijin were gathered around the small crib, looking at the little baby.
The baby had cried for a while after being born, then gone back to sleep.
But you could tell that the little one had inherited the best features of both Fan Chuan and Shen Lingwei; she looked adorable.
Shen Lingwei was asleep.
After keeping her company for a while, Fan Chuan came over to look at the little one.
Shen Lingwei had named the baby Fan Miao.
Looking at the little bundle, Fan Chuan couldn’t look away.
Just as the three were observing the little one, she opened her eyes.
Perhaps she was unhappy, but she let out a loud cry.
Fan Chuan quickly picked up the little one under the guidance of a matron and began to soothe her.
She and Shen Lingwei didn’t plan to have another baby.
Regardless of whether little Miao Miao was a Kunze or a Qiankun, she would be Dazhao’s future female emperor.
The little one, soothed in her mother’s arms for a while, graciously fell asleep in Fan Chuan’s embrace.
Wei Lan and Lu Zijin stayed with the little one for a while, then left the palace.
Under Fan Chuan and Shen Lingwei’s care, the little one grew day by day.
By the time little Miao Miao was one year old, Lu Zijin was also pregnant.
Seven months later, Lu Ruoyan was finally born.
At that time, Fan Miao was already four years old.
Because her cousin was giving birth, Fan Chuan and Shen Lingwei also went to the Grand Princess’s residence to keep her company.
They even brought little Fan Miao, the crown princess, with them.
Little Miao Miao, lying in her mother’s arms, looked at her little sister in the crib and smiled happily.
There were no other children her age in the palace, but now she would have a sister to keep her company.
Lu Ruoyan was adorable; the little one wasn’t afraid of people.
Seeing someone looking at her, she would wave her little hands and smile, making her extremely cute.
After Lu Ruoyan passed her full month, Lu Zijin’s body had mostly recovered.
She held her daughter and played with her on the bed, with Wei Lan beside her, teasing the baby.
Now, the little one’s features had developed a bit more, and she was much prettier than when she was born.
Lu Zijin thought her daughter’s looks favored her own, but her personality was very much like Wei Lan’s – soft, whiny, and fond of acting spoiled.
Just then, the little one was acting spoiled, nuzzling against Lu Zijin.
Lu Zijin reached out and pinched Wei Lan’s cheek, laughing.
“See?
Just like you.
She loves to act spoiled just as much.”
Wei Lan leaned in and kissed Lu Zijin, then lowered her head to kiss the little one.
“Being like me isn’t bad.
Our baby is the cutest child.”
On the hundredth day, Fan Chuan held a hundred-day banquet for the little one in the palace and also prepared a ‘grasping’ ceremony.
Little Miao Miao had also had a grasping ceremony before.
She had grabbed a long sword and a book.
Fan Chuan was very satisfied; her daughter had chosen a path of both literary and martial arts excellence.
This time, she also wanted to let her cousin’s daughter do the grasping, to see if she could catch any surprises.
The grasping table was very large.
Wei Lan carried her baby over and placed her on the table.
The little one looked at the dazzling array of items and was overjoyed.
She blew a string of bubbles at her mother and her other mother with her big eyes.
Lu Zijin, good-naturedly, wiped the little one’s bubbles and patted her bottom, signaling her to grab something.
The little one pushed aside the brushes, ink, and other items beside her and crawled straight towards the gold ingots.
In the end, she grabbed one gold ingot with her left hand and another with her right.
Wei Lan was thoroughly amused by her own baby.
Truly her child; loving gold was so right.
Fan Chuan, however, was baffled.
No, she had prepared so many proper items on the table, and the little one had gone straight for the gold ingots.
Fan Chuan thought to herself, This wouldn’t do.
She couldn’t let the little one grow up to be a little spoiled brat.
When it was time for her elementary education, she would have the little one study together with her own daughter.
Regardless of literary or martial arts, it had to start from childhood.
Fan Chuan then looked at Wei Lan and Lu Zijin, seeing the two holding the little one and kissing her.
She felt her cousins were spoiling the child too much.
If the little one was indulged like this, she would definitely become a little spoiled brat.
Thinking this, Fan Chuan began to plan out the little one’s future.
Sure enough, Lu Ruoyan’s good days only lasted until she was four.
From the age of four, her imperial aunt had hired a elementary education teacher for her, and she began her studies.
At first, the little one cried for days.
In the end, her aunts, who usually spoiled her, would not budge when it came to studying.
The little one had no choice but to start her bitter studies alongside Fan Miao.
Not only did she have to study cultural subjects, but she also had to learn martial arts with Fan Miao.
Her imperial aunt’s expectations of her were too high; she insisted on making her both literary and martial.
Wei Lan and Lu Zijin also felt sorry for her, but they thought it wouldn’t hurt for the child to learn more when she was young.
Moreover, with the child away, Wei Lan and Lu Zijin had time for their own couple time.
The two little ones grew up slowly.
They went to class together, practiced martial arts and archery together, and also learned to ride horses together.
In short, Fan Chuan had high expectations.
Of course, she and Shen Lingwei were very good to the two little ones.
They even kept a room for Lu Ruoyan in the rear palace.
If it got too late from studying, they would have her go back to the Eastern Palace to stay with Fan Miao.
Growing up, the two little ones had quite different personalities.
Fan Miao was clearly much more composed and patient.
Lu Ruoyan was a happy little rascal, loving to play and acting spoiled with everyone, especially favored by the elders.
The two little ones were also very close.
Growing up together, they were even closer than blood sisters.
Lu Ruoyan was like a little shadow, following her sister wherever she went.
Fan Miao was very indulgent with her, always thinking of her whenever she got something delicious or fun.
As the little ones grew, Wei Lan and Lu Zijin adopted a hands-off approach.
After all, Fan Chuan and Shen Lingwei would keep an eye on them.
When she and Lu Zijin had free time, they would travel to various parts of Dazhao and occasionally return to Panyang City.
You think this chapter was thrilling? Wait until you read The Moon Reflected In The Water! Click here to discover the next big twist!
Read : The Moon Reflected In The Water
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