"Your Majesty always keeps an eye on me, but it doesn't mean that others can't have children?" Ye Jun said deliberately, "The last time I participated in the selection was when I was pregnant with Jing'er. Now Jing'er is two years old. It's been three years since then. Next year, there will be another selection."
"Why does this sound sour?" Ning Chen smiled and squeezed the hand of the person next to him.
Ye Jun rolled her eyes at him and snorted, "So what if I'm jealous? Can't I be jealous? I'm not one of those people who pretend to be generous."
Ning Chen is still very young and in his prime. Unless he calls a halt to the draft, it will take a long time.
During the time of the previous emperor, elections were not allowed until people were over 40 years old. Ning Chen is not even 30 years old yet, so even if the elections are only allowed until 40, there are still more than ten years left, so four elections should be enough.
Ye Jun felt uncomfortable thinking about the new person coming to the palace. Not to mention whether he was really jealous, people naturally like to stay familiar with and in control of the things around them. The arrival of a new person means a lot of uncertainty.
Even though Ning Chen dotes on her very much now, she would not dare to say that she would be doted on for the rest of her life in the next few decades.
"The purpose of the royal selection is to expand the family line and ensure that there will be someone to inherit the country from generation to generation. Now I have four sons and three daughters, so there is no need to select so many people. For the sake of stability in the court, just pick one or two."
Ning Chen spoke in a gentle voice.
He himself was not a womanizer, so there was no need for him to choose someone for his harem.
Moreover, Xie and Yao in front of him have made him extremely resistant and disgusted with the private affairs of the harem. And when there are too many people, there will inevitably be more dirty things.
"I have already discussed it with the ministers. We will not hold it next year. At that time, we can just pick a few good ones from the families of ministers in the court. Appearance and talent are secondary. What is important is that they have a good character." Ning Chen said.
This was serious business, so Ye Jun put away his stern look and nodded.
"That's fine. The talent show is quite expensive after all. If we don't hold it, we can save some money."
Ning Chen looked at her with a smile, "Qingqing has become more and more capable of managing a household in the past two years. You have grown up."
Such a teasing made Ye Jun glare at him.
As the two were talking, the Fourth Prince couldn't stand the loneliness anymore and wanted to ask his parents to play with him.
Ning Chen, who had never played with children before, was a little confused, but when he saw Ye Jun get up and walk over, he followed.
Accompanying children, just chatting and playing with building blocks, is quite relaxing.
The family of three spent the entire afternoon like this.
On the other side, Qin Wanrong had also moved to Concubine Jingde's Zhongcui Palace at dinner time, and was now having dinner with Concubine De.
"I don't know what you like to eat, so I asked the kitchen to cook according to my taste. They are also things that pregnant women can eat." Concubine Jingde said with a smile.
Qin nodded slightly, "Since I have come to your majesty's place, naturally everything will be arranged by you. With your majesty's protection, my concubine and the child in my belly will be safe."
Such a well-behaved and respectful child made Concubine Jingde feel quite satisfied.
He personally picked up a piece of crispy meat and put it into Qin's bowl.
"You are smart, and I have nothing to say. As long as you behave yourself, I will naturally protect you. This is also my way of thanking you for saving the Second Prince's life."
"Your Majesty, your words are too polite. I don't deserve them." Qin immediately lowered her eyes.
At the end, he even stood up and saluted.
"The Second Prince is of royal blood and is extremely noble. I just did what I was supposed to do. Your Majesty, there is really no need to thank you. Instead, you should thank me because my concubine and the child in my belly will rely on you in the future."
Concubine Jingde smiled and waved her hand, "Okay, sit down. There's no need to be so reserved. Go back and rest after dinner."
Qin Wanrong nodded and then sat down to eat again.
Half an hour later, Qin returned to her residence and finally relaxed.
Her personal maid Pinqiu came over to help her wash and brush her teeth, and then she whispered.
"Wanrong can now feel at ease with the protection of Her Majesty the Virtuous Consort."
It is not easy for a concubine of low rank to give birth to a child in the harem.
"Yes, at least it can ensure that I give birth to a baby safely." Qin narrowed her eyes.
As for who will raise the child after it is born, that is still unknown.
Concubine Jingde looked kind and gentle, but Qin, who had a lot of contact with her, always felt that she was unfathomable and not what she seemed.
She now absolutely does not believe that there are any purely good people in the harem.
If Concubine Jingde was willing to promote her, she must have something to gain from her.
Qin Wanrong's pregnancy also shocked many people.
Among them, apart from those concubines who have never been pregnant, the one who suffered the most was Wan Xiuyi.
After all, she was once pregnant, but suffered a miscarriage and could no longer have children.
After learning the news that Qin Wanrong was pregnant today, she sat there for a long time, thinking of the child she had not been able to give birth to, and felt resentful.
Although the eldest prince has gradually become close to her over the past year, the child is not hers after all.
The more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt, so he sent a message to the Wan family outside the palace.
So before long, the Xie family who were exiled to Lingnan and the Yao family who were far away in the northwest suffered for a long time.
In fact, these two families are now very dilapidated.
Currently, only Xie's two younger brothers are still alive in the Xie family. The rest are either sick or dead. The Yao family is a little stronger, as they still have a seventh-rank official to support them.
But that place was poor and remote, and the officials there did not have as good food and clothing as the servants who used to be in charge of the Yao family's mansion.
Moreover, Yao Xiang's father finally discovered that his second son was the root of trouble, and sooner or later the entire Yao family would be completely destroyed.
When he thought about how he would be old and no longer be able to make decisions, and his grandson was still young, and if his second son still had evil intentions, the entire Yao family might not be able to survive and make a comeback in the future.
Therefore, not long after he went to the northwest, he poisoned Yao Xin to death with a bowl of medicine.
Now the Yao family only hopes to raise Yao Xu's son well, so that when he grows up, they can educate the next generation and support him until the day he succeeds.
As long as the imperial examination system exists, there will be no future for scholars.
Time flies, and it is already October.
Ye Jun’s birthday is coming soon.
It is not an exaggeration to say that she is the most favored in the harem now, so even before the time comes, she is trying to curry favor with the emperor everywhere.
It would have been fine if it happened in the palace, but what was surprising was that an official in the court somehow managed to send the gift to the harem.
Ye Jun naturally refused to accept it and asked the people to go back the same way.
Now he realized the importance of the matter and quickly sent a message to his family outside the palace, reminding them not to accept gifts.
There were indeed people from the Ye family and the Chu family who came to give gifts. Even my cousin Ye Lian, who married into the Song family, had people from her husband's family looking for her, hoping to get in touch with Ye Jun through her connections.
However, Ye Jun did not need to remind them of these things. Several families were very cautious and would not accept any gifts except those from old friends.
Now, as Ye Jun's status in the harem increases, the Ye family and the Chu family have become more prominent.
He didn't dare to make any mistake, for fear of implicate Ye Jun and the Fourth Prince in the palace.