The eighth year of the Great Han. It had been three years since Liu Bang ascended the throne and moved the capital to Chang’an. The world was newly settled, with a hundred things left to be rebuilt. The Emperor and his ministers adopted a policy of recuperation and revival, and the scarred land was gradually regaining its vitality.
Weiyang Palace was still under construction, but the completed Chang Le Palace served as the residence for the Emperor and Empress, magnificent and imposing beyond words. It was autumn, and the air outside was cool, yet the Jiaofang Palace within Chang Le Palace felt like a scorching furnace, sizzling with heat.
The Son of Heaven, Liu Bang, wearing his long crown and with his hands behind his back, paced back and forth in the main hall.
Production was clearly underway, yet not a sound could be heard from the inner chamber, which made his heart race with anxiety. If anything happened to the Empress, who would hold down the fort in Chang’an when he went to the front lines to fight?
This child was something of an accident. He had not stayed overnight in Jiaofang Palace for many years, but he happened to get drunk once. As proud as he had been then, he was equally regretful now. He was nearly sixty years old and certainly did not lack heirs; the Empress’s life was what truly mattered.
Liu Bang suddenly turned to look at the Chief Imperial Physician. “Can the Empress truly deliver safely?”
The people filling the hall were getting dizzy from his constant pacing. In a corner, the recently married Princess Luyuan bit her lip, while the thirteen-year-old Crown Prince clenched his fists. As a veteran who had served in the Qin palaces in his youth, the Chief Imperial Physician was equally anxious.
Everyone knew the risks of giving birth at an advanced age, especially since the Empress had followed His Majesty through endless hardships to conquer the world, making her body ill-suited for pregnancy. With these factors combined, it could easily result in both mother and child perishing!
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. “This… replying to Your Majesty, the female physicians are still inside. I believe there will be good news…”
He suddenly froze.
Seeing the Emperor lift his foot, prepared to deliver a flying kick, the Chief Imperial Physician paled in shock and instinctively fled backward. Just then, accompanied by a loud cry, a palace attendant rushed out from the inner chamber. “Congratulations, Your Majesty! Great congratulations, Your Majesty! The Empress has safely given birth to a young prince—”
The main hall suddenly fell silent. Liu Bang’s foot, suspended in mid-air, slowly retracted. “Born?”
The attendant nodded, repeating joyfully, “The Little Highness is very healthy!”
“It hasn’t even been half an hour…” Liu Bang muttered, his voice somewhat airy.
Could a child be born that quickly?
Letting out a long breath, Liu Bang glanced regretfully at the Chief Imperial Physician, who had just escaped a disaster, and said happily, “Bring my son here for me to see!”
“Since His Majesty wishes to see him, take him over.” The inner chamber was quickly cleaned. Empress Lu reclined on the couch, her tone very soft, fearing she might wake the chubby baby in her arms.
He was tired from crying and, having finished his first full meal in this world, snuggled contentedly in his mother’s embrace. Not only was he chubby, but he also lacked any ugly wrinkles; his tender cheeks looked so soft they would yield to a single poke, incredibly exquisite. His thick eyelashes, not yet open, were lush, his little nose was pert and high, and his lips were rosy, letting out a small bubble with a pop.
It was as if he were under a ten-layer beauty filter.
Everyone held their breath. The Grand Chamberlain, in charge of palace affairs, swore she had never seen such a beautiful child!
Having served Empress Lu for so many years, she had also never seen the Empress’s eyes so soft; even when mentioning His Majesty, her words carried a certain warmth. The Grand Chamberlain felt happy, a sense of tears welling up within her.
Shortly before the Empress became pregnant, Lu Ze, Marquis of Zhoulu, had died on the battlefield. The Marquis was the Empress’s elder brother, who had helped His Majesty conquer half the realm. His death was no less than half the sky collapsing, and Consort Qi’s pillow talk influence had become increasingly brazen. She had seen the Empress unable to sleep at night, staying up through one night after another, and it was only after conceiving the Little Highness that she slowly began to recover.
Perhaps because she had a new hope to hold onto, the Empress’s complexion gradually turned rosy. The morning sickness and fatigue of pregnancy never appeared; she continued to handle affairs in Jiaofang Palace and receive ministers as usual. Even the Divine Physician invited in secret said such a condition was unheard of, and could only be explained as a Divine Miracle.
In her opinion, it wasn’t a Divine Miracle; it was the Little Highness being considerate of his mother.
Otherwise, how could he have emerged in less than half an hour?
Carefully lifting the swaddling clothes, the chubby baby left his mother’s embrace, letting out a lingering whimper of attachment. Empress Lu looked at her youngest son, her heart melting. Her usually cold and stern face broke into a smile as she watched him be carried away.
A moment later, wave after wave of exclamations rose from the front hall. If the Grand Chamberlain had never seen such a beautiful baby, how could others have?
Crown Prince Liu Ying looked at his younger brother from the same mother, his gentle and handsome features stunned, a faint pink flushing his face from excitement. Had Princess Luyuan not been holding him, he might have been unable to walk. So small, so soft—was this the brother Mother had born for him?
Princess Luyuan, Liu Le, craned her neck to examine the bundle closely, a joyful smile on her face. She gave Liu Ying a shove to get him closer to his brother, then said impatiently, “Imperial Father, your daughter wishes to see Mother.”
“Go on, go on.” Liu Bang waved her away, took his youngest son into his arms, and cheerfully enjoyed the praises of the crowd.
This child was born well. In his great joy, he felt moved to bestow a name. “Yue! My ninth son shall be named Liu Yue!”
The voice boomed in his ears, and the chubby baby kicked his little feet as his fuzzy consciousness began to return.
Liu Yue had not smelled clean air for a very long time. By the middle of the Apocalyptic Era, the air had become so foul it was unbearable, and natural vegetables and meat had long since become legendary. Furthermore, the rich emotions of humanity had gradually dwindled, replaced by cruelty and indifference.
As a diligent worker, Liu Yue’s level of effort had been peerless. As for why he worked so hard, one reason was survival, and the second was to hide a little secret—he was a unique Healing Type, the kind who would be subjected to dissection research if discovered.
So tired, wanted to reincarnate.
Now that reincarnation had come true, he wondered into which family he had been born.
Memories of his past life flickered like a lantern of memories, before being covered by a layer of mist and stored in the depths of his mind. For a chubby baby in swaddling clothes, his walnut-sized brain capacity could not support much thinking, except for one thing: eat and sleep, sleep and eat.
One must eat and sleep well to grow up!
With such fresh air, it certainly wouldn’t be worse than the Apocalyptic Era.
Until he was shifted into Liu Bang’s embrace, Liu Yue suddenly felt things were a tiny bit bad.
He wanted to open his eyes and see who this person with the rock-hard chest was. Was this how one held a baby?
This embrace was unfamiliar, and it didn’t smell good.
It was also very noisy.
The bubble he was halfway through blowing popped. Liu Yue opened his mouth and let out a tender cry: “Yi—”
The Emperor, unaware that he had been labeled “noisy,” felt an itch in his nose and handed Liu Yue back to the Grand Chamberlain. “This boy is hungry.”
He had many sons and favored Liu Ruyi, born of Consort Qi, the most. Thus, toward this exceptionally beautiful youngest son, he felt at most a momentary novelty. He valued him more because of his status as a legitimate son, but it hadn’t reached the point of being incredibly precious to him.
Glimpsing Liu Ying out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to remember something. “How are your studies? Accompany me to the side hall. You can see your mother and brother later.”
To intimidate the Non-Imperial Clan Princes and supervise the army at the front, Liu Bang was often away. He was scheduled to head to Luoyang East of the Pass in a few days, so he rarely had the chance for an examination and evaluation of the Crown Prince. Hearing this, the pink flush on Liu Ying’s face slowly faded. He lowered his eyes and gave a soft “Understood.”
Seeing his respectful and fearful manner—mostly fearful—Liu Bang felt an immediate sense of discomfort. “Keep up.”
By the time Liu Yue was returned to Empress Lu’s side as he wished, the news of the newborn prince’s name had shaken the entire city of Chang’an.
The Lu Clan was ecstatic, their long-suspended hearts finally settling back into their chests. They had been the most worried about the Empress giving birth at an advanced age, a worry coupled with fear. The Lu family had already lost their pillar, the Marquis of Zhoulu; they absolutely could not lose the Empress.
Beyond them were the meritorious officials and generals, the group who had followed the Emperor through life and death to win the world. While Consort Qi and the Prince of Dai, Liu Ruyi, were currently in high favor, they only recognized the Empress and the Crown Prince who had shared their hardships. The ministers pricked up their ears, closely monitoring the situation in Jiaofang Palace until the attendant arrived at their residences to report the good news.
Not only were mother and child safe, but it was also a little prince!
The generals stationed outside were overjoyed, and even someone as steady as Chancellor Xiao He let out a sigh of relief. Publicly, the war on the front lines had not yet ceased, and the current Han could not do without the Empress. Privately, the Crown Prince now had a younger brother from the same mother, which served as a powerful bargaining chip to consolidate his position as Crown Prince and could perhaps salvage some of His Majesty’s favoritism.
Where some were happy, others were troubled.
Qi Li, near Chang Le Palace and Weiyang Palace, would be considered a top-tier luxury residential area in modern times, housing the families of Marquises with the largest fiefs and favored external relatives. The Lu family was there, and the Qi family was there as well. Furthermore, Consort Qi’s brother, Qi Ping, loved making friends, so the Qi Residence was always bustling with people coming and going.
But today, the Qi Residence was very quiet. Not long after the good news spread from Chang Le Palace, someone whispered, “The Crown Prince’s position is stable again.”
This was followed by a long silence.
“So what if it’s stable? If His Majesty truly makes up his mind, no one will dare to disobey,” Qi Ping said with a dark expression. “Besides, the announcement only said mother and son were safe; it didn’t specify the Empress’s physical state after the birth.”
“Master, you mean…”
“At nearly forty years old, how could she hold up?” Qi Ping said. “Even if she didn’t suffer a hemorrhage, she’ll likely be bedridden for months, right?”
His speculation made a lot of sense, and everyone suddenly understood, their eyes lighting up.
If she were bedridden and recuperating, there was much that could be done.
Qi Ping smiled with self-satisfaction. The Crown Prince and the young prince combined couldn’t compare to his nephew’s favor. How could a single character like “Yue” compare to “Ruyi”? With his sister attending His Majesty’s side, replacing the Crown Prince was only a matter of time!
Who would have thought that the next day, a shocking piece of news would come from the palace.
The Empress was already able to get out of bed and walk.
Qi Ping: ?!
The next day arrived in the blink of an eye. Liu Yue was sleeping soundly in Jiaofang Palace.
The chubby baby was wrapped in cloth hand-woven by Empress Lu herself, which lacked ornate patterns and colors but was the finest and softest. Sunlight streamed through the window frames, illuminating the inner chamber. Empress Lu opened her eyes and loosely held her son’s tiny hand.
The Grand Chamberlain entered carrying water, only to see her lift the heavy quilt and slowly step off the couch.
The Grand Chamberlain said in shock, “Empress…”
“There was still some dull pain last night, but it’s all gone today. I can walk around a bit,” Empress Lu said with a smile. “Yue’er is being considerate of his mother.”
“Yes.” The Grand Chamberlain hurriedly moved closer to support her, joy spreading across her face. She seemed to remember something and reported to the Empress, “Upon hearing the good news, His Majesty the Retired Emperor immediately sent rewards.”
Hearing the good news about his daughter-in-law, the Retired Emperor living in Li Yang was overjoyed. He urged his people to hurry and transport the congratulatory gifts for Prince Yue’s birth. Since the Retired Emperor had made a gesture, how could the officials lag behind? Ox carts lined up in queues, blocking the palace gates.
It had been only three years since the world was unified, and the economy was still stagnant. Even most of the meritorious officials who had been enfeoffed as Marquises lived simply and could not produce many precious gifts. But even so, Liu Yue’s personal wealth went from zero to substantial all at once.
Regarding the chubby baby’s little treasury, Empress Lu became interested and signaled for her to read it out.
“…Eight servings of sweet syrup, one hundred pairs of clay pottery jars…”
One hundred pairs of clay pottery jars were still jars, capable of holding endless good things. Empress Lu was satisfied, then fell into thought.
What if Jiaofang Palace couldn’t fit them all?
The gift inventory already included the Retired Emperor and the Marquises, amounting to a vast sum. Beyond that, the congratulatory gifts from the Princes and the local officials of Two Thousand Dan were also on their way.
By the time she finished reading the list, without realizing it, Liu Yue had already accumulated a personal wealth of over ten thousand clay pottery jars!