Chapter 600: Chapter 600. Food Delivery Lady
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
This matter deeply concerned Su Qing. She wondered if any court official could restrain her actions.
Xiao Zeyu, with a mysterious smile, hinted, “You’ll find out soon enough. I have already arranged for his arrival.”
“Wait, who could it be?” Su Qing pondered, feeling a sense of unease at the thought of who it might be.
“It’s your mother,” Xiao Zeyu revealed with a seemingly innocent smile. He recalled Su Qing’s aversion to her mother’s strict teachings, but she didn’t dare oppose her mother.
Knowing that Su Qing respected and slightly feared her mother, Xiao Zeyu swiftly arranged for his mother-in-law to come to the palace. He planned for her to stay with Su Qing until their child’s birth, allowing him to attend to his royal duties without worry.
Su Qing looked at him with a mix of helplessness and dismay in her eyes.
“I just secured a victory over Japan for you, and this is how you repay me?”
“It’s for the best,” Xiao Zeyu assured her, noticing how even the intrepid Su Qing seemed uneasy at the mention of her mother.
He approached, holding her hand gently, and advised, “Qing’er, please sit and rest. Wait for your mother, and don’t overexert yourself.”
Su Qing glared at him resentfully, but Xiao Zeyu was not angry. He pulled Su Qing to a chair and personally massaged her shoulders,
“Qing’er, you’ve worked hard in the war. Your husband will give you a massage.”
Why did Su Qing feel afraid of being punished after doing something terrible?
Yang Ruxue brought her son to live in the palace. She accompanied Su Qing every day and didn’t let her do anything. She didn’t even allow her daughter to farm. She could only sit on the phoenix chair and give orders.
Su Qing had nothing to live for. She was used to being busy. How would she live if she suddenly had to live like a princess?
Xiao Zeyu first hired a Beijing opera troupe for Su Qing. Su Qing complained that the babbling made her want to hit someone. Xiao Zeyu then ordered people to invite Hebei opera to the palace to relieve Su Qing’s boredom. Su Qing also complained that it was too noisy.
Xiao Zeyu had searched through all sorts of shows in the country. The entire country knew the Emperor had a well-known troupe to relieve the empress’ boredom.
For the sake of the Empress, the Emperor forbade concubines; the Emperor sought all over the world for the best stage. The matter of the Emperor’s wife was written in the storybooks. The storytellers in those teahouses loved to tell the stories of the Emperor and the Empress the most.
When Su Qing was bored, she taught her brother martial arts. She moved his mouth and helped him pose, but her mother didn’t allow it. She was afraid that the child in her stomach would be unable to take it if she bent down too much.
Xiao Lanxin was getting married in May. Xiao Zeyu had given his sister ten miles of red dresses and countless gold, silver, and jewelry pieces. Su Qing gave her the wine recipe as a dowry, telling Xiao Lanxin that this was her business and her confidence.
Xiao Lanxin grandly married into Tartan. She got pregnant after just a month of marriage. She sent someone to send the good news back and tell her brother that she was doing well in Tartan and not to worry about her.
Three months had passed in a flash. Su Qing’s stomach was so big that it felt like a huge pot. It wasn’t effortless for her to walk. Now, she was well-behaved. She didn’t need Yang Ruxue to look at her. She couldn’t sit up by herself.
However, she didn’t stay idle. She wrote a set of farming plans and notes and asked Xiao Zeyu to train the Minister of Agriculture. She also asked the country to gather scholars who knew how to farm. She would teach them, then let them go to the countryside to teach the farmers.
The autumn season had arrived, and it was time to harvest after a busy year. Su Qing’s corn and potatoes had a bumper harvest.
The freshly plucked corn was boiled in a large pot. The fragrance of the cooked corn attracted Xiao Zeyu, who had just left the court. He ordered the guards carrying the dragon carriage to speed up and follow the fragrance of the corn to the Ci Ning Palace, where his mother-in-law lived.
This Cining Palace was where the Empress Dowager of the previous dynasty lived. It was luxuriously decorated and had the best furniture. Xiao Zeyu had no mother, so the Cining Palace was empty. After Yang Ruxue entered the palace, Xiao Zeyu let her live here.
In the beginning, Yang Ruxue and Su Hanxuan firmly refused. That was the palace where the Empress Dowager lived, and they still had their son. If they moved in, it would not be good if it aroused suspicion of their son-in-law.
However, Xiao Zeyu insisted on letting his mother-in-law move in, so Yang Ruxue had no choice but to comply.
“Qing’er, are you eating corn?”
Xiao Zeyu strode into Cining Palace. Before he even entered the room, his clear voice was heard.
He had eaten the corn cooked by Su Qing before. It was lovely and fragrant. He could eat more than ten ears of corn in one go, and he still was not satisfied.
“Yeah, you came right after it was served. You’re lucky.”
Su Qing smiled as she stood up. Her belly was too big, and it was tough for her to stand up. Xiao Zeyu stepped over and supported her with both hands. He did not put on airs like an emperor at all. He was a good husband who loved his wife.
“Brother-in-law.”
Little Chen hopped in. He had learned a new set of sword techniques today. The little guy was obsessed with it. He had been practicing until now. His little face was red, and his big eyes were bright. He was as cute as a lucky boy.
Xiao Qi followed behind Little Master silently. After returning to the palace, she became a nursery auntie again. During the day, she accompanied Little Chen to practice martial arts; at night, she accompanied Little Chen to sleep as his plush toy.
Xiao Qi looked forward to the birth of Su Qing’s child, thinking that caring for one more child wouldn’t be much different than just one.
“Little Chen, have you had a busy day?” Xiao Zeyu gently asked his young brother-in-law, holding him up with a smile.
“I’ve been learning the Soaring Cloud Sword Technique,” Little Chen replied in his childlike voice.
He seemed at ease with Xiao Zeyu, snuggling into his arms and playfully reaching for the glowing pearl on Xiao Zeyu’s royal crown.
“Do you find this pearl interesting?” Xiao Zeyu inquired, smiling at his brother-in-law’s fascination with the pearl. His affection for Su Qing and her family was evident.
“Little Chen, be careful with that,” Yang Ruxue interjected, her face turning pale with worry.
Despite Xiao Zeyu’s approachable demeanor, he was still the Emperor and her son’s playful gesture of the pearl on his crown could be seen as a severe offense.
“Mother-in-law, don’t worry. If Chen likes it, he can have it,” Xiao Zeyu reassured his mother-in-law with a smile and even took the bead from his crown to give to Little Chen.
Su Qing observed Xiao Zeyu’s affectionate behavior towards Little Chen and wondered how much more he would dote on their child once he was born.
“Come and try some corn,” Su Qing invited Xiao Zeyu as the palace maids served cooked corn.
Xiao Zeyu, enjoying the corn, commented, “This is excellent. Our people will no longer face food shortages with corn and potatoes.”
As he spoke, he ate the corn with a refined manner, though inwardly, he preferred to eat more heartily. Being the Emperor required him to maintain a specific image.
“Yes, I’ve arranged for the corn to be processed into seeds and distributed across the cities and counties. Within three years, we should have a widespread cultivation. This will help eliminate hunger in the nation,” Su Qing explained, having obtained these high-yielding and drought-resistant seeds.
Xiao Zeyu, impressed, playfully said, “Qing’er, you’re like the nation’s guardian of the grain.”
Su Qing smiled at the compliment, pleased with the moniker.
Just then, an urgent message arrived, “Your Majesty, there’s an urgent report requiring immediate attention..
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