C23

Within the Forbidden City, Kun Ning Palace, a righteous emperor in his usual attire was lying on a rocking chair, gently swaying around. Beside him, the Xia Empress's slender jade fingers were gently resting on his shoulders. Not far from the two of them, a few children who had just turned four or five years old were playing with each other. Each of them looked extremely adorable and naughty.

"Your majesty, it's already noon. Chenqie will call the younger sisters over to have a meal together. How about it?" The Xia Queen looked at the light of noon and spoke gently beside the Righteous Emperor with a gentle expression. Her voice was very soft, as if any louder would frighten the Righteous Emperor.

"Whatever the empress says!" Zheng De opened his eyes and said gently. He sat up and looked at the children playing with the palace maids in the distance with a doting look in his eyes.

In the blink of an eye, another five years had passed. Five years ago, ever since he had shared a room with the empress, a month later, he'd learned from the imperial physician that the empress was pregnant. In the following months, all the other concubines in the palace were pregnant one after another as well. This news made the empress dowager, who long wanted to hold her grandson, feel overjoyed.

Over the next few months, princes and princesses began to be born one after another in the imperial harem, which made the empress dowager extremely happy. The first prince was naturally born from the empress, and was also the eldest son of the Righteous Emperor. And then came the Imperial Consort, the princes and princesses of the imperial concubines.

The reason for such a situation was actually due to righteousness. The empress was the head of the imperial harem, and if she gave birth to her first child, she could also reasonably inherit his position and pass on the throne. As for the other concubines, their status was inferior to the empress. Even if they gave birth to princes, they would not have much of an advantage over the eldest son of the empress. They would not be recognized by the officials.

The other consorts might have been able to guess a little, but there was nothing they could do about it. However, after they had children, they were able to make the righteous feel a lot more peaceful.

Zheng De looked at the person behind him and said with a gentle expression, "The empress's cultivation has fallen recently."

"Of course not." "Chenqie wants to stay by the emperor's side for a long time, so she naturally won't leave behind her cultivation. "Now that chenqie has stepped into the middle stage of the Xiantian realm, she should be considered a small expert even in the martial arts world."

The Righteous Emperor couldn't help but nod his head. As a country, she didn't have any pain, so her foundation was naturally very good. His talent in cultivation could be considered quite high. In addition to the constant nourishment and nourishment within the palace, breaking through to the middle Xiantian realm in five years time was not slacking off at all.

The Righteous Emperor nodded his head in satisfaction and said, "Don't slack off in the matter of cultivation. "I don't want to wait until I break through to the Unparalleled Grandmaster level and see if you guys turn into dirt or not. If that's the case, even if I can live longer, my life will have no meaning."

Empress Xia lightly leaned behind righteousness and said softly, "Meeting the emperor is chenqie's greatest fortune in this life of mine. In order to be able to accompany the emperor, chenqie will also work hard in cultivation and won't leave the emperor alone. "

Just as the two were warming up, a rather gluttonous voice sounded out. "The empress's elder sister invited me to have lunch together, but she let me see this. It really makes my younger sister jealous!"

Righteous Bestowal raised his head and looked over. He could not help but smile and say, "My imperial concubine is here. Come here." He patted the rocking chair beside him and called her over.

Imperial Concubine moved gracefully with light steps. Her figure flickered as her entire body gently floated over like a green swallow and landed beside Zhengde. Following that, she proudly raised her red lips and said, "Your majesty, how's chenqie's qinggong? I feel like I'm about to break through to the peak of the Xiantian realm. "

Zheng De pulled her delicate hand and smiled. "The imperial concubine's aptitude is indeed the best of the best. She is a prodigy in martial arts. Even compared to me, she is not inferior in any way."

"Your majesty is flattering me." Feeling the itch in her palm, the imperial concubine couldn't help blushing. "How can chenqie's aptitude compare to the emperor's? "The Emperor has recultivated another cultivation technique and has already broken through to the Grandmaster Realm. This consort is far inferior to the Emperor!"

The righteous smile remained on his face as he said, "I have broken through to the Grandmaster Realm in martial arts. It has been a few years since I have broken through to the middle stage of the Grandmaster Realm, but martial arts cultivates the body. After strengthening the body, it will be able to contain more of the world's spiritual energy, which will be extremely beneficial for Qi Cultivating.

Just as the three of them were talking, the sound of light footsteps could be heard. Emperor Zhengde raised his head and looked over. "Come, let's carry the prince and the princess to lunch."

"Greetings, your majesty." The people who came were none other than the three concubines of the Righteous Queen Palace. They were, respectively, the concubine Shuang Yu Xian, the Consort Wu Meng Xue and the Consort Shen Ling Xi. Adding on Imperial Consort Feng Lingyao and Empress Xia Yuyan, the five of them were all concubines of the Righteous Emperor's imperial harem.

For the past five years, they had been the only concubines who were truly favoured. As for the other concubines, they rarely asked about them. It wasn't that he was heartless, but that the other concubines were trying their best to get jealous of him, and the harem was making a huge ruckus among them. In the end, the righteousness of the empress had devolved those concubines who disliked him, while the righteousness of those who remained in the end raised their status one by one, becoming a harem with one concubine and four concubines.

Amongst the five of them, the Xia Empress was naturally the elder sister of none of them. Her personality was gentle and reserved, she managed the entire harem, and the larger harem was placed in her hands, the more she could rest assured that she was the most righteous and the most doted of all.

Imperial Concubine Feng Lingyao was a quiet and wise woman out of the five of them. Her existence was like the faint fragrance on the tip of the heart of a righteous lady. Even though there was no strong fragrance that caused people to feel intense, she had a lasting beauty.

On the other hand, the concubine Jiang Yuxian was the most lively and quick-witted of the five. She was a bit childish and did not have much scheming, but she did not have the personality of a person who did not care. She was publicly recognized as the youngest younger sister among the five, the one who caused the Righteous Emperor the most headaches. However, because she didn't have a scheming and lively mind, she was doted on by the other four people.

Her personality was rather resolute and strong. Although she would sometimes like to compete with the Xia Emperor, but in front of the righteous side of her, she was just like a little bird that could fall in love with a person. She was also the most pleasing to him.

Consort Wu Mengxue was the most meticulous and considerate person, but also the most virtuous one.

Seeing the three of them bow, Zhengde shook his head and said, "There are no outsiders here, so there is no need to be so polite. I haven't seen you all for a few days, your cultivation progress is very good, you have already broken through to the Xiantian realm, and have opened the two main meridians, very good, very good. " His gaze swept across the few of them before he smiled.

Righteousness made them all smile. The imperial concubine smiled sweetly and said, "The emperor teaches us to cultivate, to reduce the pain, and to extend the time we can stay by your side. We sisters naturally won't relax."

"Good, that's good." Righteousness smiled and nodded. However, a trace of indescribable sadness rose in his heart. Even if he could guide them in cultivation and help them all reach the Grandmaster Realm, their lifespan would be at the maximum, one hundred and fifty years of age.

Even though breaking through to the Grandmaster Realm could extend one's lifespan by two to three hundred years, even he himself did not have complete confidence in breaking through to the Grandmaster Realm, much less the five of them. This meant that in the future, they would all be leaving by themselves, one after the other. At that time, this world would be empty, and he would be the only one left!

Suppressing the inexplicable feelings in his heart, the Righteous Emperor, after having lunch with the Empress, let them tease the prince and princess while he returned to the palace to handle the affairs of state. Even though with Da Ming's current situation, even if he did not go to court for more than ten years, the matters in the imperial court would still be handled appropriately. However, Da Ming did not want this to happen. He could not allow the great power of the country to be left behind. Otherwise, if this emperor of his were to be taken away by others, the Crown Prince's ascension would leave him in a terrible mess.

When the Crown Prince ascended the throne, he would hand the authority to the Crown Prince. Only when the Crown Prince ascended the throne, the Crown Prince could hand the authority to him.