ATNCF: Chapter 133 Parenting (Part Five)

 In the blink of an eye, it was November, and the weather in Taiyuan grew colder with each passing day.

As the frontline battles approached a crucial moment, the situation became increasingly tense. Pei Ji received more and more military reports every day and often had to wait for the latest updates with the generals in the rear before sending out his own encouragement and advice overnight.

Now was the eve when the people and soldiers in the north needed to come together to resist the Turks's final onslaught.

Li Zhi had hoped to contribute in some way herself. After days of recuperation, she had regained her energy and immediately, under Lan Ying's guidance, personally summoned the families of the generals stationed in Taiyuan to praise and reward them, showing her full support.

In the following days, she racked her brains and, from the empress's private funds, allocated a sum of money to purchase all the cotton cloth in the major stores. She called on the officials' families and other people who were idle due to the farming season and knew how to sew clothes to join forces in making simple cotton garments. These would then be sent to the front lines to keep the injured soldiers warm.

Busy as she was, nearly half a month passed until late November, when nearly ten thousand cotton garments were finally produced and just awaited the finishing touches before being sent out.

This afternoon, after seeing several relatives of the Pei family, Li Zhi hurried back to the courtyard, where she accompanied Chun Yue and Qing Zhi, who were finishing the last two pieces of cotton clothing.

It was embarrassing to admit, but she didn't know how to do needlework. Even if she learned now, she wouldn't make it in time. Ironically, it was Pei Ji who suggested that others could do two pieces for her, and they would be considered as if she, the empress, had made them.

Surprised by his suggestion, Li Zhi exclaimed, "Sanlang, I never expected you to propose such a deceptive act!"

Pei Ji remained unperturbed. "This isn't deception; it's using one's discretion. What people want to see is whether you, as the empress, can set an example for everyone. Whether you can sew clothes doesn't matter, because your intentions are genuine. As long as people see your sincerity and are inspired by it, the goal is achieved."

Hearing his serious explanation, Li Zhi found some merit in it and, after weighing it several times, decided to let Chun Yue and Qing Zhi do it for her.

He remained as seemingly conservative as ever but was actually adept at flexibility and compromise.

However, she still felt guilty, so whenever she saw the two of them working on it, she consciously stayed by their side and watched, doing nothing else.

"All done!" Chun Yue held the end of the thread in one hand and quickly threaded the fine silver needle up and down twice, tightening the last stitch. "Once they're handed over, Your Majesty won't have to worry anymore."

As she snipped off the excess thread with scissors, Qing Zhi finished as well.

Both of them handed the cotton garments to Li Zhi, who carefully inspected the stitches before neatly folding the clothes and placing them on the prepared tray to be sent to Lan Ying's residence.

Wei Peng's rank in the Hedong Army had risen considerably. Lan Ying had a straightforward nature and exuded a commanding air, which made her more respected as she stayed here longer and became increasingly familiar with the families of the generals. Besides, being her sister, this matter was entrusted to her to handle.

After the items were sent out, Li Zhi felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her heart, immediately feeling relieved and sitting back on the bed.

She had been so focused on those two cotton garments that she had forgotten to take off her clothes when she entered the room, and now she felt a surge of heat throughout her body.

"Your Majesty, the room is still heated by the kang. Please take off your cape!" Chun Yue came over with warm water and a towel, reaching out to untie Li Zhi's cape.

Feeling her already hot face, Li Zhi hurriedly got up again, took the towel, soaked it in water, wrung it dry, and wiped her cheeks to cool down.

At this moment, Qing Zhi returned with a roll of books and several letters in her hands. "Your Majesty, these are sent from the palace in Luoyang. They say it's a book newly compiled by Lady Qin and needs Your Majesty’s review, and the two empress dowagers have also replied."

Li Zhi immediately took the items from Qing Zhi's hands. Besides the letters from the two empress dowagers, there were also letters from several palace maids and Lady Qin.

She first read and replied to the letters from the palace maids and others one by one before turning her attention to the letters from the two empress dowagers.

Empress Dowager Li's handwriting was consistently graceful and lively, while Grand Empress Dowager Pei's handwriting was somewhat crooked. As she grew older, her hand strength waned, and her hand would often tremble when holding a pen. Writing letters like this could have been delegated to the maids around her, but she insisted on doing it herself, stating that she would only let others take over when she couldn't lift the pen anymore.

As usual, they talked about the daily affairs in the palace, with gentle and intimate words. At the end of the letters, they both instructed Li Zhi and Pei Ji to take care of themselves and their child in Taiyuan, without worrying about the situation in Luoyang.

Li Zhi read the letters very carefully, replying to each of the two empress dowagers' words one by one. Then, she recalled recent events in Taiyuan, added some anecdotes about Pei Ji and their son, and advised the two elders not to worry. Only then did she consider the reply complete.

In fact, before coming to Taiyuan, she had thought that the letters from the two empress dowagers would all be addressed to Pei Ji, and if they had anything to say to her, it would mostly be included in the letters to Pei Ji.

To her surprise, from the first letter that arrived, they were all addressed to her, which deeply touched her.

She asked Pei Ji about it and learned that it was a longstanding tradition in the Pei family. When Empress Dowager Li was serving with her husband in Hedong, the letters sent by Grand Empress Dowager Pei were also addressed to Empress Dowager Li, and if there was anything to say to Pei Yan, an additional paragraph would be added at the end of the letter.

This was excellent, not only making people feel warm but also conveying a sense of openness and honesty. For her, who had joined the family later, there was no need to worry that the elders would bypass her and tell Pei Ji things she didn't know, thus avoiding many unnecessary misunderstandings.

After replying to several letters, another hour had passed.

As the sun set, the long-sleeping Little Yuan Lang woke up, carried into the room by his wet nurse. He waved his little arms like lotus roots at his mother and occasionally chuckled.

"Is Xiao Lang hungry?" Li Zhi held her son with deep affection, kissed his soft cheek a couple of times, eliciting endless giggles, and then signaled to the wet nurse to close the door and unbutton her shirt to breastfeed her son.

After finally feeding Little Yuan Lang, Pei Ji returned.

He had always been considerate and immediately took the increasingly heavy child into his arms, while his other hand gently patted Li Zhi's neck.

But when he patted her, he couldn't help but furrowed his brows. "Why are you sweating in such cold weather?"

Li Zhi was stunned, only then realizing that her back was damp and there was a faint chill.

"It's probably because the kang in the room is too hot."

Chun Yue exclaimed and approached to check, stuffing a handkerchief behind her back. "Your Majesty, although the kang in the room is warm, it's not too hot. Your Majesty is not wearing much, so she shouldn't be sweating. Does Your Majesty have any other discomfort?"

As she spoke, Pei Ji's gaze also fell on Li Zhi, anxiously waiting for her answer.

"There's nothing wrong, except feeling hot, everything—" She subconsciously shook her head, but halfway through her sentence, as if suddenly realizing something, she widened her eyes in surprise and glanced at Pei Ji, unable to help but say, "Go and fetch the imperial physician."

Chun Yue was startled and hurried out to call the imperial physician.

Pei Ji's expression also turned serious. "What's wrong?"

Li Zhi's face looked a bit strange. "I just remembered that my period was over ten days late last month, and it hasn't come yet today."

Pei Ji furrowed his brows, carefully pondering her words, slowly savoring their implications. "Are you saying that, perhaps—we're going to have another child?"

Li Zhi lowered her eyes, gazing at her abdomen that had only returned to its smoothness for just over half a year, feeling inexplicably stifled. "Let's wait for the imperial physician to come and take a look."

Chun Yue left quickly and returned just as swiftly. Following closely behind her was the hurried imperial physician. Seeing the different expressions on the emperor and empress, he couldn't help but feel nervous. He proceeded with extra care, examining pulses and asking questions. After fully confirming, he let out a sigh of relief. "Your Majesty, you are pregnant again, with more than a month of pregnancy, which is causing symptoms of general heat and sweating."

Neither of the two sitting on the bed said anything. The imperial physician didn't know whether he should be happy or not, so he tentatively asked, "Shall I go down first to prescribe medicine for Your Majesty ?"

Meanwhile, little Yuan Lang, still in Pei Ji's arms, suddenly grinned, revealing his small but proud upper teeth, appearing immensely joyful.

Li Zhi glared at her son for a moment, then couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Pei Ji finally breathed a sigh of relief. After dismissing everyone, he reached out and embraced Li Zhi's shoulders, saying, "It's my fault, letting you endure this again."

Both of them knew exactly when it happened.

After his birthday that day, she had rested for several days and hadn't let him come near her. Coincidentally, the spices brought from Luoyang that day unexpectedly got wet and couldn't be used at all, so they had to ask the palace maids around them to make them fresh.

Since their marriage, Pei Ji had privately brought the method of making those Western Region spices into the palace. Now they were all using those made in the palace.

However, making the spices also took a few days. Li Zhi had originally planned to wait a few more days for them to take effect before being intimate with him again. But he couldn't wait for more than a day, which led to her getting pregnant again.

"Yes, it's all your fault," Li Zhi turned her face away, unwilling to look at him. "When I'm pregnant, not only do I suffer, but you also have to suffer. Who knew you wouldn't cherish the good days in front of you!"

Thinking about going through the pain she had already experienced again made her somewhat annoyed.

Pei Ji, who had completely abandoned his usual seriousness at this moment, lowered his demeanor and leaned closer to his wife, raising their son higher. He laughed, "It's only right for me to suffer. If I could, I'd rather endure the hardship for you. Look at Yuan Lang. We might as well have another one, so he can have a companion. When the two children are of similar age, taking care of each other, we as parents can also rest assured, right?"

Li Zhi remained silent for a moment before turning her head again. "Since it's happening, we can only calmly accept it. But we must be more careful in the future."

No need for her to say, Pei Ji had already analyzed the matter in his mind and recognized his mistake. With a serious expression, he nodded solemnly. "Of course. This time, it was my impatience. I didn't expect that the spice would only lose its effect for those few days. Now that I know, I will never make such a mistake again in the future."

He also kissed Yuan Lang's chubby cheek, while his other hand went to touch Li Zhi's belly. "With Yuan Lang here, having one more child, I'll be content for the rest of my life. You don't need to endure any more hardships."

As they spoke, the brief tension from earlier had completely dissipated.

Li Zhi leaned against him, pinching her son's small hand, while trying to whisper "father" and "mother" into his ear.

Yuan Lang, still innocent and unaware, didn't understand his mother's meaning, just curiously turning his little head.

Neither of them was annoyed; they repeated the words a few more times, and when he began to feel sleepy again, they let the nurse take him to bed.

When dinner arrived in the evening, the two of them ate together. Suddenly, Li Zhi exclaimed, as if she had remembered something. "Oh! The letters! We need to tell grandmother and mother about this. Fortunately, the replies I just wrote won't be sent out until tomorrow morning. We can still retrieve them now."

Pei Ji immediately got up and instructed someone to bring back the letters.

"Telling grandmother and mother, they probably won't be able to sleep from joy. Luckily, mother has learned how to make clothes now; she'll definitely make two new outfits for the child."

At night, after they had finished all their tasks, bathed and dressed, they extinguished the lights and lay together in bed.

Pei Ji wrapped an arm around Li Zhi, while his other hand naturally rested on her belly, gently caressing it. In the darkness, his eyes were filled with tenderness.

"Before, I was worried that your body might have difficulty bearing children. Now, in the blink of an eye, we're having a second one." He lowered his head to kiss her forehead, his voice becoming more muffled. "Funny, both of our children were conceived around significant events in our lives—last time it was the capital relocation, and this time it's overseeing the war."

"Yeah. It's fate," Li Zhi felt her face tickled by his touch and couldn't help but poke his chest. "From now on, let's stay in Luoyang. It's better to be with grandmother and mother."

Pei Ji chuckled softly. "Alright, from now on, we'll stay in Luoyang, accompanying grandmother and mother, and watching our two children grow up."

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