Many people speculated about when the patience of His Highness the Grand Prince—who still refused to establish a secondary consort even after the Grand Princess Consort had borne children—would finally come to an end. Men found life rather difficult because of the Grand Prince’s self-discipline, while women felt envious and resentful at the Grand Princess Consort’s happiness.

But no matter how much envy and suspicion there was, it all disappeared after Emperor Jianzhang abdicated and Zhou Weizhao ascended the throne.

There was nothing to be done. After the Grand Prince ascended the throne, the Ministry of Rites submitted a memorial requesting to fill the new Emperor’s harem, but instead of gaining anything, they were berated mercilessly by His Majesty.

He said they weren’t doing proper work and were focusing their thoughts on such matters instead.

If any minister tried to argue about imperial descendants and bloodline succession, the Grand Prince could counter that the Grand Princess Consort had already borne two sons, and that the last emperor of the previous dynasty had seventeen sons yet still lost his kingdom—leaving people utterly unable to respond.

After such days continued for a long time, Zhou Weizhao couldn’t even be bothered to get angry. Returning to his sleeping chambers, he looked through the curtain and saw Song Chuyi sitting on a cool mat accompanying their younger son. The baby was learning to roll over, his two chubby little hands pressed against his chest as he tried hard to straighten his neck to look at Song Chuyi. Zhou Weizhao couldn’t help but laugh.

Qing Ying had been promoted to head stewardess. Seeing him arrive, she quickly paid her respects, then said with a smile, “Your Majesty, the little prince learned to roll over today.”

Zhou Weizhao’s face was full of smiles. Entering the room, he saw Song Chuyi turn her head while their younger son also tilted his head to look at him, a pair of jet-black eyes staring fixedly. He stepped forward and lifted his son into his arms, feeling him soft and plump like a ball of rice cake. Somewhat puzzled, he looked at Song Chuyi. “Why didn’t I feel that A’Che was this plump before?”

One shouldn’t call children fat to their faces, or they might refuse to eat properly in the future. Nanny Xu wanted to frown slightly but didn’t dare say this to the Emperor, so she looked pleadingly at Song Chuyi for help.

Besides, didn’t they say one should hold grandchildren but not sons?

Song Chuyi didn’t have such awareness. When A’Che was small, he had grown up in Zhou Weizhao’s embrace, so there was no such thing as holding grandchildren but not sons. She looked at their younger son lying against Zhou Weizhao’s shoulder, opening his mouth to gnaw on Zhou Weizhao’s shoulder, and quickly went to take him. “He’s soaked your shoulder with his drool, this little chubby one. He’s greedy for everything he sees.”

Nanny Xu felt like laughing at this couple yet also felt sorry for the little prince. Hearing this, she quickly came over with outstretched hands. “It’s time for his feeding. He’s probably hungry. This servant will take him down first.”

Zhou Weizhao still held his son for a while, showing affection before handing him to Nanny Xu, then asked Song Chuyi about their elder son. “A’Che hasn’t returned yet?”

A’Che was now five years old and already had scholars from the Hanlin Academy teaching him his primers and classics.

Song Chuyi shook her head. “Not yet. This child is quite stubborn.”

A’Che was a very competitive child. From birth, he had been especially favored by Emperor Jianzhang, who had kept him by his side for over three years before releasing him, teaching him to be very ambitious. No matter what it was, he had to learn it best.

Song Chuyi worried about his temperament. “So young and already so fiercely competitive—what will happen in the future?”

Raising children in the imperial family was truly vexing. Even full brothers like the Crown Prince and Prince Gong could slaughter each other. With this cautionary tale in mind, Song Chuyi had told Zhou Weizhao many times about treating both brothers with equal fairness.

Zhou Weizhao was thoughtful. “For things within his capability that he can do well, being somewhat perfectionist is actually good.” He also reassured Song Chuyi. “You needn’t worry so much about distant troubles. It’s still very early. How old is the little fellow?”

Moreover, A’Che was an extremely sensible child. Though competitive, he absolutely wasn’t one to get stuck in dead ends. He was also very good to his younger brother—every day after studies, the first thing he did was go see his little brother.

Thinking of this, Zhou Weizhao smiled again. “There’s no need to keep talking about treating them equally. They’re both legitimate sons, but there’s still order of seniority. I’ll explain this principle to them clearly early on.”

Song Chuyi also knew it was too early to discuss such matters. She nodded along with his words, then remembered something else. “By the way, Prince Dongping has had a legitimate eldest son.”

Zhou Weizhao had her bestow rewards according to the precedent for other princes’ legitimate eldest sons. Looking through the pearl curtain, he saw Song Chuyi frowning at some account book, walked over and embraced her. “Still not getting the hang of it?”

After Emperor Jianzhang passed away, Zhou Weizhao ascended the throne, and Empress Lu very quickly transferred palace affairs to Song Chuyi. Although Princess Consort Lu helped, getting the hang of things wasn’t accomplished in a day or two. Zhou Weizhao was quite concerned for Song Chuyi. “Should we have Mother Empress manage things for a while?”

After he ascended the throne, Empress Lu became the Grand Empress Dowager, and the Crown Princess became the Empress Dowager. Now one lived in Ci’an Palace and the other in Qingning Hall.

Song Chuyi shook her head. “It’s not palace affairs. Mother Empress’s birthday is coming, and I’m looking at how Imperial Grandmother handled it in previous years.”

It wasn’t a milestone birthday, but after all, it was the first birthday Zhou Weizhao would celebrate for his mother after ascending the throne, so naturally it required careful attention.

Zhou Weizhao thought for a moment and had Nanny Xu make a trip to Ci’an Palace. Empress Lu specifically sent Chief Stewardess Hu to explain to Song Chuyi the procedures from past years and the precedents of each dynasty.

Song Chuyi then had a general idea. She delegated tasks and had the Ministry of Rites establish a plan, organizing a lively birthday celebration for Empress Dowager Lu.

Prince Lu and Prince Su both sent special messengers to congratulate Empress Dowager Lu on her birthday. Local officials from various regions also sent gifts back. The noblewomen of the capital, both inner and outer court, all entered the palace to pay respects. After this entire sequence of events, no matter how tactful Song Chuyi was, she was thoroughly exhausted.

Empress Dowager Lu was both delighted and melancholy. After everyone dispersed, she held Song Chuyi’s hand and watched the fireworks filling the sky, the light in her still-brilliant eyes gradually extinguishing.

Song Chuyi felt uncomfortable from the slight coolness of Empress Dowager Lu’s palm. She gripped her hand and looked at her. “Is Mother Empress unhappy?”

“How could I be unhappy?” Empress Dowager Lu stared at the fireworks filling the sky without blinking. After a long while, she slowly sighed. “But the life I once wanted wasn’t like this, and the birthday I wanted to celebrate wasn’t like this either.”

She looked at Song Chuyi and curved her lips. “Xiao Yi, you’ve encountered good times. Everything I hoped for in my youth, you now have. I’m very envious of you.”

The Song Chuyi of the past had also been very envious of her current self. Song Chuyi knew this. She gripped Princess Consort Lu’s hand tightly and turned to meet Zhou Weizhao standing in the corridor, smiling with eyes full of indulgence, reaching out his hand toward her. She smiled until her eyes curved. “Mother Empress, rest assured. I will treasure my blessings.”

From the distance, A’Che’s voice drifted over on the wind. “Mother Empress, little brother is crying! Little brother is crying!”

Song Chuyi thought that this life was truly everything she could dream of, the life she had most hoped for. She had family, a beloved husband, and children—she had it all. Every night, she no longer needed to be awakened by nightmares. Every day when she woke, she could joyfully greet the sunlight.

Compared to her previous life where at the end she had nothing to hold onto, she was so deeply attached to her current life.

She knew the road ahead might not be smooth sailing, that perhaps there would still be many things to experience and many roads to walk. But so what? She had already walked through the most difficult and bitter roads. In the past she had cut through thorns and brambles; in the future she could ride the wind and break through waves.