Gave Birth to a Daughter

He stood up, bowed to Noble Consort Cen, and walked out. Noble Consort Cen called after him, but he didn't turn around.

"Oh, what kind of wicked child did I give birth to that only makes me angry?" Noble Consort Cen complained incessantly.

There was no way to respond to that, so Auntie Yu lowered her head and didn't dare to say a word.

Xiao Lingyan Noble Consort Cen's palace, thought for a moment, and instead of leaving the palace, he turned a corner and went to the main hall where Xiao Ge reviewed memorials, and told him about the matter.

"Father, Zhiwei to the Great Jin Dynasty, drawing blueprints under the lamp every day, racking his brains to think about how to improve and design agricultural tools. But this lady, that other lady, always wants to send her daughters to my palace."

"Father, you too have had many concubines. You must know that with so many women in the inner palace, there's bound to be infighting, even bloodshed. Just think, if those women were to be sent to my inner palace, how could Zhiwei and I possibly do what we wanted in peace?"

"Furthermore, why are the Crown Prince, the Third Prince, and the Fourth Prince fighting so fiercely? Isn't it because they aren't born of the same mother? My Second Prince and I have never fought. If my harem is filled with various women, and they each give birth to their own children, won't these children fight each other for my title? Won't the tragedy of last winter be repeated?"

He's not the crown prince yet, so he can't bring up the throne. But both he and Xiao Ge know that the title he's referring to is the throne.

"If all my children were born to Zhiwei, and Zhiwei how intelligent, well-mannered, and devoted to the Great Jin, her children would surely be intelligent, well-mannered, harmonious, and sensible. That's the kind of family and marriage I want. Therefore, I implore my father and mother not to force me to take a concubine. I only intend to spend my life with Zhiwei and will not take any other woman."

Upon hearing his first words, Xiao Ge originally wanted to advise Xiao Lingyan and tell him that he was going to make him the crown prince. An emperor cannot have only one woman.

But upon hearing what followed, he fell silent.

If his sons didn't have different maternal clans standing behind them, would they still fight and vie for power so fiercely, treating their closest brothers like enemies, wishing each other dead and then killing one another?

He gave Xiao Lingyan a deep look and asked, "What if Zhao Zhiwei can't give birth to a son?"

Before Xiao Lingyan answer, he asked again, "What if I said that I would only make you crown prince if you gave birth to a son?"

Seeing that Xiao Lingyan was about to speak, he quickly waved his hand. "Don't be impulsive. Go back and think it over carefully before answering my question."

Xiao Lingyan shook his head. "Your Majesty, I don't need to think about it. If a son is required to be the Crown Prince, Zhiwei cannot bear a son, then Your Majesty should choose another Crown Prince."

Xiao Ge originally just wanted to calm Xiao Lingyan down and prevent him from speaking impulsively.

He believed that Xiao Lingyan genuinely loved Zhao Zhiwei and understood those feelings. But compared to the throne, what did that matter?

He never expected to hear Xiao Lingyan such a thing.

He was both shocked and furious, and shouted, "What nonsense are you spouting!"

"Your Majesty, I am not speaking nonsense." Xiao Lingyan knelt down. "Rather than watching the infighting in the inner palace and my sons kill each other every day, I would rather not be this emperor."

He can't bring up Zhao Ruxi. That would only make Zhao Ruxi more hated.

He attributed everything to the internal strife that occurred last winter. That strife cost Xiao Ge the lives of three sons, a pain that would forever remain in Xiao Ge's heart. Only by using this incident as a metaphor could Xiao Ge understand him.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Xiao Ge fell silent.

He closed his eyes, remained silent for a long while, then opened them and sighed, saying, "Alright, Father promises you. As long as Zhiwei can bear a son, I will not force you to take a concubine."

"Thank you, Father Emperor." Xiao Lingyan bowed and stood up. "Your subject takes his leave."

He and Zhao Ruxi were husband and wife, their hearts were connected, and he never hid anything from Zhao Ruxi.

After returning to the Prince of Qi's Residence, he told Zhao Ruxi about these matters.

Zhao Ruxi had anticipated these things. As long as Xiao Lingyan could stay true to himself and not let her down, she didn't care about these things.

She laughed and said, "We used to say, why do we have to have a son? It's not like we have a throne to inherit. But now that we have a throne to inherit, we absolutely have to have a son."

Xiao Lingyan grasped her hand and said, "Don't feel pressured. Actually, we never intended to be emperors, did we? Being a prince is fine too."

If they hadn't fought for power, and had let the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, the Third Prince, or the Fourth Prince all come to the throne, none of them would have had a peaceful life.

Xiao Ge is still in good health, and the Sixth Prince hasn't come of age yet, so they have at least ten years to live a leisurely life. With these ten years, they can do almost everything they want to do.

If they have no sons by then, Xiao Ge is unwilling to pass the throne to them, that's fine. They can just appoint someone else.

They have no sons left, so what's the point of fighting for the throne? No matter which prince becomes emperor, no one will suspect them of having any ulterior motives, right? They can still live carefree and happy lives.

Zhao Ruxi quickly understood Xiao Lingyan's meaning.

She smiled and nodded, saying, "You're right. Without desires, one is invincible. Since we don't seek the throne, we really have nothing to fear."

Just then, the system's voice suddenly rang out. "Host, Cen Peixuan has given birth."

"Oh?" Zhao Ruxi immediately perked up, mentally asking, "Was it a son or a daughter?"

"Daughter."

Zhao Ruxi: "..."

Normally, Zhao Ruxi Xiao Lingyan about something that didn't pose a safety risk. Even if Xiao Lingyan guessed that she had a system, it was just a guess. He would naturally find out about it in half a day.

But she couldn't help herself and burst out laughing.

"What's wrong?" Xiao Lingyan asked, looking up at him.

Zhao Ruxi rested her chin on her hand, looking at Xiao Lingyan with a smile in her eyes, "Your second sister-in-law just gave birth to a daughter."

Xiao Lingyan: "..."

He glanced at Zhao Ruxi in surprise, then, considering the news itself, couldn't help but laugh, "It seems my father will be disappointed."

If Xiao Lingpu had a son, Xiao Ge would probably use that to threaten him.

After all, even though Xiao Lingpu lost his finger, he was still restless and didn't feel that he had lost his hope of ascending the throne. Xiao Ge could use this to provoke him.

Unfortunately, Xiao Lingpu and Cen Peixuan were disappointing.

The Cen Family will likely be disappointed.

"This is good, it allows us to have some peace and quiet again," Zhao Ruxi said.

Xiao Lingyan nodded.

Although Xiao Lingpu had a daughter, Xiao Ge couldn't use that to provoke Xiao Lingyan. But he thought Xiao Lingyan wouldn't hold out for long and would regret his words soon, finding a way to back down and apologize to him.

But Xiao Lingyan waited and waited, until the New Year, and still made no move.

The ministers who had been urging the emperor to quickly establish a crown prince gradually fell silent because Xiao Lingyan refused to take women from their families as concubines.