Do you know the long song of laughter?

Chapter 471 Denial
Suddenly I found out that I was pregnant and was going to be a father.

In addition to being surprised, Ang Lee was also a little confused, but even more than that, he was overjoyed, and he couldn't stop smiling on his face.

"Madam, tell the servants in the mansion tomorrow to reward each of them with five taels of silver," said Li An.

In ancient times, when the royal family had a happy event, they would grant amnesty to the entire nation, and wealthy families would reward their servants.

Minglan had a child, and Li An was very happy and generous.

"This is too much. Just two taels will be enough." Minglan said.

"It's okay. We have plenty of money. For such a big happy event, we must give more so that they can share in the joy." Li An said nonchalantly.

Minglan moved her mouth but didn't try to persuade her any further.

After dinner, Li An and Minglan took a walk. When Minglan said she was tired, the couple returned to their room.

"Master, the lady is pregnant, so we have to be extremely careful." Mother Cui said meaningfully.

"I know." Li An nodded.

Seeing that Li An still didn't understand, Cui's mother simply pointed it out and said, "Master, why don't you sleep in separate rooms?"

Li An: "..."

Now he finally understood what Mother Cui meant. It turned out that she was worried about him, a beast.

Li An could not help but smile bitterly and said, "Don't worry, Madam Cui. I know the severity of the situation and I won't do anything rash."

Mother Cui was still a little worried because Li An was young and energetic now, and he didn't even have a maid.

Otherwise, she could ask the maid to cover her at night and she wouldn't be so worried.

But Li An had already said so, and if she continued to persuade him, she would be disliked.

Minglan came out of the bathroom wearing her underwear, supported by Xiaotao and Danju.

The two men supported Minglan, very carefully, fearing that she would fall.

"I'll come, I'll come."

Li An hurried forward and supported Minglan.

Minglan had just finished taking a bath and her whole body was emitting a fresh fragrance that smelled very pleasant.

The undergarments of the Song Dynasty were somewhat similar to the tube tops of later times, with the arms exposed.

Minglan is the type who looks petite, but has a very voluptuous body.

Her arms were fleshy and very smooth, and she was only wearing underwear, which made her very attractive.

"Sir, I have asked someone to prepare the water, please go and wash up," Minglan said.

"Ah."

Li An helped Minglan sit down on the bed and went to the bathroom.

The bathroom is connected to the bedroom, but there is another door on the other side.

It is convenient for servants to deliver water.

When Li An came in, several maids were busy, some were cleaning, and some were busy adding water to the bathtub.

After they finished their work, Li An let them go.

He never asked anyone to help him take a bath, except Minglan, of course.

Before, when he took a bath, Minglan would serve him alone, and often they would take a bath together, with the main purpose of saving water.

But now that Minglan is pregnant, she naturally cannot serve her.

Li An didn't let the maid serve him because he was afraid that he couldn't control himself.

These maids let him do whatever he wanted, and he was a normal man.

But Ang Lee feels that even if there were three wives and four concubines in ancient times, it would be best to at least have some emotional foundation.

Otherwise, he might as well go to a brothel, where he can experience better service without the subsequent troubles.

After soaking for a while, I got out of the bathtub, rinsed again, and then changed into the clean clothes hanging on the screen.

When I returned to the room, Minglan had already gone to bed.

Li An lifted the quilt and got on the bed. Danju and the others blew out the candles and left.

Li An stretched out his arms, and Minglan raised her head and rested it on Li An's arms in tacit understanding.

Minglan adjusted herself and found the most comfortable position, nestling in Li An's arms.

"Officer."

Minglan held down Li An's somewhat dishonest hand and pleaded in her voice, "No, Mother Cui just warned me."

"I know, I'm just used to holding something in my hands. Don't worry, I won't do anything rash." Li An said as he pinched it.

Minglan moaned, tightly grasped Li An's hand, panted slightly and said, "Don't, I'm afraid I can't help it."

Li An accurately found Minglan's lips in the darkness, and it took a long time before he let go of Minglan, panting heavily.

If this goes on, I really won't be able to hold it in any longer.

Minglan was a little lost, so she took the initiative to come forward.

After another long kiss, Li An panted and said, "Go to sleep."

Minglan didn't say anything, but moved her little head and nodded.

"Sir, are you feeling uncomfortable?" Minglan said.

"No." Li An said, "Go to sleep quickly."

How could he not feel uncomfortable? As the saying goes, one gets the taste of the marrow only after one has tasted it. It is too painful to have meat but not be able to eat it.

"Sir, why don't you let Danju come in and serve you?" Minglan said.

"Huh?" Li An was stunned and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? And aren't you unwilling to let the maidservant beside you be your concubine?"

"But I'm pregnant now and can't serve you. It'll take more than a month for Princess Anyang to come home, and I can't let you suffer every day." Minglan said.

Li An turned sideways and looked at Minglan. Although the lights had been turned off, there was still a light on in the room so that the maid could come in and see if something happened in the middle of the night.

Therefore, the room was just dark, not completely invisible.

Li An said, "Minglan, I admit that I feel very uncomfortable, but you are pregnant, and I sleep with your maid. How can I be fair to you?"

Minglan could see Li Ang's face, but she couldn't see it clearly, let alone his eyes.

But she could feel that Li An's eyes were very serious at this moment.

"Sir, I was wrong." Minglan said.

Li An lay down again, kissed Minglan on the forehead, and said, "Go to sleep."

"Ah."

Minglan responded and the room fell into silence.

Ang Lee was not sleepy at all. He was indeed feeling a little uncomfortable, and he was also a little excited because he was going to be a father.

In fact, Minglan didn't sleep either. She was lost in thought and even wondered whether the baby in her belly was a boy or a girl.

She didn't know how long it had been before she felt uncomfortable with her sleeping position and wanted to move, but was afraid of waking up Li An.

"You haven't slept yet?"

Li An's sudden voice startled Minglan.

"Master, aren't you asleep too?" Minglan chuckled, adjusted her sleeping position, and asked, "What are you thinking about, Master?"

"What to name our child?" Li An said with a smile.

Minglan said coquettishly, "We just got pregnant, and we don't even know the gender, and you're already thinking of naming the baby."

"What does it matter?" Li An turned sideways and said, "Why not just pick one for a boy and one for a girl?"

"Does your husband like boys or girls?" Minglan asked with some trepidation.

Li An heard a hint of uneasiness in Minglan's tone and understood it after a moment's thought.

It is said that women are very sensitive when they are pregnant.

The ancients attached great importance to offspring. He has no offspring now, so Minglan naturally wants to give birth to a son for him.

"If I really have to make a choice, I prefer a daughter. But if you give birth to a son, it will save a lot of trouble. So it doesn't matter whether you have a son or a daughter." Li An said.

Li An wanted to comfort Minglan and tell her that it would be best if she had a daughter, but then he thought it was not right.

This is the first child, whether it is a boy or a girl, Minglan might care, but she won’t think too much about it.

After all, you can still have children in the future.

What she was worried about was the issue of the eldest son.

"But I think it's a son." Minglan whispered.

Li An put his hand on Minglan's belly and said with a smile: "Don't they say sour boys and spicy girls? This one must be a son."

"What if it's not?" Minglan said.

"There aren't so many what-ifs. If it's a daughter, we can just have another one. Don't think too much and go to sleep." Li An said.

After hearing what Li An said, Minglan relaxed a lot and said, "Sir, aren't you thinking about a name for the child? Have you decided?"

"If it's a daughter, we'll name her Li Jingtong. The word Jing represents tranquility and elegance, and the word Tong represents red and auspiciousness, which means the girl is beautiful and well-educated," said Ang Lee.

Minglan was dissatisfied and said, "Why did you choose the girl's name first? What about the boy's name?"

She still has the obsession of having a son.

"I've also named my son. I originally wanted to name him Li Mingshan, but then I thought it wasn't a good name," said Li An.

"I think it's a good idea. Is it because he has the same character in his name as me? It doesn't matter. I don't believe in these things. If having the same character in his name as me can help him grow up healthily, I'm willing to do that." Minglan said.

If children have the same character in their names as their parents, it means that the parents share part of their blessings with their children.

In ancient times, the chance of children dying was very high, but the ancients were more superstitious.

They would deliberately give their sons a mean name so as to protect the children from disasters.

Some people think that their children are unlucky, so they name their children after the characters in their parents' names.

"Didn't you say you didn't believe these things? Why do you still say you want to share some of your blessings with your children?" Li An said with a smile.

"I just think that your name is well chosen," Minglan denied.

She really didn't believe those things, but since she had a child, she felt that it was better to believe it than not.

Li An also guessed what Minglan was thinking, but did not expose her. He said, "I am not worried about this, I just think this name is not good. Mingshan means to distinguish good from evil. But I think it is better for you not to be too kind."

"Why?" Minglan asked puzzledly.

"If he is really a son, he will inherit the family business in the future. Being too kind will easily lead to suffering." Li An said.

Honest people always suffer losses in any era.

Moreover, there is a high probability that his son will become an official in the future. Officialdom is full of intrigue and deception, and being too kind will lead to great losses.

Minglan thought about it and realized that this made sense. She asked, "Did you think of another name, sir?"

"No, I'll think about it tomorrow. Now I'm going to sleep." Li An said with a yawn.

"No, please think of another one, sir." Minglan said unwillingly.

Li An was so annoyed that he could only say, "I've thought of another name. Let's call it Li Jiangchu. Jiang means a big river, and Chu means talent and learning. It means that one has lofty aspirations."

"This is a good name." Minglan said happily.

Parents always have high expectations for their children.

Although the meaning of the name is just a beautiful one, it is not necessarily useful.

But as a mother, she wants to give her child the best, even if it's just a name.

…………

"Your Majesty, Marquis Weibei requests to see you." A eunuch walked into the hall and reported.

"Let him in." Zhao Zongquan put down the imperial pen and said.

The eunuch bowed and left, and soon Shen Congxing walked in.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!" Shen Congxing bowed.

"No need to be polite, please take a seat." Zhao Zongquan waved his hand.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Shen Congxing expressed his gratitude.

"How familiar are you with military affairs?" asked the official.

"I am almost familiar with it." Shen Congxing said.

"Yes." The emperor nodded slightly and said, "I intend to reform the Western Suburbs Camp. Think about it carefully and come up with a set of rules."

Although Shen Congxing now controls most of the military power, it is only in name only.

The middle and high-level generals have formed factions. If something really happens, it is hard to say whether they can command the situation.

Zhao Zongquan wanted to disrupt the factions in the Western Suburbs Camp through restructuring.

"Yes." Shen Congxing replied.

"What do you want to see me about?" the emperor asked.

Shen Congxing looked at the palace maids and eunuchs in the palace, and Zhao Zongquan understood and said, "You all should leave."

"Yes."

The palace maids and eunuchs bowed and left.

"Your Majesty, a few days ago..."

Shen Congxing recounted what had happened, then pulled out the plan he had worked on over the past few days from his sleeve and said, "Your Majesty, please review it."

The official took the document and began to read it.

Shen Congxing looked at the official with expectation.

After a long while, the official read the letter, pondered for a while and said: "You should now focus on the reform of the Western Suburbs Camp, and don't waste your time on these things."

He looked at the plan and found it feasible, but the most important thing for him was to control the power.

Without complete control over power, attacking the Liao or the Western Xia would be nothing but empty talk.

"But…"

Shen Congxing became a little anxious when he saw that the official seemed uninterested.

After listening to Li Ang's story a few days ago, he put a lot of thought into writing this memorial and consulted a lot of information.

He had high hopes for this plan.

"enough!"

Zhao Zongquan waved his hand to interrupt Shen Congxing and said, "I have said that the reform of the Western Suburbs Camp is the top priority."

"Yes!" Seeing that Zhao Zongquan was angry, Shen Congxing didn't dare to say more.

"Your wedding date is coming soon. I know that you and the Zou couple have a good relationship, and I also want to compensate the Zou family. I won't say anything if you want to marry Xiao Zou, but this marriage is of great importance. I hope you can be sensible in your heart." Zhao Zongquan said.

"I understand. If Your Majesty has no other instructions, I will take my leave first." Shen Congxing bowed.

"Go ahead." Zhao Zongquan waved his hand.

Shen Congxing retreated to the entrance of the hall, turned around and walked out of the hall, his back looking a little desolate.

Zhao Zongquan shook his head. Shen Congxing’s ability to command a state’s garrison was sufficient.

Now that he has become the king's uncle and is in charge of power, his ability seems to be insufficient.

But he doesn't have many people who can be of great use now. Shen Congxing is able to investigate some of them, but their identities are enough.

Zhao Zongquan picked up the memorial and read it again. It must be said that Shen Congxing put a lot of thought into writing this memorial.

The description is very detailed and the feasibility is very high.

"such a pity."

Zhao Zongquan sighed. He was not in power now. Even if he was in power, he would not be able to take action against the Liao Kingdom and Western Xia in a short period of time.

The court had too many accumulated problems. The annual taxes seemed high, and the expenses were also huge, so there was not much left.

There was no money or food to support the military operations.

"Your Majesty, Concubine Liu requests an audience." A eunuch walked in and saluted.

"Let her in." Zhao Zongquan said, collecting his thoughts.

(End of this chapter)