"Now that Liancheng has been captured, Southern Yan will be hesitant to act rashly and will surely withdraw its troops. They might even make some other concessions, and this war can end sooner."
Yao Youqing breathed a sigh of relief and nodded slightly: "That's good."
"not good."
Wei Hong held her hand, his brows furrowed.
“Ning’er, it’s fortunate that we ran into Liancheng this time. He’s clear-headed and knows that if he hurt you, he will never be able to leave Daliang alive, so he didn’t attack you.”
"If it were an assassin specifically sent to kill you, or a madman willing to risk mutual destruction to drag you down with him, then..."
He paused, not wanting to mention the worse possibilities, nor the inexplicable feelings Liancheng had for her. Finally, he sighed softly and pulled her into his arms.
"It's my fault for not recognizing him. I even agreed to keep him by your side back then."
Liancheng pretended to be deaf and dumb, changed his appearance, and even used strips of cloth to modify the shape of his shoulders and waist. He even changed his handwriting, no longer using the handwriting he used when he interacted with him before. He was so careless that he didn't notice at all, which allowed him to stay by Ning'er's side for so long.
Seeing that he was worried about her, Yao Youqing quickly said, "It's alright. I only asked him to keep accounts. I never let him get close to me. He can't hurt me. In the future... if something like this happens again... I won't bring him back. I'll arrange for him to stay at the manor or somewhere else."
She originally wanted to say that she wouldn't care about such things in the future, but she couldn't bring herself to say it, so she went along with Wei Hong's suggestion and said that she would arrange for her to be placed elsewhere.
Wei Hong nodded, buried his face in her neck, and gently inhaled her familiar scent to soothe his agitated emotions.
But whenever he thought about Liancheng's feelings for her, he felt like he had thorns stuck in his body, and he couldn't straighten them out no matter what he did.
He went from a light sniff to a kiss, then a gentle bite, before pinning her to the bed.
Yao Youqing didn't understand why he had suddenly become so interested when they were just talking about serious matters. She reached out and pushed him, wanting to wait until tonight to talk about it, but the man refused. Before she had even finished taking off her clothes, he pressed down on her in a very unrestrained manner.
He knew perfectly well that it was only Liancheng who was unilaterally lusting after her, but he still couldn't help but feel a surge of anger. He left many marks on her body to prove that she was his exclusive wife, and that no one could take her away.
Red marks appeared on the woman's delicate skin. As he admired her soft moans and panting beneath him, he said in a hoarse voice, "Didn't Ning'er want to know what she said wrong that made people laugh?"
As he spoke, he bent down, took her hand, and moved it downwards, whispering something in her ear.
The girl's misty eyes widened instantly, and her body tensed.
Wei Hong grunted, frowned, and started charging headlong into things again.
The result of his indulgence was that when he stopped, he found that Yao Youqing had fainted. Although she woke up quickly, he was still worried and apologized while sending someone to fetch Douzi.
When Yao Yuzhi heard that her daughter had called the doctor, she was very nervous. She thought that Liancheng had frightened her when she found her earlier, so she rushed over and insisted on waiting with them for the doctor to come and examine her.
Li Dou had to go out, so Li Tai was the one who arrived in the end.
Li Tai took her pulse, raised his eyebrows slightly as if he wanted to say something, but seeing Yao Yuzhi there, he swallowed back what he was about to say, coughed lightly and said, "It's nothing serious, the princess is just a little frightened, I'll prescribe a medicine to help her recover."
He then wrote down the prescription and handed it to Wei Hong.
Yao Yuzhi was relieved to hear that Yao Youqing was alright. She was about to tell Yao Youqing to rest well and take her medicine on time when she saw Wei Hong, who had just received the prescription, suddenly stand up.
The prescription did list medicinal herbs, but it started with the sentence: "The Princess is pregnant, congratulations, Your Highness."
Upon seeing these words, Wei Hong forgot everything else and happily grasped Yao Youqing's shoulder.
"Ning'er, we're having a baby!"
Yao Youqing was taken aback at first, then delighted. But before the joy could spread to her face, she suddenly remembered something and quickly reached out to pull him, signaling him to shut up.
But Wei Hong didn't notice at all and was still happily shouting to himself.
"We have a child! We really have a child!"
Yao Yuzhi, standing to the side, looked completely bewildered: "What do you mean... you really have a child? Then what happened before... was it all fake?"
Wei Hong's smile froze on his face: "..."
Li Tai sighed: This idiot, there's no way to keep it a secret from him!
Chapter 124 Relocation of the Capital
It hasn't been long since Yao Yuzhi found out that Yao Youqing was pregnant. As long as we don't expose it, we can completely fool Yao Yuzhi and prevent him from knowing that Cui Hao was just lying to him before.
Li Tai had this in mind, which is why he didn't say it directly. Instead, he wrote the news down on a piece of paper and handed it to Wei Hong, telling him to just know it himself and to be happy only after Yao Yuzhi left.
Who would have thought that this guy would actually shout it out!
Well, now his father-in-law has discovered that he was scammed.
“I’m not exactly lying to you,” Wei Hong said to Yao Yuzhi with a straight face after calming down. “The child didn’t suddenly appear today. I only found out when I took her pulse just now. So you knew you were already pregnant.”
"Since it exists, then it's not a lie."
Yao Yuzhi was so angry at his words that her mustache almost stood on end. She pointed at him, wanting to give him a good scolding.
Yao Youqing quickly said from the side, "Father, don't be angry. The Prince... he did it for me too."
Yao Yuzhi's life or death was actually not important to Wei Hong. He had rescued him from the capital in the first place for Yao Youqing's sake, and he was lying to him this time for the same reason.
Yao Yuzhi was naturally aware of this, and after a moment of silence, she sighed.
"It's all my fault for making you worry."
Yao Youqing shook her head: "Father gave birth to Ning'er, so it is only right for Ning'er to care for and take care of you."
They are father and daughter, bound together by an unbreakable blood tie and emotional bond. One is willing to die for the other, while the other tries every means, even deception, to keep the other alive.
Yao Yuzhi's heart trembled, and her eyes stung with tears. Afraid of making her daughter's eyes red as well, she quickly held back.
He had come back earlier because he was worried that Yao Youqing's unstable emotions during her pregnancy would affect her health. Now that Yao Youqing was indeed pregnant, he was naturally still very cautious and did not want his daughter's emotions to fluctuate too much. After talking to her for a few more minutes, he went to personally oversee the preparation of the medicine.
Seeing that everything was alright, Li Tai gave Wei Hong some instructions on things to be careful about, and then left.
After they all left, Wei Hong rearranged the pillow behind Yao Youqing, grinned, and pressed it against her lower abdomen to listen for any sounds inside.
Yao Youqing gently patted him: "Your Highness, how can you understand anything now? It's still early!"
Wei Hong hummed in agreement but didn't get up. He smiled and said, "Maybe our child is smart and will start moving earlier than other children?"
It couldn't have been earlier than this!
Yao Youqing was speechless and pushed him up.
Wei Hong sat beside her, his broad hands gently caressing her lower abdomen through her clothes, feeling both delighted and somewhat worried.
"I didn't know you were pregnant. You were so reckless just now. I don't know if you hurt him."
He had been holding back his anger because Wei Chiliancheng was coveting his wife, and he was even more determined to prove that she belonged to him. He had acted recklessly and made her faint. Now, thinking back on it, he felt quite scared.
It is said that women need to be most careful during the first three months of pregnancy. She is only a little over a month pregnant, so we hope that he won't cause any problems because of his recklessness.
Yao Youqing first glared at him, but seeing that he was indeed worried, she said, "Uncle Li just took my pulse. Since he didn't say anything was wrong, I suppose I'm fine."
Otherwise, he would have told them just now.
Wei Hong still trusted Li Tai's medical skills very much, nodded, and kissed her forehead again.
"You should be careful then. Don't go out these days. If you feel cooped up, just stroll around the garden. I'll take you out to play again once the baby is more settled."
Yao Youqing chuckled and leaned into his arms: "The other day Your Highness said that my father was nagging and meddling in everything, but now he's saying exactly the same thing he said back then."
Wei Hong frowned, and upon closer reflection, he realized that Yao Yuzhi had indeed said something similar a couple of days ago when she learned that Yao Youqing was pregnant.
However, at that time, Yao Youqing's pregnancy was just a way to fool Yao Yuzhi. No one expected that she was really pregnant. Now that it has become true, the advice can no longer be ignored.
Wei Hong temporarily put aside his resentment and agreed with Yao Yuzhi's words. He carefully hid Yao Youqing in the mansion, not only preventing her from going out, but also going out less and less himself. He did everything that could be done in the mansion, and ate three meals a day with her.
Because they captured Liancheng, Southern Yan withdrew its troops not long afterward. This move further enraged Wei Chi, who was already in disarray, and caused a stir within Southern Yan.
The eldest prince, Qi Ze, discovered that the troops that originally belonged to his third brother were no longer as obedient to him as before. He even went to find the fake brother and made him suffer. He threatened him that if he dared to do anything underhanded, he would cut him into a thousand pieces.
But this still didn't change anything; the troops continued to slip out of control.
Seeing that Southern Yan had withdrawn its troops and that the Emperor of Liang was powerless to resist the Prince of Qin, the Jin Dynasty realized that continuing to resist would be futile and a waste of effort, so they also retreated.
The siege of Shuozhou was finally lifted, and the people were filled with joy. The soldiers on the frontier also breathed a sigh of relief, but they did not dare to completely relax their vigilance, lest those people launch a counterattack and take advantage of their carelessness.
Cui Hao and other close confidants who had followed Wei Hong for many years were very happy. In their joy, they naturally asked him what his plans were, when he would attack the capital, replace Wei Chi, and ascend the throne.
With the world now at peace and all hearts united, it is indeed a good time. Without the troubles caused by Southern Yan and Great Jin, they only have to face the autocratic and stubborn Wei Chi.
Unexpectedly, Wei Hong said there was no rush and they would wait until Yao Youqing gave birth safely.
Upon hearing this, everyone in the study was stunned.
"Your Highness, the Princess Consort's delivery will take another six or seven months. Although we are currently in a very advantageous position, no one can guarantee that nothing will go wrong. The sooner we ascend the throne, the sooner we can stabilize the current situation and prevent any unforeseen complications."
"That's right, this kind of thing should be done sooner rather than later. Who knows what might happen if we delay for another six months?"
“Nothing will happen,” Wei Hong said. “I’ve already secured this position. If I were to miss this opportunity because of some minor mishap, wouldn’t all these years have been wasted?”
"The reason I said we should wait until after the princess gives birth is because I have no intention of attacking the capital, so there is no rush."
After these words, everyone in the room was stunned again, and this time they didn't react for a long time.
"Your Highness, what do you mean by this?"
He neither attacked the capital nor gave up the opportunity. So what exactly did he want to do?
Cui Hao reacted quickly, and after a moment's thought, he suddenly realized, "Your Highness, could it be... that you intend to move the capital?"
Throughout history, there have been many instances of capital relocation, but most of them were forced upon people by natural disasters or man-made calamities. However, Your Highness's actions are truly unnecessary.
Wei Hong nodded in agreement: "Yes, move the capital."
"Why...why is this? The capital is prosperous and has been the capital of our Great Liang for a hundred years. Why are you saying we should move it? It's not like we can't take it!"
"Exactly! His Majesty has lost the hearts of the people and cannot defend the capital at all. Taking it will be a piece of cake for us!"
Everyone chimed in with their own opinions, and after they had all finished speaking, Wei Hong said, "As you all have said, the capital is the capital of our Great Liang for a hundred years, and that is why most of the noble families and powerful clans are located there."
“These aristocratic families are deeply rooted and have countless connections with each other; some can even influence the court.”
"It was easy for me to capture the capital, but it will be very troublesome to subdue them one by one."
“These people think too highly of themselves. No matter what legitimate reason I have, I, a prince who came from the border, am always an outsider in their eyes. As long as they insist that they are old ministers in the court and that their ancestors did something for the Great Liang when the country was founded, I can’t do anything about them and have to treat them with care.”
"In that case, why not just move the capital and establish the capital of our Great Liang elsewhere?"
"Even if they become arrogant because of their achievements, they can only live in the old capital, relying on their own past achievements. If they want to have a place in the new dynasty, they will have to move their whole family to the new capital."
"They have no roots in Singapore, so they have to start all over again. No matter how arrogant they were before, they have to be careful with their words and actions and dare not act recklessly because of their former power. I don't have to be controlled by these people and can act freely."
What he said made a lot of sense, and after discussing it, everyone felt it was feasible.